MAILS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume I, Issue 21, 1 March 1845, Page 3

MAILS.

Post-office, Wellington, March 1, 1845. Mails will close at the ahove Office as follows :—: — For Sydney, also for London, Hobart Town, South and Western Australia, via Sydney, per Vanguard, this day- at one o'clock. For New Plymouth and Auckland, per Slams Castle, this day, at 4 o'clogjk. For Petre, New Plymouth,- Auckland, and Russell, overland, on Monday the 3rd inst, at ten o'clock, a. m. J. Macarthy, Deputy Acting Postmaster.

Extract from a letter per Slams Castle, from London — The Directors are very guarded in their expressions of exultation, for fear, I suppose, of irritating Lord Stanley, who, I believe, has not yet shewn any indication of the manner in which he intends to act. * He may be ungracious, but he can no longer be as unjust as formerly. Many of Captain Fitzroy's acts, if they have been ts reported, will be disallowed here ; and much dissatisfaction on the part of the natives may be expected in consequence : but I trust we shall soon see all matters put into a regular train, and general prosperity will soon follow. I imagine the first operation of the Directors here will be to re-organize the. " Scotch Colony "if possible. But Lord Stanley has so obstinately resisted the location of it in the South, that if he gives way now it will be a strong symptom that they have taken the conceit out of him. Yet Rennie is so committed against any other situation than Port Cooper or the neighbourhood, that he must go thither or stay at home. I have not heard a very favourable report of the small quantity of flax hilherty imported. In so many years, I believe the amount is under 50 tons in all. The last Auckland papers received give an account of the discovery of a chemical .method, (the employment of sub-carbonate of potash,) by which all the pulpy and gummy matter is removed from the fibre with great ease and little expense. I hope your next letter will tell me that the plan has been successfully tried at Wellington. Very little or rather nothing can be done here to improve the operation, because the plant and i s peculiarities are unknown among us ; so that all must be left to the skill and perseverance of the settlers. There is reason to hope that there will be a demand for New Zealand woods for furniture and cabinet work. Levien, from Wellington, has established himself in Broad Street Buildings, and has turned out some beautiful specimens of wood and workmanship. I had the satisfaction of paying him the first money he received here — £10 for a tea-poy of Totara. Earp told me the other day that £26 per ton had been offered for some choice pieces. Sir George Seymour who sailed for Valparaiso in the Colling-* wood, to take the command in the Pacific, told me the other day that it has been proposed to take New Zealand from the Indian station and place it under his command, to which it seems more properly to belong ; but many difficulties were started, and he believed it would not be done.. You will find, among the resolutions of! the late Committee, one recommending the immediate employment of an armed steamer on your coasts, to assist in restraining the natives if necessary, but particularly to facilitate communication between the different settlements. I hear very little about Auckland. Mrs. S , who has lately gone to reside there, wrote to a friend of mine tfiat she could not go out of her house without -being U P to her knees in water. That does <not sound like good drainage. It was very unfortunate that the Company were cajoled into their under* taking to lay out £50,000 their,