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Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1834, 8 June 1874, Page 2

Our Melbourne telegrams announce the paia« fill intelligence of the loss'of the English ship 'British Admiral,' 1,800 tons register, oa -King's Island, bound : for Melbourne with a full general cargo and 49 passengers. • The ship went to pieces within half•ah'-hour of striking the rock oa the' west side; of the island, and 79 lives were, lost, including the captain and officers, all the crew' except four, and all the passengers except four.

The mail steamer' City, of Adelaide' arrived in Auckland yesterday,'and leaves'with'the English mail via San' Francisco; this afternoon.

The 'Golden Crown' has been laid np in Auckland for a day or two. : .-There, will be no steamer to-day, but the 'Enterprise' will leave at one o'clock to-morrow afternoon.

"At theweekly meeting'of the Kauwaeranga School Committee on Saturday last, & certificate of proficiency was received from the Board of Education, signed by his Honor the Superintendent, which had beengairied by' Thomas Aitken', (son of Mr Aitk'en, of the Hospital), from the Kauwaeranga boys' school, at the examination held in Auckland in. December last. It is to be hop>d : that this, year the teachers of the Thames will bestir|themselves to qualify the most promising pupils in their schools; so that the district may make a better show than it did at the last examinations.

• The Secretary of the Ladies' Benevolent through our columns, to acknowledge tbe receipt'pf £3 13s 6i in aid of the society's fiinds,: .being one-half of, the expenses received'by seven of the witnesses, on the late investigation into the Kuranui* boilor acci/ent., '~ ';.,.-','

The directors of the .Bank of. New Zealand have accepted Mr Red fern's tender for building a new melting-house for their establishment in Grahamstown; Th'e'desigd has been prepared by Mr Hollis, architect, and when executed will form an appropriate" addition 1 to the present handsome building. The melting-house will fill the space between the,banks and Messrs Osborne's store; its smoke shaft will rise above , all the surrounding buildings,- and its internal arrangements offer, every facility and conve* nience for conducting the important operations of gold melting,aud assaying..-. I Wo. noticed one great and important improvement inade by the architect in his design, viz., the absenceof the wooden louvres,' which are replaced by an-iron

hood extending the whole length of theridee, which, while affording ample space for ventilation, secures the building from the ravages of fire. When completed,'the Bank- of.; New Zealandwill possess one of the most beautiful and commodious establishments in the colony. About noon on* Saturday, a "somewhat spirited altercation took place at • Scrip Corner between one of the shareholders of the Queen of Beauty mine and a member "of the Borough Council. The latter had ..male some reuwks about the state of the Queen, ';pf. Beauty machinery and chimney whicMthe! shareholder did not relish. Some warm words were "used, and even, it. is said, threats,.and we believe that an information has been laid by the Owncillor which will brine; the whole matter before the Po'ice Court." - *:. ■ . h The workmen of: the Momataiari met on Saturday night, at Lloyd's Buildings, Davy street, for the purpose of testifying their esteem for Mr •' William Howe,- - : their > late manager. There was a large attendance. The .presentation consisted of an illuminatod address (by Mr Slator) and a massive gold locket, uponwhioh was inscribed the. words, "Presented" to rtjlliam Rowe, Esq, by. the.workmen of the Moanataiari Gold Mining Company as a token of esteem."; .There.wasalso a-splendid set o£ gold shirt stu'is 'and solitaires; each engraved wife masonic emblems, tie whokvbeing. manufactured by : Mr Cookson.- Mr Lloyd, One of the employees io'ngest in the service of the company, was called to the chair. -He apologised for the unavoidable absence of Mr Comer,-'the. present manager, and after a few appropriate reunrks he read thea'Jdress,-as follows:—"To William Rowe,-Bsq'—Dear Sir,—We, the'workmen of the Moanataiari Gold Mining: Company, desire

