The Weekly Times. “Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri." MONDAY, 18th MARCH, 1867.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 11, 18 March 1867, Page 62

The Weekly Times. “ Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri." MONDAY, 18th MARCH, 1867.

DREADFUL STORM HEAVY FLOOD ON THE SPIT—WRECK OE A CUTTER IN THE ROADSTEAD. [From the Hawke’s Bay Times, I4th March.] A. Leading Article, or anything approaching thereto, from our pen on this occasion, is altogether out of the question; for two days past our office has been surrounded by the sea which, rising higher and higher with each. successive tide, has isolated us from the mainland. The rollers from the hay are making a clean breach

V , < over the Spit/-carry mg away fences, timber, &c., atid threaten to destroy some of the buildings; inthe neighborhood. We have, during a residence of. some years in Napier, experienced a few high tides, but never before any thing approaching to those we now have. While we write the whole of the Spit is a watery waste from the midst of which the Custom House, Post-office, merchants’ stores, &c. lift themselves up and appear as though built in- the sea. $ For several days past a great surf has beep rolling into the bay, although the weather we had expe-j enced was anything but rough, buti this was, as it seems, but the precursor of what we were to have, —for on the morning of Tuesday the storm itself reached us and has continued up to this time. . Serious, however, as is! the inconvenience caused by the flooding of the Spit to those who dwell or whose place of business is situated there, we grieve to say that we have something far worse than this to report, being nothing less than the wreck of a small vessel and the loss of some lives.

The little vessel in question was a cutter, a stranger to the port, buti supposed by some to be the Glimpse' or the Duncan Cameron. She arrived in the roadstead on Tuesday morning, before our weather had reached its worst, hut at a time when j it was unsafe to attempt the bar on account of the heavy surf. She was accordingly signalled to “ keep to sea,” which we presume was more than she was able to do. She anchored in the roadstead and bravely weathered the storm all that day and the succeeding night, being exposed to the violence of ‘winds and waves almost if not quite of an unprecedented character, the storm continuing to increase in violence. And many were the anxious eyes, our own amongst the number, cast iu the direction of her locality as soon as daylight , came on Wednesday morning, and many were the ejaculations of thankfulness made on its appearing that she was still afloat, alas, all too soon, for with the rising day advanced the storm until about 8 a.m., when she was seen from the shore to turn over. There were several witnesses of the sad catastrophe, not only from the Spit, but from the Barrack-hill and it was soon made known to the pilot that at least two persons were clinging to the wreck, and great was the excitement in consequence. There is a life-boat belonging to the port and though the state of the sea rendered it a question of great peril to venture out in her, willing hands were not wanting to undertake the sisk, and it would have been ,done but for a signal from the Barrack-hill that the men had been washed away.

The above is all that we have been able to gather concerning this melancholy affair, but we believe that it is substantially correct, and that while we write this a portion of the wreck is floating towards shore, not, however, in the neighborhood of the port, but higher up the . bay, perhaps. some 10 or 12 miles distant;. Of course no hope can be entertained of either or any of the unfortunate men’s reaching the shore. V