The New-Zealander. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 1848

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 167, 5 January 1848, Page 2

The New-Zealander. WEDNE SDAY, JANUARY 5, 1 8 48

lie jubt ami feiir not : Let all tlic cuds tlion aimt-'L at, be thy Country's, Tli v God's, andTiuth's.

It appears not a little strange, th.it on ccitnin melancholy occasions, such as ihe return of a birthday, by which we find ourselves n year older, or on entcr.ng a new yeai, that no inconsiderable portion of a brief existence lias slipped away; -it appears to us very strange, that instead of being serious and doleful, persons generally affect a j;reat degree of gaity. "Whether this practice arose from an attempt to mrkc the best of things on the " grin and bear it" system, or has its origin in the lucus a non lucendo principle, we have not been able to fathom ; still it is odd that one should be congratulated on having attained a moie frosty head of hairHowever, be this as it may, we know that the last week has been as stirring a period as the gayest could wish it. We are no bantling of the Morning Post and have nothing to do with chronicling private entertainments ; those of a more public nature may, perhaps, claim a passing notice. The Government hall which took place on Friday evening was fully, and ■we need scarcely say, fashionably attended ; and, thanks to a 'smart south-wester which was then blowing, the apartments were pleasantly ventilated. On the following day the ceremony of proclaiming the new Charter, and swearing in Captain Giey as Governor-in-Chief, was performed in front of Government House. A numerous attendance of the inhabitants were present to witness th 3 proceedings; and the coup dceil was not a little enhanced by a line ot about four hundred natives (comprising the road parties,) dressed in showy clothes in which white, red, and blue, appeared to predominate. After the swearing . in of the Governor and the principal civil functionaries, the natives, by desire, commenced their war dance. We have seen the war dance before— some six yeais ago— and are happy to find that they entered into it on this occasion with a great want of their old spirit, and a diminuition of that horrible ferocity which formerly attended those exhibitions. We indeed question very much the propriety of calling on the aborigines to exhibit their hideous dance at all, especially at the dictates of mere curiosity ; for it must of necessity revive associations of a nature thoroughly savage, and totally inconsistent with the present state of transition from barbarism to civilization. Afterwards, a "feast" was given by the Government to the road parties and their friends, amounting in all to about seveu hundred. We are sorry to find that the natives were by no means satisfied with their entertainment, and I from what we ourselves saw, we think they had some reason to grumble- A few strings of slices of bread, with an apology for something like jam, comprises a fare little calculated to satisfy such " vacuities" as natives carry beneath their girdles, especially after a two days fast in anticipation. We think that a Government fea«t, if given at all, should be a satisfying one, and not after the fashion of a certain physican, whose precept is seldom followed willingly,— to " rise with an appetite." " An' we are to be virtuous, Are we to hate no more cakes or ale ?"

A few bags of flour and sugar would have been speedily converted by them into the satisfying and highly prized ko rodidodi, On Monday last the Inflexible, having on board the Governor and his suite, left us for the southern province, under a salute from the batteries and the ships of war in the harbour. Mrs. Grey, and His Excellency General Pitt, accompany the Governor on his trip. And thus ends a bustling week, which will probably be followed by a period of calm—what some are pleased to denominate dullness,

On Saturday last we had the pleasure of noticing the annual meeting: of the Chuich Schools, at the Rev. Mr, Killing's, at the Tamaki. "We have now the painful task of recording the destruction, hy fiie, o* the whole of his residence and effects, on the evening of Sunday last, duiing the temporary absence of lyir. Kissling to be present at tho College. — The manner in v/hich this unfortunate event came to pass is not clearly ascertained. It appears that it commenced to the windwaid of the dwelling house, and as the whole range of buildings was thatched, the flames soon communicated themselves to every part, and nothing whatever of Mr. Kisslinp's property was saved. The house in which Mrs. Kempthorne was residing being detached, a short time elapsed before it took fire, and some furniture and other effects were got out. It is stated that the Natives present showed no disposition to exert themselves in putting out the fire; and on being asked the reason, they said they were afraid to have anything to do with it, as they were fearful of being accused of having commenced the fire. But we hope to be enabled to give more satisfactory particulars in niir nPTt.

I)v the brig Governor, from Newcastle, (N. S. \V.) we have received intelligence of a most lamentable accident by which Lady Mary Fitzroy was killed on the spot, and Governor Sit C. Fitzroy, and an Aidecamp very seriously injuiea. The only particulars we could ascertain aie,— that His Excellency and Lady were driving in their carriage towards Parraraatia, that the horses took fright and upset the vehicle. Our acquaintance with the details of the accident are but meagre on account of having uo news direct from Sydney. The loss of her Ladyship to the Colony would, in any manner, have been a serious one, bul must be doubly so under such distressing circumstances.

The Nimrod, barque, Captain Salmon, arlived yesterday evening from Wellington, bhe has been thirteen days on the passage, and reports that the Ralph Bernalvta.'i to leave for this poit on the day after her departure. Mr. Cross the Pilot, has arrived by the Nimrod. Body Found,— On yesterday the body of a man was found in Orake Bay, supposed to have been drowned, and washed up by the tide. A party of the Police started in a boat yesterday evening to biing the body to town, and an inquest will be held at the Victoria Hotel in the course of the day.

We have much pleasure in being enahled to resume the publication of the Rev. Mr. Cotton's excellent " Hints on the Management of Bees." The commencement of those papers were originally contributed to the Wellington Spectator, from which we copied them, in the month of April last, so long as tkey were continued. The publication of them has again been renewed and we shall be able to complete the series without further intermission.