MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.

New Zealand Colonist and Port Nicholson Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 104, 28 July 1843, Page 3

MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.

A special meeting of the members of the Corporation was held in the Town Hall, on Wednesday, 26th inst., for the purpose! of electing a Mayor in the room of the late Geo. Hunter, Esq. Present Messrs; Lyon, Fitzherbert, Wade, Scott, M'oleswortlv, Dorset, Guyton, Waitt, Johnson, and Jenkins.

Mr. Lyon,- as senior alderman, having taken the chair, Mr. John Howard Wallace being the first on the reserved list, was called in, arid having had the oatlr administered;-took-his seat as alderman’.

Mr. Fitzherbert then proposed, that W. Guyton, Esq., be elected Mayor, which was seconded by Mr. Lyon, and carried unanimously. Mr. Guyton was then sworn in, and in - an appropriate speech, returned thanks for the honor done him. The Council adjourned till Saturday Jrst.

(Copy Letter from Major M. Richmond, Chief Police Magistrate of the Southern District of New Ulster, to Major Durie.)

Wellington; 25th July, .1843; Sir —ln compliance with your-request?, t herewith’ transmit in yrjftting the communication I made verbally to you yesterday ; it was in suhstaime fqJlQjys “ That as a sufficient force.had ajriyed from AriclflflQtb for the protection of the Town, it Vas no loriger nepegsary for the Inhabitants to assemble for that* purpose,” This I requested you, as the head of the armeft Associav tions, to convey to them j likewise to add—“ Thafc. as I found Mr. MacDonogh hgd, enrolled the names of all who had so promptly come forward to aid the Civil power during the excitement created by the late choly affair at Wairau, I should retain the list, and he

happy to avail myself of their services as Special Constables, in the eivent of any emergency occurring which required'it.” I feel persuaded that you will cause my wishes on this subject to be attended to without further delay. I am, &c., M. RICHMOND, .... C. P. M. To Major Dime.

As it may be interesting to our fellow colonists and friehds in the mother country, we beg to communicate the following, brief particulars regarding'our late much respected and lamented M'ctyor, George' Hunter, Esq., J.P: —

Mr. Hunted Was a native of the parish of M'Bufiy in the county of Banff, in Scotland, and mtffried the daughter of the late David Souter, Esq., Chief Factor to : the Right Honorable Jarties Earl of Fife. After being, connected for many years with one of the principal mercantile establishments' iff Aberdeen, he removed to London, when lie afterwards carried on business as a merchant. When the New Zealand Company had in colonizing these Islands, Mr. miffter, who had always taken a deep interest in the subject, resolved to proceed thither with his numerous family, consisting of ten children, and having sailed in the New Zealand Company's chartered ship, the Duke of Roxburgh, arrived here in February, 1840, and by his activity, aad practical good sense and kindness, manifested how well he was fitted for an infant colony. As he was one of our earliest settlers, so he was one of our, most energetic. He ever evinced the greatest interest in the prosperity of the colony, and we feel assured that from one end of this settlement to the other, there will be found few, or rather none, who had thff pleasure of being acquainted with Mr. Hunter, who cannot call to mind many instances of his kind heartedhess and active : zeal in behalf of the best interest of the community. His aptitude for business, shrewd sagacity, Und disinterested probity, recommended him alike to the favourable notice of the Local Government and of his fellow colonists. By 1 the former he was appointed a magistrate, and when municipal priviledgffs were granted to the settlers, he was unsolicedly and cordially elected first mayor in New Zealand. Mr. Hunter was a Director of the Union Bank of Australia—‘he was ever ready'to promote every useful and* benevolent institution, and almost always in every important Public meeting when he" appeared, he was unanimously called to the chair. His* unexpected death caused a deep feelilig of regret amongst the whole community, Who; we doubt not', sympathize with .his be-; Feared fatnily, to* Whom he was ever an affectionate parfent. Tlie great number both of Europeans and Maories who, notwithstanding the inclemency of the day , followed his remains tb the place of interment, showed how much and how justly he was respected and his loss deplored. Besides the members of his family, the funeral was attended by the Rev.. Messrs. Cole, Macfarlane, O'Reilly, Duncan, and S males, the whole of the Government and New Zealand Company's officers, the members of the Corporation,. and a‘ great majority of all classes of the community 1 . As Mr. Huftter had been a warm friend of thff Natives, so they on this mournful occasion showed their gratitude for his many kindnesses and their respect' to his memory. Epuni, accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Macfarlane, followed by Mbturoa, Etako, and about 120 Natives, walked in procession to the Burial ground, the former noW and then saying that "his heart was dark for the death of “ Hanita.” The Rev. Mr. Cole read the fuheral service in a very impressive manner, and we are sure that all left the grave deeply lamenting the loss which the colony and his family have sustained. The ships in the.harbour had their flags half-mast high; and 1 the Nelson fired minutes guns as the procession passed along the Beach, and the shops and. public offices were closed during the cereiriony.

