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Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1623, 27 October 1874, Page 406

A contemporary has the following : One of the best things we hare heard for a long time, comes in an English letter to an old and respected resident of Coromandel, and as it has not been in print wo have much pleasure in making it public: —When Sir Garnet Wolseley was embarking his forces for the Ashantee expedition, a detachment of Royal Artillery was the first to embark. As Jack was handing the luggage up, he called out the address, —" Captain R.A.," " Lieut - R.A." &c, &c. With a comical look he squinted to his mate on deck and said " Shiver my timbers, Bill, if Solomon in all his glory was R.A.'d like these fellows are." Bill exploded, and so have all who heard the joke, which is too good to be lost. The London-Hour says:—."Mr Disraeli's Government have pledged their honor to a policy of foresight, humanity, and justice. The advent of British rule should be a blessing to the Fijian group and to the adjacent archipelagos. The Government are not in this matter pursuing a policy of greedy acquisition ; they are accepting a pressing duty. It is clear, in spite of the insinuations of two or three hon. members, that the native population have made the offer of cession as unanimously and absolutely as possible. It is of no use to say that they only gave their Consent colorably, since it came from the mouth of the chiefs alone. They expressed their wishes in the national fashion, not by a bran-new Napoleonic plebiscite but through their tribal superiors. When we establish the machinery of government in the Fiji Islands we shall receive the hearty co-operation of the respectable merchants and planters. The disreputable minority, composed of sharpers and adventurers who have thought fit to retire from New South Wales, can be easily coped with. They will probably find less play for their energies in a Crown colony than in Mr Thurston's "Constitutional" Government, or the legal regime of Mr St. Julian, " C.J. and Chancellor of Fiji." The alleged debt of £87,000, out of which £36,000 is tiaid to be due at this moment, must be sharply scrutinized. That part of it which is genuine should be chiefly paid as the Comrnissionersrecommendedjby the Fijian whites, for whose benefit it was contracted, A small tax laid upon the natives would also help to reduce the debt. We can well believe that the trading community at Sydney, who will be infinite gainers by tue cession of Fiji to the Imperial Crown, will liberally subscribe their share. The crux of the land tenure will, moreover, have to be solved with skill and patience. Accurate surveys must be made, both hydrographic and cadastral; the area of the Crown lands, said to amount to 450,000 acres, must be carefully ascertained; and last, but not least, there must be no pretended sales from private native vendors. This was the root of all our agrarian troubles in New Zealand, Land must only be conveyed by the chiefs or tribal heads acting in the name and with the active consent of their fellow-tribesmen. It is certain that in annexing the Fijian Islands our Government are entering upon a political mission most creditable to themselves and beneficial to humanity." The Pall Mall Gazette says :—" Every* body will be interested to hear that the sea serpent has not only been seen, but actually killed, m the Republican River near Sandia, in Kansas, United States. Full particulars of the death of this formidable creature are given in a letter from a correspondent of the Atchison Champion, written from Belleville, Kansas. The serpent, it seems, was first seen by the hall-keeper on a bridge floating like «a huge black log' on the water. Its head when lifted above the surface disclosed a glittering row of teeth that sent a thrill through the nerves of a large crowd on the bridge which assembled on hearing of the unusual spectacle. Both banks of the river were speedily thronged by an excited multitude, armed with guns, clubs, and stones, bent on the destruction of the monster. Several shots were fired at him, some bf which hit him, and made him excessively irritable in temper, for he began to lash the water furiously with his enormous tail, and to emit from his throat, as he reared his head, a pro* longed hiss of fury, resembling the sound of a steam whistle. The serpent would probably have escaped, but for the happy thought of a Mr A. Smith, who arrived hastily on the scene with a fire-extin-guisher primed with sulphuric acid and other chemicals. This machine was aimed at the open jaws of the monster by Mr Burchfield (Mr Smith's assistant), and a tremendous dose of the mixture was discharged (squarely) into his throat. The effect was instantaneous. The serpent bounded from the water, and, after performing 'a double flying trapeze' in the air, plunged madly to the bottom of the river. He performed this feat several times, and, finally making 'a straight shoot up-stream,' disappeared from the sight of the awe-stricken beholders. It was thought that the creature had taken its departure for ever, but a few days later its carcase came slowly floating down stream, and it was dragged upon the shore, where it became an object of curiosity to thousands. It was perforated by no fewer than 19 rifle and duck shots, but there is no doubt that the cause of its death was the dose from the fire extinguisher. The serpent measures 26ft. 3in. from nose to tail. Its greatest circumference is 21in., its head 3ffc, long, and its jaws have a double row of fangs. 36 in all. Its body, which is pf a dirty brown color, is covered with scales, and its tail flattened out like that of a beaver. Snch was the sad end of an old and respected friend, who will be much missed when Parliament has been prorogued."