The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XX, Issue 2184, 21 July 1864, Page 3

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUCI'O NON UKO. "If I lime been extinguished, }nt there nso A thouinml be icons fioni the sp irk I bore "

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 18CL.

To a community winch depends in a great uieasuie upon its agiieullmal and pastoral de\ elopments for progress and success, it would be difficult to conceive any moic important question than one affecting the health — indeed the -seiy existence — of its live slock It is now some months sinre t'le nlaim nas fiist given heie, and we were informed that our cattle were doomed to perish by the scourge of pleuro-pueumonia Measures were then taken such ns appeared likely to prevent tlio spread ot the disease fiom the distuc!/ round tlic city, where w e wcic told it already wis, to those which, at a distance, might still hope to escape. Our leaders may remember the panic winch w as caused by the new s amongst our agi icullural community, and somo of theui may even feel sui prise that that panic has passed away to such an extent that but little fuithor notice is taken of it. We can scaicely imagine it as other w ise than a surpiise to the geneial public when some few weeks ago they suddenly heaid tliah halt the farms in the countiy weie infected, and that nothing but the kill-and-slay policy would save the unhappy farmeis of Auckland fiom having their dairy stock swept away wholesale Now, this is all \cij r w-ell, or pcihaps we should say very ill, but it can hardly be held tcr be satisfactory Under oidmary circumstances it would be bad enough to be met by such extiemc and unexpected statements from persons supposed to possess somo little authority and knowledge, yet, perhaps, beyond frightening a few weik-minded individuals into selling off their cattle and buying sheep wherewith to stock their faims, but little effect would be produced on the community Our circumstances, however, are not oidmary, and great and most injurious effects may be produced by the fooliih and crude notions of peisons who are fond of healing their own voices m public "We do not say that anything that has been said on the subject of our cattle disease in this proMiice has sprung fiom such a souice as w r e have indicated , — we meiel3 r say that even such weak and uuwoithy things might not improbably ptoduce an effect highly injurious in our present condition. We are on the very verge of a new state of things m this province. Peace, when it comes, must bung with it settlement; and settlement supposes amongst other things the stocking of farms with cattle, the commencement of dairies, and the purchase of working o\en A panic amongst our new settlers at such a moment may pi event the purchase of any of these, and may indefinitely prolong and retard the business of bringing in the lauds of this province. Nor is this the only view, although it is a most important one, of this subject. Let us suppose that the disease of pleuro-pucumonni really has infected half the farms and eudangeied half the dairies in the colony Let us imagine that, without exaggeration, it is really true that diseased moat is daily sold at New. market, and killed at our public slaughterhouses, and suiely it is evident that not half enough is being done by the authontics. Of course, in such a case, we should be the last to wish our new settlers to expend a pound of their hard-earned savings in cattle , and we should be much inclined to keep our own money out of the hauds of the butcher. Our feelings are, in such a case, hardly more enlisted on behalf of the new settler, with his scanty means, than of the old settler who is not blessed with 'an iron constitution, or the digestion attubutcd to the ostrich. What we want to know is, simply, what is the truth H It needs no supposition of self-interest, or even of intentional exaggeration on the part of any speaker on such a subject, to enable us to indulge in a slight reserve in accepting his statements as the bare statement of facts uncoloured by fear or fancy. It appears that we have an agricultural society which might be of great use in. matters of this kind, but which does not seem yet to have got accustomed to the idea that anything like work is. expected of it. Here is work of real moment which it can do, we pi-esume, and which, if it can, it ought to do at once. The public is hardly content to accept as a fact, merely on the authority of a casual and somewhat conversational remark, that the cattle of this province are ii: the intensely bad state indicated. They want a little more ] roof than they yet have before they feel perfectly sure that to buy cattle is to throw' away from fifty to seventy-five per cent, of their money, and to eat beef, or drink milk, a proceeding involving very anxious considerations

