Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1871.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 18, Issue 1147, 16 October 1871, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1871.

We have to acknowledge the receipt of three batches of Parliamentary Papers. Among others, we notice the sixth Report of the Marine Department, including the year.- 1869-70 ami 1870-

71. The report is very full, ami is illustrated by a chart of the Colony, showing all the wrecks and casualties on the coasts of New Zealand during the past two years, We ha"e also Mr Gisborne's Public Works Statement, delivered Sept. 27—a .document equalling in importance the financial .statement of the Colonial Treasurer; the Memorandum drawn up by the joint Committee on Colonial Industries; the Report of the Proceedings: of the Joint Committee on the New Zealand University ; the third annual Report of the New Zealand Institute ; further papers relative to the construction of railways; furl her papers relating to Mr Vogel's mission to England ; <fee.

Among the Parliamentary Papers to ljand by the Southern mail, is a petition to his Excellency the Governor from 167 settlers in the Waikato district. The petitioners set forth that they have long been subjected to threats of attack from the rebels outside the confiscation line, which have grievously retarded the advancement ot* the country; that this liability to attack arises from the maintenance by the rebels of what they call an auhati line, which they forbid Europeans from crossing, bnt which they cross themselves at pleasure, thus spying the weakness of the settlers, and obtaining information which would be valuable to them in casj of an outbreak, and which it is important that they should not possess. They therefore suggest the ostablish-

rneut by the Government of a similar line, the natives to be prohibited from pro sing under pain of death, and Europeans to be prohibited, under heavy penalties, from trading or otherwise communicating with them.—His Excellency replies that he has read the petition with interest, and has referred it to his responsible advisers, lie pre presumes that the settlers have addressed the Minister for Defence and Native Affairs on the subject.

His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to appoint the following gentlemen Trustees of the Napier Savings Bank : Messrs J. W. Go wing, H. K. Holder, E iCnowles, T. K. Newton, and J. Neal, in place of Messrs S. Begg, Jame-i Wood, J, 0. L. Carter, H. It. Russell, and J. A. Smith, whose resignations have been accepted.

Up to 3.50 p.m. to-day, the telegraph wires between Napier and Waipawa have been down, one of the results, doubtless, of the furious westerly gale* which prevailed last night and to-day. At the time mentioned", communication was again resinned.

Sonic interesting (abler-? connected with the last census of the Colony have just been published. Among>t others, we note that the total number of she«p in the Colonv has increased since 1858 from J,523,324 to 0,700,629. Hawke's Bay stood fourth on the list in 185 S, with 180,320. In 1871 it take* the third place, with 904.410.

Among the Parliamentary papers to hand is the Report of the Flax Commissioners—a foimiduble document of 103 foolscap pages. The total amount of poultry in tho Colony at the time of the last census is returned n< 872,174, to which number Hawke's Bay contributed 36,289.

With reference to the recent fire in the New Zealand Insurance Company's buildings, at Auckland, we observe that hi-i Excellency the O-overijOv oiFers to grant a free pardon to any accomplice in such act, not being a principal offender, who shall give such information as will lead to the apprehension and conviction of the principal offender or offenders, or any of them if more than one. We have received from MrHowaid Spensby, Melbourne, a paper on " The Quage for the Railways of the, Future," by R. F. Fan-lie, read"before the British Association at Liyerbool, Session. 1870.

The Hapier "Rifle Volunteer Band gave one of their popular open air concerts in the Government Lawn on Saturday afternoon, and was largely attended. The programme was played through with great taste. We are informed that Te Kooti, with 150 followers, is reported to be some thirty miles from Tapuaeharuru, making for the JJriwera country, and that an expedition has been sent out to intercept him. It is also reported that Capt. Preece, with a force of friendly native?, has had a skirmish with him. Hugh Carleton, Esq., has been appointed ci member of Civil Service Examination Board. We (Evening Post) learn that Judge Ward has been sent to Westland to enquire into some serious charges which been brought against the conduct of a prominent Government official in Hokitijca. The Evening Post, Oct. 10, says : Our readers will remember that a woman named Mary Maloney was recently convicted of vagrancy, and served a month. After deducting expenses, the police handed her back over .£SO, the balance of money found on her when arrested She was discharged on Saturday, and proceeded by the s.s. Tararua to Port Chalmers to-day. There are, doubtless, lulling passions strong in death, but there are some in life, as instanced by the old lady in question. She had no sooner got on board than she commenced begins* sixpences tor the sake of the Lord to aid a poor lone woman on her travels, but unfortunately for her success, a passenger knew her history, and put an effectual check on her movements in this direction. How she will prosper in her future remains

to lie seen. The woollen factory at Mosgiel, East Taieri, is reported to be now in working order. Tiie first wool was carded on the 21st nit., and the machinery is reported to be working smoothly, and doing its work in first class style.

The Timaru Herald states that of the twenty-five application*; for the headmastership of the Timaru School, tan were from Victoria, one from Auckland, one from Napier, eight from Qtago, and five from Canterbury. The applications were referred to a subcommittee.