to express our high appreciation of your many excellent' qualities as a:gentleman,i and your abilities as -v.a"!''.■mii«: manager. We regret your giving up the management oF the" mine;' "not" only. 'on '"our 1 '"'own account, but "alsol for!.the company, as wo are certain you have studied their interests at the same time,' that you have been careful not to endanger Ilie lives of" tho'workmen. Wo beg your acceptance" "of. the ao sompanying pro- ' sent, as a small token of our regard; aud wish yourself and your family many years of health, happiness, and. prosperity, i Signed on behalf of the workmen, William Lloyd, .George Symington.' —Mr 1 Eowe, in replying, alluded to his connection with the company as nunager of. the mine during. the last twelvemonths.;., fle said.that he always expected a' man to do his work, and when he did so he had his support. He seldom had to send a man away. .He took charge of the mine when it wa.B ! in alow>tate, and he had a large amountof, anxiety and care in connectbn withuv Ho ! did : hot'claim to have more ability than others, but when he commenced anything hVwbuld'carry it out, and throw his whole soulihto it. !: -He'trusted thoy would all' be guided by right'feeling and'principle,.; ''and urged-them 1 to ' discountenance specimen-Btealing K which made honest men afraid to invest capital in the, gold, mines. He trusted they would'never .forfeit the" good which they, had/.earned, nor the respect which they had ea'fneaV'but go on and restore the feeling of cordiality which ought to exist between/capitalists and'workmen. He . hoped they'would serve the'present manager as well as they had served bim ( and, trusted that no'feeling of suspicion ! would' arise betweea them. He was notgoingaway. -He would bo staying amongst them, and, seeing them from day to day, and perhaps somo day he mighty be" able to serve them in his former capacity. (Cheers.) p He thanked, them very cordially for the presentation.' Three'cheers were then given forMr'Roweand'hisfamily, and" the"meetr'g adjourned to the Nil Des'perandum'Hotel, where,: the health of Mr Rowe waYdrunk in bumpers, anduihe health of .J Mr;;. Comer, ithoipreaent: manager, was also; cordially drunk/ -. '■ y • ' cThb'Bank'o'f'AuslrafeMa'sWnler l,6SOo» o£ golit) AuoklM ;'f ; :< V:

We understand that Mr John Black, late of theWbau, previous to .his departure, paid a subscription of £5 to the Hopital, and £2; to the Thames Miners' Accident Relief Fund.

The Football Clutihad a ?ood practice.match on Saturday.., Sides were chosen by Davy and Abrahams'. After some lively play, Davy made a run.which re,Bulted~in"an unsuccessful try froni a place kick.- Robinson shortly after made a run-in for 'Abrahams' side; ] the ball being brought out and placed by Bull for the Club skipper to kick, was sent spinning oyer the bar. Davy and Gudgeon each made a run-in which resulted in an -unsuccessful puntsout. There was a vast improvement in the playof both sides. Next Saturday the. Club will play Auckland, and I wißh them luck.— Deop-KiOk. '.'■"■■;".■ ■ •".

. The use of dynamite as an explosive in lieu of blasting powder has often been advocated,, ktthereappears to be a prejudice against it on the part of miners generally, because they consider it more dangerous than. powder. Such, however, is not the case, andwearesurthat it has not been brought into general use. ,It is a.more powerful explosive than powder, and is much less dangerous. In fact, it is a harmless mixture;' which, if lighted at a candle will merely smoulder away like a piece of cork; and emit no blaze, Mr Hall has had a cartride tried in the Golden Hill mine, where it was found to answer admirably. A great saving of expenditure would be affected if thi3 explosive was brought into more general use. It does not.require such Urge holes as blasting powder';'there can be no explosions from Jamming barß or from cut fuse; for no tamping is necessary. The cartridge is affixed to the fuse, upon which the percussion cap is fixed, and is then dropped into the hole which is filled with water, except of course in the case of roof boles, where sand can be used instead of water. There is no dynamite'to be obtained at the Thames, fent we think it would pay merchants to import it. Mr Hall brought a few cartridges with him, and it was one of these that was used in the Golden Hill mine last week.

