The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XX, Issue 2203, 12 August 1864, Page 3

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUCEO KON URO " If I hiv» been extinguished, j et there nso A thousand beacons from the spark I bort "

FRIDAY, AUGUST 12.

Theke is no nioro impoitanfc quostiou for discussion in a new colony like this than the state of the labour market. Labour here is the first condition of progress, even in a moie mailed way than in older communities, where ether men have laboured for the enjoyment of their successors in a way unknown in a new country like this. Here everything has to be done. The visions indulged in by some very verdant colonists, on leaving their native country, of acres self-sown with grass, fenced by nature, and provided with a house and outbuildings by a paternal Government, are soon dissipated on the first glance at the reality. Heavy and all but impassable timber land, or fern land through which you can indeed make your way, but which you can by no means got a view of above the tangled network of matted stalks through winch you painfully struggle to get out again, — these are the stern realities which men get but small idea of until they see what the task of conquering from barrenness to fertility in a new country is. Here, therefore, labour is wanted for everything. Nothing is found ready to our hands, eveiything js to be the product of our work. Nowhere therefore is the labouring man so much the leading man as in a new colony. His wants, his needs, even his capnecs, have to be attended to first of all This may, perhaps, be well in some respects, but it mny very easily be abused. Men who know they are now in request as they never were in request in their lives before, are apt to value themselves too highly, and to be unwilling to share the profits of their labour \uth their employe) s. This is both veiy unfair and highly injurious to both parties. The labourer is injured, because employers, instead of casting aside all considerations of prudence, simply enter upon fewer operations of any sort; and the employer suffers because even of what he does do he gets no fair share of the profit, as it all goes to the labourer. Nor arc these the only persons who suffer. The colony at large comes, peihaps worst off of all in the matter. Labourers are exorbitant in their demands, andas a consequence no employers can be found who arc willing to throw away money in employing them on these terms. The men are obstinate, and the employers are, as they have reason to be, firm. Consequently there is not work for a great many labourers, and the poorer workmen are thrown out of work. The news of tins soon sprejds, even when nob intentionally exaggerated byindividuals for purposes of their own, and the colony gets a bad name as the field of emigration for the labouring man. Nothing could be much worse at present (ban such an idea for several reasons. The fh-bt is (hat really it la not true ; and the second, that not being true it is calculated to prevent us from getting the best portion of that stream of immigation which we want as soon as the war is fairly at an end. With regard to our first statement we need only call attention to the letter which appears to-day in our columns from the Immigration Agent of the province denying, in a way that can hardly admit of being explained away, the assertion that the labour market is overstocked just now: The facts which he brings forward in support of his opinion ato very plain and convincing. To most persons it will appear evident that if men will not take such wageq as he describes himself as empowered to offer, they arc nob by any means eager to find work. There are, unhappily, in all communities a class of poisons who prefer "loafing " to working, and Mho will not work steadily, except under the influence of what should rather be termed a bribe than wages. These, however, are not the real working men of the country ; they are only a poor counterfeit of the genuine article, and are of less than no benefit to the colony which they honour by their presence. It h wholly absurd that men should set up a standard at which they propose to aim in the rate of wages they will earn, and then, instead of honestly working better or harder than their neighbours for it, try merely to get it out of their employers'

