THE Bay of Plenty Times.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume VIII, Issue 690, 11 February 1879, Page 2

THE Bay of Plenty Times.

"TK£ SPIHIT OF THE TIMES SHALL TEACH ME SPEED."

,•' 1 ; ( • , KIM G JOHN, ACT IV

, TUESDAY MBKUAEY H, 1879.

, Leo.\ t Gambettji, ithe' new President of | the Trench s Chamber of Deputies, belongs to an old Genoese family, and was born at Cahors m 1838. Adopting the legal profession, he became a member of the- Paris bar in 1859, and soon acquired fame as a forensic orator, being much employed in political causes both in the capital and the provinces, while he obtained immense popularity among certain clases of the Parisians on account of Ms advanced Republican opinions. In March, 18(59, on the occasion of the prosecution of the JSmaneipation newspaper at. Toulouse,, the young and eloquent orator received a most enthusiastic reception in the south. At the general election held . that year, M. Gambetta stood for Paris and Marseilles, as a representative of the "irreconcilable opposition," 1 and was returned for both constituencies, but elected to take 18.70, he, made a violent attack on the Ollivier JYI misfcry, declai'ing that the day would come when the majority of the people would, without appealing to force, succeed . in establishing a Eepublio. On the fall of the Empire and consequent formation of the Government of the National Defence in September, 1 870, .he • was nominatod Minister of the Interior, and soon showed that he possessed administrative powers of a high order. When a serious misunderstanding took place between the Delegate Government at Tours- and tno-NationaT Defence Committee in Paris, regarding the contemplated ; election of doputies, M. Gambefcta was selected by his colleagues to proceed to the former city and explain the position of affairs in tho capital. Accordingly he left Paris o.u October 7. 1870, in a balloon named the '.' Arraand-Barbes,"' accompanied by a aocretary and an aeronaut, passed safely over the Prussian lines, and reached Rouen in tho evening". Proceeding without loss, of Timo to- Tours, : ho there assumed tho direction, and for some mouths was virtually Dictator of fill those provinces of France which were froo from they German invaders. He urged the- people to continued resistance, raised the army of the Loire, and after the Delegate Government had' been obliged to remove to Bordeaux, he issued a proclamation advocating, war d ontrance, and resistance even to complete exhaustion. It is scarcely necessary to add. that his dream of driving out tho Prussians was not roa.lj.sed, and that his volunteer armies were completely crushed by the well-trained forces of the enemy. On February G, 18^1, MM. Arago, Gamier Pages, and Eugene Pelletan, members of the Paris Government, arrived at Bordeaux, bringing with thorn a dooroo signed l\v all tlie inembors r>f llio Government, which annulled tluit of M. Gnnibolta, by winch oortaiu classes of doctors wore disqualified u.r onmlidatcs for tho Assembly. In consequence of this censure, M. Gambotta at once resigned his functions'. Shortly afterwards he proceeded to Spain, and resided there for somo mouths in seclusion, but ho lias smco returned to Franco and obtained a soafc in tho Assembly, whoro ho is rogardetl as a loader of llio Puulical wing of tho Eopublican party. In September, 1872, he made a kind of Democratic "Progress" in the south of France > receiving a semi-official welcomo from Hie municipal autlioritics. Ho dc--1 liverod a famous speech at Gronoblo,

which, was regarded as a manifesto and programme of i\o Hod parky, amounting', to a. doclirafcion of war against the Govermnen; of the Rational Assembly.

