THE Bay of Plenty Times.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume X, Issue 1046, 28 May 1881, Page 2

THE Bay of Plenty Times.

;'" U ISE SPIBJT OF m VU&. SHAU TEAW ME SPEED." XJ£ ' f KIMC JOHW. J ACT IV ; -; SATURDAY, "MAY 28,' 1881.

If the reports that reach iis from Wellington are to b« relied on, an important measure involving considerable constitutional reform will be introduced in Parliament during the I approaching session. It ia said to be no less than a Kill for the ¥e-constitution oJ the Legislative Council on the basis of- election by the House of Representative's, instead oF "hominatfon by the Government of the day t 'J he latter is supposed to represent the will of the majority of the Lower House, but under the now system (ill vacancies would be filled by direct vote of tlieKejirfiaentatiyes on motion' after' due Notice in tUe ordinary form. 'I he hize of the Council, however, is to be limited to luilf tlie nm»bev of members in the Lower House. At present through the death of several Oonnefltora, tlw; retirement of Sir Dillon Bell, &0., there is a considerable deficiency whioh would thus be filled in by resi/iution (^f tlie Mouse of Representatives. Under thfs .system the Council c«)iill never exceed i\ standard strength, and.no (Wernnicnt could theroft>re swamp an- opj)osition t>y croatinj»new peora. In addition to the two changes as to the number of the Council ami the mode of election, it is reported there is to be one dealing with deadlocks between the two Houses. "The proposal in case of deadlocks U that should concurrences' prove impossible to be obtained in one session., both Houses should sit together tho following session and decide the question hy an absolute majority of the aggregate o.f the two Houses. Rumour farther states should tho men.su re meet with much opposition, tho Govern m<Mifr would content themselves with introducing tho "Bill, leaving the question over till the general election, so that the people may have time to oonsider it in all its bearings. A radical change of this nature should be adopted only after the most careful comi.lcratiou, and in response to a general expression of public opinion, neither of which can be said to exist in the present instance. The change might seriously endanger the balance of power, and ultimately result in tho entire abolition of the Upper House. Wo have too much confidence in the good sense of Mr Hall and his colleagues to believe that they i would seek to pass such a sweeping measure ! through tho House without giving the con- ' stituencies the fullest opportunity of expressing their views on its character. No doubt the country is not content with the Council j as it exists, and some change is desirable, but that it would be for the benefit of the colony to make the Goucillon? the. nominees of tho House of K eproscntaiives, and thus practically reduce that second estate to a mere recorder of the acts.ofthe Representatives, is a 'question' whi6h Ye * should hesitate to answer in the affirmative. At any rate 1 we do not think that anything will be done to. give effect to the proposed changes before the

next oleotion, so that the constituencies will in the mean time have ,tho fullest opportunity of expressing their opinions. Other measures, said to 'be in of incubation, are, one for facilitating, tho working and amalgamation of local bodies, and one for promoting the construction of important railways by ' private companies aided by grants of land. '1 ho Representation Bill also will bo introduced by the Government. We do; nob hear, anything ajjouta measure for reforming tho \\'aste : Lands Boards, lhis is a question on which public opinion is unanimous, and it is hoped that tho session will not be allowed to pass • without* any attempt being made to wipe away a system that so impedes tho settlement, and in other ways injuriously affects the interests of the Colony.' ' ' "

