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The New-Zealander.

Be just and fear not • Let all the ends thou aims't at, be thy Country's, Thy God's, and Truth's.

SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 1851.

The Governor-in-Chief arrived in our harbour from Wellington on Thursday afternoon, by H M.S. F/y. A guard of honour was lit the landing place in Official Bay, and a number of respectable inhabitants of the town, were also present to receive his Excellency ; but an intimation was given that he would not come on shore until a later hour, — when he landed privately. Lady Grey has not accompanied Sir George, her Ladyship's state of health being, we much regret to state, still very delicate. It is understood, that his Excellency's stay at Auckland on the present occasion will be very short. We have heard it stated that a Meeting of the General Council will almost immediately be held at Wellington ; — indeed, it is said that the 19th of May has been fixed for its assembling.

Our Wellington dates are to the 29th of March.... The contents of the papers, although not very important, possess considerable variety and interest. The Governor-in-Chief had visited Waikanae, in order to be present at a meeting of native tribes, comprising the Ngatiawas, Ngatitoas, Ngatirakauvvas, and others. Rangihaeta, (accompanied by his wife, his sister, his priest, and his fighting man), Martin, Puaha, Epuni, and other chiefs, with their followers, to the number of about three hundred, attended. His Excellency was accompanied by Captain Oliver, of H. M. S. Fly, Mr. Wakefield, (Attorney General,) Mr. Thomas, Mr. Wodehouse, (Private Secretary), and Major Dunne, (Resident Magistrate) Several visitors from Wellington had also been attracted to the scene, The natives availed themselves of the occasion to confer with the Governor respecting the purchase by Government of certain lands, the present occupiers of which are about to migrate to Taranaki. Rangihaeta received his Excellbncy with great friendliness of manner, but soon declared his opposition to the sale of land which was contemplated by the Ngatiawas, on the ground that they and the other tribes proposing to sell, being in a sense vassals to the Ngatiraukawas, have not a right to dispose of it. The old Chief, " who, in spite of grey hairs, and the loss of several front teeth, looked hale and hearty, flourished his Meri with a vivacity which showed that he still retained his original vigour ■," and those around him loudly shouted in response to his appeal to them on the subject, Sir George Grey, with admirable tact, satisfied all parties by declaring that he did not wish to buy except from willing sellers, with a perfect title. A feast was then proceeded with, which was got up with all the profusion oi Maori hospitality, the bill of jure including a bullock roasted whole, fifty pigs cooked in the same style, and kumeras, potatoes, melons, flour, &c, in quantities, which (according to the Independent) would occupy twelve tons measurement. His Excelency's affable demeanour, and familiar conversation in the native language with one group after another, won golden opinions from all ; and (the Spectator reports) "he rethed from the festive scene amidst general cheering ;" and, on the next morning, when he took leave of them, " they gave him three hearty cheers, and continued shouting ' hurrah,' and * farewell ' from every corner of the encampment." Thus, a scene which, under rash or injudicious management, might have become one of strife, if not of collision, between the tribes, was by his Excellency's prudence and self possession rendered rather one of amity and harmony, and a means of strengthening the native confidence in the justice of the Government. The Government Gazette of March 24, in addition to the Proclamation and despatches respecting the Crown Lands and the Quieting Titles Ordinances which have been already officially published here, contained the following notifications ; — William Cargill, Esq was appointed Commissioner of Crown Lands at Otago ; and W. H. Reynolds, W. Me L. Bannatyne, G. Hunter, and G. Moore, Esqrs., were appointed Magistrates of the Province of New Munster. The monthly return of the Wellington Colonial Bank of Issue, showed the amount of Notes in circulation on the Bth of March to have been £2,907, and the Coin held on the same day, £907. The Bishop of New Zealand had arrived at Wellington, in his schooner the Undine, on the 21st of March, from the southward; he preached twice on the following Sunday, and sailed for Otaki on the 26th. The Independent took the opportunity of complaining of his Lordship's delay in commencing the building of his college at Porirua, the funds for which, it states, were subscribed several years since, and the Crown Grant for which was lately given by Sir George Grey on the express condition that the erection should be commenced forthwith. A scheme was on foot for the establishment of a Local Bank at Wellington, the advantages of which, as stated by the Spectator, are expected to be, "a reduction of the rate of discount, so as in this respect to place Wellington more nearly on a par with the neighbouring colonies ; an allowance of interest on

