OUR HOME LETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 274, 25 November 1897, Page 5

OUR HOME LETTER.

AUCKLAND, N.Z.,

November 25, 1597. The past month has been rather an tLt one in the way of sensations, par-e-f b of which will he found duly Vied ifl our neMS columns, and "fnrise the events we have to record r to be more numerous and of $ler importance than the average f local news. Parliament has now !fn in session two months, hut the .less transacted has been very much E v what could have been desired, V growing to the factious obstruction of Marty inbpposition, which, though far f mstroV enough to oust the Government, Table and willing to avail themselves "everyopportunity to delay Government f-iness by the intiwhietion of useless abatable motions and amendments on rte slightest provocation. These tactics irOl^W alxmt a stonewall on the esti" jtgs which were eventually forced !wh the House of Representatives in S might sittings. The Old Age Pensions Bill is now under consideration in Ljmittee and is being subjected to the lie tantalising procedure. It was hoped thesession'svoulcl close before Christmas, but IL premier now threatens to bring memtasbackin January, to complete the-work dich they were sent to Parliament to accomplish. His Excellency the Governor malady Ranfurly have during this month mid a -visit to Christchurch, where they y a must cordial reception, hut his Exjellency has, of course, been compelled to remain in Wellington almost exclusively riile Parliament has been in session. later, it is understood, the Governor and Ladyßanftirly will make an extended tour 5 f the colony.

The Alien Immigration Kestriction Bill, introduced by the Government and' bow before Parliament, is a measure framed largely on

tie lines of the Asiatic Kestriction Bill of 1896. It limits the number of Asiatics to be brought here to one to every 200 tons of tonnage of the yessel bringing them. Before they are allowed to land, each Asiatic has to pay a poll tax of £ 100, for which the captain of the vessel is made responsible under heavy penalties. Asiatics already in the colony and not naturalised before the passing of the Bill or not British subjects by birth come under the provisions of the Act, so far as the poll tax of £ 100 and the penalties for non-payment thereof £ re concerned. No Chinese are to be allowed to become naturalised after tie passing of the Act. The Act is not to apply to Her Majesty's land and sea forces, nor to the officers and crew oi anj T ship of war of any Asiatic Golenunent, nor to any person duly accredited to New Zealand by or under authority of the Imperial or any other Government, nor to any person of European or Jewish extraction, nor to any British subject being a native ol that portion of' Her Majesty's dosinions known as the Indian Empire, jar to any master or teacher of the Christian religion,- -duly accredited to ft& satisfaction of" the ~ Colonial Secretary, nor to such other persons or ciass of persons as the Governor by Order in Council from time to time exempts from operation of this Act,