profits. IW our own part, wo know no farmers can afford a higher rate of wages jn this province than that which the Immigration Agent says lie has offered in vain ; and if men professing to be labourers thinlc themselves too valuable to work for that, all we can say is that they are not to bo at all pitied if they arc at times a little hungrier than they might lilco to be. The rates of wages mentioned in our correspondent's letter aro as high as we have over known them .in New Zetland, while the necessaries of life are by no moans so highly priced as we have known them. Circumstances indeed of an exceptional kind hare produced tho present vciy high rates of wages. The war is, no doubt, the chief cause, having absorbed n large number of our working population in the ranks of the Waikato regiments. The prosperity of the Libounug cJaises wo do not for ono mslnnfc grudge them They get high wages now and plenty of work, and if they ]ay by the rao-iey thus cimed, the country is all the richer for thoir prospciity, as they may soon rise from llio olas-, of labourers to that of employer?. "But we do vciy much grudge thoarnouut of misieprescntation to w hich the btale of tho labour market hoie must bo subjected by the idle greediness of men who do not care to rise in tho social sculp ; v.h0.30 solo object indeed wo may take to he tho getting the largest amount of laziness out of their li p c possible without absolute stan at to i Foi after all, <liia system of voluntai y la/inefs about Auckland, dome; small jobs of poi tornge and tlie like, instead of going out (o tegular work, is only an.iy of gaining a livelihood without labour And as wo lime said, such a slate of thin<i«, especially when evaggclated -and made~ the most of, 13 veiy injurious (o this put of New Zealand just nou Tiio iogul.tr English labouier is not a \ery 111 1 listing style of man at tlie bc°t, and gcucially looks upon any one proposing him anything 'o r.ish as emigi.ition with \eiy suspicious eye 1 - If, however, he is (ohl fli.it a -\riy I.iigo jnopoi ('on of the labouriuu clussl") lvro <uo wandciu'g about uiieniployod, in the si^-cots, lie will at once turn a deaf cai to all attempts to induce him to come, confounding, as. lmatterofiourse, the idly disposed j id gicidy man who ])re!'ci-, an odd i'ob about Somerville's coiner with the prosperous an 1 useful 1 lbom.ng m m, w'io \^as never in niwe dum- ml 01 botti juul ll .111 li<> now is. At tins nuiiiii nt vi fed sin c ilipie 1-1 woik in plenty for all at highly lcnuiiieralne wages, and !i'i\ oiip wlio uiiis liia eye over the advcilisitig Lohnniia of tins paper will bo nblc to satisfy himself that woik is> now waging to be done which would employ i]v co times the labouring population available here (o do it Wliile such is tho case, it is uoiso than silly to make .1 noise about the non-employmenf ol men who do not wish to woilv For su-L men, probably, a little wholesome fasting w ould not be a bad euro and, at all events, if they find themselves undergoing it, they have now no one to blame but themselves.

The quarterly banking returns published in the IN T ew Zealand Gazelle on AYednoaday last, and of winch we give details in our is->ue of to-day, are deserving of notice, as showing the progress of bankiug in this colon}-. On the publication of the last quarterly returns in May, it was found that the opei.itious of the four banks (those of the Bauk of Australasia not coming within that period), up to the 31st March of this year, were as follow :—: — Deposits . . £2,529, 55S Discount-. . 2,187,462 Excess of deposits os'er discounts . 342,090 The deposits were made up of three items, which, leaung out the Bmall figures, were as follow — Government deposits £243,308 Deposits be irmg interest 569,475 Deposits not butting interest 1,710,773 This large sum deposited on current account cle.uly indicated a prosperous st ite of things. We now take the position of tho five banks on the 30th of June last, which Mas as follows ,—, — Deposits £2,5 IS, 712 Discounts. . . 2,264,128 Excels of deposits over discounts . ... 254,554 These deposits aro, without going into tho smaller figures, made xip of tho following items — 0 overnment deports £238, 194 Deposits beating niterc-st 59,5, 7t>9 Deposits not be.mng inkiest 1,636 744 From the above it will be seen that tho aggregate of tho returns for this quarter vary from those of tho prOVIOUSp r0V10US quarter to the following extend : — The deposits aie les s by some eleven thousand pounds, and tho discounts aie more by some seventy-seven thousand pounds. The deposits not bearing interest have decreased thirty thousand pounds, but tho {Red deposits including Government deposits, hare increased nineteen thousand pounds, or taking the private deposits only twenty-four thousand pounds. Wo ha 'c before remarked that the banks chiefly derive their profits from the discounts, and concluding that they do a safe business, the discounts being heavier at the end of this quarter than at tho last by seventy-seven thousand pounds, the profits must havo been proportionately larger. We -n ill make a