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Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 2048, 27 November 1869, Page 2

Gaol Return. The following is the state of Her Majesty’s gaol, Dunedin, for the week ending Nov. 27 : —Awaiting trial, 6 men, 0 women; under remand, 0 men, 0 women ; penal servitude, 99 men, 0 women ; hard labor, 48 men, 10 women ; imprisonment, 2 men, 0 women ; in default of bail, 0 men, 0 women ; debtors, 1 man, 0 women ; total, 156 men, 10 women. Deceived during the week, 0 men, 1 woman ; discharged, 3 men, 7 women.

Blueskin.—Last evening a meeting of the Blueskin. Agricultural and Pastoral Association was held, 'when it was decided to hold the Second Annual Show on Friday, January 14th. Preliminary arrangements were made and judges appointed. Accident. —We regret to learn that Mr James Cotton, late "of thn Crown aiyl Sceptre Hotel, while mounting a horse in the Commercial Yard, barebacked, missed his hold of the halter, and the horse becoming restive, he threw himself off, and, falling to the ground, fractured his leg. He was immediately attended by Dr Rcimer, and sent to the Hospital. Political. —Mr Reynolds, M.H.R., and Mr T. Birch, M.H.11. for the City of Dunedin, will address their constituents at the Princess Theatre on Monday afternoon. Some disappointment has been expressed that the meeting was not held in the evening instead of the afternoon. This would have been done, but the use of neither the Theatre nor the Polytechnic Hall could he had in the eveninv. On Monday evening, Mr J. Cargill, addresses his constituents at Milton. Benevolent Institution.- The following is the fortnightly report of the Institute Admitted : 1 old man; discharged: 1 old man and 1 girl adopted. Inmates : 3 old men, 4 women, 26 hoys, and 28 girls—total, 61. Denomination : Church of England, 29 ; Presbyterian, 19 ; Roman Catholic, 9 ; Wesleyan, 1 ; other denominations, 3. Out-door relief:—5 old men, 41 women, and 103 chib* (Iren —total, 149. Denomination : Church of England, 53 ; Presbyterian, 63 ; Roman Catholic, 11 ; Wesleyan, 12; other denominations, 10. The weekly sum disbursed was Ll3 Os 6d. Deputation. Last evening at a public meeting held at the Waitati Hotel, Blueskin, Messrs Jas. Green, M.P.C., T. Quaylc, J. Sounness, and E. Carey, were appointed to wait on his Honor the Superintendent to confer with him respecting the reported removal of the police officer from the Blueskin district, and to request that no change should be made until after a public meeting to be held on Thursday to receive their report. His Honor said he never felt justified in interfering with police arrangements, and referred the deputation to the Commissioner of Police by 11110111 they were told that although it was the intention to remove the present constable from the district an endeavor would he made to supply his place by sending a constable two days a week from Dunedin and two days from Waikonaiti. Acclimatisation. — Those who take an interest in this matter will bo glad to learn that the pheasants turned out at Coal Point are doing well. A few months ago the Acclimatisation Society sent to Mr James Forsyth, at Coal Point thirteen hen and live cock pheasants, for the purpose of setting them at liberty fn the district. The Standard has been informed that, a few days ago, one of Mr Forsyth’s workmen found a nest with ten young ones in it. They were fine healthy birds. The neighborhood possesses both food and shelter in abundance, and it may therefore he safely anticipated there will be, ere long, a large supply of this class of game in the Molyneux. A number of pheasants were noticed in this district on Monday last, near the hush at Mount Tooki. They are no doubt a portion of those sent out by the Acclimatisation Society some time ago to Otanomomo and Coal Point, and have migrated from one or both of those places. Artistic. —A beautifully elaborated! work of art is being exhibited at Messrs Ferguson and Mitchell’s, in Princes street. The picture represents the elegant confusion of —let us say a drawingroom table, hooks, music, with illuminated covers; papers (amongst which ive see the Erening Star newspaper), playing cards, visiting cards, cheques of local banks, and miscellaneous articles in endless variety and studied disorder. These are scattered about, and look so natural and picturesque that, as the picture is of large size, we age in doubt at the first glance whether we see the realities or a picture. It is entirely the work of baud, and though it embodies a mass of detail, it is so accurate in all its parts as to suggest its being a photograph. Amongst the details are the Rose of Roses Yalse” and the Guard’s Waltz,” the latter being encircled by a wreath, in which the Union Jack and other banners, beautifully colored, are introduced. This work of art is the property of Mr A. F. Greig, and the artist’s name is Wrigg. It is a picture in every way worthy of inspection. Auckland. We Lave Auckland papers to the 13th hist. Business generally is reported to he dull, and in mining matters there is little worthy of special notice.