The Daily Southern cross.

LUGEO, NON UHO If I have been extinguished, yet there rise A thousand beacons from the spark I bore.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER I, 1871.

The melancholy intelligence just received from the islands has produced a profound sensation. That a man so deservedly revered as the Bishop of i Melanesia should ha\e fallen Middcnlv and b} violence, would be sufficient of I itself to arrest attention ; but tli.it he should have fallen in the midst of his devoied labours, and by the hand-, of those to whom he came in a mission of love and beneficence, makes the occurrence particularly sad. And yet it can hardly be said that such a result has not arisen naturally from the highly unsati.sfactoiy state of affiirs at present, existing in certain of the ~outh s ea Islands. There cannot be a doubt that this deplorable event is to be traced mainly to the irregularities in (hettafHe in South Sea Island labour. Some few weeks ago, and as it appeals two days ufter tho murder of Bishop Pattooon, we gave insertion to a letter signed '"Justice," which «o ."ceuraloly desciibed the probable circumstances leading to the at'aclc on (he Venerable Bishop that it now appears invested with a singular significance. The means that hive been employed iu collecting laboure s fur the Fijian plantations, and even for Queensland, are now no longer a matter of surmise It is known that deception and violence have both been unscrupulously used in the work ; and that the esteem and reverence entertained by the islanders for the name and character of the now martyred Bishop ha^e been made the means, by a cruel deception and personation, of enticing islanders on board the .slavers. There are those who ha\c sailed from New Zealand ports, and have been engaged in the cariving of Polynesian labourcis, who have publicly boasted of the success of the ruse, and who have stated thar clothing themselves in white surplices they have performed mock religious services to the islanders, and so tempted them in large numbers on board under the impression that the pretended officiating minister was Bishop Patteson himself; and in the cruise of the 'Eosano' a case in point is furnished by Captain Palmer iu which the deception was successfully practised. Probably it will require nothing more than the death of this *\ enerable Bishop to direct that attention to this monstrous fratfio which will lead to its .suppression. Time was when Polynesian labour might have been a boon to industry in the various settlements in these seas, and a benefit to the islanders themselves. But the abuses have been such that voluntary emigration can be no longer available, and- now there seems but the •dternative of violent deportation or the cessation of the traffic. With such an alternative, it will not require British feeling long to decide, when that feeling is awakened to the horrors of the case by such a deplorable catastrophe as that which has now occurred. It lias more and more im pressed itself on the min.ls of those who have devoted their attention to the Subject that really there is n<» longer a possibility of regulating , the traffic in bouth Sea islanders. The Legislature of Queens land has done all that a humane colony could do to mitigate the evils of the

labour traffic Within the limits of the colony the islanders are well cared for, their health and comfort and happiness are consulted, and their wages are protected in the savings banks of Ihe colony against unscrupulous masters and even against the labourers themselves. Perhaps it would be impossible to do more by leg station than has been done in that colony to ameliorate the conJition of the apprenticed "Polynesians, tuA th« evils counected with the system as within the colony are reduced to a minimum. Bub every effort to regulate the procurement of labourers from the islands has been futile. Licenses have been issued to shipmasters, and Govern ment agents have Wen sent with the vessels, and the length to which men will go notwithstanding is forcibly illustrated by the fact thai, in a charge being now investigated against the master of a vessel for kidnapping islandeis, it appears that the Government agent aboard was drugged as a preliminary to " negotiations "with certain islanders. The fact is, voluntary emigration if no longer available, and violence is necessary unless the vessels are to return from tho cruise empty. We can hardly anticipate that this scandal to our boasted civilisation will be much longer suffered to continue, and it may be that the last event in the valued life of Bishop Patteson will prove the means of sweeping away for ever the sore evil under which the islands suffer.