1 ndeed. This the Agricultural Society ought to be able to do for them. We haye — and we are only in tho position of the general public — often heard of tlie dread of disease amongst some fresh lot of cattle just ai'rived. We have heard of disease amongst cattle lately landed, evidently settling upon the lungs, and we have heard of natural death following upon that disease, even whero tho unfortunate 'animals did not fall victims to the vigorous measures put inta practice several times against them What we have no authentic record of as yot is, the appearance of pleuro-pneumonia amongst cattle belonging to this province, aud therefore clearly of tho infectious type of the disease. Let tho Society give us a report on this subject, and they will confer a real benefit upon the colony and province. It may be that farmers know all about this already, and are satisfied that their dairies are doomed to destruction, and that they are doomed to eat either no beef or a diseased article; but the public is still in the dark. If it can be proved that anything like one half the farms in this province arc infected with the virulent pleuropneumonia — if it can be shown beyond a doubt that any cattle othev than imported cattle have died from that virulent scourge, and not merely from ordinary inflammation of the lungs, as some have aoserted, — then the public will know what they aro doing, and they will not only refrain from stocking lh.eir farms with cattle, but will even insist upon something being done to prevent our eating diseased beef without knowing it.

We have heard very little of the proceedings of the local Commissioners of the Now Zealand Exhibition for 18G3, but we presume that they have notlost sight of the important nature of their functions, and are doing their best to have the province -well represented at the forthcoming Exhibition. What means they have taken to ensure tins it is, perhaps, out of place for us to enquire, as their proceedings unlike those of the local Commissioners in the other provinces, have apparent!}' been private. We are not going to cavil at whatever course they may have taken, as wo believe the gentlemen who have been appointed are, or should be, fully competent for the task they have undertaken ; but our object hero is to impress both upon the Commissioners and the public of Auckland the importance of having the province adequately represented at this Exhibition This is the more necessary from the fact that the exciting tiain of eventb which necessarily occur during the progress of the war may divert the attention of the colonists from so useful an object as th.it which is contemplated. Independently of the desue ■which we should have to make the New Zealand Exhibition a national success, self-interest should prompt us to contubute as largely as possible to it from those products which characterise the resources of the Northern Island. We are aware that the local Commissioners have made a strong appeal to the inhabitants of tins province to assist them in carrying oat the good work, and that the Auckland collection is expected to be made up of '' samples and spec imens of wool, flax, timber, " cereals, kauri gum, gold, coal, fossils, and mmo- " rals of every descuption , and also manufac- " tured articles and products " We should be more interested lokuow how this appeal has been responded to Have the landed proprietors or merchants of Auckland shown any disposition to assist the Coinmis'ioner^ , or have they heedlessly taken a passing glance at the advertisement designed to attract their attentioi, and then lost sight of it ? We say, the landed piopnetors and merchants of Auckland, because they have derived the greatest benefit from the prosperous tide of affairs that lias sot in. It is therefore incumbent upon them, both for thenown advantage, and for the reputation of the province, to make an adequate contribution to the exhibits •which the Commissioners are now collecting. The first Tuesday in January, in 18G3, is the day Cved upon for the opening the Exhibition, and the 12th December next is the latent penod at which articles can be received at head-quarters. But the local Commissioners w.sh the contributions to be exhibited here before they are sent to Dunedin, and the latest date at which exhibits can bo sent in here is the 20th October. It will be seen from this that all that remains to be done must be done in three months. Now it would be very mortifying to Aucklaud to find that its contributions to the Exhibition amounted to a few bags of kauri gum, a few samples of wool and timber, and a few specimens of coal and gold. These vi ould be but a poor evidence of the pi ogress of this province. Everyone throughout the Australasian colonies knows, or ought to know, that Auckland produces all these , and the exhibition of small parcels of them would have a ludicrous appearance, and not what misjht be expected fiom a wealthy and prosperous province like tlm. We may veiy propeily exhibit all these as being creditable to the lesouices of the province, but we must show in what vi ay our industry has turned those resources to account. We must give a specimen of our manufactures, Hide as they may be as yet. We must show how admirably adapted the timber of the north is for being converted into aiticles of furniture, agricultural implements, and so foith. Our mineral resources might be displayed in a more attractive manner than by the exhibition of a few lumps of coal or a few specimens of Coromandel gold. There are indeed a thousand foims in which skilled labour can turn the products of the fruitful cailh to accounl, and interest persons at a distance The pow ci ful agency of photography might be employed to show the attractive features of the countiy open for settlement. This ould be an endless and never-failing source of inteiest to those at a distance, and the recent opening up of the W.ukato country, and the presence of many excellent photographers in Auckland would allord ample facilitiesforthis. Auothcr effectual mode of displaying the resources of the province v ould be by tho publication, in a concise form, of a description of tho province, which should contain correct statistical and all other information likely to be useful to an intending emigrant — or m other words, a hand-book of Auckland. Thi3 should be compiled from tho most reliable data; it might be authenticated by the Government of of the province, and be sold fora small price to the visitors to the Exhibition. Its usefulness, however, would probably bo attained more by the large circulation it would have afterwards in other colonies and at home. There are, hi fact, a hundred ways by which the objects of the Exhibition might be sue. cessfully carried out, but -without some exertion on tho part of those -who have the time and means at their disposal to assist in the \\ ork wo may expect that tho Auckland portion of tho Exhibition will not be what it should be if it is not

