3

ing such a person is requested to communicate the same to this Office.
(Signed) E. W. STAFFORD.

Christian Name and Surname—Gommaire Van Wentswinkel, known in the Colony by the name of the "Belgian," or "Belgian Peter."
Age—Between 39 and 40.
Residence before going to the Colony—Anvers, Belgium.
Married; wife and four children in Belgium.
Left Europe in September, 1854, as an officer of the Belgian Vessel, "Petronille," Van Hòrnborstel, master.
Date of arrival in the Colony unknown.

T E N D E R S.

Superintendent's Office,
Napier, Dec. 8, 1860.
THE following Tenders for renting Waipureku Ferry, from the Provincial Government are published for general information.

TENDER ACCEPTED.
Mr. J. McKinnon at £100 10s. per annum.

TENDERS REJECTED.
Mr. H. Brooking, at £150 per annum.
Mr. Jas. Allen, at £80 per annum.
Mr. S. Roberts, at £85 per annum.
Mr. L. C. Sutton, at £85 per annum.
Mr. H. Sherley, at £80 per annum.

N O T I F I C A T I O N.

Provincial Council Chamber,
Napier, Dec. 6, 1860.
THE attention of the Public is called to an error which appears in the last line of page 7 of the Acts and Proceedings of the Provincial Council of Hawke's Bay, which should read "motion negatived," instead of "motion agreed to."
JOSEPH RHODES,
Speaker.

Superintendent's Office,
Napier, Dec. 31, 1860.
HIS HONOR THE SUPERINTENDENT directs the following Report to be published for general information.

G. T. FANNIN,
Superintendent's Clerk.

Napier, Dec. 5, 1860.
SIR,—I have the honor to transmit to you a tabular statement of the cases

which have been under treatment at the Napier Provincial Hospital since it was opened for the admission of patients, and appending thereto such observations as I deem correlative to the sanitary condition of the Town and District generally.

I feel that an apology is due from me on account of the very crude and imperfect manner in which I am obliged to consider many subjects of importance, as this arises from a neglect of having kept accurate observations, and an entire absence of all scientific instrumental aid in furtherance of such.

Scinde Island is a peninsula of very irregular contour, and formed of a succession of hills, with gullies ramifying amongst them, extending over an area of about 600 acres. The Island was, a few years ago, entirely covered with high fern, which is now giving place to European and Native grasses. The soil is rich and fertile, having an average depth on the hills of about 12 or 14 inches, and in the gullys of from 20 to 30 inches. The subsoil is a sandy clay, resting on beds of sandstone, chalk, and shell limestone. There are surface springs on different parts of the Island, but water may be procured anywhere by sinking to about sea level.

South of the Island and in its immediate vicinity is a large extent of morass and shallow salt water lagoons, of from 1 to 2 feet in depth, which exposes at low tide a large surface of mud flat from which arises a variety of noxious and pestilential gases, at times excessively fœtid and almost intolerable.

Napier Town proper is situated on a shingly flat which is nearly on the sea level. The salt water freely percolates through this, and at the depth of a few feet the rise and fall of the tide may be observed by digging a hole in the surface.

The exhalations from this porous crust can scarcely be considered compatible with the preservation of health, neither is it so, and when the Town has increased, considerable apprehension may be entertained that they will prove a fertile source of fevers, agues, diarrhœa, rheumatism, &c., especially when the difficulty of draining be taken into account; fortunately, the Island itself contains an abundance of space for the occupation of many thousands of souls.