■•' Thefollowing notices of motion are on the order paper of the Provincial Council for Wednesday;uext:—l. Mr Swan to move, "That, With a view of adding to the revenue and thereby aiding hia Honor and' his Executive in carrying dot the financial arrangements of the province, this Council is of opinion that a tax should be imposed on lands-held as follows, Viz:—All lands' held by Europeans- from the Crown'under'grant, or by lease from the native owners, the s&idlands to be outside the existing highway districts.' -The tax to take the shape of a rate on the rental value-of such land.- 1 -That his Honor the Superintendent be respectfully -requested ; tb send down-fo' this Council a bill embodying the foregoing proposal. 2. Mr -Carpent-r to -move, -"That in the opinion of this Council it is desirable that the 01dSupr«me Court site should be utilised as soon as possible in the direction of raising on the security thereof a sum not exceeding £10,000, to be applied in building and repairing school-houses, and that a respectful 1 address be presented to his Honor the Superintendent requesting him to send down a bill to the Council to that effect.''.

•' A Provincial' Government Gazette issuedon Friday, contains a list of persons at the Thames who have taken out auctioneer's lioenses, namely: —Messrs T.;W. Gudgeon, F. A. Pulleine, And James Craig; a'notification of the election of Thos; ■' Spencer, Esq.fas'Chairmin of the Parawai"Board, and -John Warmoll, Esq., a member of the Board;" ; ; ■ •

; H.M.S.'Blanche,': Captain .Simpson, after a lon'g stay iff Auckland leaves the harbour on Thursday nexc fir Wellington. His Excellency Sir James Fergusson's yacht 'Blanche' also proceeds to Wellington with his Excellency.

: The brig--'Chanticleer,' 187: tons, Captain T. H. 1 Harvey, arrived in Auckland on Saturday morning from Hobart Town; with a-cargo of 2,000 cases fruit, potatoes, palings, &c.

The Melbourne journals contain advertisements asking for information as to the whereabouts of Samuel Richardson, of Bootle, near Liverpool, who, in' 1866, was discharged from the Ist Waikato Regiment, and was afterwards on the Thames goldfield,

It may afford the reader a lively if not a very! favourable view.of the state of mining matters in. Victoria at present when we state that a late number of'.the-Melbourne !i)#KS contains, a- notification of not less. than'. 145 ■calhyan'd only one dividend.

Another Auckland vessel has been ; added to; the list of'maritime disasters which have overtaken the shipping of New Zealand. The cutter' A gnes' left the Manukau about 1 o'clock 'on the afternoon of Saturday, week (says'the Cross) bound for Waikato, with a cirgo conaiiting of 14,000 feet timber, 19 packages, and 1,380 house blocks. 'The crew consisted of Captain Brew and aseaman named 'Burke' and ; hisson. ,';A vessel seen' off the Waikato bar on; Sunday afternoon arid reported as the 'Dawn 1 - (then ljing in the Manukau) has evidently been! the cutter 'Agne's.' From the direction the' wind was then blowing, the Waikato bar must have been churned to a condition which would have made it .'impossible for the I 'Agnes,* or: even a much larger vessel, to have crossed it in ! safety. l 'Southwards! the Waikato Heads is a-rock-bound coasV while the land, in the greater number of places rises up from the beach in; steep crags. Had she been driven onshore! there she must have inevitably been dashed: to. pieces) in a; few..minutes, and . all' hands probably lost; while from the strength and direction of the wind, it would have : bfen a very ■ difficult task for her to beat off the lee shoreupon which'she then was. The' coast there, 'between' Waikato Heads and Baglan, js, void of: settlements, there being only one small Maori settlement, about eight to .ten miles south of Waikato Heads, called Waikawau.' There, however, the landing is very bad, and it is only in the mildest of weather that tho Maoris' venture out on fishing excursions, from the 'treacherons beach there. Had the 'Agnes' run to Raglan "for shelter, shewouldthen have found considerable difficulty in crossing the barj as the gale must have . been neaaly at its height beforeshe could have reached so far south. When she left the Manukau the cutter had a heavy deck load.

