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Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2682, 21 September 1871, Page 2

Supreme Court. —The case of Neilson v. Douglas occupied the Court the whole of to-day. His Honor had not finished summi >g up at half-past four o’clock. General Road Board. —At an adjourned meeting of the General Road Board to-day, the proposal to levy a rate of one shilling in the pound in the Waikari road district was considered. A petition was presented that the rate should be sixpence in the pound. It was resolved that the rate be uinepence ill the pound. Bible Teaching.—Mr Chas. O’Neill, in the discussion on the Education Bill, on the 7th inst., related an anecdote which is too good to be lost. It is as follows : —A missionary was remonstrating with a Maori on having four wives. The Maori replied, “You read your Bible. Good Solomon was tbo widest man. Solomon had 300 wives. Kapai Solomon.” Acts Assented To.—‘ln the language of the Gazette, bis Excellency the Governor “ has not been advised to exercise his power of disallowance ” in respect of the following ordinances passed by the Provincial Council of Otago, and assented to by the Superintendent :—lmprest Supply Ordinance, 1871 ; Sheep Ordinance 1865 (Southland), Repeal Ordinance 1871 ; Goat Nuisance Ordinance, 1871 ; Sheep Inspection Assessment Ordinance, 1871; Fencing Ordinance, 1867, Amended Ordinance, 1871 ; Payment to Members Ordinance 1871 ; Invercargill Athenaeum Ordinance, 1871 ; and Appropriation Ordinance, 1871-72. Mr Smythies’s Case.—The exact wording of the prayer of Mr Smythies’s petition to the Assembly, in support of which he was hoai’d at the bar of the House of Representatives yesterday, is as follows :—“ That ho might, according to the acknowledged principles of justice, demand exemption from the Law Practitioners Act Amendment Act, 1866, as being an ex post facto law, and insist that the decision of the judges, so deliberately made upon the most careful consideration of the facts, ought to be sustained whether right or wrong ; but he is willing to waive that right: and he now prays that he may be placed in the position in which, in common justice, he ought to have been placed before the Act was passed.” Meteorological. Although the miners on the West Coast during the past year have been complaining of the great scarcity of water and their scanty rainfall, Hokitika still maintains its good character for humidity. The rainfall in this locality amounted during the year to 116 inches; the number of days in which rain fell to 188; and on the 10th of April some inches fell during the 24 hours, The Bealey stands next of course on the list; but then it is over 2100 feet above the sea level. Will some of our savans or climatoligists tell us hy the West Coast of this island should obtain double the rainfall the North Island receives ? Will Maury’s northern trade winds not impinge ou Taranaki as well as Charleston.

Invalid Ordinances.—According to a memorandum by the Attorcey-General, Auckland has passed eleven invalid Ordinances—Taranaki six ; Wellington, including Marlborough, nine ; Canterbury, twentynine ; and Otago twelve. The principal of those passed by this Province are the Hoads Ordinance, 1865, the Municipal Corporations Ordinance, 1865 (in respect of which the At-torney-General remarks that, as it may be doubted whether the language used in the Empowering Ordinance of the Assembly which validates the Provincial Ordinance is sufficient, it will be advisable either to validate the Bill by fresh language or repeal the Ordinance altogether) ; the Port Chalmers and Oamaru Town Boards Repeal Ordinances, and the Fencing Ordinance, ISC7. The Telec4UAPH. —Our Wellington correspondence was perfectly justified in saying that nothing is too low for the “literary swashbucklers” who write for some of the newspapers in this Colony. The Auckland Morning Metes, Mr Gillies’s organ, has one of this class, who writes from Wellington. He pens about one of the most deliberate libels that could be concocted : “Letme recommend you,” says this wise one, “to warn yours readers not to trust cyphers for secrecy by telegram. There are clerks in the establishment who can read it. Whether taught for the purpose I cannot say, but the fact is as I state. I could say more if I liked. It is high time that the management of the telegraph should be transl erred to a company. Confidence in the Government, or in any Government, can never again he restored.” Is there anyone iu Otigo who would dare to say the same ?

Statistical. — The value of the imports at the several ports of the Colony for the quarter ended June 30, was L 819.645 ; compared with L 1,048,382 for the same period last year. Dunedin imported goods to the value of L 259,665 in 1871 and to the value of L 243.303 in 1870. The total value of the exports for the June quarter of 1870 was L 262,034, and this year L 395.816. Otago exported to the value of L.390,416 in the quarter of 1870, and L 398.816 in 1871. The following were the quantities of gold exported from Now Zealand ports during the quarter of the current year ending 30th June, the figures referring to the number of ounces : —Auckland63,2l6, Pictonsß2, Nelson 2.787, Westport 14,374, Graymouth 20,226, Hokitika 22.756, Okarita 1890, Dunedin 47,063. The total quantity for the quarter was 174,896 ounces. The value of this quantity is L 675.582. The value of the quantity exported during the same quarter of the previous year was L 453,696. Important to Flax-dressers,—Mr White, of Auckland, the inventor of a new machine for dressing flax, which has been well spoken of, some time since dressed a quantity of flax by bis process, and seat in to several large manufacturers in England and Scotland. By the last San Francisco mail he received a letter from Selkirk, whither a portion of the flax had been sent to obtain the opinion of Messrs Brown and Sons, manufacturers there. The following extract from that letter will be road with interest : “ I have shown the sample to Mr B.own, manufacturer here. He thinks a great deal of it, and says he would take from 30 to 49 tons per month of the finest quality. Tho price he is willing to pay is L 75 per ton ; but only on condition that you keep up regularly that supply. '1 hat price he would bo willing to pay for the flax delivered in Loudon.” It will be seen from this that he would be prepared to use about 480 tons of fine quality a year, aud the cash payment for that would be L 36,000. We agree with the Cross that this ought to be a sufficient encouragement to our fiax-dressers to prepare a good article, as there is the certainty of a market at a good price.

