Interprovincial Items.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 812, 11 August 1870, Page 2

Interprovincial Items.

FULL PARTICULARS OF THE FATAL COLLISION BEIWEEN THE Ketch Enterprise and s,s. Tauranga. fNew Zealand Herald, August I.] Lots t g as we have upon the authorities the necessity of the establishment of a Marine Board, and warned the public of the danger attending the existing state ot our shipping regulations, little could we have anticipated the terrible disaster which has at length startled our citizens from their normal state of careless disregard, and brought home the terrible realisation of the worst that neglect and ignorance can effect. The steamer Tauranga had been gone from this port an entire week before we were prepared to relinquish hope, and it was not until alter the arrival of the Samson from the Bay of Islands, without any tidings of Captain Bolger's vessel, that we are at last compelled to admit that no reasonable mind can cherish the faintest, expectation of her safety. On the afternoon of Saturday, the 23rd ultimo, the Tauranga left this port on one of her usual trips to the Bay of Islands, and on Saturday last the Samson returned from the Bay and Whangarei, without bringing any tidings of the missing steamer. We can no longer repress the conviction, which from the first has been continually forcing itself upon our mind, terrible as it ha 3 been, that the ill fated vessel went down, qp tho uighfc of the 33rd. ujtj off fee

Sail Rock, with all hands. Although we published the circumstances of the catastrophe on Monday morning last, and have since remarked upon them, we shall, to show the uttor hopelessness of the case, recapitulate the facts attending the collision as given in the only evidence we are at ail likely to obtain—that of the master of the ketch Enterprise.

On the night in question this man says that the wind was north-west, and his vessel laden wiih coals fron the Bay of Island, and bound for the Frith of Thames, was steering south-east by south. Thus the ketch, with a fresh breeze a little on the starboard quarter, and smooth water, must have been running at the rate of seven or eight knots an hour. When a short distance from the Sail Rock, not far from Wangarei, a masthead light was seen, signifying the approach of a steamer. Upon this the" master of the ketch went behw to make a " flare-up," that is to procure a bright light to show the vessel's whereabouts to the look out on board the steamer In the meantime the helmsman of the ketch saw and reported a red and green light, from which it was evident that the steamer was coming right in the direction of the ketch. The master then came on deck and gave the order to "keep her away"I—that 1 —that is, to starboard the helm. We are not told that the order was obeyed, but are to suppose that it was, and almost immediately afterwards the ketch ran stem on into the port quarter of the steamer, striking her just abreast of the cabin skylight. Now, this fact is clear proof that the ketch was seen by those on board the steamer, and that the latter ported her helm to clear the ketch, and t!iU3 exposed herself in a most vulnerable manner to the whole force of the collision. This is within the comprehension of every mind. When the two lights were see, the steamer must have been coming stem on, and if she had not altered her course would have either run down the ketch, or have gone istern of her. Very properly, however, she ported, and if the ketch's helm had. also been ported, as by the rule of the road followed by all civilised nations, it should have been, and her main-sheet rounded in, there would have been no oollision. Every plank in the ketch was started, and the crew had a narrow escape of their lives, sinoe it seems that the vessel sank in a few minutes. What the effect of the blow must have been upon the fragile, fineweather steamer mav be imagined, when we are told that the ketch was a very strong hard-wood Australian built vessel, deeply laden with coal. The master of the ketch says that he heard a cry on board, as if someone were hurt. Alas !wo can but fear that it was the last despairing cry of a drowning crew. That the steamer sank in a very few minutes after the collision, we have no doubt whatever, and, wo fear, with every soul on board. The wind beinjj north west at the time, there was but little sea under the shelter of the land ; otherwise, not a soul from either vessel would have lived to tell the tale. The steamer's port boat must have been stove in at the time of the collision ; and we can imasine, that iu the.oonfusion, and general rush towards the starboard boat, together with the insane manner in which boats are usually secured, she would probably be swamped. Although we have before stated our firm conviction that all hands must have been lost, yet, as the wind was off the land, and the boat might have been successfully launched, spine survivors—in the event of their being without oars —might have drifted to leeward, and we think that a steamer should be immediately despatched, forlorn as is the hope, to search the shores of the Little Barrier, as both tide and wind would on that fatal night, combine to set a drifting boat in that direction. The number of souls on board, as far as is at present known, js sixteen, of these the bulk were married men with families. At the Bay of Islands are left six widows and twenty orphans. A subscription list was got up at the Bay, during the stay of the Samson, and between £6O and £BO was collected in aid of tiiese distressed families. Auckland will not be behindhand. Subscription lists will probably be opened to-day, at the banks and principal offices, and if we might make a suggestion, we should propose that the proceeds of tho entertainment to-night, at the Mechanics' Institute* should be placed by the committee to the credit of the Tauranga fund, This would be a graceful and charitable act.

