THE CHATHAM ISLANDS

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1110, 27 June 1882, Page 3

THE CHATHAM ISLANDS

. A'correspondent of the Ohristchujcli. Press fit the Chatham Islands sends jlio following:-"I know n. good many;;of your largo circle of subscribers have rather vague notions, of whati kind of place this is. I had myself.a r waek ; sinco. There are in round numbers 'about 400 of a European population here, about 90 Maoris, and perhaps 40 Morioris or Chatham aboriginals. The cultivated land on the island, I am informed, does not exceed 200 acres altogether, In the centre of the main island there is a lake, the area of which is 1000 acres. Sheepfarming forms the prinoipal business of the people. The aggregato of all the docks is estimated at 85,000, crossbred, Roiiiney, and merino. MrThomas Ritohie, an old and much-respected settler here, has imported some capital equine blood. He has two tliorouehbreds-one named Middleton, a son of one of your wellknown racers, Traducer, There are two very good harbors, Kaiugora and .WJiangoroa, and an abundance of excellent fish, including bluo-cod, hapuka, torrakee and ling. Eels seem to be anything but scarce, and uf the feathered; tribe wild duck, geese, and quail are in plenty, Mr Ritchie sometime since made an effort to introduce pheasants, but they don't seem to have beenaoolimati'sed. It is. not an uncommon thing, I understand, to meet with wild cattle and .untamed steeds in travelling over the country, and settlers complain a great deal of the deatructiveuens of wild pigs and wild cats. Dunnx. the right season the coast is a profitable one for whalers tu cruise around, and some Catches are made. Of timber, the varieties are limited to an area of about 40,000 acres, Akeake appears to be most valuable. There wbb no grain grown for export last season, and at present runholdera are ploughing, with a view to putting in English grosses. Tho capital of the Chalhams I should Bay is Waitangi, if a collection of buildings designated Magistrate's Court, lock-up, blacksmith's shop, a few Native wbares, two hotels and stores combined, a store, and a post-office can be called a capital. . MrL. Deighton is the Magistrate, and there are three' Commissioners of tbe'.Peace-Messrs Cox, Chudleigh, and Moore. There are no roads ou the islands worth the name, and as there is both swamp and beach to face the explorer, travelling is not the delightful occupation fancy is apt to paint. Two institutions I was surprised to find wanting among a population of 400 Caucasians -there' is neither church nor school on the island, More than oiice the remark was made to me the day I landed, 'We are much in need of a minister of the Gospel amongst us. 1 Surely somo earnest worker could be found willing to cast in his lot with the Chatham Islanders."

No doubt' we are all aware (says the Otago Witness),-that Mr Bracken, Mr Fish, aud Mr W, Green have been chosen as the threß wisest men in Duiiedin, but we don't think the people realised the fact till they saw their names in the Parliamentary report. The citizens will grow familirr with their happiness in time; at prosent it is rather bewildering. Dunedin is a community of 40,000 people, of whom the three wisest are found In bo Messrs Bracken, Fißh, and M W. Given. ■ The oddity of the situation probably strikes tho three gent'eman as forcibly bb it strikes us,

The Paris Liberie recounts the following accident said lu have happened to the King of Greece. The Kmg \m walking by himself Into one evoning by the Pirraus, He was challenged by a Bentiuel, and not wishing to betray his incognito, be hesitated to answer. The soldier fired, hit the King on the left arm, and the Wound though slight, kept his Majesty in bed for several days. . ■ The Dublin " Freeman Journal" pub" lished eight columns of a story anony momly sent, and bearing tho London postmark, professing to be the confession of one of the assasnina. It intimates that the crime was conceived as an answer to tho appointment of Lord Frederick Cavendish, by an Iri»b Assassination Society having brandies throughoV? the Kingdom. Over twenty pessons are said to have been Implicated in the crime, all of whom have now escaped to England in variouß.disguises. The writer says they attended the funerals of their victims, The atory has created a sensation, but is considered to be a hoax.

Our readers will see by a striking announcement in the first column of this page that anothor of those Sales which- have made Te Aro House so famous is to commence on Friday next. June 30th. -Ad, As we ire positively' assured that this extraordinary sale of Surplus Stock will only last 14 days, it behoves all who wißh to replenish their stores of drapery at a fabulously cheap rate to make a very early visit to hm Smith's, Te Aro House—Ad. Men of the Wairarapa should not forget that they will have an. opportunity of ,pur ; chasing all artioi.es of clothing'at a very large reduction from usual rates, and should therefore not fail to be among the earliest visitors at the Surplus Stock Sale at Te Aro Houße.-Ai>.