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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 7, 9 January 1871, Page 4

Naval Duel Near -Havana. — The San Francisco " Chronicle publishes the following telegrams from Havana regarding this, event : — On Monday, November 7th, the Prussian war steamer Meteor, carrying three guns, and' the French war steamer Bouvet carrying five, entered this harbor. The Meteor sailed out again after the French mail steamer Nouveau Monde had sailed, but the mail steamer immediately returned, fearing capture. On the night of Tuesday, the Sth, the Bouvet left port, but waited outside for the G-erman vessel, in anticipation, of the 24 hours prescribed by law. The steamer Meteor followed, a naval duel having been arranged between. the officers before starting. • The Spanish war steamer Hernando Cortes accompanied the two vessels. The Meteor had a crew of sixty men, and the Bouvet eighty. The Bouvet was ten miles beyond the offing, but, upon tho coming out of the Meteor, slie steamed inwards towards the neutral line. The Bouvet* opened the* contest by firing five shots, which the Meteor promptly returned. The Bouvet then attempted to board the Meteor. In this she was unsuccessful. Her rigging, became entangled, carrying away her main and mizen masts, nnd the rigging falling with the masts, became entangled with the Meteor's screw. At the same momeut the Meteor sent a shell into the inside of the Bouvet, smashing her steam pipe. The Meteor, by reason of the disabling of her screw, became unmanageable, aud the Bouvet, finding the quarters hot and capture certain if she waited until the Meteor could disentangle herself, set sail rapidly and made for port, the Meteor continuing to fire meanwhile. With a fair wind the Bouvet was enabled to cross into Spanish" water bofore the Meteor could disentangle her screw. At this time the Hernando Cortes fired a gun as a signal that the combat had closed. 'Both fought bravely. The German gunboat Meteor was accorded the victory. Both vessels are now in port repairing damages. The Meteor had three Killed and one wounded. The Bouvet had only three wounded.

their having escaped is quite wonderful. After this discovery the casks were of coarse handled with particular delicacy. They were placed in a barge on the river, and the boat -being scuttled, was suuk at high tide, so there is now no fear of the "accident" which some miscreant has endeavored to perpetrate. The Martin's Bay Settlement.— The following is from an Olago paper:— The settlement consists of seven or eight houses, and there are. more going up, including an hotel by a Mr. Allan. AH the houses have got nice cultivated gardens around them, the soil is good, and, as a passenger says, the climate for the past six months is all that,,, coiild be desired. Shortly before the Taiaroa's arrival, four youpg men, who came out in ihe Peter Deuny, arrived at' the settlement by the overlaud route, and took up /50 acres each. They fell to with a will, built a house, and were busily engaged in clearing their land when the Taiaroa left, and seemed to be perfectly satisfied with their new life. The diggers at Big Bay are reported to be making about 25s or 30s a week, the only drawback to them being that they lose half their time in humping provisions a distance of 25 miles, otherwise, if provisions could be landed in the Bay, double the amounts could be maele. The diggers began first from turning over the beach boulders, where payable gold was found ; they are now striking inland on the fiat towards the terraces. The further they go in better prospects and coarser gold are obtained, and from the information we have received there is every likelihood of something good . being struck. .It may here be stated that recently-a, large number of whales have been seen off Big Bay, aud that one monster, measuriug 110 feet in length grounded on the beach ; seals are also plentiful in the vicinity, so much so that it would pay a small craft well for their capture.