OUR AUCKLAND LETTER.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4483, 2 August 1875, Page 5

OUR AUCKLAND LETTER.

(FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) • Auckland, July 20. Wednesday, the 21st inst., was the_ day appointed by the'City Council for receiving tenders for constructing tramways for the city and suburbs, and a special meeting of Councillors and chairmen of the suburban district Boards was held to examine the same. Only one tender was received, which was signed by Owen Jones and Co. This, however, whde requiring a monopoly for twenty-one years, onlybound the tenderers to lay a tramway along the new beach roads from Parnell to Ereeman's Bay, and up Queen-street to the foot of Grey-street. It was generally agreed that easy communication with the suburbs was the principal thing aimed at in the introduction of tramways, and as the Jonian tender undertook no improvement at all m this direction, it was unanimously condemned, and the subject ordered to stand over for four months, during which time any fresh tenders that come in will be entertained. The Tramways Act seems very little understood, and I rather fancy that our Councillors are afraid of putting their foot in it if they commit themselves to any agreement at present.

The quarterly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce \ras held at the secretary's office last week. v The chairman, Dr. Campbell, informed the meeting that representations had been made by the committee to the General Government on the subject of the non-delivery of the San Francisco mail on a Sunday when it arrives on that day, and also on the subject of the Suez mail for Auckland being always forwarded from Melbourne via The Bluff, instead of being sent on to Sydney-and put on board the Hero or one of the mail steamers. On the three last occasions the Suez mail has arrived several days later than it might have done, had the postal authorities on the other side sent the Northern and Southern portions by the different routes, and more than once the detention has prevented correspondence being answered by the outgoing San Francisco mail The representation of the Chamber in this instance disclosed a real grievance, which it is to be hoped the Government will have rectified. A communication from the Harbor Board on the subject of discharging cargoes at the Queenstreet wharf, and asking the Chamber for suggestions as to bettering the present system of "receiving," was laid "before the meeting. After a discussion, in which several plans of improvement were proposed, and among others the introduction of the system in vogue at Wellington of leasing the wharf to one person, the matter was referred to the committee. Mr. Shera introduced the vexed question of ship surveys, and after pointing out the evils of the custom which allows captains to appoint their own surveyors, suggested that it would meet the difficulty if importers clubbed together and subscribed towards the payment of qualified men to act as arbitrators between the ship and the consignees. This subject, which has been illustrated pretty well by the case of the barque Shooting Star, detained in harbor for the last six weeks on account of disputed claims, was also referred to the committee. Mr. Watson, of Grahamstown, who took the contract for reconstructing 200 ft. of the Queen-street wharf, beginning from the watermen's steps, has set about his work in earnest. Nearly all the piles are ready, and the process of driving was begun a few days ago. The work is calculated to occupy three months, by the expiration of which time it is likely tenders will be called in for renewing another 200 feet. When the present job is finished about 600 feet of the old structure will remain. Talking of improvements, the Harbor Board have just called for tenders for building the proposed new railway wharf. The plans of this undertaking are lying at the office of the engineer of the Board, and on Saturday I had the pleasure of inspecting them. If the work is carried out as projected, the result will be a noble addition to the wharf accommodation of the port. A pier 565 ft. long is to be thrown out from the end of the" breakwater (which is now being widened from 30ft to 90ft. by Messrs. McCabe and Walsh). The width of the pier will be 40ft. At the extremity a return