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Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 2, Issue 103, 21 December 1868, Page 305

Motijment to. Alexander Seekiuk. jere is ;at present on exhibition at the »Jof MeasrjajxJ;; Child! and Son; YalStV a ;taj^le^'.manl^se' ,by them,;fdr er%ctieft < ‘Qh ;th'e widelyrated‘?ifi'and'qf^Juan,?Fernahdez.- ’ Its jpjtion, whicth ia ns follo ;-L>i:-'VU\.I-K%BM6BT : O» V'-‘. • . ||t ;L E'X'i’N DE E -S ELK IR K, .. ‘ '“.'MArinEß,', ’

A native of Largo, in the Oounty of Fife", Scotland, wHo lived on this Island in complete solitude _ for four years and four,months. He was landed from the Cinque Ports galley, 90 • tons, 18 guns, a.d. 1704, and was taken off in the Duke, privateer, 12th Feb., 1709. He diedLieutenaut of H.M.B. Weymouth, Am. 1723, Aged 47 Yeabs. THIS TABLET Is erected near “ Selkirk’s Look-out,” by Commodore Powell and the Officers of H.M.S. l’opaze, A.D. 1868.

—-Tt may not be considered out of place by our readers if we give the brief summary which follows of the life of this celebrated mariner, which has been .the foundation of the most remarkable novel that has perhaps ever been published. The particulars are extracted from John Howell’s “Lifeof Alexander Selkirk,” published in London in .1829. Alexander Selcraig was the seventh eon (no daughters intervening) oi John Selcraig and Euphan Mackie, and was born at Largo, in the County of Fife, in Scotland, a.d. 1676 ; lie went to sea in 169®; when he changed his name to Selkirf|and was unheard of until 1701, when he ffeturned to Largo. On the 18th May, 17(jl| he Bailed .from the Downs in the Cirque Ports, galley, 96 tons, 18 gunß, and 63 pen ; Charles Pickering, captain; T Strsji !ing,-lieutenant ; Alex- nder Selkirk, sailpg-master and on the 2Ath Novem-ber-inchored at La Granada, Brazil, where Captain Pickering died, being succeeded by Lieut. Stradling. They left on the Bth December, and on the 10th February oi year came to an anchor in Cumbeiland Bay, island of Juan FernanOn the 29th February left the island in pursuit of a French ship, returning on the .’following September,, and in consequence of quarrels with Stradling,-Selkirk; when the Cinque Ports sailed at the end nf the month, determined to leave the vessel, and? was landed with all his effects. On the 2nd of February, 1709, four years and four'inonths after Selkirk landed,'the Duke andj'the Duchess, privateers, commanded by Lfiptain Woodes Rogers, anchored at JuSn Fernandez, -on the former of which vessels Selkirk engaged as-mate, and sailed in ttairon-tbe u l-2tlr l bf arriving at Frith, England, on the 14th October, 1711, with a prize. The cost of Ca' tain Wo.odes' Rogers’ voyage was £14,000, and the prize, was worth £170,000 Selkirk received £BOO as hishare, and set out for Largo, where he arrived early in the spring of 1712, and left again in 1717. At the end of 1724, or beginning of 1725, Francis Candis came to Largo, and claimed the property of her husband, Lieut. Alexander Selkirk, who died on board H.M S. Weymouth some iraa in the year 1723, and having proved her mirriige and the will dated 12th De- < ember, 1720, her claim was adjusted; and she left her husband’s native village-’a few days thereafter.

Oite, Osteiches.—The Ararat Adver tiser, October 26, relates the following mousing incident concerning the newlyimported ostriches:—“The African ostriches, which hare been kindly taken charge of by Mr S. Wilson, of Longerenong station, in the interest of acclimatization, have been considered until recently as tolerably tame. This gentleman depastures them in a paddock adjacent to his garden; but a short time ago they gave unequivocal signs that a residence in "Victoria has by no means had the effect of subduing their belligerent propensities, and lhat they- consider familiarities are occasionally likely to breed contempt if indulged in too frequently. It appears that a carpenter, employed upon the station, had approached somewhat closer to them than they considered agreeable, and was gazing at them in a manner which one of them appeared to conclude verged upon the impertinent, a proceeding which he resented by suddenly attacking, the carpen ter in a most demonstrative and alarming manner.' Finding that lie was closely pressed, and that the bird manifested a disposition to close with him, Chips manfully resolved to meet his aggressor half way, which he did by throwing his arms round his neck and hugging him closely to his manly breast; but the ostrich, suddenly striking out with one of his ‘ flippers,’ caught the waistband of the carpenter s trowßers, and tore thega indispensable gar merits entirely osf‘him, following up' his advantage by chasing him completely out of the paddock minus the raiment in question, which retrained as th e spolia opima at thafeet of the victor. , Hearing of these sudden; beltigerent demonstrations made by subsequently paid them a visit; but -they, treated him with almost as little" respect' as.theyjMd. his subordinate and ; finding, that .they were; preparing. !to assume^the,offensive, Mr "Wilson considered that dißoretmh woiild be the better part of valor; and fled; fearing probably that he! too might; be obliged to relinquish some partofhia clothing easily; replaced, but involving some inconvenience to dispense with, even for a Bhbrt perio'd. In reference totheaa birds we may state that about £25 worth of plumes were taken from them % few weeks ago.” t v.u ~

