The Daily Southren Cross.

LUCEO, NON URO. If I have been, extinguished, yet tkere rise A tkouiand beacons frcnthe ipark I bore.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1871. It? is somewhat tantalising that we have so meagre intelligence of bhe important affairs proceeding in Wellington. Our intelligence is to Thursdaylast ; but though the debate on the Address in reply was fco have come on the previous evening, there does not appear to have been much business done excepting the usual routine which precedes the serious business of the session. The election of the honourable member for Onehunga, Mr. O'Rorke, i to the Chairmanship of Committee, will give general satisfaction ; and, coming after the elevation of the Hon. Dillon Bell to the chair of Speaker, may be regarded as fairly distributing the honours of the House between North and South, Tt will be seen that Mr. Gillies has undertaken the championship of what has been styled the " great telegram case," and has moved for papers and correspondence. It was generally expected that this matter would be brought up in some form or another in the House, and we have no doubt the Superintendent of Auckland has caused a good deal of disappointment to many aspirants after distinction in seizing this bonne bouche, before honourable members had properly taken their seats. But the electric telegraph appears to have presented a great attraction to the members of her Majesty's Opposition, and a motion for a return of the names of persons who are allowed the free use of the wires has been made already the occasion of a preliminary trial of strength. The question does not appear to be of a very momentous character, but probably from the manner in which it was submitted, or the intentions expressed, the Government deemed it wise to show front, and, regarding it as equivalent to a vote of want of confidence, accepted the gage of battle. The result was a first victory for the Ministry, though, from so small a House — numbering only 55 — it would be unfair to form a conclusion, as to the position of parties. It is needless to refer to the various rumours current with reference to coming events aid changes in political parties. Such rumours are invariably current at the commencement of every parliamentary session ; and, having their originin the imagination of politicians, are made to

do service in the absence of correct information. By the ' Lord Ashley/ expected to-morrow, we may anticipate the first interesting and authentic information respecting the opening of the parliamentary campaign.

The action of the City Council yesterday, in accepting the motion of Councillor Tonks, with reference to a city loan, will meet, we believe, with general approval. Without borrowing money it is evident that no works of any magnitude can be undertaken in the city ; and, year after year, the revenue accruing from rates would be dissipated in undertakings of trifling importance, not one of which could be of auy great permanent importance to the city. By obtaining, by means of a loan, the use, in advance, of the rates for several years to come, works can be undertaken the necessity for which is painfully urgent, and the benefits of which will be at once enjoyed ; while the repayment of the borrowed money will, in the course of a few years, be a matter ©f apparently no great difficulty. It is understood that the greater portion of the contemplated loan will be devoted to the most clamant of all our wants, the improvement of the defective drainage of the city. The small sum intended for the Market-house is rot beyond what is reasonable, and, with £15,000 available for drainage, it will be the fault of bad engineering if the Council cannot very materially improve the healthfulness of the city. With summer approaching, it may be necessary to make some rapid and temporary arrangement with respect to the main sewer ; but we would again urge on the Council the advisability of considering whether there is not now within their reach some better way of disposing of the sewage than the rude and primitive fashion of pouring it into the tide. Surely it might be expected that there is in Auckland sufficient sympathy with the progressive ideas of the ago, to prompt to the consideration of some one or another of the many means now known of utilising sewage. At least it is not unreasonable to ask that some inquiry should be made with reference to the question of economy, before any large portion of the projected cifcy loan is expended on a method of getting relieved of the sewage which, however perfected, can never be other than unsatisfactory in the extreme. Some delay will necessarily arise, before the money, if the loan is successfully floated, comes into the hands of the Council, and no evil can arise from the time being devoted to inquiry, and to obtaining the best information and opinions on the most economical treatment of sewage. It is true that some of the processes attempted are very far from being economical, but it is incontestable that others are in operation which have been proved capable of not only recouping the expenditure in the removal of the nuisance, but bringing in a very considerable revenue. If such results have been obtained elsewhere, why should not similar results be attainable in Auckland '[ We understand that the genferal inclination of the Council tends towards merely iuipi'oving the debouchure of the sewage, and carrying it into deep water. The various means for attaining this object, though feasible enough in themselves, will not effect the sanitory results desired; and we do not hesitate to express the belief that, if such a course is adopted, but a very few years will elapse before public opinion will necessitate a change, and the adoption of some other method of disposing of the sewage. That a loan, therefore, which must be met in future years, should be expended in a work that will not meet the wants of those who will be called on to repay the money, is manifestly unfair; and we trust that, before any steps are taken towards the expenditure of any portion of the loan in this manner, timely efforts will be made to obtain the best and most reliable information on the subject, and that we shall see, in return for the loan, something which the city can look upon with satisfaction as a permanent and valuable public work.