is to be thrown off to the westward 400 ft. long and 60ft. wide. Five working lines of rails will be run up to the end of the pier, so that goods •which have arrived "by tlie railway can be brought to the vessel's side, and imports can be put out of the vessels alongside into trucks and rolled off to the receiving sheds at once. The* outer berth will be reserved for the mail steamers, a shed being constructed at the angle, for storing light freight sent down for shipment. The total length of additional wharf accommodation afforded by the new pier will be about 1500 ft. Some idea may be formed of the magnitude of the work when it is estimated that it will require to finish it about 1,000,000 feet of timber and 20,000 lineal feet of totara piles. The conditions state that the undertaking is to be complete in two years from the date of signing the contract. Tenders are to be advertised for in Wellington, Christchurch, and Donedin, as well as in Auckland, and will be received up to Tuesday, the 21st September next. The scheme of the Harbor Board for improving the port is only just now beginning to mature. There is no doubt that when it is perfected Auckland will present facilities for harboring and docking shipping enjoyed by no other port in the Australasian colonies. The charge of incendiarism against Susan Conley, who was remanded from last week, waß heard on Wednesday last, and resulted in the accused being committed for trial. She is a woman of very bad character, and the evidence was very strong against her. That of George Walker, the discoverer of the fire, went to show that a box containing rags steeped in kerosene was fonnd burning against one of the walls of a back room when the place was broken into. Other witnesses deposed to furniture having been removed the day before at Mrs. Conley's request. The New Zealand office held a policy of insurance on the premises for £2OO. On Thursday last the police were made the victims of a hoax, which is said to have been perpetrated by a Maori who had a mind to see the pakehas put about. "iai ormation was received in town that evening that a Maori at Kangariri had murdered his wife by hacking her to pieces with a tomahawk, and had fled to the bush. Inspector Broham immediately sent off Detective Grace to assist in capturing the scoundrel. That officer returned on Saturday, and with a very crestfallen air reported that the affair was only a sell; but his journey was not quite in vain, for in: his travels he managed to come across a deserter from the Dido, whom he promptly attached and brought captive to town. The fugitive has had to undergo while on the journey any amount of execration from persons who mistook him for the murderer. The usual monthly sitting of the District Court was to have been held to-day, but at the last moment, Mr. Lodge, the clerk, announced to those present that Judge Beckham was Buffering from sudden indisposition, caused by an attack of bronchitis, and would not be able to sit. The Court was, therefore, adjourned •tall the.9th August.. Our chapter of accidents for the past week contains some serious casualties. On Thursday morning a man named John Burns, em- ' ployed by Mr. E. Gibbons at his sawmill, at Onehunga, was bringing' a truck down the tramway, with a heavy log upon it, to the mill. When the horse was about to stop, the man -noticed that unless the animal moved a bit further on the truck would come into collision with it. He ran forward to move the horse, when in doing so he fell with his right arm across the track. A wheel of the truck passed over the arm, and nearly severed it from the shoulder. The limb has been amputated, and the man lies in a bad state in the hospital On Saturday evening a seaman belonging to the achooner Agnes, while under the influence of liquor fell from aloft on to the deck of the vessel, which was lying alongside the wharf at the time. The man fell partly on his head, but his skull must be a pretty thick one, for the doctors at the hospital say that he is not very much damaged. The brigantine Ethel, which left Auckland on Saturday, the 17th inst., for Morigonui, met with a couple of disasters off Wangarei on Monday morning. First her foretopmast broke off most mysteriously, without any sail set above it, on a beautifully floe day, and then while the second mate and

