The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXI, Issue 2608, 27 November 1865, Page 4

The Daily Southern Cross.

LTTCEO, NON URO. " If I liavo been extinguished, yet there riso A thousand beacons from the spark I bore.'

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 27.

Thehe is a great deal of excitement prevalent in the South at present, owing to some fear as to the difficulties of the colony affecting the hold now possessed by the provinces upon their land revenues. This can hardly be -wondered at either when it is l-eniembered that the provinces of Canterbury and Otago have, for the last few years, been usually in receipt of fully £200,000 a-year each on account of land sales. These largo sums springing from the land have, in fact, made Canterbury, in a great nieasuro, what she is. People are struck by the evidences of great expenditure they see around them in that province. They noto the large and expensive railway and harbour works ; they are struck with admiration by the splendidly-formed roads and substantial bridges ; and all those things compare most favourably with anything we can show in the older, the not less naturally wealthy, and, we believe, the yet-to-be more prosperous, province of Auckland. The secret of it all is, of course, the land revenue which Canterbury has, and we have not. Yet our needs, it may be, readily seen, are not less great than theirs in all these respects. It is true that we have not yet any extensive gold fields to boast of, although we may at any moment find ourselves in possession of these ; but we have almost as pressing a need of roads as though we had. Our country districts are at once more widely populated and more difficult of access than those of Canterbury, until they reach the mountain backbone that divides the east from the west coast. The back country of the Southern provinces is only inhabited by runholders and their shepherds and hut-keepers, except where there has Bprung up a goldfields population, which, in Canterbury at least, is only in ono direction. With Auckland it is very different. From Ahipara, near the North Cape, to Tauranga, and no doubt hereafter to Opotiki and Waiapu, on the south-east coast of the province, our population evon now, to some degree, extends, and must be expected to do so year by year. To provide for this extension and to make it really profitable to the province as well as to tho settlers, there are a hundred things to be done that require money in no very trifling degree. Not less than thousands of miles of road would require to be traversed to visit all the settlements even now in existence in this province ; but unfortunately the greater part of these thousands of miles are not yet even laid off by the surveyor, while the large proportion of the rest is in tho condition of a mere traok. This is a country of streams and hollows, and these have to be 1 bridged before even a horse — leaving carts out of the question — can hope to cross them ; but as yet, unfortunately, the streams are as nature left them, unless, it may be, somewhat more muddy, owing to the struggles of the last unhappy animal that nearly got lost in the attempt to cross. The people of the North are proud, and justly proud too, of their country, with all its natural advantages ; but none can see bettor than they can how powerless they are to use these advantages, or develop the resources they see around them, while they are isolated from the world and from one another by trackless forests, and by bridgeloss streams and swamps. The great extent of, now territory suddenly thrown on our hands draws our attention very forcibly to these things j and we cannot but see how very difficult the position of ,'matters is. It might seem perhaps to some that, in getting the confiscated lands handed over to us by the colony, we were getting in reality the very thing which alone was needed to place us in the position of bur Southern sister provinces, by giving us a land revenue like them, from which we might form a fund to make roads, build bridges, and do anything else we thought requisite for the advancement of : the districts, if not of the province at large. This, however, would, if 'Gntertaine'd, prove a, very delusive hope. The lands of Waikato, Tauranga, and whatever otheruplaces may yet be confiscated, have not been handed over to enrich Auckland, but to free the colony from a burden that threatened to prove a heavy one indeed. It 'is' useless 'to mince matters, and the truth is that absolutely nothing

