Correspondence.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 15, 15 April 1867, Page 88

Correspondence.

*** We do not hold ourselves responsible for th# opinions expressed by correspondents. *+* TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. Sir, —I wish to ask, through the medium of your valuable journal, if there is nothing likely to be done by the men of the Napier Rifle Volunteers towards fencing in the grave of their late gallant comrade, Henry Morrison ? or towards erecting a head-stone, so that strangers to the Cemetery may tind the spot where sleeps one who was once an honorable member of our small community ? In the case of poor Young, of No. 4 Company of Militia, I believe something has been done ; and it is my opinion that the best thing we can do is to follow their example. I am, §~c., One who was at Oicartjnui. Napier, April 12,. 1867.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. SIR, —I have recently observed, both in your valuable journal and in the columns of your local contemporary, considerable discussion concerning the necessity of procuring a safe life boat for the Port of Hawke’s Rag, and I also observe that there is some difference of opinion on the question of what qualities are essentially required to constitute the safety principle of such boat. From the evidence of Captain Gellem, our resident pilot, as given on the occasion of the inquest held recently on the body of one of the crew of the illfated cutter Duncan Cameron, it would appear that he considers it necessary that such boat should be both self -pumping and self-righting. Other competent authorities, do not insist on this so strongly, but hold that if a boat be self-discharging that that is sufficient. Sir, when we come to consider the many difficulties, nay, I may say, the almost utter impossibility of constructing a self-righting boat, we shall be inclined to confine our efforts, for the present, at least, to the securing one with good self-discharging properties.

From the time that the inventor, Mr. Whitehead, of Shields, first directed his attention to the construction of a boat that could not be capsized, until now it has been the aim cf many to perfect that idea, or failing that, to construct one that shall be capable of righting itself, but I believe with but very limited success. In fact-, Sir in the event of a crew of (say) twenty men, hanging on to an overset boat, little or nothing short of a hanging keel weighing two tons could effect it, an evident impossibility as regards any shore boat. Machinery might, perhaps, be contrived to effect it, but it would be so complicated, and liable to get out of order, as to be of no practical utility. We come, then, back again to the self-discharging principles, and of these, one of the most simpleif not the simplest of all, is exemplified in the model constructed by the late H. Morrison, of this town, mhich was shown at the late Otago Exhibition, and is now in the possession of Captain Gellem , the Hawke’s Ray pilot. It is evidently self-discharging, and, as nearly as it is at present possible to attain to it, self-righting too. Could we do better, then , than to procure a boat built on '■he principles of that model ? I think not, and believe that you, and those most interested in the matter, will agree with me.

There is another point on which I would trouble ■/on before I have done, and that is the rocket line apparatus, which I believe is at present in charge of the pilot. This is amongst the most valuable inventions of the day, and has been the means of saving many valuable lives. I wish to kncno whether it has yet been in use or not, and whether the pilot does not give his men some occasional practice with it, if not, Sir, it appears to me that in case of need it will be found to be of little use The rocket apparatus can no more be successfully used without practice than can a rife, and it would be equally absurd in cither case to expect sled, without practice. I think it should be stationed close by the flag pole, and a person placed in charge of it who, by occasional practice, would become proficient in its use. It is well known that many vessels have gone on the Raugatira lank which a line might have saved, had there been the means of getting one on board. Yet this is a mos simple thing to accomplish, by any one possessing ike necessary experience in rocket firing. Trusting that some more able pen will take the above important subjects up. • .:' I dm, Sir, . ■ ; .. . Yours, pc., , "; Lin Boat. Napier, j / : ■{ ■' IQih April, 1867,;.'• - ■ -

Pukaha Block. — land sale takes place to-morrow (Tuesday) at noon, in the Crown Lands Office, when some 40 Sections in tbe Pukaha Block, adjoining the Township of Havelock will be offered to public competition.

Kopu. —We sincerely regret to learn of the demise of this well-known Maori chief at To Wairoa; on Wednesday last, April 10. Kopuwas, at the time of his death, and bad ..been fora length of time pre-viously,-a good friend to the European population, and his example no doubt was the means of keeping within the bounds of peace a large number of tbe Native population. The actual services rendered by Kopu in the field have been considerable—the last of which will not soon be forgotten by the people of Napier. We refer to the spirited engagement at.Omarunui on the 12th of October, 1866, where the departed Kopu and our other faithful ally lhaka Whanga, excelled in personal valor, even if their followers did not do quite so much as they might have been expected. We hope to be placed in possession of some particulars of the last days of Kopu. Coal, as will be seen by advertisement in another eolutnn, may be obtained for 35s per ton from the yards of Mr J. H. Vautier, Eastern Spit.

Flour in Auckland, we observe, is now seeing at £l4 per ton for the best Crown bruud, and £lO per ton for seconds. The price of the 2lb loaf is 4d. The nomination of candidates for the Superintendency of Auckland was fixed for Tuesday (to-morrow), April 16. The Acclimatization Society in Auckland are now offering one shilling per head for every hawk killed within three months.

The 12th and 57th Regiments. —Now that the above regiments are leaving the colony it may be interesting to give a brief account of their services in this island : The 12th Regiment arrived in detachments from Sydney in 1860, and a fencompanies served through the whole of the Waitara campaign, one company being present at the attack on No. 3 redoubt by the rebels, on the morning of the 23rd January, 1861, when Captain Miller was severely wounded. The regiment was kept continually in active employment until the cessation of hostilities in 1862, when they embarked for Auckland, and there, together with the 2nd battalion of the 14th Regiment, were employed in constructing the great South Road. Subsequently they were engaged at Koheroa on the 17th July, 1863, at Rangiriri, where they sustained severe losses, both among officers and men, and in fact throughout the whole of the Waikato campaign. The head quarters of the 57th Regiment (Aibuera Diehards) arrived at Taranaki from Bombay in 1860, under the command of Colonel Warre, C. 8., and were followed shortly by the remainder of the regiment under the late gallant Colonel Hassard. They were engaged throughout the campaign of 1860 and 1861, under Generals Pratt and Cameron, and were present at the battle of Mahoetahi and at theWaitara, suffe: ing considerable loss. This fine regiment has sacrificed many promising soldiers during its term of service in the country, and many gallant officers liavt sold out to settle in this island. The following are tbe names of those killed in action—Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Hassard, Captain Lloyd, and Lieutenant Tragget.—Evening Post. Prairie Grass. —ln forming a pasture of prairie grass the following mode of procedure may prove of interest. At the time of sowing, a portion of tbe paddock received a dressing of Peruvian guano at the rate of two hundredweight per acre. The summer following being dry, the grass made but litte growth. In the autumn th© whole of the pasture was top-dressed with stable dung, at the rate of about 30 loads to the acre. As the month of August set in the grass began to make a fine show, but the part which had received the guano was twice as forward as the rest, and tbe same vigorous growth continued, marking distinctly where' the dressing of guano ceased.

To Ship Fresh Meat Sweet. —The following is an extract from a letter dated, Sydney, March 7th, and published in the Australian:—“Alchemist, here has just found out that he fit a ship with an appa> ratns that will keep in a congealed state 500 carcases of beef, in tanks, these carcases have been: entirely frozen through at starting. I saw experiments yesterday oi a perfectly startling character. Beef killed five months ago was quite good. The discovery is. expected to make a perfect revolution in, thestock market, apd give us all the aid wA sp; sadly-want.”