The moral of thu painful slory must bo patent to all. Two cause.- have conspired 10 achieve tins sad result —neglect and ignorance. Until a Marine Board is established on the correct system, we run daily and nightly risk of similar accidents. As. long as vessels are permitted to go to sea witnout side lights, and as long as men are allowed to sail as masters who are ignorant of one of the simplest rules for a seaman's guidance, for just ao long must we expect to hear of similar calamities. Lives and property are at the present moment treated, in these respects, as of not the slightest value. The Government expressed an intention of bringing in an At this session, under the approval oltae English Board of Trade. We have looked for \t with anxiety, in no way diminished by tho tragical occurrence of the past week.

In another column will be found particular.-, as far as can bn ascertained, ol tho loss of the Tauranga, steamer. Perhaps no incident has occurred since the massacre at Poverty Bay which has excited more interest in Auckland. The steamer and her crew were so well known, and the catastrophe was so unexpected, that the who|e city was n\oved. l)uring the week, since tk.6 of the QQ\\[*

s ion, the chief topic of conversation in all .circles has been the Tauranga—what has become of her? Until the last •moment hope was sustained that things might not, hare been so very bad ; but the arrival of

the Samson on Saturday has final y extinguished the remaining spark, and nothing more remains but to lament the loss

of the gallant crew, who, with their vessel, have found a wutery grave beneath the blue waves of that sea over which, but such a •short time ago they sailed, little dreaming of the sad fate that awaited them. The Samson was signalled at an early hour on Saturday, and the wharf was crowded with anxious spectators, amongst whom speculation was rife as to the cause of the length of time occupied by her in making the harbor. It was evi-n hoped that the detention might have been caused by her having in tow the disabled vessel. When, at last, she rounded the North Head, and steamed •up the harbour, the excitement became quite painful, and the scene presented, when the Samson came alongside the wharf, was almost indescribable. The

crowd pressed towards the steamer, whilst >jnnxious faces were directed towards her, 'and anxious voices enquired—any news of the Tauranga ? Before the replj could b ■ made, the silent shake of the head, and gesture of hopelessness were quickly in terpreted, and the word was caught up and passed along—she's gone. It was as if a heavy blow had fallen upon the crowd, and not a few tears were visible upon faces unused to weep. Few were there who had not acquaintances or friends amongst the lost ones, and the sudden and terrible shock was not the less felt, because partly

expected. Hope had buoyed up (he most despairing, and it was not until the lasl plank hud thus been rudely removed that the enquirers at once realised the dreadful -disaster. As we have said,seldom, if ever, Jias any one circumstance stirred throughout the soul of Auckland, as the sinking of this well-known steamer with all hands, within a few miles of port. The Tauranga, when she left this port, hud a cargo on board, shipped by variou merchant*, valued at £IOOO, of which £'A2O was in sovereigns. Most people will remember the buil. ing of the lauranga by Mr. Biecol, of the North Shore, uDout three years ago. She has always been regarded as one of the prettiest models ever 'in our waters. Her engines were by Messrs. ¥raserandTinne, and she belonged to the Bay of Plenty Steam Navigation Company, Messrs. Hurst and Co. being agents, and holding a lar»e share in her. jTast March, we are informed that she paid a dividend to her owners of 1> per cent,., and a similar dividend was to have been paid shortly. The vessel was uninsured, but we are informed that Mr. Hurst's interest in her was insured for £IOOO. The nsji'i-td proceeded bv the Samson to the Bar, as soon as the news came tojmnd of the collision, iu the hope of hearing some tidings, and on the voyage up the steamer ran into VVangarei, and stood over towards the Barriers, for the chance of any trace* of the wreck. Nothing, however, wa= seen. It is said that the vessel had a quantity of timber on deck, and it i-J thore fore likely that, before many days elapse, some remains of her cargo may be picked up. We have elsewhere suggested that search should be made, for the -atisfaciion of the public, but it is impossib'e to entertain the slightest hope of any of her crew having survived. An enquiry into th 9 circunibtances of the wreck will be made on Wednesday.