—The Emii 111/ Hems having been charged with receiving a bribe of LIOO to advocate Mr Williamson’s pause, has made an affidavit before a solicitor of thq Supreme Court, and says : —“ If Mr Gillies or anybody else charges them with being bought, it will be rather a serious thing for them.”—'lhe Northern journals take a cheerful view of the prospects of the Colony.—The Southern Crons, referring especially to Mr M‘Lean’s recent negotiations in the Waikato, declares that the affairs of the Colony have reached their turning point, and that the war, as a national movement, is at an end. ‘ ‘ We may not,” it adds, “have permanent peace yet for a while, hut any general rising to drive the pakeha into the sea need not he anticipated.”-- The Auckland Annual Races are advertised to be held on the 31st December, 1869, and 011 the Ist and 3rd of January, 1870. Savagery in T¥E South Seas.— We (Melbourne Age) have Lhe Fiji Times to the 9th October, from which we extract the following particulars of the murder of three white men, and the drowning of 250 natives, the outline of which has been already telegraphed : —‘ The Alary Aim Christina arrived in harbor on Thursday, from the Line Islands, and Captain Field brings the sad news of the massacre, by the natives, of the captain and first mate of the French barque Mogea, ajul Fatten, who was onboard; also, the wholesale loss of life of the savage murderers by drowning, in trying to make the land by swimming ashre, Til? following are the particulars, as given ns by Captain Field On the arrival of the Mary Ann Christina at the island of Born, on the 2"th August, two white men named Antoni and Slater, informed Captain Field that a week or two previous to his arrival a sad calamity had occurred in the murder of three white men and the drowning of 250 natives. It

seems that these two men had witnessed from the beach the barque, some few miles from the shore, at the mercy of the winds and waves, and what seemed to them a confusion on board the vessel. The next day the barque was out of sight, but later in the day some thirty natives reached the shore, greatly exhausted, having been in the water since the day previous. From these natives it was gathered that they had risen in a body, surprised the captain and Air Fatten, knocked them down, cut their heads nearly off, and thrown them into the sea. The first mate and a native named Sandy pulled out their revolvers, and shot the natives down in all directions, the mate accidentally shooting his subordinate Sandy, who immediately made below. The mate met the same fate as the captain shortly afterwards. The second mate, the natives say, ran below and hid himself, The murderers, finding the vessel leaving the laud fast, all jumped into the sea and made for the shore, only thirty reaching the land out of some 2SO. From other sources Captain Field learnt that Air Fatten had transhipped from the barque Amiali eighty natives, and had entered into some kind of a partnership with the captain of the barque. The crew of the barque -were natives of Tahiti, and seemed to have taken no part in the bloody work, so that the vessel may turn up again if the second mate understands navigation. Captain Field is of opinion that the chief part of the above may ho relied upon, he having had one of the natives on board his vessel, and cross-ex-amined him for some time through his interpreter. Alany persons in Levuka believed Mr Fatten had gone on to Sydney in his vessel, the Anuah, vud will learn with regret his sad fate.” Lawrence. —The correspondent of the Bruce Herald writes as follows :—The heavy hail-storm that burst upon us at date of my last communication passed away without doing any serious damage. What was most remarkable relative to it was that it was confined to Lawrence ; a short distance on cither side of the town there were only a few drops of rain, but the sound and fury of the tempest was heard by many who escaped the merciless downpour. We arc now in the