still further comparison. The notes and bills in en dilation at the end of March were £765,537, against which there was coin and bullion to the amount of £710,916. This was tolerably satisfactory , but the quarter ended 30th June shou san even more satisfactory result. The notes and bills in circulation at the end of that quarter were £789,004, and the coin and bullion almost balance it, being £788,24.7, the difference being only £1,657. The average liabilities of tbe four bank for the March quarter wr-re £3,379,618, and the assets £4807,572, showing the large surplus of £1,427,954. The averago liabilities for the June quarter were £3,388,855, and tbe average assets £5,000,190, leaving the still larger surplus of £1,011,335, simply amounts to this, that the baulci have made a profit of £183,381 during the quaiter, which is at the rate of £733,524 a year — not far from three-quarters of a million. No better proof could be had than this of the prosperous state of the banking institutions, and the large lesources of the colony. We have called attention to the increase in discounts, which may either bo an index of overspeculation, or an expanding tra Je, The profits of course would necessarily bo larger and the risk the greater. Of course it would be idle to speculate upon wliich of these causes the increase should be attributed to, but we would simply repeat what we had occasion to say when tho last returns were l^ublislied, that all legitimate business should bo encouraged, while that tendency to over spocu-

lation, which pervades all mercantile communities alike should be discouraged. The bank returns being of course for the whole colony, wo are not in a position to tay to what extent, if any, Auckland is responsible for this considerable increase in the discounts ; but -we should be inclined to believe, considering the class of merchants and business men generally here, that a very safo business is boing done in Auckland. Our remarks, whiet apply to the aggregate returns, are in otherwords these — that thogoneral prosperity of the colony, and thebanks thunselves, will be best effected by a careful discrimination botween tho speculator and the boua fide business man. In tho March quarter there were the returns of only four banks ; we have now one added to them, viz., that of the Bank of Australasia ; and the next quarter, we presume, wo shall have those of the Bank of Auckland. Congratulating the representatives of the various banks upon the continued prospcrhy of those institutions, we refer our readors to another part of tho paper for details of the returns.

We acknowledged in 6nr issue of yesterday, the leeeipt of a copy of the tepoifc of the pioceedings of tlie City Binul, ami will now give a brief .abstract of its con bents Tlio fusb poitiou of this " I>lue book" is ,v cnijy of tlio in nutes from Juno 2, 1803, to June 23, KSC4, together -nth the names of tlio membeis, and the officer and jm.l set vants of tho Board, and the amount of thoir saUries. Tho salauos avo a 9 follow — Mi. "David Gi iham, chairman, £175 per a'i'iitm ; Mr John Ogtlvic, secretary, £200 per •ninnm ; Mr. Oo>nre Biamali Erasi, engineei, £400 pel annum; Mi. John AVilliam Dicld ims, valuator, £150 ]iei annum ; TMr. ITeniy Douglas Moipefch, inspector of imr-a iee a , &c , £100 per annum , Mr. Willum Anclmson, foieman of woiks, 12s Gil. per day ; Mi. Gooieje Maiuico O'Rorlca, retniJiinq ofheci, £2") pev annum The appendix to tlio leport of piocc dings eontaii s a leport by Gh.ules Ileiphy, E>q., to t!ie Superintendent relative to a supply of water for tho cify of Auckland and subiubs , a i r porfc of tho CU-iuman of. Standing Comim^e-son liijlitinc; city lamps, nuuutes of the meeting of .Stiests Cnmmi"o3 on pincha^o of M;onp bieakmc; machine ; icpoit of th" Secietaiy as to tho dedication of coit.im stieets in tho oity as part of tlio ii'ijiil u tlio!'mar}if,ne<s , icport of tlie Nuisance Committee, icpoifc of tho collector of l.ites ; statemen bof con ti acts enteicd into by tho commissioners, ibsii ict of mi. uiie and exuondituie, and statement of moi.c\ s on iif to i id debts ai d liabilities of tlie City IVmd 'I h > imnme and exjieiuhhiie are as fo'low . — Inoomi Piom Provincial Government, on acconntof vote 1 : lorcity m.iin seuei, £3 049 3s 5d ; fioni ditto on account of \(>tes for city purposes, £1,007 3- 3d ditto, m account of vote "loan of £20,000. ' i"5 000 ; dit 1 0, ou account of votes for vn'Q) «n|>|)ly C7OO , ditto, contnbution towards ex- ] ensf of cutting aiid forming A lbei t - street, C>oo , ditto, one - naif of expense of erectin? mi lal, frc, at the whirf, £13 14s. 6d. ; ditto, expense of ligliting >\harf lamps, £30 Is 7d. The other items of income are From lents of ground in Custom house-stieot, £176 10s. ; city rates, £4,803 I4i. lOd ; carters' licenses, £182 10s ; lodg-ing-house liceuw «, £24 ; fiom Insurance Companies' propoition of ex|iense in foimnig w.itei tank? for fircengiiif"!, £201, miscellaneous income, £50 Bs. 6d Tbp <-\penditine is as follows : — Constructing city main s-wer, €2 773 13s 1 Id. ; repairing and cleansing streets, £6,004 Us Cd ; lighting streets and repairinf; l.inifis, £185 B*. 