MAIL SUBSIDIES AND SERVICE.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXI, Issue 2607, 25 November 1865, Page 4

MAIL SUBSIDIES AND SERVICE.

It would seem that Auckland i» not the only community that has suffered serious and unnecessary inconvenience), by the departure of the intercolonial steamers from Sydney before the arrival there of the English mail. The ' Ottgo ' left Sydney on the lßbh, and the Nelson Examiner of the 2 lit states that it was arranged that tho ' Prince Alfred ' wai to be detained until the 21st or 22nd, should the mail be telegraphed before her departure on the 17th. The mail was telegraphed on the 17th, and the • Prince Alfred ' thereupon sailed. We have taken pains to . inquire into this mutter ; and we believe the whole affair is entirely one_ of money. Captain Vine Hall, the Company's Agent, sent for the Mail Agent, on receipt of the telegrams, and inquired whether ho would guarantee the payment of a certain sum on the part of the New Zealand Government, if he detained the steamer uutil the ariival of the mail. The Mail Agent could give no such guarantee, whereupon Captain Hall decided upon despatching the steamer at the advertised hour. He complained that during the last five years the company had been put to great expense and inconvenience by the detention of steamers for' the English mail, and that the New Zealand Government never paid anything for it. To what extent this is true we cannot pretend to say. Doubtless there is some foundation for the statement, or it would not be made; but there is one material point which appears to have bean overlooked, and that i« the public interest. Now, we call upon the New Zealand Government to protect the public in this matter, if the bungling of the late Government renders it possible, for they may depend upon it that Captaiu Hall will look after the interesti of his employers. The steam-boat company is paid large subsidies of public money for carryiug the mail between this colony and Sydney r what we want to know ii this, whether the company is entitled to the subsidy withont performing the service! That appears to us to be the pith of the matter. Evidently Captaiu Vivo Hall thinks that nich is tho case, or he never would have ventured on suoh a , course. It is quite dear that if the colony it to subsidise steamers to do a mail service, the contractors ought to becompelled to perforra',that service at whatever risk. We have been told that we may expect the mail by way of Nelson on the 4th, should it not be tent by tho ' Novelty, 1 which nwy be expected here on the 10th ; or by H,M. s.s. ' Curago*,' which, we understand, is to call at Norfolk Island on her way to Auckland.' It would seem that a telegram was sont from Sydney to the Melbourne agent, telling him to have the mail put on board the ' Rangitoto in Melbourne. This would be the better arrangement, but just because it is so, we can hardly persuade ourselves that it will be adopted. Thit is a subject for the Chamber of Commerce. We would' suggest to that body' the idea of appointing a Vigilance Committee to look closely after this, and all other questions affecting the commercial interests of Auckland. With suoh a committee, the chances then would be , that any resolution the Chamber might come to would not be too late to be of use.

The usual meeting of the Wellington-street Literary Association was held on Thursday evening last— Mr. Andrew Stewart in thechair— when several nesv candidates for membership were added to the roll iv due form. In consequence of the unexpeoteds." suocesi which has attended the sooiety, although so lat«ly placed in real working order, it was considered desirable that the rules should undergo a careful revision, and a motion to that effect' was accordingly made by Mr. Laishley, and agreed to. The special committee proposed aud «ppojuted for this purpose con»ist of Messrs. J. W. Bain, K. Laishley, F. Battley, J. MoOlark, and the secretary ; the report, to be brought up as soon a* practicable. Readings were then given by Mr. Tissiman from Hood, and Mr. Hunt from Browning, very creditably. It was expected that Mr. Laishley would give a reading! from ' ' Pickwick," aud the seoretary one from Douglas <l Jerrold's works, but both were unavoidably 1 post- « poned. The members of the -association ' seem to < take great interest iv its proceedings, and it cer- ' tainly promises to be one of the most successful in its objects of our local Institutions, - r . „ , Lwt evening a lecture was delivered in the Odd Fellows' Hall, in did of ths funds o£ the Auokland City Mis»ion and Children's Home, by the Rev. S. Edger, pastor of the Albert-street Cougregational Chapel. John Williamson, Esq., M.H.K., presided, and the ' iutroduotory religious' exero'ises were conducted by Mr. B. Cunningham and Captain (Rattray, The attendance was good. , /Che rev. lecturer selected as his' theme "Recreation." ' After some prefatory observations, in which he expressed his willingness to render any assistance to so, highly! Christian and j benevolent, an institution, ho applied himielf to his, subjeot, whioh he treated in * philo■ophic and argumentative manner. A vote of thank* to the Chairmau terminated the proceedings. ' , No tidings of the) missing captain 'of ths 'brig ' Emma Fresoott' have yet been heard, and thntf can be little doubt , that the wont -fears respecting his fate will be realized. .The; testimony of the seaman of _the Chilian .vessel who ita,ted that he heard a heavy 'fall and a splash, about, the time Captain Stanton was known to have gone down the wharf, and the further testimony respecting the howling of his dog at the same time, go to prove the' probability of his death by drowning. The vessel will be taken on to Melbourne, via Newcastle, to-day, ,in oharge of the chief officer. , ' ' „",'.' , The Howiok anuual races are fixed to be held oa~ ( tho racecourte, Eaat> Tamakij on Tuesday,; Deoember '26th. There are to be six mces, and the following to be followed :— The Auckland Jockey Club rules' to be observed j 'entries to be aooompaniedfoy a guinea subscription to the raootJEuiti j" |eutrance-fee, teu per cent. ; and the decision of tbj ktewards.to be final. ' ■1,. . i <'\ ■ « : ) swV ' We haye 1 been' requested to remihd t 6\ir'rjikdeW ; th.»t the continuation of the' s*le of the Balmaia "estate will take place on Tuesday next, at Messrs. E. and H. Isaau'u store, when some of the^ohqio* portions of the block are to be offered— amongst others, being the land known m Hawkins's" nursery— whioh is renowned forjh'aviriff produced foroefof'tbe/flnest fruits of the provinoe, , 1 ' i". j 1 1> 3^

