THE PROVINCES.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 110, 17 March 1870, Page 6

THE PROVINCES.

Mr. Kyirnersley, formerly Goldfields Commissioner on the West Coast, has accepted the wardenshjp at Wangapeka. The Arawas refuse to follow Te Kooti on the terms offered, viz., £5000 for his capture. Mining matters at Napoleon, appear to be very brisk. Accordiug^sjlKrfthe correspondent of the" " Grey Wver •Argus " there are" nine claims on gold now, some of which are paying very well indeed. The Amalgamated Company, Kirby and Co., and Fagen and Co , have their tunnel in 1230 feet, and in all probability they will have j to go between 200 and 300 feet yet j before they can expect to reach the run. These two parties joined their forces for the purpose of facilitating their operations, an example which might be followed with advantage by the owners of other claims in the vicinity. The woi'k is kept going day and night, without intermission. I must give this company the premier place above all others in the district, for the pluck and perseverance they have shown in overcoming the difficulties they had to contend with, and I sincerely hope that when they do strike the gutter it will be so rich " that tha world will wonder at their good luck." The average width of the lead in the -Golden Claims is about 45 feet, and the average earnings about £12 per man per week. Considerable alarm was cause at the Theatre Royal, Shortland, a few days ago, during the playing of " Lucretia Borgia." A kerosene lamp burst in the wing, and the liquid fire ran over a part of the stage and caught the scenery. The curtain was lowered, and the audience at once made a rush for the doors. The presence of mind of some of the gentlemen behind the scenes, however, enabled them to use the most effectual means of extinguishing the fire, which was done most expeditiously, before any great damage had been done, and the performance was renewed in the course of a few minutes from the time of the accident. The Wellington correspondent of the " Westport Times," writing on the 10th February, thus speaks of Mr. Branigan's force at Tarewera: — "I am not joking. Never were men in a worse plight than are our poor fellows, in spite of Mr. Commissioner Branigan and his loudly proclaimed efficiency. At the present time, while several hundreds of pairs of trousers are lying carefully packed up in the Constabulary store-rooms, Wellington, the whole force now stationed at Tarewera - cannot raise among them one pair of trousers. Those who have rags hanging together sufficient to cover them as far down as their knees are lucky, and very greatly in the minority. Every ingenuity has been exercised in patching old garments with cloth serge, bits of coats, and even canvas, and yet decency is shocked by the ' Highland ' appearance of our men. Occasionally an old blanket is found to be a very useful article among them to cover their nakedness." Those who attacked the lato Government so bitterly because, in mid-winter, and in the absence of roads, Colonel Whitmore's force sometimes had *to undergo privations, have perhaps learnt by this time something of the difficulties of conducting war in a country like this, now that under far le3s difficult circumstances they see our men compelled to undergo the like sufferings. From the "Southland News" we learn that Dr. Maclean, a practitioner tolerably well known in the Mataura district, has come to grief at Riverton. He went there on business a few days since ; was very imich struck with the beauty of the scenery in the neighbourhood of the township, and thought he should like very much to settle down thereabouts. On the spur of the moment he went to Mr. Grant, the auctioneer; enquired about "snug little properties ; " spoke confidently of funds in the bank and future prospects ; winding vp — as it was after banking hours — with the off-hand request for the loan of £3. It was granted without a moment's hesitation by the worthy auctioneer, who evidently thought he was dealing "with a gentleman. It was, however, soon whispered about that the balance at the bank, &c, was purely imaginary, and asthere was no sign of the doctor's refunding the loan, the police were 'communicated with — with the reBult of causing his introduction to Mr. Shea Lawlor,R.M., who expressed disapproval of the stratagem made use of to raise the wind, and sentenced the inventor to three months' imprisonment with hard labour. . ' We (" Wanganui Weekly Herald ") have heard a capital tale in connection with Major Kemp. Whilst on his previous expedition at Taupo against Te Kooti, Kemp borrowed a compass from one of the guide party, and Lieut-Col. M'Donnell, who was conducting the expedition, could not account for the frequent stoppages. Upon enquiry shortly after, Kemp said he was following the direction of the compass, when M'Donnell explained the use of the compass to him. He replied that Europeans 'always used the compass whenever they went to England or any other port, and that as he wanted to catch Te'Kooti, he went in the same direction as the compass pointed, believing that the point of the compass leading towards the north would take