Themining industry is steadily progressing and the results from the companies mere batteries are now working are of a satisfactory character. As usual the Upper Thames district has prodnaed the most kUion during the past n;aSith, and. it is sai&ctory to note that in each case the ore put through although of low grade is still thoroughly payable. Out of a total jieldfor the month of £32,275 17s Id the Upper Thames district alone contributed £24,679 2s 6d ; The yields from the Waihi tiinemaintain such a steady average that it is almost unnecessary to state the one for the past month was good. The return from the New Zealand Crown mines is the largest yet obtained by that company, and that from the Waihi - Silverton is the best since July, 1896. The most important developments have, however, tan in the Woodstock mine at Karangakke. In this property a six-inch leader is yielding phenomenally rich ore, two tons fi which when treated separately returned »t the rate of £125 per ton during the month, added to which the large ore todies are still producing plenteous supplies of good payable quartz. Another crashing return of special interest this, month is that from Grace Darling mine at Waitekauri. The option-holders put the [mall ten-stamper battery on this property in order, and treated 50 tons of ore from >n parts of the mine. Although the plant is not replete with modern appliances, still fte yield was over £3 per ton, an average which will leave a good margin of P>fit when worked with an up-to-date ratterjr on a large scale. The machinery has arrived for the £oyal Standard mine >', JVharekeraupunga and the Broken Ms mine at Tairua, so that in due course jtase properties will be adding their quota w th& gold returns. The new battery at toe Waitekauri Extended "mine starts j^ing next week, and the big battery lop the Waihi Company is being constructed jfith all possible" speed, while the foundaWareibeing laid for additional crushing put at the New Zealand Crown mines. w returns from the Coromandel district 5J 6 yery satisfactory this month, the Jpl Oak of Hauraki having obtained H^B from less than 18 tons of ore, ;™e 20 tons from the Tokatea Consols jjwed £343105. The Hauraki Company's also well up to recent averages. * PJTCeI of 12cwt of ore from the Progress *V if k mine was crusnecl for £7S 1Ss> *ich may also be considered satisfactory. J«« Hauraki Associated Mines Company's ']~!ja tteiystarted operations within the *j tew days so that in future this mine qbe added to the gold producers of this tocc. v The returns from the Thames «ies during the past month are not so wm? BUsua'8Usua''as only tailings were treated If* Tararu Creek Company and low fC] ■ °re by the Albnrnia, while none of j. °™er large companies are crushing at re? i™" to the batteries being under J**- Business in the Exchange has been W throughout the month. A meeting of the Auckland Harbour %i ra^T?sheld in committee on November com° cuss the question of how best to w"7jact the agitation in Wellington to He s •£ ort ? iade th. c Place of °all for Island Francisco mail and South Sea tl 1( r!? semces. Mr M. Niccol presided in fel •e-ofMr W- J- Napier. After h^n n lfc was resolved : " That letters Co « tt* 0 Messrs Huddart, Parker and Wp lon S>S- Company, Spreckles ; Comn pany' tlle Messageries Maritimes j XorO' c Ni PP°n Yusen Kaisha, the •shin » ternian Lloyds, and other steam- :^ companies, pointing out the advanA = i attractions of Auckland as a iockT ° Mrin° : <!) The use of graving tetW ,i stean^ers on the same terms KtrtSf al owed tp ships of war; (2) the lo ttos f, -°* Pilots and harbour master «•«" steamers free; (3) special favour-

able rates for storage and transhipment of cargo ; (4) to guarantee that first-class berths shall be reserved for mail steamers and every facility for rapid discharge." It was also decided that the Government be informed that the Board was offering these special advantages to mail steamers, and that the Government be requested to notify the fact in the conditions of mail services; also that a circular letter be addressed to all members of Parliament (both Houses) representing the Auckland provincial district, impressing on them the importance of their using every exertion to retain Auckland as the port of call for mail steamers.

A report on the Defence Forces of the colony has been drawn up by Colonel Pole - Penton. So far as we can judge of the report by what we have seen of it the tone in which the Colonel criticises the present organisation and suggests improvements is admirable. He says at the outset of the report, the material •of which the forces are composed is excellent, and under proper management could be worked up into high efficiency and reliability; but the system wants reorganisation. As regards the permanent forces, what appears to be chiefly lacking1 is an adequate staff of qualified officers to train the men. None of our artillery officers have received a thorough trainnig in their work, and though the Commander gives them great credit for having accomplished so much as they have done, he regards it as imperative that three artillery officers should be got out from England at once to put matters on a better footing. This would remedy the defects of under training in the meantime, and to provide for our future staff of instructors, he makes an excellent suggestion. It is that live military cadetships should be open for competition in the colony, and that the successful students, after a year's instruction in Wellington, should be sent Home and attached to the Royal Artillery for five years and to the Royal Engineers for two years. After such a course of training they would be able to return to the colony fully qualified to instruct others. To this lack of instructors the Colonel attributes in some degree the deficient discipline of the forces; but at the same time he does not altogether absolve the men from blame on that point. Our soldiers, it appears, do not take the proper pride in themselves that soldiers should do. From the fact that they are glad to get out of their uniform on any pretext one must conclude that they are more anxious to pose as civilians than as soldiers. The reason of this, we believe, lies quite as much with the community as with the men. It is to be feared that we do not display that same regard for the soldierly garb that they do in Europe. The men, too, have a feeling that when they don the regimentals of 'a common Tommy Atkins' they descend in the social scale. It is particularly unfortunate that any such false sentiment should prevail. Another bar to a high standard of discipline here appears to be marriage, and the Colonel suggests that more stringent regulations should be made as to the number of men who are allowed to wed. We fear, however, that sucli regulations would rather tend to make the service unpopular with both sexes, and we would suggest that the remedy should not -be- the first .to be tried. Lastly, the commander .does not approve of the men being called to do police duty at certain times, and on this point we are disposed to agree with him.

