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The Press. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1867.

Closely connected with the proposed changes in the system of taxation in thiß colony is the subject of a reform in the public expenditure. The ILyt' telton Times is scandalized at our expressing a doubt whether any very large diminution of the General Government expenditure is practicable, and considers that any hesitation on that point is calculated to mislead the public. We, on the contrary, believe the public are more in danger of being misled by the extravagant language it has of late been customary to hold respecting both the expenditure and the possible retrenchment. Their attention is thereby averted from what is the real cause of the excessive taxation, namely, the load of debt which New Zealand —it is of no use now to inquire whether wisely or not —has chosen to incur. As long as the colony has to pay nearly half-a-million every year, independently of the ordinary expenses of Government, merely for interest and Biliking fund of its permanent debt, the taxation cannot be otherwise than heavy under the most economical administration. The public should thoroughly understand that fact. There is nothing to be-gained by blinking the matter.' However we reduce our expenditure under other heads, under this one, far the largest of all, we cannot possibly make any reduction whatever. The money must be paid in full every year before we can spend a penny for our own uses. We have no help for it, unless we choose to repudiate our engagements.

Now, such being tlie case, it is idle to omit all mention of the public debt,

and to ascribe the necessity of the present taxation solely to the extravagant expenditure of the General Government. It is unfair, too, both to the Government and to the public. Not fair to the Government, because it throws on them an odium which they do not deserve ; and not fair to the public, because it deludes them with a false representation of the case, and excites expectations of relief that must unavoidably be disappointed. And moreover it is not the way to effect the desired retrenchment. A great deal more good would be done by assisting the public to understand the real truth. We suppose that few persons in New Zealand, beyond those whose duties or pursuits have led them to make such matters their study, are aware how the finances of the colony stand, what are the permanent charges on the revenue, and what proportion of the revenue the payment of those charges absorbs Yet we are sure that if such knowledge were universal it would be of the utmost benefit. The demand for reform, which is now little more than an indefinite cry— the cry, to borrow the words of Macaulay, of a people impatient they hardly know for what, and angry they hardly know with whom, would then take a practical shape. Knowing where the cause of the evil lay the public would be in a position to judge how far and by what means it could be remedied. They would comprehend the necessity of retrenchment, be prepared to submit to it themselves, and to enforce their wishes on the representatives in the Assembly. And then too they would be able to take an active and intelligent part in that reconstruction of our political and financial system, which must be the first great step towards any financial reform or any amelioration of the public burdens.

We have never asserted that no reduction in the expenditure can he effected. We realise too fully the weight of the burden which the indebtedness of the colony imposes on it not to recognise the importance — more than that, the absolute necessity, of the most rigid economy in the conduct of public affairs, and the most determined, rejection of every superfluous item of expenditure. What we object to is the extra- J vagant kind of language that has become the fashion of late about " immense," " vast," " enormous " expenditure, and the " immense," "vast," "enormous" reductions that are wanted. All this is nothing but vague frothy declamation, which leads to no practical results. Why do the orators who indulge so freely in this kind of tall talking never by any chance go into details ? Why do they not point out the particular items on which the expenditure is so needlessly " vast," and state in figures the effect of the reductions they recommend ? But this they never attempt to do, and for the best of reasons. A resort to figures immediately proves the truth of our assertion that unless the colony is willing to submit to some considerable reduction of the more costly services —to curtail the subsidies to the interprovincial steamers, for example ; or to be content with a less frequent conveyance of some of the internal mails, or to do with half the present number of Resident Magistrates —no very great saving can be made on the existing scale of expenditure. The Lyttelton Times, which seems inclined to take the opposite view, supports it by the remark that Mr Stafford has effected some reduction since the session of the Assembly by dismissing two stipendary magistrates in Otago—one I of whom, by the Way, has, on the urgent application of the inhabitants of the district, been reinstated. Well, that is satisfactory so far as it goes, and we are glad that the country has been saved the expense even of the one official's salary ; but surely this is not a specimen of " vast" or " immense " reductions. Such epithets can hardly be applied to a saving of £350, or at' most, had Mr. Stafford's good intentions been fully carried out, of £700 a-year.

