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Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1462, 23 October 1872, Page 2

We quote the following from, the Poverty Bay Standard, October 19 ; Captain Porter returned from Waiapu last night, and reports all quiet. Capt. Porter visited the two belligerent hapus, who had strongly fortified themselves, Paora Heinga in a large pa, Tikapa, on on the south side of Waiapu river, and Wirerau Keiha in two pas on the north sule. Every <igc of friendly welcome was made by both parties, who, after detailing the cause of their quarrel, agreed to have the Waiapu river as a boundary between them, and that neither should molest the other. It being understood that the Government would be communicated with. The primary cause of the quarrel seems to have been of an agrarian character, arising out of the partition of a small block of land, a year or two since, in which the heads' of the contending hapus are interested. It will be satisfactory to know that this disturbance is cntiMy confined to the Natives, and likely soon to subside altogether. The Native* of one hapu offered to surrender tlie.tr arms, but as both did not do so, Capt. Porter, very prudently, declined to accept them.

The other day several young bar barians, of about 12 years of age, were brought before the local Court, Adelaide, chaiged with throwing vitriol over the dresses of some girls in the public street. They had got the liquid at a chemist's and threw it over the girls "just for a lark," subsequently explaining tlmt they used to "do it of a Sunday night" The interesting young scoundrels were perfectly aware of all the consequences and liabilities of their conduct, and told another boy that they "expected to get lagged because a little boy saw them." They had destroyed the dresses of a number of gills in this way, not apparently from any quarrel or grudge, but simply, as (hey said, " for a !a»k.*' The Adelaide magistrales instead of ordering them a sound flogging, merely imposed a fine in one case, and let the others oti with a caution,

An English paper, of date August 17, contains the following:—A new rule in regard to figures in telegraphic messages came into operation on the Ist in«t., to which it- is desirable the attention of the public, and especially of business men, should he directed. The transmission of figures by telegraph has always been a difficulty. Despite the requisition of the postal department that " 3C5 " should be held as written thus—" three hundred and sixty-five," and counted as five words, the public cannot be got to write the figures in words ac length. The new rules are in general such that the sender of a message will gain hy directing his figures to be sent in words. Thus, the word "first," when so written, must, according to the rule that any word in Johnsons Dictionary is to be accepted as one word, be charged single. But it the sender of a telegram writes it " Ist," this is to be counted as two words. Tn the same way " 13th" is to be counted as three, because in that form the telegraph clerks must send it. " one, three, th." But the sender can write thirteenth, and in this way we assume it mu<t pass as one word. In the same spirit the new rule affects fractions, for while " three-fourths," when so written, are unmistakeably chargeable as two words, the regulation counts it as three when written "f," the bar of division in this form requiring a special signal. Again, " 12.35 " (as applied to a train) will be charged five words in that form, but if written "tvvehe thirty-five," only as three. In the form of words the meaning can generally be as accurately conveyeJ, and as there is an actual saving in the adoption of that foim, we have no doubt the new regulations adopted by the Post-office will have the effect of reducing the use of figures and fractions in telegraph messages.

Fiji debentures to the amount; of i'3ooo have been sold in Auckland at £&(). They bear ten per cent, iriteitrt, 3Tul arc current for three years, of which eight months have expired*