WELLINGTON.

North Otago Times, Volume II, Issue 45, 29 December 1864, Page 1 (Supplement)

WELLINGTON.

■a Saturday morning tbe ov«land mail ilelivered as usual, but when opened it iliBcovered that all the letter* contained - In the said mail had bten broken open, ■heques and money abstracted therefrom. ■dd appear that the beareriof the mail iHorowhenua to this place khew nothing Bo circumstance, but when| questioned = » that when he received thi mailbag at K l^henua, the mailman whose duty it was t- ilrrv it between Rangtikei Horo- * fta, was drunk. We are happy to mIthe public that this is the firtt instance % a mail has been broken op^en in this

province by a native. The prisoner charged with the offence is now in custody, and on his way to trial before the lt.M. here, having been arrested by a native officer of police for trying to obtain change for one of the missing cheques. We understand that the prisoner pleads guilty to the charge. Th^ mail bag was opened by cutting a few stitches at the bottom, which could not have been easily discovered.— -Wellington Independent. The "Taranaki Herald" says— On Monday morning about eight o'clock, two shots were heard in the rear of Mataitawa, and a party left that post to ascertain the cause. Before going far they discovered the body of John Hartley, a private of the 70th regiment ; the head was cut off close by the neck, and carried away, and also the foraging cap. The body was brought into camp some short time after by the party that went. He had also a tomahawk wound on the back of the right hand, and a gunshot wound in the hip. There was a tent by the body, intended, it is supposed, for collecting potatoes. The *' Advertiser " says— The public bathing establishment recently erected near Oriental Bay, has been opened by the proprietors, Messrs Standwell and Dovvnes, to whose enterprise Wellington is indebted for the efficient supply of a long-felt want. A lighthouse is in the course of erection on the Island of Mana, in the Strait, which is being rapidly completed. It is expected it will be opened some time during the month of January. The Criminal Sittings of the Supreme Court opened on the 5th inst. The cases for trial were not of a very serious character, and the highest punishment inflicted was two years' imprisonment with hard labor. There was a charge against a foreigner by the name of Polfra for a breach of the Arms Act, who was out on bail, and not appearing when called upon, his recognizances were estreated and thus justice was defeated. There are grounds for supposing that had not the delinquent had money he would not have so readily escaped ; and the question therefore suggests itself whether the mere possession of money ought to be permitted, without a searching investigation, to defeat the ends of justice.