General Summary.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 8, Issue 402, 13 August 1866, Page 4

General Summary.

§lnce the date of our last Summary events in the Province of Hawke’s Bay have been few and of minor importance, the attention of the general public being directed to the Empire City, where the General Assembly of the Colony is now in session; and beyond the proceedings of the Supreme Court, a summary of which will be found in another place, we have nothing of local importance to chronicle now. Such passing occurrences as are called news are given in their proper place. The natives continue quiet, notwithstanding that some threatening movements have been made in the neighbor ins Province of Auckland where there is known to be large bodies of tbe disaffected. In our own Province all is quiet, and there is no reason to fear a change on their part. A court has been sitting to adjudicate upon their claims to various districts of land in the Province since the 7th inst., and its session is not yet concluded, although it has made considerable progress. The claims of the applicants in several cases, covering a total area of about 100,000 acres, have been adjudicated upon and decided. It is gratifying to learn that tbe natives are willing to avail themselves of the advantages offered them by this Court, and that its decisions appear to give them satisfaction. We shall have some remarks to make on this subject on a future occasion. Reverting to the general affairs of the Colony, it will be remembered that the General Assembly had commenced its session, and we were able to give His Excellency’s opening speech in our last monthly summary. But one debate of importance had occurred up to the date of our latest advices, and that was on the question of a separate Government for the Province ef Auckland. This debate ended, as we anticipated,' in the defeat of the separationists, and the strengthening of the hands of the Ministry. A statement of the policy proposed to be adapted in Native affairs has also been made by the Minister for that department, to the Legislative Council, and which is, as a whole satisfactory, though containing some objectionable points. An outline of this policy, as gathered from the speech of the Native Minister, will be found in another place and read with interest. We have also given our own remarks on the subject. The policy of the Stafford Ministry appears to be like that of their predecessors, one of finance. It was on a finance question that it succeded in overthrowing the Weld administration and occupying its place. On every other question the two ministries seem to have the same ideas, and this to be but following the course marked out by that. Mr Stafford promised to save by retrenchment some £24,000 per annum from the Colonial expenditure, and as it is trying to show that it can be done. Much of his so-called economy, however is in our view, rightly stigmatised as false and cheeseparing, being only effected at a serious cost of efficiency and public convenience. The financial statement of the Ministry has not yet reached us, and we therefore abstain from further remarks for the present. Tbe whole Colony has been thrilled from north to south by the accounts received from Nelson cf a series of murders recently committed in the Middle Island, by a gang of blood-thirsty villains. The facts have been brought home to the guilty parties, by the confession of one of themselves, and it is so far gratifying to know that the caree r of as desperate a band of murderers as ever existed, has received a check, and will we may hope speedily be terminated. The de-

talk of the tragedy hare been published in oar usual issues as they have come to hand, and comprise far too much to be reproduced in this summary, but a brief outline will be acceptable to our readers. The mail service with Europe via Panama has been inaugurated, and one mail has been received and one despatched by that route. The inward steamer, although following a path hitherto untried, arrived almost true to her expected time. An attempt has been made to connect the two Islands of the Colony by a sub-marine electric cable; but it has received a tern, porary check, through an unfortunate accident, of which we give some particulars from a Wellington contemporary. The question of altering the position of the line dividing this Province from that of Auckland, so as to include in the Province of Hawke’s Bay that portion of the Colony known as the Poverty Bay district, was to be brought before House of Representatives by petitions from the inhabitants of that district, European and Native, on the 7th inst., and it was probable that they would be favorably received by the House. Our next advices will probably place us in possession of the result.