("New Zealand Herald, August 2.1 In our remarks on the Tauranga je.-terday we were far from wishing to imply that the vessel was unfaithfully built, since we are well aware that such was not the case. By "fragile" and "fair-weather" we meant that the vessel was particularly unfitted to off-r resistance to a severe blow,' being planked with kauri, and built expressly with a view to coasting and light passenger trade. We were not wrong when we said Auckland would not be behindhand in taking steps for the relief of the widows and orphans of those who have perished in the ill-fated Tauranga. Subscription lists have been opened, and a number of gentlemen have formed themselves into a committee, for the purpose of collecting subscriptions.

Our suggestions with regard to the concert of t.3t evening were heartily taken up, and the gentlemen of the Mechanics' In fctitute at onee took steps, with the wiilinj.' consent of the Carandini Family, to advertise the proceeds of the evening to be for the benefit of tho sufferers. The City Jlall was crammed to suffocation, evincing the kindly feeling existing in the public mind with regard to the bereaved ones. Search is to be made along the coast, and about the islands in the neighborhood of the scene of the catastrophe in case of any traces existing of the vessel and her crew.

Yesterday morning Messrs Gilles and Wav and Captain Chrjsp waited -upon J)r Pollen, who placed tho sum of £35 at the disposal of a search expedition, and the steamer Challenger was secured from Messrs Holmes Urcthcrs at a nominal figure, for the purpose of carrying out the pfan pf search. Captain phrisp goes in charge, and Mr Eraser, of the firm of Eraser and Tjfpe, is on board, in charge of the engines. Tho Challenger is insured for a very low figure by the several Insurance Companies, a general inclination is exhibited to offer pveiy facility for making the expedition effectual The Customs cruiser Ringleader will leave the Thames to day on the same errand, two men. having gone down last flight to assist ill manning her,

I We hare no expectation of any further results than the picking up of portions of. the deck cargo, or wreck, but there will be. a melancholy satisfaction even in the certainty which may thug,be' obtained of the fate of the vessel aad her crew.

We have secured a complete list, of the pass3ogers and crew of the Tauranga, which we append : E. Y. Bolger, master, single; J". D. Muni'oe, mate, married, 5 children ; Win. Harvood, engineer, married, 1 child ; William Devauey, fireman, married, 2 children ; Charles Jobson, fireman, single ; George Oldham, trimmer, single ; Griffith Pritchard, A. 8., giugle; Charles Law, A. 8., married, 1 child ; W. E. JEUnsome, A. 8., single ; William Forster, A. 8., married, 2 children ; William Hahn, steward, married, 6 children ; William Kell, assistant steward, single; Christopher Reynolds, cook, single; W. W. Clifford, cook's mate, single. Saloon Passengers—Mr Hector; Mr Wall.

Steerage Passengers—Mr Land ; Mr Walters.

Reynolds was supporting his mother, who was entirely dependent upon her son. Kell was a son of Mr David Kell, of Albert-street, and was late in the employ of Mr Goff, Bay of Islands.

We have received the following from "A Lover of Justice" :—" i am sorry that your contemporary [the Southern Cross] should, in his article yesterday respecting the loss of the Tauranga, have deviated from the strict line of truthfulness. I am not one who would defend the conduct of the master of the ketch, who was evidently negligent, but it is not fair to stigmatise his conduct as w<-rse than it really was, still to distort facts for the purpose. Your contemporary says: ' Unfortunately the only account we have of the collision is entirely one-sided, and wis made under circumstances which leave i a strong suspicion as to correctness. No one dreamed that a terrible catastrophe had occurred until Sunday afternoon, the 24th ult., when the cutter Euby arrived in harbor from Little Omaha, having on board ?he owner and crew of the ketch Enterprise. It then leaked out that there had been a colision in which the ketch had foundered, but that those on board of her had succeeded in reaching Little Omaha in their dingy, whence they were brought in as stated above. It was not until Monday that anything like a coherent account of what had happened could be gathered.' Firstly, I would observe that the statement of the master of the ketch seems to bear in it the evidence of truth. If the man had been making a false statement, he would never have besn so foolish as to condemn himself as he has done by stating that he shoved his helm the vtrong w.jy. Secondly, I will assert, and you will bear me out in this, that the news of the colision did not ' leak out,' but that the muster himself gave full informatioi upon his arrival in town on Sunday evening, the 24th ult., and that a perfectly 'coherent' account appeared in your columns or. the Monday morning let your contemporary comment with fairness, as you have done, upon the evidence before him ; buc let him not attempt, by garbling facts, to make th; ketch's crew doubly culpable."

