The Evening Post. THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1873.

Evening Post, Volume IX, Issue IX, 10 July 1873, Page 2

The Evening Post. THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1873.

tendency election: idces. not take place till October, yet already there are, tfite* candidate*; ! m w the fieltf, )r tWo'<Jf whom, Sff'eftfin" Wftfounsqn and Mr) Itugh H, Lnßkv,iare. ; actively engaged la ! c»nviu*rag the •lfctors of that Province, The other, candidate, .^Mr.'JT,' Si aMftcfarlane,a Mftcfarlane, } r^^. b&J.case ','pn •".&, published addVessr' ' Whaterer rway be the; merit* of Mr iMacfarkne as a man of basinets, in which we believe hff snccess ha* been considerable, yet, to judge, by hi» address, he is not likely to shine as: a politician. His political creed is simple;' " Abolisb^^^tjnciat \ Government in Auckland, 1 anS— eledt me as Superintendent I" he exclainaa intone and the Mmc Ibreath, Wfietlier./if/.ther £ro-

vincial Government were abolished in the summary fashion proposed by this "Iconoclast" there would be any need for a Superintendent at all, is a view of the cam -which does not appear to have occurred to him. We take ifr, therefore, that Mr Macfarlane seeks election to that office in order that he may effect the work of demolition as quickly and effectually as. possible. His views on the subject are very emphatically expressed. He gays that the Provincial system in Auckland is not worth its cost, and that the work of government could be better and more cheaply done by the existing local boards and local institutions. This is not a bad election cry, because without any land revenue, Provincial Government in Auckland will of necessity involve direct rtaxation in the future^ aitd has, therefore, become unpopular. .'But Mr Macfarlane simply' trifles With, an, important | question, when he says that nothing further than the existing local machinery of a Municipality and Road r ßoards wonld be .necesaaiy to carry on. the functions of local government. The-powere and spheres of operations of" these bodies are too limited to enable them to serve the purpose effectually.- ,Mr Macfarlane, in t fact, entirely ignores a difficulty which many earnest thinkers have for years Ibeen striring to deal witiu Admitting for the Hake. of argument that the time is rapidly approaching when the Provincial system in Auckland can no longer be maintained, it is clearly necessary to prepare , &ome other form of local Government — grouping together the Jdc»l Boards, and connecting them 'with 'gome' central authority — Which shaft adequately, take its place. Ml' Stafford* Local' Government Bill v qf 1867 was a step in this direction, but it did / not, pass, and hence if the Auckland people desire to abandon their existing Provincial Institutions, they will lequire to seek from the .Legislature' a substitute - for -them, Evidently .this gentleman is of but moderate, intellectual capacity, and being incapable of thinking out this 'does not trouble his head about it,, Bafr the. problem still deniancte solution) and it will be a misfortune if the Auckland people do not elect a man mors competent to deal t mth it than Mr Macfarlane, The asxb candidate, Mr John