We have been courteously furnished by Mf. Warwick Western with certain returns relative to our gohlfields, the moral of which deserves something more than a passing notice. They contain a statement of every ounce of gold reported as having been yielded from tho crushings of every claim at the Thames and Coromandel during the period between the 1st January and the 30th September of tho present year, namely, an aggegate of 28-j,020oz. 18d\vb. They also contain a statement of every ounce of gold purchased by the Banks during the same period, namely, 317, lal-oz. 8dwt. ; ami a comparison of the results is in the highest degree instructive. The list contains the names and the yield of 222 claims and tributes, from the Jupiter and the Lone "Star, with each its single ounce, to the Caledonian and the Tokatea and the Nonpareil, with their thousand". From the return, which has apparently been compiled with unwearying patience, and seems entirely reliable, it appears that no less a quantity than G2,133oz. 8dwt. have been purchased during those nine months which have never been reported as passing through a battery. But Mr. Westou makes an allowance for tailings and small lots of specimens crushed at private batteries, for which no returns may possibly have been made. For such yield there is allowed what mii^t be regarded as a liberal margin — viz., 30,000oz. in nine months — and-still the'T remain 32,1 33oz unaccounted for. Where has this gold come from 1 ?. It has been pm chased and has passed through the Banks, but .so far as we can find it has never pa^ed through tho batteries Had there been ailmi.il diggings at the Th.uncn, a compaiison between qu.utz battery returns and the actual yield of srold as shown by b.iuk returns would be manifestly unreliable T3ut hero we have upvatds of thiity thousand ounces of gold extracted in nine months ] '; om quail/ ; but the source, and oiigtn, and earlv histoiy of which we cannot trace. With such a glaiing discrepancy it seems nocdievi to point to the additional fact thai, while tho battery returns are chiefly in retorted goid, those of tho banks' are in gold refined It is unnecessary to s:iy that, if the bank returns g.ivo the statement of ri i tort"d gold, the excess purchased beyond that reported m the battery leturns would be mu'hgrtaler But here wo have upwauls of J)0,O()0oz. of gold over the origin of whieh there hangs n heavy cloud of mystery Th.it, it has been secretly extracted from the quartz is manifest; : bub whence came the quarlz? If it e une legitimately from the claims it mu.st have p.is.cd tlnou^h the batteries and been entered in their returns. If it came to light in any other way we should no longer wonder that so many claims have been unprofitably worked.

The Auckland Horticultiual Society has resolved upon the cl.usos for a Inch prizes will be offered ;il the A^ncultuial ISho v co lie held m the Barracks on the 1.1th instant. They have determined to give iirst and second prizes ior tlie best collections of (lowors enumerated below Tlie number iequired m each set i& stated, and collections \w\\-i include that numb ;r of distinct varieties. The following is the schedule of prizes :— Plants m Pots : Greenhouse an I stove plants in seta of G and 3 ; gret-nhouse and sto\c plants, single specimens; greenhouse and .'tovo plants, Jtesfc collection ; aclumenes, in sets of R and 3 ; cinerauas, in sets of G and 3; geianium-> (pelargonium-), in seta of G and 3 ; geraniums, vaiicgated and fancy kinds, in sets of G and 3 ; * Sow Zealand ferns and allied plants, in sets of G and 3; collection of New Zu.dand tiei's and shrubs ; single specimen of New Zealand tiee or shrub; * window plants, in seta of G and 3 ; window plant, singlj specimen ; * hyacinths, in sets of G and 3; coleuo, in s^ts of G and 3. Oat Flowers : Roses, sirgle blooms 12 and 6 , rose, tin eo blooms of each, 12 and G ; loses, single blooms, whi e, red, yellow, and purple; loses, noisette, or tea scented, the bost cluster of three blooms of -my one kind ; *■ eainitious and picotees, in sets of 12 and 6; pinks, in sets of 12 and G ; pansic, in sets of 12 ami G ; ranunculuses, in sets < f 12 and 6 ; herbaceous flowers, in sets of 12, G, and 3 ; New Zealand wild floweis for rarity, in sets of 12 ; New Zealand wild flowers for beauty, in sets of 12 ; * verbenas, three trusses spread, in sels of 12 and G ; the best hand bouquet ; model of flower garden. First and second pi izes will be awarded at the discretion of ths judges for each of the sets stated in the schedule. Prizes will also bo awarded for any plants, cut flowers, fruits, vegetables, or other objects connected with horticulture, not enumerated in the schedule, which may bo exhibited of euflicienfc merit. A special prize of £1 is offered by the New Zealand Agricultural Society for the best collection of vegetables, comprising not less than ten kinds. (*■ Window plants are considered to include flowering plants, ferns, &c, and plants with ornaraentaLioliage. ) Mr. T. B. Hill li is tendered the resignation of hisj seat in tlie Provincial Council for Auckland City West. A dog show will ba held ill connection with tho Agricultural Show in Albert Barracks on tht 25tU NoT<9»b#r,