8<1. ; repairing and working fire engines, and forming water tanks, £412 6s id.; salaries of officers and servants of the Board, SS'iO 0->. 6d. ; office furniture, printing, stationery, advertising, &c, £373 0?. lid ; water supply, forming wells, erecting pump?, &c , £718 15s. 9d.; services of assistants to engineer, £54 17s. 10d.; price of stone bieftkinc; maohme and expense* towards erecting and working the same, £SSS ss. 6d.; valuation of city pioperty paid to Messrs. Aitken and Reid, £250; siibscu'ption to repair of Mount Eden road, £30; electing urinal and water-closet on wharf, £27 9s , law expenses, £73 4s ; miscellaneous cxpouditme, £84 11*. 4d ; balance in hand, onaccouut of main sewer, £301 9s. 6d., for general purposes, £2,709 ?s. lOd ,the totals being £1t>,341 Id. The following ddiuonal information is also given: — Moneys due to the Boiui, £0,517 4*. lOd ; debts liabilities of the Boaid, £6,237' ss. Bd. ; ities under e\i->imrf contiacts, £<t,621 9s 7d.; an ears of mtos due to the Board, £1,850 16s. Cd. We r?gret to have to announce that tho well known firm of Rattray and Matheson, meichants, of this city, have claimed the protection of the Debtoi? and Cieditors Act, or in other woids have fileJ their iichedule as insolvents It will bo jpcollcctei' that on the 9th of July last, Messii. Rattiay and Matheson made an assignment to Messis. Samuel Cochrane and Samuel John Edmonds, and it was supposed that all difficulty was at an cud, and that the estate would be satisfactorily wound up under inspection. This has, unfoifunatcly, pioved not to be the case , as several of the cieditois of the firm declined to come in under the assignment, and piessed for their claims. There was, theiefoic, no comse open but to claim the protection of the Com t. The liabilities aie stated (in gros/i) at £24,354 Is Id ; this is leduced by bills leceivable and contia accounts due by the parties named in the schedule to £20,842 Is. Id. The assets me— stock and plant, £6,437 ss, and debts, good, bad, aucl doubtful, C 2,720 5s 4d., tho furnitme of the two insolvents being valued at £300 — making a cross total of assets of £9,403 10^. 4d. Mr. Matheson has been foi some time absent fi om the colony on a visit to Amciici. The punoipal part of the indebtedness, is, so far as we pan leain, in Auckland, and to Auckland fn ins ; but only in one or two cases is the lump sum of any veiy senous amount. We had the pleasuie jesterdiy of inspecting a veiy handsome silver cup, presented to Captain Griffith Jones, of the ship 'Maxwell,' by the saloon passengeis of thaj vessel, in appieciation of hi* conduct during their passage here. The enp was presented to Captain Jones by Dr. Pinching, at the office of Messrs. Blown, Campbell, and Co., and it boie the following inscription — " Presented to Captain Griffith Jones, of the ship ' Maxwell,' by the saloon passengoiß and "sisters of Mercy, for Ins attention to them during the passage fiom London to Auckland, August, 1864" Captain Jones, expiessed to Dr Pinching, in suitable teims, how deeply he felt this token of their kindness. The piesent is a valuable one, auc! it is the b«st proof that Captain Jones could have that he has perfoimed his duty. A large number of th» Waikato Militia, No. 9 Company of the 3rd Regiment, have arrived at Onehunga on their way to their ifcation at Waikato. The Auckland Rifle Volunteers aio informed by Major Campbell that tho competition for the champion belt and silver vase, presented by Dr. Campbell, the l»te Superintendent, will take place for the former -on Tuesday, and for the latter on Wednesday next, the 16th and 17th inst. ; *lso, that the competitors are to paraJe at the practico giound, Mount Eden, at ten o'clock each day. Should the weather be considered unfavourable, the green flag will bo hoisted at the usual place, and the firing postponed until the following day. Notice ii given in our advertising columns that the first call of ten shillings per ihare in tha Bank of Auok land will be payable on Thursday, the 15th September next. W. J. Ploughman was charged in tho Police Court yesterday, with unlawfully taking a truw of hay from the Coratnisiariat Store in Albert-streak Thi« caie was remanded until to-day, In ordtr to giv» preoedeno* to tht civil casts.

