Interprobincial Items.

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1527, 21 November 1873, Page 22

Interprobincial Items.

AUCKLAND.

~ The Fish-curing Industry. The New Zealand Herald, 10th November, says : —Our Tauranga correspondent informs us by telegraph that the fishing company recently started in that vicinity has been successful in fish-curing, having produced samples which were bought up speedily in that locality, and another portion forwarded to Auckland by the manager, who, we presume by the telegram, is coming through in order to make arrangements to extend the operations of the company. We referred to the matter of fish-curing as an industry in our leading columns a few days back, and are of course pleased to learn at so early a date of a complete verification of our then expressed opinion as to the capability of our waters to afford permanent and profitable employment to a large number of persons. If at Taurauga lish-curing can be carried on successfully, why not at many places nearer a good market, and at a port where every shipping accommodation is obtainable?

Losses by Fire. The New Zealand Herald says:—The fires which have occurred in Auckland during the last twelve months have destroyed property valued at about £150,000. The insurance companies have had to pay about £70,000, and a large number of business people have suffered severely through the stoppage of their business in consequence of these fires. There are some short-sighted people who look upon losses covered by insurance companies as no loss at all to the general public, but only-to the companies concerned. This is clearly a very great mistake. Insurance companies must charge such a rate for the commodity they deal in—namely, guarantee for payment of a certain sum of money under certain conditions—as experience tells them is necessary to pay the working expenses of the business, the sums required to meet claims for losses, a fair rate of interest on capital invested in such undertakings, and a surplus to be put on one side ready to assist in meeting any very heavy liabilities.

The English Skylarks. The following is from the New Zealand Herald : The attempt to acclimatize the English skylark has been thoroughly successful, and these charming songsters are now quite numerous in the districts around Auckland. Epsom and its neighborhood is a favorite resort of theirs, and numbers of them are there to be seen soaring skyward in the 'early morning, making the atmosphere ring with their enchanting melody. We noticed yesterday morning as many as thirty skylarks in the Mount Albert district, and understand that they are thriving equally well in other parts of the province.

Reported Attempt at Land-jobbing. The Waikato Times says: —" It is rumored, arid we believe there is foundation for it, that a number of land jobbers in Auckland have applied to the Government to have the township of Horotiu put up to auction in one block. We can scarcely believe that any body of men have had the audacity and the dishonesty to make such an application,—but strange things happen in this colony. We may, as a preventive of evil, warn the Government and the speculators interested, that the people of the Waikato have their eyes upon them; and further, that they are determined to oppose every transaction that smells in the slightest degree of land jobbery." The New Zealand Herald expresses doubts as to the correctness of the report.

Accident at Te Puna. The Bay of Islands correspondent of the New Zealand Herald writes '.—■ I hear that two Maoris have been drowned atTe Puna, inside the Ninepin Bocks. It seems that two men and a woman were out fishing, when through some carelessness in the sheet being made fast the boat capsized in a squall, and the two men were drowned. The woman, however, succeeded in clinging to the boat until relief was obtained.

The Projected "Waterworks. The New Zealand Herald of the 18th instant publishes a summary of the steps taken by the Provincial authorities since the year 1857 to establish a system of water supply for the city. In a leading article in the same issue, it justly observes that this summary "would be highly amusing, were it not for the large interests involved, and the heavy losses occasioned by preventible fires since this subject has been under consideration." We find that during that time, besides motions, questions, and Bills in the Provincial Council, no fewer than sixteen separate reports on the subject have been laid before the members. Yet this necessary work appears to bo still in its mere initiatory stage, and yet another report has been called for. The Herald's article concludes in the following terms:—' Up to the present time the Auckland Waterworks—that are to be—will only be known as a standing proof that however the multitude of Councillors may tend to wisdom, they are death to promptitude or decision in action. Better some positive project with any probable imperfections than this continued uncertainty which must be, so longas it lasts, a deadly hindrance to any water supply, and has already produced evils and loss immensely greater than any probable or possible blunders in the scheme itself could have occasioned."

