The Press. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1867.

Press, Volume XII, Issue 1542, 16 October 1867, Page 2

The Press. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1867.

The one measure on which the Government unmistakably broke down during the session of the General Assembly just coucluded was the Local Government Act. In other respects they were on the whole, notwithstanding a vast amount of desultory opposition, very fortunate. The measures involving questions oi Ministerial policy that were brought forward during the session were indeed tut few, but with this one. exception they were well received by the House and passed by large majorities. We omit the scheme for the consolidation of loans, since that was so loudly demanded from all quarters as to have become a matter of necessity, and must have been taken up by any Government, irrespective of political considerations ; but the repeal of the Surplus Revenues Act, the new system for dividing the revenue between the General Government and the provinces, and the administrative machinery contained in .the Public Eevenues Act, all these were Government measures in the ordinary sense of the word —measures, that is, involving a policy which had been framed by the Government as most suited to the state of public affairs, and for which they alone were responsible. All these passed, as we said, by large majorities, but the Local Government Act was less fortunate. Yet, though the Government did not choose to stake their existence on it, it was fully as much a Ministerial measure as any we have mentioned. It was devised to meet what was with justice considered one of the most pressing wants of the country, its advent had been announced, a little ostentatiously, at the close of the previous session, and it had naturally therefore been regarded as meant to indicate the line of policy which Government in dealing with the internal affairs of the colony intended to pursue. However, the end was that tic Bill came to

grief. It encountered violent opposition, and met with but lukewarm support. Ministers themselves seemed to care little about it, and on the second reading it was thrown out by a majority of nine. The real reason for the defeat of this Bill is not difficult to discover. There were indeed many minor objections to it. It was not a good Bill nor well drawn—too complicated and confused, and wrapped up in legal phraseology to a degree quite past any ordinary understanding. Besides, with something of the mistaken kindness of King Saul when he insisted on David going to battle dressed in his armour, it loaded the outlying districts with a machinery beyond their requirements, and too cumbrous for their use. Difficulties also presented themselves over the endowment clauses, and as to the possibility of paying to the District Boards the sums promised them in the Bill, and from what sources the money was to be derived. It must in fairness be admitted that there was great difficulty in framing a Bill of this kind as n ncasure, and dovetailing anw.\ :•; :-ic;u into an old one —sewing a new piece of what is called " centralism " on to the old raiment of provincialism. But all these matters, though they may have damped the ardour of the supporters of the Bill, or even have swelled the number of its opponents, were not decisive. The Bill was nut rejected on these grounds. It was thrown out simply because it was regarded as an attempt to get rid of provincial institutions by a side wind, and because the colony, or at least the House of Representatives, was not prepared for the change. Later in the session a great alteration was manifest in the feeling of the House. That rampant provincialism, and readiness to suspect a design on provincial institutions in every word or look of the Government, had died away. It became possible at last to legislate for the protection of the outlying districts against the injustice they so unanimously complained of, if not without strong opposition, yet without fear of being summarily put down by a crowd of furious provincialists with minds made up to vote, with reason or without, against every proposal of the kind. The first intimation of this change was the success of the Timaru Bill. That Bill was identical in principle with the Local Government Act, the only difference being that the one conferred certain powers on a particular district, which the other made general throughout the whole colony. Yet the same House which had thrown out the first by a large majority passed the second by a majority still larger. So strong was the reaction from the ultra-provincialism of the beginning of the session that it is not improbable, if the rules of the House had allowed the Local Government Bill to have been brought in again in a simpler form, that it would have been carried. An opportunity of effecting the same end by other means did offer itself, but was unfortunately neglected. The Government might have taken out of the Public Revenues Act the clauses relating to the payments to provinces and made them into a separate Act, (a much better arrangement than disfiguring a permanent Act by introducing provisions of a merely temporary character,) and added to them clauses enforcing the payment of a proportion of the land revenue to the districts within which it is raised after the manner provided in the Local Government Act. We should have been glad to have seen such an experiment tried. Something of the kind was suggested, if we remember rightly, but the Government declined to accede to it. ! But the Bill that exhibited the change w T e have alluded to most strongly was the County of Westland Bill, which did not only make a district to some extent independent of the Provincial' Government, but actually cut it off from the province altogether and brought it under the direct authority of the General Government. We look on this Westland Bill as one of the most important measures of " the whole session, because it is the first attempt at supplying a form of government which shall take the place of provincial institutions as the latter gradually die out. We have published the Bill at full length, and our readers are no doubt well aware of the system it introduces —the powers of the Superintendent vested in the Governor, with authority to delegate them at pleasure; an elected Council to advise and assist the officer to whom they are delegated in the administration and in the expenditure of public money, but without legislative powers; and Road Boards all over the country for the management of local public works. Such in brief is the system which is to be brought into force in the new county of Westland, and if it works successfully we may expect to see it at no distant period in operation over a large part of the colony. It is no secret that the present financial year will see the dissolution of several

