The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1897. THE FEDERAL CONVENTION.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 207, 6 September 1897, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1897. THE FEDERAL CONVENTION.

For tho cause that lacks assistance, For the wong that needs resistance, For the future in tho distance, And the good that m can do.

So far as the majority of New Zealanders is concerned the question of Australian Federation has almost been lost sight of since the Commonwealth Bill drafted by the Convention at Adelaide was referred for revision to the Legislatures of the different colonies concerned. Very few people here have attempted to follow the measure in its passage through ten Houses of Parliament simultaneously, or to note the changes it underwent on its way. Most of us have been content to' await patiently its emergence from these, mazes, and to renew our acquaintance with it in the altered form it may present on its return to the Convention which sent it forth. The opportunity to do so is now offered by the re-assembling of the Federal Convention in Sydney last week. On Friday the delegates got to business, having overruled the suggestions for adjournment made partly with the object of giving Queensland the chance to join in the movement, and partly to suit the convenience of the Victorian members who. as things now stand, will not be able to remain till the conclusion of the work.

But, although it has been determined not to postpone proceedings at this stage either to suit Queensland or Victoria, it seems very probable that the Convention will have to adjourn before it has finished its workon the Bill. From all appearances, it cannot be confidently anticipated that this session of the Convention will see. the measure ready to go to the electors on the referendum. The Parliaments which had the measure under consideration complained that the time allowed them for revision was insufficient, and the difficulties they experienced in dealing with certain clauses of the Bill show that there is no light work before the Convention. The clauses to which we especially refer are those dealing with finance. Speaking of these the "Sydney Daily Telegraph" remarks on the significance of the fact that ten Houses of Parliament have had the financial provisions before them and "not one of them has been enabled either to remodel them into an acceptable shape or to substitute a workable basis for them." It will have been seen by our Sydney cablegrams that last week these financial clauses were handed over to ■ a committee composed of the Treasurers with an. additional member from each delegation to worry over, while to-day the Convention will consider in committee the amendments suggested by the various Legislatures. How. these will be brought forward

for discussion has not been definitely stated, but the proposal has been < mooted that the senior representative . of each colony should be invited to ; explain briefly the nature of the amendments made by each branch of his Legislature, so that the delegates may be able to form a connected idea of the views the Parliaments gener- > ally have taken of the Bill. The leading points round which discussion will centre are several. The question of equal representation of the d'liferent states in the senate is one that vitally concerns the less populous colonies, which are apparently in dread that if representation ! is proportional they will run the risk j of absorption at any time by a more I powerful state. That, they very | rio-htlv say. would not be federation i but 'amalgamation. Whether the railways shall be under the control of the Federal Government or not is | a matter that lias been very fruitful in discussion throughout Australia. The late Mr Eddy, whose views on the subject are perhaps more valuable than those of any other man, was, it seems, in favour of railway federation. But a very strong party in the Convention, probably the majority of the delegates, is opposed to that step. On the advisability of the Federal Government taking over the State debts there is again sure to be a considerable difference of opinion. It is looked upon as doubtful whether the Convention will consent to such a course, though it is regarded as inevitable that it will agree to the Federal Government having the full power to levy Customs duties. In the event—at present a rather remote contingency—of the Convention disposing finally of the Commonwealth Bill, the next step to pursue will be to submit the completed measure to the electors of the various colonies, and with the electors the fate of Federation will then rest. This is the procedure that was practically agreed to by the five colonies, but" the other day an attempt was made in the New South Wales Assembly to break through this agreement. The way in which it was proposed to do this"was lo pars a Bill providing that after the Convention has finally adopted the Commonwealth Constitution it "shall be submitted for consideration and amendment lo each House of Parliament . . . and the Constitution, with such amendments as may be agreed upon by both Houses" of Parliament"—and not the one as passed by the Conventionshall be submitted to the electors. The effect of such a measure, if it became law, would really be to nullify the work of the Convention, for the Bill submitted to the New South Wales electors might bear little resemblance to that which the Convention had agreed on, and which was before the" electors of the othercolonies. Fortunately, the motion intended to pave the way for such a dishonest course was defeated. The press on the other side comments very severely, and we consider most justly, on this endeavour on the part of the New South Wales Parliament to wreck Federation, and traces its origin to the attitude of extreme hostility which many members of the Leirislatures have covertly taken up with regard to Federation. One member finds the cause of this opposition—so much at variance with the popular feeling—to lie in the fact that Federation would deprive a large number of the members of both Houses of the Legislatures of their seats and occupation. The selfishness of politicians 'in these colonies has almost passed into a proverb, whether with or without sufficient reason we cannot pretend to say : but even those who regard disinterestedness as the last quality to be looked for in a member of a colonial Legislature will be a little surprised that the politicians of New South Wales should set personal advantage before the consummation of a great national movement like Australian Federation.