The Australian mails Via Brindisdi were delivered in London on Monday. Mr Joseph Ivots, proprietor of the Waikato Mail, advertises the paper for sale or lease. The a,s. Piakb and the cutter Rover have arrived at tho Canaan landing on the Kajtuna river. Encko'a comet, which was first seen by Pong, on the 20th November, 1818, should be visible some of these nights, Tenders for erecting 150 ohains of double ditch and bank at Te Puke will be received at this offioe up to. noon on Monday. Ihe Roslyn 'I ranyway Company, Dunedin, have refused by a majority of 17*28 votes to 1048 to sCllow'eavs to b6vun On Sundays. A comet has appealed, iv our sky. It lias a short tail of about o degrees in length, and a head comparatively bright and well-formed. Mr R. C. Jordan is to leave town to-day for the I hantcs with GO head of fat oattlc'to be offered at his auction sale, there next Week. Two thousand Chinamen employed on the Pacific railroad in Nebraska have struck for higher wages. Soyioi\a rioting hast taken place, . ■ The .cutter . Louisa is advertised by Mr Thomas YVrigley as open to carry timber from the saw nulls to the. usual landing at Te Puke, . Messrs Turner and Buddlo will sell by public Ruction under.d istress for rent at their auction mart to-day, a quantity ot saddlery and harness, I A paddook, containing 7 acres 1 rood and 24 jxirohes, at Christchurch, adjoining the new cricket ground, 1£ mile from the centre of the town, was sold in 54 lots for £7410, or from £776 to. £28jQ2 per acre. The condition of Ireland continues to cause grave anxiety to the Government, and six flying i( C,olumna of troops have been organised to assist in enforcing the service of wiits in disaffected districts. The balance-sheet for the County of Tauranga for the half-year ending iviarch 31st, 18S-1, for the year, ending on the same date, as well as a statement of assets and liabilities ■vviU be published iv <wy next issue^ At a ooinuufcteo meeting of the Athletic Club held last night, it was agreed that entries for the handicap events in the sports to be held on June 18, be received at the Tauranga Hotel, at 7*30 on June 10. At the meeting of the Waste Lands Board on 1 hursday a letter was received from Canon Johnston recommending the grafting of a Crown grant, to. John Hamilton, who had fulfilled the necessary conditions. The application was granted* The cutter Tokerau arrived at this port last night from Mercury Bay, with a cargo of 32,200 feet of timber. She report passing the schooner Caledonia off lvatikati, twentyeight days out from tho Islanda, bound for Auckland.. Tho Caledonia reports all well on board, Mr 11. C Jordan intimates that he intends to offer for sale by auction on Saturday uoxt a number of superior horses, including a puro bred Clydesdale entire ; also a cow in calf, and a heifer. lhe animals are the property of Mr S. Martin, and are well worth the attention of persons wanting such stock. The posts and •.•coils for fencing in the High School reserve, adjoining the .Domain Ground are on the ground, and we notice the workhaa been commenced, Thegrouudis being .fenced in under the Domain hoard, to whom the 'ground has been handed over until in may be required for the purpose for which it was gazetted. Mr Fletcher .Johnston, son of Mr Justice Johnston, says tho Eccniny Pod of the 17th instant,; was admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court of New Zealand before J 1 is. Honor the Chief Justice this morning,' 1 his young gentleman ia nephew of Mrs Brown, wife of the Yeuerable Archdeacon Brown of Tauranga. Attention is drawn to Messrs Turner and Buddies sale of furniture, Sec, at the residences of Rev P. S. May and Mrs Hcwitson (adjoining), Devon port lload, on 'I hursday, the 2nd June, instead of Friday, 3rd Juno, as previously advertised, 'ihe goods, which are of a superior (quality, will btf on view in Wednesday, tho day previous to the sale. Mr Worcester arrived here from 1 Waipa pa yesterday with a flock of 2,000 sheep for Mr Alley of "the Thames. The sheep arc all in first-class condition, and were paddocked for the night at the Racecourse. Mr Worcester has boon thirty days on the road, the weather being bad and food scarce. Ue leaves again to-day, and he expects to reach the Thames iv a week. Private advices received in Australia state that two daughters, Catherine ,and Kliza, and' James, the son cf r Kennedy, .the Scotch vocalist (who is well known in New Zealand), were burned to death in the theatre at Nico. The bodies were afterwards dis-. tinctly recognised by their brother -Robert, who was at Milan at the time, 'ihey were studying under Signor Lamperti. A daring Fenian outrage has been perpetrated at Liverpool, an attempt having 'jeen made to blow up the police station. A dynamite bomb was employed and tho explosion was a terrific one, being heard all over, the city. Fortunately no lives ■were sacrificed, but considerable injury was done to the station The windows wero all smashed by tho concussion and the building was other* wise damaged. 'J he perpetrator of the out- ' rage has not been discovered. Visitors recently staying at Lake House, Rotorua- I—Mys1 — Mys and Miss Could, Pia'jo ; lion H,Marsham,London; Mr W. A. Gould, Edinburgh; Uuv R. W, Young, Sydney ; Mr W. Grace, Waikato ; Mrßurt, Waikato; Mr Ferns, Napier; MrandMrsGliambcrlfne, Kngland ;Mr 1 1 .. OhamberMnc- and servant, England ; Jndgo Symonds, Onehunga ; Mr Austin, Auckland; Enoka te VYhanake, Taurauga; Mr It. Smith* Scotland; Mr W. Guise, England; Mr J. K Gladstone, England; Mr J. On*, Ashbnrfcon ; Mr Synott, Melbourne; Mrs and Miss Me Donald, 'anno; Judge Manning* Taupo ; Mr-L. Grace, Taupo; Mr A. Mitchell, Taupo. Quite a little- township U growing up round the sulphur works at Archdeacon's Point. 'Besides these works which are themselves large and substantial buildings, four new houses have been Tecently erected. Mr Wilson has also established a firewood yard with steam engine and circular saw for cutting the wood into required lengths. The yard is connected with tho end of the wharf by a tramway, so that timber can be landed at a comparatively small cost. Iljo road leading from tho Sulphur works to town lias recently been greatly improved by the Town Board and is now in lir-st-class condition* and no difficulty is experienced in carting. The prospectus of the Sulphur Company now being formed in Sydney may bo expected to bo published shortly, and we hope before long to bo able .to notify the commencement of operations -pi^ .an extensive scale. -We understand, however, that before' work can be started the retorts will have to bo rfeerccted and several minor alterations effected on the premises,

Great numbers of people in Christchurch aro suffering from cold or influenza. 'The Quce|n of Madagascar soon after her conversion to. Christianity liberated 50,000 slaves. % , " At the colonial wool sales, in London on Tuesday 9,100 bales were offered..— -i lie tone of the bidding wa3 strong. . Writs for Grey Valley and Nelson city have been issued* The former is made returnable for the 22nd of June and the latter for the. 15th of June. The next English mail via .San Francisco is due in Auckland by contract date on Monday, and the Tauranga portion may be expected torcach here por s.a. Wellington on Wednesday. The death is announced of the Right ITon Sir W, P. Adam, governor of Madras. The deceased gentleman was long one of the Scottish representatives in the House of Commons, and had recently been appointed to the Governorship of Madras. The members of the Tauranga Football Club will meet as Visual on the Domain Ground this afternuon, when teams will be picked from those present. Members intending to play should be on the ground early, as the kick off is to take place at 2.30 sharp. Wo regret to have to announce that the health of the Venerable Archdeacon Brown is causing considerable uneasiness to his friends. The Venerable gentleman is confined to bed suffering from an attack of bronchitis. News of his convalescence will be awaited with much anxiety by the people of auranga and the district generally, by whom he is held in the highest esteem. ,