Williamson, niay very fairly claim a certain measure of, support from the electors on the plea of lengthened and unswerving' devotion to their ¦ interest*, in the past, ,• His recent speeches show, that he' is true to his old principles, and still an ultra-Pro-vincia-Kst; • Mr '.Williamson thinks that Provincialism' in 1 ! Auckland can l still be maintained, and -evidently hopes thafc,,by obtaining the inanagementftttd disposal of the confiscated lands the "means will be afforded to ..carry .put .that form of /Government, The main features of his policy 1 are immigration, road-making, • ahd'the 1 'settlement of ; plsnhveion upon land,, He approves of the public 'wbr&^'scne'me'df 1&70, if properly and economically carried out, but evidently has no faith ; in the ability of the present to fulfil these conditions. He denounces the Ministry asi having? failed to, give Auckland a fair of -public works, and says that , through their maladministration, settlement Js .prevented, and' the confi«- , bated lands are fast, passing into "the ¦hands of "great Capitalists, td the l'permanent;loss' arid injury o£ me Colony, It appears to ' iis, 'however/that 3Vlr , Vftilliamßon .does not very clearly show how Provincialism is to be maintained, -TEe 1 '(Setfe'tttf 'Government may not hand over the. confiscated lands, and then where is an adequate revenue to ,come from 1 -It is • a pity he •' did' not deal with this aspect' of the' quejstioh^ ;> aM*candidly r fell the electors thai; tney j toust submit to direct taxation. ; rl i' t s Tb our view, Mr 'Tiusk' more fairly[gistpples with the* difficulties ,'or the ¦position than either, of the other.candidates. Though -f ft' • comparatively ,; young man, Mr liusk is no tyro in politics, ' " r A : '&enibier .of the ', bar, a scholar, and a journalist; of no mean reputation, Mr Lusk entered the Provincial Council 'fdttr yeari &gb\' J with. every prospect of speedily achieving distinction. Soon ;• afterwards, he became Provincial Secretary in the Government 6f Mr Gillies,' arid' ever since" has been'jits , inosfe -active jand ptpminent member, : Mr Lusk is by no means an. ardedt Provincialist r and his>r*views are pretty much those of thinking men on the ( subject, ..t.He p^lnni^ ont s ttiat' while in. the .past was peculiarly adapted for a country, .which it would then have been- ' impossible to govern from a* edimnbn centrei ycffe now circumstances have altered; ,tbe power of the; Provinces has gradually been curtailed, ah'd'many of their ftinetion^Mniferied to the General Government^ while their share of the Colonial revenue has dwindled down almost to nothing. Under these circumstances, he thinks th^Pro^indal system in Aucklandicannbt'la^t long, and that it now remains tb pro vide, for it* winding up being wiselyand carefully done. And big idea of doing this, is. that a scheme beadopted of .uniting the different Road Boards by some central bond, and establishing a sort of board of control, while generally extending tneir pcwers and .area ooff f operations, , In fact, he desires ."'gradually < t »n6.. , .caref ttll^ to build up a system of local self-govern-nielitTin Auckland,. so f fiiat when its Provincial administration ceased, the

