INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4249, 2 November 1874, Page 3

INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS.

NORTH ISLAND. AUCKLAND. The departure of three moderately-sized coasting steamers on the 19th, says the Herald, caused some stir and bustle on the wharf in the immediate vicinity of where they lay. The shipment of merchandise and the embarkation of passengers with the usual train of friends to see them off, gave a lively and business-like aspect to the whole affair. It is worthy of note that the coastal trade at the port has of late years steadily increased in proportions. For instance, a few years ago the trade with the Bay of Islands was carried on by the schooner Ivanhoe, which used to make periodical visits. Now the steamer Rowena is found insufficient for the trade, and a larger steamer is required to take her place. Besides this, several sailing craft are employed in the Bay of Islands coal trade. A small cutter was a few years ago quite sufficient for the Tauranga trade ; the Southern Cross steamer is now well patronised by passengers each weekly trip, and cutters are still running between the ports. The steamer Pretty Jane each fortnightly trip to Gisborne, carries a large cargo in addition to numerous passengers, while formerly the trade was monopolised by a small schooner. These facts show the steady increase of trade with the settlements on the coast. The alleged murder at Kohimarama, by a Maori named Newton, is being made the subject of investigation by coronor's inquest. The Native Assessors had previously held a tribunal, and, in accordance with its decision, Newton was handed over to justice, and the body of the native girl, Henareata Tapuni, was taken charge of by the police, and conveyed to the dead-house. It is understood that all the apprehended difficulty about the closing of the Piako has passed away. Natives and goods belonging to natives have been taken up, and nothing is now said about stopping the steamer. The long-pending libel case of Regina versus Reed and Brett, the Herald state?, came to a conclusion yesterday morning, after the jury had been locked up all night. The panel could not agree upon a verdict, and were discharged upon the order of His Honor the Chief Justice. The foreman stated that the jury were unanimous in the conclusion that Captain Fraser's remarks were injudicious, and also that the Star's comments were intemperate. And so the affair has ended. The result is that Captain Fraser has not entirely vindicated himself, nor has the editor of the Star altogether justified the course pursued. The matter submitted to legal arbitration was a very small one indeed, and involved nothing to compromise either the plaintiff or the defendants. Captain Fraser had, ex cathedra, given utterance to expressions which in his magisterial capacity he should not have done, and for which he was severely taken to task by the three Auckland journals, with this difference, that the two morning papers confined their strictures to legitimate comment and the evening journal went somewhat beyond. Men holding responsible positions, and engaged in the discharge of high public functions should not be too thin-skinned. Had Captain Fraser avoided speaking on the spur of the moment, and permitted himself time to reflect, he would not have allowed the words he used to escape him. Had the editor of the Eceniny Star given himself sufficient leisure to have expressed his opinions, he would, no doubt, have toned down his words to a more gentle utterance. There is much to be said on both sides, and nothing specially favorable to either. The Cross, which ought to be an authority on the subject (remarks the Thames Advertiser) has stated that Sir Donald McLean may be expected in Auckland in a few days, but we do not think that our contemporary's information can he correct. Sir Donald intends, we believe, to come by Hawke's Bay and Taupo, passing through the Arawa country, where extensive land purchases have lately been made, and where there are a number of matters unsettled, requiring the attention of the Native Minister. He intends also to visit Tauranga, and there also several days' work awaits him. We do not see that Sir Donald McLean can be here before December, and as Ohinemuri cannot be opened till he comes, or at all events will not be opened till he comes, we need not expect anything to be done till January next —and we shall only be too thankful if anything effective is done then. Te Hira has lately, we understand, consented to enter into negotiations with Mr. Mackay as to his position in contemplation of the country being opened, and has indicated what pieces he wishes reserved from European occupation, and what he wishes to be set apart as cultivations for himself and his immediate relatives. There ieems to be. no doubt that Tukukino, Hohepa te Uewhihi and others who have strongly opposed the opening, will go with Te Hira when he consents. These people when they came over from Whakatiwai took a large quantity of goods up with them to Ohinemuri, and to several of them were paid sums of money. Whether or not there is gold in Ohinemuri remains to be seen, but at all events there is some kauri bush on the hills, which will soon be utilised, if the country were opened. On one of the bushes, Waitekuwa, money has been paid for several years, but the party who advanced the cash lately sold to the Government, so that, when the country is opened, the kauri will be the property of the Government. The Coromandel Mail of the 22nd inst. says : —We have the painful duty,to record the decease of Mr. John O'Neill, father of Mr. Charles O'Neill, M.H.R., which took place on Tuesday evening, at his residence, Kapanga. The deceased gentleman was a very old settler, and was as much respected as he was widely known. He was said to