NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XVI, Issue 2193, 29 April 1870, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A meeting of "he cum -il of tlio A \".i^M f '•> i- ' tion Society will be held at ;5 p m to-d..y „; the Literary Institute. As some doubt has e.i.ted with ref .tviioo to i tl.o ;k.ilip.>_ ph.i.'o for liio 1-:... ■ ;'. - i ii;s::u- r , « ■■' i luive uut'i.oritv" f..u" s* i".::- 1...i thf __>.■*.; ■»1 - hou-e, J'r-bbli-ton. is liic u-i/e'f'-d phice. For the cav:i.:>ii of S.._,oi.:i*:■:i-.l■ ■:i- r , the elc'for. cm vote at :ny _•. u''.- tin'V ! iintV tii'.i;k tit. | A fine collection of ehromo-lit'■•.ojr.-ohs— I whicli huve the iippciir.m.-c o! -.v wi'.-r-c >.or vir.iw- ■ choice and ;i vvrify :•'< isrti-'le* c.f vertu, lire o-hib-.tcd i'-r : !»»*lo hi the nu tion rojan of Mr t'!iuric.-» (' .-i-i, Colombo street. This eoi! ■■:' i.>:; is w-.-il w-..>r:'MN ', of a visit, for many of tho exhibits _re very j bcautiiul. i ])r Chit g:\Vtf his fourth srvsrr list evening j in the i own Hall, wln-re a uud;c:i.-e a-s;-Milbled. Atter un orntrin, a s-Ties of deiinesitions of c'.iai-i'ter from living subject, was wiih k_r_*_t ness, and then followed tho-*o '.nirveliom mesmeric experiments for which Dr C_rr is so remarkable. Another seance will t_ko place this evening. On Wednesday evening last the annual meeting of the Kaiapoi Ciies. Club took pla *«, Mr J. Lowthiau Wilaon in tho chair ; several members were also present. Mr Craig was elected president and treasurer. It was decided to elect Mr EL Hookham as the representative of the provincial tournament. A tournament was also decided upon among the members of the club. It was reported that tha club had played four gimes during tho last season, two with Christchurch ami two with Lyttelton, winning one with ea-. h, and one with the former club being iv abeyance. The first of a series of winter readings in connection with the Lyttelton Colonist Society, took place on Wednesday evening m the Colonists' Hall. The attendance was rather poor, owing to tho unsettled st_to of the weather. i)r Donald, in a short opening address, drew attention to tho small number of subscribers to the Colonists' Society, and explained how many improvements could be carried out if the income were larger. The programme commenced with 8 nno instrumental music, which was followed by a reading from Hood's work?, by Mr J. 1). Macphorson. Mr Carder then sang " Happy be thy dreams" very creditably. " Major Uamby" waa exceedingly well road by Mr W. Miller, and was decidedly tho piece of the evening. Mr Thompson's song of "My Pretty Jane" was well received, aa also was tho cornet solo by Mr Horaefleld. Ci.ptain Lewis sang the •'Gipsy Girl" very fairly. The Rev. J. 1). Ferguson gave an extract on the Duke of Wellington by Peter Bayne. The song M I'll meet thee in the lane," by Mr H. Aiiwright, wis followed by a most humorous reading byMr W. Day, entitled " Tho talo he told the mariners." Mr Ellisden then sang " Life's a river," for which ha was well applauded ; and Mr Grange's reading of a Scotch story was very good j and the '* National Anthem " brought the entertainment to a close. | We learn from the " Timaru Herald " that a requisition to Mr G. Healey asking him to become a candidate for the representation of Timaru, in tho Provincial Council, has been numerously signed, and the request has been complied with by Mr Healey. Mr Lancelot Walker is also a candidate, for the town. A requisition asking Mr A. Perry to stand for Seadown is also being aignod, and we believe Mr Perry will comply with tho request. Statements, eayß the " Daily Times," to the effect that the General Government is heavily in arrears on account of Defence expenditure, are now making their appoaranco in print in more than one direction. The " Auckland Herald," which is now an Opposition journal, makes the following remarks in its issue of tho Oih instant:—lt really seems a most extraordinary thing that tho Now Zealand Government cv»nnot pay thoir employes regularly like any other publio body or company. Complaints are continually coming up from various places respecting this grievance, and our Tauranga correspondent, in a letter published to-day, says that tho militia working on tho roads havo been paid up to Jannary 31st only. The following is an extract from tho leading article in tho " Thames Advertiser" of 2*Uh ult. : —lt waa stated in town yesterday that Mr Clarke, Civil