THE THames Advertiser. THURSDAY, SEPT. 17, 1874.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1860, 17 September 1874, Page 2

THE THames Advertiser. THURSDAY, SEPT. 17, 1874.

Mr. VoCffiii's speech of Tuesday evening last, will be a fertile text for discussion during the whole of his absence from the colony. It is a plain and distinct statement of the intentions of the Government with reference to the abolition of the provinces in the North Island,, and critics will not now be under - the necessity of guessing Mr Yogel's mind from the utterances of those who are supposed to be intimate with him, or to refer to the somewhat hazy speeches which he himself made during the ; latter weeks on which the Assembly sat. He has distinctly declared that the land fund of Otago and Canterbury is not to be touched, and as this declaration has been made in the place where the land fund was supposed to be the great inducement to favour the abolition resolutions, peoplein the South are bound to take it as meant. On the question of the abolition of the provinces parties are rapidly becomingdivided into what may be termed the ultimate and fitting positions, The first surprise of the country has passed away, and people are beginning to see clearly to what the proposal tends. We welcomed the resolutions when first put before the House, and we are better pleased to take a : 'side in the second phase of the conflict which has now been commenced. The great storm of indignation with which the resolutions were received, or were said to have been received, in Auckland, has evaporated ioto those members! who

i voted for the resolutions are as well received as those who did not. li was reported that the Provincial party were about to commence a strong counteragitation, but as yet they have made no sign, and in all probability they have given up the attempt, on observation of the state of public feeling. It would seem that they have made up their minds to lay their heads meekly, on the block. Instead of a strong agitation that Auckland should retain those institutions called Provincial, now utterly effete, a society has been formed .for the abolition of provincialism throughout the colony, in which Mr Reader Wood, who voted for the resolutions, and who was about to table similar resolutions on his own account, can sit' side' by side with Mr Gillies, who voted against them. It is quite clear that this organisation will do nothing to maintain provincial institutions'. in : Auckland. The- Thames has taken a decided stand—on this question at least.wearea united community. :We say, abolish all the provinces, and* if you cannot abolish all, abolish as .many as you can—-at all events, abolish. And if the opposition has. fallen to nothing in Auckland, throughout the province, and in Hawke's Bay and .Taranaki, there .is only one opinion, These provinces, even more .than .Auckland, .have for.years ;past been merely departments of the General Government, and shams must perish sooner or later. Even in Wellington, .with a Superintendent and Provincial Secretary who are energetic and popuf lar, a decent show of resistance to Mr Vogel'si resolutions cannot be mustered; although the whole "move" had the appearance of having been done in a fit of pique against Wellington. But surely we might expect something very different in the South Island. It is not so, however. Nelson, Westland, and Marlborough are in much.-the same position as the North Island, and have taken the same view; and even in Otago and Canterbury, where the Pro : vincial Governments, being wealthy; are vital,! the balance of opinion seems to be in favour of doing away with, the provinces.. The. out-districts' of Otago and Canterbury have long complained of provincialism, and the .abolitionary would be as strong there as elsewhere, were it not for the fear that exists, that the abolition of the provinces means the seizure of the land fund by the General Government.' 11 And we apprehend, that, when it is found that throughout the North the prospect of getting a share of the land fund is one great object hoped for from the abolition of the provinces, the preponderance of opinion in the provinces of OtagoandCanterbury'will be in favour of maintaining the provinces, although of ; course: Mr Vogel's specific declaration of Tuesday night will have great weight. That is a • point, ho wever,' • which we shall have to wait for information upon. So far, however,'we have had no stir, Mr Rolleston, the Superin-i tendenfc of Canterbury, has addressed his constituents, and even he can only say that the proposal was sudden and inopportune. Mr Montgomery, of Aiaroa, is strong against the resolutions, maintaining that the abolition of the Northern provinces means that the' South will follow, and that the land fund of two wealthy provinces will be ,made colonial property. Sir J. C : Wilson .advocates the: abolition of all! the provinces except Otago and Canter-: bury, but he will die in defence of the land fund. .Looking over the whole colony, it would seem certain that if, next session, Mr .Vogel brings down a bill to abolish all the provinces, with clauses providing that the land revenue shall be retained for the benefit of the districts in which it is raised, he will carry the measure with ease. Let Otago and Canterbury feel sure that they will retain the land fund in their districts, or even a large proportion of it, and Mr Vogel will be as well, supported there as in any part of the; colony.