["Thames correspondent New Zealand Herald.] Last evening a very influential meeting of gentlemen took place at the Pacific Hotel, to devise means by which a thorough canvass of this district might be made to collect subscriptions for the widows and orphans of the men lost in the Tauranga. Captain Skene was voted t j the chair, and called upon Mr Corlett, who briefly stated what he had done in connection with Mr Christie (Bank of New Zealand), and Mr Rulleine. It appears that the gentlemen had had subscription lists printed and left at the banks and by this means had raised about £4O. The good work is still going on, and up to this moment there is £SO in hand, and we do not mean to rest satisfied until we send up to your oiiy over £l5O. By the kind permission of Mr Bennett, the theatre will be placed at the disposal of the committee to-morrow night, the Star Company havingcome forward nobly and offered their services.

1 New Zealand Herald, August 4. j If any evidence had been required to •ender the loss of the steamer Tauranga a jertainty abundance has now come to land.

The Samson arrived in harbour, yesterday morning, from Wangarei, and Captain Mundle brought the information that on the beach, near Waiapu, the natives had picked up a poop ladder, hencoop, and other portions of wreck belonging to the Tauranga. Captain Seymour, of the cutter Alarm, which arrived yesterday morning, from Mangawai, informs us that Mr. iOyre, of Pakiri, discovered on the beach, on Monday morning, a whale boat about 16 feet long, painted white, a wire fender painted drab which protected the Tauranga's skylight, and some timber. The body of a small brown terrier was also found near the boat, with marks of injuries and much emaciated. It appeared as if the animal had clung to the boat until she had gone ashore, and then died of inanition. The sc'jooner Jessie, which arrived from Waiapu, brings a black dog, which be longed to a passenger by the Tauranga, and the following letter from Captain McKenzie, of the Kenilworth :

Ou board schooner Kenilworth, off Uream Tail. July 31, 1870, 3 p.m. Captain McKenzie, of the schooner Kenilworth, begs to inform the Herald that he has just picked up, opposite the Sail Rock, two miles off the shore, a Wakpk dog, which swam alongside the

schooaer. One of the erew lias reeegaised the animal as formerly foelongiag to Captain Bolger, of the Tauranga, * The dog will be returned by the Jessie, now in sight. The Custom-house cruiser, Kingleader, ; started yesterday morning, from Coromandel, in search of any remains of the wreck of the Tauranga. Soon after making: the Kawau, the weather became bo thick! and threatening that the Ringleader had to put back to Auckland. She will leave again when the weather moderates.

The following Auckland telegram, dated 6th August, appears in the Evening Post* —The Enterprise enquiry is ended. The Bench found the captain culpable in having no lights, but cannot proceed, he having no certificate. The case will be resumed on new grounds.

The unfortunate Mrs Cantwell, who was fatally injured by igniting her clothes some time back, expired at Charleston on July 23. At an inquest held on the body, the jury returned a verdict, that deceased came by her death by accidental burning. The New Zealand Herald, August 3, says : —The barque Bella Mary, which arrived \\\ harbor yesterday, from Hobart Town, brought over to the care of the Acclimatisation Society two boxes of trout ova, some bronze-winged pigeons, brown quail, and a number of rosella parrots. The salmon ova has been eagerly looked forward to for some time past, and we understand that everything is ready for their reception at the gardens. May they thrive and multiply, so that a dish of salmon will soon be as common a thing in Auckland as it is in England, Ireland, or Scotland!