deposits, which, though low, would still be a great advantage to the newly-arrived immigrant ; and those increased facilities resulting from the beneficial effects of competition." Our contemporary gives the following outline of the project :—: — It is proposed to establish in Wellington a Loeitl Bank of deposit, discount, and exchange, issuing the n tes of the Government Bunk of Issue. The capital of the Bank is to consist of £50,000 in 2000 shares of £2h each, of winch 20 per cent., or one»fifth, is to be paid up, forming at the commencement of its operations h working capital of £10,000. The rate of diicount on bills of less than one hundred days will be 8 per cent., and 2 per cent, will be allowed on all deposit! above j£loo remaining in the Brink for any period uxceedin°; S \ X months. Two-thirds of the profits of the Institution are to be annually divided among the proprietors, and the remaining third is to be reserved as a rest or surplus fund. The accounts of the Bank will be published quarterly in the Government Gazette, so that due publicity will be given to its proceedings and the Government and the community informed of the state of it* affairs. Application will be made to the Government for an Act of Incorporation, which there can be little doubt will be readily grained; and as toon as the required amount U subscribed a meeting of the Proprietors will be held to elect Directors and other officers of the Institution, and to frame regulations for its management. We may add that within a few hours after (he project was made known nearly one-fourth of the required capital was subscribed. H. M. Steamer Acheron arrived at Wellington on the 25th ult., to procure supplies and refit, after a cruize of nearly four months, during part of which she had experienced very severe weather. She had been engaged in the survey of the Western Coast of the Middle Island. This Coast is stated to be " bounded by lofty and precipitous ranges of mountains rising abruptly from the water's edge ; several of these mountains are covered with snow, and some of them are reported to be higher than the Kaikoras, which are the loftiest elevations on the Eastern Coast/ 1 H. M. S. Havannah had been expected, and was off the heads with the intention of beating into port, but meeting H. M. Schooner Bramble (which, is now acting as tender to her, and which had arrived a few days previously from Van Diemen's Land), she bore away for Port Cooper. After leaving Hobart Town the Havannah had sustained injuries in a gale which obliged her to put back for repairs. She was expected to return to Van Diemen's Land from her visit to New Zealand about the first week of May. Although there had been no business at the Criminal Session of the Supieme Court, the civil sittings were protracted, and several cases of considerable local interest were tried. The verdict returned by a Special Jury in one of them (Vincent v, Badcock) declared that the Jury " could not find words strong enough to express their sense of the dishonesty of both the defendant and the plaintiff throughout the whole matter," — a comp iment to the parties in which Mr. Justice Chapman entirely concurred. A letter from Mr. Sydney Herbert's Society for Promoting the Emigration of Distressed Needlewomen.had been received, stating that the Society would send out whatever number of needlewomen could find employment, on condition of the colony contributing £5 towards the passage of each, the Society in London paying the remaining £10. " Plimmer"s Wharf," opposite Barrett's Hotel, had been completed. Messrs. J. Smith and Co. had held their first sale in the premises situate on it, at which land on Lambton Quay was sold at £6 15s. per foot, Mr. Plimmer being the purchaser. " Who shall decide when Doctors disagree?" The Doctors at Wellington were (and we suppose are, for the dispute seemed to be only waxing warmer) contending, in column after column of the newspapers, about the treatment of a young man named Hurst, who died in the Colonial Hospital of Strangulated Hernia, and whose life, it is alleged, might have been saved if the operation had been performed sufficiently early. Drs. Featherston and Dorset are the leading assailants of the Colonial Surgeon, Dr. Fitzgerald. We cannot help suspecting that even here an under-current of political acrimony may be detected. The argument seems to be, — Hurst died in the Colonial Hospital : the Colonial Hospital is supported by the Government : the Government did not institute an inquiry into the case : ergo, the Government is implicated in " the saciifice of this young man's life," and Sir George Grey has, according to Dr. Dorset, " outrageously abused his power and position," and nothing but " quackery and mal-treat-ment" is to be looked for until the Hospital is " brought under the control of a Representa tive Government." Without venturing to offer any opinion on the surgical merits of the case, we may at least observe that there seems to have been, on the part of the complaining Doctors, a great absence of the decorum and generosity which ought to exist between professional brethren, and a sad want of delicacy, not to say humanity, towards the feelings of the family of the unfortunate deceased. Thomas J. Hawkins, second mate of the barque Emu had been killed by falling into the hold on the stone ballast in that vessel. The Coroner's Jury found a verdict of " Accidental Death." The journals complain in strong terms of the high rate at which bread is sold, as compared with the price of flour. The Spectator says, " While flour is sold at from £16 to £18 per ton, sd. is charged for the 2ib, loaf,

