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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1435, 23 September 1872, Page 2

We take the following from the Taranaki Herald Sept. 7 :—On Wednesday an accident happened to Mr Botham, at Bell Block, by which his life was endangered. It appears that he was engaged in burning some gorse for Mr Hoskin, and whilst attending to his work, was seized with one of the fits to which he is subject, and fell into the fire, where he remained until those who saw the accident had time to run up and drag him out of it. The poor man was severely burnt about his hands and body, and Mr W. F. Hoskin rode into, town feu- medical assistance. Dr St. George proceeded to the spot with all speed, and did what he could to relieve the sufferer. On Thursday Mr Botham was brought into the hospital, where, we believe, he is progressing as favorably as can be expected. The Coromandel Mail says :—We regiet to see the Cross offering a petty and factious opposition to. the new Ministry. Even Mr Vogel, we think, will be s_orry to see his paper employed on such a purpose —yet why, if Mr Stafford should even seek to secure Mr Mackay's. services as Native Minister, need the Cross attempt to raise lions in the path,

Duriug the course of his speech iu. the recent want of confidence debate, Mi* John Williamson, one of the members for Auckland City West, is: reported to have spoken as follows : w There is one tvovd. which I desire to utler with regard to my honorable and esteemed friend who sits at the head of the Government of this country. I& he were, to retire from- public life on those benches, he need not consequently retii e from doing a great public good.There are tens of thousands of people ■ in this country who. are prepared to - make him their premier, in carrying, out a great,, holy, and noble work. They want a leader; and there is no man of mark in the Colony who is more trusted than the honorable gentleman; but while he sits at the head ofany government, the chief revenues of which are paid over by the pale, emaciated hand of the demon of strong drink, I .say that his. usefulness is very much, curtailed. The feeling is abroad, in the- Colony, and it is- growing, that it he come from among the Government,,, and take his place among his fellowcolonists, the end of bis days would; bring hint the consolation of knowing, that he had left the people in the way ot accomplishing a very great and good: woik—a work which ha* yet to bedone in all new Colonies, like this,, calculated, to raise it, in the scale ot social existence, and to bring the blessings of peace and. contentment which: cannot be secured without it. The honorable gentleman- will, I trust,,, pardon me for making these remark*,, but I do think that if he retires fioni those benches, he will not fail in his. duty to. his country, and that he will find n-ork to do which, will be an. honor to himself and a blessing to thecountry."

The New Zealand Herald, Sept. 19* say* : —Mr Thomas Dufty, dairyman, residing at Parawai, died suddenly yesterday morning while delivering milk, to his customers. He was riding along the beach, and when, opposite the end. of Richmond-street, he fell off his horse inio the tide. MJr Dufty has been, subject to epileptic fits, and appears to. have been attacked by one. The circumstances are detailed in the evidence given below. Mr Dufty leaves a wileand four young children to deplore his fate. At an inquest held on the body:— Dr Kilgour deposed : This morning, about twenty minutes to eight, I was,, called, to give my medical assistance deceased. On arriving at the place wheie he lay, I saw that he was already dead, and that little chance existed.ot'; icstoring animation. I made efforts; to do so for ten minutes, but they were,. unavailing My conviction is that the cause of death was suffocation, caused partly by drowning and partly by an, epileptic fit—a malady to. which I know that deceased was liable. The fits from which he was wont to suffei; were of unusual severity.—The wife of deceased and a miner named Cole gave evidence to the effect that deceased was subject to fits, and to the circumstances of the discovery of the body. The jury returned a verdict in accord-, ance with the medical evidence, that deceased died from suffocation in the water while suffering from an epileptic fit.

\V"e (Evening Post), have to. acknow* ledge the receipt of a caricature, entitled. "A Memento of 1872." It; represents the brig Our Hope, Stat-. ford, rnaster, rescuing the ship New Zealand Credit, master, from being lost on the Vogel rocks. A footno ce states that Captain Fox has been deprived of his certificate.

It will be seen (days the Wanganui; Chronicle) that Mr Staffprs, number*, among his. foJlowers nearly every niai}, of attainments outside the. actual lines of the late Cabinet. Tins, is % healthy sign, and ua hope that a time has come in, the affairs o( thk colony wlien the best men ai;e. tp, have the management of its interests.

Referring to the prospects of the Saa Francisco mail line, the News Letter, August 17, has the following:-—The Idaho of the Webb line, arrived from Honolulu yesterday afternoon, severar days overdue. Her passage up occupiw fifteen days. The distance being 2,0 m miles, it will be seen that her average speed was 5| knots per hour. The.t«n ft occupied between Auckland and SaA

Francisco was 34 days, or an average of 7J knots per hour. The steamer Olynipia has now been chartered to make the run to Honolulu. The Alta this morning announces thai she is «< the fastest of the Pacific and the public can now be assured of close connections and good time." Of her speed we know nothing, but we do know that she is a river boat, and was laid up recently for two years. American Lloyd's register shows that she is 492 tons register, and is a wooden sidewheeler. The English mails for New Zealand and Australia arrived in San Francisco on August 11, but will not be dispatched until to-morrow, the 18th. They have thus been detained in San Francisco seven days. The Dakota sailed from New York (at least so says a telegram from Mr Webb) on the 10th of August. It has been announced that she made sixteen knots per hour on the trial trip. The tiuth is she can average nine knots. Her destination is not to be Melbourne as at first intended. She will now come to San Francisco via Cape Horn. In reference to crack in the Nevada's shaft, all the fact's we know are those :—Two voyages ago Captain Blethen sent a letter from Honolulu ini'ornring Mr Webb that flaws of an apparently dangerous nature had been found in the Nevada's shaft, and asking for instructions as to what he .should do under the circumstances when he again returned to Honolulu. What the exact-reply was we know not. But as the Nevada was not relieved, it is fair to assume that no sufficient notice was taken of Blethen's intimation.