The Commander's remarks with regard to the volunteers more directly affect the public. The Colonel evidently wishes to see more life infused into "the movement. He thinks that the Government, the men themselves, and their employers could all do something more than is now being done in a matter of such importance as the efficient training- of a body of citizen soldiers. He lays especial stress on the necessity for more field drill, and suggests that employers should grant facilities to their employees in that direction, and that the Government should give an extra capitation for drills beyond the number required by the regulations. In this division of our defence forces the need of efficient instructors is urgent, and he recommends getting three officers from the Old Country. In addition, he is strongly in favour of the establishment Vf a school of military instruction in Wellington, and of a revisal of the regulations guiding the appointments in the volunteer forces with the object of introducing more direct supervision on the part of the military authorities. A suggestion which has a good deal to recommend it is that the expense of training the cadet corps should be borne by the Education and not the Military Department, The reforms proposed, of course, are not to be brought about without an addition to the present expenditure in our defence establishment, which now amounts to about £ 57,000 a year ; and if it seemed to us that they were unwarranted by the circumstances of the case we would be the first to oppose them. But we must.candidly admit that there is nothing in the report that bears the appearance of having been dictated by any other than a spirit of true economy combined with a desire for efficiency. Colonel Pole-Penton is moderate. He does not contemplate any big1 military system for this little colony, but he says what we do have let it be good. And to this sentiment we think no one can take exception.

The Australasian Wesleyan Methodist Convention, which has just concluded here, might not inappropriately be termed the Pentecostal Conference, so far, at least, as membership is concerned ; for, singularly enough, it consists of 120 apostles of Methodism, all chosen for special gifts and graces, who are here to represent the Conferences of New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland and New Zealand. The aggressive and progressive spirit of the church has won for the Wesleyan denomination the fourth place amon"- the divisions of Christianity in New Zealand. According to the census of 1596 the four leading churches stood numerically in the following order:—Church of England, 281,166; Presbyterians, 159,952; Eoman Catholics, 97,525; Wesleyan Methodists, 63,373; the Baptists came next with 16,037. In Australasia the Wesleyan Methodist connexion embraces 2921 churches; 2101 other preaching- places; colleges, 11; schoolroms, 404; parsonages, 431; ministers and probationers, 667; local preachers, 5396; leaders, 6899; church members, 91,162; on trial for membership, 5357; catechumens, 17,021; Sabbath schools, 3492; Sabbath school teachers, 15,730; -Sabbath school children, 193,332; Bands of

Hope, 569; members Bands Hope, 42,132; attendants on public worship. 456,320. It is evident from the magnitude of these statistics that the Conference will have its order paper well filled for at least two weeks. Many familiar faces were among- the visitors, such as the Eev. Joseph Berry, formerly and favourably known as the pastor of the Pitt Street Church, Auckland, but now of Adelaide ; Dr. George Brown, who graduated in Auckland and became famous as the founder and controller of the .New Guinea and the New Britain Missions ; the Eev. W. H. Fitchett, 8.A., the Australasian editor of the 'Beview of Reviews,' and the 'Southern Cross,' also principal of the Methodist Ladies' College, Hawthorne, near Melbourne ; the Rev. Rainsford Bavin, formerly superintendent of the Grafton Road Circuit, who was transferred to New South Wales, and took effective charge of the Central Mission, Sydney ; Dr. Watkin, formerly an Auckland boy, who received his training in Wesley College, Upper Queen-street. In all, the Conference comprised a brilliant array of skilled, astute debaters, who are replete to overflowing with Methodist laws and usages. The Rev. W. Morley has been a model President, serving for the past three years, but now retires through effluxion of time. His successor is the Rev. Henry T. Burg-ess, of South Australia. Mr Burgess has been in the ministry for 38 years. Born in 1539, he came out to Adelaide in 184S, and has lived in South Australia ever since, occupying some of the principal churches in and about Adelaide. In 188G and again in 1890 Mr Burgess -was elected President of the Annual Conference of South Australia. In IS9O also he was elected secretary of the General Conference of Australasia at Sydney, and in 1894, when the General Conference was held at Adelaide, he was elected to the same office. He was for several years secretary to the South Australian Wesleyan Hcme Mission, and has also taken an active interest in the Christian Endeavour movement. Mr Burgess is a man of considerable literary ability, and his numerous essays and articles contributed to the press have attracted a good deal of attention. It is the general opinion tliat a more suitable election could not have been made to the highest oliiee in the Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australasia. Amongst the more important topics discussed were Methodist Union in New Zealand and Queensland, and Foreign Missions in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, New Britain, and New Guinea.

