The Press. TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1867.

Press, Volume XI, Issue 1385, 16 April 1867, Page 2

The Press. TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 1867.

respectively ; also, that Sergeant Slattery has been appointed Inspector of Slaughter-houses for the Knnieri district, and that the license ol Thomas Watson, waterman, at Fort Lyttelton has been cancelled. Easter Monday and Tuesday are proclaimed public holidays. The statement of the receipts and expenditure ol the Native Feserve Fund, Oreymouth, ioi the years ISRS and 1566, signed by Commissioner Mackav, has been published for general ' information. " The quarterly return of diseases sheep, the return of sheep inspected during the month of March, and the return of seaborne sheep during the same month, are alsc published. Hkathcote Election.— The election of r member to supply the seat in tho Provinm Council, vacated by Mr Joshua Strang. Williams, took place yesterday at noon, a the Road Board office, Ferry road. At the appointed hour (noon) there were only fivi electors on the ground, and consequently th, election was a very tamo affair. Mr \\ m Wilson proposed, and Mr George Duncai seconded, Mr J. S. Williams for re-election and there being no other candidate M Williams was declared duly elected. M ? Williams returned thanks, and remarked tha it was the third time he had been returnee within the last nine months. Mr Wilson hat • said that as a member of the Executive h< would have greater power to do good for then than as a private member, but the Govern 1 ment were at present short of money and wen i laboring under exceedingly great difficulties but he hoped that their acts would b< ' such, if they did not give satisfactior to nil, at least to nllow of the opinion that thej had done the best they could. Mr Williams tliei ' stated that it was his belief that Provincial i Governments would soon be done away with and he hoped that in the meantime all legis 1 lation would be carried on without any partj s feeling* He proposed a vote of thanks to tin Returning Officer, which having been carried the meeting adjourned. Mc Hamilton on Phrenology. —Mi i Hamilton gave ano'her lecture on this subjec i last evening, to an audience which he himsel considered too small, stating that he could ge < as many people to hear him in Kaiapoi as ii . Christchurch. But if he had reason to com plain of them, we think that they also mighi ' grumble a little at the time he kep i them waiting for the chance of th< room getting fuller. The special subject a 1 the lecture was an inquiry into those qualitiei which are required to produce successfu clergymen, lawyers, and statesmen. He in 1 tended this to be chiefly a demonstrate • lecture, and was willing to examine head: blindfold ; but he would not under this dis advantage examine people with no character i meaning by that, no force of characters,nothing to distinguish them from the common herd: If he had the town councillors and othei leading men before him he felt that he should be able to go on better. Clergymen ought tc have the domestic affections very strongly developed, in order to enable them to touch other people's feelings, and he put it to the audience whether such men of family life as he described did not make the best ' preacherß. Combativeness is also necessary for them, to enable them to fight the devil. Nor without destructiveness can there be any sufficient power of declamation. A man who merely reads liia sermon may be morally in earnest, but has not the same energetic work in him The lecturer had observed in all good preacherß whom he had heard that their heads were large and well rounded at the base of the brain. His benevolence would be very useful to the preacher, but would fail him in times of pestilence and other great troubles ; if he had not also destructiveness to enable his feelings to harmonize with the the sad scenes around, be would be unnerved. His destructiveness was given him to revolutionize the moral world with. Large self esteem was necessary, next veneration should predominate over it. This was not the case with Mr " Satan " Montgomery, whom the lecturer had seen and heard; his head displayed great self-esteem, but no veneration, and his preaching was in accordance with this formation Love of approbation, which is in its highest form a deeiro to reciprocate those qualities which arj needed to carry out the objects of society, is also necessary. Many men become teachers of the people without having either power or dignity. If the clergyman's veneration, and faith, and hope, are active, these organs will speak for themselves in language not to be misunderstood. Coming next to the lawyers, the lecturer remarked that the advocate required very different qualities from the judge. He must be warm and eloquent, and his social feelings ought to be strong, so that, by throwing himself into the feelings of the jurora, he might carry their sympathies with him. An attorney, on the other hand, must have the organ of secretiveness largely developed. He is the guardian and counsellor of the public as to their possessions in those matters to which they have not had time to give sufficient attention for themselves. If law did not present itself as a power and barrier to ordinary men, the result would be anarchy and violence. He thought that lawyers were underrated. A lawyer is held up to scorn if he show a want of conscientiousness, by people who forget that in nine other men out of ten this quality is very weak. How many men are more greedy than just, more selfish than just, and far more knowing than just; nevertheless the great defect in law is that we have seldom good lawyers. Many men consult the phrenologist as to whether they are fitted for the law. He ought in most cases to answer that they have not sufficient breadth of view, or judgment, or talent. It is an insult to law to Bet a common man to work at it. The lawyer requires in a high degree caution, reserve, refection, and application. The lecturer rose to real eloquence in speaking of the qualifications of statesmen. He told the public that they were far too easily pleased tvith their law-givers. He said, nevertheess, that a careful study of the members isseirbled at Wellington had convinced him di at as a whole the New Zealand Parliament (vas far superior to any in the South seas, rhat there was much solid energy and much ndependence to be found amongst its men>ers, although unfortunately there was not lufficient union and concentration in the body. Ie Here spoke at length on the advantage of :entralization over provincialism, and judging rom the applause, seemed to carry his audience vith him. Little reflection was needed to oake local petty laws to last for a year or wo. Men with small heads were equal o that, but to legislate for posterity, high ualities were required. He drew a parallel ietween ancient and modern states and statesnen, pointing out that the ancient Greeks eclared entirely for provincialism. Not one f the Greek or Roman patriots ever struggled )r the common rights of man, or for any bject, as free trade ; but even their heroes howed the greatest narrowness of view and to all outside their own state in their atriotism. The lecturer concluded by remarklg that justice could not be done in a single >cture to these varied subjects. He stated lat his plans for forming a private class had een put out by the late fire ; but that he was ow anxious, if he could obtain twenty or ;venty-five pupils, to form one immediately, le hoped that any gentleman desirous of lining would give him notice before the end f the week, as his continued stay in the provice depended on whether he succeeded or ot in his endeavor to form a class.

