BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH

Evening Star, Issue 3691, 21 December 1874, Page 2

BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH

. Auckland, December 19. Hie City of Melbourne will probably take the rest of the outward mail, instead of the Cyphrenes. Miss Christian, the best contralto that has visited the Colonies, has arrived in the Wonya. She will make a tour through New Zealand. "W elungton, December 19. The Tararua, with the outward Kualish mail, sailed south at noon. A gentleman passenger stated that on the voyage from Melbourne she encountered a terrific gale, and was hove-to for nttj hours. Eighteen valuable draught horses were killed. Ihe life-boat was nearly washed overboard. The passengers were huddled together in the saloon, and hardly expected to see land again. . l le , Phoebe has been detained until tbe Albion s arrival, to enable the mercantile community to reply to letters either by the Albion’s supplementary mail or by the San Francisco mail!

No definite resolution has yet been arrived at about the proposed ball to His Excellency and Lady Nonnaaby. According to the vital statistics for November the lowest death-rate for tho month was at the i names and Hokitika, and the highest at Dunedin ; the next being Christchurch, Nelson, and Wellington, which wore ail about the same. L 3 360 CUStOmB reveuue for the week attacked 68 prevalent hcre » nwnySj? Sing In consequence of the recent Supreme Court decision making mail conches carrying namm. gers liable for tolls, the tollgate keener jfas presented a long bill against the conch proprietors for back tolls. J. he debt is admitted. (Sent 10.10 a.m.; received 11.20 a.m,] ~ ~ Grahamstown, December 19. At the Native meeting to-day a number of the most influential chiefs said they were agreeable to give up land for gold-mining as agreed upon at Olunemuri. Four others, amongst whom were le Hira and Moananui, objected, oil Donald JVL Lean addressed the objectors and told them they ought to be glad to let their lands for gold-mining to pay off the tribal debts. The discussion continued with the greatest good feeling. A public meeting, convened by the Mayor on a requisition, will be held this evening to consider the question of (opening the Ohinemuri. „ , , Napier, December 19. Good ’lews has been received from the Poverty Bay 0,1 Springs. The shaft is down 4ott., and the oil is welling up from the bottom. Dining the interval between the men leaving work on Saturday night and 10 a.m. next morning 3ft. of oil had accumulated. It is estimated that from eight to ten barrels per day are now being obtained without pumping, and that twenty times that quantity can be obtained by pumping. {From our own Correspondents.) t, . . Napier, December 19. ~ , l’ ol^ B f rom Q 1 ® country state that owing to the late heavy rains the rivers are impassable At a meeting of the Agricultural Society yesterday it was resolved that a show of cattle, agricultural implements, and produce should be held on i' ebruary 3, at Hastings. The works of the Petroleum Company are now completed. The shaft is down 45ft, and there is a probability of a bed of rock being reached this week. Oil in quantities makes its way into the shaft. m, , „ , , _ December 21. tiawkes Bay Times’ ceases publication at the end of the year. . Auckland, December 21. i / ’Vo C j “ e ® hn S Boxing Day and the Ist and 2nd of January, promises to be a great success. Ihe entries are numerous, and the gates realised L 375, and booths LlB7. H.M.S. schooner Sandfly, which arrived at Sydney after a cruise in the South Sea Islands, reports repeated attacks by the Natives on the vessel, which were dispelled by firing into the canoes, ihe Isatives were panic stricken and astonished by the strange precision of the bullets, which they seemed ignorant of. Several empty villages weie destroyed as a punishment, and the canoes smashed. ’ [Sent 9.50 a.m.; received 11.15 a.m.] n n i Queenstown, December 19. Dr Douglas publishes a letter in the ‘ Arrow Observer, sutaining every allegation contained mmy previous telegrams re Feebly. No illegal removal took place, but the ‘Observer,’ in bad taste, will not admit its blunder. Dr Douglas n!l y ered on beki »lf of suffering humanity. The Observer’ wishes to mix up your correspondent with the Mail, and make a personal , jitter of it. Ihe information given to you is thoroughly reliable. A great rainfall took place at Kingston, and detained the steamer until midnight last night. iNothing like it was ever known. In Queenstown it was quite fine, but sultry. The rain did not fall m drops, and was as bad as an ice storm m its effect upon trees.