a failure. Wo are very ready to assert our supremacy as a province on all occasions ; and wo should be equally ready in assisting to maintain that supremacy. If, however, the people of Auckland show that tlvcy are so much engrossed with their own personal gains that thoy have no time to spare in advancing the commonwealth, they will justly deserve the hard names which have been sometimes applied to them by, tho3e who seek by detracting from the merits of one body of colonists to glorify others whom they more immediately represent.

We have one day's later papeis fiom Sydney, by the 'Xauthe.V and also later fiotn Melbouine; although the latter has been anticipated by telegiams. The additional news tlni3 leceived will be found in another column, , We leai u that on the reefs at Coiomandel there are two ten-stamper batteries in full woik, and one fifteenstamper battery in con iw of erection. The reefs in work are paying good loturns, and ifc is proposed at once to resume the working oE the Union Claim, which was iuteiiupted by the war. The shaft in the claim is now 120 feet deep, and the leef u from two to three feet wide ; the ordinal y stone (mullock and all being passed under the stampers) yields about two ounces of gold to the ton, but theie have been instances wheie soi ted stone yielded twenty one ounces to the 10011). of stone The claims aie 300 feet by 400 feet, for eight men's giound, and an old Victorian reefer, from Sailor's Gully, Bendigo, states to us that the ground is as likely looking, and the claims pay as well as any lound Bendigo. Should tins be really the case, thuie will be a pi ofi table occupation for many men who may piobably not caie at once to settle down to agiicultuial pm suits We havo been lequested to diiect attention to a piaclice now common m Auckland, in the election of biick and itone buildings, namely, that of putting in a wooden lintel, or " biesaemer," instead of the more usual piactice m laige towns, of using iton castings foi such pin pose ; also, that of using wooden posts instead of lion pillais in &hop fronts. It need hardly be pointed out that in case of a fiie taking place amongst the goods, bay, of a draper's shop, these wooden pillais would endanger the safety of the entire building; be. cause not alone aie they likely to catch fiie, but should they bum away to any extent, the whole fiont of the building would fall outward, and t>o, pel haps, endanger the live-i of all aiound the place »fc the time. We may point to one building which ia an exception to the general vile we have named — that of Measis. Combes and D ildy, in Queen street, in which the lintel is an lion casting, and the pillaia aie also iron. We are infouned that the use of these wooden lintels is lecogmsed by the Building Act ; bub if so it is a matter that ought to engage the attention of the Engineer of the Cay Boaul at an early date, as tha inspection of such buildings is of little use when competent authoiitiLS declvie them unsafe fioin the lioui they are put up until they fall, and piobably destioy life in then fill, as they must be a souice of the gieatest danger to lie men of the Fiie Dii^xde it all times. A meeting of the N"j./ Z • daud Insmance Company was held jesteuiay at the offices of the company, foi the puiposo of receiving the halrycaily lepoit and balance sheet. The tut tf ti xnsactions foi the halfjear weie, £37,425 Is Sd , the los-.es>, £18,031 Is. Id.; and the balance to piofit and loss .£7,030 7s Id A dividend of 10 pel cdiit \\\s declined, payable on and afltt Fnday ne\t, and a sum of £15,000 has been c n ned to the ie*.erve fund, or equal to £6 ashaie on the piesent paid up shares The thanks of the meeting weie voted to all the offieeis of the company By the list tlip of the steamei ' Wonga \Vonga, ' from the Mauukau foi Southern poits, tlmteen aitilldiy nitu conneoteil with the Aimstrong battery piocouded to Taimiki, wheie they will lehuvo a like nuiubei of men of the Sydney batteiy, now undfr oideis toembaik to Sydney, and who, consequently may be expected to aiine in Auckland by the next letinn blip of a ste unei on the AVest coast West Queen street is now in such a stxte as to call for some ineasuies to pievent it becoming pestilential. Not many, wedaie s ly, go up this street unless compelled to do so on business ; but as it is very densely populated, we may state, for public mfoimation, that on Tuesday last the stench in the locality w as most unbeai\ble; and theie is es'ery reason to fear that in a luge to-vn it will become a nest of foyer. To any other authority than the City Boaid the stieet uould be a diigiace. The necessary excavations aie now being mule near the noi th gate of the Albeit B mack", for the election of a commodious stoic foi commissaii it good. Its dimensions will be seventy feet by twenty four feet, with biick foundation and comigated non ioof and sides The enhance will be fiom the yaid connected with the commissanat stoics built outside the banack wall, an opening being made 1 thiough the scoiia wall for that purpose.

