REVOLUTION IN OTAGO.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 172, 8 November 1876, Page 2

REVOLUTION IN OTAGO.

Under the above heading, with striking sub-headings of " The Customs Seized," " Declaration,, of Independence," " MacandrewiPresident," the following cleverlywritten skit . appears in the Wellington Argus, purporting to be Abolition Day in Dunedin, and forwarded by " Pigeon Express . Dunedin, Nov. 2. The national colours are still floating proudly in the south-west breeze. Every public building and a great many private ones are decorated with'flags. Yesterday everything was quiet ,and orderly. Although the public-houses had been open all day, the strong temptation of free whiskey had been steadily resisted. In this great crisis, with the fate of an infant nation trembling in the balance, let it be recorded-that not a man. forgot himself. There could be no grater proof of the intense earnestness the people. Some disappointment 7 is felt at the apathy displayed by the country districts. Political agents are to be sent to them to •wake the national spirit and stir it to enthusiasm. As yet the excitement has not spread southward beyond the Abbotsford BiiJge. It is to be hoped a day or two more will find it- extend over Saddle Hill. Some of the large firms seem chary about paying their Customs dues, and

Cargills anS Co. have I so. All their goods are consequently to I be seizfed. V " . I Mr. Bathgate has been sentenced to a I heavy fine for being illegally 011 th e 1 premises. He persisted that he had t right to sit in the R.M. Court, after warned that he was a trespasser on Bench. •To-day a grand ceremony took All the Volunteer officers assembled in front of the University and solemnly burned their commissions. The President, standing on the steps of the Cargill monument, presented them with new commissions, of higher rank in each case. Walea is made a full General, and if actual hoatilities take- place, is to be made Field Marshal. The Harbour-Master, Captain Thomson, has been made Admiral of the Fleet, and hoisted his flag on the Vulcan. All the small steamers are being plated and armed. Kincaid and M'Queen have commenced the manufacture of rifled cannon, and A. and T. Burt claim to haveinvented a most destructive torpedo. They are now completing a large order. The Rev. R. L. Stanford is appointed Chaplain to the Forces, and last night delivered a most stirring and warlike address to the men. His text was, " Smite, and spare not." This, morning, some men in the employ of the Harbor Board attempted to tak» possession of the Wharves and Quays Reserve, under the late Act of Assembly. The members of the Corporation and.' Lieutenant-Ceneral Barnes were promptly on the spot, and forcibly resisted, refusing to recognise the right of the Assembly of New Zealand to legislate for Otago. The Harbor Board does not like this phase of the revolution, and Mr. Tewsley has telegraphed to Melbourne to know whether Sargood and Co.'s duties are to be paid to the new Covernment. Mr. John L. Gillies' allegiance is said t® be wavering, and that nothing but the managership of the new State Bank, added to his Harbor Board Secretaryship, will confirm it. There was great excitement to-day when the Hinemoa was announced to be ap- : proaching the Heads with Hon. Com- ■ missioner of Customs onboard. The Gee- ] long was chartered, and Admiral Thomson, took command. His Honor the President and a number of members of the Political; Association, with a strong guard of Vol-j unteers, were received on board, and the Geelong went down to meet the Hinemoa.;; As the latter crossed the bar, the Geelong?! ran alongside, the Volunteers jumped on ' board, secured Captain Johnston, and/ took possession of the steamer in the - name of Otago. Immense crowds cheered as the; national colors; were run up, and j the Hinemoa was brought alongside the Graving "Dock. The" justified on the ground that the vessel was pur- J chased chiefly with Otago money. M'Lean was below when the vessel was'i seized. As iie came up, he was also, and immediately taken below again. ; He asked for a private interview with the President, and it was granted. Shortly afterwards, the PresidstJt- emerged, white with rage, and said he had been offered the appointment of Government Agent, with £I,OOO a-year, and the of a j grant of 5,000 acres of he would betray his country, and give up Stout aria • De Lautour to be made examples of. He indignantly refused. George M'Lean is to be tried for his treason, as being an Otago man, and as having attempted to bribe the officers of the State. He has been handed over to the custody of Mr. J. C. Brown, who is to be Provost Marshal of the Forces. A carriage and pair was provided for Brown on landing, and Lloyd's fish-barrow was impounded for the conveyance of George M'Lean to the Gaol. In the barrow, he was wheeled backwards, with his hands tied behind his back. Chief Justice Stout is to preside at his trial, and Mr. Attor-ney-General Hislop is to prosecute. Captain Johnston was offered promotion to a flag in the new navy, but refused. He is treated as a prisoner of war.