> =========== 9tt iN qALiAO.--The aif ' subject is published m the Bng^h : papera : —Callao, Thursday, evening, just‘as I was abouip| ? iUu|ithiß letter for the steami er.vof at about 5 t o clock,mh&threetjnost terrible and alarth®s°S c M >f . a i ear . th^uake which has JIIE° in.i'ieveu years were;, made fuM : five minutes-the heavv rolling', l shock continued, rocking and even the houses themselves, with such violence that 'peraons could hardly keep their feet,' and an instantaneous rush was made for thcstreet. i Sere the sight beggared description. AIS the affrighted people kneeling and praying m i , e „? pe ” ® tr ®et, crossing themselves, , and falling full length on the pavement old women kneeling with both arms up-raised.-Bcreaming and crying, the great bell of Santa Rosa Church tolling and tolling, while the terrified people fled in crowds within the sacred enclosure, and the great steeple swayed and cracked*' as if every moment it would fall upon and crush the affrighted masses. As far as the eye could-see down the long narrow street the very street itself rose and fell in long billowy undulations, while out in the Bay the ships tossed up and down under the violence of some internal jar. While I write thousands of poor ignorant natives, Lnolos, &0., are on foot and walking with all speed to Lima, and the cars are so packed with human beings that a special tram has; been put on to accommodate those fleemggto Lima. The reason of this is the aOßurtfgfumor that the sea is coming in, and hutneds of people stand upon the mole, watcl»g the ebb and flow of the ; tide, and ihjpijing in their fear that the seaisrismgpnd coming in. As Callao ot old waa ipstroyed, not by the ground opening, but by the sea uprising like a mighty, moiintain and overwhelming the place, and people, so the horror and fright i among the people is the second engulphing . ot the sea. Had the shook been as severe i « it was protracted,- every building-, in . Callao must have toppled down. The weather has been very cloudy during..the past few' days, arid the earthquake that has just'Shaken.'the solid earth (and the riferves as well) ofljpallao, is the most terrible one that has vitkt ed the place in seven .years, and, neverJfoe of such, long continuance. Callao, Frraay, 9 am., August 14,' 1868. Last riight' wa’s the most fearful -night of . horrors that Peru has ever known. The sea was rising until midnight, and actually ; came in 5® Jefet over the mole, and submerged allfthe lower floors of the stores and buildings t>n the streets nearest the water.- ;Bh»s anchor broke tliei’r . mobriri'gs ; aTO v drifteci into"each other. The American man-of-war Powhattan, lying here, was run into by a ship, breaking the iron jib-boom of the Powhattan, and the < Powhattan, as well as all the Peruvian men-of-war lying here, steamed up and went away to sea. There seemed- to he a regular under-current of whirpool, so that ships went whirling round and round! : Thousands of people walked the streets all night, and this morning the stores are < closed and Callao seems deserted. A feel- i ing of terror prevails that this may be a second St. Thomas affair; and if there 1 should be another earthquake to-day, affairs would look dangerous. Ships are torn and battered, and the sea at the present writing boils and bubbles like a great whirlpool. Things look doubtful. I write this as the mail closes, and have only a moment.

At a recent meeting of the Canterbury Acclimatization Society a paper was read by Mr Hottidge on the advisability of-in-troducing insectivorous animals into Hew Zealand. In his opinion moles and hedgehogs could besimported with greater ease and less risk of loss, than birds, while no doubt could rest as to beneficial results of such au importation. A paper was also read by Mr Fereday on the damage occasioned by insects and their larvae to the crops in the neighborhood of Christchurch. This damage is owing to the destruction of birds which prey upon insects, especially of the quail, which has been almost exterminated. He recommed the introduction of sparrows, rooks, partridges, finches, iinnets, skylarks, starlings, and jackdaws, as the best remedy for this growing evil. The Chairman also recommended the formation of club? among the settlers in the .country districts, for the purpose of raising funds for the introduction of the most useful birds and animals.

E xpebiments in dressing flax, by a machine invented by Mr J. H. Hoding, and made at the foundry of Mr J. Anderson, of Christchurch, have recently-been made in the latter city. The' machine is on ■ the heating principle, the flax being passed over a large roller which receives blows from twelve betters at the. rate of 300 blows for each a-minute. The cost of plant to turn out aboutohe ton of cleaned fibre per diem would be £1,600, or thereabouts, arid - the cost of the Tabor, &0., necessary to produce about one ton of cleaned fibre per day would be. from £lO to £l4. This item would include the cost of the raw material and fuel.