In fact this incident serves as a very good illustration of our meaning. Unless the colony chooses 1 to save money on a large .scale by important reductions in the more expensive services, especially the postal services (which we must not be understood to advise), it must be satisfied with such small savings as the Government-can make from time to time, and as Mr. Stafford has found himself able to make in the instance referred to. All that can be done is to watch the expenditure closely, to see that the cost of no department is raised without sufficient cause, and that the pruning-knife is applied whenever opportunity offers as closely as is consistent with efficiency. By these means the expenditure, if it cannot be materially reduced, will at least be kept from increasing. A very great deal has already been done in this way by the G-overnment during the past twelvemonth. To the_4dv,ocates of immense reductions these

savings may seem too petty to be taken into account, but we may comfort ourselves with the proverb that "many a little makes a mickle." The only other means to which we can look for a lessening of the expenditure is that which has been so largely discussed in our columns —a radical change in the political system of the colony, by the entire abolition of the provinces, and by bringing the administration of public affairs all over the* colony under the direction of one Central Government. By that means a saving might be effected, as we calculate, if nearly £100,000 a year. But beyond that we do not see how reduction can be carried. For the rest the colony would do well to seek relief, less from a lowering of the expenditure than a revision of the source's of revenue, less from a diminution of taxation than from a readjustment of its incidence.

No. 1 Company.—A special meeting of the members of this company will be held this evening, at the drill-shed, at seven p.m.

The Census.—A large number of census papers were yesterday left at the houses in Christrfhurch. The census is to be taken on the night of the 19th instant.

The Tunnel. —We have the best authority for stating that the day upon which the Lyttelton and Christchurch Railway will be open for traffic will be Monday next, the 9th instant. The delay, we are informed, has been caused by tlie inability of tho Engineer to certify that the line is thoroughly safe for such traffic.

Lyttelton Regatta.—ln consequence of the resignation of a number of the members of the Lyttelton Regatta Committee, the meeting which was to have been held yesterday was postponed till Wednesday next, at seven p.m. The meeting will be held in the new hall of the Lyttelton Colonists' Society, the chief business being to render a statement of accounts and make arrangements for the forthcoming regatta.

The Cabandini Congests. — Madame Carandini announces a concert to-night, and from the programme it will be seen that the wish so generally expressed that the company would treat the musical public to something of a higher class than their previous performances bas been complied with. The first part of the programme consists entirely of selections from well-known oratorios, and the second part is made up of secular music, amongst which many will recognize a few favourite songs.

Gaoi R_._t.bns.—During the month of November 91 male prisoners have been confined in Lyttelton gaol; 5 awaiting their trial at the Supreme Court, 60 under sentence of hard labour, 2 undergoing sentence of imprisonment, and the remaining 24 being debtors. During the same period there have been 20 prisoners discharged from this gaol In the Christchurch lock-up 28 prisoners— 15 males and 13 females have been detained ; 2 for trial at the Supreme Court, 21 under sentence of hard labour, and 5 for terms of imprisonment, and during the same period 15 prisoners have been discharged.

Gazetie. —A "Gazette" issued by the Provincial Government yesterday notifies that the Museum will be open to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, from eleven am. to three p.m.; that Messrs Cooper, Dobhs, Hebden, and C. Oram have been elected to fill the vacancies in the Kaiapoi Municipal Council; and that Sergeant David Ramsay has been appointed an Inspector under the Thistle Ordinance, 1866. Notice is given that licensing meetings will be held this day at Christchurch, Lyttelton, Kaiapoi, Timaru, and Akaroa, for the purpose of considering applications for public-house licenses, a list of which is published. The remainder of the "Gazette" is occupied by advertisements under the Debtors and Creditors Act.

The Intekpbovinciai. Match. — The committee appointed at the general meeting of cricketers held on Friday last met last evening at the Clarendon hotel. * It was decided that three should form a quorum. Mr F. Ollivier was requested to act as secretary. It was agreed that the number to be chosen to practise for the match against Otago should be sixteen, and the following gentlemen were then named—Messrs Alington, Bent, Calvert, Cotterill, Dickenson, Harley, Mainwaring, Moore, A. Ollivier, F. Ollivier, A.. Powys, Stevens, Taylor, Turner, Josh. Wood, and Young. The Seoretary was directed to write to each of these gentlemen to ascertain whether they would undertake to play in the match, and to practise ia the meantime on the days to be determined on by the majority, and also to request them all to be in attendance on the ground next Friday afternoon at five o'clock, to decide what days would be the most convenient for meeting together for the purpose of practice. It was then resolved, " That a sub-committee of three should be appointed to watch the play, and finally choose the eleven, it being understood that in the event of any of the sixteen now named being unable to play in the match, th* sub committee be empowered.at once to substitute others in their place." Messrs Stevens, Morrah, and Bennett, were then appointed to act on the sub-committee. The Chairman sad that (he members of the Match Committee would have to begin to collect subscriptions very soon in order to defray the expenses of the match, which he estimated roughly at about £50.