of the provinces, and their affairs thrown on the General Government. The representatives of Taranaki and Auckland have openly stated as much with respect to their own provinces in their places in the Assembly; while negotiations are said to have taken place between the Auckland members and the General Government with the view of having Auckland declared a eouuty, which were frustrated only by the resistance of the Superintendent. As for the small provinces, the offspring of the New Provinces Act, they have been in difficulties more or less from their birth, and cannot possibly survive many months louger. Now it is a question whether changes on so extensive a scale can occur without bringing about 'some corresponding changein other provinces. If an efficient and economical system of administering public affairs is once established, the provincial system as now existing, with its immense expenditure, cannot live alongside it. This is a matter" on which tho public are greatly concerned. The oiily way in which New Zealand can bo relieved from its load of taxation is by rearranging the form of government on a simpler footing. That is the point to look to. Our present cumbrous machinery, useful as it has been, has pretty nearly worn itself out, and it remains for the people to say whether it "shall be continued after the purposes for which it was originally formed have been accomplished. It cannot last much longer. A revolution is plainly at hand; aud the people, if they are wise, will insist on the change being worked, as it may be worked, so as to relieve them of some considerable portion of their present burdens. The Lyttelton Times made a singular mistake yesterday and appropriated to its own use an article which was evidently intended for the columns of the JPress. The sentiments contained in that article were, however, so admirable, and so well expressed, that we do not much wonder at our contemporary's inability to resist the temptation of passing them off on the public as his own. We entirely agree that the dissatisfaction evinced by a large portion of the public of Canterbury with provincial institutions is caused by the painfully obvious I incompetency of the Provincial Government; that the outlying districts! have been systematically deprived by the Government of their fair share of! the public revenue, voted to them by j the Provincial Council; that though for the last two years the injustice done to j Timaru in the expenditure of public money has been formally admitted by the Superintendent himself, no steps have been taken to remedy that injustice, that promises have been made only to be broken, and sums of money placed on the estimates and voted by the Council for necessary public works at Timaru, only to be spent in defiance of appropriation elsewhere ; that the public affairs of Canterbury have been conducted for some time past with a blundering neglect of the necessities of the province, with an extravagant expenditure on unnecessary objects, and with a general inefficiency and want of guiding power that prove the Executive to be altogether incapable for the places they occupy. All these statements are made in the article we refer to, and in them all we entirely concur. These are the very facts to which we have to the best of our ability been calling public attention all along, and it is gratifying to find everything that has from time to time appeared in our columns so fully confirmed. No form of Government can last long which makes itself contemptible. During the last session of the Provincial Council we warned them that " the incompetence of the present Executive, so constantly and so conspicuously displayed, was bringing the Provincial form of government into contempt by making it ridiculous in the eyes of the public." Now we are told that " the antagonism that has sprung up against, the Provincial form of government " "has " in the minds of reasonable men, free from passion or prejudice, been mainly produced by the failings or incompetency of those in power." "We accept that assurance as an endorsement of our previous remarks. We will not enlarge on the fact that the Lyttelton Times is wise only after the event; that it invariably rebuked and ridiculed our appeals on behalf of the outlying districts; that it did all in its power to resist the! claims of Timaru ; that it has on all occasions acted as the partizan of the Provincial Government, and has vigorously defended in detail all those actions which it now condemns just as strongly en masse. The more irresistible must be the evidence that has wrought such a conversion; and the more valuable, as coming from a constant opponent, is the testimony to the truth of our criticism on, the conduct of the Government, and to the exact fulfilment of our\ warnings. It is something to meet with go complete an aeknowledg-i ment that the result ha 3 borne out! our prediction, and to find all that we have been asserting for months past

re-echoed by those who hitherto have most warmly opposed us. We receive yesterday's article in the Lyttelton Times as a cheering sign that our labour has not been in vain. The bread we have cast ou the waters of Opposition has returned to us after tnauv days.

Coker's Gardens.—Coker's grounds were yesterday evening opened to the public. Mr Button's band volunteered their services for the occasion, and there was a large attendant* Tho arrangements were well carried out, and no doubt daring the summer evenings this place of recreation will be well patronised.

