The Standard AND PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE. (PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.) SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1874.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 222, 14 November 1874, Page 2

The Standard AND PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE. (PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1874.

“ We shall sell to no man justice or right: We shall deny to no man justice or right: We shall defer to no man justice or right.”

Whether the Hon. the Native Minister determines to visit Poverty Bay, or not, the necessity for laying the resolutions, passed last Saturday, and otherwise to urge the General Government to action, must not be lost sight of. If Sir Donald M'Lean does return to Wellington withoutcoming to hear what the settlers have to say to him—as he must bo well acquainted with their desire—there can be but one conclusion to arrive at namely, that he is possessed of a fear to face a body of men whose district has been most shamefully neglected by the Government to which he belongs.

Next in importance to the question of roads, on which we principally dwelt in our last issue, is that of the telegraph extension to Gisborne. We understand that another spurt is being made at the southern end of the line, somewhere in the direction of Nuhaka, although not at the Gisborne end, with a view to getting the poles on to the ground if not into it. Certainly there are not many poles here as yet, and less of other material, but why there are not more no one seems to know. When Mr. Bold was ou his last visit to Poverty Bay, he was understood to say, that if he could get the poles delivered on to the ground, he would guarantee to have the line open in three months! Now this, coming from an official of Mr. Bold’s position in the service, induces a belief that something’s rotten in the State somewhere ; but whether it is the Government, or the contractor, or the Natives, or all three, that are to be blamed, we cannot correctly learn. That a difficulty of so small a magnitude—but still attended with such disastrous results, to, we may say, the whole of the Northern part of the East Coast —should be' permitted to stay a work fraught with the greatest importance, commercially, politically and socially, is matter of general surprise. The Hon. Mr. Reynolds has just been on an extended tour through all parts of this island, except the Eastern portion of it, and has settled much important business connected with the erection of lighthouses, extension of telegraph arf other matters, in a seemingly! satisfactory way. Among other worlds specially supervised is that of the obstacles, such as tlleywhich, until his visit, prevented Mio wires from connecting New fflyijAuth with the rest of the colony./V/e thief obstruction was a sinaM “ wlative diffi“culty,” but whiclr was wsposed of, it would appear, withorft much ado; and it is a matter for consideration, as to whether it would not be well for Mr. Reynolds, or some other member of the Government, a stranger to these parts, to pay an official visit to the East Coast settlements, and judge for himself as to the reasonableness of the demands the settlers make. It has been understood for some time past that Mr. Seed, the Inspector of Customs, was shortly to come to Poverty Bay on a tour of inspection ; the state of the harbor, and inner waters of the Bay imperatively demands, in the interests of trade, that something should be done in that direction also. Should those gentlemen be influenced by a consideration of duty to this district, to pay it a visit, they would be able to form a more correct opinion as to facts than a thousand dubiously worded resolutions would do. The Hon the Postmaster-General would also be able to form an opinion as to the wants of the Coast settlers in the matter of overland mail conveyance. We believe petitions either have been, or are to be, forwarded to the Government for the establishing of mails, weekly, between Gisborne and the Wairoa,

and Gisborne and the East Cape, the growing necessities for which, arising from the location of both population and capital, between those extremes, are something more than apparent. While upon the subject of mails we have a word or two to say in connection with the service, as it at present stands, between this and Wellington While we are glad to learn that the Rangatira is not to be taken off the trade, we cannot shut our eyes to the faulty way in which the greater part of her contract has lately been performed. We believe it is not yet settled whether the Government will continue the subsidy on the same basis as before, but if so, it should be expressly stipulated that Poverty Bay should receive the benefit supposed to accrue from her visits.,. A..subsidy of £25 a week has been hitherto paid to the New Zealand . Steam Shipping Company, solely in consideration of a weekly service to this port, a sum which, in view of the increasing trade and passenger traffic, cannot fail to be remunerative—the Napier trade pays itself without any extraneous aid; and we cannot but complain that the interests of Poverty Bay have, on nearly all occasions, been ignored-. We have nothing to say against Capt. Lloyd and his officers ; they are obliging and considerate to a degree, in carrying out an imperative, and disagreeable duty —viz., that of subordinating the best interests of this port to every other consideration. The Company w'ould do well to look to its sheet anchor while the weather is fair. It cannot expect to have a continued monopoly of the carrying trade between Napier and Wellington, which it is anxious to secure, leaving this port out altogether. It should be wise enough to see that the trade of this port requires a little fostering, or it may find its way into another channel. A little healthy competition may work a beneficial change ; and the reported presence of another boat on the East Coast will be received with satisfaction. As we have said before, in the event of the Native Minister not coming on to Gisborne, some one should be deputed to interview the Government, and we know of no one who could be more appropriately accredited with the duty than the member representing the district in the Provincial Council—Mr. J. Woodbine Johnson.

A Native woman named Herena died’a few days since at Waerenga-a-hika under circumstances which have excited grave suspicions as to death being the result of natural causes. Herena was the wife of one Ebenezer Tipuna, who had been in the habit of ill treating her ; but pending the inquest which, we believe, will be held, we withhold any further remark, — the Natives are reported to be greatly excited over the affair, and purpose holding a runanga, it is said, to see if they will shoot Tipuna or hand him over to the civil authorities.