Original Poetry.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 237, 27 January 1860, Page 4

Original Poetry.

ON THE THRASHING FLOOR. Do you mind it, Robin, That sweet eventime When the ruddy Autum Had but reached his prime. Newly shorn the valley, Of tlio wealth it bore, Where we danced together On the thrashing floor? Rustic youths and maiden, With glad smiles were there; Not for them the world Held one grief or care. Green boughs freshly gathered, Decked the plank wall gay. Through, the chinks so fragrant, Breathed the now mown hay. O'er the roof hung scattered, Shreds of heaven's deep blue, "Where like liquid crystal Poured the starlight through. Troops of dewy roses Laughed in at the door, As we danced together On the thrashing floor. You and I, dear Robin, Ne'er before had met, Ne'er my heart had felt if-, Love's soft breathing yet. But ere the hour of parting, In that heart had sprung, New-born thoughts like flowerets, Barren wilds among. I was poor then,-Robin, Silk nor satin had, But in linsey woolsey Deemed me richly clad. And to »em my tresses, Heather bells I wore : When we danced together On the thrashing'floor. Years have passed us. Robin, In their flight since then ; Autumns treasure-laden, Come and gone again. Now no more I seek them, Lowly cot and shed ; Proud the halls and noble, That my steps doth tread. Riches boast I, Robin, Jewels bright and fair ; Now no more the wild flower, Garlandeth my hair. Yet the sigh comes stealing, For that night of yore; In my linsey woolsey On the thrashing floor. BETH.

MAORI MEETING AT LYTTELTOK Yesterday his Excellency the Governor lefo Christchurch for Lyttelton, to embark again on board the Niger for Auckland. His Excellency was accompanied by his Honor the Superintendent, Captain Steward, and a number of gentlemen; the cavalcade took the line of road hy Dyer's pass, whence his Excellency was enabled to obtain a favorable view of the plains on one side, and the harbor on the other, and to inspect the Governor's Bay District, which, though named iv honor of the Queen's representative, is not often favored by a visit from one of them.

On reaching Lyttelton, a number of Maories resident in the different native districts of the province, who had assembled by arrangement, met the Governor in Dampier's Bay. On the approach of his Excellency, they commenced a song of greeting, which was joined by the whole number present iv chorus, and was accompanied by shouts at intervals, by waving of hats and sticks, and by various contortions of tbVbody in time to the harmony. The following few lines aro a- short quotation from the song. They have reference as, may be itnagiued, to tho short visit of the great man:—■

The starry host, awaiting The rise of Slatariki! Lo ! ho ascends his path ; Performs his heavenly course,. And disappears again!

The Maories, men, women, and children, numbering .iv all a little over two hundred, were ranged round the Governor in a sort of semicircle, one Kingitone (Kingston) a native from the East Coast, taking a forward part in the arrangement. This man, who is married to a woman of this tribe, lias come down, we understand, to agitate the King movement, for which purpose his peculiar demagoguish eloquence tends to lit him. He took no more active part in the present ceremony, however, than we have indicated. An address was presented to the Governor by John Paratene, and read by him in the native language. Of the address the following accurate translation has been kindly handed to us by Mr. Duller, the interpreter :—

" Port Cooper, January 7th, 1880. " Our Friend, Governor Browne, —We salute you, Welcome! welcome ! welcome thou, the head of all New Zealand Assemblies, both European and Maori. We salute you. Listen to our cry of welcome—from the People of Kaiapoi, of Rapaki, of Purau, of Port Levy, of Afcaroa,' of Wairewa, and of Taumutu. Give ear also to our sayings. We come unto you with our complainfc as unto a doctor that" he may administer relief. It is this; we are without house or land in this town for the purpose of a market place.

"We are like unto a cormorant sitting on a rock. The tide rises, it flows over the rock, and the bird is compelled to fly. Do thou provide a dry resting place for us that we may prosper.

" These are the articles (of trade) we propose to bring to town :—firewood, potatoes, wheat, pigs, fish, and other things. We want this place also as a landing for our boats. " Friend, the Governor, we greet you as the white crane of rare appearance.

" Friend, hearken ! We are striving to adopt the example of the Pukeha. As an instance of this we seek your approval to the erection of a (flour) mill at Port Levy, and we ask your assistance in the same manner that you have aided the people of the Northern island in the construction of their mills: and that you will send us a wiseman (a millwright) to superintend the work, that it may be properly done. All the machinery has arrived, and we have paid the sum of three hundred and eighty pounds fifteen shillings and three pence. The assistance we ask of you is to erect a house, to set up the mill, and to dig an aqueduct. And when the proceeds of the mill are sufficient we will repay your advance. Let this be made a proof of your regard for us. " Here is another subject for us to speak of 0 Governor. The voice of all the people is that our land reserves be sub-divided, so that each may have hi 3 own portion. We ask you to give to each man a title iv writing to his own allotment.