change would scarcely be felt. Meantime, while the Provincial Government remains in existence, he thinks it should be administered efficiently, while he warns the Auckland electors not to give up the institutions they possess, hurriedly and prematurely. " Were they," he continues, "to give up Provincial institutions to-morrow, Canterbury, Otago, and Wellington would not do so, but stand by and profit by the headlong folly of Auckland," Judged by his utterances, Mr Lusk is the ablest of the three candidates in the field, and whether Auckland, by the adoption of a careful and judicious policy, is to survive as a Province, or, failing that, to become the subject of an experiment in local self-government, that gentleman is certainly well qualified to deal with either set of circumstances, in the position to which he aspires. It would, however, be tod ' much to hope that merit and ability will gain the day, against ignorant prejudice and married influence, in an Auckland Superintendency contest.

As a specimen of the systematic way in which the Wanganui people endeavor to cast odium and discredit on the Education Board, we copy the following paragraph from the Herald :— "The Education. Board. — Some of the teachers in this quarter (we do not know if it is .the .case with all of them) have this month received their cheques £2 short of the usual amount, and this without a word of explanation or remark. The funds of the Board may possibly be exhausted, but if so it is only due to the teachers that the exact position of affairs should ' be 1 known by them." On enquiry, we find the facts to have been simply that the Secretary, while hastening to. hav,e the cheques ready, for the post, made a trifling clerical error, tilling up two for the Same amount as the one immediately preceding, which happened.to be £1 13»4d lea's,' The error was corrected by the next mail, Hbic ilia Idcrymae ! If our Wanganui contemporary be not ashamed to publish these childish misrepresentations, at least we think the Education Board ought to read its employes the kind of lecture popularly supposed to be the especial prerogative of that mythical relative, a "Dutch uncle," on the impropriety of giving this sort of publicity to every little imaginary grievance. The least they could have done would have been to communicate with the Board befdre rushing into print, and we hope they will receive a severe reprimand. The Herald is greatly to blame for inserting such statements without due enquiry. Such instances almost justify Mr Justice Johnston's strong remarks, which we lately commented on. The Carandini Concert last night went off with the usual success, although the damp weather was not without its effect ¦oti the voices; The best items in the programme ware the popular duet from "II Troratore," "Si la stanchezza," followed by the trio " Parlar non vuoi ?" the lovely canon, "Tiprego, o madre," the "Sulla tomba " duet, from " Lucia," the sparkling trio, " Le faccio," from Cimarosa's fine old - opera buffa, "II Matrimonio Segreto," and < the .'air from Wallace's "Matilda' of Hungary," " One gentle heart " — all of which were beautifully sting and warmly appreciated. As to the last-named piece, we do not admire the introductory r movement, at ' least for a soprano voice, to which it appear^ ttnsuited. The second movement — the song itself — we always deemed one of Madame Carandini's happiest efforts, and she sang as splendidly as ever last night. We were sorry to miss Mr Gordon, especially for the reason given— illness — but hope soon to welcome his reappearance. Mr Cotterell, as usual, was perfect in hia< imitations' 1 ; Hid " Scientific •Lecture'" wa§ 'killiflgfy * ludic J rotis, and his " Little Mountain Air " (with jodel) and " Nasolirie' .Fantasia/ nearly reduced several, of the audience to •anz/hys-f terical *" condition/ Another good programme is to be given to-night. , . ' »¦*' /<; The literary and musical entertainment at the Wesleyan school room, Dixonstreet, given on Tuesday night, will, in. consequence of the unfavourable state of the weather on that occasion, be repeated this evening with several alterations" it& the I programme, the chief attractions' of the last performance being, however, retained. As the weather appears clearing a large attendance may be expected, -, v ,The Resident Magistrate's office was a sinecure to-day, not a r single police case being forthcoming, while the civil cases ware all of a trivial character, and mostly either adjourned' or settled ont of Court. Even the continuous rain could not deter . a large number of Mr .Charles Burford'a 1 admirers from attending his benefit last sight, ¦ The play selected — "Maebeih" — ! was admirably adapted to display Mr Burford's special powers, and he sustained the : title, role yd a .'manner which must have ; enhanced the high opinion already formed of his ability, 1 In many respects, we pre¦fer his reading to that either of Mr Steele ior Mr Rayner, but bearing in mind the jdictum of "another Shukegperian hero that '"" comparisons are ' odorous," we will not attempt any. Suffice it to say that Mr JBurford's Macbeth was on the whole the best we haveiyet'¥een in our theatre, especially in the scenes immediately anterior and subsequent to the murder of the King, 'which enabled him to pat forth his full power*' of passion and pathos, particularly in the touching "Sleep no more" speech, and his gesticulation was as forcible and appropriate as his utterance. Miss Stephen* ton's Lady Macbeth we did not so much admire j this young lady's physique is un* suited to the part,, the, very personal advantages which stand her in such good stead m. pieced more adapted to her style/ are jdst ; itwse which do not go to make a good Lady Macbeth. She" acted as usual carefully and conscientiously. Locke's music waesimply*

