WELLINGTON.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3167, 14 April 1879, Page 2

WELLINGTON.

This day. : The brigantineAnthous from Melbourne has been chartered for two years to carry coal from Greymouth to Wellington and other ports of New Zealand. , Detective Smart of; Wellington ?is under orders to proceed to Lyttelton. I The citizens' ball to the Governor comes off on Wednesday next. Special trains have been arranged to bring people in from the country towns;- : 5 '"•"■'%.?'',', ; The w;ay in! which Government became informed of there being,more than the legal number of passengers on the Taiaroa was that one of the passengers telegraphed to the Government from Picton, demanding some action to be taken in the matter. . ; Today is being observed as a publio holiday. Saturday. The Government are said to have determined upon bringing an action against the Union Steam Shipping Com?, pany for carrying a greater number of passengers than is allowed by the Act. Dr. Hector, the Chairman of the New Zealand Commissioners, received the plans to-day of the space allotted for this colony in the Sydney International Exhibition. The situation is in the most favorable position possible. The space on the main floor is 75 feet by 75 feeti or equal to 5625 square feet, with a proportionate amount in the gallaries and basement in as near as possible corresponding situations. A small amount of space will also be available in the. part of the transept facing the New Zealand Court, say about 500 or 700 feet, for the exhibition of trophies and articles bf a similar character.- '; '/ ' '' " '; ■'.:; '■' ' :;;.V:,' 1;;; '■

The following interesting extracts regarding the last passage of the City of Sydney between Auckland and' Honolulu are from a private letter to a gentleman in New Zealand: — '• Four: days after leaving Auckland we had a terrific storm, and for about twelve hours there was a feeling throughout the ship amongst both sailors and passengers alike; that there was some danger of the boat going down. Fart of the hurricane deck was washed away, and the cabins and saloons deluged with water. There was very little of the passengers' luggage that was not soaked, and the day after the storm the ship looked like the drying ground of a washing establishment. Though I escaped very well, having early in the storm placed my effects out of harm's way as much as possible, I sincerely trust I shall never have to pass through such a day and night agajn as I experienced during that cyclone. The mails escaped with but slight damage. The seas came over the deck neck high every five minutes or so, and for twentyfour hours I was in my trousers, and had Imy feet wet' all the time. Every now and then we were bailing out our cabin, whioh used to fill up to our knees about every ten minutes. In another part the writer says the steamer was hove-to for a considerable time ; he says the accommodation was good, and the boat a fine one, but she was not at all fitted to encounter such a storm as they passed through." Complaints are made here of the 1 way in which the railway carriages were allowed to be crowded by excursionists on Good Friday. * The last novelty is the opening of the shop of a female hairdresser.