AUCKLAND.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume XII, Issue 497, 5 August 1867, Page 2

AUCKLAND.

[rr.oa omi ow.v count; mosc'setr.] | June -7, IS'.'7. ! iron foe li-t fo't night there Jim been I '■•cavcc'y any nows of iinpwtauce. One prin- j yipal ile.n i< <l,e iK n iviu-v of troops on | jboard 1! i•; Jln Scott on t.;e 18ih in>t , f,v. , I rlng’.ar.u, eni!;' 1 i-ngtho remaium.g portion of too Armv ii -spita! amt Gommi-samt I '!a!i C n","-, r.nii -d-o the various remnants | of regiments remainirg hero. In tins we see c >.vri-d out the orders of the Home Be* er .rury, viz., thd, only on.:- regiment shall bo stationed in New Zc d uul. .Now we nave only about 1.0 ino.i doing duty in barracks at Auckland. On the 2nd of entrust, General sir Trevor Chute, K.C.8., .■.ml Stair, will embark on board the steamship Auckland for Melbourne, and this colony will be abandoned as the head-quarters of the Imperial Forces.

In the matter of retrenchment I must here speak of the City Board. Lately they have been redueing their employes, and saving expense of light by catting off a number of lamps. Still they keep a foreman of works, and it is a puzzle to many what his duties arc, as, at present, no works are in operation, i fancy the Board are acting up to the old proverb,—Penny wise, and pound foolish.” The chief theme of conversation at present in Auckland is the probability of a | gold-field in the Thames district. The laud on which (.old has been found belongs jin the chief Taipafi, who owns between 3000 and <to.)o acres. I>L- John White brought up a specimen of gold found on Ibopata’s land, which is of a small course nature, and resembles that obtained at Coromandel, only of a much darker color. The natives will not allow anyone on the land until they have had an interview with Hr John Williamson, the Superintendent, as they are anxious to come to terms. £IOOO will be a nice little sum for the for tunate owner of the auriferous soil, and I only hope the land will be worth the money. If a payable gold-field is opened np jin the Thames, it will find employment for : hundreds of young men who are walking jabout Auckland, and trade would at once jbe as brisk, if not more so, as in former limes. As the Superintendent is at Wellington, no satisfactory arrangement cun be made till he returns, the natives not feeling inclined to treat with anyone else, ill. will be useless for small p v ies of Eurojpeans to go prospecting, for the natives are ] (h-termiiied to protect themselves, and drive lover; 0.-. e off the place. So soon ns it is (known that the land is good, [ have no doubt that Auckland will be deserted to the people who cannot possibly leave it Aid bon roe and Sydney will pour down, their well-known “old diggers,” and a rush will take place that will make it another El Dorado and “ astonish the na lives.”

The G-reat World Circus took their departure on Friuav, 25th insf., for Sidney, ih tlie Bella Mary. For the last live o~ -ix weeks they have been perforating here •v;*h great success, drawing good liousrs nightly. The last two performances wore given for a charitable purpose, and the Auckland public responded to the call in great numbers.

On Tuesday, the 25th insfc.,a meeting of tiic sons of old colonists took place at the •Star Hotel, when about 3J gentlemen sat down to a first-rate dinner prepared by Mrs Macready. The number was not so ■■treat as had been expected, but neverthohas the evening was spent very pleasantly.

For some time past salt water baths have been in cour.-e of erection, and on Friday the work was finished when the contractors entertained a lew friends in honor of the event. A dese iptiou of them will, perhaps, not be uninteresting, and theretore 1 may as well give an extract from tlie Weekly iferald of to-day :

The bulls, as is known, are situate; l , on the eastern sale of the breakwater, and are apnruaehed by a gangway about 05 feet long by 'll feet biai.M, winch is raised on a solid foundation Id x G butted solid to the rock with 1-inch bolts leaded in and supported by uprights 9 by 9 inches ; on these uprights are laU haadstucks o*x U inches, on which rest three stringers planked, over with 3 aieh ’planking, laid diagonally in two lengths an.! sightly raised in the ard lie so as to drain off the ;w,,ter. A neat and strung handrail sunn:.unis toe whole, chancered, ke., so as to correspond to ilhe general style of the bnil.iing, whieli is in the huzabethan style of areaifeeture. The various rooms oi the Wilding widen feme the west, north, aid south are supp uded on three rows of piles, ; which have b-eu driven into *!i •so i 1 ro .;k. * Taoperation <u boring for the piles, h. ; s been one of muon labour and evens' ; ! u' it has this advantage. tiiat in case u. a [ale. ir'Caming d.-caved, it can be easily la.wi oat and a new one put in its place.

