TELEGRAMS.

Inangahua Times, Volume XI, Issue 1720, 21 June 1886, Page 2

TELEGRAMS.

(rROM OUK OWN bORRBSPONDENT.) \ Wkllington, 19. A grand naval display of the Harbor Defence took place this afternoon, and was witnessed by"a large number of spectators. The Graf ton represented the enemy's cruiser. The following steamers were down the harbor :— Tni, Gordon, Helen, Ballance, and the Government torpedo boat. At three o'clock the first shot was fired from Fort Gordon towards the Pinnacl« Rock. Several shot* and shells were very true, but most of them went clean over the Island. At 4 p.m. the Grafton, which was anchored under Fort Gordon, weighed anchor and steamed out towards the Heads, followed by a train of small fry. When within about two miles of the li^ht-house she altered her course, and steat»ed full speed towards Wellington, when the guns at Fort Gordon opened a steady but slow fire on the steamer. Breasting tbe fort the torpedo-boat shot out, and by a series of quick movements exploded atveral blank shots at the enemy. As tta Grafton sighted Fort Hallswell ijm battery 'opened a brisk-fire. The Wellington Navals, who occupied a commanding position on the Hill, kept up a brisk and>tellingifiie,the GrafLon, however, soon passed the. batteries, and as she turned round the corner off Evans Bay the batteries from Kwwarra and NgahanranGja opened up a steady fire, several small mines were sprung in various direction* The display on the whole cannot be taken as a re" flection of greatness, as the whole of the movements seemed very slow. Some of the guns from the principal forts taking five minutes to load. The Evening Post has issued a beautiful map showing the position of the valcanic district. A cablegram from London announces the letting of thirty miles of the Midland Railway. A meeting of OUgo members was bo have been held to-day with a view of further considering the Gorernment proposals respecting the Otago Central Railway, but it was decided to post* pone it until to morrow. A firm impression prevails among the Otago members J( $hat the Government will give tb£»ifV'>olher. i* 100,000 for the Central line, aiM possibly will arrange for completing the line as far as Taien Lake. This of course means a deduction from other votes. The Topbouse

line (for which .£IOO,OOO is set down) is almost certain to be sacrificed in any case. — v ■ Rotorua, 18. Tli3 Government have decided to have a snr ••~y nude of the rotid from Rol. ruavia /Vhaka, Newa to Rotorua, and Galatea. The Maori sufferers by the late eruptions are to be employed upon the construction of the road. | A party returned from Rotomahana last night and confirms the previous statements a? to the physical changes in the country. From the point where the White Terraces stood, all along; the ran^e to ; the Devils Cauldron is clean Mown out of existence. The volcanoes at Tara wera do riot show much activity and look as if they were exhausting them* selves and settling down. The volcanoes to the Bouih of Rotomahana are also dying out. The Maoris believe the woman who was saved to be a witch, and are chary of touching her. i It is stated that the Government I intend shortly sending up to the vol. ! canic regions an artist and photographer with guides in order to reproduce exactly the present condition of the country and physical features, aud the changes. Rotorua Lake is abnormally high, and the springs are active. An avalanche of mud has fallen from the mountain between akes Tikitapau and Rotokahakahi, burying the ground to a depth of eleven feet, and gathering momentum and as it travelled, it shoved into the Lake hodily a spur 150 fret high covered with stunted timber, which was toppled over across where the road had formerly been into the Lake. Plenty of stores are arriving for the needy, ljut there is no case of real distress existing. Mr McCausland, of Rotoiti, reports three shocks of earthquake there on Wednesday night, thefirst,atmidnight, being the heaviest yet felt. Intelligence has be<^i received from Aharohairo that the geysers are be coming more active and new ones are springing up in the immediate, vicinity. The natives are olearl/% out Not a living thing is now in Wairoa, but it is believed th^t the Maoris of the adjacent settlement will peril theii lives to reach and plunder Mcßae's stort^ The last Europeans who came aGltyr'e that some of Mr Humphries' gootls^iave been taken, though this is denied. - Fron^'the appearances the weatherat Tarawera is cold and rainy. Most of the visitors and Pres? representatives are clearing out on Satur day unless anything important intervenes in the interval. The following information has been telegraphed to M'Kenow, SurveyorGeneral by Mr T. Humphries, Clue! Surveyor at New Plymouth, who is a particularly accurate observer : — " The eruption at Tarawera was a fine sight here all day yesterday (Sunday). The column at 4 p.m, when I saw it, was by computation from observation with a 6 inch transit theodolite 24,000 feet high above, sea level. It had all day a rose colored tinge, but with deep red glare near my horizon colling and heaving. None of this was visible on Saturday, though equally a clear sky. The height of Tarawera Mountain being 1,964 feet, flie above shows that the column which we saw reached vertically four miles above the mountain. When the eminent geologist, Dr Hochstetter, visited New Zealand in the early part of 1859, he made a very careful examination of the Hot Lake distri-t, going from Lake Taupo to Rotoinahana, and visiting the wonderful springs at Omkei korako in his jonrney. On nearing Taiawera, ho camped one afternoon close at the foot of the Paeroa peak, where there are numerous mud volcanoes, and it the top of the mountain a powerful «olamn of steam ascends from the great fountain of Te Kopiha. After examining this region, only a few miles from Tarawera, he proceeds to say, "I am of opinion that this whole portion of the mountain, np to the Te Kopiha fountain — being, as it spetns, thoroughly decomposed by hot vapour* — will some day cause a snddi-n catastrophe by falling in, and covering the Ratoreka Piain with a flood of hot mud " The natives would not permit him to ascend the Tarawera range, but in the face of the present eruption the above prediction is an important one: