THE KARAMEA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 272, 18 November 1870, Page 2

THE KARA ME A.

To the Editor op the Nelson Evening .Mail. Sir — Tf not too troublesome to you, will you please insert these few lines for tho information of those whom they may concern. Certain gentlemen, lan'l holders in the Kararnea district, having applied to the Provincial Secretary to know whether the Government would provide one-half the expense, if they would be responsible for the other, towards opening tip the track between the mouth of the Kararnea and "t 1 e Bend," a distance of about 26 miles over what is known to be auriferous country, the reply was that the Government did not wish to open up the mouth of the Kararnea as they wished to bring the trade to Nelson Now anyone of common sense who has been over the country can see that by cutting the track spoken of a better chance would be given to Nelson than by leaving the country in its present state. If the track should be left as it is. or even if Mr. Winter, as suggested by the Provincial Secretary, should discover a suitable line for a pack track — which I very much doubt — the country would not be accessible for more than half the year, as the gold that has been, or will be, found is beyond the snow. Salisbury's Open, the Kararnea Bend, the Leslie, the Roaring Lion, and the Gouland Downs are districts hitherto comparatively untried, for the reason tbat the diggers cannot get provisions ivith sufficient facility to follow up their occupation, and the hardships they have to endure are not sufficiently compensated for by the gold they obtain. In fact, few have any idea what these hardships are, and prospectors who open up a country under enormous difficulties are frequently spoken of by fireside or arm-cliair gentlemen as insignificant waifs and strays on the face of the country. It is well known tbat the Kararnea district is highly auriferous, and if these 25 miles of track were cut, it would prove a. vast benefit to Nelson, as I will endeavor to show. Supposing the track made to the mouth of the Kararnea, diggers, knowing that stores were to be had there, would, if the country turned out as rich as is anticipated, flock to Nelson from the other provinces, and start thence overland, prospecting on the way, and all that would go by sea would be the provisions. Then, again, in winter time, when the road over the Loadstone and round Mount Arthur is snowed up, there will always he a road open to the mouth of the river, and all the goods supplied would come from Nelson. Together with a person to whom I have been well known on the West Coast for some years, I called upon the Provincial Secretary, asking him if we could obtain the same protection as has been afforded to others in various parts of the country, if we constructed the road at our own expense, that is, to charge a toll for everything passing along the road, and we were told that we must apply to the Warden, at Westport, or if we chose to send in our ■application to the Provincial Secretary, he would forward it to the Coast. And now, sir, I should like to make a lew remarks upon this. The reply made to the gentlemen before mentioned, by the Provincial Secretary is to the effect that the Government does not , want to open up that part of the conntry, as it is desirous of bringing the trade to -Nelson, and yet, at the same time, the Superintendent is on the Coast trying to do away with any jealousies that might exist between the goldfields people and the inhabitants of the north-eastern portion of the province. Is not the argument made use of by the Provincial Secretary almost enough to foster this very spirit of jealousy ? Would not the openins: up of the country at the mouth of the Kararnea tend to benefit Westport, and is not Westport a portion of the Nelson province, and further, is not the Superintendent now there preaching amalgamation of interests? Yours, &c, Reuben Waite. [We are always glad to give publicity to any suggestions bearing upon the opening up of our anriferous country, and therefore have willingly afforded space lor the above letter, but a< it contains certain charges against the Government which appeartd to us at first si-lit to be slightly exaggerated, we have spoken to the Provincial Secretary on the subject, and from him we find that Mr. Waite has evidently been writing under a misapprehension. Mr. Greenfield denies having stated that the Government did not wish to open up the country at the mouth of the Kararnea, and he alsi, informs us that no formal application had been made, but one or two persons had spoken to him privately on the subject, to whom he said that the country had been examined, and it was doub ful whether a track cauld be made, and, further, that if a line to connect the Kararnea and Salisbury's Open could be discovered, he thought the diggings could be more easily worked from this side, and with greater advantage to the province. With regard to the application for protection on a goldfields road, fhe I Provincial Secretary says that he informed Mr. Waite that such application should -be first made to the Warden ot the district, but that in order to forward Mr. Waite's views lie would, on receiving particulars of his application, telegraph to the Warden and get his opiuion on tlie subject. Ed. N. JE M]