We take the following from the New Zealand Herald, Aug ust 4: —Avery serious accident took place at an early hour yesterday morning, which resulted in the instant death of a man named M'Ginlay, and the injury of two others named Lupton and Storey. The particulars of the accident, so far as we have been able to learn, are as follows:—A wagon, heavily laden with timber, left Auckland shortly after midnight, in charge of Mr Lupton, of Mount Eden. There were, besides, two men said to be the owneis of the limber, named M'Ginlay and Storey. The desiination of the wagon was Papakura. It was drawn by two horses, and the three men were seated on the top of the timber. Shortly after passing the Harp of Erin Hotel, and when near the 1-mile post, the horses shied at something at the side of the road and the wagon coming into collision with a largo stone, it at once turned com pletely over, the men falling underneath the timber. M'Ginlay was at once killed, being struck by a heavy piece of wood, while the other two men wore so jammed beneath the load that they were unable to extricate themselves. In front of them a short distance another cart was the same way. The driver heard the cries toi- assistance, and at once went, with another man to the overturned cart, and; succeeded in releasing the two men from their uncomfortable position. M'Ginlay was quite dead. They then took Lupton and Storey to Otahuhu, where th y received medical assistance ; and Constable Molloy being commuunicated with, proceeded to the scene of the disaster, and conveyed the dead body to Otahuhu, where it now awaits a coroner's inquest. Wo understand the deceased leaves a wife and family in Auckland. The Coroner was yesterday communicated with, and the inquest has been fixed to be held to day. The Thames correspondent of the Daily Southern Cross writes as follows under date August 2 : —"The dead body of a man, so slightly decomposed as to render it evident that death had only recently smitten him, was found this morning on a point of the beach about half a mile beyond Tararu. A small creek joined the sea close to where the body lay. AMr Donovan found the body, and, having given information to the police, constable Cosgrove was despatched to take charge ol it; and it was removed to the Tararu Hotel, where it was recognised as that of James Steens, a Tararu miner. The cause of his death is yet a profound mystery, as, excepting a slight wound over the eye, there are no wounds or bruises on the body. Some light may be thrown on this a/fair at the inquest, which is to be held to morrow."

The .following account from the Evening News of the sudden death on board the Lalla Hookh, differs in some particulars from the o.ie given in our last issue :—A veiy sudden death took place ou board the Lalla iiookh on Wednesday afternoon, orevious to that vessel leaving Coromandel for the Thames. The Thames Advertiser of yesterday announced the sad catastrophe, and from inquiries this morning we obtained ti;e following particulars : John Menk, a native of Denmark, aged aoout 40, came to this colony some twelve months ago and at once invested iu the mines ; his speculations like those of many others proved abortive; a series of continued disappointments followed his advent to this country, and this together with hardships to which he was unused, at last affected his frame. The heart was the seat of the disorder, yet up to within a short time of his death he was never prevented from doing his business. We learn from Mr Marinad.ke Constable, whose employ he had been iu for some months past, that deceased was of the most exemplary character, and one whom that gentleman placed implicit confidence in. Only yesterday Mr Constable received a letter from deceased iu which he complained that constant disappointment had placed him on a sick bed, and deploring his position in a strange land away from all his relatives and friends. After some days of prostration at CovamandpL, he

determined to proeeed to the Thames Hospital for proper treatment % he was brought- on board the Lalla Rookh with great care, but had hardly reached the deck, when he lay down and expired. The remains were brought on shore, and no doubt an inquest has been held. Deceased's father is living in Denmark, and we un» derstand is engaged in the iron trade on a very large scale. Should there be no funds left belonging to deceased, Mr Constable has arranged to defray all expenses necessary to the proper interment of the body. At the conclusion of the poll at Grahamstown on the 27th, a number of the more enthusiastic of the supporters of Mr Broad! carried him in triumpii upon their shoulders. The Thames Advertiser thus describes what h ippened to Mr Bevcridge;— " A number of men rushed forward 10 pay, the same compliment to Mr Beveridge that had been paid to Mr Broad, Mr Beveridge did not seem, however, to care for the conveyance, and resisted for a time most vigorously. However, it was no use contending with fate. Mr Beve ridge lost his wind, and was dragged over the verandah rail, and borne across the street. The ' chairing' Was a compliment, no doubt, but not a very agreeable one. The street, witli the plashing and constant rain, the vehicle traffic during the day, the trampling of hundreds, was knee-deep with mud, and there are many holes; Mr Beveridge is a heavy weight, and, with the rushing of the crowd to and fro, there seemed a danger that candidate (or rather M.P.C.;, bearers, and all would get a mud bath."