" But we leave the matter in your hands, O Governor. Out reason for urging sub-divi-sion of our lands is that our difficulties and quarrels may cease, that we may live peaceably, ■and that Christianity and good works may VUiiYe amongst us.

" These are our farewell words to you. Depart, 0 Governor! Ketum ro your home at Auckj land—farewell! farewell! .farewell!'.',, This address has been undergoing, preparation ever since Monday morning last, in the assemblies which have been held at Eapaki and Lyttelton hy- natives from all parts; it has been repeated revised and corrected,- and in this occupation a great deal of apparent excitement has been displayed much to the amusement of all white spectators. AYhe.n the reading of this poetical document; to which there were attached 32 signatures representing all the families of the different districts, had been achieved, a reply from his Excellency was read, of which the following is a translation:— "My Friends, —I am glad to see you. Our groat Sovereign the Queen who reign over the people of many nations loves you and cares for you. She gave orders to the Governors who caino before me; she has given her orders to me; and she will give orders to those who may come after me. , Her orders are always the same,—" Take care, of my people ; make no distinctions between the Maori and the pakeha, unless it be for their own good. Make my people live together in peace, and teach the Maori to follow the example of their pakeha brethren. Tell them to listen to the missionaries, and to send their children to school. Advise them to be sober and honest, and to shun, evil communications, whether" they be with pakeka or Maori." These are the commands of our gracious Queen. "I am glad to be able to provide a dry resting,place for you as you desire, and have directed your good friend Hamilton to purchase a place for you. There you will be able to bring your firewood, your potatoes, wheat, fish and pigs. " I atn glad that you have erected a flour mill and when I go back to Auckland I will enquire if there is money ready, and if so, I will lend you some. You must know, however, that I have only a certain amount to lend. I have lent it all, but when those who have borrowed pay their debts (which may not be for some time) I shall be again able to lend, and will lend to you in your turn. " I regret to hear that differences exist among some of you respecting your timber lands. What you say about subdividing these lands and apportioning them in fair proportions to families and individuals is good. To assist you ia affecting such a subdivision of the land as the chiefs and owners thereof may cordially agree to, I will direct an officer of the native department to accompany you to the places in dispute and to witness the fixing of such boundaries as you yourselves may decide : but you must understand in makiug you this offer that you are not to have any quarrels or disputes among your* selves in settling the boundaries. " If I find that you agree in this arrangement I shall then recommend to the Queen that titles similar to those of the Europeans should be issued to such individuals or families. " It will always afford me the greatest pleasure to hear from time to time that you are making good use of your reserves, which arc now become valuable by the settlement of Europeans; and I trust thatyou will by iudustry and perseverance farm them to good advantage. "You should also build comfortable houses to live in, as some few of you have already done. This will tend very much to promote your own health and comfort. All people acquire wealth by being frugal and industrious, and you have the means at your disposal, by having aready market for your produce, to become a properous people; and I trust the time is not far distant wheu you will more fully appreciate and recognise the advantages of living under the protection of the good and wise laws of the Qaeen of England. "Farewell, my friends! Live in peace with each other, and remember that the' Bible tells us to ' do unto others as we would they should do to us.'" His Excellency and suit then departed to Lyttelton and shortly afterwards embarked on board her Majesty's ships Iris and Niger. The natives remaiued about the same spot during the afternoon, awaiting the division of a sum of money among them, being the balance oa account of the lands between Kaiapoi and the Clarence Itiver, about .1,600,000 acres, which land was purchased by Mr. Hamilton some three years ago for £200 ; auother sum of .£2OO was afterwards given, and now a final grant of ,£IOO has been made, to satisfy all parties.— Lytlelton Times. AUCKLAND. Gfjiman Immigration.—Mr. Haasfc writes to inform us that a first party of German emigrants will soon be on the way for the Province of Auckland. We shall be glad to see them, for, as a people, the Germans make excellent settlers.— Auckland Weekly Register, January 2. Mangarei Church.— One of the neatest and most substantial Churches we have seen in New Zealand, is that recently erected in the native village of Mang.-irei. It is built of scoria, duo; from the neighboring1 quarries—ihe natives giving their labor, not only in providing the stone, but also hi'burning shells and supplying the lime, in rafting and conveying timber, and in furnishing the interior fittings. On Sunday last, a fitting 'day, the Church was opened by his Lordship Bishop Salw-yn ;■ a more attentive native audience we doubt v he ever had; certainly a more inlsvesiiug one could scarcely be met with. The Mangarei. natives are widely spread ; from the banks of the Waikato they sent their representatives, and woll ktithvn faces from the numerous native settlements all along the shores of the Manukau, were also there, not only to join in the services of the day, but also to contribute their offerings oti the completion of a work they have hail so long at, heart. Under the-guidance of the Rev. Mr. Burrowes this creditable edifice has been carried on and completed, and whether viewed from Onehunga, or from any point along the opposite shore, we doubt n:i;ch if in any native village a more purely English scene can be met with, than that presented by the homely aspect of the Church and spire atMangarei.—Zfo'c?, January 3.

