New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, Octobdr. 28, 1848.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume V, Issue 338, 28 October 1848, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, Octobdr. 28, 1848.

In, addition to the -other' calamities it has been our painful duty to record during the last fortnight, we haye now- another of a different, and, if possible,, of a yet more dis-tressing-character in the wreck of the Subraon, on.Thursday night,- at the entrance of this har-bour.. As far as we can leari), the following will be found a correct account pf the particulars of this melancholy catastrophe. The Subracn weighed anchor on Thursday afternoon for Sydney, in charge of Calder the pilot, having on board about forty passengers, including men, women, and children. The wind at the time was blowing \ fresh from. the south. On nearing the- entrance , of. the harbour, instead of makin.g the outer'passage, which is r almost invariably used by the different vessels 'frequenting tfye harbour, the pilot, although warned by Captain Mills that the vessel would not stay, attempted to take her through the inner, or Chaffers' passage. In tacking, the ship missed stays, the pilot then attempted to wear her, but there not being sufficient room, the .vessel struck on the rocks about eight o'clock in the evening within one hundred yards of the shore, and about three quarters of a mile of the pilot's house. Captain Mills immediately used every effort ta^J^tKe lives of those under his care, and his coolness and presence of mind, afcd the 'excellent conduct of his' officers and crew, inspired the passengers with' confidence ; preparations were made for landing the passengers,, aad although the wind was blowing rather fresh from the South and a heavy swell setting in, this was providentially effected without any loss of life. The greater part of the passengers obtained shelter in the pilot's hoslse, while some preferred' walking on to ywfy* lington, where they arrived at three o'clfcpfc yesterday morning. Atan early -hoT^r. yesterday. sever^ljbpa^^Hm^S|^ the vessel toassistin saving* s£^f^<>!«9Rg property, j of the passengers. ' Captain Ofile^of H.MJSJ Fly despatched hi 3 boats and a strong par,ty' j of nieu to the vessel, and ,they were most actively employed the whole of yesterday under Captain Oliver's personal superintendence and that of his officer s in rendering every assistance in saving the cargo. Mr. Moore also sent the jGfifsy round to render assistance^ The passengers speak in the highest terms of Captain Mills' conduct and that ofrhis officers and crew on this trying occasion, and entirely exonerate him from any < blame" in this misfortune. 'He has if ever left the sliip,' aijd his' energy, and presSttSe* of raihd -have mainly contributed in saving the passengers and cargo.' , We hope a proper" inquiry' will be instituted "int9 th^,circumstances' connected with, the . loss ofttns vessel, in order that the facts may be dearly placed on record qn t the best authority ; the gejiefal impression appears' to be that, but Ij|i£tne'pilot, this melancholy accident, 1 would nesfer have .happened. • ' , > .<■>'• Thfere is not the slightest" chance .of saving ,the vessel, -which is fast on the rocks ; ] her" rudder is washed- away, she is down by the head, and makes a considerable quantity of water in the hold, and H with ttie first' strong south-easter will/ go to pieces.« 4 The weather has been calm >and favourable for saving" the cargo, ,

Although several shocks of earthquake have been experienced during the last few days, the last so recently as. a quarter past one Y,clpC;Js,tHj i Sf morning, yet they are cvi.

"(Sehtlylfecomiftgsligh£ei < -aß2[- less frequent; confidence is returning," anffthe impression is generally gaining ground that these dreadful visitations are passing away. The principal force of the earthquakes appears to have been felt in this part of Cook's Strait ; at Manawatu the first shock (on the 16th) was most severely felt ; at Akaroa and Port Cooper also the shock on the 16th appears to have been most severe; at Wairarapa and Taranaki % the - shocks do not appear to have been 'so' violent,.^ while on the" East Coast at Ahtifriri, Poverty Bay, and to the north of East Cape the earthquakes do not appear, to have, been^ felt- at .all. ,There -is also a difference of opinion as to Hie direction of the shocks. Some appear to think the shocks have proceeded from North' to" Soujtb, while others anainta^ that they have been in the opposite direction, namely, from south to north, others again incline to trie opinion that the shocks have come from the south-west. The severity of the shocks appears to have been commonly estimated by their effects ; in many of the places we have mentioned the buildings are chiefly of wood or built after the native fashion, and in, either case would give ■to the force of- the shock, while in J Wellington 1 'the "brick buildings being of a solid unyielding nature' have been thrown , downl At Cloudy. Bay, Queen l Charlotte's Sound, and Cape Campbell, the shocks appear to have been felt as severely as at Wellington. A long streak of light of a bright red colour was observed on Thursday night, the 26th, of a similar character to that which was seen on the nights of the 16th and I,7th instant, and in the same direction, towards the north. It was brighter than the former light, and was visible for about a quarter of an hour, between the hours of nine and ten o'clock, when it suddenly disappeared altogether.

