General Summary.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 7, Issue 374, 7 May 1866, Page 3

General Summary.

The past month has been exceedingly barren of local events, whether in the political or more general departments of public affairs. In fact, the attention of the great mass of the people has been more directed to foreign matters than those of a domestic nature, and the news from home has absorbed much more than an ordinary amount of attention. The news we have received during the month from the seat of disaffection at Wairoa and at Poverty Bay, by means of our correspondents, will be found in another portion of this issue, and it shows that the slow length of the war is still dragging itself along, notwithstanding the activity of local forces and Native contingents. It is to be hoped that we shall shortly hear of some effective action being made by Major Fraser and the band which we are informed was with him at our latest dates in search of the stronghold of the rebels believed to exist in soma part of the difficult country lying between Poverty Bay and the Bay of Plenty. The influence of the Governor has been brought to bear upon the leaders of the King party, we cannot say with what success. We fear there is too great sign of a return to that system of truckling to the disaffected Maoris that was the original source of our troubles; and if this be the case after we have tried the opposite plan, it can have but a very pernicious effect. So far as we can understand, the Governor’s present policy, it is one of condoning crime, for the perpetrators of bar. batons murders remain unpunished, and in the case of the Hau-hau leader, Te Ua, a great criminal and supposed murderer, has become the honored guest of His Excellency himself. The work of deporting the rebel prisoners to the Chatham Islands has also advanced a step, though, from an error in management, one trip of the ‘ St. Kilda 5 was a miscarriage —the wrong people having been brought to Napier from Poverty Bay. This necessitated a second visit to that place by the ‘St. Kilda’ before she could proceed to the Chathams, and then it was found that most of the prisoners had managed to effect their escape. However, she succeeded in bringing some of them down, and the 23rd ult. she left for the Chatham Islands with upwards of one hundred prisoners. She has not returned up to this time. In the early part of the month we had the pleasure of chronicling the visit of the fine new steamer ‘ Taranaki.’ The possession of this truly admirable vessel by the New Zealand Steam Navigation Company speaks volumes for the progress made by that Company during the past year, and indicates a healthy state of business in the Colony. On the occasion of the first visit of the * Taranaki ’ to this port, a luncheon was given on board, to which his Honor the Superintendent, and numerous other gentlemen were invited. The affair passed off very pleasantly. A report of the speeches, &c., on that occasion will be found elsewhere. We have two vacancies in the Provincial Council, one of them consequent upon the departure of J. M. Stuart, Esq., for.the Mother Country, and the other for the seat vacated by Wm. Colenso, Esq. For the first of these we have one, and but one candidate in the field, T. K. Newton, Esq., a gentleman in the Government interest: and no mention has as yet been made of a candidate for the second vacancy. As the present Council is, however, closely approximating to its end, and will have but one more session, it is most likely that another Govenment candidate will be allowed to occupy this place also for that time. From other parts of the Colony we have constant intelligence of progress. -The yield of gold upon the West Coast of the Middle Island continues to steadily maintain a large population of diggers and traders; and there is no doubt that this Northern Island will give no mean amount of its stores of mineral

wealth in the form of a large export of steel and petroleum. For this, we only await the settlement of the Maori difficulty. How long ? In the matter of business, the month has shown a decided improvement over the past, and the arrivals and departures of vessels, as also the Customs Receipts show a marked improvement. Notices of the above, as also of other matters of interest, will be found under their proper heads.