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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 17, Issue 911, 7 January 1871, Page 2

The Sydney Morning Herald of the 17ih December, conieuds. that no mail service to San Francisco will suit New South Wales, Victoria, or Queensland which makes a detour by way of New Zealaud, or which does not give a fortnightly service alternating with, that via, Suez and Galle. Of the services recently proposed to the New Zealand. Govern* ment by the North Pacific Company, No. 4 is the only route which is likely to find acceptance wiUi ths Australian, colonic.

We (Independent) understand that the man Mulcahy, who, at the last criminal sittings of the Supreme Court, it will be recollected, was in custody on the charge of shooting a man in the Wairarapa, was discharged to comply with a form of the Court, and was immediately rearrested, has been since brought up in the Wairarapa and fully committed for trial, bail being refused, and he is now in Welling ton gaol. It is reported that the wounded man is in a critical state. Under the heading " The Power of the Press/' a late London journal contains the following:—The authorities at the Post Office employ two clerks in their secretary's office whose principal occupation is to examine the daily and weekly journals for allusions' to the management of the department. All such allusions are carefully extracted and sent to the indefatigable secretary. Many useful suggestions have thus been brought under his notice, and the efficiency of the service has thereby been materially increased. An Otago paper contains the following respecting the Martin's Bay settlement: —The settlement consists of seven or eight houses, and there are more going up, including aa hotel by a Mr Allan. All the houses have got nice cultivated gardens around them, the soil is good, and as a passenger says, the climate for the last six months has been all that could be desired. Shortly before the Taiaroa's arrival, four young men, who came out in the Peter Denny, arrived at the settlement by the overland route, and took up 50 acres each. They fell to with a will, built a house, and were busily en gaged in clearing their land when the Talaroa left, and seemed to be perfectly satisfied with their new life. The diggers at Big Bay are reported to be making about 25s to 30s a week, the only drawback to them being that they lose half their time in humping provisions a distance of 25 miles; otherwise, if provieions could be landed in the Bay, double the amounts could be made. The diggers began first from turning over the beach boulders, where payable gold was found; they are now striking inland on the flats towards the terraces. The fur ther they go in better prospects and coarser gold are obtained, and from the information we have received there is every likelihood of something good being struck. Ir. may here be slated that recently a large number of whales have been seen off Big Bay, and that one monster, measuring 110 feet in length, grounded on the beach ; seals are also plentiful in the vicinity, so much so that it would pay a small craft well for their capture.