In the confusion and excitement under which our last number was published, we omitted to make mention of the material assistance rendered by the 65th Regiment during phe late calamity. Immediately after the great shock on Thursday, Colonel Gold proceeded to the barracks at Te Aro, t and fatigue parties were, ordered' out to give' assistance wherever their services . might be required. Throughout the day the officers exerted themselves in the' most indefatigable manner in maintaining order, and in directing 1&e exertions of their men ; a strong ,'party was employed at Messrs. Rhodes' s store to clear ,aw;ay v the rubbish and remove such goods as had .escaped injury to ,a, place of safety ; and sentinels were posted by the fallen stores to protect the property from plunder."' 'The sentinels have still been continued at Te Aro, in the. neighbourhood of the Ordnance, and other stores where the property is exposed, or any danger likely to Qecur to passengers .from, the state of .the buildings. , r • i

The Harlequin arrived yesterday from the Southward, having leftOtakou the 17th, and Akaroa the 25 th inst. She has brought on the mail of the Eliza from Hobart Town, which arrived at Otakou the day the Harlequin sailed. The latest' English intelligence received at Hobart Town was to June 5.

The Fisherman arrived from Taranaki on Wednesday. Whea .off Waimate ■on her return to Taranaki from; -Manukau, on the Bth instant, Mr. J. Watson the master of the vessel, was struck by the boom and knocked overboard. The ; wind was blowing iieavily from the 1 south-east at the time, the men- on boai-d immediately layto and threw ropes to endeavour to save him,_but we regret to say without success, and' he was unfortunately' drowned.' Mr. Watson was one of the oldest coasters connected with this port, he had been » chiefly -engaged in the trade "ly^ween Wellington and Taranaki, .and^wasfecaT'eful an^'aßle'sailor. „ ,

Programme of : the- performance by the Band, of the 6"htV "Regiment, at .Thqrndpn Flat;' on Tuesday, the 31st October:'-^-'" 1. Overture — Le Barcarolle .'.' Auber 2. Cavatina— Cotne 'per me Sereao "I j — Sonnmbula ; y • 3. QuadriUe-^Falstaif i ........ Balfe 4. ,Cavatina —^Vi 7Sonambula. Bellini. Si' Pas Ac Fleur Waltzes ' \, Barrett r\ 6. r Cava.tioa-r-,TaDcredi . . . v ..'..;.., Rossini 7." Ga10pt*. . '. ........ i<. ....:... . .f Boieldieu $] Pbika . .,"!' ■• „ ! Mwf. Goldsmith

An 'attempt has b^en' made to tribe some connection the ■ weather' anoV the succession of earthquakes with' which this settlement has been; visited- during the last fortnight:'- 'It' is to be observed that of the f&ur .most seyeie^ shocks which have , $een experienced, .during this interval, , the fipt and third (on. the 16th and 19th) occurred at the tirae of a violent south-easter aecQin-panied-'w'ith rdin, ' while the second and fourth (on the 17th. 1 and 24th inst.), andalso by far the, greater number of shocks occurred in fine'" clear calm weather, the violent

