ICE AT THE CHATHAMS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4347, 17 February 1893, Page 2

ICE AT THE CHATHAMS.

Theory about Sunday's Earthquake. A very interesting paper, describing the appearance of icebergs which occurred at the Ohathams a few months ago, was read before the Philosophical Society on Wednesday evfluing by Sir James Hector, on behalf of Mr Shand, a leading settler . of the Chathams. The writer points out that ice hud never been seen in . that locality before, and he expressed . the opinion that the bergs had come ) from a tomperate clime, as their : appearanco was conical, showing that ' they had not come from tbo coldest latitude. Sir James Hector, after : reading the paper, said the changes i in the weather had been very peculiar. 1 He pointed out that on Saturday last 1 there were two barometiio jumps, 0110 I at 4 a.m and the other at 11 a.m—a J similar thing bnving occurred before ! the great Krakatoa eruption, and on f Sunday Wellington people exper--3 ienced a stiffearthquake, On Monday I the barometer wont back, and a a storm broke over the city at night. j Sir James went on to say that it wag a possible that the approach of the ice, s through the creation of new currents s towards Erebus and Tdjfcr, the j volcanoes in the Antarotic Ocean, waß ', responsible for an outbreak there, and 1 that the eruption was iu turn respou- . sible for the floods in Queensland and a the recent disturbances in New s Zealand.

Mr W. M. Maskell said ho thought it was evident that Erebus and Terror had been playing a little game, and that tbey had had some connection with thn recent earthquake, What he should like to know was tho conneeI tion between atmospheric disturbances and earthquakes, lie had experienced a great many earthquakes in different parts of tho world, and did not recollect a single instance of one that was accompanied by a storm, The earthquakes ho had felt had all occurred ia fine weather. Major-General Shaw said he had read of a case where there was heavy wind when an earthquake occurred. Mr C. W. Tanner mentioned that he was on the Rimutaka last Sunday morning, and he was surprised to feel a shock of earthquake. He was surprised because ho lmd always thought an earthquake was never felt on the hills, jhe shock on Sunday was so . severe that ho quite expected to find Wellington had been wrecked. On the following night there was a severe storm, but whether it had any connection with the earthquake on the previous day he did not know. The President (Sir Walter Buller) said that he was in Auckland whoa the great earthquekeof 18S5 ocourred, and since then ho had experienced hundreds of similar occurences, hp* so far as bo could recolleot uoiiMrL ever taken place in bad Major-General Shaw pointed that earthquakes might occur during very windy weather, when it was possible they would not be noticed, Mr 0, Hulke said he recollected a flhako occurring in Wellington when the barometer was very low. Sir James Hector said that it was not the good weather or tho bad weather which produced earthquakes, but thedifferential weather. Erebus and Terror were not further from New Zealand than was tho effect of an eruption thore would be. felt in this Colony. Hero the discussion terminated, —Post,