During the past few years the morale of the mercantile community, not only at j home, but also in.; tho, \ Colonies, lias i gradually been chauging from bad to worse. It ay.is never much to boast of, but. there were, at any rate, a few oldestablished firms who conducted their business on sound commercial principles, and revised to be led into speculation or overtrading. All this is' changed now. I/tier recklessness has become tho rule rather than tho exception, and it seems no disgrace -to be declared a "bankrupt. Men fail and disappear for a time, re-ap-pear in flourishing circumstances, and fail again. That they are little better than swindlors is apparent to. every one of us, but this does not prevent our shaking their hands or drinking with them habitually •whenever they ask us to- join them. Some of .our readers will say : "Oh, it is quite impossible to be so very particular; no doubt Jones does sail a little near the wind occasionally, but he pulls through . alright and, everything considered, seems a jolly good fellow." This sentence aptly expresses popular opinion with regard to " sharp practice. " So long ns ! Jones keeps out.' of the reach of the law, it is no. matter what Jones does. We- may know him to be a scamp, but we must return his nod. Laxity of principle is gradually permeating all business matters and threatens to ruin our commercial prosperity. A few more failures, and mutual faith will die out. Already the collapse of so many wellknown firms of high standing has shaken, the business world to its foundations, and very little would now cause an absolute panic. . Earl Beaco;nsflkld's. policy is of course somewhat to blame for the present crisis, but it cannot be denied that illegitimate speculation arid over-trading are the main causes. .This being so, we think (for, the sake of the commiuiity) mercantile frauds; should , be severely punished. Hitherto the sentences passed on commercial men have proved absurdly light. Instead of years, such culprits get months, whilst others are let off altogether. When one remembers the unutterable ruin and. woe which the frauds of the Glasgow Bank directors have brought into many happy Scottish homes; it seems a gross miscarriage of justice that they should only be awarded a few months' imprisonment. No wonder working men cry orct " that there is one law for the rich and another for the poor." 1 Cases like this almost make us think so ourselves. Sup- j posing these robbers- had been burglars instead of bank directors, would eighteen montlia have been thought sufficient, then ? Certainly not. Yet they have clone, more harm and caused more misery than fifty burglars. It; may be argued { that eisjhteon months' imprisonment j much longer period to- more hardened villains, but considerations like these can not bo allowed. What we have to consider is the justice of the case, and no one, we imagine, can honestly say that a few j months' imprisonment is a fit. punishment j for such a fraud. . i

The R.M.S.S. Australia, with the English and American .mails via. San Francisco and Honolulu, is due in Auckland by contract date, to-morrow, but will most likely arrive during to-day. Onr usual' telegraphic summary will appear in next issue. The Tauranga portion of the mail will be brought on by. the s.s. llowena, arriving here on Saturday next. Inspector Emmerson will arrive here from the South on Thursday next. The native apprehended yesterday on a charge of rape has been admitted to bail. The cutter Fanny has arrived at Katikati ] with a cai - go of timber, consigned to Mr D. Lundon. . J We are glad to be fn a position to state that the Rev. Mr Grace has greatly improved during the last day or two. Dr. Ginders announces that he has taken the house lately occupied by Mr W. M. Edgcumbo, where he will continue to practice his profession as a physician. The Committee of the Tauranga Cricket Club acknowledge with thanks the receipt of £15 from the Dramatic Club, being the proceeds of entertainments given in their behalf. It is probable that the G.S.S. Hinomoa which will leave Auckland four hours after the arrival of the 11. M.5. Australia, will l>rii)g on the Tauranga portion of the English and American mail. The first bail of wool shipped from Katikati was brought here by the s.s. Katikati on Thursday last. Tin's woo],, and four bundles oE hides which' were also sent down, were the property of Mr J. 11.. Smith. The cricket match Married v. Single, played in the Government Paddock, on Saturday last, resulted in a victory for the Sfnglo team. The benedicts played at a great disadvantage have only six men against their opponents ton. During Sunday evening and Monday a liirgc fifo was observed burning on the .sea bench behind the Maori settlement of 3.]at,;'.[)ihi which pmved to be n wheat stack nwnwl by the Mr.tapihi natives. The firo was' occasioned by spontaneous combustion A thrashing machine standing near the stack was with some difficulty saved. We mentioned in our last issue that final arrangements of a most satisfactory nature, for the conveyance of a tri-weekly mail to the Lake district had been made, between Win, Kelly, i'itiq., and Die Government, wo now learn that Mr Kelly has, at considerable expense, placed two four-horse through-brace coaches on the line, which, together with his buggies, will make this service the moat e'licicnt one that the Government have- yet promoted. Whilst regretting the loss of Mr Peters from the district, wo heartily wish the new contractor the success which his enterprise deserves.

We understand that Mr E. M. Edgciimbe has left the colony for Sydney, en route for the old country. An advertisement elsewhere notifies that Captain Turner has been' appointed Mr Edgcumbe's agent. By some oversight the weights for the Kn-tikati Handicap, to Tao run on Thursday next, have not been forwarded to us for publication. Allowances, however, must bo made, as this is the first of the Katikati race meetings. It is related that a Yankeo tourist, to whom an Italian monk was recently showing j a consecrated lamp which bad never gone | out dnring- five centuries, gave the lamp a decided puff, and remarked, with cool complacency,. " Well, Igess it's out now." The cold in the Taupo districts has of late [ been most unseasonably severe, and on Tuesday night a frost killed pumpkins, potatoes, nasturtiums, balsams, ami other tender 1 plants. The thcmoinctci* inside the house at Lofley's baths read 39 degrees, the samenight, although the locality is considered several degrees warmer than the township of Taupo. Ruap.eb.ii is. covered with a thick coating of snow for fully a. third of its height only one or two, rocky riba being visible through it. We have received the following expression of opinion, relative to the chastisement, of John McKinney, from one of Mr Goodwin's late- pupils: — "I much regret to see Mr Goodwin accused of thrashing a boy too severely. I don't think he (John McKinney) got more than he deserved.. I have been at school nearly all the time Mr Goodwin has been there, and sometimes got a caning myself, but never more than I deserved,, or unjustly.—l am, &c., Henry Graham Snodorass. The G.S.S. Hinemoa leaves Auckland immediately on the arrival of the R.M.SAustralia. from San Francisco with about a million wldte. fish, thanks to the energetic acti6n of J. C. Firth, Esq., arrangements have been made for six boxes to. be left at this port. The principal portion of this supply will be sent to Rotorua and Taupa for distribniion over the Lake District. No delay will be occasioned in- their transmission from here Mr William Kelly having consented to place, a special conveyance on. the line for that purpose. The largest single stamp yet printed in New Zealand was shown the other day to the Auckland Herald. Its value is £7,305. It was printed specially, says our contemporary, to affix to the probate in Captain Read's- estato, the above amount being the' stamp duty assessed upon it. Captain Read*** property was estimated at under | £100,000, but the Government not being satisfied with the- valuation, Mr ! T. Cotter,, I the present Deputy-Commissioner of Stamps,, i went to Gisborne, to- investigate matters-. The- result of his. visit was an increase in the value to nearly £150,000, at which amount the estate was passed. Captain Read came to New Zealand as cook, in one of the sailing vessels, and subsequently settled at Poverty Bay, at which place, in consequence of the influence he had" obtained, he received the appellation of " King of Poverty Bay." The last relative- of Tom Hood, the poet, has just passed away.. Mrs Francis Freeland DrocUirmonly daughter of the great In conjunction with her brother, Tom Hood, the late editor of " Fun " tho deceased wroteand. published the life of her father. She was married some years ago to the Rev John Somorvillo Broderip, M.A., rector of Cbssington, Somerset, who predeceased her. There will presently be no more worlds for the electrician to conquer. The- latest discovery exactly doubles the value of the Atlantic cables. Mr Steams has managed to apply tho duplex system of telegraphy to the Anglo-American telegraphs. In other words, messages may now bo sent simultaneously on the same wire from America and from England — it ca», that is to say, be used for a double purpose at the same time. It is hoped that this invention will, largely reduce the charges, for telegraphing to> America, which have never beou what they should be, Cheaper rates would have paid better than the rates we have had to pay, because they would, without increasing the cost, have increased enormously the amount of telegraphing. The present increase of facility should enable the companies to reduce the rates by at least one-third. Until | these cables become international — and for that we shall have to wait until the Greek j kalends — they will be worked on a system ! which, instead of encouraging communication gives the greatest monetary result with the least amount of work. The Ashburton Times, of 30th ult. says : —"We received this morning a message from Australia, via Wakapuaka. It dealt; with news from Melbourne, Sydney, 'and Queensland, and was one of the more unintelligible communications of the many of the kind that have passed through onr hands. The Queensland news we could make nothing of. It ran as follows : — "Schooner Ariel from Frisco arrived Cooktown loading reports vain search reported Guinea Island Walter Phrebe Bowen Mailer arrived Cooktown China seas — Storms Venice, Madagascar reports lost latter . fifty days out. Saigon fears Ocean reaching Hong Kong after damage ashore Tnursday Island." We have made the best of the suspicious action of Surgeon CrooTcc in connection with a veal dinner at aßouvke Street restaurant, and also of tho extraordinary proceedings of a bench of licensing magistrates at Sydney. Montgomery's sentence was repeated three times in the telegram, and the arrival of Sir 11. Robinson's commission to tho governorship of New Zealand twice, upon the principle we suppose that there could not bo too much (if a good tiling. Whilst making light </!' the matter we must pro best against such carelessness in the compilation and transmission of telegraphic news. The telegram boro the .signature of the Press Association. Tho manager should sco to it." Tho cablegrams referred to read as follows : — "Groat excitement has been caused by the treatment <>[ a man admitted to the Hospital in an almost pulseless condition after eating- a veal dinner at a Collins Street restaurant. Surgeon Crook acted suspiciously. " " Nineteen magistrates refused to grant permission to transfer the licence of a now public house near Mac Gibbon's chapel. The minority of two signed the certificate, and hurried to the fcro.'isury to obtain its endorsement. The majority raced Hum there."