At the.North Shore there are some active operations going on in shipbuilding. Messrs • Holmes, Bros,, "the well-known owners of steamers, are engaged in building a fine paddlewheel steamer to take' thoplaca of the unfor- ' tunate 'Challenger,' which! came to grief in the February : gale. 'The new steamer will' bb a vast, improvement on'the old 'Challenger,' which was reckoned a'smart boatj while at the same time care haibeen taken to build her ..with a light'draughtVof water. She is constructed on the diagonal principle, and will be built of gnat strength. She is altogether on the same principle, as the .'Hauraki,' lately built by the same firm. Her saloon cabia will '■ be on a 'similar scale, giving large and excellent accommodation for passengers.- When : completed she. will have capacity forward for Blowing sixty head of cattle.: ..She.will be fitted with thepowerfulengines.andboilers belonging to the 'Challenger,'to facilitate the transhipping of which the new vessel is being built alongside,.the 'Challenger." She will consequently when finished have to be launched broadaide on. .The steamer was commenced about a month ago, and is. expected to be completed in two months hence. Her dimensions are :— length of keel, 100 feet; ditto overall, 108 f-et; beam, 14 feet 10 inches; depth of hold, 6 feet 6 inches;; draught, 3 feet. Messrs Holmes Bros, have already been interviewed by a deputation from" th'e Wangarei settlers offering a subsidy ■ if the steamer is placed on the Wangarei trade. 5 They have, however, not yet given a definiteanswer. The steamer,,.'Hauraki,' lately, built by th° same firm, is'expected to be ready for sea about the same time as tho new Bteamer, the delay in, ;her completion being, caused, by the difficulty in getting her machinery in readiness. Tin boilers of the 'Hauraki/. manufactured by Mr C. Hawkswood, hive lately ; been tested,up to 160 lbs pressure of,steam to. th'o,,squar'e inch. Her engines will,be' diagonal'acting, surface condensing, and of '6£ nominal horse power, and ' 104'-actual'power.'-'"When'ompleted these steaiaera will, be two of the .finest .steamers -belonging to the port, —fftmld ; i % A ball is 'to' be given to his' Excellency the Oovemor and Lady I?ergjiasca by tjw oitizens • «n^csdaj'^irti: : ■"'■'■ -'-•—, '■

The barque 'Anazi,' for-London takes the following parcels of gold :—Shipped by the National "Bank of New Zealand, two boxes containing 1,9210zs (produce of the Thames goldfield),, value, £6)800 j Shipped by the Bank'of New Zealand, seven boxes containing 4,5350zs 17dwts 18grs {produce of the Thames goldfield), value, £18,823 18s 7d—3.9920z3 9dwts (produce of Nelson), value, £15,969 16sl,783oz518dwts 12grs (produce of Westland), value, £7,136; total, 12,2330za sdwts 6grs, value, £48,729 14s 7d. The Customs duty on the above amounted to £1,217 lis lid.

The schooner 'Berald'left Auckland on Saturday with a general cargo'and the following passengers for Levuka—Messrs Thomas Bruce, Robert Parkhouse, James Campbell, and William Naylor.

Messrs Richardson, .Perston, Bagnall, and Thompson, waited on his Honor the Superindent en Friday (saja the Gross) with reference to the malting of a road through Dr.'PersWs property at Wangarei, It appeared that the Wangarei Highway District Board wanted to make a road ai above mentioned, but Dr. Perston agreed to the work provided that:— 1. That he received £150 as compensation, and that the road should be fenced on both sides, either by the Board or by the Government. 2. Thataporton of the Otaihu Road, from the commencement of the new line, as shown on a plan, should be closed, and the area granted to Dr. Perston. A very long diseussion relative to the damage that Dr. Perßlon would sustain then took place.—His Honor drew attention to the fact that the Board had not given those facilities which the law required in accordance with the terms of the Highway Board Empowering Act, 1871. He therefore said that ;the Board would have to begin their operations denovo.