rains-wfrich tf have fallen having preceded the shocks of earthquake.^ Baron Humboldt, who isr'considere'd the gfe%|pst>au^hprity on this subject^ /qb serve s QnigSibfgjgL In countries where earth%^akesr'are.jcomj^|a'atively much rarer (than in South? Aniefcpja), a very general belief, grounded upon an^imperfect induction, prevails ; viz. that calms, oppressive heats, and a misty state of the horizon, are always preludes to an earthquakes The^erroneousness^pf tH|s popular belie£/is not, however, "shewn by my'own experience only; it is J further gainsaid by the observations of all who have lived long in countries where earthquakes are frequent and violent, as in Cumana, Quito, Peru, and Chili. I have experienced earthquakes when the' air was clear," and afresh east^wind was blowing, as well as during rain and "thunder storms ;" — and in a note he adds, " Th^se^ 'signs, 'from cloudsT^onTalfereffaerTaHel^^ tricity, and from 'cj^m^j, cannot be rega^ed. as universally signij[Bgant,, as necessarily connected with earthquakes:" and further"* on observes, " Nturferical inquiries on the distribution of earthquakes throughput the course of the year, such as have been instituted with great industry ,by Yon Hoff, Merian, and Fred. Hoffman, vouch for their frequency at; the" epochs of the equinoxes." The following extract from Darwin's Journal of a Voyage round the World, relating to this subject, will be rea^d, with -considerable interest : — " The connection between earthquakes and the weather has been often disputed : it appears to me to be a point of great interest, which. -is little understood. Humboldt has remarked in one part of the Personal Narrative, that it wou]d be difficult for any person who had long resided in New Andalusia, or in Lower Peru, to d^ny that there, exists some connexion between the phenomena: in another part, however, he" seems to think the conrnexion fanciful. <* "At Guayaquil,-.it is said that a heavy shower.in the dry season is invariably followed by an earthquake.- In Northern Chili, from the extreme infrequency of rain, or'even of weather.'for.ebdding fain } the. probability b*f"accidental coincidences becomes very small ; yet the inhabitants are here' most firmly convinced of some connexion between the state of the'atmospbere and of- ehe-tr'em-bling of the gtc-unc" ; I was much struck by this, when mentioning Sto some at Copiapo that thex* bayi been a shajrp -shock at Coqnimbo :- ttfieyj' immediately' "-criedj' out, "How forttibatgi there will- be plenty of pasture there this year." To their mjnds an earthqualce foretold -rain, as purely, as rain foretold abundant pasture.' Certainly) it did so happen that on the ve.iy day of the earthquake, that shower of rain fell, which I have described I ' as in ten days' time pro'dutirigf a thin sprinkling of grass.' At other times, rain has followed earthquakes,, at, it period of the year when it is a far greater prodigy thari the earthquake itself : this happened alter the shock of November 1822, and again, in 1829 at Valparaiso ; also after' that of September 1833 at Tacna.t-' A person must be somewhat habituated to the climate of thestfe^Tatries, to perceive the extreme improbability^! 1 rain falling at such seasons, except as a consequence of some law quite uncon'nectedPwith the ordinary course .of, the weather.) [In the cases of great volcanic eruptions, , as ..that pf Coseguina, where torrents,. 'of rain felt Mistime of the year most unusual for it, and * almost unprecedented in Central- America, 1 it is not ■difficult to understand that the/,volumes of vapour and' clouds of ashes might have disturbed .Ttli^ atmospheric equilibrium. H.amboldt extends this, view !to the /cajse,, of earthquakes unaccompanied ".by eruptions; L but lean' hardly conce'ive'itpossible^th^t the small quantity of aeriform fluids which 'then escape from the fissured grpqnuV can produce such remarkable effects. There appears much probability in the view-first 'proposed" by Mr. P. Scrope.'that when tjie> barxiaiater is )o* t and when rain might naturally be expected to fall, the diminished pressure of the atmosphere v over a wide extent of- country,- might weihdetermine the precise day i( ois|Stahisi Me earth, already stretched to the utn^g^y llie subterranean forces,' should yield, *ci||jßraEft)d consequently trembje. ..it is^nqweyer/W^plfalhow far.^thig idea viiil .explain the circumstance of torrents^f rain falling r in theory season during./several day^s, after an''earthquake unaccorapjanied by, an'j eruption ; such cases seem to bespeak, jsome more intimate connexion between the atmospheric /and subterranean regions."