INTER-PROVINCIAL ITEMS

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 730, 28 October 1869, Page 2

INTER-PROVINCIAL ITEMS

DIARY OF A PROSPECTOR.

Twb Wanganui Herald contains a v 9T J interesting diary kept by a prospector vrjJ left Wanganui for Kaimanawa on the Bth| September, in company with three native.! The Herald prefaces the account by statin? " Captain M'Donnell agreed wi h the p ro . specting committee for his expenses to U paid, and immediately b' fore starting out received £10." We omit the account 0 f the up-river journey, which occupied eight days, though very interesting, and give tha latter part of the diary ;

Sunday, Sept. 19.—Started at 5 a.m. <md met some of Wirihana's scouts about 2.30 p.m., who conducted us to the redoubts $ Poutu where we arrived at 4 p.m. Lieut.. Colonel M'Donnell was in command here,

Monday, Sept. 20.—Rested at the re. doubta.il this day, abut 4 30 had somj conversation with Captain W. M'Donnell; he said that two telegrams had been sent to Wanganui for him to go to Napier and join some company there, bat that he did not intend to have anything to do wi-h them ; I asked him when we should go up to the ranges, and he said he was afraid we should not be able to go at present, because the Napier chiefs were jealoiu of! the Wanganui people sending prospectors over, and of them had threatened that it w 9 went out he would return to Napier with his people, but he said Mr Locke was then on his way to negotiate with the chief*. Captain M'Donnell afterwards said that I must stop in the redoubt, and that he would take one native and two horses and go to the place where he got the former specimens and bring more,.and would inform the natives that he wa3 going to Runanga with despatches. I objected to this strongly, and told him tho coinmittee had requested me to go purposely to see the reef, and that it would be. very unsatisfactory for me to go back without seeing it. He said if he brought the specimens it would not matter, that they would be sufficient, but that he would try and get me with him. 1 asked him to wait until Mr Locke oarae up and we might thus go together, but he would nofc agree to this. Mr Locke arrived at 7 p.m, this evening.

Thursday, Sept. 21, 6 30 a.m.— Captain M'Donnell called me up and told me to get ready to go with hhu ; I was ready in a few minutes, unci on going outside the wliare, saw two horstssaddled. Capt, M'Donnell then told me to go inside again, that some of the chiefs were watch* ing, and it would arouse their suspicion if 1 went with him, so I was compelled to stop in the redoubt; he did not take any tools with him except a small tomahawk. During his absence, Mr Locke had a oou* terence with the native chiefs, Uare I'outeka, Renata, and another, and got their consent to have the district thrown open to prospectors. 1 had a conversation with Wirihana, who asked me if I had come up to go to the ranges with Captain M'Donnell; I told hira 1 had, and asked him if he knew where the gold was; ho said yes, he had been with Capt. M'Donnell and there was plenty of gold in the Kai* raanawa, he said it was only two hours ride from this place, he then told me that Captain M'Donnell had not gone to ths ranges, but had gone down to jtuna.nga to see about buying some cattle to bring up there. Showery weather to day foe the first time

Wednesday, Sept, 22,—About 1 p.m. weather showery. Mr Locke started for Napier at 7 p.m. Captain M'Donnell returned, and brought two pieces of white chalky looking quartz with nothing in them. I asked him why he hal troubled himself by carrying such stuff, and why he had not brought specimens similar to tin former ones which he had sent to Wellington ; he said he had been to the same place, but that there had been a landslip, and he could not get any specimens like the former ones, and that the weather mi so bad that he could not do anything, and thought it best to come back. Friday, Sept. 24.—Had another conver-. sation with Captain M'Donnell about going to the ranges, but he said it was not safe on account of Te Kooti being so close, and that the weather was also unfavorable, 1 asked him when he would be likely to start. He said it might be a week .or it might be two or three months, for that ha should like to see what was going to be done with Te Kooti. Seeing that tun was the state of affairs, and that he evidently bad a great reluctance to showipa anything, or to do anything him elf, I spoke to him of returning, and bo said there were some natives going across the plains to the edge of the bush to ait Kemp, and that I might go down. M accordingly got me a horse from Wirihana, and 1 kit Taupo on Saturday, Sept. 25, at 9 a.m., and arrived in Wanganui at 4 p.*] on Wednesday, Sept. 29.

The Kepent Deseetl-ns from thb 18tu Eegt.—The Wauganui limes mentioning that about 50 of the 18th BoF Irish have deserted in Auckland, and 1* or 14 in Wanganui, lured by the attractions of the gold-fields, seems to think i| quite a matter of course in consequence o? the " monotonous barrack life the men art, compelled to lead ;" and so lar irom bla»| ing them for committing the highest vow taiy crime, thinks they ought to be exj cused, and arrangements made lor alio""! ing those who are tired of soldiering to "I discharged. "ibis," says the hvaumQ Post, " certainly )S a novel idea, but on 1 which is not iikely to find much iavor«j the tfpi'se Guards,"

Ceuelty to a Boy.—The Auckland Evening News, of the 13th inst., says : M the Police Court to-day, Captain M'Kellar, of the Midas, was fined £5 and .costs for an a?sault upon the cabin boy. This should be a lesson to all captains (who are armed on board with a sort of power which it is feavful to contemplate in one having a tyrannical disposition, and inclined to resort to "handspike law.") Boys are troublesome enough, anybody knows who has occasion to employ them, and there is much excuse for their employers losing temper, and administering a few blows now and then ; but how any one in the position of master of a ship could knock down, kick and beat a poor tin protected orphan lad as this captain is sworn ,to have knocked down, kicked and beaten (this one, i\ is hard to conceive.