The Hospital Committee met last evening for the re-investigation into the case of Maurice Power, but most unnecessarily, as we think, it was decided to adjourn for a week. An accusation was made that witnesses had been tampered with, and the members of the subcommittee considered that this matter should be first cleared up, and as it was found impos-: sible to have the witness principally referred to at once, the meeting decided to adjourn. We do not know what has reached the ears of members of the sub-committee on this subject,' but we cannot believe that there is anything so serious in these changes of tampering as to make it essential that the whole business should be adjourned awaiting the investigation of' this new subject of inquiry. Next evening, and indeed several succeeding evening*, may have to be devoted to the investigation of charges of tampering with witnesses, and the main subject may not be reached for a long time. Besides, the whole committee ought not: to: allow;itself to be started off on a hunt of this kind, because some one mentions that he has heard a rumour about something having been said to certain witnesses. A specific Accusation or statement ought to have been made. • What was stated last night was quite insufficient to warrant the committee taking the action, it did. Probably every one of the witnesses has been spoken to by several persons as to the evidence they gave, and each one of these conversations can easily be twisted into'a report or surmise of tampering, rendering adjournments and investigations necessary. The sooner this matter is settled the better, for it ought not to bo allowed to hang over the Hospital and its officers. But, indeed, considering the language;and tone of last night's meeting, and of former meetings, it becomes somewhat doubtful to well-wishers of the Hospital, looking on anxious only for the welfare of the institution, whether the members of committee have not become so excited, as to be all, or nearly all, partisans, and to have lost the capacity of being dispassionate judges of facts. The public, we think, would feel more confidence in the,deli berance'of some person or persons who have not been mixed up in the matter hitherto, than in the decision of ; the Hospital Committee. And, it must be remembered that this confidence is a most important element in the matter, for if the public do not feel any trust in the judgment ofthe committee it will be very difficult to carry out any decision which may be comedo.;-, '.- ;;: The following vessels were loading at London for Auckland by latest mail datesir-'Hydaspes,' ship, to sail 3'ofch July;''Cospatrick,' ship, 1199 tons; 'Rohilla,'ship, 1001 tons; 'Waitangi, 3127 tons. The shipT'Lady Jocelyn' was advertised by Messrs Shaw, Savill, and Co. to Mow the 'flies' oa the 25th

There was an alarm of fire raised last night,? about 8 o'clock, which created for a short time some excitement and a rush, It appears to have been some chimney on fire, but where we have not been able to ascertain. The alarm was given by the fire-bells on the Karaka bridgfr and in Shortland, but there beiDg no fianra discernible anywhere, the crowd, which was rapidly collecting in the streets, quietly dispersed,

The case of the Pumping Association v. the Imperial City G.M.0., a claim for drainage contribution at the rate of £2 per foot per annum, was concluded at the Warden's Court yesterday, and the Warden reserved judgment until to-day. He held that the evidence of the Imperial City shaft being drained was .sufficiently conclusive, but in regard to whether the claim was benefited withiu the meaning of,, the Act he would take another night' to consider. The difficulty is, that although the shaft has been sunk to a certain depth (and was sunk before it came into the hands of the present company), they have not worked at that level, at least are not now doing so, but are carrying on operations from the Waiotahi shaft at a depth of about 70 feet. Mr Hesketh called no evidence for the defence. He simply addressed the Court, and thus barred the opposing counsel of the right of reply. Should the judgment to-day be for the plaintiff it will only go the leugth of affirming that the defendants are benefited, and evidence will then have to be taken as to the extent of such benefit.

'-. Miss ; Maggie Knight and Mr John Gourlay's troupe performed at the Academy of Music. The weather was' too unfavourable to expect a large audience. There was, however, a moderately good attendance,'and the entertainment was carried put with great spirit. It commenced with a..capital little comedy "Yankee Modesty and Irish Assurance, or the Irish Boy and Yankee Girl," in which Miss Knight played the role of Nancy Stoker with genuine'success. She entered fully and heartily into the humour of the part, made herself at home in it, and afforded infinite amusement to the aulience, Mr' Gourlay as Pat was also highly successful, and with the assistance of the other members of the company there was a good half hour's fnn afforded to those present. In the second part of the programme Miss Knight appeared in a Chinese impersonation. She possesses the very perfection of versatility, for in this she appeared as much at home as in her Dutch impersonations,.and this is saying a great deal. Subsequently, in the song and act, "little Fraud," . in which she was joined by Mr Ned Mason, she appeared to advantage. In fact, her make-up, singing, and acting, were throughout excellent, and she was loudly and persistently applauded. Mr Gourjay's song, "Brown, the Tragedian;" was a capital piece of acting throughout, and the make-up of the "seedy 'un" was irresistably suggestive; The' performance concluned with " Nan, the Good for Nothing," Mies Knight sustaining the'character of. .Nan with excellent effect. Last night's entertainment was toiave been for the benefit of this talented lady, but, in consequence of the inclement weather, it has been postponed until: to-night, when, in addition to the " Lady of Munster" and another comedy, and a choice selection of impersonation songs, "Japanese Tommy, the Dwarf," will make his first appearance at the Thames.

