AUCKLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 298, 3 December 1862, Page 5

AUCKLAND.

(from our own correspondent.) November 22nd, 18G2,

Coromandel still continues the chief theme of conversation among our speculative men here, and on every trip of the little steamer plying between Auckland ami that place, increased numbers of persons take a flying visit to convince themselves of the reliableness of information received, and to determine them in any course of action.

From the Driving Creek the news received continues'satisfactory, and about,ten days ago a jiieee of quartz was taken from Leehy's old claim (now Schmidt's}, in which the gold and quartz are represented t) be about equally divided. This specimen may be said to be only in continuation of equally rich quartz s^nt to Auckland some time ago. Kelly's claim, close upon SchraidfcV, is also yielding rich gold-bearing q-iartz, but from a different leader ; and the claim formerly known a^ belonging to Gibson, has been proved exceedingly rich. The leader in Johnston's claim, near the junction of the Main and Driving Creeks has turned out much better than was anticipated, and is reported to be now equal with any in the creek. A shaft is being sunk on No. 3, with the j intention of striking the leader exposed by Johnston's party. Murphy's paity are sanguine that they have hit upon tin main reef. They have been sinking on the higher range for about thirty feet, and then driven for fifteen feet., when a large body of stone was struck, richly charged with gold. Their lead or reef is said to dip to the eastwards, and the specimens obtained are very fine. On Jackson's claim in the Driving- Creek, 91bs. weight of magnificent specimens were obtained on the 14th November. AU the diggers engaged are perfectly satisfied, and working away heartily. Tko ;e who have not a? yet been arnou g the fortunate, continue their exertions with hopeful diligence, and do not despair of stinking1 something which will well repay them for their labpr. There cannot be the slightest doubt that Coromandel, as a quartz-reefing country, presents immense'advantages over other fields of like character. The erection of niachineiy for crushing in connection with Keven's Kaef Company, has been grievously slow, and the labors of the diggers may be said to have been retarded by this circumstance. Many tons of stone a] c waiting for the test. It is, however, gratifying to hear that ground lias been leased for the erection of a small machine, near the Driving Creek, and that every f xertion will be made to have it speedily at work. The diggers themselves are now in a position to purchase quartz-crushers and amalgamators, and it has been seriously talked of among themselves to wait no longer for the supply of these machines by speculative capitalists of Auckland, but to enter on the undertaking themselves. Undoubtedly the working of the first machine on the spot would yield a handsome profit to the propr.'etois, and would, at the same time, convince the sceptical that Coromandel reefs can compare with any in the world for richness The news concerning native proceedings is very limited inded. The Upper Waipa correspondent of the Daily Southern Cross confirms the statements previously received as to the great meeting of natives at Peria. William Thompson was reported to have spoken as follows:—" We must not allow a steamer

to enter Waikato: we must not allow a bridge over Maungatawhiri: neither must we allow the road now making at Raglan to cross the Waitetuna :"-to which all were unanimous. " : It is said that Thompson merely put this forth as a fejler: and it is also said that if Thompson knew how to extricate himself from the position in which he has placed himself, that he would not hesitate to do so; but there is the difficulty—he cannot well withdraw from the league, having been, I may say, the first to put it in motion. J The Taranaki question was warmly discussed. Thompson, finding the majority were opposed to having it settled by arbitration, gave his vote with the majority, which, I am sorry to say, does not look like a peaceful solution of the Taranaki difficulty. I may here mention that some of them said that it the troops were removed from Waitara they might possibly enter into some indefinite arrangements

Bishop Splwyn, who wag present, t->M them that the purport of bis visit there was to endeavor to get ■the Taranaki question settled in a just and peaceful manner: but 1 fear, all his good intentions were of no avail.

An allusion was made to the letter sent by Sir George Grey to MatufciTa, whu:h appears to have pven.qreUofKju.ce; &till many of them can see how ju«t tin; remarks, made by ViU Excellency in tint letter, arp. Anything .which appears to them like dictation they arc utterly oppysfd to ; hence, I fear, aud led niu-h regret in savinir so, that a peiceful solution oL" aifiirs is as far off as ever—(probably farther).

W. Kingi, the Taranaki chief opposed to Government, aud who is resi ling at or near Rangiawhia. says that so soon as t!;e road which is being carried on at Taranaki reaches a block of his laud, which intervenes between Government land and the Tai-

tiramaika block,that it will be opposed ; consequently M re know not the hour we may be thrown into a war.