have been the oldest living representative of the original O'Neill family. The Waikato settlers have every right to complain in no measured terms of the shabby treatment they have received at the hands of those who have had the direction of Mr. Holloway's movements, says the Waikato -Timet. He has been rushed into tho district, and rushed out of it again ; he arrived on Thursday night, and left a little after daylight on Monday morning. He lost none of the time at his disposal, in fact, did not reach Ngaruawahia till nearly eleven o'clock on Sunday night. He had time to cursorily glance at the inhabited portion of the district only, to use his own language—- " The best has been reserved till the last." Ha was taken to the north of Auckland, where the worst specimens of land in the whole province are situated, and of which he could not fail to report, unfavorably. The Waikato, Poverty Bay, and the other settlements on 'the East Coast, all of which would have well repaid a visit, have never been added to his programme. Several deserters from the Industrial Home were brought before the Bench at the Police Court yesterday, says the New Zealand Herald of the 27th October. Two of them—the ringleader and one who had absconded four times previously—were ordered to be whipp«d, and the others were cautioned. The boy who had caused so much trouble to the master and incited the other children to desert was one committed as a criminal to the Home, and the evil influence he has exercised shows the necessity for making a distinction between children merely neglected and those who have been convicted of offences. It is a matter of regret that circumstances should have necessitated the committal of criminal and neglected children to the one place, to grow up together. Provision should certainly bo made for the reparation of those two classes. One of the most richly-deserved Hontcnces which has'evcr been passed in the Police Court was inflicted by the Resident Magistrate on the 24th October. The offence for which the. delinquent was charged was an assault on a helpless baby five months old. The evidence disclosed a chapter of revolting profligacy rarely surpassed. The prisoner, a, German named Von Gravanitz, was proved to have been cohabiting with a woman who has very recently been admitted into the hospital suffering under some dangiTouH complaint. Her infant was loft in the ca.ro of her paramour, | and her father who lived in the samo house | with him, tho father of the infant being at the ! Bay of Islands, From the testimony o£ Home

of the neighbors who had interfered on the child's behalf from' motives of humanity, and from the dreadfully emaciated condition of the little victim, who was produced in Court, there was no doubt that it had been actually starved nearly to death, and one witness swore to having seen the heartless brute strike it. Mr. Beckham sentenced the prisoner to pay a fine of £lO, of which one-half would go towards the support of the child, or in default to be imprisoned with hard labor for two months. MB. SHEEHAN AT irAHURANGI. (From the New Zealand Herald, October 26.) Mr. J. Sheehau, M.H.R., met his constituents in the Public Hall, Mahurangi, on Saturday evening. Mr. H. Palmer was voted to the chair. Mr. Sheehan spoke at considerable length, and carefully reviewed the principal measures of the session. He announced his intention to oppose the proposed constitutional amendment, and if defeated, would then endeavor to secure as large a measure as possible of local self-government for the outdistricts. Mr. Sheehan was enthusiastically received, and was frequently applauded during the course of his address. Mr. Moore proposed, and Mr. Hudson seconded, a vote of confidence. Mr. Angove said he had much pleasure in supporting the motion ; Mr. Sheehan had done more for the electorate than any man who had represented them either in the Council or the Assembly, and they would be glad to have Mr. Sheehan's services as their representative in tho new Parliament. He hoped the meeting would follow up the motion by three cheers for Mr. Sheehan. The motion was passed unanimously, and three hearty cheers were give a for Mr. Sheehan. A vote of thanks to the chairman closed the proceedings. DANGERS OF WHALING. —LOSS 01' LIFE.| About two months ago, says the Southern Cross, some natives belonging to Rawhiti, about twelve miles south of this, made preparations for whaling along the coast between their settlement and the north entrance to the Bay of Islands; and, in connection, we regret to have to report occurrences which resulted in tho death of one man, and which point to tho belief that six more have perished. The following are the particulars : —From various causes they had been quite unsuccessful in their undertaking, when on Friday afternoon last, the 16th inst., four boats were out. One made fast to a whale, and followed by two of the other boats, was towed out to sea by the whale. The fourth boat lulled a calf (young whale), and, after taking it ashore, proceeded after the other boats, but being unable to find them, returned. The others killed the whalo just before sundown, when they found themselves out of sight of land, and all three hooking on commenced to tow the whale for the shore. But in the night a fearful gale sprang up from the south-east, accompanied by thunder and lightning and torrents of _ rain, and a heavy sea began to run. In spite of all, hungry, wet, tired, and cold, the men held on to their prize with a bravery that deserved success till about three in the morning, when exhaustion and the terrible sea compelled them to let go and make for the shore. The crew of the boat which had first made fast to the whale were most worn out, two men utterly failing and lying down in the boat, leaving only three to pull and one to steer, and the others called to them