The Raping* Gold Mining Company have received, per 'Tasmaniaa Maid,' from Ooromaudel, 820oz. gold, the proceeds of one month's crushing, consiened to Mr. JR. Home, ,the Treasurer. This company is h«w in the receipt of a steady income from their quartz claim at Coromandel. We hope to Bee other companies equally successful. On Wednesday evening, about eight o'clock, George Dare, a" buthmnn, working in the Waiwera, one oi a number who had assembled during the day to take part in the electioneering proceeding*, met with his death under the following circumstances :— The roan Dare, who, it appears, wa» drunk, applied to Mr. Sitnt, the landlord of the hotel, for more drink, whioh Sims declined to serve him with. Dare, muoh excited, threatened to smash his face, to which Sims iwplied that he (Sims) had his hands in hit pockets, and meant to' keep them there, hoping by this to keep the man from afsanlting him. Nothing reliable beyoud these facts can be ascertained ; some one, however, struck Dare a blow (in the face it ii supposed, as a small bruise is visible over the right eye), which felled him to the ground, and on some one or other of the bystanders going to his assistance h« \va» found to be dead. An inquest was to be held on Thursday. Dare leaves a wife aud family. Thep.s. 'Southland,' despatched by the General Government on a voyage to the Auckland Islands to determine whether any shipwrecked people remain there, returned to Invercargill on the 9th instant, and report* the islands to be completely uninhabited. "Want of space compels vi to withhold a very interesting narrative of the expedition by the special correspondent of the Southland Times. Like the' Victoria,' the 'Southland' found the island without inhabitants ; but traces of a wreck were fouud, and of persons having been living there, which the ' Victoria' overlooked. We will give particulars in our next There are at present on view at Mr. Upton's establishment several sketches in water-colours, executed by Mr. W. Monkhouse, of this city, of whose artistic ability, we dare say, most of our readers know. The sketches comprise scenes at Omaha and Pakiri, and incidents of bush life, such as felling kauri, sawing timber, &o. All the pictures are treated with skill, and ought to be more highly valued, as few of the sojourners iv the New Zealand bush can produce such works. By the 'Queen,' on Wednesday night (> forty labouring men, five women, and one child, arrived in this port, having been brought down by Mr. Cotterel, acting ou behalf of the Provincial Government. Of the forty men, two were stowaways, but were ultimately placed iv the same position as the others. Seven of the men and the three of the women whp were unmarried have been engaged since their arrival, the Government beiug at once relieved of the responsibility with regard to their passage. The remainder of the men have been formed into three road parties, and despatched to Kereru, Puketapu, and Meanee respectively. — Jlaivke's Bay Times, November IS. Major-General Chute, accompanied by Colonels Gamble and Pitt, and by Captain Spain, an officer of the Trausport department, paid a second visit to Napier, on his way from Auckland to Wellington, by the 'Queen.' The Major-General inspected the 70th (his own old Tegiment) yesteiday morning, at an early hour, in Clive Square, the men being in heavy marching order. The regiment marched past in slow aud quick time, formed square, and performed a number of other military evolutions._ One or two mistakes were committed, which did not altogether please the Major-General ; but, on the whole, a finer-looking or better drilled (we might add, better conducted) regiment has not been seen by old officer* in ths service. The Major-General and suite continued their voyage to Wellington yesterday evening. — Ibid. A cricket match will be played to-day between eleven officers and eleven non commissioned officers and men of the Garrison ; wickets to be pitched at 10.30 a.m., play to commence at 11 a.m. The band of the 14th .Regiment wiil be in attendance all the afternoon. A meeting of the inhabitants of Onehunga was held at the Boyal Hotel, on Thursday evening, for the purpose of making preliminary arrangements for the forthcoming regatta. A committee was elected, and a secretary and treasurer were appointed. It was arranged that the regatta should take place the first or second week in January. Lieutenant-Colonel Gorton, who was in command of the colonial forces at Wanganui, has resigned his commission, to take a lucrative position in connection with the Volunteers of Victoria, Major Yon Tempiky, as senior officer, takes command until the vacancy is filled by the Colonial Government. — Nelson Colonist, November 21. Last evening Mr. K. E. Leadam delivered a lecture in the Mechanic's Institute, on "The significance of the times to Christians. " There was a thin Attendance. The Commissioner of Crown Lands intimates by advertisement that land orders under the Pensioners' Claims Act, 1861, in favour of claimants whose names are given, are ready for issue. At the Police Court, yesterday, Alfred Martin was committed for trial on the charge of stealing a watch. A woman named Mary Stewart brought a charge of rape against two men named Lynch and Symondf. Mr. Weston appeared for the prosecution, and Mr. Wynn for the defence. After the evidence had been heard, his Worship committed both prisoners for trial. TUere was a good attendance at the Prince of Wales Theatre, last evening, to witness a repetition of the admired comedy, entitled "A Lesson for Ladies." The entertainment conoluded with the drawing of prizes in the gift enterprise.