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Interprovincial Items.

LATEST FROM THE NORTH. By the arrival of the s.s. Lord Ashley on Saturday afternoon, we have Auckland papers to the 11th inst. We append a few extracts $— A public meeting, at which only about 80 persons were present, was held in the Mechanics' Institute, Auckland, on 10th inst., to consider the Colonial Reciprocity Bill now before Parliament. A series of resolutions were carried affirming the principles of protection. At the Police Court, Auckland, on the Bth inst., H, Hatfield, owner of the ketch Enterprise, was fined £IOO and costs or three months' imprisonment, for failing to pi'ovide lights for the vessel on the night of the 23rd ult. The master of the Enterprise was also fined £lO and costs, or one month's imprisenment, for neglecting to carry lights on the same occasion. Neither fine was paid.—Referring to the above decision, the New Zealand Herald says " it is sad that the innocent should suffer with the guilty. The owner of the ketch Enterprise, who yesterday was committed to prison, has a wife and family, who are utterly unprovided for. Let us not in justice forget pity for the unfortunate." The Evening News observes:—"This is. poor compensation for the loss of life occasioned by the collision with the Tauranga." The Thames Advertiser ia. of opinion that i; an effort ought to be made ati.ong the masters and owners of vessels to obtain a remission of the alternatives of imprisonment, at least in the ca e of the owner, who had so recently come into possession of the boat, and who was not responsible for the control of the vessel so long as he employed a mastei\ The circumstances, connected tU$

accident are truly painful, butwe deprecate the notion of showing such severity towards the unoffending owner. We hear the owner, who is an enterprising young man, is already ruined by the loss of the craft, without suffering three months' incarceration to satisfy the blundering of the Customs Department who are alone responsible for the departure of any vessel without compliance with the regulations they profess to carry into effect. We hope to see the memorial for the rem'ssion of the unjust sentence numerously signed by! the shipping community of the Thames. and Auckland. j The enquiry into the cause of abandon-1 ment of the barque Cantero off Hokiangai has terminated. The following verdict was returned:— " The Court has carefully considered this case, and have come to the opinion that the Cantero was unnecessarily abandoned. As the master has no certificate, the Court cannot deal any further with him." The p,s. Challenger and the revenue cutter Ringleader had returned to Auckland, having made a careful search along '* the coast for tmy trace of the s.s. Tauranga. Portions of the wreck had been seen, but no bodies found. The IN'ew Zealand Herald, August 8, Bays :—We are glad to see that most of the coasters belonging to this port are supplying themsslves with side lights. On Saturday there was quite a run upon the ship-chandlers for red and green lamps. At a public meeting held at the Thames on the 6th mst., the following resolutions were unanimously carried : —" 1. That the miners and others located on the Thames gold-iiold hereby protest against the protective duties contained in the new tariff, inasmuch as they deem them an injustice to everv person not an actual producer of the articles taxed. —2. That this meeting is of opinion that no person supporting a tax on provisions is capable of holding a place in any legislative body in any civilised couu'ry." According to the New Zealand Herald, the yield of gold from the Thames during the month of July has astonished the most sanguine of well-wishers to the field. Up to the very last moment speculation gave 9,500 ounces, yet it is very satisfactory to find that it exceeds this estimate considerably, being no less than 11,850 ounces. Shortly after midnight on the sth inst. the city of Auckland was visited by a most terrific squall of wind and rain. In a very few minutes the lower portions of the streets were converted into lakes,—the rain descending faster than the drains could carry it oil, -and the quiet creeks which flow into Frecmaus' and Mechanics' Bays became roaring torrents. Tarring and feathering is a species of punishment so seldom resorted to amongst [Englishmen that one is almost startled at reading of a case of this kind at the Thames. The Daily Southern Cross correspondent writes to the effect that a man named Gee: Perston, who was the principal witness against one James Wilson, committed for trial on a charge of stealing specimens from the Whau Claim, was, on the 10th inst., seized by some men working in the claim, and submitted to a shower bath of warm tar, some of the fluid stuff getting into his eyes and mouth, and occasioning the poor fellow extreme pain. At latest dates he was in the hospital suffering from the effects o£ the treatment he had received. It is to be hoped the perpetrators of this act of violence will be severely punished. The Tauranga correspondent of the Daily Southern Cross, under date August 4, says —" Tongariro is still active, throwing up lava and smoke within the last few weeks. Volcanoes may be seen protruding from its sides, which, on a fine clear day, renders the sight something magnificent and grand. The natives are very superstitious relative to the recent changes and appearances of this mountain Tongariro. Most of them describe it as a loud and visible lamentation over the chiefs who have recently died or got into trouble, amongst whom is included the late lamented Capt. St. G-eorge, who fell in the engagement at Tokano, and who was greatly endeared to the whole of the tribes surrounding Taupo."