Commissioner at Tauranga, would bo at the Thamoa in a few days, to proceed to Ohinemuri, and pay over to Te Hira and Mere Kuru tho sum of £5000, in consideration of which they had agreed to quit the district. That is the statement, but w« would not guarantee the truth of any part of it, except that Mr Clark is expected at Ohinemuri. A good deal of pressure is no doubt brought to bear on To Hira by Ropata, Riki, Paka, and others who wish jto open the land. The winter is coming on ; no more advances can bo got on pieces of land, and a constant supply of money is now necessary for the indulgence of tho tastes and pleasures of many of the denizens of Ohinemuri. Te Hira knows that ho must givo way, and naturally wishes to leave with his hands full. On tho other hand, there are indications that the natives are as determined a* ever. They have stopped the telegraph at Piako, and tho Hauhaus who are now at Shortland show no signs of giving way with reference to Ohinemuri. At the nativn meeting, on the day before yesterday, Mr Puckey being present, Te Kopnra produced a part of the " Thames Advertiser," containing the letter of Tana te Waharoa; and after reading it twice lie tore it into small piece*, threw it to the wind, and clenched his hand, to show that Ohinemuri was held faster than ever. It is somewhat amusing to a disinterested spectator, says tho " Timaru Herald," to sec the ''seesaw" arrangement between the Premier and ex-Pretuier of New Zealand at the present moment —not that wo think Mr Btu__rd can help the position in which he is placed, but it seems to ue extremely ludicrous. A few weeks since we *aw Mr Stafford's name as a passenger to Auckland. Mr Fox was there the next week ! Then Mr Stafford takes a trip to the South Island, and has just been visiting his constituents. Mr Fox is on his track immediately, dogging his footsteps, and although he has no constituents in this island to hear him, Mr Fox is in Dunedin, Waiting to reply to anything Mr Stafford may say. It must be a source of great unhappiness and anxiety to Mr Fox to see the ex-Premier going about the colony at his own free will, and wo are not prepared to say that some restraint should not be placed upon Mr Stafford's movements, as they seem to cause nervous irritation and to disturb the peace of mind of an eminent colonist—the Hon Mr William Fox, to wit.

in .h7^ -■>*--l- • I}-:"'. !r-,::>t!u. ~ 1 /^ i " : -:.i! a v, .*..\ ;,.. ;1 r,.. ,;.,.,, ,' iV;^ ! ';;.;r.";M- , 4 : , ' t i::: tzzz^'- ::::- •-•■■•■ Kr,!;.-..,!,,,,. r .',; ,-, !a Wmg,,,..! i: ] :H ~.,.., < ■1 l.ort'UTll r. :■;■,••;,,,,-, rv .. ~ '" ; ."V., , • , . '' ' lr S l " ? N-w /..-. ' il-il, ■lre.-'s.-.l •.v,i!. l ,_p ;;,_.,.,,, .- ' ''■.»';; ci .m! >r, :t:, iin . v ..,. v _.._,,_,. r S!j '"' M 'j"l',, i..«i... : '.i w.tor h.. a 'b,- 1 ;n ; ;, 1 ; 1 , l ' L "; r, "!U ; .'.-" .:,., men 0bui,,.,. by „w 7 » r " :.al". • -'.'•'••tUii; tj., •i-— -v --■ i.i.;;;:...;; 3 .;;^- ---'i' '."' i ,r -»!-—i i«/..- of ,),.. ;..-; "•■* A'H.r.i.:m L.-i.-rapi, Conipanv, lv , ~ , !lr] '• |>-"!"""'d !-.:u' oi ti-o *übm-. r -.. I.' 1 ! " iv:.:.e.-t 'iasmui:. and _V ( ., V /"'. ' A; "' '-. ■nip n i.n.'ii-ie i :..r f -er U »ral ,)„,.,., ,'' '■■• [ : ' i -'s««-i '■> t:. ;lt r-,;, „■.,;;.';'";. ,: ' : 'he _;**---_.t !o'rn :vl>-.vn'„.,.. „f t - f" 1^1 »._ ronte to Nit.v L s ' ! 'fifs; We arc sorry to ...V-t-rr,., m , , hn « Heral.l," sov.-r-l error, in 1i.fi'.u,,,.,.,..!'"" I - .Stafford's speech, forward-d by t_'>, '' Jf northern eonto _tporane*. _';,„ t ' e i " >sjra P ! i t_ Mr Staffn-d say, when spcakm* of of Gladstone Act of l lWt that, tho passing of mo County of fl'.j ' Aot would bo a hard trial to ,Q?Z arrangement had boon made wi.hth»V" ten lout of Canterbury," 4e T. - nc P' ushould havo read-" Failing that of Giid.tone) ho had tried to 0 * J'' with tho 8u Mnn "_-. ** ot Lmteroury,' etc. Another error is tho insertion of the Worc j .I'"'"' 1 , which wo aro certain never ■ ",''•" original cony. Tho ..„ titf ' ;'■ >»f t.i- Sinvrintoivl.-,ts wore «o/W P o,,* .7 friends. Whereas it ahould , U i.H p.-mm-l friend.." Oilior errors a \, Q *"' in the transcription of tho Megrim butT> oniy point out tho above. ' ** Wl-learn from tho " West Coast Ti r . c -•• thst the County Council has been •ummon-i to meet on the sth of next month, au w and it is then expected that a largo araiani of the business which would havo unsettled until tho seooud Tuesday'_, July, will bo transacted. The moot iii* !por . tarit is probably tho pajsinj* of a son.a if re.olutiona a. a basis on which to draft, Weatland Wusto Landi Bill, to be brought into tho House of Representatives by our merahers. Tho settlement of many parts of tha coa.