High School Lectures—The Provmcia. Geologist, Dr. Haast, F R.S., gave last evening in the old Town Hall the first of a series of sis lectures to the pupils of the High School on geology. The hall was filled by the pupils and "their friends. Mr Tuncred, the Chairman of the Board of Education, occupied the chair. The lecturer in hi* opening remarks stated that he had great pleasure in acceding to the wishes of the j directors of the High School to repent the series of three lectures given last year,' and to add three more to the course. No one could expect that his young hearers would become geologists merely by listening to such lectures as he was about to give, but he hoped to be able to explain to them the rudiments of the science in such a manner as would interest them in future studies, and enable them to follow up the study systematically. He hoped that if he were not clearly understood his hearers would have no diffidence, after the lecture was over, in applying to him for any explanation. There was another difficulty he had to overcome, viz, to avoid using long and hard names. Many of the terms he would be compelled to use were technical, find hud been invented for the purpose of explaining objects or phenomena nor, previously expressed or known in any language before geology became a science. If a person entered the workshop of an artizan he could not be expected to know the names of all his tools and the use made of them, and so with geology there were certain rudiments which they must overcome before they could make any progress in the science. He regretted that, owing to the want of accommodation in his offices, he was not enabled to give his lectures there, where he would have had at his command a greater number of specimens to illustrate his remarks, and so perhaps do away with the necessity of making use of some of the hard words. The first question likely to be asked was, —What is geology ? Geology was the study of the great work of Nature, and if we except astronomy, it takes the highest rank of all human knowledge. Astronomy makes us acquainted with the laws by which the universal system is governed. Geology treats of the scarcely less sublime laws of the planet which we inhabit. He did not wish to exalt the science unduly, but. he wished to point out what a great scope there was, and what great knowledge could be obtained by a constant study of the science. As yet very few persons took the trouble to study the matter, and the consequence was that, many were losers. He instanced a case in which a gentleman had sent from a great distance to Christchurch to procure lime when limestone was abundant at his own door. A slight knowledge of geology would have saved him many pounds. Geology was not so difficult as many considered, and the study of it offered sources of recreation and enjoyment scarcely to be found in any other science ; a superficial knowledge tvould often assist in a practical point of view in carrying out great undertakings. It had been argued that geology was of too late a date to rank as a science, but he would remind them that geology could only begin to exist after all the other physical sciences had advanced considerably towards perfection. It was not until the chemist had explained the component parts of rocks that the geologist could commence his researches. The lecturer then reviewed the different theories that had been advanced as to the formation of the earth, and the gradual development of the different strata. There could be no doubt but that a portion of the centre of the globe was in an incandescent state from the fact that volcanoes were continually throwing up liquid lava, and also that the deeper we descend into the earth the greater becomes the heat. The lecturer then gave an account of the manner in which the truth of his last assertion had been obtained, and stated that the artesian wells sunk in Christchurch furnished a proof of it. He also explained the different means which had been taken not only to obtain the weight of the globe, its exact size, and the thickness of the crust outside of the incandescent mass, which had been variously estimated at from fifty to 800 miles. Dr. Haast then gave a"description of the geological formation of the province from Banks Peninsula to the West Coast, and explained the manner in which the hills and. plains had been formed. The lecturer concjuried by giving an account of the formation of the sedimentary rocks, Hiid stated that in his next lecture he would explain their characteristics, how they were deposited, and what fossils they contained. At the conclusion of the lecture a vote of thanks was passed to Dr. Haast. The next lecture will take place on Friday evening.

HoETlcn-IiTtJEAL SociETV. — The first monthly meeting for this season was held last evening in the new Town Hall, Mr Wilson in the chair. The Chairman, in a few remarks, congratulated the society on the resumption of these monthly meetings, and hoped that the essays brought forward from time to time by the members would be a source of improvement to each other in procuring the advancement of gardening in the province, and also by developing the beautiful in nature*b\ the assistance of art. He would therefore call upon Mr Greenaway to read his essay on " The fertilization of (lowers " The essayist in the course of his remarks traced in a very lucid manner the knowledge and progress to which our forefathers had attained in the art, as instanced by the numerous fine varieties of fruits which still existed amongst us, and whose history could be traced for centuries back. He also reviewed the great efforts made by the late Mr Knight, of Downton Castle, in the same cause, and pointed out what was being done at present. Our limits, however, will not permit us going to any extent into the sub ject, but with the kind permission of Mr Greenaway we intend devoting a portion of our weekly issue to the publication of the essay in full. A cordial vote of thanks was passed to Mr Greenaway. We noticed on the table cut blooms of Cantua dependens, Colutnnea Schiediana, and seedling cinerarias. After the usual vote of thanks to the Chairman the meeting separated.

