PORT NICHOLSON.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 56, 1 April 1843, Page 224

PORT NICHOLSON.

[From the New Zealand Gazette."] By the Sydney Herald, we learn that her Majesty's sloop of war Hazard is to be stationed on the Australian, and New Zealand coasts, in room of the Favourite. Th^ Hazard reports that another man of war was also to he despatched from China, to take her station on these coasts. — Feb. 25. At a meeting of the town council, on the 22d of February, " after some, desultory conversation on the subject of the comparatively small portion of the gross revenue which was expended upon this settlement, as compared with the sum collected, and suggesting the expediency of a public meeting, it was resolved to address his Excellency upon that and other subjects connected with the state of the administration of the affairs of the colony in. general, and Port Niceolson.in particular, as in duty bound/' — Ibid. Messrs. Simmons and Hoggard- have been for some time past erecting a windmill on Te Aro Flat, and we trust we shall soon be enabled to report its being ready for use. This mill will be the first of the kind in the colony, and therefore a curiosity, and, we doubt not, will thoroughly astonish the natives. — A tannery, established by Messrs. Sitnmonds and Hoggard, has been for some time past in active operation, and, we believe, with every prospect of success. Another gentleman, of the name of May, is also about commencing one; so that, we trust, leather will soon be produced sufficient for our consumption. — March 4. The Chief Justice has forwarded his decisions . in the cases which he reserved for consideration at the sittings of the Supreme Court in October last. Mercer v. Revans. Motion for a new trial — Granted. Fitzherbert v. Hort. Action on a charier-party to recover one month's hire of the schooner Kate — Judgment for defendant. Queen v. Rangihaiata. Motion for a bench warrant against one of the aboriginal natives, for the purpose of holding him to bail in a case of felony — Refused. Coroner's Inquest. — On Monday last, an inquest was held at the Ship Hotel, before J. Fitzgerald, Esq., M.D., coroner, and a respectable jury, on view of the body of Mary Cottel. From the evidence, it appeared that, during a heavy gust of wind^ about eleven o'clock on the same day, the deceased was struck to the earth by a punt opposite the Ship Hotel, such being the force of the wind that it was lifted off the ground, and, after knocking down the deceased, was carried -some distance beyond where the unfortunate woman lay. She was instantly carried to Mr. Fuller's, and medical assistance procured, but the poor woman died almost immediately from concussion of the brain. The jury returned a verdict of " Accidental death," and ordered a deodand of one shilling to be levied- on the punt, at the same time stating — " that this jury cannot separate without requesting the coroner will make a strong representation to the proper authorities, requesting them to direct the constables to see all boats, punts, and building materials of all kinds, properly secured, and in proper places, and not exposed in such situations as to endanger human life." — March 8. Preparations for the forthcoming whaling season are making on every side. The sloop Royal William departed a week back for Hawke's Bay, with a party for Mr. Dorsey; and Mr. Murray has just arrived from the southward, for the purpose of enlisting a strong body to' proceed with him to Kaikora. We trust, by the time the Brougham again arrives from Valparaiso, that a sufficiency of oil will have been procured to enable. our merchants to send her with a cargo direct to England. — March 11. ** The Black Warrior, which was stranded some months since in Palliser Bay, has been got off and refitted, and sailed for Akaroa, at which place she had arrived before the departure of the Richmond. — The cutter Nimrod, which arrived in port on Thursday last, was detained off Cape Palliser by contrary winds, from the first of this month. On that day, she spoke the Royal William, which vessel was proceeding with a favourable breeze to Hawke's Bay. During one portion of the time, the Nimrod was at anchor under the Cape, but a gale sprung up and blew her out to sea, with loss of cable and anchor ; and she was obliged to be supplied with one on entering the harbour. The Nimrod was built about a year back in the Bay of Plenty, but has since been bought by the natives of Tologa Bay, the purchase-aftney being two hundred and fifty pigs. Soon after she was launched another craft, a schooner; named the Brothers, of 16 tons, was built expressly for the Maories of the same place, li the desire of possessing vessels (manifested by natives of all parts of the islands) instead, ci their old canoes be any criterion to go by, then indeed are the savages of New Zealand advancing rapidly in the scale of civilization. — A murdei was committed at Tiakiwai, a pah on the bead between Pipitea and Kai Warra, on Monday last, by a native named Kai Karoro. It appears that the murdered man (E Wanga), about foui months since, absconded with the wife oijjKa Karoro, and since that period the injurecPhtzS' band and the deceased had not met. Ot Monday, however, they did meet, and, afte: upbraiding £ Wanga, the husband went into i hut and fetched a double-barreled gun, loaded with which he shot the unfortunate man twice once in the leg and the other through We body E. Wanga died instantly^. The murderer tool to the bush, and has not since been discovered bat the relations of the deceased are after him A coroner's inquest was held on the body yes terday, and, after a lengthened investigation, th jury ,returaed a verdict pf " Wilful Murder ' against Kai Karoro. — March 22.