to abandon their boat and come into the other two —half into each boat. But the head man of the now missing crew said he would rather die in his boat, and this is the last that is known of that crew up to the present time. All Saturday, without food or much clothing, the two other crews toiled on exposed to a cold pitiless rain and a pitiless sea. They saw a sail floating belonging to the missing boat, and some of the wooden poles for her harpoons. Saturday night still at sea, many of the men failing, and on°Sunday morning, jiist before reaching the shore, one man (a Kanaka) died. On Sunday forenoon they reached the beach near the Cavalli Islands, where they found shelter and assistance, and where they buried their dead comrade. TARANAKI. The Superintendent has gazetted Mr. John Duffin as sergeant of the New Plymouth police force* in the place of Sergeant Dunn, deceased. Mr. Duffin has for many years been connected with the force, and has performed his duties most efficiently. Mr. Courtney held his first cattle sale at Oakura, on Wednesday, October 21, when about sixty head were yarded. The attendance of buyers was small. Twenty-one head were sold at the following prices : —Dry cows, £3 7s. 6d. to £4 10s.; working bullocks, £22 10sthe pair; yearlings, £1 155.; two and three; year old steers, £4 7s. 6d., £4 10s., and £G ; a saddle hack, £7. A branch of the Bank of New South Wales is about to be established at Carlyle. During the discussion upon the selection of school-books at the Patea' Education Board, at Patea, Mr. T. Middlemas is reported to have read a passage from the Irish National series as follows :—Second reading book, twentieth page, How the world was made—" On that day also He made the earth to bring forth grass and seed, and trees of all kinds. On the fourth he made the sun." * * * Mr. Middlemas said that " for the sake of truth such books as that should not be permitted to be read in the schools. How could the grass grow before the sun was made ? " MIDDLE ISLAND. CANTERBURY. CANTERBURY INDUSTRIAL HCUOOL. (From the Li/ttelton Times, Oct. 27.) The establishment of an industrial school is of such importance, that a few particulars concerning the one at Burnham will no doubt prove generally acceptable. Though a very few months have elapßed since it was opened for the reception of children, there is reason to assume that much good has been done, and that the good will increase with each succeeding year. Mr. and Mrs. Colee, the master and matron,, seem thoroughly able and willing to discharge the onerous duties devolving upon them. The first committals to an institution of this kind must necessarily represent the worst types of youthful delinquency, from tho faot that, as soon as it is open, the police naturally look up those who have attained special distinction for conduct punishable by a term of years at an industrial school, and on whom they may have had an eye for some time previous. These early arrivals, though numerically small, axe thus calculated to require the most careful management, and any person who may visit the Burnham school must be satisfied that its management is in good hands. The children appear happy and contented with their lot, and their general bearing affords a marked contrast to what can be remembered by any one who was acquainted with them before they were placed under Mr. Colee's charge. Mora or less objection to tho discipline of the establishment was manifested by each arrival during tho first week or two after admission, but firm, yet kind treatment, generally produced obedience. Tho punishment imposed for controverting any of the rules, or telling untruths, has been tho temporary deprivation of those articles of food in the dietary scale most attractive to youth,' and an earlier retirement to bed for a certain number of days, instead of corporal punishment, and the result has always been satisfactory. Many of the children, aB shown by the official diary, indulged in their propensities for stealing and evading the truth, after admission to the school, but have been gradually cured of it, and as ono instance of the good achieved, it may be mentioned that a boy, who was completely unmanageable when at large, is now trusted as messenger, often to places miles away from the school, and shows no inclination to resume his old vices. These are facts which must give pleasure to all who take an interest iu tho welfare of children. The school buildings aro about a quarter of a mile distant from tho Burnham railway station in a westerly direction. The buildings were intended as a reformatory, until it was found that an industrial school was more in keeping with the requirements of the province, and an alteration was accordingly made. Tho total cost of erection was upwards of £SOOO, and, though Mr. Colee took possession in September, 1873, tho workmen did not finish until February last. A block of land 243 acres in extent was originally set apart for tho reformatory, but since then 750 acres adjoining have been re-

served, thus 1000 acres are attached to the school. The design of the buildings is plain, yet they have a neat appearance, and are of a substantial character. The master's residence, with store rooms, offices, lavatory, and bath rooms, occupy the centre, the boys' wing being on the right, and the girls' on the left, with no means of communication between the two, excepting through the master's rooms. The total length of the ' main building is 136 ft., with a depth of 78ft. in the centre and 25ft. in each of the wing's. The studs are 22ft., and the total height to the apex of the roof is 30ft., thus affording ample space for two floors. The building is erected of timber and corrugated iron on a concrete foundation, and the intervals between the studs are filled in with concrete, making altogether a very substantial structure.