INTEB-PBOVIJNTCIAL ITEMS.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 732, 4 November 1869, Page 3

INTEB-PBOVIJNTCIAL ITEMS.

The sixteenth half-yearly meeting of the proprietors of the Bank of New Zealand was held at the Banking-ho use, Q.ueen-st., Auckland, on the 27th October, —Thomas Russell, Esq., chairman of the board of directors presiding. A dividend of 10 per cent, was declared, and a bonus of 5s per share, equal to 5 percent.additional. This is a dividend of 15 per cent. Notwithstanding the depressed state of many parts fif the colony, the operations of the Bank for the half year have been attended by a very satisfactory result, the profits, after deducting very large sums for buildings, &c, being £33,725 17s 2d. •The Alexandra correspondent of the Daily Southern Cross, writes as follows under date 26th October :-" Twenty-five Ngapuhi natives arrived here on Sunday Ja9t, en route to Tokangarautu ; they have been long expected. There is no chief of any importance amongst them, with the exception of old Tawhitu. They are going up to receive the thanks and some presents from the King party, for the assistance rendered to the Maori prisoners .on their escape from the Kawau. I was not a little surprised to find that they had adopted the Hauhau religion, praying es pecially for Tawhiao and To Ao. Te Kooti is now at Wamranui. The natives ■inform me that in the last engagement with M'Donnell he lost two finger?, and was slut in the shoulder and chest ; the bullets not yet extracted. Maunga (Rewi) wrote to him tolling him to cease fighting. Kooti's answer came last week, saying he had not donoyet, and for Maunga to stand out of his way, as he intended to fight next in Waikato. I have just heard that Kereopa and Hakaraia have gone to join Kooti. Twenty of the King natives from Tokangainutu started three days since to join our forces against him." Under the heading " Latest from Ohinemuri," Ave find the following in the Thame? Times: — U A gentleman returned from a visit to Ohinemuri last night, and he informs us that the natives have some speci mens of auriferous quartz in a bottle, some of which are nearly all gold. They gave him one or two pieces of stone, which are thickly impregnated with gold ; and there dofs not appear to be the slighest doubt but this rich stone was obtained in the district From the letter of To Hira, published below, it will bo seen that the diffi jculty in the way ofopeningup the country ; is the jealousy of the natives on account of some parties being engaged illegally in prospecting This practice is to be condemned, as it completely neutralises all the efforts of those who are doing their utmost to open up the Ohinemuri country to mining enterprise. The following letter on the 1 subject was received by a gentleman in ' Sbortland from To Hira yesterday : ' 'Oct. -id, 1869 To Mr . Your letter has been received by us, in which you ask about the state of affairs in this place. (Jreat is the confusion of this district on : account of the Europeans going to steal ; gold. This is my word to you —that is, to ! you all: Do you keep back the Europeans that they may not come to my place and ; create trouble; then I wid be clear, and have some consideration for the Europeans who come quietly to this place. Let the >vord I have spoken bo attended to by ' your friends. Let others not come. From ' Te Hiua, and the whole of us at Ohine- ' inuri." '

Two men who wei'e encaged sawing timber on a hillside at the Thames had a very narrow escape a day or two ago. Some goats which were above them detached a piece of rock, which came down the incline at a tremendous rate, and the men had barely time to move aside when the huge mass struck the tree at the very 8) ot where one of the men had stood. The hon. F. D. Bell proposes to address a pubic meeting in Ohristchurch previous to his departure for England. While passing from Wellington to Dunedin, he intimated his desire to meet the people of Canterbury, and explain the acts of the Ministry during the term they have held office. A requisition was at once signed expressing gratification with the purpose, and asking him to name his own time. According to the Bruce Herald, some pure merino ewes, which originally cost £25 each, were ?old at a recent auction sale in the Taieri for 4s each ! A species of black caterpillar is reported to be doing an immense amount of mis chief in the Oamaru district. By the Grr.-y Rner Argus of the 7th October we learn that a fatal accident .occurred in the Brunner Coalmine to a miner named Clarke, on Tuesday night. That afternoon he was in town, and left jo take his nijht shift in the mine. Whil« at work a quantity of coal fell in and burh't him. His fellowrworkmen set to work and dug him out, but when found he was dead—crushed to death. An inquest v,as held by Mr Warden Lowe, at Brunnerton yestcday, when a verdict of " Accidental dea h " was returned. The deceased leaves a wife and five chil Iren.

Some unsophisticated youths havo re cently been working a rice "little game" in Westnort. The local journal of the 21st uit. sa^s: —''Raffles have of lato become bo common in Westport that scarcely a week passes without a horse, a gold nug get, or jewellery of some description being hawked about with a raffle paper attached to it. On Saturday evening there was raf fled a gold nugget of about half-a-pound Weight, which bad this way gone the rounds of the town. One of the onlookers, wlio had risked his twenty shillings with twenty-nine others, on what was, doubtless, considered to be a legitimate lottery, after he himself had thrown, had his supicioas aroused by an uncommon high throw pf the dice, and he thought fit to

challenge the throw by suddenly examining the dice ; when what was the discovery P A false set of dice had been introduced, not bearing the usual numbers of one to six, but bearing only the numbers from three to six ; and on one of the three dice the numbers were all fives and sixes The " little game " was soon nut a stop to and wo understand that most of the moi.ey has been refunded. After such a rascally piece of business the public will, for the:** own safety, .be very guarded about raffle papers and dice. We are glad to learn that the police are determined to sift the matter to its source, and it is, indeed, earnestly to be hoped that the perpetrator of such swindling and robbery will be properly rewarded at the hands of the law."

The Committee of the Canterbury Art Exhibition, says the Lyttelton Times of October 21, held a meeting in the refreshment room of the Government Buildings yesterday at 3 p.m. Present—The Right ttev. the Primate in the chair, Dr Haast, Rev. 0. Eraser, Messrs C. C. Bowen, Fereday, Gilchrist, B. YV. Mountfort, Mundy, R. Wilkin, W. Wilson, J. Ollivier, E. Griffiths, and P. Haumer. The following resolutions were passed: —1. That a sub* committee be appointed to examine into the comparative suitablenessof the Museum and the Town Hall for tho purposes of the Exhibition, the committee to consist of Messrs Bowen, Gilchrist, Ollivier, Mountfort, Dr Haast, and the Secretary, to report at next meeting. 2. That Mr H. J. Tancred be appointed a Vice President. 3. That a communication be made to his Excellency the Governor, requesting the use of his eo operation and contributions. 4 That Mr Bowen be appointed Treasurer, and that the Bank of New Zealand be the bankers of the committee. 5. That the following ••entlemen be added to the committee : —Messrs Wynn Williams, Selby Tancred, Webb,Walton, Donald, Gibson, Mainwaring, John Hall, Cracroft Wilson, J. A. Bird. 6. That a Working Committee be appointed, consisting of Messrs Fereday, Ollivier, Nottidge, Mountfort, Gilchrist, Selby Tancred, Webb, Walton, Bird, Dr Haast, E. Griffiths, Dr Donald, the Treasurer, and Secretary. 9. That it be an instruction given to the working committee to advertise in the local papers at Nelson, Wellington, Du:iedin, Hawke's Bay, and Auckland, inviting contributions, and to appoint provincial members of committee for local purposes. The committee then adjourned till Wednesday next, at 2 p.m.