The following were the outward passengers by the -'Macgregor':—Saloon: Hon/'Julius Vogel, Mr T. Eussell, Hon, James Williamson; Messrs T.. Keesing, C. O'Neill, Hill,; O'Neil, ,T. E. Coney, Smith, Mr and Mrs J.-Walker, Mr and MrsL, Smith, Mrs C. Cooke; Messrs E. Pox, ■J. Martindaie, J. Richardson, T. Bowker, J.'Weston, C. Jenkins, R. McSuerney, W.F. Smith, Mons. Rip; and 10 in the steerage.. .

Among the passengers bythes.s. 'Macgregor' is Dr. buller, F.RS., and Mrs Buller, from Europe, where he was superintending the magnificent edition of his book of New Zealand birds. Dr.' Boiler proceeds to Wellington 1 . Previous to his departure for Europe he'was Resident Magistrate for Wanganui. ; In the Home News we find the following:-r"His Majesty the Emperor of Austria has conferred on Dr. W. L. Buller, of New Zealand, 'in Consideration-of his services to science,'the dignity of Knight of the Imperial Order of Francis Joseph. Dr. Buller returns to New Zealand by the outgoing mail, and he takes with him the good wishes of, every, Australian colonist,' and indeed of every one else with whom he has been brought into contact. • His genial, kindly manner, together with his varied knowledge of New Zealand products and natural advantages, constituted him an ' emigration'agent' of the greatest.possiblevalue.'ile carries with him the best wishes of a large circle of Mends and acquaintances."

It will bs remembered that wheu the' Mag« gregor'.was on shore on-a reef at'Kaudavu, the AS.P..Co.'ss.s. ' Star of the South'rendered assistance, acting as a tender in lightening the ship. . For these services a sum of £271 Bs''9d.v was agreed upon to be paid. -Since the rence, negotiations have been carried on be* tween the Steam Packet .Company and Mr H, H. Hall, with a view to settlement, but the amount appears not to have been forthcoming. . On Tuesday, on the arrival of the' Macgregor,' Mr Lodder, the manager of the local company insisted on payment of the amount due, but as Captain Grainger repudiated the claim, the matter was placed in the hands of Messrs Whitaker and Russell, solicitors for the company, who at once caused process to be issued against the captain to prevent him from leaving' until the claim had been liquidated. ( A writ'of ca. re. was issued and given to the Sheriff execute, and his officers at,once proqeedel toput the instrument in force by arresting the captain. : .Before this was done, however,; farther negotiations .followed, and eventually the matter was settled, thus preventing a great deil of unpleasantness and the detention of the captain.— Herald.

Mr Bolle3ton addressed his constituents at the Avon district on Friday night last. The principaLpart was devoted to a resume of the Acts of the General Assembly from 1872 to 1874. "He did not enter into' the question of the abolition of the provinces so fully as expected. Having reviewed the Assembly business since 1872, he said it was much to be regretted that Mr Vogel wa3 about to leave for Js'nglandat a time when his presence in the colony, considering the vast undertaking the colony had embarked in, was absolutely neces> sary. (Loud cries of hear, hear.) He proceeded to contrast the contributions of the North and Middle Islands to the general and Customs revenue of the colony, and pointed out that the contribution of Canterbury and Otago to the Customs revenue was nearly, equal to the contributions of the rest of the colony. He complained of the threat of dissolution held out last session by Mr Vogel in the event of the House not agreeing with the proposed abolition of the Northern provinces. He maintained that this was a most unconstitutional threat for a Minister of the Crown to make."use of, beciuse it had avery considerable influence on the minds of many hon. members, who were perhaps under the impression that they did not possess the confidence of their constituents/and that if they went to them for re-election they would bo defeated. Respecting the abolition of the Northern provinces, he thought such a question was most inopportune; that people had elected the members of the present-Assembly on a totally . different platform. Fot%ie - main part members had been elected by the people to aupport the Government in its scheme of immigration and, public works, and it was unfair to the people of the colony when only one more session of the Assembly was unexpired, to ask the House to agree to a proposition which would have' the elect of wiping out the institutions of a portion of the colony. He had frequently declared that he (Mr Rolleston) was no ultra provincial;ist; If the people expressed a desire that there should be a change in the constitution; if they expressed it in an. unmistakeable manner, he for one would most willingly, agtee with their desires,' and do his best for,,a , new order of things, but he maintained that the peopleof the colony had no opportunity for-.doing this, and until they had, he was" clearly of opinion that such a proposal as that made by,Mr, Vogel last session was most .inopportune. At the con" elusion of the speech a vote of confidence, in I Melton, was'uuawm.QUS.ly, passed.