Heathcote Road Boabd.—The usual fortnightly meeting of the Board was held yesterday morning at the Board-office. Present — Mr Fisher ■ (chairman), Mr Kennaway, and Mr Hargood. The minutes of the preceding meeting were read and confirmed. Letters were read which had been received :—From H. Wallis, giving notice in accordance with his lease that he wished to hand over the swing-bridge to the Board, as he could not continue to pay the same amount of rent for the tolls as heretofore; from Mr Earle, in reference to the new Opawaroad. The Surveyor was directed to acknowledge the above, and arrange with H. Wallis to collect the tolls at the Bwing-bridge, and to explain to Mr Earle upon what terms the Board had agreed to make the road in question. Mr Kennaway reported that agreeably to the resolution of the Board passed at the last meeting he had, with Mr Montgomery, waited on the Secretary for Public Works, and had been informed by him that for the present it was not the intention of the Government to hand over to the Road Boards any portion of the vote passed at the last session of the Provincial Council, on account of main roads. The Surveyor's .report was then read and considered. He reported upon the state of the drainage near the canal reserve, and recommended that the present drain from the estuary to Mr Attwood's should be widened and deepened where necessary, and the floodgate made larger and more secure, and that the drain should be taken through the sandhill (about three chains) by wooden box flumes, made and tarred, of sufficient size to carry the water from the low land above the said Bandhill, and that the present drain above this point should be widened and deepened. He gave an estimate of the cost of this work, and was directed by the Board, who approved of the plan mentioned, to inform the inhabitants residing near the reserve.who had memoralised for the work, that the Board would contribute one-third the cost if they would guarantee the remaining two-thirds; and, on receipt of the guarantee, the Surveyor was directed to advertise for tenders for the alterations. The Surveyor also reported that the new Opawa bridge was nearly completed, and suggested that tenders be invited for making the roads adjacent. The Board decided to have the work proceeded with at Once, tenders to be in by the 16th instant. The report also mentioned other

necessary works which were required, and the Surveyor was instructed to proceed with them forthwith. The Surveyor was instructed to employ a rate collector for collecting the outstanding rates. After passing accounts for work done, the Board adjourned until Monday, the lfith instant. Cuickkt at Kaiapoi.—On Saturday last the married and single members of this club met at their usual ground to complete the match commenced on the preceding Saturday, and which then stood in farour of the married pluyers. The day was exceedingly fine, and more favourable than on the former occasion for playing, and the ground, too, had been considerably improved. The single men were the first at the wicket, to the bowling of Porter and Wright, and judging from the number of "duck's eggs " must have given their rivals an easy victory, scoring 42, which, added to their total in the first innings, made them 107, so that the married players gained a majority of 60 in one innings, The following are the scores :— J. Hebden, b Wright 1 E. Bevell, o Birch, b Porter 4 C. Barker, b Porter 11 J. Hurse, b Wright 0 J. T. Boileau, b Wright 0 R,. JefFs, b Porter 13* H. Revell, not out 7 S. Barker, b Porter 1 A. Pearce, hit wicket, b Wright ... 1 Wides, 2 ; byes, 1; no ball, 1 ... 4 42 So that the only scoring which was made was by Jeffs, Barker, and Revell. A second match afterwards took place between the married and single players, to be completed in one innings; and in this game C. Barber made up a capital score of 36 runs, much to the credit of the single players, and Wright a score of 12 to the married side ; but with these exceptions there were scarcely any points calling for special notice during the game. The match was won by the single men, who made forty runs more than their opponents. The following are the scores:—

A Young. Spabtan.—The following remarkable instance of brave endurance on the part of a little boy is from the " Bendigo Advertiser " : —" On Thursday morning a sad accident occurred to a little boy named Roderick Morrison, only ten years of age. The lad had been in the habit of playing about the hay and corn stores of Mr James Aiken, adjoining the Australian hotel, and on Thursday morning, being in the lower, part of tile" store, he was warned, in consequence of the corn-crush-ing machine worked by steam being in motion, to leave the premises, which he did, going out at the back door. The storeman having occasion shortly afterwards to go into the loft for the purpose of feeding the machine, the. boy: returned, and had evidently been amusing himself by leaning over some of the, wheels in motion to catch in his hand the corn as it fell from the feeder above. Whilst so doing the sleeve of his coat was caught by the cogwheel, and in an instant the right hand, being drawn between the wheels, was severed completely from the wrist in a terribly mutilated Btate. The Btoreman, noticing a jerk in the machinery, at on.c descended, when he found the lad standing, holding up the dreadful looking stump, but without uttering a single cry, and simply desiring to be accompanied home, whither he walked, after a rag had been bound round his arm, without his giving expression to any feelings of pain. When the mother beheld the sad spectacle she immediately burst into tears, whereupon the plucky little fellow exclaimed, ' If you're going to cry, mother, I'm off;" and away he went, walking direct to the hospital, followed by the .man who had first become cognizant of the accident. Arriving at the hospital, Dr M'Gillivray, the resident surgeon, upon examination found the bones above the wrist were,so fearfully crushed and broken that further amputation was rendered necessary, and under the influence of chloroform the arm was amputated above the elbow. When going to the hospital the poor boy in the most nonchalant manner hailed the gatekeeper, as if nothing • had occurred, with " Good day, Charlie."