The capital of the Bank of New Zealand has been raised to £L.OOU,OJO; 10,000 shares to the present proprietors at £l3, and the rest gradually within four years.

An extensive robbery of gold and bank notes took place at Cljde, Otago, on the Ist August. The treasure in question bad been deposited with the police for transmission by escort, and placed by them in the lock-up. The thieves must have opened the outer door of the cell in which the money was, with a key, and the inner one by drawing the screws off the padlocked bolt. The empty boxus were found in the afternoon, fifty yards from the police camp. The total value" of the treasure stolen is £13,951. No clue has yet been found to the'discovery of the perpetrators. The following notice from the Provincial Government of Otago appears in the Govern ment Gazette :—" Whereas on the morning of the Ist inst., the Police Station at Clyde, in the Province of Otago, was broken into, and treasure to the amount of £13,981 stolen therefr m, consisting of gold to the value of £7,871, and bank notes to the value of £6,110, the numbers of which are known : It is hereby notified that a reward of £SOO will be paid to any person or person* who shall give sueh information as may lead to the conviction of the offenders and the recovery of the sto len property. It is further notified that his Excellency the Govei nor offers a free pardon in the event of the person giving euch information being an accomplice in the robbery."

The Evening Post, August 3, contains the following:—" General Mete Kingi made a speech in the House last night, in the course of which he regretted that he did not understand English, as he would in that case speak on every subject. It must be a source of heartfelt congratulation, both to the House and the reporters, that he does not understand English. He denied ever assenting to Mr JEt;;ssell's motion that Maories should be allowed to I elect European representatives, and re jferred to Hansard as to whether any record of his having done so was to be found in its pages. Mr Eussell, however, says that Mete distinctly promised to support his proposition in 1868. The hon. member also complained of the insufficiency of Maori representation, and demanded three more Maori members. This is turning the tables with a vengeance. But the cream of the hon. and gallant member's speech was the }.art of it in which he referred to railways, roads, and (magic sound) money from England! He said he had explained the matter to his constituents, and when they heard of the money they jumped in the air and gave threo cheers, professing the utmost anxiety to commence at once—if not making the road, at all events getting the money. Our dusky brethren have keen scent for anticipated plunder." It seems to be generally allowed that Maori representation is a farce, and yet we seem to be in danger of another dose of it, for Mr Haughton has given notice that he will move, "That in the opinion of the House of .Representatives the native rac?should be represented in the Legislative Council." Surely (observes the Evening Post) this motion of the hon, member for Hampden is only intended as a joke, played at the expense of the patricians. We (Waikouaiti Herald) regret to have to record a fatal accident that occurred at Coal Point on Tuesday last (19th), which resulted in the loss of two lives. The particulars of the sad affair we append below : —At 3 p.m. on the 19th July, three men named respectively, John Cook, Erick Wickstram, and William Green (who were employed by Mr David Hutcheson, and were working at his coal pit) went out in a small boat for the purpose of getting some provisions, &c, from the cutter Hope, which was passing from Moeraki put in at the time. When about six or seven hundred yards from the shore, a wave struck the boat and half filled her, and a second wave rapidly followed and capsized her. Cook and Wickstram succeeded in getting hold of the keel of the beat, and would in all probability have reached the shore in safety, but Cook being a good swimmer, he struck out for the shore, assisted by an oar under hi 3 arms. After swimming about two hundred yards, he, either from cramp or exhaustion, sank, and was seen no more. Wickstram clung to the boat until close to a rock, when he also' attempted to swim, and a rope was thrown to him by those on shore. Unluckily, however, he missed it and clung to some kelp, but before assistance could be rendered him, he suddenly disappeared, and was see.n no more. Green, who was no swimmer, when the boat capsized clung to an oar and drifted towards a rock. He would, however, also have sank had it not been for the prompt assistance rendered by Mr Hutcheson and two men named Cmickshank and Smith. The latter heroically swam through the breakers and succeeded in reaching and fastening a rope round the body of the drowning man, by which he was pulled ashore, and was at once carried in a \ery exhausted state to Mr Hutcheson's house, where he was wrapped up in blankets, and the usual remedies were applied successfully, and the sinking energies of nature were rapidly revived. Smith deserves the highest praise for his courageous and intrepid conduct in swimming to Green's rescue. Mr. Hutcheson and Cruickshank also deserve great credit for their prompt measures adopted to render every assistance. The place where the boat capsized is described as a complete bed of broken rock covered with kelp, and from the surf existing caused by the constant breaking of the waves on the rocks, a boat could not live in it. The bouies of the two men have not as yet been found, notwithstanding that constant searching night and day has been instituted since the sad accident. John Cook was a Scotchman by birth, aged about i!8 years. He leaves a wife and young child to mourn his loss. Wickstram is a Swede, and a single man, aged aboufc 21. He is supposed to possess friends in the Province.

