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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 18, Issue 1141, 9 October 1871, Page 2

Intelligence reached Napier thin morning that the ketch Midlothian, from this port to Wairoa, had got on shore at the latter place on Friday last, and sustained serious damage. We are informed that it is not expected that the vessel will be got off. We also hear that: the schooner Hero got ashore in crossing the bar, but was got off again without damage.

Three steamers from the North are now due at thi;-j port, none of which, however, need be looked for whilst the prevailing southerly weather continues. In the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, a drunkaid was fined the usual sum. An assault of an unusually grave character was committed on Friday evening in Shakspeare-road, upon a man named Joseph Cawley, lately employed on the Taupo line, He is still lying speechless from the injuries sustained, and we believe that a sum of money, which was on his person at the time of the assault is missing. The matter has been taken up by the police, and will probably come before the Resident Magistrate at an early date. A very painful accident oreurred yesterday morning to Mr Francis Malcolm, the engineer of the steam launch Una. A punt %o be moved from one of the whai ves to make room for a steamer that was expected, and an anchor was being lifted by means of the crane from the punt, previous to its removal. Mr Malcolm, w}io was assists ing, got his left hand between the cogwheels, and had three of his fingers badly crushed. The third finger was so seriously injured that it had to be amputated* at the second joint, and it is to be feared that it will be impossible to sav e the two end joints of the middle finder. The latest novelty in the postal department i« an alteration in the color of the stamps: most commonly in use. The penny stamp has been altered from red to brown, the twopenny from blue to red, and the sixpenny from brown to blue. The brown of the new penny stamp is not a full rich tint like the late sixpenny, but presents, when conir pared with it, a very shabby and faded appearance. We fail to see the object of this change • the old colors have been in use for years, and have been quite satisfactory. Some time since the fouiv penny and penny stamps were so nearly the same color as scarcely to be guished from each other, and we have heard of a newspaper proprietor who* in the hurry of making up the parcels for an outgoing mail, sent away a large ntimber ot papers stamped, by with fourpenny stamps The alteration of the fourpenny stamp to a plainly dis-r guishable color was, therefore, a step & the right direction ; but the change justintroduced is one which will for some time to come be productive, only of delay and confusion.