The usually quiet tlisti ict of We?c Taievi (Otago), was a short time ago thrown into a state of painful excite ment by the report that Miss Carrie, the teacher, was missing. From the account given in the Daily Tunes, it seems that Miss Cnrrie was to have spent Sunday night at the house of Mr William Snow, Outram. A bed was made up for hoi in the sitting-room, and Mr Snow locked the front door before going to bed. Miss Cnrrie took off her bonnet, jacket, &e, in Mrs Snow's room, and about eleven o'clock Mr and Mrs Snow bade her good night. She then seemed well and in good spirits. On rising the following (Monday) morning, they found that Miss Carrie was miming, and that her bed

had not been occupied. She had evidently gone out by the front door, which was found unlocked, though Mt Snow's brother, who had sat ux) writing till a late hour, had not heard her go out. Foot-prints were traced to a deep part of the liver, and were afterwards found to correspond exactly with a boot belonging to her. Miss Carrie had relative.-; in Dunediu, one of whom, a brother, has been in very feeble health lately, and she was very anxious about him, having been several times heard to say that she had a presentiment that he was dying, and that she had a good mind to start off to town on foot to see him. The river was carefully and unremittingly dragged throughout Monday and next day, but no trace of the body could be found. A party of some twenty of the settlers also -enrolled the ranges, in consequence of a report said to have bean brought by some school children to the effeefcthat they had seen a female, partially dressed, wandering abort there. No trace ot'her, however, Could be found ; and from the fact of her foot-prints being clearly traced to the river bank, and not going away from it again, it is generally believed that it is in that direction that the solution of disappearance must be sought

A toeniendous fire broke out in the Bank of Otago on the 11th instant, by which that building and ten others were totally destroyed. The Evening Post, Oct. 13, says :—. The Attorney-General Act Repeal Bill, which was designed to make the office of Attorney General a political one, came on for the second reading last night, and was after some discussion withdrawn. The general feeling was that it would be an injustice to the gentleman now holding that office, and that the change generally was undesirable.

The death of Mr Shepard, the proprietor of the Wanganui and Taranaki line of coaches, is leported. It appears that he met with an accident from the kick of a horse, from the effects of which he finally succ imbed. The Wellington Independent, referring to hja death, says :—News of this sad result of the accident was received in Wellington yesterday morning by telegraph from Wanganui, and much regret was felt and expressed by the many res!* dents of the city who have, in this province, in other parts of the colony, and in Victoria, been fellow-travellers with Mr Shepard, and had opportunities of judging of his genial, generous disposition. There are nob a few in the colony 2 who will remember Mr Shepard as driver on the BaHarat and Geelong road, in what are known as the early days of Victoria as a gold field, and there are more who had made his acquaintance while acting for Cobb & Go. in Oago, or while driver of thecouch between Christen, urch and Hokitika. In this island, Mr Shepard was the pioneer of coach communication between Wanganui and Taranaki, and it was while in the exercise of his arduous and often dangeroi.s duties on the primitive road between these two places that he met with the accident which resulted in his death. Mr Shepard leaves a widow and three of a family, for whom, it is said, he was so far prudent and fortunate as to have made provision by a life assurance policv some months ago. We have not learned precise particulars as 10 the place to which he was removed after the occurrence of the accident, but it is probable that he will be buried in Wanganui. The Wellington Independent, September 30, says :—The following is a list ot the petitions and number of signatures presented to the House of Representatives in favor of a Permissive Bill. The number of signatures is. fully double that which has ever been attached to any other series of petitions on any one subject in this colony :—? From 1,658 residents of the electoral district of Hokitika, presented by MrWhite; 13 inhabitants of Auckland, by Mr Creighton • 79 settlers at Waia--pu, by Mr Munro; 518 adult males,, Wanganui, by Mr Bryce ; 432 adult females, Wanganui, by Mr Bryce ; Presbytery of Wellington, held at Wanganui, by the Hon. Mr Fox ; 175 residents at the Hutt, by the Hon. Mr Fitzherbert; 302 females, Christchurch, i»y Mr Reeves ; 617 inhabitants, Christchurch and neighborhood, by Mr E. Richardson ; 39 residents, Drury and neighborhood, Mr Clark ; 87 residents Papakura and neighborhood, by MrClark ; 380 residents Wairarapa Valley, by Hon. Mr Fox ; 1,603 residents City of Wellington, by Mr Hunter; 54 persons, Turakina and Rangitikei, by Hon. Mr Fox; 200 residents Hangitikei and Turakina, by Hon Mr Fox; 32 female inhabitants Port Albert, hy Mi Clark ; 62 electors and others, of Port Albert, by Mr Clark; 458 residents, Auckland, by Mr Williamson ; 1,148 male and 776 female residents of Dunedin, by Mr M'Glashaq ; 661, Tai-. eri ? and other places in Otago, by Mr Reid; 31, Vernon, in Hav ke's Hay, hy Mr Oimond; 1, from the Presbytery of Wellington, bv Hon. Mr Fox"; total,. 9,335. A Bill will be introduced by Mr Civighton, on Wednesday next, to. regulate the sale of alcholic liquors* which it was stated in the House by Mr Fox will be an open question with the Ministry, but to which he. will gi\e his cordial support. On the case Regina v. M'Leod beingcalled in the Supreme Court, Dunedin, Mr Macassey stated that the defendant had made an ample apology to Mr Driver by letter, which "had been brought under notice of the Court, Hetheiefore asked his Honor's, leave to

abandon the prosecution, on behalf of Mr Driver. His Honor said that as it was a private prosecution, the leave of the Court was not necessary. Mr Macassey replied that it had been thought necessary to take this course, and to bring under the notice of the Court that, the apology having been made, the prosecutor was willing to withdraw from the position ho had assumed. The letter was as follows : "Henry Driver, Esq , Dunedin Dear Sir, —During the recent contest for the Supeiintendency I published a letter dated 6th December, 1867, and purporting to have, been written by you to Mr John Trewoek, late of the Bellamy Station, near Tuapeka. At the time of the publication of this letter I believed it to have been a genuine letter. From information that has since come to my knowledge, I have now to state that I do not believe that you ever wrote the letter referred to. 1 have therefore to express my sincere sorrow and regiefc for having published it, and beg you to accept this as an apology for my having done so during the heat of an election contest. —I am, &e, A. M'Leod."