Veby great dissatisfaction is expressed and with very good reason, at th< wholesale rejection of claims sent ii this year by persons desirous of having their names placed on the electora rolls. It generally happens that a gooc many claims are rendered invalid bj some mistake in filling up the lega form, but on this occasion the numbei is something extraordinary. Of al the claims sent in, not more than onethird in Christchurch, and in othei districts we believe a still smallei proportion, have been accepted bj the Registration Oflicer as in accordance with the requirements ol the Act. The mistake seems to have occurred in the attestation clause appended to the form, the majority of those desiring to register their names not understanding that the signature of the claimant had to follow at the end of that clause, as well as to be inserted in the body of the form and where specially directed in the beginning of the attestation clause. We do not dispute tho decision of the Eegistration Oflicer that the omission of this signature invalidates the claim, but the mistake is a very natural one. The form given in the schedule of the Act should have been more explicit. There is nothing in it to lead a person unaccustomed to legal documents to suppose that the repetition of his signature was required before that of the witness. The direction for the signatures should have been given between brackets and in italics, like those for inserting tht names of the claimant and district. But we should like to know why i man should not be allowed to registei bis vote without going through this elaborate and confusing formality Every year it happens that manj persons who are entitled to a vote have their claims rejected from some error in the form of application—it may be, not in the least affecting its sense or meaning; and are thus debarred for mother twelvemonth, no matter what emergency may arise, from taking any part, or giving effect to any expression sf opinion on, any political matter, jither General or Provincial. This 3 an undoubted grievance. The aw says that every man who has i certain stake in the country ;hall have a right to a vote —that is to my, to the privilege of exercising a :ertain amount of iufluence on the lirection of public affairs; and the Legislature has no business" to inter>ose between him and hij right the tecessity of correctly executing a comdicated form, and so in many cases (radically disfranchise him. For that 3 what the system hitherto in force eally does ; it every year deprives of he franchise a number of persons idio possess the legal qualification and >aye a right to have their names daced on the electoral roll. A system rbich produces such result surely tands self-condemned. We never could see why a written r formal claim should be necessary at 11. Why should not a man be allowed 3 walk into the office and register his ote, just as he registers the birth of a hild ? Or if a claimant finds it more onvenient to make a written applicaion, provided the full name and the ature of the qualification are given

and the property on account of whicl the vote is claimed is sufficiently iden tilled, however informally it may bt done, the Registration Officer woulc have no difficulty in entering the vott under its proper heading. He woulc have a little more trouble than he hat now, but that is merely a question o salary ; nor if the extra trouble wen adequately remunerated would then be any cause of complaint or an} difficulty in getting the work done But the present method, which causes so many votes to be lost, must b< altered. We hope to see the matte: taken up in the next session of th< General Assembly.