Dekdgixg Pout Chalmers.—The vessel which is being built at Port Chalmers for the reception of the dredging apparatus is expected to be launched in three -weeks, when she will be towed up to Dunedin to receive her machinery, which has been stored in the city since the engine was at work in the Exhibition Building. The vessel, says the " Daily Times, is being made as strong as timber and iron, and good carpenter work, can make her, and the contract for her construction is being carried out satisfactorily by the contractor, Mr Andrew McKinnon, under the immediate supervision of Mr Hamilton, engineer, as representing the Provincial Government. When once fitted up, and fairly at work, there is little doubt that the dredge will create a revolution in the condition of the harbour, and in the arrangements connected with shipping. If judiciously employed, not only will larger vessels be enabled to enter the port, but the number of vessels of medium tonnage which will make Dunedin their destination will no doubt be considerably increased within a very few years. It is understood that, in forming a channel between Port Chalmers and Dunedin, the western side of the channel, or what is known as the short channel, is likely to be selected. That channel is of good depth, except at one part some distance below Black Jack's Point. A reef of rocks or a deposit of

boulders extends out into the channel, rendering it- both shallow and narrow ; but \t is possihlo that, by a slight deviation, thiiiupediment ituy be avoided. In the mean time, as already noticed, the little dredge at r.resent at work has effected some amount ol good, as it is now possible for the harbour steamers to get alongside the Old Jetty at ■ lead low water. At least they have been able to do so on all occasions lately, and are likely to continue, except on days when the waters of the bay may be held back by a southerly gale. The 'work which this little dredge was to perform was to remove 4000 cubic yards of stuff. Three hundred yards of this quantity were removed from alongside the old jetty, and from the gutter formed by the tritil'c of the steamers thereto. The remaining 1000 yards are being taken out in the vicinity of Rattray street jetty, and already about half the quantify has been raised, making a visihh improvement in the approach to the jetty. Though by many degrees the strongest jetty of the many with which Dunedin is provided, the R-ittray street, jetty is not likely to be much appreciated when put to use. Its considerable height makes it inconvenient for the discharge or shipment, of goods in connection with vessels of small tonnage, and the angle at which the piles are driven does not permit of even larger vessels lying closely alongside. Wiien used it cannot fail, however, to be found to b'* a valuable addition to tho cotnpar.i tively limited extent of really suitable wharfage at which the work of shipping and discharging heavy cargo lias to be carried on.

The Waiwakaiho Bhidoe. —A late number of the " Taranaki Herald," referring to the re-erection of this bridge, says—" Most of our readers are probably aware that the miin span of the bridge is to rest on four iron cylinders, which are sunk into the river bed thirteen 'feet below the low wafer line, and therefore, in all probability, be safe against the power of the heaviest freshets to undermine them. Tho means resorted to for sinking tho cylinders are as follows : —The bed of the river is first e'eared of the large stones at the spot where it is intended the end cylinder shall rest, then the foot portion of it, previously bud' on the scaffolding, is lowered into position, aim the remaining portion of the plates budt on to to it, completing the length required, viz , twenty-five feet; it is then securely stayed perpendicularly and weighted with some ten ton, a windlass is fixed and a ladder lowered into the interior of what appears to be an iron bound well ; all is then ready for the operations of the diver. Most of our readers have doubtlessly at some period of their liv-s seen pictures of that interesting race of people called the Esquimaux ; if oho of those sturdy individuals would only use a ''go ashore" instead of a hat, he would then be not a bad imitation of a "diver in full dress—a most strange looking animal is your modern diver fully equipped for his submarine excursions. He could be easily palmed off on the uninitiated as a relic of the antidiluvian world, or some recently discovered amphibious animal surprised and captured by a Livingstone or a Burton, on the confines of seme solitary lake in Central Africa. It would be too tedious "to describe minutely the diver's dress ; suffice it to say that he is enabled to remain and work below water for hours by being clad in a water-tight dress which completely encases his person, a constant supply of fresh air being pumped down to him, and tho foul air escaping through valves into tho water. He has to he weighted with sune three-quarters of a hundred-weight to enable him to sink easily. The part of the dress which covers the head is provided with three glasses, which enables him to see in clear water, but is of vary little use in the cylinders, so that all his operations have to be conducted by the sense of feeling. We will now suppose our diver under water at the bottom of the cylinder, with his pick, shovel, and bucket. When the stuff is merely gravel and small stones, the work goes on quickly, and ho can send up some eighty buckets a day, and the cylinder gradually settles down as the interior is excavated, from one to two feet during that period; but when large stoves lie under the edge of the cylinder it becomes a more difficult and tedious operation—they are cut off, if possible, by a long steeled bar driven from above water and directed by the driver, and if that is not effective, then by completely undermining them; in case of large boulders, blasting would have to be resorjed to. No. 1 cylinder occupied seventy hours in sinking ten feet below the riverbed or thirteen feet below water line ; No. 2 is now in process of sinking, and is down some eight feet below water line. When they are lowered to the required depth they are filled with a concrete which hardens under water to the consistency of stone. The two cylinders, when braced together by heavy timbers, iron straps, and planking, will then be ready to receive the superstructure which, in the charge of Mr Rundle, the contractor, ia making rapid proI gress towards completion."