caricatured. To-night, by special desire, " The Sea of Ice"' is to be given once more, and all who wish to see Mr Massey's greatest &uccess in 3cenery, anil one of Miss StephengoD's moat effective parts, will do well not to miaa the last chance of witnessing both. We understand that our local theatrical company has kindly consented to give a performance on Tuesday week for the benefit of Mrs Irvin and family. Calm, dull weather still prevails throughout the colony to-day, and there continues a heavy and increasing sea on at the East Coast stations, Oamaru, Timaru, Castle Point, and Napier, although it has been perfectly calm there for several days. There have been large floods in the Manawatu and the Marlborough fivers. "We (Wanganui Chronicle) understand that Mr Duthie intends to carry his case in re the Wharfinger before the Supreme Court ; the points at' issue have already been agreed between Counsel, and will be discussed in Wellington on the 22nd inst. We presume that the object of changing the venue is to bring the case to a speedy issue, otherwise it might just as well have been decided at toe usual sittings of the Supreme Court here, ; as the expense of taking witnesses to Wellington will considerably ailgment the costs. We have received the New Zealand Wesleyan for July. It is, as usual, very ably conducted, and, although strong polemic bias is postulated by its very name, displays a degree of fairness unfortunately nol common in go-called "religious" literature. The leading article treats the Sunday observance question in a spirit of liberality we are both pleased 'and surprised to notice, the misapplied and obsolete term ' ' Sab' bath," being very properly superseded bj the modern and correct term, " Sunday.' Sabbatarians would do well to read anc weigh this article, although, we are by nc means disposed to concur in all its premises or deductions, and we incline to 'think one important point, to which we purpose di recting attention on a future occasion, has been overlooked by the writer, ; There an some useful and amusing " Rough Hints tc Preachers/* and some missionary news, which doubtless will interest the readers of the New Zealand Wesleyan. We have to remind our readers of tht soiree to be given by the Union Boating Club at the Athensum to-morrow, when c successful and enjoyable evening may be anticipated. The Greymouth Star of a recent date has the following, .and the Resident Magistrate's judgment may contain a hint tc the baker? here, as to there being an Act regulating their trade in existence. Out contemporary says :—ln: — In giving judgment in one of the civil cases brought by Mi Jones, the baker, the Magistrate told the plaintiff that he would nonsuit him m any future case, if lie found out that the bill for bread supplied was made out for so many loaves, instead of so many pounds weight of bread. This bint may be nsefnl to other bakers besides Mr Jones. There are now six mills at work in the neighborhood of the Pelorus, giving employment to some 150 hands, and capable of. cutting abont 7,000,000 feet of sawn timber annually. Valuing this at its now market price, it will realise something like £28,000, and will give employment to 200 veasels of the class now used in the trade. .The abundant quantity of timber supplying treps in the Pelorus Sound will enable the whole of the mills to be kept at constant work for a number of years, supposing there should be no diminution in the' demand, Of which there is now no indication, — Marlborough Press. In the case of fJyes v. Henderson, Mr Tra"vers^a,Dplied to Have the "trial moved to Wellington \ Mr Coholly opposed this, and proposed Nelson as the place of trial. The Judge has fixed to hear it in the latter city, in August next.— Mail. x . <v <\ \j i v The New Zealand Herald of the 4th sAys :— The first ca^es tinder the Education Act, for the recovery of the rate, since the appeal, 'were heard at the Police Court yesterday. The whole of the defendants pleaded guilty and paid the rate, with Court costs, with one exception, and the' defendant in that case pleaded that he was not a householder. Phis case was adjourned. At the suggestion of the Resident Magistrate the counsel allowed the rate to paid without solicitor's costs, but his Worship stated that in future judgment was sure to carry full costs. He also said that he hoped the public would acquiesce in' the rate, so as not to oppose it. After the decision given in the appeal, opposition was simply nonsense. While out in the bush near Henderson's mill, a few days since, Mr Palmer, of the Whau Hotel, shot a specimen of the New Zealand bittern. This bird is gradually becoming very rare. It is seldom met with in the North Island, the progress of settlement having driven it into remoter nigtricts. There are only one or two specimens of this bird in the Mnsenm, and this contribution, if made, will, we doubt not, be most acceptable. — New Zealand Herald. The men-of-war now dn the Australian are : — Clio, 21 guna, Commodore Stirling j Rosario, 3 guns, Commander Challis ; Blanche, 3 guns, Commander' Simpson ; Basilisk, 5 guns, Captain Morseby ; Dido, 8 guns, Chapman ; Alacrity, 1 gun, Simpson ; ; Conflict, 1 gun ; Renard, 1 gun ; Sandfly, 1 gun ; Beagle, 1 gun. H.M.S. Blanche is now in the Government Dry Dock at Sydney, being fitted with heavy bilge pieces from 90 to 100 feet in length, by orders received from the Admiralty. The work is being carried out by Mr J. Cuthbett/ It has come to our knowledge (says the Waikato Times) 'that some natives hare left for Melbourne ' with a considerable amount, of ca?h. It is, of course, difficult to surmise their, object) but we would sug- i