him to any place he wished to go. Kemp is, no doubt, very intelligent for. a Maori, but retains much of the superstition prevalent .amongst them. The "Wanganui Chronicle" says that Capt. Hawes, of Wairoa, riding over his farm a few days ago, had his attention attracted to a horse which galloped about in a veiy peculiar manner in front of him, and at last went to an opening in the bush and whinnyed. Curious to see what the animal meant, the captain dismounted and went up to the opening in the bush, where he found another horse " hung up " or entangled in the supplejacks beyond the possibility of -getting away. Marks ' of the most desperate struggling were j visible, and about twenty of the supplejack rods had to be cut befoi'e the prisoner was released. The horse must have been there at least two days. When he was brought out, his friend, who had continued to exhibit the most extraordinary emotions, neighed with delight, galloping round him several times. At half-past two o'clock on Monday morning, the 7th inst., says the "West Coast Times," a woman fell down the shaft of the Young America claim, Ross. There were two men working below, who immediately gave the alarm, and she was brought up. It was found that the woman had escaped with but a slight wound on the right knee, which was caused by her dropping on a bucket at the bottom* of the shaft. She was drunk at the time, and had a most wonderful escape, the shaft being over eighty feet deep. ' She fell feet foremost, and as she wore a crinoline, the pressure of air must have broke "the force of the fall. She had a, bottle -of beer in her hand, which, strange to' say, was not broken. I Two determined suicides have occurred in Auckland. The first, George Frederick Howell, sharebroker, shot himself with a pistol in- the head in a shooting gallery. ' He had been ' only a week married. Cause, supposed to be pecuniary embarrassment. The second, William Reid, who shot himself with a revolver. He was in good circumstances, aud owned half of Motutapu island. The cause assigned was settled melancholy. The "Charleston Herald" of the 16th Feb. gives the following account of a curious discovery : — A few days ago, while a lady was exploring a small cave on the beach a few miles south of Brighton, she discovered five eggs completely petrified, each about the size and form of a goose egg. A considerable amount of discussion ensued in the locality, as to the species of bird that produced them ; but without any satisfactory conclusion. One of them has been forwarded to Dr. Hector at Wellington for his opinion. Dr. Carr, the mesmerist, has been giving seances at Napier, about one of which the " Hawke's Biy Herald" writes: — A novelty of the entertainment was the fact of several Maoris having performed the war dance, and exhibited many other manifestations. We learn from Hamilton, says the " Thames Advertiser," that, by the instructions of Mr. Commissioner Branigan, the mounted constabulary there have been reduced to fourteen men, and that considerable dissatisfaction exists on account of the arrears of pay due to the force. We are informed that the members received no pay since December, and that great hardships are suffered in consequence. An axe cast by Messrs Atkinson and Smith from Taranaki steel, the product of the last cupola experiment remelted in a crucible, has (says the " News") been exhibited in town this week. It has been grouud up, finshed and handled with a fancy rata handle, which is certainly ornamental but not likely to stand much chopping. The axe was almost free from visible air bubbles, and although quite soft, not having been hardened at all, it stood chopping ordinary wood very well. This axe has been entrusted to M. Kind, of the commissariat, who left yesterday for Melbourne, and will be shown there to persons likely to take an interest in the steel manufacture. We understand there are nine more cast and only requiring to be annealed and ground up, but .the latter operation is most tedious without a suitable grindstone revolving, at a high speed, in consequence of the extreme toughness of the material. Those who und-cLers-fcancL anything of the- manufacture of tools will be aware that a solid cast steel axe is quite a novelty, the usual plan being to weld in a piece of steel for the cutting edge of axe between the ends of apiece of iron which is bent over so as to nip the st^el with its ends, the upper part of the bend forming the eye of the axe. If material can be prepared cheap, as we have little doubt it can, casting axes solid will be much cheaper than the . other method. The Tauranga correspondent of the " Thames Advertiser " writes under date, February 25th : — Since my last, intelligence has been received that the native woman, Elizabeth Guernin, who was taken prisoner at Whakatane in March last, where her husband, Mr. John Guernin, with a handfull of his wife's relations, had been gallantly defending, on the approach of Te Kooti, a small redoubt at the mill; but being overpowered fell, and with him most of the members of the family, Mrs. Guernin being taken prisoner and forced to become the wife of Takau, a savage chief. On Sunday last Bhe fled from tbe Hau-

