WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 657, 3 January 1881, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Wellington, Dec. 30th. £& my last letter I expressed somo little curiosity as to whether the "hard times," of which we hear so much, would have any effect this Christmas in diminishing the ;. general exodus of pleasure-seekers from this city, usually so marked a feature in the observance of the festive season in the New Zealand empire capital. The result of my observation on the subject is that 'Wellington was never so completely deserted asit wag last Boxing Day. Tho usually -busy streets were silent as the grave towards the middle of the day, and Weiijjk'.igton, in fact, seemed quito like a " city KHt the dead," Whether this demonstrates i\b material improvement in the financial of the people, I cannot say 'isitively, although I hope it does. I nnot lose sight, however, of the fact at there are numbers of people who can id money for an excursion, or a circus, io profess their utter inability to pay eir just debts, However, there is every ason to believe that business is now on firmer basis than it has hitherto been, id I trust tho new year may see a now io of prosperity set in upon our shores. As I was afraid would be tho caso, the lion of the Railway Department, in ■j ciiarging the prohibitive fares of 17s t r first-class, and lis lOd second-class, t L Ma|ierton, had the effeot of limiting th T number of excursionists to the Wairarap to an extent that showed these terms to b ' almost prohibitive. The excursion ev: dently was by no means popular. Thi is very much to be regretted on a ' f grounds, and it is to be hoped that th > officials will now recognise what has lon been considered an axiom by railwa authorities at Home, namely, that I pursuade tho public to patronise an excui -aion in such numbers as to render profitable, the reductions made in thl price must be thoroughly sweeping in extent, -J

Afl-you will have heard, the last scene of the Opunako tragedy was concluded yesterday morning, when Tuhi, the mur- . derer of Mjbs Dobie, was executed at the gaol. For days previous, the sheriff had been beseiged by applications from all ' quarters, for orders to view the proceedings among, them, a number of boys, ranging from 12 to 18 had the audacity to apply for tickets, but it is needless to say that all these were refused, only the Press, , the, gaol officers, the prisoners' counsel, Archdeacon Stock, (who attended on him in his last moments), and one or two others being admitted to view the awful spectacle, It was a sad flight to see 'a finely built and evidently intelligent young man-Maori though he was—standing on the hideous ' structure in the little prison yard, hearing the burial service'read over him while he was so full of life and strength, and painful to reflect that in a few minutes he would be a corpse, One of the intending spectators was so overcome as to bo unable to see the dreadful scene concluded, and - hurried away, glad to escape from the horrors of the scene. The clergyman who .attended on the prisoner (Von Archdeacon Stock) braced hjmself up to the conclusion 'pf his solemn task, when he completely : broke down, and wept like a child. . Amidst all the drpad preparations, Tuhi appeared almoat unmoved, though the observant spectator could detect a ■' look of anxioua expectancy depicted in his face, while his tightly-clenched teeth and lips showed that he fully - realised his position, and was determined to meet his fate, In fact, all along he has expressed his willipgnesg to die. although jatlerly he has attpmptpd'fo mate,'!' the drink responsible tor the perpetration of his horrid' crime. Within a few hours of (lis exepution ho wrote a letter to the Governor, asserting tfyit it was drink that led pim to do wrong, and urging |hat drink (ripld die with jijro, Ippt jfc sVuJd rejaip (P jpad pfher people to a like fate', It pay ie renumbered; hpwpypr, that the eyi- '' dence given at the trial distinctly showed that Tuhi was not drunk on the day of the murder. It. may pe tjiat with that strange eagerness that men in the co.n< (jemned cell often exhibit to justify jhppplyes to Bpme px|ppt in tftepyes of ■\\\p world he desired to offer some excuse for the otherwise utterly revolting and ■ jnexplicable'atrocity of which he has been . guilty. It may be, too, that some of those by whom he was visited, knowing the evils inflicted on the Maori race by the curso oi drink, believinghis statements and not stopping to consider how thpy wprp bprne out by the en.tence at the trial, encouraged him to siako this protest. In any case it will probably be admitted that it would be a.good thin? if Mi's letter Jed to greater restrictions being placed on the drink traffic amongst the Maoris. Some excitement has been caused by the • visit of tho Governor's'■ aidß-de-cam,p.T- ---• ' Captain'Knollys-tp; Parihalta, no little speculation astp the motive of 'this .'' has been rife',' especially among :the "Opposition "papers. '.'The favorite tjiepry is that the Home Government has 'jrt jppgth dppidpd to interfere in reference to tho imprisonment of the Maorip3, and their prolonged detention without trial; thatßir Arthur Gordon, wishing to have an independent'view of "the decided to send Capt, Knbllya to investi- ' ' gsjte matters at Parihaka; : that this pro- - ceeding at first aroused the violent oppo- , Bition of the Cannot, who only gave in to the inevitable for the sake of appearances, after a most unpleasant" scene' with flip. i Excellency. As to the real object of thjs Hjw visit to Parihaka arfa the circumstahIb 1 undlr pcli it ps"ibperi' uudertakeh, is" impossible to obtajn any information • - -. irora an official sourcp at prespnt. Jam 'only able to state positively-that Captain pollyd'.is going to'.see Te Whiti >"ith thp'complete.concurrence of the Jlipisters. I believe however, the "' real position of ..affairs to be pretty much as- follows:—The Home Govern- ' tnent recognises that the exceptional ■ ' " nature of the. native difficulty has ren' ' • •: dered necessary exceptional measure! similar to those which have been adoptee by the Ministry. Now that the urgenoj pf thp criBJB pas passed, however, thi gplpnipl office thinks thaj the extraordi - pary measpreß which have been founi " p'ecessary should be relaxed,as speedily a ..possible tfon'BisteW.with the.publio safety .'■.a'pd that'ip fact the JJ alatus quo" shouli ~a -be reauped-as early,aß-expedient. Si r \ - Aithur Gordon; who. takes a great inter f*,«Xeat in the nntive'questiori,, was anxious t \*5 r 'lhave some information'collected'for hii

by Captain Knollys, in whoso ability he has great confitjenge. His desire to know something mute than oould be gathered from ordinary official sources being strengthened by receiving the expression of the views of the Home Government. The Colonial Government, bearing in mind that Te Whiti has' always said he would treat with the Governor and no ono else, thought that Captain Knollys' visit might be the means of assisting in effecting a settlement of the difference between tho races, so far from offering any opposition, heartily concurred in the idea, Tho result is that Captain Knollys has been sent both to make observations and invite Te Whiti to meet the Governor with a view to putting an end to the present state of uncertainty prevailing on the West Coast, and to come to an amicable settlement, so that the present breach may be healed over in a manner satisfactory to both races. I wish it to be understood that I do not state this authoritatively,—it is merely the opinion I have formed after studying all the circumstances of the case. If my surmise is correct, we shall probably hear in a few days the result of the interviow with the prophet.