The subject of the Kaipara Bail way is likely to be invested with a different character in the future from that which has attached to it in the past. Lengthened and dreary have been the negotiations connected with it ; and hope deferred has made the heart sick, until the completion of this important public work, and even the commencement of it, have been by common consent fixed at the Greek kalends. A change, however, appears to have come over all this, and an activity and energy hitherto unknown in connection with the subject will revive the belief that this undertaking will really be yet an accomplished fact. Already it appears the contractor, resting only on the intimation made to him of the acceptance of his tender, has taken advantage of the last mail to send for the requisite material in the form of rolling stock and rails for the permanent way. In addition to this he has already collected together a considerable portion of the ]>lant necessary for the commencement of the woi'ks, and a number of men have been engaged. All these steps have been taken before even the engagement has been wholly completed, the final execution of deeds of securities and contract remaining to be effected to-day. It will be seen therefore that Mr. Edgar does not intend to take the past history of this vexed subject as his guide, but to use the utmost expedition in bringing the work to a successful termination. It will be difficult indeed for the public to realise the fact that this railway work is underway, and we trust that th« Executive will take the opportunity of surrounding the commencement of operations with a little 6clat, by having some form 1 of public celebration on the *' cutting of the first sod." If for nothing else, it will serve the purpose of convincing the public by visible tangible evidence that the railway is not a mere fancy. But the commencement of the work that is destined to be the first railway in the province is really

deserving of being marked with public recognition. This small portion of railway will be of incalculable advantage in facilitating internal communication with the northern districts, and in affording a rapid development to those districts ; and its actual commencement will be invested with no ordinary interest. To the residents on the Kaipara waters and to the people of the cily it will be equally interesting ; while the work afforded will we have no doubt be a very welcome boon to those who have been suffering from want of employment. We trust that the new-born activity in connection with this public undertaking will not be relaxed, and that we shall hear immediately of the actual commencement and the steady progress of the works.

An ordinary meeting of the City Council waa held yesterday afternoon. There was a very largo amount of business brought forward, a summary of which appears in another column. The last English telegrams brought by the U.S., N.Z. and A. Mail steamship 'Nevada' were received in the Southern provinces at 1 p.m. on Friday last, being only 21 hours after the arrival of the mail steamer in this harbour. The cutter 'Hero' was the bearer of the telegram*, Captain Moeller having delayed the sailing of his vessel from here the day the mail arrived some hours, to enable the tclegrams and English mail to be sent by him to Tauranga, where he arrived next day at noon, after a good run of 16 hours. There was considerable excitement on 'Change yesterday owing to a sudden and quite unexpected fall in Caledonian shares. The cause ia not precisely known, although several reasons are alleged for the decline. During the latter part of last week there were buyers at the top of the market quotations who fully calculated on a "jump " in prices, and not a. few have been disappointed at the result. In the uncertain feelinpf which prevails of course very little real business was done yesterday, and quotations might be said to be merely nominal. Holders do not care to sell, and buyers look charily on, inclined to wait the turn of events. At the City Council yesterday, the Mayor said, before the ordinary business began, there was a matter to which he wished to draw the attentioa of the Council. In looking over one of the Wellington papers lately he saw that the Corporation thcie was about to apply to the General Assembly for power to borrow a sum of £20,000 for special improvements—he believed the purchasing of certain reclaimed land in that city. When he read that, it struck him that it might be advisable for Auckland to follow a similar course, for the purpose of purchasing from the Provincial Government the oM Supreme Court-house and site on Queen-street. That would be as judicious a thing for them to do a3 for the Wellington people to borrow money to purchase reclaimed land. Of course, Councillors would notice that this power was not conferred by the borrowing powers given under the Act j it was a special Ac 1 ; they wanted from the General Assembly for a special purpose. He throw the hint out for the members of the Council to think the matter