HOKIi'IKA. Amongst the property burnt at the Bank of New Zealand, Hokitika, (says tho Grey Rive? Argus) were a considerable number of valuable specimens, several of them containing large portions of gold, also nuggets and jewellery. In order to recover at least a portion of these valuables, the debris on thp ,site, consisting of charcoal, ashes, &c, has been carted [tq the upper end of the town, and is there being sluiced in the most orthodox manner, through ripple boxes,

POVERTY BAY. By the s.s. Rangatira, we have the Standard of the 15th instant. We extract the single item, of interest which its columns contain : Return of Wi Pere. Wi Pere, who has recently returned from an unprofitable pilgrimage to the Empire City with his friend Henare Matua, has already set to work to sow the seeds of discord among his people. On Thursday he mustered them pretty strong for the purpose of a whai korei'o, the burden of which was a determined opposition to the Land Court. He advised them to "shut up the Court," and have nothing whatever to do with it, as it had been, and would continue to be, the means of alienating their lands. We have no space to note the speech of this firebrand any further than to apprise our readers of the fact. We shall have other opportunities of recurring to it, but if the white settlers are to remain in the Bay, this kind of thing must be put a stop to.

TARANAKI. A Poisonous Shrub,

We quote the following from a recent issue of our Taranaki contemporary the News. The fact of the poisonous nature of the plant in question may be unknown to many of our country readers:—" Most of our readers are acquainted with the rangiora (brachyglottis repanda), a shrub bearing a very large leaf, which is green on its upper surface and white and paperlike beneath. It is frequently called the paper mulberry, but is quite distinct from that tree. Last week, Mr Giddy, of Huirangi, had a cow, which had but recently calved, poisoned by eating of this shrub. Owing to the late stormy weather, the feed in that district has been short; this, probably, induced the animal to browse upon a small shrub which grew near to the owner's cottage. Soon afterwards it fell, foamed at the mouth, drove its horns into the earth, and exhibited the usual symptoms of tutu poisoning. Mr Giddy, on observing the state of the animal, ran for assistance, and the phleme was applied as speedily as possible, but it was too late, the blood scarcely flowed, and the cow died. We have tasted a small portion of the petiole of this shrub, and found it bland and rather pleasant to the taste, but vertigo and constriction of the throat speedily followed. We think that Mr Skey, the Government Analyst, should endeavor to discover the nature of the poisonous principle of this plant." Effects of Lightning.

A pine tree in front of a house in New Plymouth was shattered and set on fire by lighting during a recent thunderstorm.

NELSON. A Goldfields' Poet.

Many of our readers (says the Grahamstown Evening Star), will remember a character known as " Piccolo Charlie." At Butt's corner in the olden time—at the Wharf corner later—and on hoard steamers running between Auckland and the Thames, the shrill strains of Charlie's instrument were heard, and we fancy that many old Thames residents will recognise an old acquaintance in the following sketch from a West Coast paper, in which " Piccolo Charlie " figures in a literary character :—" Charles Evans, popularly known throughout the Grey Valley as " Piccolo Charlie," has written a poem, illustrating the hardships and vicissitudes of " life on the goldfields." The production covers sixteen quarto demy pages of very closely written paper, and displays really wonderful literary ability. Its introductory lines—written evidently before the author's instincts had been blunted and warped by his subsequent life—are full of the tenderest sentiment, expressed in a wealth and beauty of language which offers a strange contrast to " Charlie " as he is now. The poem, which is a sort of narrative of the author's life, commences with a description of a sea voyage from London to Melbourne, which for precision, perspicuity, and passages of thrilling descriptive writing, could be read with interest after the famous production of Falconer. The passages devoted to a description of the early days of Victoria, though in one or two places slightly incorrect in detail, are redolent with humor, and as a specimen of eloquence in Word painting are unique. The succeeding portions of the work are labored and possess little merit from a literary point of view. The whole, however, is well worthy of perusal, as serving to show in the most unmistakeable character " what a man may come to in the colony." The author's intention is to print his work shortly, and with the proceeds of its sale return to England. The history of the author is a remarkable one: —a meritorious scholar of Queen's College, England, he was an early emigrant to Victoria. Possessing all the advantages which wealth, education, refinement, and influence could bestow, he outlived his opportunities, and now offers a portrayal of the incidents of a misdirected life as the ransom of his folly. May he succeed.