(From the Auckland Chroni'cte.) Wrecks. —We have been informed that' Captain’Tyrril saw upon a beach near Cape runaway, the windlass of the ill-fated scliooner Speculator, about the safety of Which vessel and her passengers so rtnlch anxiety has long prevailed. Captain Tyrril has also seen the bows and forepart of a supposed to be the Sarah Maxwell,, belonging to Mr. Thomas Maxwell, and almost newly launched. Captain T. has brought up the bowsprit and the rudder of a boat,- belonging to the latter . vessel, which we understand he will bring oii shore that'it may be identified, Captain-T. waited some distance along the beach' on which the windlass was found to see if any other part of the wreck had been cast up, but* his search was unsuccessful. With regard to the former vessel little doubt can remain, as a man belongings to a whaling party near the spot, who had sailed in hfcr, positively identified it. Mr. M'Crae, the builder of the latter vessel will set all doubts respecting her at rest upon seeing,the Spat and rudder-

Some cordage and whale-lines have been shipped to Sydney and the Bay of Islands, from the Rope-work ofMr. Robertson, which is now in fuR operatian, and preparing from New Zealand drOasecfc manufactured materials of every deseriptfeuv equal to the best English rope. Busing Mrr Terry, there are sever&h

other persons now successfully directing their''-; attention and skill towards the dressing of New s Zealand Flax. Mr. Le.wington, at Wangari/ J has supplied Mr. Robertson with some flax ofsuperior quality. Capital, enterprise, and aliberal and wise Government, are alone requisite to make New Zealand a great and. a wealthy country. Nature has bountifully supplied all the elements of comfort and prosperity, but our government is afraid that we shall too soon become rich, and they, therefore, throw every impediment in the way of the settlers. — Ib.

Suicide" bV a Native Woman. About three weeks since, the wife (or rather one of the wives( of a native chief at Kaweranga, on the Thames, was most barbarously, for some alleged offence, hung up by the' heels, and exposed to the viewof the Whole tribe’, and mbstmhumanlybeaten. This treatment had' such an effect upon the poor Woman, that she got hold of a musket loaded with ball, placed' lief toe off the trigger, and fired the contents through her lungs; the ball passed to the spine where it remained, and she expired in ten days after. " Although there were two sub-protectors of Aborigines, and two Magistrates in the neighbourhood at the time, they did not take any notice of the matter, thus carrying out the principle followed invariably by the government, that a Maori can do no wrong, or at least, that no notice is to be taken by them of his crimes or misdemeanours. We regret to find this system constantly pursued, and that the natives are permitted to continue their abominable and barbarous practices, with-' out even a remonstrance from those individuals called Protectors, who are such a drag upon the revenue of this colony, and the occupation of the majority of whom appears to be to stir up mischief between the natives and the European settlers ; in fact, we believe them to be neither more nor less than- spies sent about to ascertain if there be any disputes- regarding the boundaries of the Settlers’ lands, and to do all in their power to cause dissatisfaction in the minds of the natives. With regard to the conduct of the Magistrates, we need make no remark; the course pursued in the case of the murder of Mrs. Roberton and family some eighteen months since, is too vivid in our recollection to cause surprise at any thing that may emanate from men so recklessly chosen, and so ill adapted from education, and previous pursuits, to fill the important situations to which they have been appointed.— lb.

Bat of Islands. —All the whalers have left the bay for the season. Tahiti appears to be now the favorite place of resort.. No less than eighty whalers’ were there during the last seasoh. The establishment of ciistoms and other uhnecessary restrictions, have driven them away from our' ports. What have we received in return ? an establishment of customs the Revenue from which does not pay the salaries of the officers. Some kind and generous persons at the Bay of Islands have petitioned Mr. Shortland to accept (on behalf of the government) of half the lands of their neighbours at Kororarika. This is really being liberal. We may in our next insert this petition, with remarks. In the meantime, we recommend the Kororarika people to keep their hinds for themselves. They need not be afraid thfct Russell shall ever be made a township. There is nowno money to throw away on rocks'. These days are gone by.— lb.