over. The business at the Police Court yesteryesterday occupied the attention of the Bench till past 4 o'clock. The case against Solomon Friedman, for corrupt perjury in the case of Yriedman against William and John McGinley, was gone into, and the prisoner was committed to take his trial at the next sittings of the Supreme Court. The chairman of the Harbour Board calls for tenders for the erection of a fish market on the wharf. The Mayor, at a meeting of the City Council yesterday, said he had learned that there was a very large quantity of gunpowder stored in the magazine in the Albert Barracks. He understood about 70 tons waa stored there. He thought that was really a serious matter, as at any time the powder might ba exploded, and the city would then be blown into ruins, besides a vast sacrifice of human life. It would be remembered, he said, that some time ago a correspondence with the General Government on the subject took place, and the Native Minister promised that a guard would be placed over the magazine, and that the powder would be removed without delay. Jt appeared that nothing had been done in the matter, and that the powder was still there. This state of matters was more serious now that the Albert Barracks were to be thrown open for the citizens to walk there, when numbers of children would be running about. Indeed, it was a matter upon which no time should be lost. He believed that storing such a large quantity of gunpowder there, in the centre of the city, was a breach of the Dangerous Goods Act, and thought they might be justified in laying the information against the Government. He had sent a letter te Dr. Pollen upon the subject, and now awaited his reply. — Several members expressed a wish to proceed against the Government at once, but were prevailed upon to wait and see what answer the General Government Agent would make. There is, we think, no occasion for such strr.ng manifestations of alarm. > The magazine in the Barracks is so constructed that there is really very little danger of an accident occurring, and even if the powder in one of the arched compartments of the magazine ] were to became ignited it is not likely that the result would be so disastrous as to damage the city. There is no doubt, however, that the powder would be safer from accidents if removed out of the city, and the wishes of the Council with regard to the matter will probably be readily complied with. There is at the present time a very scant supply of Bay of Islands coal in the city, which is causing much inconvenience and delay to those depending on it for their supplies. The Golden Crown yesterday was detained several hours beyond her announced time for leaving the wharf for the Thames. There is no certainty when shipments will come to hand. An accident ocenrred last night in Shortland Crescent, by which a young man was deprived of several of his front teeth, besides receiving a very severe contused wound. There are verandahs in the public thoroughfares which are supported by iron rods, about two inches in diameter. When these are' not painted white they are quite imperceptible on a dark night when no lamp is in the vicinity of them. It was against one of these rods tha injured person struck himself, and as it is not impossible similar accidents may frequently be occasioned from the same cause, it would not be asking too much that owners of verandahs supported in the manner referred to should cause them to be painted some light colour. To the Editor : Sir,— What shall we do with it? Mr. Tonks says, "Borrow £20,000." Many millions of borrowed money have been spent in England, and yet the question is not answered satisfactorily. " 1 he social birthright of every man was pure air and pure water, but when they consider the number of diverse elements of which they are composed, the question arose, was that purity a day dream, or were they to consider their contaminated water and atmosphere as simply a nuisance to be endured?" — I am, &c, J.B.S. An emergency meeting of the United Service Lodge is advertised to be held this evening in the Lodge-room, Masonic Hall, at half -past 7 o'clock. We were shown yesterday by Mr. Samuel Harris some magnificent specimens of goldbearing'quartz taken from the Conquering Hero Company's ground, Coromandel. The claim has lately been formed into a company , and crushings are held monthly. John Lockwood, settler, Auckland, has been adjudged a bankrupt, and the first meeting of his creditors appointed to be held on the 26th instant, in jfce office of the Provincial Trustee in Bankruptcy,