The criminal sittings of the Supreme Court were resumed this morning at 10 o'clock, and a fresh jury sworn in. One juryman stated that his name was not properly spelled, while another said his Christian name as given on the summons was incorrect. His Honor asked the jurymen if there was any other person of the same name residing in their respective streets, and receiving an answer in the negative ordered them to remain. The jury was then sworn without any person beih"' absent and without exemption. Mr Thorpe, the late licensee of the Harp of Erin Hotel, Ellerslie, had a narrow escape from being fatally gored by a bull on Saturday night, at his residence at Ellerslie. Shortly after ten o'clock at night, Mr Thorpe went into a paddock near his house in order to remove a two-year-old Alderney bull, which had always been regarded 'as a quiet animal. It turned on Mr Thorpe, knocked him down and gored him under the chin and about the face and head, while three of his ribs were also broken. Mrs Thorpe, hearing a noise outside, ran to the spot and found her husband lying on the ground and the bull attacking him. She very pluckily got a clothes-prop and drove the animal away. Mr Thorpe was helped into the house, and Dr. W. R. Erson, of Onehunga, was sent for, and attended to Mr Thorpe, who is still in a rather serious condition. The bull was shot yesterday. The many friends of Mr W. F. Burrow, C.E., of Sydney, and second son of Mr Robert Burrow, Qncen-strect, will be pleased to learn that he has lately been made permanent officer on the Government staff in the New South Wales Roads and Bridges Department, and appointed Resident Superintendent of the erection of some of the largest and most important bridges in the colony. A German paper calls attention to the enormous quantity of coal that is allowed to remain unworked, in order to serve as a support to the surface. Repeated attempts have been made to devise a system of working which will render the use of safety pillars unnecessary. •> No satisfactory solution of the problem has yet been hit upon. In the Rhenish-Westphalian coalfield it is laid down by law that in every seam a pillar of coal at least 21 yards in thickness must be left between the various collieries. The quantity of coal thus left unworked in Westphalia is estimated to be 28,600,000 tons. Early yesterday morning a destructive fire occurred in the fish-curing establishment of Messrs Holland and Bishop, Lower Albert-street, the building, a shed owned by Masefield and Co. being gutted. The stock, consisting of cleaned fish and apparatus, was destroyed, and the damage is estimated at £100. Messrs Holland and Bishop had no insurance on the place. So far as could be ascertained the lire originated at the back of the shed. A slight collision took place between two trains on the Port Chalmers line on Satur- j day. The early trains pass at Burkes. The Dunedin train was run on to a siding, but by some oversight the lower points were left open, and the Port train in advancing went on the siding and collided with the Dunedin train. The impact was slight, but the cowcatcher of the engine was damaged. No one on board was injured in the slightest degree. j