Cavern Discovered; —An immense natural 5 cavern has been discovered at Biirrangilong creek, near Bathurst, which is about twice the size of the celebrated Fingal’s Cave, in the island of Staflu, in Scotland, and three or four times larger than Okey Hole, on the south side of the Mendip Hills. The roof arid sides of the cavermare composed of stalactite of every variety of colour, white, yellow, pale pink, and green; and every imaginable shape and : size, some oblong and conical, some round and irregular, twisted and turned'into all imaginable fantastic diversities, griffins, and rampant lions, dead sheep, fowls, sceptres,.-swords,--and : switches; A large quantity ef petrified wood, and a number of petrified bbnesof-the Available, and wombat, were found in’the cavefri, and the water which' flows through it is' of'.a highly petrvfying nature. Its length is 720* feet, its greatest breadth 130 feet, it's greatest height 100 feet, and its lowest height 17 feet.— lh,

Softness of the Tahitian Language.— When we first heard the natives conversing together, we could scarcely conceive that the sounds Were those of speech; so smooth arid well-voweiled and liquid were all these; that they seemed only indistinct murmurings' in the air round our ears. The hum of bees under a. lime-tree in blossom might, to our apprehension;- have been as easily resolved into words as the audible, breath that came from lips on, which our eyes were fixed, but which were dumb to our understanding. By little and' little, and by the exercise of minute attention, we learned to unravel the- implicated cadences of low, soft voices, which, frofh unintelligible monotony, grew into emphatic expression, and at length rose into the harmonious utterance of ever-varying thought, in diction' correspondingly copious and clear. Nay, so voluble, sweet", and agreeable to the ear is the speech, but especiall/the Song of the lonely inhabitants of ‘ thesri uttermost isles, that we cannot more' aptly illustrate its peculiarity, than by calling it/ the Italian of banbarians.~~Tlte»flj?// , f Sofith Sqas^

Mineral and Vegetable Exports of New Zealand.

Among the Exports in our last week’s Shipping List were a hundred tons of Copper ore, two tons of Sulphur, and fifteen tons of Manganese, by the Tryphena ; and 70,000 feet of sawn timber by the Osprey. The copper ore is the j>roduce of the very rich mines which have been for some time worked at the Barrier Island. From the reports of persons fully competent to judge, these mines are not only richer than* those in the mother country, but they are also very" easily worked, and the mineral appears to be inexhaustible. Copper ore is to be found in various other parts of the Great Barrier Island, as well as in the north end of this Island, in the neighbourhood of the Bay of Islands, and at Monganui on the lands of Mr. Brodie, who it is supposed has gone to England with the view of establishing a company for the purpose of making these mines available It is to be hoped he may be successful. English capital alone can be expected to accomplish such great undertakings as the proper working cf mines. Since the sailing of the Tryphena, the Shamrock has sailed with 25 tons more of the Manganese ore, which was quarried or collected and put on board in less than two days. The oxide of Manganese is found in great abundance on a small island belonging to Mr. Tayler, almost in the harbour of Auckland, at least so near that any vessel leaving this port may with greater convenience ballast with Manganese ore than with common stone. It is supposed that Manganese is also to be found in another island about twenty miles to the northward of Auckland. We are glad to hear that certain parties are about working Coal at Mauranghi, in which place a considerable bed of this mineral has been lately discovered. Gigantic Kauri. —“ It is in the forests on the ridge of mountains on the eastern coast, near Mercury Bay, that the largest Kauri tree in New Zealand is. growing. It is called by the natives ‘The Father of the Kauri.’ Although almost incredible, it measures seventy-five feet in circumference, at its base. The height is unknown, for the surrounding forest is so thick it is impossible to ascertain it accurately. There is an arm, some distance up the tree, which measures six feet in diameter at its junction with the parent trunk.”— Terry's New Zealand.