The natives resident, in the district ima|ft: a large present of fish and potato§|jto tlte visiting tribes on Saturday lastji^jsnd $0 usual ceremonies consequent on such a .presentation having been observed, both tribea adjourned to the Arehdoacon's Pomt, and hold a feast. The supply of fish brought by tlie natives, and which had been caught in the harbour, was almost unprecedented. » The- s.s. Katikati -will make special trips (at excursion, rates) to the- Katikati -Baoesi. Return tickets, available for one week, ss. Full particulars as to the time of leaving appears in our advertising columns* Arrangements; will be made for a hors& and trap to meet the steamer and convey passengers on to the course; ".'■•■' .'' • - There lives in New Plymouth a gentlemen. who is hungry on mechanism. 'He has bijen trying to. keep up with Edison,' the inventor; 1 by plagiarising his- ideas,' 'and 'rigging up various instruments of modenasciencev Amos- - ( quito fly -catcher, worked by clockwork', is his' latest ftim-oufc. It is very effective, the sound being sufficient- to drfre away any fly frbm coming- near it, and make 1 the healthiest ' baby destroy its lungs; He has also a phonograph for bottling up sounds, but it has one failing — it will never let them* out again, aim! to cap all, ho has seized] all the jam pots 6f his. better-half, to transform iuto..".prrenjt electricity." If anyone has' a spare garter to dispose of, they should bastow it on this genius- . . ...... The Age says : — " A dfscdvery oiTconsftfer-.' able interest to all who take an interest' in' natural history was., made, on banks, of the Mararoa River the other day. It would seem, that- a- fabbiter in tbfafi locality foiuid % bird, and on the s&engWof<'it» peculiar appearance-, he> handed it oyortb the.manageij of Captain Hankinson.'st. station.. It turns out that the bird is a. great curiosity, inasr much as there are only t\*o Other -specimens known to thescientificiWorldtvDri'BuUer.irihis. work describes ifcas norlinis, the Maori name by which it is taaditionaUy kawro*! being 'takahe.' In appearance it resembles the awampheri, but is of a 'Heavier and" lafgef| make.,. The "discovQ^ -will) prbba-Bly incite some attention amongßt r partieß.iniei»atejd,»aa search has often been made for the bird. The only two. specimens, found have been sent to England, -and* are- bow in the .British Museum. The body oKthe bird found the other day wasma.god^tat^oji preservation, and the skin has been'^takeriJ'-^ff, and its skeleton preserved mtabt," '^Q ,* % S». " Atlas" in the World says^fc^^^he *'state of expectation in. which,,vtibie, < .public. mind allows itself to behfiM^th^referenc^^thd so-called ' devisabillfy' of the' electric ligh| by Mr Edison is somewnlvf surprising, "seeing that. all the- ti.mei^this/devisabilityjis pfait accompli in. England,, as ; may be witn|s|ed and tested any night of the week at tiie Times printing-office 1 .. Arni^d"with. anorder for this purpose,. I wens ; .there< the- other evening ; and this is what I saw.. From, gaslight we merged into whaifc seemfed a- flood df daylight, wluch came foomi, six. small lamps placed at intervals rouhd^ a large room, in wliich compositors and others i were busy at work. These lamps, were 'so. suspended as to be raised and lowered at will. In. compliance with the wish of one' ofHhe' gentlemen present, one of these lights, selected, at hs^aid it* remained puli^^"wmwS^tSl^s^girftSr perceptible increase fii the Volume of light in the other lamps. Then- another lighi^ at a distance was treated- iH'a'sHnUar manner; and with a like result. These two were then re-lit by a turn of the' tap- tHo 'reverie way, and turned on. full, power. , Then, one was ; slightly ' lowered,.' so to give about a <^ird of its full light, as with 'ordinary gas.-*- In. short, we found there a uaefuj ?. n( i agreeable { h'ght,, which can be moderated and arranged . to suit all circums'taiicesi. This, is the ; Rapieff lights lam no electreciao, and shall ' not attempt to give ' a. technical description \ of the' apparatus employed f but iVseemsjto; possess great simplicity. Mr Rapietff says [ ho can burn' ten h'ghts in on 6 circuit >tthat ' his barbpns will /buxn for fcenhpurs ; that; they can be easily renewed, and without ex- . tinguishing- the lights. 'He further estimates its comparative cost with gas as less than a a third. His statements may be taken for ] what they are worth ;' but judging from ; what. I actually, saw. in Times, office, I, should say the sooner gas shareholders begin to ' hedge ' by, .investing , in , electric light. shares the better." . „ M ■■'' i . / , i •-■• ) Several additions have beea made to our "wanted "'advertisements.. ' ']'' '

The steam launcli La, Buo^a. Ventura \eill leave here for the Katikati Races at O.o'clqck to-morrow morning; , Return \ ticket? 5a each, will be available until Sajfcutdayj.next.