We were shown yesterday a very handsome book of ferns prepared by Mr. T. Cranwall, of Parnell. The collection comprises 60 specimens, carefully prepared and mounted, with the name of each kind attached. For a drawing-room table no more tasteful ornament could be found. The collection is in the form of a good-sized volume, the back of which is made of green calf, beautifully gilded, and the boards of polished mottled kauri. Upon the front board a very neat design is carved, having for its cpnlre-piece an oval figure, with. " New Zealand Ferns," in raised letters. The centre-piece of the design on the back cover is a fern leaf. Similar collections may be obtained of the booksellers in town, or from Mr Cranwell, and they are especially suited for presents to English friends. No country in the world possesses a greater variety of elejant ferns than New Zealand, and from the collection mentioned a very fair i'lea can be formed of the evergreen vegetation characteristic of our forests. Tin Sfc Sepulchre's entertainment announced for Thursday evening has been postponed until further notice, in consequence <f fche s.id intelligence received yesterday by the missionary schooner ' Southern Cross ' According to the Bendir/o Advertiser we enter to-day on a perilous month. That journal states :— " It i3 calculated by a Sandhurst gentleman that a comet, one of the points of whoso orbit intersects the plane of the ecliptic at a distance from the earth's orbit less than the sura of the semidiameter of the earth and the comet, will be at or near perihelion in November of this year of grace 1871. Notwithstanding some remarkable changes observed in tha comet, its diameter may be set down in its original dimensions, viz., 21,000 miles ; and, in consequence of these very changes, it is perhaps more than possible that the comet may arrive at the point of intersection just as the earth is in that part of her O'bit nearest to it. The result would be, supposing the comet to be gaseous, that the earth would be enveloped to an extent of 6400 miles, or to more than three-fourths of her diameter ; tbatjindeed, the enormous mass would attach, itself permanently to our planet, so altering the physical constitution of the atmosphere as to cause instant death to all animal and vegetable life at present existing. The possibility of such a catastrophe is, of course dreadful to contemplate, and would, na doubt, he of considerable moment to many of our readers whoarpnot sufficiently developed for the chance. The astronomical skill of the gentleman referred to will not penetrate into Nature's secrets any further, and we therefore recommend the matter to the serious consideration of our friends the Spiritist^, who. we understand, deal with science where philosophers leave it." Wo (Thamei Guardian) are glad to hear that both the gentlemen who bad suffered injuries from accidents on Saturday and Sunday are progressing favourably. Mr. Howe, who received a severe fall on to some boulders in the bed of the T e Puru Creek, is laid up with concussion of the spine, but with rare and attention bis medical advisers hop© to pull him through in a short time. Mr. Millett also is better, and likely to recover, but not for some time. As tlipre appears to be some misapprehension in the public mind respecting the season tickets for the Opera Company, we are requested to state that the season tickets are transferable, available on anv night ; that is, the subscriber receives 24 tickets, to be used how and when he pleases, having the "privilege of securing any particular seats (then open) for any night or nights during tho season. A largelv-at*- ended special meeting of the Auckland Rowing Club was held last evening at the Club-room, Thames Hotel, Mr. Johnstone in the chair. A considerable amount of business, with reference to tho sending of a crew to compete at tbe Christchurch race, was disposod of. It was also arranged that all members of the Club should be provided with subscription list", to canvas Auckland for funds to tlefi ay the expenses of sending the crew to the South. It was omitted from the report of the AofiicnUin.il League meeting that Mr. Ki i mpth'>rnf gave notice of an amendment to Mr A ndrows's long motion (sketching out a new scheme for governing the country distiicts by Highway Boards), "That the association arc of opinion th.it the measures li'-it proposed by the Government in tho (■Senpi il <\s'-e>iililv, with lcferenae to Highway Bonds, weio calculated to bo of great .service to the country settlors." C.mtaiu Lewis, of the schooner 'Coloiiifet,' which an ivi'd yo onlay fiom Kaipaia, reports b.i\ ing on bis passage kept close in shore, and saw no ti.ics of any wreck or <if anyone on c hou' in the vicinity of tho Xorth dip" lu cmphiuce with the teims of a reiuiisihoipie riito'l t> (he le_'<il manager ot tho M'lIUim in I'.u \ > Goldmiuing Comn.uiy, au e\tinoidiii u_\ meeting of the -Ji irehohK-rs li'.j been eonven <1 to bo lio'd in thu Butish Uofi'l on t!u HOi'a msta-it, afc .'] o'clock, to consul 11 ! tho present management of tho pomp uiy's cl.um. We no !/>qnpsf.ed t > stite tor tho information of cuuntrv settlors and otlieis interested tli.it t!io .uictioir'ers of this city will hold their weekly .sales on Fridays instead of S iturlay-, in .itcoi dance with a resolution passed at the meeting huld at the llaymaiket on Pn 1 iy, the 27 1 h October An advertisement to the above ell>;ct, signed by tbe auctioneer", -w ill appoar early Sales will commence i»n Friday noKt, tho 3rd November. Certain shares in tho Golden Lion Goldminuig Company have been forfei ed. The pirties interested will find their names advcitised in our advertising columns. The monthly inspection of the Aucklind Tioop of llo^al C.iv.ilry Voluntcors tikes place in the Albert Buracks on Thursday afternoon, at 4 o'clock. We aie requested by Mr. Lewisson. jeweller, opposite the Union Bank, to state that the btooch and eai rings made out of petrified wood w'll be on view for a few days prior to thiir being pm chased. — [Anv.] We are requested by F. H. Lewisson to state that no gold chains or alberts aie of his nrike without they are stamped P. 1( .L , IS - civ it. Having engaged a pold-chain maker fiom London, he is prepared to rntik« anv English pattern chain to order.— [ \DV,] We have examined some of F. H. Lewisson's Auckland-made 18-carat gold alberts, and for finish they cannot be sui passed. — [\DV] To be seen at F. II. Lewiiison's, a specimen weighing 74oz , purchased fiom the Caledonian Claim, for which [ paid £100 sterling Wmth inspecting. Will be cut up next week.— [Adv.]

