THE PROVINCES.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 159, 23 February 1871, Page 7

THE PROVINCES.

The " Nelson Mail " of the 6th and 7t ! i contain? fie particulars of the suicide of Mr. James Hyde, of Spring Grovo, by drowning in the Wairoa river. At the inquest held on the 7th, it appeared from the evidence that tho deceased hail for a short time before his death been in a depressed state of mind. Mrs. Hyde handed in at the inquest the fallowing letter, written in the diminutive baud :—": — " My last will and testament. I deny myselfof life through misfortune, and perpetual jar and contention. — James Htde. 1 will go to hell, and enter the torments of my God, where I shall have rest for ever. — J. H." A verdict was returned that the " Deceased drowned himself while labouring under temporary insanity."

The Cambridge correspondent of an Auckland paper writes to say that it is the general opinion in the Waikato districts that we are on the eve of war with the Maoris. Another writer (living somewhere in the vicinity of Taupo), says: — " F fully expect that before many months we will h ye a regular row will) tho King party; it is already brewing pretty stiffly. And without being an alarmist, I will not be the least surprised to have a few bullets flying about me some of these days. But the old proverb of ' foru-warned is fore-armed ' I hope will stand to me. If there is a war, I think it will be a very severe one; and many natives that we think friendly will turn against us."

There is a sort of melancholy fascination (says^the " Evening Post") connected with the long death roll contained in the Parlia-mont.iry paper entitled " Return of the names of persons drowned in New Zealand from the Ist Janu'iry, 18±<0." To furnis'i this Ibl great trouble ha bo >n aone to, and every avail ible sou-vo of information investigated Tv R'gislrarGen oral has been applijd to ; t'.w records of the Colonial Secretary's department have boon searched ; inquest prue. i edin_ r s have been scrutinised, as well as old files of newspapers ; tho Provincial Govermn/p.f.-t have beeD appealed to ; and yet with all, although over 1,100 names have been obtained, it is well known thai t'.mt number falls far short of the true one. In the early days no authentic; records were hep*", and even in late years many have found a watery grave in the rivers without being missed. During 1860 and IS7O no less than 155 individuals are returned as drowned in the N"v.»w Zealand river?.. Ts it. not nearly time to cease offering these yearly hecatombs to the Moloch of mis-Gro-verment? Is it not possible to do with fewer Commissioners of everything mentioihi'oly from flax to finance, to save a little of the money that is now being lavished at the will of the Ministry on objects of no value to the country, and put up if only one or two bridges to reduce the death rate ? We commend the subject to the consideration of those who are about to send representatives to Parliament.

A corrcspon lent writing from Kihikihi puts before us in a striking light the pernicious effects of panics in the Waikato. Not only is capital scared away from the district, but settlers already there are harassed into sacrificing their homesteads and removing, and thus industry and progress are retuvled. Ifc is sad L o think of lac snftvring which musL be endured by women and children fleeing from their homes at a moment's warning, and taking shelter anywhere, thankful to save their lives, even though tho fruits of years of toil may be swept away by the firebrand of the savage. One correspondent speaks of poor women and children tremblingly huddling together in out houses, while the watchers of the night look out into the darkness, expecting each moment to see the sudden blaze, and hear the savage yell, which tell of the work of destruction begun. We in Auckland, whose sleep is not disturbed by savage inroads, can have but a very faint notion of the mental misery suffered by settlers living in exposed situations on the frontier. The needless circulation of sensational rumours ia an act of absolute criminality, destructive of the best interests of the colony. At the same time it must be confessed that unpreparedness for attack has a large share in promoting panics, and we ai*e therefore glad to see tlut a Defence Committee has been formed at Alexandra, and has drawn up a set of suggestions for co-operation. The formation of a volunteer force is a prominent feature in ohe programme, and we sincerely trust that it will be successful. As our correspondent says, the settlers should remember the advice of his Excellency the Governor to the settlers, when he visited Wanganui :—: — " The settlers should trust to their own stout hearts and strong arms."

Topini Te Mamaku, who harboured Te Kooti some time ago, it is believed will be induced to visit Wanganui.