At Port Waikato, on the 9th instant, a youth, named Henry Elderton, was brought before the Resident Magistrate, E. 0. Stewart, Esq., charged wifcK housebreaking, on Sunday, 7th instant, and stealing. There were several native witnesses examined, but the facts o£ the case will b« sufficiently disclosed from the following. John Farmer deposed that, on Sunday evening last, he received information that his house had been broken into, and that on Monday morning, on visiting the honso, he found the door and two boxes broken open, and missed a one- | pound note rolled up in a piece of paper. It ap- - r pears that a man named George Kidwell had alto some things in Farmer's house, and that his watch was missing at the same time. It would appear that 6he evidence of the natives was that upon which the prisoner's guilt was found to be sufficiently clear to commit him for trial. The watch was found in his possession, and besides being I scon with more money th*n it was likely i he could have come honestly in possession of, lio had attempted to pass off-an ornamental cover of a pack of cards upon the Maoris for a valuable piece of paper. They were too knowing for him, however, and detained him until he was arrested by an Emopean constable. The prisoner, who is a simple looking youth, but whose couduot would lead to the belief that he is an accomplished young scamp, said he ran away from his ship in Auckland, and that ho had found the watch. It appeals that he had been employed at the Government works, Port Waikato, for a short time, but that beii>g an idler ho was reduced to boys' wages, and left. He was afterwards suspected of picking a fellow-lodger's pocket of £6, and went up the river to Taupari, where Kukutai's people proved more than a match for his roguery. It was there that he was observed so piofnse with his pound notes, which led to the belief that it was the 'tolen money, and the man who lost the money was to appear against the prisoner on the following day, the 10th, to endeavour to piove his guilt and recover his money. In committing the prisoner for trial on the first cbaige, the magistiate (Mr. Stewait) lemarked that it w«is a gieat pity to see a lad so young such a proficient in crime. The Harmonic Society had a practice last night In St. Matthew's School-room, Hobson-atreet. The weather could haidly have been more unfavourable, but notwithstanding that, theie was a good attend ance of members, and the different parts were taken in a way to give every hope that the full reheat sal op Thuiaday next will be eminently satisfactory We noticed particularly last night that the time of the instalments was very good, and the bas3 rich and full In addition to the " May Queen," a very pretty pait song, " The Belfry Tower," and several glees, &c, viere also rehearsed. We are lequested to state that there will be a band practice in the School-room of St. Matthew's (and notat St Paul's, as pteviously announced) this evening; and a ful pi notice on Monday evening at the same place. Rapid pi ogress is now being made with the Odd Fellows' Hall, converting it into a theatre for \li . George Fawcett's company. The end wall has been taken out, thus adding the entire depth of the old stage to the building. The artists are also busily at work upon the proscenium and other decorations of the stac;e, as well as the scenery. We understand that the magnificent extravaganza of "Aladdin ; or, the Wonderful Lamp," is the first on the carte. The Resident Magistrate* Court was occupied until past four o'clock yesterday in hearing to a long hi? oF civil cases. As it was, the whole list could not got through in the day, and lome of the cases wei c obliged to be adjourned until a future day. The schedule of Eobert Hastings Smith has been filed in the Supreme Court. The insolrent is desoiihcl as a "settler residing in Auckland." The liabilities are £29 lls. Gd. ; assets nil. A rather singular mishap befel a man who was driving a dray on Wednesday afternoon last, in O-Dehunga. When passing along the road leadn.g to the Government Wharf he took his dray into the water a short