The preparations for the opening of the Exchange Club aud Restaurant are in rapid progress, and in ft few days it will be opened to the public. The proprietor has spared no expense in making these rooms worthy of being ranked with any similar establishment existing in this, or perhaps in any of the sister colonies. The dining-room will accommodate from 150 to 180 persons seated at the same time, allowing ample room for each visitor. The room is of spacious dimensions, loffcy, well-lighted, and ventilated. It is tastefully, if not elegantly, furnished ; the fittings and decorations are in perfect keeping, and all that the designer's skill could suggest has been carried out in the most liberal spirit. The ceiling is picked out in pink and white, relieved by borders of green and gold. The curtains are of watered dAinask, and the wall coverings are made to correspond. Whilst the room is well lighted, the light is so regulated that no uupleasant glare shall be permitted to annoy the visitors. At night, numerous gaslights in frosted crystal globes will illuminate all parts of the room with an agreeable and subdued light. The refreshment department will be placed uuder an accomplished chef, and the room will be open from eight in the morning until midnight, betwen the hours of which breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and suppers will be served to all comers. Tables will be sot apast for those who in the evening may choose to indulge in chess, draughts, and other quiet amusements. There will be an abundant supply of news papers and the current periodical literature of the day. There is an enormous range, with all the latest improvements attached, capable of cooking for 1,000 consumers. The kitchen, instead of, as is usually the case, being situated at the bottom of the building, has been erected on the topmost storey, by which means all culinary exhalations will be carried off through the roof instoad of penetrating to the dining-room. There are nnmerous ingenious devices for facilitating the business of the restaurant, and providing quickly for a large number of customers in the shortest possible space of time. There are patent lifts for sending down dinners into the dining-ioom, and others for drawing up liquors from the bar below. There is a complicated apparatus for exfracting and preserving the aroma of the coffee berry; thera is a huge "grill ;" a pantry in itself as big as some dining-rooms, and other conveniences which could only have been planned by some experienced caterer. The restaurant will be opened early next week, under the management of Mr. Riordan, formerly of Otago, and afterwards proprietor of one of the finest dining rooms on the "West Coa3t of the Middle Island. Above the Restaurant is a large hall, to be retained specially for public meetings, balls, and evening assemblies. Seats are provided for 350 persons ; and instead of the uucomfortable straight-backed forms, or the nearly equally uncomfortable wooden chairs, with which halls and long rooms are generally provided, the proprietor has taken a lesson from our American cousins, and has provided I a class of seat whicb partakes more of the character of a lounge. The backs slope at a considerable angle, the seats are broad and low, and are placed sufficiently wide apart to admit of any person leaving his seat and regaining it at any time without causing inconvenience to himself or to others. We (Thames AdterlUev) understand that the contractors whose tender was accepted for building the new English church have refused to go on with the work, and that others whose tenders were higher in rotation have also declined to commence the work. Sir, —In looking over the Weekly News of the 5th inst., I was glad to see that the AVaikato railway survey was completed, and that Mercer wili be the terminal station. I was also glad to see that our neighbour in Hamilton are growing 200 acres of wheat this year, and that they ave about to start a flour mill. Your Hamilton correspondent gives Cambridge credit for growing 300 acres of wheat ; but, since then, Major G. W. D Hay, of Cambridge, has laid down on his estate 100 acres of spring wheat. Total, 400 acres in Cambridge district. By the above you will see that we beat the Harailtonians in growing whea 1 : ; but they bent us in one respect — they have got three doctors and a Medical Hall. A doctor could not live in Cambridge :jj[it is too healthy for him.— I *un, &c.,Macah. Return, of sick treated in the Provincial Hospital during the week ending Saturday, August 19, 1871 : — Remained last return, 73 ; admitted since, 14 ; discharged, 9 ; died, 2 ; remaining, | 76 (males, 65; females, 11): Arrangement of cases : Fever (tvphoid), 1 : syphilis, 2 ; cancer, 2 ; scrofula, 2 ; phthisis, 8 ; rheumatism, 9 ; lunacy, 1 ; concussion, 1 ; delirium tremens, 1 ; chorea, 2 ; epilepsy, 2 ; paralysis, 7 ; amaurosis, 1 ; ophthalmia, 3 ; bronchitis, 6 ; aueurism, 1 ; heart disease, 1 ; dyspepsia, 1 ; diarrhoea, 1 ; albuminuria, 2 ; abscess and ulcer, 6 ; wounds and contusions, 2 ; fractures, 3 ; necrosis, 1 ; anchylosis, 1 ; fistula, 1 ; cutaneous, 2 ; debility, 6. Two men died— one on the 14th instant of paralysis, and the other on the 15th of phthisis. Thanks are returned to Mrs. Sadleir for a parcel of old linen, and to Mrs. Kinder for a bundle of clothes. A female, named Mary Ann Harrison, known to the police by many aliases, and a woman of dissolute habits, was found dead in her bed, in a house off Albert-street, early on Sunday morning