one of the crew named Baker were clearing the wreck a hook broke which supported the yard on which they were perched, and let both of them down. The mate managed to get hold of the rigging, but Baker fell into the sea, and though he rose to the surface and a life-buoy was thrown to Mm, and well nigh hit him, he did not offer to clutch it, and was drowned before he could be reached.. It is thought he must have struck something in his descent. The accident to the topmast is explicable on the score that it must have been sprung in the gales which the vessel lately experienced coming from Lyttelton, without the captain being aware of it. Suicides appear to be fashionable just now, a fact which I suppose we may ascribe to the weather, which- is very trying even to well constituted persons, let alone hypochondriacals. On Saturday afternoon an Auckland shipwright made a most determined attempt at self-destruction in Hobson-street by cutting his throat. Unrequited . love • and • drink together are mentioned as the impelling causes. The man's name is Robinson, and he is a brother of the master of the smart schooner Jessie Henderson, which, I think, was not long since in Wellington. He was lying on the sofa at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, when Mrs. Watson, his sister, went out and left him alone. When she returned about ten minutes later, the floor of the room was stained with blood, and there was a knife similarly discolored on the table. The foolish man was discovered in the back-yard holding his throat, from which blood was freely flowing. He had inflicted an ugly gash on himself, but there was no injury to the jugular vein, and the doctors say he will recover. A letter has been received from Sir George A. Arney, who was at San Francisco at date.. He had suffered considerably from sea-sick-ness, and •he was about to leave on a tour to the Sierra Nevada, to return in a week, when he will proceed by rail to New York, en route to England. The Union Sash and Door Company held their ordinary half-yearly meeting on Tuesday last, when a very favorable balance-sheet was presented by the directors, and a dividend at the rate of 10 per cent, for the half-year declared. This company is now, I think, the only company in Auckland which excludes reporters from its meetings. With its affairs so prosperous, one would have thought the shareholders, and directors too, would have desired the fullest publicity ; but it is not so. Captain Casey made an application through Mr. J. B. Russell, last Wednesday, in the Supreme Court, to have the decision of the Court reversed in the case Clarke and wife v. Casey. His Honor as good as replied, "Didn't he wish he might get it ?" Mr. Russell also moved for a new" trial, but Judge Gillies said he saw no grounds for reopening the case, as the evidence plainly showed that Mrs, Clarke's injuries were sustained in consequence of defendant's negligence. The verdict of the jury is fully concurred in, and although Mr. Kussell ha 3 given notice of his intention to apply for leave to appeal, the general opinion is that the captain will have to stump up the damages awarded by the jury. A singular demurrer was ar<med the same day, in re Hutchinson v. Kawiti. The defendant, a Maori, had made over the kauri gum in some land near the Bay of Islands to plaintiff for a consideration. Defendant repenting his bargain, repudiated his agreement, and alleged it was invalid, inasmuch as the gum being part and parcel of the land, could not be transferred without passing through the Native Lands Court. ■ Mr. McCormick argued in favor of this view, and gave some curious definitions of gum in the course of his argument. But Mr. Hesketh, for the plaintiff, carried the day, his Honor supporting the demurrer which was raised to this somewhat novel plea. The police have been getting themselves into trouble again. A new member of the force, Constable Axam, a few days ago struck a man a heavy blow on the head with his truncheon, for not " going with him" as readily as that officer thought proper. The constable has been called over the coals, and the local Press has delivered itself very strongly in animadversion of his conduct.. The subscribers of the Mechanics' Institute held their annual meeting on Friday night. The affairs of this valuable institution are in a very unsatisfactory condition, chiefly in consequenee of—ih&-withh«Ming^f~*-l»~P*wvinei;il- - Government grant last session, but also from the gradually decreasing number of the subscribers. Only about twenty members were present, but the meeting was a very lively one owing to the torrent of abuse which Mr. W. Kirby—who talked for nearly an hour himself, and then exclaimed against another gentleman for occupying five minutes—launched upon the committee and upon the chairman, Mr. F. Moss, who, the gentleman roundly asserted, had expended £7O in buying magazines and periodicals for himself and friends. It is, perhaps, needless to say that there was no truth in the accusation, and Mr. Moss would have again been elected one of the vice-presidents had he not declined to stand. A new committee has been formed, and it is proposed to make a determined effort to resuscitate the Institute.

Mr. Tunny, the Provincial Analyst, has been reporting on the composition of the water at the Waiwera Hot Springs. This is his report :—" The water is perfectly clear and colorless, is without odor, but has a decidedly saline taste. Analysis : Chloride of sodium (grains per gallon), 123-82 ; ditto calcium, 7'lo ; ditto' magnesium, 1*36 ; carbonate_ of calcium, I'CO ; ditto magnesium, -22 ; ditto iron phosphates, -43 ; silica, 1-61. Total saline matter, 135'94