Untitled

Southland Times, Issue 711, 19 August 1867, Page 3

■' jThe Official ;E«nott. - Q£jfhoi raa^v.«i*ua. -r »i.usi. trplian, is published "in tile '.'New Zealand^ Gazette?' of the 16th ulfc - r ;Capt Thbmsbn.tasV niutical. assessor, conciimng. -\The- <usual)fdur''>? questions are j answered j but'bnlyi.the -thirds of "^w tlie.'answers is material. It is-T-\"That-the.lo3sor<> damage appears by. the evidence to ohave.^been 1/ caused mainly by the incorrectness of the ,i deviation card supplied By the: : authorities'/ at' Melbourne, inaamuch as the actual course r made '•" by the South Australian on the night in-questidK< has;been If points to the westward of- the course : --H indicated by • the deviation card, . supposing "I the .T position of the point at : -which, the course, wasshaped to have been correct." The Magistrate's ;• J opinion is thus stated :— '^That. atthe-time ,the< course /was shaped abreast) of Cape . Saunders -(up k-i! to which time the vessel had been. /steered.byvJt the land) presuming the 'vessel to have been:abput four miles: off the \ coast,, as; appears by,, the - f A evidence of the master, she must have taken con-o^! siderably more than the customary offing .for steamers in daylight : the-, usual course, being ■ i when, abreast.of' that Cape about 1£ miles; from. the land. S; S. W.. course, which -was .the: courses") set,; steered. according to the deviation card, fromo'J l£ miles from Cape Saunders, the usual trade for^ "i.". steamers, . .would; with, the current on -the port bbw, which is known to exist, place the'ye'ssel on,-'*: the reef i on: w.hich she Btruck.- < Them seems-jby-tlie evidence to have been no effort iinadeiroaLW %ime: tor time. tO/determihe the true positionofthe vfessel, and, particularly at the., time Tof shaping.^! the course, tthe ; evidence of the master and that of the- chief .officer being : on that point-veryObbn-;;? -dieting. Moreover, this is the more :: apparent* >'J; from the fact of the master having, after, the vessel struck, suppoaedhis position ."to .be south.of. the)^' Nuggets, and having given an order to.one ;bf the . l officers'; inA charge, of;. a boat to. steer a. N.JSVE. cburse in order to .fetch- .the ,. Molyneux.: tit Vr appears fromJ-tlJe testimony, of all -the;, witnesses , that the night on -whicltthe;. disaster occurred I : fine, calm, and starlight, with a slight haze .over ■„* the land, but quite .clear overhead.: -Under these :circumstances it seems somewhat unaccountablia-7'i that. the.-. close' proximity ;ofc:the^landi was; ;not by: those connected iwith the ..' ment of the ship, andioconsequently.b.ut'bnftjjbtt-;^! ; ciusion isi forced upon me(j.<e.)'that-the; looktout •was insufficient i and careless'r c»f Ihisiduty joand.^o even supposing thatthe ■ landj-was/partially ot- l I! scured by the haze,/a cast of. the: lead. J3.very,jionr should 1 have, been taken;/ The .evidence (dißcJosesi'l that no officer was in charge of thQ.bridgeibf..the vlv'essel where.:the telegraph; to the -«ngine-rooni fixed. '; This circumstance .appears, to^ 8h0w. ; .1 spmetbang,,;to . Ba.y Jthe least, : unusualjj'^when jac.d 'siteameris under weigh : but from the evidence adduced I must conclude that the loss of the -South' Australian was ' not in words section ■of the Merchant Shipping 'liicfc,' ' ' 1854-, caused by the wrongful act: or~ default- of c i 'the master or any Mother officer of theship 1 .*.-' ln conclusion, I. deem ; it : right r to state' that "thei'^ master' had. been fourteen years at ' sek,- arid . four and a half years in the-trade between- OtagO'ahd'B Melbourne, and had never met before' vsnth^the" sjightest^ccident." The report is ' dated- th§ 23rd 4.pruV - l *. ; ■■'■""- ■- ;: -''- y - ■'> -5 /•;:•) v;oZ -iru ; The " Daily Times" states :—" THe Local vernment Bill— -such is its name--rcpnsistß;o£39l" clauses. It is framed very much after the fashion f ,•} ; df the Victorian Agt. ; Ilpon. the petition; -of, not less than ten inhabitants of any present Road ; District, the .Q-overnor. may. bring -such Dis|npt" cS under "the provisions of the Act.; These Pjistriotk^ may afterwards be divided on .'the /pe^tipnjpf^ twenty ratepayers iitp two or three subrdiyisions. In the same way, upoa petition, several -Districts ,•} may be united. New Districts, outside, .the^.y : present Epad Districts, /may.be' constituted ; u^c]a the petition, pf not less tlian ten • persons liable to n^ ;be rated. Such Districts to iaye areas of^xipt.i.f less than, a certain of miles— for we beiieve— rand property* of . . not less than , £6,00^^ annual rateable value. The G-bvernpr mayj.with^) ' or a petition,, constitute any; single, s pf ■united, District, possessing an area^.oif'jiot'lesßj^ than eikty square miles, into a County. j.The government of bounties is to be similar ; to liat/of^ Districts,, excepting that the Chairman . of. tijg Board is to be called, in the case of .a County^ President of the "County Council, , andjthe mem^ bers of the Board are. to be called' ConnciUprsj The revenues of both.. Districts and Counties, are <£ to consist of rates, supplemented by granto vb^ed.r by. the Assembly, .i'pr the .first few year?,. thei * Assembly gives two pounds for every-one "col-^ lected from rates 5 during the second five,years,' one pound for evary pue • and during the third.^ five yearsj 10s in the 'pound.;.; There is an addition to be given— a proportion of the lands Bold^ within the District; the proportion to vary ac-^^ covding to the, quantity of iandy^aleable. witbia' the District at* the time of the.passing of th'e'AcC" o j The "Southern Cross " correspondent, writing 5 from Eussell on July 15th "says' :=-Some weeks ago two hapns of the Jfgapuhi;tribe had a dispute about a piece of land in the neighbprhppd.pf Waimate, and had a hostile' meeting (t : 'don't^ know whether I can call it a fight) on tfie : 'sub-^ ject, at which no damage was done beyond %eat^" ing an old musket. Mr WiUiams, JR-.N., endea-"? vored to make peace between them,' dhd thpug^ht^-' he had succeeded, but yesterday \ahd ' the daj^ c before they met again, and were either more 'ia, r earnest or took better aim, for report says' that"^ seveh men were killed and several more wdundecL I am unable at present to give theniames, or any further particulars ; but I believe what Ihava told"youmay be reh*eduppn ; as afact. ";- . '..'••'„^ The, Nelson .government are making arrangei' ; ments for removing their head-quarters onrflie. West Coast to 'Weßtport. A" large gaol' ; '|S fii^ courae of erection there,' and Mr M'Guiw,"^ gaol Buperintendent'at.Oobden, is ?alwut Wiß&V*! see4tWUiwua»6diately; 7; 9 &