The Maungatautari chief, Te Hori Hori, has sent a letter to Sir George Grey, inviting him up. But why has not Thompson done this? One question ha 3 occurred to me: would it be prudent for Sir George to come ko far ! My hurrUle opinion has been, and is now, thai if a n.eeting be wished jforjby Thompson, Maungatawhiri would appear to ilieI,the most fitting place for such an assembly, for more'!rfias>ns than one. ll'j

From what I can see every endeavour is being made to strengthen the King Movement. I have frcqueniy mention-*! that the Maoris have very bat advisers, and I fear some are living amongst them. The natives are very rendv to li-ten to anything that meets their view, such as being told " our Government have no right to make roads over their laud," &c.

A dispute lm avissn (so lar on paper) between two tribes of natives as to the original rightful possession an I dispo«il of land, (the; sits of Auckland) and a'ij lining1' district- Tletar.ika of Ngatipaoas and his tribe write to the Daily Southern Cross that they claim O'Kahn and Whakatakataka. To which the n itives r siding at Orakei r join in the New Zealandcr : —" Look on now, 0 our Kuropcan friends—we are all resiling on onr lands at the VFaitemata {i.e., Europeans and Maoris). You have known us from your first arrival at the Waitcinafa.. The land we soil to you was our own {i.e., the site of Auckland), aid the Ngatipaoas did not then say to us, why did you sell IJet:iraka's land

This is another word of our.?, do you hearken :- Wireimi Iloeke and his tribe say that the land belongs to Hetaraka, Let no strango tribe presume to make any statement regarding- our land ; but let them take Hefcaraka and place him upon his own lands, Rangitoto, Tiikapuna and Whingaparaoa, that it may be right If you do not approve of Hetaraka's being located on these lands of'his, then by all means take him to the Great Barriei', to the laud of his ancestor Taihua. &c\"

The coitest for the Superin tendency fa raging, and the nearer the polling day approaches the more strenuous t'.'e candidates appear1 to be in their determination to force tkr* election —each in his own favor.

Tiie pas iouat'e exhibitions of temper ou the prrb of the candilates's supporters are sickening : and the :o.vdy element ] rivalling at most of the meetiups must keep many sensible electors from taking part in the proceeding* at. all. The polling day is fixed for Wednesday, the 26.h inst. The Albert land settlers, arrived by the William Miles, are findirg their way up the settlement in small bodi-%; bur, many prefer remaining; in town rather than venture on the journey, Tiie Salcombe Castle has' taken, a portion isund to Port Albert on the settlement, and the cutter Progress is also laid on for the same purpose. The reverend gentlemen connected with the Pres-

bytemn Church of your city arrived here per Ci.m c Hamilton, and took part, iv a Presbytery held at St. Andrew's Church yesterday. Tomorrow (Sunday) they arc announced to pieaih in the Presbyterian Churches of this city and district. I anticipate tlie pleasure of bcinj? able to give a lengthy report of their proceedings in my m-xt letter. The public soiree in connection with the first meeting of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, will be held in the Brunswick Hall, on the '27th in-tant. The representatives from the Southern Presbyterie3 will be presen', and address the meeting. On Wednesday, ftov. 20, a case of housebreaking took place in thi-J city, when goods to the value of LIS 13s were canied away from the house of Mr Joseph Craig, .C lapel-street. The thief has been captured and committed for trial. His name is Joseph Graham.

Two accidents of a fatal nature occurred a few days ago to settlers in the neighborhood of Auckland. Mr Middlemas, of Drury, an old and ent rprising settler, was killed on,t'ic 14th November, by being run over

by the wheel of the spring cart he was driving. The accident occurred when on. his return home from