The L'razier who breeds for the butcher, fclie <l.uryman wlio sells his milk for town use, the fanner who makes butter or eheeqe, and tin 1 poor man who wants a haidy thrifty cow, either forlus family u^ooi genuial dairy putposes — each of these requires a different bleed of caltle. A «ood ben&t for one raav be all bub useless to the others. For the largo stockowner the improved shorthorns possess buch an acknowledged supennrity that t.hero h no need of enlarging upon their merits ; for outter the Jersey breed is regarded as the best, both in England and America ; for lor milk tlio Ayrshire is excellent; while, for the poor man, who has on!v mountain pasture or scrubby laud, the Kerry breed is the most hardy and profitable. V cow that h good for Knitter will be good for cheese, if the soil and pasture is suituile to tho production of the latter artio'o ; but, as a rule, it is useless to attempt to mike good cheese on. any but a limestone soil. It may be conceded that for milk and butter some varieties of tlio s'.iorthorns, or animals with a large infusion of shoithorn3 blood, are excellent ; bus it must be borne m mind that where this h the e ise the cattle are fed on rich artificial fond We repeat that the shot thorns for the butcher, the Ayrshire for milk, the Jersey or Alderney for butter, aud the Kerry for hardiness and general usefulness as a poor maa'3 cow, is the rule that ibonld bo followed,