Tttnnej_ Dbili. — The " Times" thus describes a small machine for boring through rock or other hard substances—" One of the most compact, effective, and economical machines of this kind, for boring tunnels, driving " adits" of mines, and indeed for every description of work in which the hardest kinds of rocks have to be pierced, has been brought to this country by its inventor, General Haupt, of the United States' army. The whole apparatus,'- which drives a hole in granite or even quartz at the rate of nearly 4in. a minute, scarcely occupies more space than an ordinary umbrella stand, and weighs less than six hundredweight. It is, inTict, a mere powerful frame of steel, which stands in a universal. point, set in a little bed of iron, so that by raising the uprights of steel by means of screws, it adjusts itself to any inequality of either roof or floor in tunnelling, no matter how great the discrepancies may be. The same principle prevails throughout the rest of its mechanism, and the steam borer being capable of being turned in all directions, whether vertically, horizontally, or obliquely. Though capable of being worked with the same facility by means of compressed air, General Haupt prefers steam as infinitely better and more economical. The centre of a very small cylinder contains the drill, which is an inch and a half in diameter, the size of which may, of course, . be nearly doubled at will. With a pressure of about 251bs of Bteam the drill is driven forward like an ordinary piston rod, but at the rate of from 250 to 300 blows per minute. Actually under high pressure it has been, it is stated, worked up to nearly 1Q00; strokes a minute, but this unnecessary speed is only advanced as a proof of the drill's capabilities for the work at such a rate, and of course in a short time tear any machine to pieces. A very ingenious arrangement by which the drill works through an outer slot groove beyond the piston gives it a little turn at each blow, while another, equally simple and efficacious, keeps up the feed of the drill itself, and advances it in exact proportion as it penetrates into the rock, In the same frame several drills can be worked at once, and this small size enables as many as ten to be driving at the face of rock of an ordinary railway tunnel through stono. When the drills have penetrated about twenty-eight inches blasting-powder is of course used, and here again the extreme portability of the machines enable them to be easily, by the leverage of a turned beam, lifted over the delris of stone whioh the powder has blown out,.and set to work, again close to the face of the rock, while the rubbish behind them is being removed without any loss of time. A wooden tube, supplied by au fan blast with a current of air, gives ample draught to the small locomotive boiler which drives the drills, and a return tube of the same kind takes put all the foul and heated, air. Altogether, in all its' details, it ' ie 'evident that the incidents connected with the working of tunnel drillo have been

most carefully foreseen and provided by a thoroughly practical engineer, which General Haupt, nsthe chief engineer of tho tlo:>suc tunnel in Massachusetts, must natura'.ly ho by this time. For mining purposes tho drill secma most especially adapted for driving adits from its power of acting with equal speed an force in all directions no matter how oblique, and when thus employed it can be driven in tho very smallest kinds of openings by means of compressed air. It is altogether a'most simple, cheap, and valuable invention as those interested in the subject who take the trouble to see it now at work at Wells street, Oxford street, can perceivo at a glance for themselves.

Mabbibd. W. Burnip, c Revell, b Hurse 10 VV. Wright, c Revell, b Barker 6 C. E. Dudley, b Barker 6 R. Wright, not out 12 J. C. Porter, b Hurse 1 G. Weston, b Barker ... ... ... 0 J. Birch, c J. Barker, b Hurse... ... 0 T. Revell, b Hurse 1 C. J. Welch run out 2 Wides, 1; no ball, 1 2 40 SINGLE. J. Hebden, b Dudley 11 E. Revell, run out ... 6 J. Hurse, b Wright ... 3 C. Baker, not out ... ... ... 36 R. Jeffs, c Welch, b Dudley ... ... 3 H. Revell, b Dudley 3 J. T. Boileau, run out ... ... ... 0 S. Barker, b Dudley 1 A. Pearce, b Wright 9 Wides, 2 ; byes, 2 j no balls, 4 ... 8 80 On Saturday, the 14th, the match with the Kaiapoi and Leithfield clubs will take place at Leithfield.

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP18671203.2.8

Bibliographic details

Press, Volume XII, Issue 1583, 3 December 1867, Page 2

Word Count
3,867

The Press. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1867. Press, Volume XII, Issue 1583, 3 December 1867, Page 2

The Press. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3, 1867. Press, Volume XII, Issue 1583, 3 December 1867, Page 2