Auckland, and, no one being with him at the time, the means by which he was thrown under the wheel are not understood. Tiie second fatal accident occurred to Mr Hugh Henry, of Titirangi, who met his death by the upsetting of the car in which he

had been riding, when returning from Auckland on the night of Saturday, November 15th. At midnight on the 17th November, an alarm of fire, and the ringing of the fire bdis, startled many of the inhabitants of the city frnn their quiet rest. A icitchen attached to Mr Hall's premises, Victoriastreet, proved to be on fire ; but fortunately, owing to the ready assistance rendered, and the energetic measures lakcn to overcome the flames, the fire was extinguished before very much damage had been done. The premises were insured by the New Zea-

land Insurance Company, but not thfi stock. The damage done is estimated not to exceed six pounds. The sudden extinction of the conflagration was most

iucky, as the city in the vicinity of Mr Hall's premises is thickly populated ; and had a few minutes only been allowed to elarsj before eticrts were made to subdue'the flames, the loss must have been greatly increased by the destruction of valuable property. It is pleasing to notice that the subscriptions towards the Lancashire ltelief Fund continue stea'ily

increasing. Alrea 'y £1,250 have be i remitted ho:ne by the Committee ; and they are in hopes of sending an additional £500 by the next mail. The settlers in the out-districts are nobly helping in the go >d work. The Auckland Homoeopathic Association have just held their annual meeting; and it has been decided to close the hospital. This step has been taken in consequence of an insufficiency of funds, and t lie building at present used for the purpose beingineonveiiient in many respects. The sympathy and exertions of friends will be sought to raise money for the procuration of a building and site worthy of the cause. The decisbri to close the hospital will nnt interfere with the obt lining of medicine from the Hoaiajopathic DispeDSiry. Bishop Patteson, of the Melanesian Mission, has recently i#e turned from the islands of the Pacific, and has brought with him 57 pupils for instruction at ICohimanrna during the summer. On Sunday List his Lordship preached in St. Paul's Church, and took occasion to advert to the opeiations of the missionaries at present connected with the mission. The diseases prevailing on most of the islands weift found most destructive to the lives of Europeans, and native missionaries had likewise been carried off by ievers and other complaints. Within the short period often months, out of eight natives of RaritDnga, who had gone forth as missionaries amongst the Western Islands, six had succumbed to disease and to the climate. In none of the hundred islands which they visited, did the slightest trace of hostile feeling betray itself, or was the slightest reluct ance to receive them exhibited. Tril.es of the same island who were at war with each other, meet and listen to the Divine word; and hostilities had been suspended whilst the ! mission work was proceeding. Twenty-four languages were understood at Kohiinarama : nnd a considerable number of the youths who had been trained there Wire now able and willing to give their aid to the mission as teachers : and it was to be hoped some wi nld in time, become fit to be ordained members of t'le missionary body. : The decisions in the action against the master of the ship JBlundeli, for negligence (the particulars of which I gave in a previous letter), were delivered on Nov. 17 hby the Risident Magistrate. There were four actions. The Magistrate decided that the ship wes seaworthy on leaving London, and therefore fit for the conveyance of perishable cargo. Judgment was piven, in the first case, in favor of the Captain. The amount sought to bs recovered was £80 for damage. In the sec nd case £100 was claimed as damages: his Worship awarded £5. In the third case £00 for damage was sought to be recovered: and £42 2s 6d was awarded. The fourth claim was for £45 X's freight, Captain v . Graham and Co.: and was given in his favor. Another action for £600, against the Captain, comes on next month in the Supreme Court. . I notice by the letter of the Mongonui correspondent to the Daily Southern Cross, that Mongonui does not intend to be left in the wake while the question of the Panama Postal Pteam Service remains in abeyance. At a public meeting recently held at the Donnybrook Hotel, the desirability of making Mongonui the port of call for the Panama steamer was taken into consideration.. A paper was read by Mr Grover, pointing out the advantages to be offered by the port of Mongonui, in contrast to others. The document was adoptedj and a committee formed to attend to the dissemination thereof; Exhibitions and amusements have been rife in t-iis city since'ray last. The first exhibition of the Horticultural Society was held on. November 19th, and was -very successful. The paddock in the rear of Government House, through the kindness of^ the Governor, was placed at the disposal of the Society, and there the show took place. Plants, flowers, native trees, cereals, with pickles, preserves, poultry, manufactured cabinet work, &c, made up a most interesting exhibition; The -weather was all that could be desired. A bazaar held on the 18th and 19th November, in aid of the Congregational Sunday Schoolroom, also realised a sum sufficient to to cover the debt on the building. Thatcher and Madame jVitelli, with Maekney,< a negro delineator, liave drawn good houses at the Brunswick Music Hall; &nd Captain Wilson has secured fair attendances at his mesmeric aeantfej. - ■ ,