CANTERBURY. Harvest Prospects.

The Press reports : the accounts we hear from the country districts, the next harvest will be a most bountiful one. From all quarters we hear of the most promising appearance of the crops, and also of the increased breadth of land under cultivation. "Wheat has been sown most extensively, and as a rule is looking very well, although on some of the heavy land it has suffered from too much wet."

Local Industry. Boot and shoe factories, where machine work is the order of the day, are gradually being established on more or less extensive scales in different parts of Chrjstchurch, and female skile'd hands are in great requisition, and are obtaining very excellent wages.

OTAGO. Advice to Volunteers,

~.,Colonel Cargill, on the occasion of a general parade of Dunedin Volunteers, on the 7th instant, gave some good advice, which is applicable to other Volunteers than those in Dunedin. He said :—" I wish to say a few words to you on the commencement of the spring drills, which will now go on regularly. lam particularly anxious to point out to you the necessity of making a good appearance at our inspection in midsummer. The present Commander-in-Chief is an old soldier, brought up in the strictest school of the Guards, and has seen much service. He has also commanded the militia and volunteers in his own country, and is thoroughly well up in all militia and volunteer matters. If there is a loose joint in your armour he is sure to detect it. You will therefore sec the necessity of giving the greatest attention to drill and of approaching it as business men. I would wish particularly to remark upon the non-attendance of members—a practice which has caused some of the companies to he very weak on battalion parade. This is a practice which altogether stands in the way of having a good battalion drill. It is very unfair to the officers, and unjust to the other members present. Another matter to which I must refer, is the placing in the ranks men who should be at recruit drill. I noticed last year in the course of our drill, that companies were kept back by having men in their ranks who wero ignorant of their drill. It is no disgrace to a man who is ignorant of his drill to join ; because, by recourse to extra drill, he may soon become proficient; but it is a disgrace for a non-qualified man to fall in with his company and, by his ignorance, keep back the other members. There will be plenty of opportunities whereby a man may, by attending extra drills, get up to the standard of his company. I trust that we will all apply ourselves zealously together to advance our knowledge of drill, as we are now only on its threshold. We should not be content, at the end of the season, to stand where we stood last year, but raiher to advance considerably in knowledge and experience." A New Paper. Tbe prospectus of a new paper in tho Riverton district, Southland, to be called the Western Star, has been issued. An Eye-Complaint. The Wakatipu Mail says:—An eye complaint is becoming prevalent. It extends throughout the Southern Island, but we observe no notice made 'of it in the North. Exposure to the weather appears to be one of the influences, but it is said to resemble somewhat the "blight" of. Australia in a modified form. The worst part of the case is, that it causes a film to grow on the eye, unless early checked, upon which color-blindness ensues. Commercial travellers complain this season very much about their eyes. Cannot medical gentlemen assist in an examination as to its causes? It would be at least humane to do so.

Acclimatization. The mate of the barque Harriet Arrnitage, which has arrived at Dunedin, had on board that vessel, when she left Hong Kong, two hundred canaries and twentylarks. All of the larks and about fifty of the canaries died during the last month of the voyage. The Riverton Rabbits. At a meeting in reference to the rabbit nuisance in Riverton lately, a Mr Menzies related the following curious circumstance:—" He saw upon the sandhills, some miles from Riverton, a party of dogs, which he knew to be Riverton jdogs, that were rabbit-hunting on their own account. There was a terrier in the pack, and he was working the rabbits out of the holes while the other dogs were waiting to run them down."