I have not for the last five years known so much mental depression as exists at the present at Kihikihi amongst our independent farmers, on account of native matters. It may be said that we, as military settlers, look upon panics as a matter of course; but not so the large resident landholders, who would sell out this moment if they could get a purchaser. — [Correspondent.] We are glad to learn that the two chiefs who took a leading part in the disturbance at Tauranga, on a recent occasion, have been fined £10,- which has been paid into Court. The

difference between the Arawas and the lN"gaiterangi is now therefore settled.

The sitting of the Native Land* Court was continued on Thursday in one of the buildings in Fort Bntoinart. The interest taken by the natives was very great ; there could not have been fewer than some 300 to 400 present. Tue Te Aroha casu came on for rehearing, and foe souie time it appeared that the Court would come to a deadlock on the matter, Judge Manning opposing the hearing, and Judge Munro being in favour of it. The difficulty was got over, aud the case proceded. At haJ-past three o'clock the further hearing was' adjourned until ten o'clock this morning. As the Court adjourned, a row seemed likely to arise. The case for the Ngatihaua was closed, aud Te Wariki was giving evidence for the Ngatimaru, and he detailed the causes which led to the battle of Taumatawhiwhi being fought, and an old grey-headed native got quito excited. He rushed to the doors of the building, got them shut, aud shouted and gesticulated in a violent manner about the points of the evidence which Te Wariki had given. Mr. Mackay, however, lectured him quiet, the doors were opened, and the crowd dispersed.

A stag, supposed to have Avandered from the estate of Mr. Rhodes in Rangitikei, is now (says the " Chronicle '') running between the No. 1 and No. 2 lines. He herds with the cattle and seems acclimatised in all his solitariness.

A correspondent writes from Coromandel: — "Yesterday I was on the Tokatea Range and the various leaders wicu gold are so numerous that they are beginning Lo puzzle one from their abundance. The prospect of tho Tokatea iiango — without any undue excitement or exaggeration — are certainly remarkably good. There will not however, bo many good cmshings this month, but 1 look for some good returns during February."

In Canterbury, flour is quoted at a£lL per ton delivered in town, and wheat at Is. M. to Is. 6d. per bushel. In the provisiou market butter is getting rather a drug at (j{-d. to Old. : now cheese realises SM. to 5d. ; hams and bacon of really prime quality are iv some demand at St. to 9J.

The following story, which smacks very much of invention, is told by the Grrahamstown '' Mail " : — ; ' There" was a curious rumour afloat iv town as to the conduct of a eertair member of the Duke's suite on the Queen-street Wharf one night lately. In the absence of anything special from our correspondent on the subject, we give the rumour for what it is worth. It is slated that an honourable drove on to the Queen-street Wuarf in a four-in-hand turn-ou f , and tie toll-man ran forward to collect his fee, and also, probably, to prevent the carriage being driven on the wharf, as, according to the regulations, all horses should be led. Some high words ensued, and ifc is said that mention was made of ' fisticuffs,' upon which the young gentleman reached forth a sovereign, requesting the toll-man to cover it, and have it out in a sparring match. Before the arrangement could be satisfactorily completed, the carriage moved on, but when it came to a stand-still ajain, the Hon. Jehu <ig,;in pulled out his sovereign, and requested some by-slander to get il ' covered.' No reply was made for some time, but at length one of the Larrikins, of which there are always a number standing on the wharf, stepped out and offered his services to convey the message and sovereign. Upon receiving the money the messenger made tracks for the locality of the toll-keeper, but it is probable that, owing to some kindly mental aberration, he quite forgot whom he was to give it to, for, instead of going to the toll-keeper with the polite message of which he was the bearer, he rushed past, and neither sovereign nor message has since been heard of. Ths 'sell' was at onco perceived by the crowd, who laughed heartily at the manner in which tho gentleman had been duped."

It has been hoped that the progress of enlightenment would tend to render wars less frequent, but the unquestionable result of .educational advancement of modern times has been to render wars more destructive, while it has not lessened their number and magnitude. Science aud art have been active in the invention of machines for the destruction of human life, and the intelligence which is derived from education has been turned to military purposes. As Mr. Lowe has pointed out, one of the most valuable lessons to be learned from the present war is that the soldier who is well taught is far superior either to do or to suffer to one who is ill taught.