Phe West Coast Times, replying to ou remarks on the singular composition c the Westland Commission as a bod; to which the settlement of the out standing accounts between the eas md west divisions of the province wa to be entrusted, states, firstly, that th juestion of the disputed account is no to be submitted to the present Com mission, and secondly, that it wa never intended to form any part of th duties of the Commission at all. A to the first point, we can only say w ire glad to hear it; but as to th second, our contemporary is alto pettier mistaken. The Governmen luring the session of the Provincia Council never expressed the sligates intention of appointing more than on Commission, and the allocation of th iebt was invariably represented a itnong the most important of it duties. Thus we find the Provincia Secretary, when first mentioning it i the Council, speaking as follows :— ' With regard to the debt due fr Eastland, the Commission to which h 'eferred would be instructed to con aider the expenditure causing it, ant authority would be given then* t< entertain any objection as to omis sions and commissions which migh be brought forward by any partj in order to obtain a fair judgment o what they considered justly due * * the matter would be gone into fullj in order that all the amounts fairlj chargeable to the West and Easi Coasts could be decided upon." Anc again later in the session, after liis retirement from and resumption o: office, the Provincial Secretary, in t debate on the AVestland Estimates after speaking of the Commission at having " to enquire into such matters as would facilitate the working of th« Government on that side and report during the recess," continued : " There were other things which would alsc have to be enquired into, chief of which was the allocation of the debt. It would be their duty to see what was fairly chargeable to the West Coast and report to the Government, when whatever was found due on a proper consideration of the circumstances would be taken from the West Coast. Very possibly the account would remain as it stood at present, or it might be materially diminished, or possibly even increased." We cannot of course say what are the instructions given to the present Commission, but in the face of the above statements and in the absence of any official information to the contrary, we think we are justified in assuming that the Commission is to do what the Government always declared it was intended to do, namely, to decide what amount Westland stands indebted to this side of the province.

Skating- Rink—The new speculation in which Mr Kohler has entered promises to be \\ favorable one. Coker's Hall, in which the rink ie situated, being nightly well attended. Council Obdinances. — We hare been favored by the Provincial Secretary with a copy of the Ordinances of the Province of Canterbury passed during the session of 1866-7. West Coast Traffic. —The total number of sheep driven past the Eangiriri station, on their road to Hokitika, during the week ended April 10, was 750.. They were in three mobs of 400, 150, and 200 each. No cattle have passed that way during the week. Human Remains. —On Saturday last the workmen engaged in excavating that part of Oxford street opposite Mr Alfred Rhodes' house, Lyttelton, discovered a human jaw bone, ■which, from its shape and general appearance, leaves no doubt that its original owner was a Maori, and from the state of the only tooth left in the jaw it must have belonged to an aged person. Coach Accident. —An accident occurred to Messrs. Cobb and Co.'s coach, which started from Lyttelton on nine a.m. yesterday morning, ou reaching the bottom of the on the Sumner side, by the breaking of the buck axle-tree. Fortunately none of the passengers were injured. The driver returned to Lyttelton, and started again for Suinner with a fresh coach. Sale of Pube-bbed Rams, &c. —We have been requested to call attention to the important sale of pure-bred rams and ewes which Messrs Matson and Co. will hold at Barnard's on Wednesday, the 17th instant, consisting of Lincolns bred by Dr. Brown, South Australia ; Cotswolds by J. Brown and Co, Victoria; Leicestere by James and Thomas, and by Field j Romney Marsh by Ludlam; and six Leicester rams by T. Brown, of Norfolk. Bub&lary.—At an early hour yesterday morning the stores of Mr Henry Montgomery were broken open, and a considerable amount of loss was sustained, although not by actual theft. It appears that by the removal of a pane of glass in one of the windows of the back premises,access was obtained to the main building, and not finding there any easily portable property, the thieves broke into the private office ; but being there again unsuccessful, they started all the taps in the various casks running, and then decampedProvincial Government Gazette. —A Gazette was published yesterday which contains the information that Mr. A. K. Matson has been elected a member of the Provincial Council for the Seadown district, and that Mr T. W. Maude and Mr L. C. Thomson have resigned their seats for Heathcote and Timaru a