distance, when the water deepening suddenly the dray was up to the axles, ,iud tbc bottom not being of the hardest, the horse was unable, notwithstanding the most vigorous cxci turns, to move it. The man ai last was obliged to get into the water, much to the amusement of alai^e number of spectators, take the horse out of the di ay, and wait until the tide had ebbed sufficiently %o allow of his getting it out. The somewhat unusual event of a "honso v.aiming" took place at Onehunga, on Wednesday evening last, when about thirty couples were invited 1o ihe new residence of Mr. John N. Manly. Theie wa? an excellent; band m attendance, and dancing and singing were kept up until the "wee shr.b houis ayont the twal'" had long passed? * In the Police Couit yesterdny, in the case of the Queen v. Whitlow, the pusoncr was remanded uutil Wednesday next, at the i eq ue-jfc of Mr. Merriman, who appeared foi the pnwcntinn, in Older that further evidence might b* ftnth(wnm.j which would necessitate comrauuicitmn with Tnranga. The following selection of music will 1 c i>" for n°.l in the Albeit Bariacks, to-day, by fio bml i>f tho 50th Regiment : — March . " Volunteei s". CVsner Overture . "The Exiled ', O issuer Valse.. . . "The Adelaide". UAlotte Selection "La Tiamta" Yer.h Qnadulle "Off to Charleston ' D Mbert Galoj>.. "Submaime".. D'Alberfc. Mi 1 . Sluel Barry takes hi* beueit, and we believe his faiewell, at the Piince of W.ily-, this evening. It is almost uunecessaiy to sxy t\ it Mr Shiel Bany is without compaie in Tii^h ihn-i fc^n, and though the pieces announce 1, the " "".cgj 'it LuJjuow ' aud "Handy Andy," hive lecenUy Iven played at the Prince of Wales, we do not doubt but that he will be able to piesent such a conhast to the pievious impetsonation of the ehxiac f ei 'ie t ' cs is will lender it new to the playgoing pnVu • heiu lie deserves a bumpei house, and >ye hope lie will hueh u'e one. Notwithstanding the inclemency of tho weather last evening thoro was a ci >w .le 1 h > ise at tho Oaliforuiau Citous, it bein^ the occasion of Madame Toiunear's benefit Had < J ie weifchei i>s<-n somewhat more fnvoui ible, we Iwo no rlou'it t'l.it numbeis would have been unable t-> have obtained admittance Madime Ton' iiD.ii, by her £ia*eful dancmg, and her air.ntio peiforai nee bs an cq;i''Shieiine, has become a deceived f i votive with the public wheieevcr she has been, a.vl it i-> a'm^st needless to say that hci exhibition of ndi jj; last evening in no way belied the lu"h rsput..!io i s.io ha. altiuuoj as being the star equestrienne of r,no colonies. The entire performance la it evening ••, x<s 1 1 em >rk vb'y good one, eveiy one engaged hci ig evidently cV rot.s of adding their shate t> Qic s loctss of the entertainment. Bcvtial ninJbei woie lntioduced, among which wis ,i performance by Sigmoi R i))haol <m I h s pet dog Fanny; aud eon'-i'letiug Urt il was thj fir,t time the clever little amui il h.«l ,ci f'i me ! in public, lier first appearance may be considered to have been an unqualified success \monr the vauou3 clevei tricks th.vt thii httlo do ; his been t vught, we may mention jumping t'-inngh ] 10 ops, rnnniug tip and dowu a laddei, vA in<{ a luirel, an.l many others too numcious to p irlioulnuso Mr. MoEf.it, m his clever and rrti^tic .icfc of ecpiestrianism as the French Voltigeui, was paiticnlarly good, the performance being rccu\ c.l nnbunn led applause. The ente.i cmnmeut c ucludod with an exhibition of juvenile tiding i-pou V.i P,i!ey'n pet pony T om Thumb. 'Jhe Jibw.U pi.un .c of half a-guinea to] those wlio coxild lido eh io>* lound the ling without j falling off, a-i may w^ll be sup.msDd, in luccd many ! juvenile a^puants fio.n nuioug the au'lienco io try their hauds at obt.vinuw th" ooveted ; and although there wew tovvi sit or seven candidate*

■who endeavoured to perform' this by no i meai)s.'si^«pl»f task, it is 1 almost needless to'tiy'tliat thay dfcHsof unsuccessfully. One lather overgrown -juvenile^ however, did nunr-gc it at last on one occasion }~mison a second attempt, he alio came to grief "",«* signally a« his predecc=6ois. ' ' r .y[