althoiijj'i about this time last year only 4d. was charged, when the price of flour varied from £18 to £20 per ton." A writer in the Independent urges the formation of a Company to break down the monopoly enjoyed by the Bakers.

We have no Lyttelton papers by the Fly, but our Wellington contemporaries contain Canterbury intelligence to the 22nd of March, copied from Mr. God ley's Times. Accounts of the weather are prominent in it. The evenings had become " cold instead of cool ;" and there had been rains so heavy as to injure the roads in the town, to wash down a small house, and to flood considerable tracts of the country, carrying away the bridge over the Heath cote. The school children at Lyttelton had been gratified with a holiday treat, on which the journalists expatiate copiously and con amore. There were fifty children walking in procession, accompanied by Bishop-Designate Jacksok and the clergy in their academical robes. There were banners too, — but here we must quote the words of the Times, as affording the reader some illustration of Dr. Jackson's plans for impressing Protestant Christianity on the placid minds of his young charge. Two ladi, bearing very handsome banners, brought' out from England by the Bishop Designate, marched in front, two more walked between the gi>lt and boys, and two brought up the rear. The two foremost banners bore devices, representing the holy doctrines of the Trinity, and the Atonement, the latter of the two derices being the well known symbol of the Pelican tearing her breast with her be ik to nourish the vouiu? with the blood, with the inscription, " C hist so loved us." The dericea of the other four banners were ihe •scriptural emblems of the four evangelhts , derived from the visions of Ezekiel, and of St. John the Divine. The little folks halted on Mr. Godley's lawn to witness the ascent of a fire-balloon ; but alas ! the balloon " took fire." " Another was reserved till after prayers." So the procession moved to church, and after service a second balloon was tried with such ** signal success" that the children shouted, and the older spectators were equally delighted, and the friends at Christchurch would be surprised — that is, as the narrator of the event prudently qualifies the exciting supposition, " if they happened to be looking up at the time." Then came " not the least interesting part of the proceedings," consisting of tea, bread and butter, and cake, on which the juvenile pilgrims luxuriated so long and so effectively — notwithstanding the coming attractions of a Magic Lantern — that the Times tells us — One point at least was established beyond question, which we cannot doubt that the Bishop Designate on hit return, will impress upon his Ens list) auditors, namely, that the appetites of their young ones, and we may add the roiiness of their cheeks, and the strength of their lungs, and the joyoosness nf their spirits, are not likely to be impaired by their being tramplanted to this congenial soil aiitl climate. But even in such an Arcadian spot as Lyttelton, death will enter, — if not by disease, yet by violence. "We regret," pathetically observes the Times, " to have to record the death of — the last of the pheasants and partridges brought out under the care of the Committee.'* These birds, three in number, were placed in a hatch opposite Mr. Godley's own house j but even there a lawless dog broke in and destroyed I them all. No doubt, in an infant settlement this is a loss; but, with our contemporary, " we hope that the colonists will not be discouraged " by it. Ferocious cruelty is not confined to quadrupeds even at Lyttelton. There dwells there " a savage of the name of Hayes/' who has " distinguished himself by setting his dogs on a pig," (possibly one of them may have been the identical brute that slew the partridges), and, not content with this, assaulted a coffeehouse keeper; but justice had its due; the *• savage" was not only fined, but " fortunately" forfeited recognisances toa considerable amount. There was good news, however, to connteirbalance such sombre occurrences as these. Bread had fallen two-pence a loaf : Peat of good quality had been discovered near Riccarton : and, one of the passengers of the Australia had caught fish off the rocks of the PulaoBay. " The development of our national resources, however small," observes the TTimers r " must be matter of congratulation to the community." Dr. Jackson, with his lady and two sons, had left for Sydney, whence he intended to take his passage to England. He is expected to return about the close of next year. We observe by the Wellington papers that he had reached Wellington on his way, on the same day on which Bishop Selwyn arrived there. Mr. Godlly had proceeded to Wellington by the Isabella Hercus. We shall be a little curious to hear how he has fared with the political agitators there, into whose arms he cast himself immediately on bis arrival in the colony. The least the Constitutional Association might do would be to convene a Special Meeting, or get up a dinner, to welcome him. It is not every day that they can have a Resident Magistrate to exhibit in their ranks.