A New Zeal.iml Gazette was published yesterday. It contains— an Oidei m Council appointing legul.itions for the native distiicfc of Kaipar.i ; a notice that tendei3 foi the supply of Newcastle coal foi the public offices will be leceived up to the 27th instant; a repoifc, fiom the Stipeiintendent of Wellington, of the battle of Moutoa, and of the subsequent events on the Wanganui nvei , the lnlf-yeaily leports of the ofhoeis in chaige oftheMiou prisoners, on boaid the hulk ' Mai ion ,' a notice that the native title has been extinguished over the Waikiekie block of land, in the dutnet of Kaipara ; a notice that the Governor has appointed Clhules Trlaselden, Esq. , to bo lecetverof l.md levenue foi the piovince of Auckland ; a notice th.it the Key. William Mill Fell, of the Congiegational Independents, has bsen appointed an officiating muuitei under the Maiuage Act; and lastly, that Divil Boosie Crmokshmk has been appointed to act as a Custom home agent until the 31st December, 18G4. The lemaining contents of the Gazette have no locil inteiest. The liev. W. B Clarke, the well known geologist nf Sydney, is piepaimg a woik on the geology of Aiibti.dia, which nny be expected next year. In this woik will appear muinei of .ill the discovenes of our New Zealand geologist'). Another woik of inteiest to New Zealand science m-y be expected shortly fiom Mi. W.dtei Bullcr, of Willuiglon. Mi Bnller is a son of the Rev. Jainesßullei, of Clnistchuich ; he is a lellow of the Lmnajan S icicty, and we doubt not that his woik, winch is upon the ornithology of New Zealand, will supply a dcsuluatum which has been long felt by natuidlists both in and out of this colony. A meeting was Iklcl at the Rojil Hotel, Onehung.a, at 2p ra yesterday. Mi Copl md was voted to the chin 1 The ai tides weip then diawn up with refer* enoc to the foithcoming boat lace, and the second deposit of .£2O a side was paid to the stakeholder theie appointed (the Southern Ckoss lepoitei). It was fm thei decided tint the l ace should tike place fioin Pnnces stieet Wharf, Onehungn, on Monday next, the 25th instant. Tlie meeting bioke up at 3 o'clock with a vote of thanks to the eh m man. The Uuitaiian body of Chnstians, who for the last twelve months have held then Sunday services in the Odd Fellows' Hall, being obliged to discontinue thtn meetings in that place on account of another leligious bouy having offeiod a much higher lent foi the use of it thin the Unitaii.ins can aftoul to pay, willinfutme, as announced in our advoitising columns, hold their Sunday sei vices in Mr. Samuel Coclnane's land mait, Foit stieet, which has most kindly been placed at the disposal of the committee fur that puipoae by its liberalminded piO|iiietor. A sale by public auction of the effects of a deceased officer of the 70th Regiment will t.ike pl.ice to day at the Albeit B.mncks, commencing at two o'clock. The qu.u teily meeting of- the me.nbeis of 'lie Wel-le»le\-stie"t Biptist Chapel tjolv place on Tuesday evening la-»t, in the schoohoom connected with the chapel, and was very numerously attended. Upwards