TCTW?»>T»TMTrmn >nnii >*nm»n mim jr v nviri mm THmfmrrHM An extraordinary general meeting of. the .shareholders of the Sons of Freedom Gold Mining Company was held at Yaile's buildings on Tuesday afternoon.—Mr J, P, du Moulin occupied the chair.—The following resolutions were passed: —" Resolved. (1) That the capital of the company be increased from £8,000 to £10 000, by the creation of 800 new shares of £2 10s each. Carried.—(2) That the -new share's be' offered to the present shareholders at the rate of one new share for every one paid up share held by them. Carried..-r.(3) That the sum of 5s per share be paid on application. Carried.—(4) That all shares not applied for by Auckland and Thames shareholders on or before the Ist of October, 1874,; and inside the province of Auckland on or before the 15th October, be placed in the hands of the directors for disposal as they think fit" Carried. "

. The following has been addressed to us by Mr T. K. Huwe,' chairman of the old Green Harp mine, now residing in San Francisco:— .'.'. Sir,— Now that sufficient time has elapsed to allow the angry passions roused against the 'directors of the Green Harp mine to subside,and in the hope that the unfavourable impression created at the time has been in some measurerembved, I trust you will excuse me in saying that,' had not my co-partners- and myself the fullest confidence in the mine, we would have disposed of our shares when they realised "the value in the market of £10 per share, • instead of holding on until the upper workings proved their barrenness. My faith, however, in the lower level was unlimited, and -is not yet shaken. My object in troubling you at present is not,'however; in justification of myself, but rather.as,anactof duty towards one who has Buffered much by carrying out the orders he has received from 'his employers. I feet called npon to stale that Mark Sheehy disposed of the specimens iu h ; s possession strictly in accordance with the directions received from the directors,'and to my personal knowledge they were put through the mill. It cannot therefore be otherwise than a matter of regret to me that,under circumstances I have stated he should suffer continued imprisonment, Its the old saying, ' many a man hung in the wrong,' and it is. so with poor sheehy. Hopiug you will give space in your journal for these few lines from one who was once the chairman of directors for the Green Harp GM.O.—I am, he, Titos., K. Howe, San Francisco, Aug. 15, 1874." ■>

The following letter appears in the Auckland Evening Star:— Sir,— Understanding that the directors of'the 1 - Bay o£ Islands Coal Company were about to call, for tenders for getting out coal at the Kawakawa mine, and having had twenty-five years' experience'in coal mining in all its 1 form's, practically and theoretically, I went.to the mine, being partly induced by.an expressed desire of several shareholders that_ I should-report through your columns on its present state. In order to get a good insight into'the workingslengaged myself as a miner at coal-getting, and I, do not think there is a man about: the mine who saw my \yay of working who will not say that my example was worthy of the imitation of a good workman. I : have been, as it were, cradled in coal mining, and have worked coal in seams from two feet thick up to thirty feet. My first trainiug was in Staffordshire, England, with both thick and thin seams, worked both by nobs and pillars, and also hy what is called long-work, and_ I have worked in nearly every company's mine in Newcastle, Australia. With'regard to the working of the Bay coal mine I defy any good miner to say there is any systematic working about it.' it reminds me more of pig rooting than coalmining, and if a number of Maoris who had never'seen a mine before had carried on the operations they would have been a disoredit to them, As to the ventilation of the mines (which is one of the most essential things in. coal mining)' at the Kawakawa there is no system at all, and those who work the coals may. he very thankful that no ignitible gases are contained io the coal as there is commonly in the old country, otherwise it would be impossible to work this coal mine without incurring great danger of an accident through want of knowledge how to ventilate their workings I am sorry to state that I see no sign of any alteration for the better. There must have been thousands of pounds wasted—literally thrown away—in themine, and the shareho'dersshould see to it. One example I will mention:—A new shaft has recently been sunk in a portion of the crop, for the purpose of draining the dip of the mine.' Very soon that crop.will be worked out, and it will be necessary, in order to drain more of the dip of the mine, to sink the shaft deeper, and drive out a level in the rock instead of in the coal, or (what should have been done at first) sinka new shaft in the dip of the mine. The same kind of economy (?) maybe seen hy a practical man in any part of the mine. The seam is a well-defined one, and might be worked even more cheaply than the Newcastle coal with good management, the latter being very much harder.—l am, &c, WiHJAH Payne.