Th’se piles are tied together hv diagonal bracing and strong wiring, 9 x -i. The various oilh'O? occupy tile wnole west front, and about half of each side. The remainder of the : ides is covered with a platform of t woe-inch planking. The baths are enclosed by a sheathing of 9 x d plank-' mg, 11 incites apart in the front, and on the north and west by dx 2 scantling -I- indies apart. There arc two entrances to the baths, one of which opens into the office, which is a neat room I f fed by 3, and tiie other on coffee-rooms, waitingroom, and kitcht u. Tacsc rooms are tastefully painted white, with the mouldings of a light blue, and are surmounted with a flagstaff 43 feet high.' Tliere are besides thirty bath-rooms, each Sx 5 let-1, and lined throughout, ns well as two waterclosets and a kitchen. A platform runs routed in front of the bath-rooms, from which stairs descend into the water, which offers swimming room of about 110 feet by 11G. Tor the convenience o' those who cannot swim (here are two floating I)..ths, one stationary .and the other capable ol i bring raised or lowered at pleasure by means of n ! winch. They are each flo feet long and 13 feet .3 inches wide, and will have about four feet of water on them at low tide. Anyone wishing for •a header can have one from either cf the two ispring boards which are firmly fixed on the platform over the deepest part of the water. The whole, now that the work is finished, presents a striking feature when viewed from the wharf, and great credit is due to Mr. Cameron, the architect, and to the contra'tor, Air. C. Dandas, who has shewn his capabilities for work before now, as will be seen by that part nf the railway bridge which is at present completed in AlecUaniss’ Buy.

The Northern Separation and Reform Lea true held a meeting on Monday, the 22nd, when Mr. (J. F. Mitchell gave notice tint he would move nt the next meeting, “ That this Council do take steps to bring before the General Assembly, in its present session, the subject of the abolition of imprisonment tor debt.” The attention of a few of the •unemployed has been directed to flax dressing as a means of obtaining a living, and rendering themselves independent of Government rations. They have been allowed to meet in the City Mission House, and the City Missionary, Mr. Mason, has rendered them all the assistance in hi* powar. The flax, when dressed, is worth £lB per ton ; and though their earnings ara small in

comparison to the amount of time spent, yet it keeps them very respectably. They have now formed themselves into a co* operative society, the first company to number twenty persons. Each member is to provide himself with a hackling frame in the first instance, as it is an indispen* sable article. All disputes are to be referred for decision to one chosen from among them. Au Auckland merchant ins advanced money and provisions, to be paid for out of the flax prepared, and sixteen of the society have commenced operations on some land adjacent to Che Pan mure Bridge, It is to bo hoped that the speculation will pay those who have undertaken it, and become so extensive as to employ a great many more hands. Juiy 23. On Saturday intelligence arrived of the supposed murder of four Europeans and four Maoris, while driving cattle from Napier to Matamata (Mr Firth’s run.) Great excitement prevails in town relative to the affair The letters received by Mr Firth and Mr Buckland from Mohaka, a native who has been in charge of Mr Bucklani’s cattle at Muketu for some time, state that the party have been killed by the llauhaus of the Uriwera tribe. Until further particulars arrive I can give you no more ou the subject. Mr Firth was expected to arrive at Matamatu on Saturday last, and if the murders had taken place he would probably learn the facts from the natives there. Yesterday, the Wellington, s.s., from. Wellington, arrived here with later Southern nows, and bringing the Panama, as also later European news. The latest intelligence from the goldfields I quote from the New Zealand Herald of the 29th :—■ Dr. Pullen ami Mr Maokay returned from the Thames this morning. AVe learu that arrangements have been made wtih the native chiefs at Kaueranga, by which a tract of country heretofore closed lias been thrown open open for mining purposes, Satisfactory prospects have been obtained in (lie Kanaka Creek' and some hopes are expressed that gold in payable quantities will be found. It is to be hop al that Te Him and others who now opposj prospecting on their land, will be influenced by the example set them by lloteriai, llapaua, and their people.”

A daring robbery took place on board ; tlio hulk A-masia, lying in Waitemata har* | hour, on I*'riday evening last. It seems [that while the man in charge of the hulk was ashore he observed a boat alongside ; but thinking it was some one belonging to thehuik, took very little notice of the matter. On .Saturday, when looking over the store of powder, he found 1-1 kegs inissing. Information was immediately given to the authorities, but no clue has as yet been obtained of the thieves. July 31. Hr. Pollen has proclaimed the Thames a gold'district, and meetings of diggershava been held ; but nothing definite is known. More in our next.