gest the advisability of putting the Australasian Governments on their guard to prevent the exportation of arms and ammunition for the use of the natives in this colony. Nothing would be easier than to ohavter a small vessel and run her into Kawhia harbor with contraband goods. The Wangauui Chronicle of Tuesday Bays : — At the present time one can hardly meet with a single individual "who is not suffering from influenza, in some cases accompanied with fever. The prevalence of this complaint has been ascribed to the want of rain, if such should be the cause we hope to congratulate a great number of our friends upon becoming convalescent, as the rain set in on Sunday, and, from all appearances, we should say it w I111I 1 continue for two or three days longer. The Bey Mr Knell, Chairman of the Wairarapa Hospital Committee, we (Standard) understand, wrote to the General Government asking what assistance it would render the proposed hospital. In reply the General Government pointed out that| the duty of providing for hospitals fairly rested with the provincial author!* tie 3, but promised when the hospital waa in working order to contribute a small annual subsidy towards its maintenance. This appears to us so far satisfactory, as the chief difficulty of securing permanent hospital accomodation is not so much the obtaining the funds necessary for its erection as securing an income for its maintenance after it has been erected. Major Edwards, the Wanganui R.M., who has been ill for Borne time, has sufficiently recovered his health to be able to resume his seat on the Bench. We copy the following from the Wanganni Herald :—": — " A telegram appears in the Post sent from Wanganui, stating that the Mayor had been called upon to resign, • on the ground that his position in the Provincial Executive is inimical to the best interests of the Province.' This is not the first time we have had to correct telegrams sent from Wanganui carrying a false impression. Councillor Brown's motion was very clear. It expressed the opinion of the Council ' that inasmuch as the holding of the two offices of Mayor and member of the Wellington Provincial Government, by the Mayor of this Borough, is inimical to the interests of the ratepayers, &c' Knowing that the predilection of the Wellington journals is to distort and ridioule anything at all opposed to provincialism, a little more care should be exercised in compiling messages." Mr Rochfort is rapidly pushing forward his survey of the Wairarapa railway, having got as far aB Mr Lot Cross's, and will soon be ready for the plain. We are gratified to learn that he has been instructed, in addition to the Underbill line, to make two trial surveys, one up the centre of the valloy, the other on the Rusmahuuga side. —Standard. On 'Monday last Mr Ferrers, of Greytown, was very nearly losing his life in the Rnamahanga, at'Hurinuiorangi. The river being flooded, and the ferry-boat unserviceable — being full of water — he attempted to cross on horseback. He had "nearly succeeded in reaching the opposite bank when his horse began plunging and bucking, and threw him out of the saddle. He went under the water, and on risine, his horse struck against him, sending him in the direction of the shore, when he, gained a footing, and succeeded in getting out in a very exhausted Btate. — Standard. The Kaiwaiwai correspondent of the Standard writes :— Duck scooting oh Lake Wairarapa has been prosecuted with extra* ordinary success within the last ten days, and spoitsmen are, consequently, jubilant over their good luck. One gentleman — Mr E. Vennell, of Tauherenikau— 'killed fifteen out of a cluster of the winged tribe, with one shot. This is unquestionably the most effective shot that has ever been heard of in this quarter. No less than seventy-two brace "we're bagged in one day by the party with whichfMrj Vennell is connected. The Lake is now well supplied with canoes, so that no great difficulty is experienced in making inroads upon either duck? or swans. Whilst upon an ornithological subject, I may state that the natives at Turituhi (Mr M 'Master's estate) are' busily engaged in shooting huias in the mountains on the west side of the Lake. They send these birds to Napier, where they obtain a good price for them. The following telegram relvtive to the reported taking possession of New Guinea by H.M.S. Basilisk has been received from Mr Parkes by Mr Francis — "The Hon.. the Chief Secretary, Victoria, ParliamentHouses. — A. telegram from Capt Moresby says, in reference to proceedings of H.M.S. Basilisk, that pending the decision of the Imperial Government, the right of discovery has been exercised by taking possession of certain islands heretofore sup- . posed to be an integral part of New Guinea, together with less important discoveries. — (Signed) Henry Pabkbs, Sydney," — Age. The Wainku correspondent of the Southern Cross writes :¦ — •* The agriculturists of this district have had an exceptionally true season for wheat sowing, the whole of which was finished before the heavy rains of last week set in. A portion of the flax mill owners in this neighborhood are apprehensive that, if the London quotations continue so low as at present ad- ' vised, they will be compelled to close their mills. Should they be obliged to adopt this course, it will be a serious drawback to the district, where so many families are paitially dependent upon this industry for their livelihood ; indeed all the residents are more or less indirectly interested." A very sudden death occurred on the 25th. It appears that an old man named. John Laurie, who resided at the Karaka ferry, about 10 miles from, Otahuhu, was, on the morning of the day above-mentioned, sitting in front of the fire in his own house*

and conversing with, some children. One of them spoke to him, and, on receiving no answer, looked at him, and discovered that he was dead. The deceased had complained of having a cold a day or two previously, but it was not thought that he \va3 seriously P. — Southern Cross.