definitely settled the question as to the appointment ot an Agent-General in England, and that • the Hon. Julius Vogel is the person selected. There is perhaps a certain fitness in sending Mr. Vogel home to try and get the money with which to carry out his late financial proposals; but we very much doubt whether his going will much facilitate the work of getting the money, while we are quite certain that Mr. Vogel is not the sort of representative who will gain public respect for, or admiration of, the Colony he represents. Of all the mistakes made by the present Government, sending Mr Vogel home will be the greatest. However, if he wants to go home, we suppose that there is no one amongst his colleagues who would dare to interfere to prevent the realisation of his desire. The Rev. B. Y. Ashwell moved, at the Diocesan Synod recently held in Auckland, '' That in the opinion of this Synod the practice of getting up soirees and bazaars for the relief of distress, and for religious purposes, is contrary to scripture and the spirit of the Church of England ; and that the tendency of such amusements is to undermine ihe true principles of Christian benevolence." Mr. Boardraan beconded pro forma in a very .amusing speech. Mr. F. D. Fenton asked if this matter were not entirely beyond the functions of the Synod, namely, as to what was contrary to scripture. The mover obtained leave to omit the words " Scripture and." The previous question was ultimately carried, therefore the motion was lost. '■ The following is the reply addressed by Mr. Gisborne to the Superintendent of Taranaki in acknowledging receipt of the resolution as to making terms with Titoko Waru, recently passed by the Council ot that province :— I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the memorial transmitted in your letter of the 22nd ultimo, to his Kxceller.cv the G-ovcrnor from the Provincial Council of Taranaki, representing certain matters connected with the position of Titoko Waru in in that province, and praying that his Excellency will cause such steps to be taken as may seoni necessary for the preservation of peace acd for the progress of colonisation. I have to request your Honor to be good enough to inform the Provincial Council that the memorial has been forwarded to his Excellency It would be unwise, on obvious grounds of public policy, to proclaim (even if it were possible to do so with exactness) the course which the Governmc-nt may think it right to pursue with respect to native rebels. The Government in this matter must exercise their discretion, as the circumstances of each case may in their judgment require, and I need not assure you that in doing so they will be anxious to promote the best interests of the colony. The Ballarat Borough Council must be rather a nice body to j udge from the following paragraph: — The opening scene at the meeting of the Ballarat East Borough Council, says the Star, was of rather a melodramatic character, Cr. Rodier playing the principal part. Cr. Rodier exhibited a good-sized glass ink bottle, which he had brought with him and placed on the table. The bottle was labelled as follows : — " Cr. ltodier's ammunition for self-defence against sanctimonious ruffianism." Cr. Curtis objected to Cr. Rodier sitting at the table with a weapon in front of him, but the Mayor ruled Cr. Curtis out of order. Cr. I Jodier informed the reporter that the bottle was filed with printing ink. He had a heavy walkingstick down below which he fully intended to use on the head of the first councillor who insulted him. After some further disputing, a motion wa9 carried to the effect that the next business should be proceeded with. In the course of an after discus ion, Cr. Eodier informed the Council that he was " the last man in the world to say anything that might be unpleasant to a brother councillor." A vert improbable paragraph, now going the rounds of the Press, states that the Germans in San Francisco contemplate fating out a filibustering expedition to attack Tahiti and New Caledonia