, The barque Indemnity was hauled on the slip yesterday, for the purpose of being thoroughly repaired. We advise our friends to visit Kai Warra, for they will not always have the chance of seeing so large a vessel out of water. — We notice with satisfaction the depar- ! ture of the Maori Davis for Wyderop, carrying the remainder of Mr. Wade's whaling party, and the stores for the station. Mr. Wade has three boats' crews and six boats at Palliser, and intends, we believe, should the season prove successful, to man the other boats. All we say on<the subject is, thafwe trust Mr. Wade and all other gentlemen who have had the courage to enter into the hazardous pursuit of whaling, may be rewarded for their ill-luck last year. — March 25. [From the New Zealand Colonist.] We are pleased to learn that there is a probability of a speedy settlement of the native question in this place, upon terms just to the natives, and satisfactory to the settlers. The inconvenience of any protracted discussion might have made itself perceptible in more ways than one ; and, though we should never have doubted of the result, others, more timid or less sanguine, might have been checked in contemplated improvements from the apparent uncertainty of their title. The prospect of a prompt and amicable adjustment of this question is therefore a matter of congratulation. — March 7. At a meeting of the Council on the Bth of March, Mr. Hunter proposed, and Mr. Wade seconded, the following resolution :—: — " That the town-clerk, in the name of the corporation, do forward a memorial to the local Government, at Auckland, requesting that a mounted police force of six men be appointed, for the protection of persons and property in the borough of Wellington j the experience*of the last three years having proved that the existing pedestrian police is most ineffective." — March 10. The mail by the Posthumous, from Sydney, which was at the heads on Saturday night, and that by the Thomas Sparks, from Nelson, which landed passengers for this place and proceeded on her way to Valparaiso, was landed and brought into town by the pilot. — Colonel Wakefield and a party of gentlemen Btarted for Taranaki on Friday last. — The Brougham, in leaving this port, ran foul of the Ocean schooner, and the latter will be obliged to put back for repairs. — March 14. — #

Mr. O'Connell's mayoralty of Dublin havh% expired, Alderman G. Roe was elected, and invested with his insignia. On the motion of Mr. M'Laughlen, a resolution of thanks to the late Lord Mayor for his valuable services and upright conduct during his year of office, was carried by acclamation. Jersey. — The general aspect of 1 ' Jersey is wooded fertility ; and the general character of its scenery is beauty. There is one picturesque feature which enters into every view in Jersey ; it is, that the trunks of the trees are, I may say without exception, entirely covered witli ivy ; nor is its luxuriant growth confined to the trees— it covers the banks by the way-side, creeps over the walls, and even climbs upon the rocks by the seashore. Walking through the bye-paths of Jersey,one is struck with the luxuriance of vegetation — especially in the south-eastern parts of the island ; the high banks are everywhere overspread with a multitude of shrubs and wild flowers ; and many kinds of garden produce, too, attain au enormous size ; I have seen cabbages seven feet high, and many other vegetables of proportionate growth. It is seldom — I may say never — that one sees a house or a cottage not absolutely in a street, unaccompanied by less or more garden. Besides the flowers and shrubs that are met with in any English garden, we may find many that are usually considered green-house plants in England. All kinds of myrtles grow luxuriantly, and flower regularly in the open air ; the hydrangea is seen at almost every other cottage door — measuring, perhaps, from eight to twelve feet in circumference, and four or five feet in height. The yerba louisa, or lemon plant, is also common. Trees, too, that are strange to the English eye, are seen in the course of a morning's ramble, particularly the fig ; and I have pulled this fruit in as great perfection from trees in Jersey, as anywhere in the southern parts of the continent. Among the timber trees, too, the Spanish chesnut, and the evergreen oak, are often er seen than in England. The Bay of St. Brelade, which lies in the southern port of the island, and the shores of which bay are sloping (as are all the southern shores of this island) are everywhere covered with a small ground rose, of the finest colour, and emitting all the fragrance of the " rose d'amour." Excepting in the southern parts of Bavaria, I have never observed this rose elsewhere than in Jersey. — The Channel Islands. By Henry D. Inglis. A Savant and a Russian Prince. — Mr. Auger, the author of commentaries upon Moliere* and a French academician, entered one day into a long conservation with a Russian Prince, an enlightened protector of arts, who did not know bjfn. " Will your Highness condescend to accept }tf my works?" said the academician. "Willingly," replied his Highness. The next day a magnificent copy of Moliere, with the notes of Mr. Auger, was sent to the Prince. Some days after, Mr. Auger received the following letter : — " Monsieur Moliere — Your works are master-pieces; they have caused me the greatest pleasure. lam very thankful for the. offer : never reading made me experience finer , emotions. What characters ! what a profound study of the human heart ! what liveliness l , what gaiety! what sublime portraitures! One single thing spoils all that. Why have you confided to Mr. Auger the care of throwing light, by his notes, upon passages which are as clear as light, and of commenting upon what required no comment ? I invite you, therefore, to purge your beautiful comedies of those degrading notes. Publish another edition without notes. I will charge myself with offering it to my Emperor, who will not fail to present you "with a snuffbox enriched with sapphires. I am, &c. &c. &c. off."— Parrot.