The steamer Merrie England arrived at looktown from Port Moresby on August 7th, with 14 New Guinea miners, one or wo of whom were destitute. The Merrie mgland reported that Messrs Burns, 'blip, and Co. 's schooner Resolute, Captain Jaldwin, was lost at Bialalla Bar on 25th __ uly. The captain stuck to his vessel for hree weeks, hoping to save her, but the :v> vine! was so severe that she became a total j •?< vreck. All hands and the cargo were ; v aved. The ship was not fully insured, j*« Six miners were brought from the^ Mam-1 » -are to Samarai, one of whom is Christie j I 3yrnes, who was supposed to be dead. He h vas reported to have 61b of gold in his p jossession, but three of the six miners were a lestitute. About 15 miners are now left t m the Mambare, and they are doing very a ittle. The news from the Woodlark t Island diggings is discouraging. In spite of the inclemency of the weather hi Saturday quite a large audience assembled at the City Hall to witness a ( rery attractive programme presented by _. :he All Star Novelty Company. Every •"* item on the programme was thoroughly j" Bnjoyecl by those present, encores being the - n-iler of the evening. Credit is due to the management for the order maintained. Next' Saturday Messrs Crawford and j Moore receive a well deserved benefit. ( At the usual fortnightly meeting of the r e Auckland Savage Club held on Saturday j evening last at the Club room, Signor G. j P. Nerli, the well known portrait painter, presented to the Club a life-size oil painting of a Savage on the war path, worked out in his very best style. The unveiling ( took place with the usual ceremony, the , members present showing their apprecia- . tion of the gift in no unstinted manner. , The President (Bro. Dr. Lewis) referred ( to the gift of their member as a handsome ] addition to the furniture of the Club , room, and proposed a resolution of thanks, , which was carried with acclamation, after _ which " For He's a Jolly Good Fellow " ( was sung in true Savage style* Bro. , Perrett, on behalf of Bro. Nerli, suitably , responded. The picture is in every way ( worthy of the artist and well worth inspection. An accident happened in Onehutiga yesterday morning Lo .Mrs D.tndo, who, • when alighting from her carriage at the Congregational Church, fell upon the kerbstone and fractured her left arm. She was at once removed to the house of Mr Blackwood, where her injuries were attended to by Dr Coker. The limelight entertainment to be given in the City Hall to-morrow evening promises to be an interesting event. Mr Higgott will sing "The Village Blacksmith," and Mrs Stewart will render "The Holy City," both of which will be illustrated by Mr Cooper's splendid views. The pipe organ erected in the Ponsonby Baptist Church was opened yesterday with special musical services. The organ was partly built by Avery and partly by Bishop, Star and Richardson, of London, and bears the date of 1779, so that it is 118 years. It was formerly erected in old St. Paul's Church, Auckland, and passed into then possession of MrHowden some 20 years ago. It has 350 pipes, antl has ten speaking stops and one coupler stop. Mr P. R. Dix announces that in order to provide for the better accommodation of his numerous patrons at the City Hall he has arranged for extra seats for this evening's Monday "Pop." The cinematographic views and moto - gem - instantographs of the Diamond Jubilee procession in London will no doubt prove very attractive. Mr W. B. Cadzow, supported by a strong musical company, will present a varied and popular musical programme. The members of the Pakuranga Hunt Club met on Saturday at the estate of Mr W. McLaughlau, Papatoitoi. Several good runs took place, three kills resulting. Mr and Mrs McLaughlan entcrtainad the visitors at luncheon and afternoon tea. Special services in connection with the forty-second anniversary of the Onehunga YVeslcyan Sunday-school were held yesterday. The morning service was conducted by the Rev. S. Lawry, and the afternoon and evening services by the Rev. W. J. Williams. There was a large attendance, and the special anniversary hymns rendered by the children reflected credit on the choirmaster, Mr G. H. Douglass. The annual soiree is to be held on Wednesday evening. Mr Frith, photographer, announces that he will sell by auction through Messrs Cochrane and Son, to-morrow, the whole of his photographic gallery. He is selling off previous to leaving for Melbourne, and will probably retire from the business after fifty years of labour. One of the exhibits at the Horticultural Show that attracted mnch attention was a plant protector patent by Messrs Sanderson and Hilton. It consists of a metal structure designed to surround plants. On the outside of the structure is a receptacle for containing a deterrent agent such as tobacco, lime, chemical water, etc. Above the receptacle is a covering or hood for protecting the ingredients from inclement weather. It is thus possible to prevent slugs and other pesU getting to the plants. The apparatus can be made in various sizes and can be supplied at a low cost. Some excitement was caused at North Brighton, Victoria, on the evening of August 25th, when a young girl named Jean Patserson publicly a young man named Gillespie whipped Douglas, who stood his triala few days previously on a charge of improper intimacy with her, but was acquitted. After the trial Douglas had been welcomed back to the church .and Sunday-school, of which he was a teacher. When Douglas emerged from the train at North Brighton shortly before 6 o'clock the girl was on the platform, and as he passed through the gate, she drew a whip and proceeded to belabour him. He rushed at the infuriated girl and held her hands until some friends took hold of her, and he escaped into a neighbouring shop. The girl vowed that she would meet him again. In one of the letters written by the girl and read during the trial, the quotation appears : " Heaven hath no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned," and she appears to be fullilling the adage. Gents' and ladies' ties, 300 dozen, all new goods, exceptional value, at 6d, 9d, Is Is 3d, Is 6.1, Is 9d, Is lid.—Smith and Caughey.—(Adt.) Wear old clothes if you go a-fishing ; but if you're fishing for'beauty's smile wear George Fowlds' up to date clothing, hats, shirts, and ties. —(Adt.) You'll wish you had known George Fowlds sooner once you learn how beautiful and good his summer suitings are, and how nice he can make you look.—(Adt.) Buyers of drapery goods will do well to look through Wilson, McCullagh and Co.'s stock this season. One of the biggest selections in the city and cut at^the " finest prices."—(Advt.)