The Canterbury Press, of Friday, says: —"On Wednesday the,skeleton of a Maori was found by a man wnilst digging m a piece of ground near St.. Luke's paronage i The skeleton waa in a sitting posture, mo skull being only six inches below the surface. The remains were carefully collected and handed over to the police." Tne Evening Post, Bth August, says : " A telegram was received to-day by the Inspector of Police from Masterton, stating that Mr. Watson, well known as a« innkeeper at the Tauheru, was drowned in that rivor at 5 o'clock in the afternoon of the 6th. The body had not been found up to yesterday evening."

THE NATIVE OFFICE. [Evening Post. J It appears evident, from the manner in which they have expressed themselves, that both the " House and the country " have made up their minds to accept the financial scheme of the Ministry, more or less modified. How many mill.ons are to be procured is yet to be determined on ; but the principle of borrowing to a large extent is affirmed. We have already expressed our opinion on this subject, and we might further point out that for many years past wo have been living beyond our income, to a great extent on borrowed money, and the means proposed for remedying this state of things is to borrow more largely still —as an honorable member said in the .'louse, " to leave off tippling and take a big drink"—but it would be useless. The prospect of millions to be expended in the country is too tempting a baio not to b>' swallowed, and all that remains is to urge that those millions (if obtained) should be expended judiciously. With the story oi the three million loan still fresh in our memory, it is not wonderful that some anxiety should be displayed as to the dis posal of this new and larger sum, when the same parties who guided the misappropriation of the one anticipate having the handling of the other. So far from having had a beneficial effect, those three millions, expended in Maori bribes, for war purposes, and party jobs, have had a baneful influence on the progress of the Colony, which is now suffering from the re-action consequent upon the cessation of the extravagant expenditure, and the heavy burden it entailed upon us. The Native Office is the great sink into which so much of our money has been thrown, and which still cries out " Give, give ; " in fact, were even the ten millions, originally proposed by Mr. Vogel, to be obtained, that wonderful institution would find capacity for absorbing them all in a brief space of time It may have been necessary in former years, when we almost had to struggle for existence, or at all events, for a place in this island with the Maoris, and when the " Native question" was the most important one with which we" had to deal, that such an institution as the Native Office should be maintained ; but things have changed, the' Maori difficulty has shrunk materially in its proportions, and the Native Office should shrink along with it. If the grand schemes of colonization which the Government have projected are to be carried out, Maori wars and troubles must become things of the past: the Maoris mu3t cease to be a separate class of the community, necessitating a separate machinery of Government ; they must either fall in with the new order of things or disappear. The Native Office is an expensive and useless incumbrance on the Government of the country, and must, in the new era which is now beginning to dawn upon us, be either totally swept away, or reduced to very small and unoolrusive dimensions.

We lak.- the following from the Loudon Spectator, May 14; —A terrible tragedy lias occurred this week in Chelsea. The iiev. J. Ueulin lived in Taulton Square, with no attendant but a housekeer named Ann Gross. Mr. Heulin owned a house in Wellington Square, which needed some repair, and employed a plasterer, named Walter MiUer, to do it. On Wednesday niirbt, Miller went from Mr. Heulin's house to Mr. Piper, u van proprietor in the :neighbourhood, aui asked him. tp remove