Fegee Islands. —We have been favoured with the perusal of a very interesting letter, dated April 30, 1843, from Captain King of the American brig Cyprus, to a gentleman in this town. Captain King gives a very favorable account of these islands, and of their adaptation for establishing an European settlement. Cotton, coffee and sugar are produced in great abundance; Captain King says: — “ It only wants men of firmness and a little capital, and they will soon reap rich rewards.” Captain Clayton was residing on one of the Feegee islands, “ Rava,” at the date of this letter, but was about returning to this country after having purchased that island. We hope to hear of his return every day — Southern Cross. Tahiti. —By the brig Nimrod, which arrived at the Bay of Islands on the 23d instant, we are in possession of later news from the above place than that received from Sydney. The Vindictive was still at Tahiti, anchored in the mouth of the harbour under the shelter of a coral reef. A French man of war was also in the harbour. It is reported that Captain Nicholas had some quarrel with the French Consul in consequence of some reports spread among the natives by the latter to the prejudice of the English. The French flag was still flying, but it is reported that Captain Nicholas insists on the maintenance of native law and authority. The settlers expect that the present dispute between the French and the English will terminate in a serious quarrel. Business was very dull at Tahiti. It was reported that England was about taking possession of the Sandwich Island. We cannot vouch for the-aboye report. The arrival of the Julia will put us- in possession of facts. The south sea islands appear at length to be attracting the notice of the European powers, and to be deemed worthy of being looked after. If England knew her own interest, she would seethe necessity of behaving a little better to her subjects in this part of the world. In the event of a brush with France in this quarter it might not be altogether against her interest to conciliate the settlers of New Zealand. Her present title to their obedience and subjection is founded more upon power than love. — lb. Clearing Land in Canada. —The process is begun by cutting with a heavy bush hook the shrubs and slender saplings, which are then piled in large Heaps; the axe follows and cuts down the young trees, the larger ones being left for . the present: the felled ones are cut in lengths and piled with the limbs on the brush heaps. All these have been cut quite close to the. ground, so that the stumps may offer no obstruction to the harrow; all being piled, • nothing remains but to fell the large trees, which is done at .about two feet from the ground, the stumps being permitted to remain till the gradual • decomposition of the . roots allows of their • extraction- —a work of years. The trunks of the trees ate . now chopped into lengths ; those vwhifib are useful for fencing placed by them-

selves, to be removed : and the remainder, by the efforts of the oxen with chaitfl, and men with levers are piled one upon another, and the tops thrown into heaps as before. In this state everything remains daring the summer exposed to the burning sun of July, August, and September, which dries up a good deal of the moisture and makes the heaps fit to burn. In the fall (autumn), advantage is taken of a dry time to put fire to the logs and brush, which burn rapidly, and are usually consumed with the exception of some remnants of the log heaps, which are piled together for a final burning: The running of the -fires over the ground kills every vegetable, and the fertilising ashes make the’whole in‘jgood order for culture. The plough is not put into the ground for some years, until the -small stumps and roots have decayed; it is merely harrowed over, the virgin earth being soft and mellow ; and grain is sowed with grass seed. After the first crop, it remains in grass for several years. Such is the ordinary practice, slightly varying according to circumstances. — Auckland Chronicle. An Island Fortress.— Aborima, one of the Navigator’ Islands, is about two miles in circumference, from two to three hundred feet in height, and is situated half-way between Manono and Savaii. It received its name, which signifies ‘ the hollow of the hand,’ from its remarkable shape. Most probably it is the crater of some extinct volcano. It is precepitous and inaccessible, except at one small opening; and the people of Monono, to whom it is subject, use it in time of war as a fortress for their families and property, and, in the event of defeat, as a retreat for themselves. For these purposes it is well adapted, as it is so completely protected on all sides by the inaccessible rocks, that it is only necessary to guard the narrow entrance. This is done most effectually : first, by throwing tripping lines across it, so that men stationed on the jutting rocks that flanked the passage could easily overturn every canoe that entered it, and secondly, by constructing a platform or bridge on the rocks that overhang this opening, from which they could hurl huge stones upon the invaders. Although, therefore, the people of Monono had been at times driven from their own island, this retreat was so effectually guarded, and so well provided with food, that they never had been, and scarcely could be subdued. Barren and sterile as are the sides of the rocks, a very different appearance is presented when you arrive opposite to the point where the crater has emptied itself. Here the whole of the interior opens at once to the view, and anything more beautiful or unique cannot be imagined. The island is a basin, most regularly scooped out, and ascending with a gentle slope from the centre to the circumference : 'and although,, on approaching it, nothing meets the eye but sterile cliffs, when you catch a glimpse of the amphitheatre within, you discover then a glorious contrast to the dreariness and desolation without. Not a barren spot is to be seen, but one verdant covering of tropical vegitation, the whole of which, from the particular form of the Island, : presents itself at a single view, and" fills the beholder with delight. If anything could enhance the beauty of the scene, it is the group of native dwellings, which, half revealed among the trees of cocoa-nut, bread-fruit, and banana, form the settlement. — Auckland Chronicle. Delicious Beverage afforded by the Cocoa-nut. —In many of the r eoral islands of the South Seas there are neither springs nor streams ; and were it not for the cocoa-nut, the inhabitants must perish. On a sultry day, when the very ground burns With heat, a native, by climbing the cylindrical trunk of one of these trees, can pluck a dozen unripe nuts, each containing a pint or more of water, as cool and refreshing as from the limpid stream. The cocoa-nut milk, as it is obtained in England, conveys no accurate idea of the delicious beverage used by the natives ; for as the nuts are old and dry, the fluid is ranced. In the tropics the water is drank before the kernel is formed, when it is pretty clear, and combines a degree of acidity and sweetness which renders it as refreshing as lemonade. — Auckland Chonicle.