Singular Occttbrence in Wellington Harbor. — lbe Evening Post, 19th Oct., eays that a rather singular tidal pheno menon whs observed this morning in the harbor. The usually placid waters of the bay were traversed by currents running in different directions with considerable velocity, but all having a set from the shore, The effect on the vessels at anchor, there being no wind, was somewhat singular, causing them to ride " heads and points " i:i all directions. The Airedale, which came up to the wharf unconscious of tintidal influence, was sold, being swung off' quite unexpectedly nnd forced to do a considerable amount of extra warping bfore she got her berth. Some people,. wlit) profess to understand such matters! account for the occurrence by the fact tha* the continual gale blowing in at the lieadr baa packed an unusual quantity of wates into the bay, which now that the gale hal abated, is running out to find its usui level.

The Militia in the Wellington District have been released from actual service.

Earth quake. —A Dunedin telegram in the Evening t'ost, dated Oct. 19, says: — " A slock of earthquake was yesterday experienced in different parts of the Province, particularly at Q.ueenstovvn." 0. Lemon Esq , tiie general manager of the New Zjalai.d telegraph department, js at present on a visit to Auckland and the Thames, doubtless with a view of fur thering the scheme for opening the line of communication between the two places.

Accident.—We learn from the Canterbury Press, October 14, that " an accident occurred on the Lath on board the Canter bury schooner, while she was lying at the wliart, Lyttelton. Captain Bowton, l>! showing a small revolver, which he wa*unaware was loaded, snapped off some ot the barrels, one of which went off, and lodged a ball deeply in the fleshy part pa t of Captain Anderson's arm, who was sitting near at the time. He was promptly attended to by Drs. Campbell and Motley. The ball was not extracted. Captair Anderson has gone to the Chriotchurcb hospital." Court of Appeal—The following is the Evening Post, 18th October: -"Sit tings of the Court, of Appeal were held to-day, before the following Judges : His Honor Sir Gr. A. Arr.ey (chief Justice), their Honors Mr Justice Juhnson, Mr Justice Gresson, and Mr Justice Ward In addiuuii to the Attorney-General and Mr Travers the bar whs represented b) Messrs Gorrk-k from Ciiristehurch, Smith and Maccassey from Dunedin, and Wilson from iNapier. The following motions were disposed ot: —In re Thomas Smith— Rule nisi obtained last Travers for leave to appeal against an order in bankruptcy made by Mr Justice Johnson at Napier. To-day the Attorney-Greneral showed cause against the rule, which was discharged, with costs, the Court being unanimous that tlie necessary course for appeal had not been jfcaken within tho 21 davs prescribed by the statute. In re Rhodes and another, ex parte Messrs Tracers and Grarrick appeared in this case. This was an application by Mr Travers to enlarge the rule nisi, on the ground that in consequence ot tiie stress of weather, he (Mr Travers) had not as yet received notice whether service of the rule had been effected or not. .Rule enlarged."

Kegina v. Henningham.—The rule in this case for alleged contempt of court by ihe defendant publishing a certain article in his newspaper The Echo, commenting on the libel case, Driver v. Henningham, concerning the Treweek letter, was discharged by his Honor Mr Justice Ward on Thursday' last, costs to Mr Driver being refused.—Waikouaiti Herald, Oct. 6.

The New South Wale* Government in tend introducing an income tax. One of the most sensational exhibitions yet introduced to the Melbourne public is a " Eire Xing," who is on his way to the colony, and who is to appear at the Polytechnic Institute. It is stated the man walks wich bis naked feet upon red hot bars of iron, drinks oil at boiling point, and with his teeth bites pieces of iron at white heat.—Australasian. A man named Wittaker (says the Darling Downs Gazette), who was sentenced to eix months' imprisonment in Toowoomba Gaol for uttering a valueless cheque at Warwick, has just received infoimation "from home" that a legacy of £22,000 "was bequeathed to him by an affectionate relative recently deceased, and that a return to the '* scenes of his childhood " is urgently required. "

Scribe, the French poet, hired a house in the couutry to pass the summer. As soon as he was fairly installed in it, he went in search of a farmer had a milch cow. Having found one, he stated his want—" My good man, my servant will come every morning to buy a pint of milk." " Very well; it is eight sous." " But I want pure milk, *«y pure." "In that case, it is ten sous." " You y& Jailk it in the presence of my servant." "0, teen it will be fifteen sous."