The New Zealand Cup, the biggest racing handicap in this colony, was decided at Riccarton (Christclmrch) on the 9th November, and resulted in a win for Waiuku, sired by the imported English stallion, St. Leger, another St. Legerin St. Paul being second. The two miles was run in Smin 30sec. Multiform was the three-year-old hero of the meeting, annexing the Derby and' Canterbury Cup in the colours of Mr G. G. Stead, who recently returned from a visit to England. Multiform is regarded as one of the best of his year that has raced in New Zealand. At the A.R.C. spring races at Ellerslie the Guineas was won by St. Crispin, another of St. Leger's progeny, and an Australian bred horse named Panoply pulled off the Prince of Wales' Handicap. The Victorian Derby, run at Flemington, resulted in Amberite defeating a strong favourite in Mr W. B. Wilson's Aurum, while an unusual incident took place in the Melbourne Cup, the winner, Gaulus, and The Grafter, who was second, being full brothers. They are both owned by Mr W. Forrester, a well known - sportsman in NeM* South Wales. The Cup was run in 3min. 31sec.

A public meeting under the auspices of the Eight Hours' League and Auckland Trades and Labour Council was held on Nov. 3 in the Tailorcsses' Hall, Cook-street, for the purpose of taking steps to assist the engineers in the United Kingdom who have been thrown out of employment by the lock-out. About 70 persons were present, including several ladies. Mr A. Kosser presided. It was resolved : — " That this meeting of workers, while deploring strikes, as detrimental to the best interests of a nation, desires to record its sympathy with the British engineers in their struggle to obtain eight hours as a working "day; also, That this meeting respectfully urges the New Zealand Government to push on the Eight Hours Bill now before the House ; also that Government employees be brought under the operation of the Bill." Mr Seddon addressed the Eight flours gathering at Wellington on November 9. He said from the position he held it was not for him to express an opinion one way or another upon the Home engineering question, but he would like to see the workers at Home enjoying the same boon as did those in New Zealand. There had been some opposition to the Eight Hours' Bill, but they were gradually overcoming the objections, and he thought that at any rate they should affirm the principle. As to the overtime, Mr Seddon was satisfied it should be paid at the rate of time and a-half. He hoped that some day a Minister of the Crown would be able to announce at the eight hours' demonstration that a complete Eight Hours' Bill had found a place on the Statute Book.

An amount of valuable information regarding the geological formation of the Hauraki Peninsula is to be found in a book written by Mr James Parks, F. G. S., late director of the Thames School of Mines. The .substance is the same as that contained in the paper recently read by Mr Park on the *' Geology and Veins of the Hauraki Peninsula " before the New Zealand Institute of Mining Engineers, and the book has been issued by_ that body. It contains numerous illustrations, and is accompanied by coloured plates showing the stratification of the field and the goldbearing formations. A short sketch of the early history of the goldnelds is given, and the main features of the various districts a1 c described and details are given regarding some of the famous gold producing mines. The scientific portion of the book is written in a style that claims the attention of all interested in the mining industry, The chapter devoted to the geological history of the Hauraki Peninsula is most instructive reading, while the one describing the most favourable country for the existence of gold bearing lodes contains valuable information. This book is wellprinted on good paper and in handy form, the work being done at the Auckland " Star" Office.

A deputation, consisting of Messrs Harris and Stains, Chairmen of the Grey and Westland County Councils respectively, was introduced to the Premier by Mr Guinness on Nov. 4. They urged that the Government should complete the Midland railway between Jackson's and Springfield, and throw open the company's land for settlement. Mr Seddon, in reply, said it was not in the power of the Ministry to do anything in the direction desired unless the Midland Railway Company made fresh proposals to the Government. So far, the company had failed to make these fxesh proposals, and the Government could consequently only continue its present policy of spending money on the line and calling on the company to repay such expenditure. He doubted whether the company would remain satisfied with this state of tilings, and. thought they would prefer to make default. As soon as default was made the Government could cancel the contract, and unlock for settlement the lands at present under the company's lien. If the company made default this was the course the Government would follow.