The fjreat question in Otago just wow Is, who is to Ic Superintendent when Mr. Macandrew's term of office expires? A bost of probable candidates have beeumentioned, and among other Mr. Vincent Pyke. That gentleman replies as follows in a letter to the Times : — Permit me, through the medium of your column?, (o express my thanks (o your correspondent 4( U. N. 0.," for his kind introduction of ■myself to the public as a possible candidate for the Superiuleodency. I entirely agree with " U. N. O." in his estimate of tny abilities, but at prcs?nt I prefer to cultivate myeabbii^cs in peaceful obscurity. The following is from the Olago Daily Times: — The competition between two mail teie»raph agents of Hokitika, ou the arrival of the liungitoto on Monday, was ti source of amusement to the spectators. The Telegram Company thought to steal a march on our agent by employing carrier pigeons to convey the telegrams from the ocean steamer to the shore. The ill-bred bird?, unfortunately for their enterprising owner, neglected to put in an appearance ■at the proper spot, and consequently rendered it necessary to give them chase. Our agent in the meanwhile had delivered his message at the Telegraph Office, and the first portion of the news was on its way to the various newspaper offices to which it was addressed. We hope the telegram Company will not be discouraged by this failure. Carrier pigeons may prove very useful when properly tiaiLed. Alleged Bavarian Atrocities. — The Duke de Fitzjames has written the following letter: — "Paris, September 13. — I have just returned from Sedan. Ever since Chalons, I have not left our iieroic but unfortunate army. Entrusted, together with Prince de Sagau, by the International Society for the aid of the wounded, with the duty of establishing its •ambulances where they were likely to be «nost useful, I have seen all these battlefields from Beaumout to Sedan, where our soldiers crushed by numbers have fallen gloriously for France. Allow me to express my indignation at what I eaw at B&zeilles. Bszeilles is near the Meuse. about five miles from Sedan. On the morning of the 31st August, the courageous inhabitants of that village, perceiving that the enemy were coming ou, donned their Guards uniforms, and aided the army in holding in check a Bavarian corps and a division (Shoeler's) of the 4th Prussian Eeserve Corps. The French army was driven back ; the enemy ■entered Bazeilles, and then commenced a «cene of horror end nameless excesses that «snust for ever disgrace their perpetrators. In order to punish the inhabitants of the tillage for presuming to defend themselves, they set the place on fire. Most of the National Guards had been killed. The population sought shelter in the cellars. .All the women and children were burnt alive. Out of 2000 inhabitants, barely 300 survive to relate how the Bavarians <lrove the women and children back into the flames and shot those who succeeded in escaping. I myself saw the rnins of ■the village. There is not a house left standing. A fearful smell of charred flesh pervades the air, aud I saw the calcined bodies of the inhabitants on the threshold of their own dwellings." Captain Hatfild master of the s.s. Wainui, -which recently arrived at Port Chalmers from the Chathanis, informs the Times that the whole of the Maoris in the Islands are on the eve of leaving for Tarunaki It is probable that on her next trip the Wainui will convey them thither. Disappearance of a Frekch Regiment ;from SSi'.DAN — Jt now appears that one French regiment jit least did not surrender at Sedan when the proposal to capitulate was made. The Inecnstri Colonel do Galiffet, the hero of Af ica and Mexico, cu his way through the enemy with Jiis brave < hasstursd'Afrique, the same regiment •which iurnifchbd two squadrons of French cavalry at the celei rated French charge at Balaklava. JNoihing has been heard since the battle of ISedan of this brave regiment of hunters, or of thtir colonel. lias lie been üble to join Bazaine ? Has -he succeeded in retreating to t-orne safe spot ? It is not known jet The only tact remaining certain is his dir-appearance. with his Drave men, •when the word '■ capitulation " was pronounced. Barbarous Waf^are. — The Pall Mall Gazette s-a\ s : — " If it is true, as stated in the Manchester Guardian that two captive balloons are to be H-nt up, and from a height of 1000 feet <3rop nitro-gljcerine bombs into the powder magazine at Strasbourg, under the superintendence of an Englishman nan ed Walter, we trust that no patriotic >cruples will prevent Mr. Walter irom sharing the danger as well as the glory of rthe enterprise. Indeed, as far as England is concerned, when once he goes up he need not troub'e .liintself' to come do«n again, unless a bullet from a chassepot brings him. his balloon, and his nitroglycerine Down without exertion to himself. Bad hv. as a volunteer, charged at the head of a regiment df Prussian cavalry, we might have felt there wa s< mething in his mode of fighting tu ■ -claim respect; but to drop ldtro-'glyctrine from a tialloon into a powder magazine is not an action -that an English amateur should be proud of."