-t e'eponda upon the Bill beiog framed i_ v. liberal spirit, in order to enable iutendin? noulei. to escape tho groat drawback, and dillit'.ultioa which stand in tho way of their purchasing and turning to profitable account tlm enorrnoui tracts of forest land iti trio County, and it is to be hoped (_nya our contemporary) that no short-sighted counsel will in luce our member, to forget that the settlement of the County is tho main object to U achieved, oven though it be necessary to gire uway tho land to induce persons to culti«!j it. No money will bo voted until tho Ju!j session commences, and tho discussion of tU estimates will then probably be tho principal business to got through. With reference to Mr WVbb'o proposed new lino of steamers, the Wellington correspondent of the "Otago Daily Times" writes —From what transpired at the meeting, and what has been said by Mr Collie to the {cw gentlemen lie has seen here, it appears that he has full authority ta arrange all toatterj in connection with tho new line, and that it is proposed to make Melbourne tha tercuinm. If >»o, Wellington ia to bo tbe Hew Zealand port of call. But Mr Collie want* a subsidy of £150,000 por annumn for a monthly service. Of this sum, however, ho calculated on the American Government giving £80,000. New Zealand, ho scorn, to think, should give £25,000 cr £30,000, and Victoria tho rest. My own idea is that, subsidy or no subsidy, Mr Collie aid I his principal Mr Webb intend to start thw lino, with the view of running Mr Ball's _"■ oh*', to that thoy may then got a subsidy if not now. There is little doubt, hofovar, it « thought that the Victorian Government »iil listen favorably to Mr Collie'a overtures. Utiles, very strong pressure is brought to bear, however, our Gorornment will not have an.• thing to say to him. na they are bound down to Mr Hull. I wondor if the Otago public is arrart that Mr Vogel'u contract with Mr Hall isabß-j lively for five years, and although Mr fit* has tho power of determining it by cix *no»_* notice, the colony has no such privilege, bt» is bound for the five y*mrs. People here aw mo idea of this until tho other day. -K» thought that tho provision of six montm notice appliod to both sides, aud it mswl until Mr Collie's arrival caused inquiry as to I how tho colony could got out of its arran.--mmit with Mr Hall, that the aitouadw? result of Mr Vogel's negotiation was! dw covered. A petition to tho Aesooibly w«»? it to repudiate Mr YogoVa contract ss WW of. Legally, of course, tho five years *F" ment is worthies., for Mr Vogel had -» power to make it; but then comes the queitio*. of whether the colony is not bound mow-/. if not legally, by his action. We learn from the " Homo Newa" that Dr Fcatherston and Mr 8011, although they h»" been hard at work erer einoe- -*> tw fJ'J have not made much progress in the object* w their mission. They have been •W7* M 'J well received, and havo loft no etone u_tnr-«J to serve the colony. They ore no!: i__gou».*' to their ultimate success with reference w ■ regiment of the Imperial troops being rtttfjjj in the colony. Should their request in J» matter not be granted, there is no proft-DjJPJ of their endeavouring to obtain powers . ri _i_e a troop in the island. The Comm«*J appear to have bean mot by tb« member** the Government more inmedistelf with the colonies with the unfailing no intervention" policy. A etory too good nto bear retelling is told in connection «» this It is said that when the interfering be'ween the Maori and m«r population of New Zealand was **™.fi™ one of the OommiaMoner. said to^a, ge <wv representing the Government— "P. Q { not interfer. between us and the •bon|«J ° xN'ew Zealand, why not apply the saoj ra the loyally disposed inhabitant* of *«J»Jj j, the aborigines of that country fJ t i*w fa have a rU to a king in New Zealand *7 not the Fonians to a similar luxury land ? " The reply of the ogjJ » recorded. Tho Commiasioners, are not likely to succeed in tho their journey, will not return mlhort i produced a whote-OidO f«*u?» eat* of tho colony notwitbstand!n*. fa tion. petal and utilisation of the products of the many other kindred matters, W»J i 0 their attention, and the result eBUW* ■» be for good.

