AUCKLAND.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 23, 24 June 1867, Page 147

AUCKLAND .

[rJLOK OVV. QVTK COaEE3rONDE»T.] j < • .., . .., , ?., June 12, ,18(57.. - Tike dregs its slovr. length alon g ” here without. bringing irr its train anything of importance. Io fact, .we. have • almost re{named, in .*£»£» quo since my last, with the exception ofthe Visit of the Superintendent to theThamea. His for the purpose of having a korero wit litour dusky Brethren,' wiio, in .their usual' hyperbolical language,' .expressed themselves 1 good .and Krue subjects, solicitedhiin to become' 1 heir father] &e., Sic. After the orations,'there was’a u spread ” to'wliic\i'(a’s say).‘‘ample justice was aone By the nuiherotis ■guests."' Biit the'cream, of - the joke was that in ’the course of'his'afterdinner, speech-Hr .Williamson seized tile opportunity.to descant upou the sumptuous repast of .which lie. had j ust. partaken, -contrasting it with, the poverty i existing it) Auckland. His eloquence ,so fired the heart of. Hu rata Kanu that,likea lecond Pocahontas, pity for the stranger - the hard-up Pakelia—moved her princely bosom, ami she declared. her inteution of sending the retnnants of the feast to Auok ’and fpr the benefit of the needy. How a committee of the destitute would, have re eeived a supply of cold kumeras, .half gnawed pork chops, and shark, with sauce au natural, deponent sayeth not, . (still, the offer shows a g?od feeling, and.as we are promised by some of our sucking statesmen ■‘n grand transformation scene, with the Maori ami European walking hand in hand towards the bowers of e'ernal prosperity,” s the play-bills have it, let us hope t-nat t he-days are past when the aim and object of either rac-* was to obtain a “ pot shot” at the other. I give the bill of fare provide 1 at this reunion, and 1 think we may safely challenge Very’s or the London Tavern to .surpass it:—Eleven tons of flou-. four tons of biscuit, three tons of sugar, eighteen hundred dried sharks, three bnl!ocks, twenty tons of potatoes and kuniera*. Oertainly the Maori approaches the En glishman in one thing—he believes in a good feed on festive occasions. Ingoldsbi says tliat

There’s a proverb that’s old. Yet fit, to my thinking,— Which is that good eating Deserveth good drinking. But the press is silent respecting the flow ing.bowU provided on.this occasion. ..No' doubt the Maori Ganymedes fulfilled tlu*ir duties sub rosa, and ihe waipiro was probably dispensed under the liarmiosa designation of tea..

Muj >r Hoaphy,. V. 0., lias been returned to represent the district of Parnell in the General Assembly. Tho gallant major will no doubt feel at home in the contest which will no doubt take place between the Auck and phalanx and the Dictator's forces H<wtll certai ly deserve an additional bar to his Victoria Cross if he demolishes Stafford’; oliqne, but the rumor is that the canny Southerner carries too many guns for the North to stand a chance.

We have ha 1 a very light calendar, at the Supreme Court this time. The case.o! E J. Cox, committed for trial for felony, was not proceded, with, the Grand Jury having thrown out the bill ; so Mr C -x was set at liberty, no doubt feeding him-eii a much maligned and injured individual. We have had a paper warfare respecting tho existence in Auckland of a “ Secular Society,”—the ‘Cross* and the ‘ Herild ' firing broadsides at each other with heart* goodwill, while no doubt the “Society ” chuck 7 ed at the encounter, having attained ts phjcetr—notoriety. .The Due de Char-; rres once sai'd that- next to the reputation of being a-; upright man came that of being a notorious scoundrel—anything for pub iicityr,—apd so np doubt thought the Se cularists on this occasion.

A oonecyt was giyep to His : Excellence the Governor on Thursday evening la;t bv. the members of the Auckland Choral Society. In accordance with the expressed wish of Sir George Grey the receipts were devoted to a charitable purpoao. The af fair was a briliiapt suc?ess—the. proceeds amounting to about £dOd. Beethoven’s .Mass in.C .was the .first piece .performed. A select mob of Maoris (ornamented in. dresses most ly borrowed for .the occasion' from the Native Interpreter’s office) occupied the back of the stage, and in the. cou'se of, the evening favored His Excellency with the following lyric, iu the native language:

Fondly xy passiou, like a constant flame. Enkindles at the mention ot -tliy name; Absent ut Hukunui tho’ thou be, *'

Thy kindred spirit now draws nigh to me. Deem not; .0. tCiri, that I ever sleep; • - Awake the live-loug night rwatcut'ul keep; Consumed by ardeut love, I daiiy fear Toe taunt# of vulgar. I draw near, iiy fond a diction, ah! let no man know, Rut let me ling’iiug wear the mark of woe.

Now distant far Taahar i’s-wilds L see, The dreary path I roam’d in quest of thee; And then I sought thee'in that place of fame, The hour-e that’s called-by Rawhi-rawhi’a name. Ol'be not angry n iw. nor hence ilepart, Searing ungentle feelings in thy hearts liis pei-son, lo! is ever near to thee, Then id his friendly shadow rest.ou me. A war dance followed, which, \ras,vocifer-ous-ly applauded, and repeated three times, •the. natives evincing the gr atest disincln nation to quit the“sc , phe~of their triumphs, and liaving to be informed.by Sir George himself that it was time to “cut it." A ‘richly illuminated address was presented to! 'His -Exeeilency, the work of a gentleman tin fhq,Native, Lands-Office..

; - Nollling.has been discovered* concerning it lie murder at Mongonui. There was a rutnpr, that a Mdori aud his wife had been apprehended, ..but. Detective t Crick deni-d the statement when he returned to Auok land. A native has-been committed for L c?Wgd.d : .with the, murder of * ft-llow-jnative named Tauratate (Trousers) by kicking!hinvdu.-the atcinvaohrrtlt'appears to MX* <M»ufTfi#,<iuriyigAdrunken/t*aea*.

Rain is again in the ascendant —or, rather, descendant —in “ the! most delightful climate in the world ” >at tho time I am writing, t.A lecture by the Rev. Mr Cornford'has., been, twice .announced and twice pqstponed through the incleniency of the weather. We need a-local Saxby hore—though; as Mrs Partington would'remark, *\Folks do tell that he makes wrong calicplations souigtinies."'. ; , - - - :i.; ■ Our volunteers have taken, a stepdht the right direction, by initiating friendly tests between respective companies- **-®*™“* lation, is the.soul.oF success,” says the proverb;, it certainly is applicable to rifle shootihg.t ’ ' t