a bos: from Paulion Square. Mr. Piper came and began cording the bos, but find' in<> his hand all bloody, suspected some* think wrong, and gave Miller into custody. In the bos was found the body of the o!4 housekeeper. Mr. Heulih has disappeared, but Miller was dressed in clothes identified as his, and it is believed by the police that he murdered the clergyman in the empty house, and made away with the body, perhaps in a box by throwing it down a drain, and'then proceeded to the residence, where he murdered the housekeeper. It i$ supposed that he had a confederate, either a woman or a man dressed in woman's clothes who was present when Piper began cording the box. This person has escaped, but Miller, who either took laudanum on his arrest or acted insensibility, is in custody and will live. The temptation to the murder appears to have been some gold Mr. Heulin had about him, but after its commission his plans seem to have, widened, for some title-deeds of Mr. HeuUVs were found in his room. The same paper of the 21st says;—The double murder at Chelsea proves to have been an ordinary murder, committed for greed, and remark. able only for the accident which led to the criminal's detection. He had killed Mr, Muelin in the empty house, and buried him under some stones in the garden under which he had ordered a labourer to ex* cuvate a drain, lie had then gone to Paulton Square, murdered the housekeeper, and placed the body in a box, wiiich the police saw when they went to inquire about Mr. Huelin, but did not suspect. He had then, as the "nephew" of the murdered man, secured Mr. Huelin'g deeds and papers, and ordered the box to be sent to Pulliam, and but for the accidental discharge of blood from his victim's mouth he would have escaped with his plunder. He had given no cause for suspicion, no one is known in this vast capital, and the police were under the impression that Mr. Huelin had gone to Lincolnshire, An explanation has appeared this week of a phenomenon which has often puzzled us. Every one knows that, like the secondary rainbow which gives a reversed image of the primary, there occurs about this season of the year a phantasmal new potato which in external show mimics the. new potato admirably, except that it is fainter (less yellow) in colour, and quite the reverse in flavor—pasty, with a taste like an exhausted constitution. It seems that this phenomenon is really due to spurious anticipation of nature by reno« vators of.old potatoes, who put them through a process to make them look new, It appears that these manufacturers in Paris pick out carefully the smallest old potatoes that can be obtained, put them into tubs half lull of water, and then churn them with their bare feet —as the grapes used to be pressed in the wine-vats —by stamping on thern till the dark skins are rubbed off, and they have obtained the satin-like surface of new potatoes. They are then dried and wrapped in paper, and sold in small baskets for five francs the basket. The ingenious persons are called rafistoleurs cle pommes de terre, and make no secret of their process, plying it in public by the Seine; and we suppose there are similar persons in London, as the spurious now potato is common enough hero, and curiously nasty —we suppose because by suggesting real new potatoes to the eye, they get themselves tried by a higher ideal of taste than those superannuated roots which do not put forth any false pretences. —Spectator, May 14. The Chief Commissioner of Police is a dreadfully ill-used man. Thieves generally are considerate people, and rob the middle class, who do not matter; but a burglar has appeared in London who only attacks the very rich peopie, whose representations are heard even in the House of Commons, He likes jewels, as at once portable and valuable, and ho has taken those of four or five ladies known in good society. Last week be took those of Lady Margaret Beaumont, value £IO,OOO. He is believed to be an ex acrobat—now perhaps a work» ing jeweller in or about Soho —and his mode of operation seems to be to fix on a aouse, learn all he can about it—say from discharged servants—watch the inmates, and then at night ascend by a rope to the balcony, and thence enter the room where the jewels are kept, force the boxes open with some strong instrument, and decamp as he came. In the latest instance the police seem to have suspected something, for tbey warned the two Kothschild families in the neighbourhood, but not the house attacked. No clue has been obtained by the police, who it is said, are very much Harassed wilh drill, who are underpaid, and too few, and whose chief resides in a remote back settlement named Wandsworth, where Mr. Bruce explains, he has a telegraph iu his room, and whence lie issues severe orders against poor people who, not being members of the Portland, have the audacity to play cards or gkittles for money.—Spectator, May 14. The women seem likely to obtain the most jusb and moderate of all their re» quests. Tho Manved Women's Property Bill, the original Bill, which gives them their own, passed its second reading ou Wednesday, without a division. There may be alterations of detail in Committee, but the principle of the Bill is now safe in the Commons, and the only question Wuat will the Lords ao? They always pass the Bill *br the benefit of their own fauu> lies, signing deeds of settlement j but this Bill will not interfere with their taste fop heiresses. The heiress can give the agreed sum for her coronet, and keep iho j& mainder, just as she does at present. We trust and believe that the Bill, which is a tine evidence of English unselfishness, wjli pass, but if it does not, women have the remedy in their own hands. Let them tlte Peers.—Spectator, %1*