By the Louis and Miriam, Sydney papers to the Bth of March had been received at Wellington. There was no late intelligence from England. .. Flour was firm at £15 for fine, and £14 for second quality. .. Mr. James Sea, Manager of the Union Bank of Australia at Sydney, was dead.

We have received a few Hobart s Town papers, the latest date being the Sth of March. We may return to them, but to-day we note a few items of news. The Colonial Secretary, J. E. Bicheno, Esq., had died suddenly. McManus (one of the Irish State Convicts) had escaped : it was thought he had bent his steps towards the South Seas or California. The Wesleyans contemplated the erection of a College at Somercotes, near Ross. Captain Horton had offered to head a list for the purpose with a subscription of One Thousand Pounds, and to give twenty acres of land for the buildings &c. We before gave some account of the half wild rejoicings with which the Van Diemonians welcomed the Australian Colonies Act. But it is one thing to revel in sports ; — another and a different, to pay for them. The Demonstration Committee are in debt, and as one mode of raising a little cash from the Hobart Town patriots, had announced a performance at the Victoria Theatre. In the latest market notes, at Hobart Town, wheat was quoted at ss, 9d. to 6s. per bushel ; flour, £14 to £15 per ton ; potatoes, £4 to £5 per ton ; best bread 3d. per 2 lb. loaf ; hay, £6 to £7 per ton : — at Launceston, wheat was 4s. 6d, ; flour, £12 ; hay, £5 to £5 10s.

"Wesleyan Day School — An examination of the children of this School toolc place yesterday, at which the Rev. T. Buddle, Rev. A. Reid, and several members of the Committee with other friends, attended. The children mustered to the number of upwards of a hundred presenting an appearance calculated to interest all who feel concerned for that sound and scriptural education of the rising generation of which this school has been, and we trust will yet increasingly be, laudably promotive.