haus, taking shelter at the house of the godfather, Mr. J. Borel, who resides near to Te Puna, who in her childhood had nourished and brought her up, until she was taken to the Catholic school, where she received, for a native, j a very superior education, and whose character and position up to the time she was taken prisoner commanded the high respect of all classes of Europeans and natives. This poor woman who thought &he was clear of her prosecutors, was pursued and seized on Monday last by forty-seven determined King Hauhaus. They surrounded Mr. Borel's house at night, and led captive this poor girl against : her will, handing her over, it is said, Ito a band of Te Kooti's most determined savages, of whom her husband is one, to be butchered and maltreated for daring to mingle with civilised creatures, and otherwise affording information, the most valuable and reliable, the like of which we shall never again be permitted^ to obtain. Those who visited the Cynodrorne last evening (says the " Auckland Advertiser " of the sth instant) were highly amused by a striking case of mutual astonishment exhibited by a member of the human family and one of the lower order of animal creation. During the time that one of the monkeys was performing on the tight-rope a Maori dressed in native attire, with a flaxen cloak on his shoulders, entered the pavilion, and to make a short cut to a seat, crossed the ring. The monkey saw him, and he gazed with astonishment on the monkey. The latter stood transfixed — balance-pole in hand. It was an affecting and interesting sight — one lord of the forest, or wild man of the woods, gazing awe-stricken at the other. In the breast of the noble savage the am-I-not-a-man-and-a-brother sentiment seemed rising, for he glanced at the burlesque on humanity with a certain affectionate interest which was touching. The audience roared with laughter, especially as the monkey during the rest of the performance continued to gaze with unaffected surprise at the peculiarly-clothed Maori, who sat seriously returning the stare with a look of doubt and amazement. It was evident that was the first monkey he had ever seen. The depressed state of the labour market at the Thames cannot be so bad as has been represented when such an offer as the following was refused. According to the Auckland " Weekly News," a farmer, who was in want of labourers to dig up his potato crop, hearing that there were a great number of unemployed men in the vicinity of Shortland who would be glad of the means of obtaining even the necessaries of life, went thither and offered the munificent wages of six shillings a day ; but, to his intense astonishment, was politely •referred, by all whom he addressed, to the antipodes of heaven. Other somewhat similar transactions have been given to us. An Alexandra (Auckland) correspondent of the " Weekly News " writes as follows : — The Kingites appear to think that Te Kooti is not to be caught now he is back in his old country. Tawbiao remarked, when he heard of his late escape from Taupo, " Did Government really think that a man like Te Kooti was to be captured-by a lot of flaxcutters ?" The Raglan correspondent of the "Weekly News" writes regarding! the great meeting of natives to be J held there :—": — " Tawhiao, the Maori King, and 500 of his follower?, on the way to Eaglan, are now at Aotea. The Raglan natives have just sent them a present of 1,000 loaves of bread, 10 bags of sugar, and 500 blankets. They are expected in Raglan to-morrow or next day. Great preparations are being made for their reception. Natives from all parts of the country are flocking in fast ; over 2000 are now expected. In a former communication, I urged the necessity of restricting the sale of intoxicating liquors to natives, and more especially at the coming great meeting, when about 2000 strangers may be expected to visit Raglan. The truth of that advice is daily becoming more apparent, as lately we have had an unusual increase of drunkenness amongst the natives, numbers of whom, of both sexes, are frequently seen rolling about the streets in every stage of intoxication ; and what makes the matter still worse for tlie natives, tliey are supplied with an inferior sort of liquor to what Europeans are, and I have every reason to believe that frequent intoxication from strongly adulterated liquors is one great reason why insanity is so much on the increase amongst the natives. It is really time the authorities should take some steps to stop such goings on, for, so long as unprincipled men can palm off their trash with impunity, drunkenness and insanity, and their attendant evils, will continue to be the bane of the native race. The "Southland Times " of the sth instant says : — A very singular accident occurred a few days ago in the shop of Messrs. Ekensteen and Hall, which others would do well to note. Fortunately on this occasion a discovery took place in time to prevent damage. On one of the days on which the sun has come out pretty strong for a few minutes, Mr. Hall observed the paper overlaying one of the window shelves to be on fire. Of course it was at once put out, but the wonder was bow it had become ignited. By experimenting a

little it was found that a decantershaped bottle of salad oil, which stood in front, acted as a powerful lens, and set fire to several pieces of paper as they were placed beneath the focus, i The fire had scorched the shelf itself, and but for its being quickly noticed, would soon have caught the lining of the Avails, and might even during the day have been the cause of serious loss. One can fancy how fire so kindled might smoulder until night, and then burst out and destroy thousands of pounds worth of property, and life itself, leaving its origin a mystery. The " Southern Cross " states that an application has been made to the Superintendent for the use of a piece of ground as a site for the glassmanufactory ; the applicant being a practical glass-blower and cutter, who has worked in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and also in Sydney. The applicant has made glass in Sydney from New Zealand sand ; and knows, therefore, that there is no risk as to obtaining- material. The Superintendent has requested the applicant to look round the city and neighbourhood ; and assured him that if he finds a Government reserve, part of which will answer his purpose, the Government will be ready to give him a long lease at a purely nominal rent. His Honour the Superintendent of Auckland gave the following reply to a deputation from the Thames miners : — There is plenty of employment in this province — abundance of employment for all the unemployed. I know that at this moment there are large quantities of farm produce — of potatoes — rotting in the ground because of the want of men to dig them up. Farmers are glad to get hands, but they aro not to bo had at remunerative wages. I have known instances in which men refused ss. per day, and also have refused 15s a week and their food. Now, if men choose to be unemployed under these circumstances, it is their own fault. " Polly Plum," writing in ths " Southern Cross," says :—": — " Early settlers grew to love colonial life — it was so free, so easy. A lady could answer her own door, or be seen dusting her draw-ing-room without any fear of losing caste ; and a gentleman in easy costume could be his own gardener, and cared not if all the world passed his pailings whilst he busily handled the spade. Now, alas, we are losing all that, and what are we getting in exchange 1 Formality, long bills, and bankruptcy."