: The Wanganui Chronicle gives the following:—:“On dit has it that Sir George Bowen has written home requesting his recall. He had' no idea that the Imperial Government was sending him to a colony a portion of whose population was in reand whose exchequer was empty with 1 no prospect of beiug filled.” ■ The Advertiser has made inquiries, and has no Hesitation in stating that the supposed on dit is*—not thetrutb,

'- r ‘ DEPABTUEE 03P- TB®'^L®tKi-^^3teiSiKNT. —On Monday afternoon Colonel By S. Beatson, R.E., formally banded oVer the command'of her - Majesty’s troop/‘in New Zealand to Lieut.-Col. Gh A; Elliot, 2nd battalion 18th Royal Irish, and the -duties of officer of E ngineers to ;Eieut.' H:. W. Mulloy, R.E. The officer commanding in New Zealand is in receipt of a memorandum from Col.

Wetherall at the Horse Guards, in which the intended movements of the transport Himalaya are mentioned. H.M.S. Himalaya was to leave Ireland on the 23rd September for Gibraltar, Hong Hong, Singapore, and Ceylon. From the latter place she was to prooeed to this port,, when the 2nd battalion 18th Eegt. will be embarked in the ship for conveyance home to Queenstown for orders as to port of landing. Assistant Commissary Generhl F. H. Ibbetson is under orders to proceed to the Mauritius to assume charge there. Our contemporary, the Cross, has a paragraph in its issue of yesterday, notifying “ that a change-in the office of Commandant of the Auckland . Garrison is likely to take plaoe shortly, Colonel Seatson and the Boyal Engineers being about ito leave New Zealand .for England by the next available vessel,” and stating that “ the removal of the Eoyal Engineers at this critical juncture in the affairs of New Zealand,” &e. We were under the impression that the men of the Eoyal Engineers had left New Zealand with the other troopß, and on making enquiry on the subject, we find we were right; in sothinking, as the of Eoyal Engineers embarked in March, 1867, in the ship Electric.: —New Zealand HeralcL 16th Deo.

Earthquakes. —Lord Carnarvon- broker the terrible monotony of agricultural 1 meetings very appropriately at Newbury, by telling his audience something of the terrible earthquake force, from which England is so free, and -which so suddenly swallows up not merely the fruits of the earth in some countries,- but the very land itself on which they grow. He described the three motions of ; the earthquake : the horizontal, which is bad; the vertical, which is. worse; and the screwing motion, which combines both, -which is worst of all. The screwing or twisting motion has been known to carry the whole of onestorey of a house- into the place of thesame storey of the next house, and property has been lifted; and carried away sucn enormous distances that innumerable lawsuits were necessary for its recovery. “A friend of mine,” said Lord Carnarvon, “ was-overtaken on the top of one of the .mountains of. the Soi|th American earth* quake region by these frightful earthquakes; and as he stood and looked down upon the city where he'was to find quarters for the night, he saw that very city and every human soul in it engulped in a pit before his eyes.” He told a story, too, of a Spanish gentleman whose landed property was rich and fertile and abound* mg in wealth and beauty one evening, and next morning converted solely into a volcano, which had teen thrown up on the side of it, and which has since borne his name, as “ the only thing be could bequeath to his children.”—Albion. The New Bishop of New Zealand.— We find from the Melbourne Argus that the Rev. James Leslie Randall, the new Bishop of New Zealand, is the son of the Archdeacon of Berkshire, and brother of the newly appointed incumbent of All Saints’ Church, Clifton. Mr Randall was educated at the New College, Oxford, and became a fellow of that college. He graduated B.A. 1851, M.A. 1855, and, therefore, is about 38 years of age. He was ordained by the Bishop of Oxford as deacon in 1852, and priest in 1853, and was presented by the Bishop in 1857 to the rectory of Newbury. [We learn from the Daily Southern Cross that the title of Bishop Selwyn’s successor will be, not “Bishop of New Zealand,” but “Bishop of Auckland.”— Ed. H.8.T.3 The Nelson Evening Mail says The young trout-fry in the breeding ponds of the Government Domain are now assuming very goodly proportions, and they may be seen disporting themselves with all the vigor and activity which characterise the movements of their species in their native waters. In connexion with this successfi 1 enterprise of the Acclimatization Society we may mention that the blackbirds which arrived by the Gertrude-are breeding fast, at least a dozen of the young birds have lately been seen on the wing m the Maitai Valley. The doves and pigeons brought from Melbourne 'by Mr Huddleston in September last have also. hatched their young. ; Blenheim Cadets. —A telegram was received on Monday Nov. 30, by Captain Bythell, requesting him to forward to Wellington all the carbines and revolvers here. , The, farmer being in the hands of . the Cadets, Borne of these promising youths felt disposed to get up a smalls. mutiny but better counsels- prevailing, we believe the order haa been' generally obeyed. /A similar message waa sent to Nelson;- We presume the agnas are wanted for the use of Constabulary, at the Front.—Marlborough Express, sth Dec. A shake, 10 feet long, more than 4 feet in girth, and weighing 400ft>8, was . oaught on Monday, November 30, near the Arrow rooks, Nelson, by.Mr T. Astle, while out fishing for mqki. " ’j" How To Drive awayßats. —A gentleman whose cellar was greatly infested‘with rats, found that they disappeared. very - . soon after he plaoed a cask of petroleum, iu the place, v