Of "La Juive," at the Melbourne Opera House, the correspondent of the Hamilton ■Spectator says:—" In onescene, Dondi, as the Oardioal, and Mr Kitts,'as the Emperor, enter on real horses. The first night it wa3 performed, Mr Kitts was bucked off, and the great Cardinal saved himself by holding tight with both arms round the horse's neck. I know of several who went to see 'La Juive' after this, not so much for the sake of the opera, but in the hope that the same feat of horsemanship would be repeated. 1 '

In a case which came before the Master of the Eolls in London, Mr Bagstiaw, QO, having spoken of one of his witnesses, who was a licensed victualler, as this gentleman, his Honor asked the learned counsel, '' Since when has it become the fashion to designate a publi--can as a 'gentleman?' Since the last election,

suppose."

,The barque' Anazi' cleared at the Auckland Customs on Friday afternoon for London. She takes a valuable genoral cargo. Messrs Owen and Graham, Messrs Cruiokshank and Co., the New Zealand Loan Company, and Messrs Nathan and Co. are the. largest contributors, The following are the passangers:—Captain A. Warder, James Hall, F. Slatter and Mrs Slatter, R. Sullivan, J. Sharpe, A.-Mercer, G. Wiekin'gton.'A. Cash, Mrs Cash, and the following children: Arthur, Helen, Ada, Oris, Fmma, Kate, Frederick.

The Otago Provincial Council has been debating the rabbit nuisance question. It seems that whatever fun the rabbits may be to the Council, they have out-grown the period-of sport to the people of Southland. It was said they h<velaid waste sixty milesof country. It was said by one member, in all seriousness, that it would soon be a question as to whether the settlers or the rabbits were to clear out of the country, as the country could not carry both; The rabbits, we were'told, are in one part of the. district;'not in hundreds, or even thousands, but actually in millions. They are said to have driven the Maoris off tbeir ground down there somewhere, 1 and something will have to be done, and that quickly, or the settlers will have to follow the. Maoris. This should be a warning to settlers in other parts of the country. Let them look to it how they permit the rabbits to get the upper baud. Why not turn out a few pairs of ferrets among the rabbits of Southland.

Writing of the coming session ef Parliament, the correspondent of a southern contemporary observes:—The session will open, I learn,. ' with important business. The financial statement - will be also early brought down. Indeed, the session—it is authoritatively stated by those who, ought to know—will be a very important one throughout, and an electoral re-division of the colony is, I hear'contemplated. The loan to goldfie}dsat Auckland, and loans or advances to provinces will, I further hear, form a subject of debate.

It is currently .reported that when the General Assembly meets, a bill will be introduced for the purpose of so amending the laws relating to public-houses that in it there will be a provision for the abolition of barmaids.

An extract from a private letter received by a gentleman in Greymouth from his brother in Cayenne, the capital French Guiana, is pub-lished-iu the Grey River Argus, from which it appears that a new goldfield of extraordinary richness has been-discovered in that locality. The writer says :-r-" There is great excitement about the discoveries in French Guiana, South America, the seaport is Cayenne. Fabulous accounts have been received, and it is stated that, three men in-27 days made 150,000 dollars The diggings are 70 miles up country, amongst the mountains, and the climate is temperate, but it is very hot on the coast." .

A public meeting has been held' at Jones's: Plat, Roas, for the purpose of endeavouring to obtain the cancellation of the leases held by Mr Cassias on Jones's and Guardian Flats. Respecting it the Ross Quardian says :'*-" The meeting was held for the purpose of urging on his Honor the Superintendent the injustice of keeping such a large area of auriferous ground locked up as Mr Gassius at present holds under lease on Jones's and Qinrdian Flat. He has stopped all operations nearly two years ago—he has not paid the ground rent for eighteen, months;'nearly all the machinery has been removed; and under what pretence he is permitted to hold the leases, it is difficult to; understand. We question if such a defiance of the.Goldfields Regulations would be permit- ; ted anywhere else, When it is considered that a great portion of the ground held by Mr Cassius would be taken up in ordinary claims if thrown open to the miner, we hope his Honor will see the justice of putting an end to this monopoly. Those leases are also the only barrier in the way of the sale of the town lands,, and this is an additional; reasoa why they : should be cancelled, as the business people have been fleeced beyond human endurance for.the privilege of trading. The hatchet being now raised, it should not be again buried until the evils the inhabitant of the Totara have endured I so patiently and so long have been redressed,