last. No inquest was held on the body, the woman having for some time previously been under medical attendance, and the cause of her death was known to have been heart disease. A meeting of the Total Abstinence Society is to be held this evening in the Youne; Men's Christian Association Rooms, at halfpast 7 o'clock. Statement of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum for the week ending August 19, 1871 : — Remained last statement, 105 ; admitted since, 2 ; discharged since, 0 ; died since, 0 ; remaining at present, 107 (75 males, 32 females). Distribution of cases : Epileptic mania, 9 ; idiocy, 4 ; imbecilhtas, 14; mania, 46 ; melancholia, 15 ; dementia, 17 ; monomania, 2. Nearly all the missing pieces of the Vendome Column have been recovered. It is thought thac the column can be exactly restored. A strange proposal is made to preserve untouched the ruins of the Hotel de Ville. It is seriously discussed, and finds many advocates. Scientists aver that there is a subterraneous connection between Mount Hecla in Iceland and Mount Etna in Sicily, as their eruptions are always simultaneous, every throb of the volcanic heart of the one being reciprocated by the other. The distance between them is something like 2.000 miles. La V6rit6 estimates the recent destruction of property in Paris to the extent of 800,000,000 francs, and merchandise in addition to the extent of 60,000,000 francs. The man who stabbed the Mandarin Ma, some time ago, was executed in a horrible manner. Upwards of a thousand slices were cut from his body before the execution gave him his coup de grace. He only cried out once. The torture lasted nearly three hours. Baron Rothschild has given the sum of £1,000 to French, the jockey who rode Favonius, the -winner of last year's Derby, and has bestowed upon him an annuity of £200 for life. The State of Michigan contains 5, 144 inland lakes, covering an area of 1,114 miles, besides a water front on the great lakes of more than 1,850 miles. The Communist Clu3eret, who figured not very favourably in the American civil war, turns out to be the Fenian McAnliff, who planned the attack on Chester Castle in 1867, and was present at the murder of the Policeman Brett in Manchester. Some years ago a French writer said, "You will see one day of what a society without God is capable. Paris will burn herself down with her own hands." Those who have visited the Pantheon there ia past days will remember Voltaire's marble sarcophagus, with the sculptured hand thrust through the coffin-lid, waving a torch.

The ruin caused in Patis by the civil wa r is estimated at 500,000,000 francs by the destruction of houses, and a further loss of 300,000,000 franca by the losa of securities, valuables, objects of art, and furniture burnt. Sixty million franca worth of property has been burnt in the docks and warehouses at "Villette. A newspaper is shortly to be published at Inangahua, near to the .Nelson Grey Valley, where a large number of reef* aie opened and worked. Up to the present time only very small quantities of gold have been obtained. The wealth to be derived from them is yet in perspective. The population is reckoned at about 1,500. Baron Krupp has invented a new canno which will batter down the heaviest ramparts at a distance of nine miles. Immense work3 for the construction of these monsters are being erected. A Mr. Peters, in London, has invented a machine by means of which, ho says, the whole contents of the Bible can be written 22 times in the apace of a square inch. The railway from Golspie to Helmsdale, a distance of 17 miles, has been constructed entirely at the expense of the Duke of Sutherland, who has also given £60,000 towards its further extension. The Senate of the Cambridge University has approved of an agreement to share with Oxford, under certain limitations, the cost of the revision of the English Bible, the copyright to be conveyed to the two Oniversities. A new liquor law has gone into effect in the State of Michigan. For the sale of intoxicating liquors it provides a fine of 25dol. on the first conviction, 50dol. for the second, aud lOOdol. for the third. As further information on the subject of the preservation of honey, and the prevention of it3 candying andjturning white, we give the following directions, from Mrs. Sarah Kennedy, of White Hall, S.O. :— " After the honey is passed from the comb, strain it through a sieve, so as to get out all the wax ; gently boil it, and skim off the whitish foam which rises to the surface, and then the honey will become perfectly clear. The vessel for boiling should be earthen, brass, or tin. The honey should be put in jars when cool, and tightly covered. To keep honey in the comb, select combs free from pollon, pack them edgewise in jars or cans, and pour in a sufficient quantity of the boiled and strained honey (as above) to cover the combs. The jars or cans should be tightly tied over with thick cloth or leather The writer says that these processes have been in use for twenty years with unvarying success.