midst of rain, and from appearances likely to cunt nue so. From all I can learn the whole of the crops are now in the ground, and the present rain has come at a seasonable period. The breadth of oats is considerable, hut of wheat 1 understand the quantity is small. The tutu still continues to exercise its baneful effects upon our herds, and I am afraid, ere the summer is ended, there will a black catalogue of losses to record. The Deep .Shaft, so long begun and carried on under many difficulties, will shortly be sunk to the bottom. They have come on both sides of the reef, dipping at a deep angle to the gutter. It is anticipated that another soft sink, to the depth of 30 feet, will prove what has given rise to many hopes and various speculations. I may say that this -work has been accomplished by and through the persevering determination of Air J. C. Brown, M.P.C. In mining matters I have only to say that everything is going on smoothly. Several parties of Chinamen have set in and are working the bed of Gabriel’s gully—ground that has been repeatedly worked previously -—and they seem to be doing well ; at least they are contented (these parties work from daylight till dark). There are many parties at work at the various spurs, but as the ground is very patchy they don’t seem to be doing over well. The pursuit in search of quartz is abandoned. The flush of excitement caused by the Cromwell discoveries has died a natural death, and once more the dwellers in Lawrence have again fallen hack to the even tenor of their ways. New Zealand Flax. —The following letter, signed “AF AVhytlaw,” appears in a Sydney contemporary ‘ ‘ Although I have no personal concern whatever in the New Zealand flax trade, I have been sorry to observe the alarm taken by underwriters and others as to the supposed danger of shipping that article to England or other distant ports. That a rising industry which promises, at no distant day, to he one of great importance, not only to our neighbours but to ourselves should be checked, or have unnecessary obstacles thrown in its way, is much to be regretted ; and as formerly I was many years engaged in the preparation of the phormium tenax in New Zealand, and made shipments of the fibre both to Australia and England with perfect safety, I may he allowed to make a few remarks on this important subject. lam perfectly convinced from long experience and knowledge of the article itself, that there is nothing peculiar in New Zealand flax to render it more liable to this spontaneous heating than other substances of a similar kind, such as heuqu jute, &c., of ■which such enormous quantities are sent annually to England. The whole danger lies in the flax being packed and shipped in a damp state —a condition which there is no difficulty in detecting, and that all the more readily here, after the short voyage hither has given time for any dampness in the bales to develope itself, under examination by a competent party. It is a wise precaution, therefore, of the insurance companies to insist on such an examination being made before taking the risk. It is a mistake to suppose that the danger of heating arises from the flax being insufficiently dressed. All the evil which that circumstance does is to render the drying of the flax more difficult. The cleaner the fibre is made the more effective will the desiccating process he. If lam correctly informed, there is a great deal of water used in the method now generally adopted for preparing flax in New Zealand; and it is no doubt owing to sufficient care not being taken to expel that water by proper means that the evil adverted to has arisen. To depend on atmospheric influence alone to effect that object will not suit in so moist a climate as our neighbours have got; and I would therefore respectfully suggast to them that they should always finish off the preparation of their flax by subjecting it _to a gentle current qf heated aif, before it is packed for shipment. Road Making. The Auckland Herald of the 16th instant, says The Sturt left the harbour on Saturday last for various ppints on the East Coast, as far as Wellington Patea. She took the first instalment of road making tools, to be deposited at each place. The new system of employing the Hau-haus to make roads is thus fairly started. The Sturt had the following passengers qn hoard : Lieutenant-Colonel Fraser, who proceeds on a tour of inspection where the Aimed Constabulary Force is stationed; Lieutenant-Colonel Joston, Inspector pf Stores, Captain Swimlley, and Captain Birch.