Political. —The following were the mentions on the order paper for discussion in the Legislative Council to-day The Hon, Captain Fraser to move: “That, in the opinion of this Council, the reformatory measures which for some years past have been introduced into the gaol system of Europe with such signal service, and with so great benefit to the prisoners themselves and to the community of which they are members, should, without delay, be introduced into the penal establishments of this Colony. That, in order to the effectual carrying out of these measures, the Government be requested to assume the charge of all the gaols in the Colony, with a special view to the erection of a suitable and central establishment, adapted to the principle of the reformatory system.” The Hon. Mr Waterhouse to move: “ That the resolution of the Council, for the opinion of the law eflicers of the crown as to the legal effect in England of marriages effected in the Colony between a man and the sister of his deceased wife, in case of such marriages being legalised in this Colony, is not satisfactory to this Council, nor does it meet the object for which it was distinctly understood such resolution was passed.” The Dunedin Quartz Mine.—Some of our readers may be startled at this title, and we are not quite certain that we have got hold of the right name, but believe that is the name of a quartz claim at Green Island where operations have been going on for some time. It has been known for years that gold was to be found in that neighborhood, and at different points a few miles from Dunedin a few diggers’ huts may yet be seen minus the diggers, who found the ground not rich enough to pay for work with pick and cradle. We trust thatthia new enterprise will prove successful, and as it is but seven miles from the town, it may be but the pioneer to many successful companies, affording employment for a large number of men. The probability of success or failure will now shortly be determined. Yesterday the crushing machinery was set in motion for the first time in the presence of several gentlemen from Dunedin, by the aid of a portable engine, and the whole worked satisfactorily. The machinery was made in Melbourne, and is fitted with the latest improvements. The most approved appliances are provided for saving gold. The quartz, after being crushed, passes over ripple boards, and is passed into an amalgamator, upon Berdan’s principle. The success of the enterprize depends uyon the quantity of gold in the quartz and we sincerely hope that in a few days we shall be in a position to report favourably of the result.

Native News.—On August 9 when Captain Mair reached Te Kooti’s camp, the letter of which tne following is a translation and which appeared to have been only a few hours previously written by Te Kooti, was found stuck up in one of the huts To all the Government,--Friends, this is my word to you. Cease to pursue me, because I am living in my own place in the bush. If I come out to the coast then chase mo ; but this murderous work of yours is like a rat scratching up filth : leave oft' doiug so. If you wish to chase me, send some one to get me to come (out to the coast), and we will have a fight there. This would be good. If you (anyone) find this letter, do no hide it, give it to all the chiefs. This is a different word. I thought that peace-making was life, and also, planting of food ; and I am fulfilling these thoughts so that they may be completed. Friends, that thought of ours to fight has not yet come to me, but yet I will shortly fulfil your wishes (fight) ; be on your guard and do not say it is murder, for it is not. All. Friends, I sent my children to carry you a letter returning you (sending you back), but you in chas ng me ; and now do not complain at your death. The names of those children (young men) were Te Hata Tiwoki, Epihia, Puairangi, and Patororau Hum, and were ‘ Tohia’ (a religious ceremony performed at the native baptism of a child), with the ‘ Told ’ (ceremony) of ‘ Tu, ’ and were fed on the big eye of ‘Kua,’ and are children who think a great deal of their land. This is all. If you despise these words, who carce. They are for you. From jour enemy, Tu Tuuuki,” In his report of the recent attempted capture of Te Kooti, Captain Porter A. C. says :—“I instructed men to keep an eye upon the wharo, and should Te Kooti attempt to escape to fire a volley at him. It was my intention to completely surround the place, and to send a mau forward to call upon all to surrender quietly. I had sent Kuka te Aratapu towards the right flank for that purpose, when greatly to my annoyance matters were precipitated by the over-eager-ness of those on the left flank, who prema-

lurely opened fire aid charged upon the whares. The Hauhaus at once took the alarm, and fled in the direction of Te Kooti’s whare. A general rush followed, and all was at once confusion, many of ill 3 Hauhaus escaping through us in a state of nudity. Te Kooti was the first to nub away, with only a blanket m his left hand. No shots could be effectually fired without endangering our own men. Our best men were at once in pursuit of the fugitives, but without avail, the pursued being thoroughly practised in woodcraft, and running for their lives in a state of nudity. The loss on the part of the enemy is five killed, nine pi issuers, three carbines, two rifles, and a small quantity of ammunition; a number of tomahawks, and every article belonging to them. Among the killed is Wi Wehikore, a notorious murderer; among the prisoners are To Kooti’s two favorite wives, Olivia and Nia-te-whiu, and another had Jgone to Maungapohatu the day previous to the attack. Anaruru Matcti and nine others separated from Te Kooti at Pa Puni, and went in direction of Waimaha ; the Uriworas of the Kaingas in this vicinity have abandoned their home and gone to Tanaki. I sent to communicate with the chiefs of that pa, and was visited this morning by Te Awamutu and Ihaka Wheareapu, who inform me that thirteen of Te Kooti’s fo lowers have taken refuge with them. lam in treaty for their surrender. To Kooti is now a fugitive with only six mou and four women, without a weapon of any kind among them. I have pa:tics out in search of traces of Te Kooti, and have requested the Uriwera to show their sincerity by assisting us in the search. This defeat of Te Kooti appears to have a very sxluta-y eff-ct upon Ngatilmri, who are very humble.