do to us.'"

DiPHTHEMA.—We regret having to record several fatal cases iv town of this virulent disease—children being the' sufferers. Hitherto we have not heard of a case "in the country. Too much exposure to the sudden changes of heat and cold is an active source of its origin during the present dry and hot season, and should be carefully guarded against. Proximity to decaying animal and vegetable matter is also a prolific cause of diptheria. It is consequently of vital importance to each member of the community, and of the province, to see that in every household due precaution is taken to keep afc a respectful distance all cesspools, ash-pits, &c, &c, and indeed everything accumulating offensive debris. Cleanliness is next to godli-

V ness, and looking at the state of some of our <• bye streets and houses, arid at many of those; of higher pretensions,' the wonder is that 'dejjith i- has not.been still'more busy: The season"is" a ie very trying one, and should be.provided"against d accordingly, before it is too late. v Each indivits dual can, and ought to do hisror her sh^re. n It is exceedingly hard for a family to:suffei' the ;- loss of a much loved child, perhaps,'from a j- neighbors carelessness. We make these remarks ia order to draw general attention to the great t; importance of the subject, and beaause we be- !- lieve in the maxim that "prevention is better i- than cure."— Southern Cross, January 6. s Lieut. Hobson, R.N.—lt will, be gratifying a to every New Zealand Colonist to learn this meritorious officer, who was second in command r of Captain M'Clintock's last and most successful c expedition for ascertaining the fate of Sir John1 r Franklin and his brave companions in tlie 3 " Erebus" and " Terror," is the son of Captain ) Hobson, R.N., the first Governor of New Zea- ) land, whose memory is still held in sa much re-. 3 spect by many an early settler, and whose re--3 mains lie deposited in our Auckland Cemetery. > Captain M'Clintock, in his despatches, bears > ample testimony to Lieut. Hobson's services, I in the performance of wbichhealmostfell amartyr; , being, on his return to the " Fox," scarcely able to stand. Besides being able to endure most severe bodily suffering, Lieut. Hobson also possessed the better faculty.of a quick and accurate observation, to which, no doubt, may be attributed many of his discoveries.' ''Two or three incidents," says The United Service Gazette, "have come to our knowledge, which are so creditable to the explorers that we cannot forbear mentioning them. The discovery of the boat containing two skeletons is. due to Lieutenant Hobson. This Officer noticed when travelling on the frozen snow what appeared to be two sticks peering above the ground. Struck with their singularity in this barren region, he was induced to examine them more closely, and was richly rewarded by finding that these ' Sticks' were, in fact, the awning stanchions of a bout buried in the snow, and on clearing around it the ghastly spectacle of two dead men presented itself. These poor fellows had evidently died from sheer exhaustion, indeed most probably by scurvy, as they had provisions in the boat, and fuel was close at hand." From the same authority we learn that Lieutenant Hobson not having completed his two years sea term as a Lieutenant, by a few days or' weeks, has been appointed to the " Victory," in order to finish it, where his Commanders Commission awaits him. Ths Novaba.—The Austrain Correspondent of The Times writes the following, which we extract for the information of our readers: — " As a cry has been got up agaius the ' Novara expedition,' it may be well to say a few words on the subject. The voyage round the world, — which was accomplished in 28 months, cost .£50,000; but it will eventually be seen that the mony has uot been spent iti vain. Many promising young officers have learnt to navigate foreign seas, a large collection of objects of the highest interest for scientific men has been made, and markets have been found for certain manufactures which are peculiar to Austria. In the month of May, 1860, a detailed account of the voyage will be published, and sold at a very low price, although the work will contain many engravings. Baron Wullerstorf, the commander of the expedition, performed his duties remarkably well, but it. is difficult to couceive why a writer in the Wiener Zeitung should spealc of him as a,* renowned navigator. 3