Interprovincial Items.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 15, Issue 765, 28 February 1870, Page 2

Interprovincial Items.

OUR AUCKLAND LETTER. ["fkom: our own correspondent ] February 9,1870. The Flying Squadron moored in our harbor has rather improved its appearance the lust few days. Many of our citizens have taken the opportunity now offered of inspecting a British ship of war, the public being admitted daily to one or other of them. The boats of the Squadron appear to be pretty fully engaged, almost daily, either at naval practice or shipping stores for their respective ships. Balls to the officers have no doubt yielded mutual pleasure to both the parties interested, the daughters of Auckland and her Majesty's officers. Governor Bovven and his lady are here, so that the Queen's diplomatic representative is t able to practice hospitality and shew 4 courtesy to her warlike ditto. Messrs. Vogel and M'Lean are here, and the colonial forces under their control have been lately engaged in a chase after Te Kooti's gang —the success being hitherto nearly all on the wrong side. Our forces go to catch Te Kooti, but Te Kooti's forces catch one or more of our men, and then make themselves scarce. There is an opinion growing that uuder present management and existing system of operations the colony will be ruined, "beggared," before Te Kooti is settled, unless an accidental and providential shot intervenes. The plot is thickening: at Ohinemuri the old women, headed by Te Hira's sister, have driven off some surveyor's men who wanted to lay out a township on land held under Crown grant. I have on former occasions alluded to the folly, the utter absurdity, of issuing titles to land in places where the Government has no power to protect, and is quite unable to enforce its own rules; and this is but another example of the same. A title issued under the authority of the Government of the colony ought to carry with it the certainty of being supported by all legal means ; but it would be madness to assume that the colony is bound to semi an armed force into a native district on every occasion when the lords of the soil and the Pakeha intruder differ in opinion. Individual interests ask for Government titles in such cases; the public interest, if duly considered, would refuse them. Our " rich gold-field " is in an extraordinary state, with its hundreds, perhaps thousands, of unemployed, it is to be feared in many cases destitute men, and its bubble companies with millions of fictitious capital. I have often informed your readers that, notwithstanding all the glowing accounts published in the Shortland and Auckland press, very few of the mines were really paying. That is now an admitted fact in private, if not exactly openly stated in the papers. The export for 1869 was much less than I had anticipated (and my estimate was much below that of the Auckland press). This is partly accounted for in the leasing regulations, under which a very large area of land was locked up unworked; but perhaps the real explanation may be given in a small compass — i.e., the famous Shotover claim, which was once the mainstay of the field, has latterly not contributed a very large amount of gold to swell the export returns. Instead of pro- 4 ducing an average of 6,000 ounces monthly, as at one time it promised and exceeded, I believe its yield for 1869 did not average 1,400 ounces monthly. The Long Drive and Golden Crown have contributed the bulk of the export lately. I regret that I cannot give the exact figures; but having been misled on several occasions by the accounts published in the Auckland press, even accounts apparently genuine and semi-official, it is necessary to be cautious in repeating what may prove to be grossly exaggerated and unreliable statements. Take the past month, January; the gold export, as taken from the three morning papers, differs siderably—no two agree. "When doctors differ who shall decide ? " The differences are not merely trifles, or a figure misprinted or misplaced—although even that in material for staticians would be bad enough,—but such differences as show culpable negligence, or something worse.

While alluding to figures, it may b* observed that during our elections ou< of our leading journals published wba' purported to be the state of the poll ir some of the districts, in which scarcely a single line was correctly added up Even simple addition appeared to b< an art beyond the comprehension oi the press; and the figures given were never corrected, nor any public allu sion made to their incorrectness, as far as lam aware. They were thus consigned to posterity in a state that would be considered discreditable to a schoolboy of eight or nine years oJ age. Our Provincial Council is in session, but beyond the customary waste of time in speechifying, its proceedings have not been very entertaining or very edifying. Some remarkable disclosures in connection with the late administration have been made, but i have not attracted much notice outside, as the press appears inclined to screen Mr Williamson and his adherents as much as possible. I have reason to believe that neither of the five daily papers published here would al low anything to appear likely seriously to affect the ex-Super, and his friends —unless for sufficient consideration. The ex-Super, paid away sums of money to different parties in direct contravention of the spirit, if not the letter, of the constitution, but not a word of comment appears ! To one of his favorites, already fully paid at J£3so a year, he paid another .£SO, which is practically equivalent to presenting him with <£so from the public treasury. And in this particular instance the Government had been distinctly pledged not to add any other appointment to the official in question, whose salary had been voted at the full amount asked by the Superintendent, and, as some of the members of the Provincial Council remarked, not merely at enough, but at more than enough. Notwithstanding all the fuss made about the stringency of our Audit Acts, it appears that a Superin tendent can do nearly what he liket with the publia money, and if he secures the support of all the press, as Mr Williamson did, his conduct will not even be challenged. Alt ough personally quite prepared to hear oi some cases of jobbery, &c, I confess 1 was not prepared to hear, and could hardly believe when I did hear, ol such direct, such flagrant, instances o: misappropriation as have been officially admitted. The present Government appear to be exceedingly careful to put the mildest construction possible on the conduct of their late opponents. Very different indeed was the treatment Mr Williamson's opponents re ceived at his hands when first he attained to power, and again on his return to office in 1867. He took care to publish documents of different kinds on each occasion, which showed, officially, the faults of those who had preceded him ; and a portion of the press eagerly seized the opportunity to publish the facts, and did not forget to comment on them, and that in a style that did nottaste milk-and-watery like. February 11. The squadron left us on the 9th inst., and, according to the press, lost eighty men here, which is rather a large proportion considering how little inducements exist here to tempt the seamen, beyond the ordinary love of change, and the desire to escape from that rigid discipline which is so indispensable in the service, but frequently personally irksome to those under it. The latest poliiical news is that Mr Williamson has been provided for at the public cost; that he is to be Commissioner of Crown Lands, and that two or three of his adherents are to be likewise billetted on the public in the same department. My opinion is, the billets are unnecessary, and can only be considered as conferred from poli tical motives. What is the price of a vote ? Is it surprising that we are overtaxed and misgoverned when these things are done openly and J)ass unre? buked ? Why is not the constitutional practice in vogue here, as formerly in the House of Commons, of making vacancies in the House ? If it were so, and no member could accept any billet, not even a Commissionership, without forfeiting and actually vacating his seat, we should have fewer political placemen to provide for; and, if further, as in the other. colonies, no recipient of public money, except the

