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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 17, Issue 966, 13 March 1871, Page 2

The European Mail, Dec. 30, says : There has been a good business doing in New Zealand fiax, prices for the finer qualities showing a further rise, while fair to goo 4 fair have fully maintained rheir value. Low sor f s still continue depressed. "The Grumbler" (says an English paper) has had but a short life. Like Brian Born, it was born with teeth, but it failed to bite. After a brilliant existence of three short weeks, it has S'ink into the limbo of all forgotten speculations. But it ought to have succeeded, and, in some hands, would,. The New Zealand Herald, March 7 S . says : —One of the most severe thunderstorms, accompanied by heavy which has taken place in the vicinity of Auckland, since the memorable month of February, 1869, occurred yesterday, about noon. The rain-clouds which had been gathering up for several hours were piled in a solid mass above the city,; and shortly before noon it appeared as though the very flood-gates of heaven had opened; the rain poured down for half-an hour as it seldom pours down, even in Auckland; the lightning flashed and the thunders rolled almost without cessation. As might have been expected, the heavy rain washed down, the debris from the high"ground, and

arried it in masses into Queen-street, , pping Aip the drains in all directions, ml flooding the streets in the space of ve ry few minutes. Lower Queen -treet, especially, was choked with dirt aid flooded with water, and in some dace* the water stretched completely across the street. The gutter* were filled by a rushing torrent, which no sooner reached the lowest level of the ' {,-eet than it helped to swell the already spreading waters, which did consider able damage, forcing its way imo many pilars in Lower Queen street, doing much injury to the goods A portion 0 f the footpath of Mr Graham's, near j|,e Corner of Shortland and Qneen streets, caved into the cellar. Mr P. j\. Philips' cellar was flooded to the depth of two feet, as were also the cellars of LewU Bros. The shop of ftlessrs Ooombes and Johnston, and also banking office* of the Bank of Australasia were flooded. The store of Jfessrs Henderson and Macfarlane suf-

fered very considerably, the tanks above

overflowing, and filling the store with water. Jn the suburb*, a good deal of damage was done to market gardens, young plants and seed* being washed away and rendered entirely useless. Altogether, it is a very long time since such a heavy shower of rain fell in the locality of Auckland.

The Cerberus left Malta on December 10 for Melbourne. A letter ha.* been received from an officer on board, in which, he says:—"Of course the Cerberus is not as comfortable as most vessels, but that we must expect. She rolls easily, sometimes i?t an angle of 37 degrees, but rises again like a duck." —European Mail, Dec. 30. At a full-dress parade of the Chatham division of Royal Marines on December 17, se>eral noncommissioned officers and men were presented with medals jor service in New Zealand.

A Kew York contemporary says the press despatches from Europe to Now York dimng the last four weeks nnm bered about 100,000 words. Here is a man sitting in a darkened loom at Heart's Content. The ocean cable terminates here. A fijie wire attached there*o is made to surround two small ,core;< of soft iron. As the electric wave produced by a few pieces of copper and zinc at Valentia, passes through the wire, these cores become magnetic enough to move the slightest object. A looking-glass, half-an inch in diameter, is fixed on a bar of iron one tenth of an inch square and half-an-inch long On this tiny glass a lamp is made to glare ho that its light is reflected on a tablet on the wall. The language of the cable is denoted by the shifting of this reflected light from side to side. Letter by letter is thus expressed in this fitting idiom in utter silence on the wall. There is no record made by the machine except as the patient watcher calls out to a comrade the translated flashes as ihey come, and which he records- It seems a miracle of patience. There is something of awe creeps over us as we see the evidence of a h.y«ian touch 2,000 miles away swaying that line of light in such a, delicate process as this.

In the skirmish wt Vernon, the other day, a Prussian Officer, Captain Yon Kleist, was killed. He belonged to Breslau. M his pocket, among other papeis, wa;s found a letter from his wife, full of womanly love and tenderness — talking of past happiness, of future hopes, " when this dreadful war is over," of "little Lsa," whose child's hand, guided by the mother, has scrawled at the foot of the letter, u God preserve my dear papa." " Die Kleine lsa" will never eee him more, but his grave has been reveiently marked in 'Vernon churchyard, and she may see ib some day. On December 18 a young woman, said to be from Elgin, was married in Macduff, and, as u«ual in such cases, the newly-married pair went to church together on the following day. During service the young woman was taken ill, and was immediately removed to the vestry, and within a few minutes ex* pired. Heart disease is thought to have been the cause of death

The body of a young lady was washed ashore near the mouth of "WaAerford Harbor on December 10. It was much decomposed, and the remnant of left on it shov/ed that the wearer Jiad

been in a respectable position of life. On the body was found a gold watch, in which was engraved, " Ma>ian Beaumont-, Belfast." On the left hand was a diamond ring, and suspended from the neck a small gold locket, containing the portrait of a young man. As yet nooning has been learned concerning the deceased, nor which affords any clue to the circumstances which have led to her death.