A Substitute fob Coal.—Experiments have been carried on for years past having for their object the discovery of so no less bulky agent in the generating of steam than ordinary coat Petroleum is the substance that has been experimented on, and the results have proved most satisfactory. In this colony the effect on the production of kerosene "may therefore be expected, to be largely encouraging, which, as affecting a young and promising manufacture, affords matter for congratulation ; but it is in its influence on commerce and national intercommunication that the result assumes its more important aspect. The economic objects thus attained in fuel and stowage must cause steam to be generally adopted as an agent of navigation, and more particularly in the Pacific, where it will be specially applicable in opening out, for purposes of trade and civilization, those multitudinous islands with which Australia is more immediately connected by proximity of position than any other countries that may compete for their trade. The subject, therefore, is one which, in either view, can scarcely fail to excite an increasing interest. The following is an extract from a recent number of " Engineering, 1 ' a well known English journal:—"We have from time to time noticed in this journal the various attempts that have been made to use petroleum as a fuel in steam boilers ; and to the experiments already recorded we have now to add an account of some trials which have been, and are now being, carried on at [ the candle manufactory of Messrs Charles and John Field, Lambeth, Upper Marsh, by means of an apparatus patented by Messrs Wise, | Field, and Ay don. The apparatus in question is of a very simple character, and at Messrs Field's is applied to an ordinary single flued Cornish boiler. The oil to be burned is led from the reservoir containing it into the top of a cylindrical vessel fixed vertically to | the front of the boiler, this Teasel being furI nished with a cock at the lower end, by which the amount of oil passing into the injecting arrangement cun be regulated. The oil, whilst in the cylindrical vessel above referred to, is heated by means of a steam-pipe passing vertically through it, the steam traversing this pipe being led thence through a series of superheating pipe 3 placed abovo the fires in the boiler. Above the fire-door of the latter is fixed horizontally a sort of injector, which, being worked by the superheated steam, is employed to throw into the furnace a mixed jet of superheated steam, air, and petroleum, the latter being injected in the form of exceedingly fine spray. The jet thus thrown into the furnace is made to strike upon a slab of fireclay, placed transversely on the fire-grate, and on the latter a very thin co-il fire is kept burning, which serves to ignite the jet of petroleum spray. The combustion which ensues appears to be exceedingly perfect, there being no residue whatever formed during the trial on Wednesday last, and no smoke escaping from the chitnnev. whilst the whole of the space above the grattbar was filled with a very intense flame, We have said that a ' thin coal fire was maintained on the grate-bars ; but the quantity of fuel thus consumed was exceedingly small, the fire appearing to remain in the same state throughout the experiments, and no coal being added after the supply of,petroleum was turned on. There was, in fact, no upward draught through the fire-grate, the air required for tho combustion of the oil being supplied through openings in the fire door. The apparatus was completely

under control, and tho petroleum flame could he at once started or stopped by turning on or off the supplies of oil and steam. From what we have said it will have been seen thst the arrangement has been applied to the boiler in the simplest manner, and that t.e boiler has been in no way altered to suit the requirements of petroleum fuel. Yet, notwithstanding this, the rate of evaporation which lias been obtained has been satisfactory. During the experiments on Wednesday hist ten cubic feet of water were evaporated per hour by the consumption of four gallons, or about forty pound-! of pretoleum per hour, only rrfuse oil being used. Tn fiW, we are informed that during the time that-the trials have ben going on at Messrs Field's, tho cost of working the boiler by the refuse oil has only been abo-.'i -he same as that previously incurred in work! hi] if with coal. With a boiler especially designed to meet tho requirements of the case, better results may of course be anticipated ; and as w» believe that such a boiler is to be constructed, we trust that we shall at some future time be enabled to lay the details of further experiments before our readers."