lecessary ministry, could lawfully sit md vote in the Hou?e of Representatives, that body would he less servile to the Government of the day, and would look with less favor on extravagance of any kind. At present the advantage of double government appears to be this : the settlers of a Province, after a hard struggle, remove from, power a party who have mismanaged and disgraced it; the General Government steps in and places the defeated party in billets ! Hence we might calculate on having to maintain at the public cost two distinct sets of men—one set in the different offices administering; the other set, consoled by offices of emolument for the loss of those of power. Not the old division of the " ins " and the " out 3," but all " ins." February 15.

The latest news appears to be the escape of Te Kooti and bis band. They appear to have returned, almost without hindrance, to the Uriwera country. Such being the case, it ought to be the signal for a thorough change in the course of action on our part. As long as there was a chance of catching him (which was the case so long as he was in the vicinity of our Waikato frontier) the expense of maintain iug what might well be termed four distinct armies in the field could be defended and justified ; now our only policy seems to be to let him alone provided that he lets us alone. In any- case the colonists cannot be expected to place any confidence in the capacity of our fighting generals, after all the praise lavished on them. They have been tried and proved wanting In any new operations some new men will of necessity have to be tried. We must follow the example of our American cousins, who removed General after General until in Sherman and Grant they found men able to cope with their opponents. Or, to go back to the wars af sixty to eighty years ago, our own country sent, and afterwards superseded, General after General, until men came to the front who understood their profession, and did their work. It is quite a new fashioned idea that is in vogue in New Zealand, that, either in politics or war, there are only two meu, or two sets of men, <>ut of whom to choose our rulers in both politics and war ; that we must necessarily have either Fox and M'Lean, or Stafford and Richmond ; either Lt.Culunel M'Donnell or Col. Whitinore. •Judging by results in either case, the colony might fairly say, " stand aside, let us try somebody else." It is not likely Te Kooti will be again found in the open country for awhile, so our forces ought to be reduced to onefourth of its present number, and its cost more than proportionally reduced. Some extraordinary disclosures have been made in the Provincial Council, in reference to the late Government and its adherents. One case at least ought to come before the Supreme Court. The Auckland press is remarkably quiet about these matters. The youngest of our journals, the Evening Star, appears to be the only one inclined to expose the late Government. The Thames Times records a touching scene, illustrative of the peculiar instincts of our Maori brethren, which was enacted in Pollen-street, Shortlaud, on the sth inst. Trotting along the pathway was a tiny specimen of the rising Maori generation, clothed in a shirt —that, if clean, mii>ht have been detected as of check pattern, —and his head surmounted by one of those funny little straw hats, of the kind known as "yacbters." The article was bran new, and garnished with gorgeous blue ribbon. Following the child's footsteps came a strapping Maori woman, who may have been his mother for aught we know, albeit her actions were scarcely indicative of the relationship. Suddenly the child's head-piece caught her eye, and produced a fascinating effect. She stopped for a moment, gazed, and evidently coveted, for the next instant she rushed forward, seized the little fellow by the arm, and in a twinkling had dispossessed him of the treasure, and replaced.it with a frowsy old hat and veil that had covered her own cranium. The child seemed paralysed by astonishment, but at last gave vent to his feelings in a terrific howl of terror and dismay. Back sprung the woman, uttering an exclamation indicative, it seemed to us, of still greater astonishment, and having frozen the wretched urchin into silence by a long glance of concentrated mesmeric power, she departed on her way rejoicing, the purloined article jauntily stuck on the end of her ,nose, to the fashion introduced by her white sisters.