ILecent Deaths of Notable Persons. We have noted down the names of the following more or less distinguished persons whose deaths we have read in the English files which have reached us since the publication of our last article under this heading,— briefly compiling, as usual, from the obituary notices any particulars which appear to possess public interest : — Lord William Beresford, next brother and heir presumptive of the Marquis of Waterford; he held the commission of a Captain in the "First Life Guards, in which regiment he entered the army as Cornet at an early age ; his younger brother, the Rev. Lord John Bf.resford, Rector of Barronstown, is now next in succession to the Peerage honours of the family :— the Right Hon. Sir W. H. Frfmantle, G.C.H , who had filled various public offices, amongst which were successively those of Deputy Teller of the Exchequer, Joint .Secretary of the Treasury, Commissioner of the India Board, Privy Councillor, Treasurer of the Household in the reigns of George IV. and William IV., and Deputy Ranger of Windsor Great Park : — Major-General Sir Patrick Ross, Governor of M. Helena, where he died ; he had served for nine years in India during the Mysore war, and commanded, as Lieutenant-Colonel, the 48th Foot in the Peninsula; subsequently he was, for a considerable period in the lonian Isles, and afterwards held the appointment of Governor and Com-xnander-in-Chief of Antigua: — Sir William Wrixqn Becher, Bart., known as the proprietor of large estates in the South of Ireland, but better known as the husband of the celebrated actress, Miss O'Nfill, who survives him : — Sir Thomas Pilkington, Bart, the representative of one of the oldest families in England ; he possessed extensive literary attainments, being versed in most of the modern languages, and an excellent Biblical scholar: — Rear Admiral Sir John Marshall, who had served in the navy for half a century ; he was killed in Wales by being thrown from his carriage: — Lieut. -General Sir James S. Barns, X.C.8., K.C., Colonel of the 20fh Regiment; he had been engaged in many of the most famous militasy operations since 1792, when he entered the army as an ensign in the Royals : — Vice- Admiral the Hon. D. P. Bouverie : — Major-General Wingrove, formerly Commandant of the Woolwich Division of the Royal Marines, one of the heroes of Trafalgar: —Samuel Dickson, Esq., M.P. for the city of Limerick : — bir Donald Campbell, R^rt., Lieutenant-Governor of Prince Edward's Island : — Sir H. T. Oakes, Bart, j he is succeeded by his grandson, now Sir Reginald L. Oakes, of whom it is remarked that he is the youngest existing Baronet, being only three years old, — the oldest living Baronet is Sir C. Y. Hudson, who is ninety-five, there thus being a difference of ninety -two years between them ;— the Right Rev. John Inglis, D.D., Bishop of Nova Scotia, which was the first Colonial See founded by Great Britain, and of which his father was the first Bishop . — MajorGeneral Sir Ephraim G. Stamms, C.8., Lieu-tenant-Governor of the Military Seminary at Addiscomb*: — G. A. H. A. Parkins, Baron Rancliffe in the Irish Peerage, and an English Baronet ; the barony is extinct ; the baronetcy falls to Mr. Thomas Parkins, of Ruddington, near Nottingham : — fell at Kalerir Kathely, Brigadier-General Eardley Wilmot, formerly a Major in Her Majesty's service : — Colonel Mooney, for many years representative of the county of Tyrone, and reputed to be " one of

the most polite men of his age:" — William Blacker, Esq., of Armagh, the eminent Irish agriculturist, who, by his writings, and his practical management of large estates entrusted to his care, probably effected, more than any other individual towards developing the agricultural and economic resources of the North of Ireland : — the Rev. George Cubitt, senior editor of the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine :—: — Edward O'Connor, Esq., editor of the Dublin Evening Paeket ;— The Rev, Dr. Thackeray, Provost of King's College, Cambridge, and Chaplain in Ordinary to George 111 and his successors, including her present Majesty ; he was an erudite classical scholar, and an ardent student of natural history: — Mr. Boothby, well known in railway affairs as one of the most influential directors of several lines in England and Ireland -.—Miss Sarah Biffin, the celebrated miniature painter, who was born without hands or arms ; she had enjoyed much royal and noble patronage, but for many years supported herself by the art in which she had acquired an almost miraculous perfection ; in her latter days, however, her exertions proved inadequate, and she was dependent on a small annuity raised for her by subscription : — at Boston, U. S., Signor Parti, who first introduced into England the celebrated specimens, of Florentine art, showing in wax figures the structure of the human frame. He had long endeavoured to induce Government to found in London, for the instruction of the people, a national museum of anatomical and pathological wax specimens, similar to the famous ones in his native city, Florence; and, after immense toil and anxiety, succeeded in gathering an admirable collection of models ; but, to his great grief, the Government in the end failed to support his undertaking. He had then no alternation but to exhibit his collection ; and, leaving one part in England, he took the other to America, where he died.

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Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZ18510412.2.6

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 521, 12 April 1851, Page 2

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Tapeke kupu
3,916

The New-Zealander. New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 521, 12 April 1851, Page 2

The New-Zealander. New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 521, 12 April 1851, Page 2

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