of one hundred persons were present, the Rev. P. H. Corneford, pastor of the chapel, presiding. After tea. ' thopioceedings of the evening were agreeably enlivened by addresses and singing. The benediction, pionounced by the Eev. P. H. Corneford, closed the meeting at a seasonable hour. The adjourned ordinaiy general meeting of the shareholders of the Ooromandel Gold Mining Company will be held in the Chamber of Commeice on Thiusday next, the 28 th instant, at ± p.m. The business is to receive the repot t and balance sheet, and to elect directors, &o. We published some time ago a statement to the effect that Mi's. Gore Browne was in serious ill-health. There will be many therefore who will be pleased to read the following, ftom the Jlobarl Town Mercury — "Alls. G-ote Browne, his~ Excellency the Governoi's lady, h?s been veiy seriously indisposed, so much so that, the most serious apprehensions weie for sometime epteitained as to her lecovery. Hitheito we have abstained fiom any mention of this, so that no unnecessaiy alarm might be spread. But now that she is out of danger we hasten to make the announcement." There is to be a meeting of the Auckland Gas Company to-day at 2 p.m. «■ The Chamber of Commerce will hold its usual monthly meeting to-day, at the moms. Fort street. ' ' Stiine curious illustrations of the blunders of telegiaphy," says the Melbourne Argus, " have been brought to light through the South Australian repot t. Some of the most seiious mistakes which occurred during the jear were caused by negligent punctuation on the part of either the writer of the message or the transmitting cleik. One example of this kind is given in a telegram which was intended to bo lead as follows — 'Butter sold, letuins as last. Send more. Floiu, thirteen ten.' But on reaching its destination the message was — 'Butter sold leturns as last. Send moie flour thnteen ten;' and the result was that move <? flom was sent instead of more butter." Ifc is announced in yesterday's New Zealand Gazette, that the following Postmasteis have been appointed in the province of Auckland : — Erom March 24, 1864 — Audiew Healon to be Postmaster at Ngaruawjhin, Mansell Roe to bePostmastei at TeAwamutu, Henry Nogens to be Postmaster at Te Eoii, George Washington to* be Postmaster at Ngahinapouri, Michael Fin long to be Postmaster at Whatiwbata, Edward Wilson to be Postmaster at Raluupokeka, James Ken? to be Postmaster at Eangiiin, John Marshall to be Postmaster at Meiemeie, William Nail to be Post-n-aster at Pukeiimn Prom July 1, 1861 -John Angus to be Postmaster at Newmaikpt, Walter Itowsell to be Postmaster at Mangaturoto, Isaac Rhodes Cooper to be Postmastei at Orewa, The following item 3 of Natal news will b, interesting to some of our leaders • — The Bishop of Cape Town (Di. Giay) has piomulgated his sentence, of deposition and excommunication against the Bishop of Natal (Dr. Colenso) in the var-ious Anglican chuiches ot the colony. A strong protpst against this piDceeding, giounded on its illegality, was sent in befoiehand by the clnuchuardens and othei membeis of the Chinch of Englxnd belonging to St. Paul's Chmch, Duiban Many of the congiegation left the chinch befoie the episcopal bull >\as real. Bishop Colt-nso is fast being martyiized by his episcopal biethren. Sheep farming is being vigorously piosecuted. No fentr than 40,000 sheep ha\e been btought into the colony fiom Overbeig. Since the beginning rl the year, 15, 219cwfc. (7G'J tons) of sugar have been expoited. Tenders will be leceived at the Comtnissaiiat office until noon of Saturday next, for the suppl}- of tunbei, cait shafts, nding saddles, fiiewood, potatoes. &c. Fiuther paiticulars will be fonnd in ad\ei tiseinent. An emergency meeting of the United Set vice Lodge of Fieemasons will be held at the Lodge-ioom, Masonic Hotel, to morrow evening, at h."l£-past seven o'clock. Visiting brethren aie invited to attend. In the Police Court yesterday, Luueuce MiX'ann, Wm. Sandeison, Margaiet Cane, and Jessie Fenning, weie biought up on remand, chaigeJ b> one W.Unm Mitchell with having stolen from his peison the sum of £39, whilst in the house of the pusonsr Canp, on Saturday last. All the prisoners with *he exception of Margaret Cane were discharged, there being no evidence to wanant their •committal. The prisonet Cane was committed to take her tiial at the next ciiimnal sessions of the Supreme Court on the above charge, as it was proved by the evidence of constable Meredith that the amount of £31 18s. had been discovered concealed in the mattiess of her bed, in gold and notes, and among the latter was a £1 Bank of Dunedin note, of similar desciiption to the one that hid been stolen fiom the prosecutoi We may men t on thit tl.e piisoneis Sandeison and McCann wore -Mbstqueiilly apprehended !>y Coiporal Meiedith, and ha-idcd o\er to thi authorities as being deserteis fiom the Waikatos.