The following telegrams from Hokitika appeared in the Evening Post: —"sth August: A large public meeting was held last night at .Kaneiri, s.nd resolutions condemning the capitation scheme as applied to Westland, carried unanimously. 6th August: The County Council was prorogued to day. The Census of the Count j is to be taken on Tuesday. The three thousand pounds bait offered by the Government will not take ; it is too transparent a dodge. A much larger sum will be required to place this part of the Colony on an equal footing with the Provinces."

One of the chief storekeepers at the Chinese Camp at Lawrence (province of Otago) died recently in the hoapitul there, and being generally respected, the funeral was a large one, many of the citizens following the procession. A good many also went to see the Chinese ceremony at a funeral. The Bruce Herald's correspondent describes it as follows:—''Prom the moment that the body left the hospital in the usual vehicle one of the deceased's nearest relatives, who occupied a seat beside the driveri commenced throwing on ihe road small pieces of paper, and continued doing so until arrival at the grave. Most of the Chinamen wore a stripe of white gauze on their hats. Y/keu the.

coffin was placed over the grave, the attendants brought, on a large tray, a roasted pig (might weigh about 80fts), and some boiled pork and fowl, cakes, cigars, and apples. All the white bands which were worn round their hats were gathered together at the foof of the grave, and set fire to ; various curiously painted candles were also lighted. Whilst these were burning, a few of the Chinese standing erect at the foot of the grave placed both palms together, raised their hands aloft, and made three salaams. The apples were handed round, as also the biscuits. They filled with wine and brandy some little cups, and then spilt the whole on the ground. This was done three times, and during all this time brandy, gin, and 'Old Tom' was served round ad libitum. There was a sprinkling of the fair sex in attendance When passing through the gate on their way home, there was a Chinaman standing by, who gave to each one a small packet neatly wrapped up in coarse paper. Upon being opened it was found to contain Is. This was given to all and sundry, young and old, male and female. As is usual when a 'blow out' is expected, there were a few of those who made the most of the occasion, and as there were several parties doling out, they reaped a harvest, for in every part they made their appearance. I am satisfied they would delight in having such a funeral every day."

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HBT18700815.2.7

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 813, 15 August 1870, Page 2

Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,490

Interprovincial Items. Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 813, 15 August 1870, Page 2

Interprovincial Items. Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 16, Issue 813, 15 August 1870, Page 2

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