m,« « Lonely Man of the Ocean," and the „£_ burlc,/.. of -Ml. H*.U.» .«* ' • suoe.sfullv paved at the Kf.yal To-night " Doing f.,r tho lie.-. " d the burlesque of tho "Field of tho Cloth of Gold" will be presented. We ar« gl a d to learn that the independent hr of Oddfoilo.vs of the Manchester Unity ?!___e at Kawpoi intend erecting a iod-e J£_J ne it the Institute. It is to be cummsneed shortly. Captdn Osborne, R.N., has arnv.d m Austr-H* for ll,e P ur P o,io of Promoting th- , ea3e of Die Britisli Austndiwi Telegraph This.coinpiny, it will be recollected, „ *| el !ged itself to land a cable at Port Dar1871« ftn( * ** rom lneno ° <0 construct a f*_ ♦« Burketovn. to c_.nr.eet with the Qoeendand line. frio*'Argus" learr.B from a communication / -aXtled trcm GooUn, fc-or.'h Australia, b\ I m-" ter of ,l "' prt,arccr Q ut( ' n » tiiat lhe Slling has risen 14ft, and that all the South Ai_tr&h' an hoat. whioh havo fur eoine time t. n unable to naTigate tlio stream aro i_Wsed. and are fiomin g down, wool-laden, th tbe flood. When the flood-waters reach Wentworth, steamers from Gf.tolwa will bo gabled to g°up with Produce, Ac. •fle learn from the "Argus" that Sand- . Ht j 8 to have a Meat Preserving Company. A preliminary meeting of gentlemen of capital Mid inflaence was held yesterday, at the SLarOck Hotel, to consider tho propriety of Luting such an undertaking, and all wero IjLjimou. in declaring it was feasible. A * sal was submitted for the purohaso by L wmpanv of the ground, premise., and Slnt now belonging to Messrs Ooudge and MjjjW the well-known tanners at Sheepwaah Cree {'bymeanßof which the company could car-yon tanning ond fellmongery, as well as meat-pregervirg and boiling-down. The posi tion of Sandhurst, so close to Riverma, ie looked on as very favourable for tha new project. A bone-crushing mill, long an agricultural desideratum on Sandhurst, has lately been established. The "Argus" gives the following summary of the proxngramme of the new McCullocli Ministry :—First among these comes a promise of retren-brnent in the publio service, to be secured by an alteration in the Civil Service Act and a combination of offices. This, it is urged, cannot be thoroughly done this session, bat it is held that the total expenditure for the year will be materially reduced from the proposals of the late Treasurer. In respect to education, he pronounces in favor of " the state paying for a system of secular education, about which there is no diversity of opinion, and interposing no -obstacle to the various denominations imparting religious instructions out of school hours," by which he expects to provide more school. in thinly-populated districts, while diminishing the expense of the «• unnecessary establishment of competing schools in the more populous districts." Further, Mr M'Culloch states that the Government intend to introduce Bills to amend the licensed Publicans Act, and to amend the criminal law so as to prevent the crimes now becoming alarmingly prevalent, and also turn prisoners' labor to profitable account; also, that tbe Government will devote the £200,000 per annum specially appropriated from the had frusd for railway purposes—to tho formation of about thirty miles of railway per annum j that the waterworks shall be completed, leaving further efforts in that direction to local municipal bodies aided by Parliament; that hearty cooperation will be offered to the other colonies in favor of Australian federation; and that earnest and immediate attention will be given to tho subject of communication with England by means of first-class powerful steamers, via the Cape for postal as well as immigration purposes. Finally, it is announced that the abolition of state aid to religion will be ag:un proposed by the Government. All these measures are described as important, and demanding an early settlement; but it is, nevertheless, Mr M'Culloch'a stated opinion that they will best be carried by confining the bosmeas of this session to passing the Estimates for the year, so that Parliament ahall meet in time to grant the supplies for 1871 before the < lose of the present year.