in likely to accrae~'tb"""th"o* provincial "funds directly from this transfer. What is gained by careful management will not be easily gained, so far ns wo can see, and at the best it will be a contingent, rather than a direct advantage in money. jVJiTe, shall, (indeed, reap,a benefit, even in money from the existence of a largo and a prosperous population throughout the districts hitherto held as waste, or all but waste lands by the natives ; bui this 'will only show itself long after this time, and when the roads and bridges have by some means been mado. The lands, are, ati present, lieavily burdened by a debt, and in this respect they differ from the Southern provinces' lands, which are free and unencumbered, tho jipnijnal price of the purchase having long ago been paid by the colony. And not only is there a burden, amounting probably to moro than than ten shillings per acre, on all tho available land ; but the cost of settling, and so making anything ' of it, will increase this burden by a very great deal, while it will in all probability require to be disposed of on a system of deferred payments, which will render it quite hopeless to get much out of tho land for roads and bridges in the meantime. And in this way at least wo are brought face to face with the difficulty, from which we take it there is no ( escape, 55 — certainly there is none by means of any land fund to be derived from the confiscated territory handed over to the province liy the Colonial Parliament. If we have not a land revenue to help us, it may clear the ground for our seeing more of our subject if we see what in reality we have got to rely upon in the way of a r6venue. There is, of course, a certain share of Customs duties collected in our ports in the first place, and this forms tho only very material staple of our income. There is, also, in addition a small sum from such a source as land sales, and another from licenses and the like ; but these are of little moment, and do not servo to swell by many thousands the revenue of the province , for the year. If wo reckon the Customs revenue at the highest rate which experience will justify, it scorns pretty certain that wo shall not bo able to get more than from £60,000 to £70,000 in all from this source ; and even, if by any fortunate conjunction of circumstances, the total sum of our revenue for tho year should reach £SO,OOO ov £90,000 wo should find that we could do next to nothing in tho way of prosecuting the great work of opening up the country by means of roads. There is, it may be said, some of the loan of hulf a million still in haud, and no doubt this is true, but it may well be questioned whether much of this can be diverted for purposes of mere ordinary roadmaking. What may be done in such exceptional cases aa the Waikato country, where the very existence of a population at all, aud tho maintenance of our hold upon the land, may perhaps depend upon our doing something, we cannot say ; but of this we are certain, that for the rest of the country some other means must be found, or the roads will continue as they are now in too many cases — mere swamps— and the bridges be either non-existent, or a pitfall in the way of the too confiding traveller.

Wo quote two rernarkablo articles from Southern contemporaries to-day, and wo desire to call special attention to them. The one is from the Otago Daily Times, commenting on Mi. FitzGerald's late speech in Christchurch ; the other is from the Canterbury Press, in which the editor speaks for Mr. FitzGerald. The writer in the Times forms a fair estimate of the character of the late Native Minister, and of his measures. If the question "were put to any man in the North Island, at all conversant witli its public affairs and the wants and wishes of the natives, -whether the Daily Times expressed a rigidly impartial judgment of the Canterbury politician and his native policy, we venture to say that the answer would be in the affirmative, without an exception. If, on the other hand, the question were asked, whether the Prat, in the article quoted, contained anything like an accurate statement of facts, so far as the natives are concerned, we are equally convinced that the answer v, ould be unanimously in the negative. Now, we do not proposo to controvert the statements in the Press, because we know very well that the writer is in possession of information ■which must convince him that the reverse of his statements is true. It is not of the least use, therefore, to attempt to argue the point with the Press. The member for Ellesmere has some cad in view ; and the writer in the Canterbury Press publishes whatever statements he thinks will help the hon. member to gain that end. For that purpose the Press was established ; on that principle it has been conducted ; and we suppose it will continue to be so conducted as long as its publication can be carried on. Within the colony the publication of such articles does very little harm. They are read, and laughed at. The writer is now pretty generally known, and his statements are taken for what they are worth. His object is known likewise ; and people in tho colonies are good-natured enough to give a wide license to men of ability, whether in speaking or writing, although they may be convinced in their own minds that it is injurious to the public interests to do so. But it is quite another thing beyond the colony. Mr. Pit/Gerald has established a reputation which is known in England. He is regarded by influential parties there as an authority on New Zealand politics; and the P?-css is known to be his mouthpiece Copies of that newspaper are extensively and gratuitously distributed at home amongst those who have influence, and whose influence the member for Ellesmore desires to enlist on his own behalf— for the whole " policy" of the gentleman in question centres on self. It was said of him during the last session by Mr. Domett, that "he was a man of largo sym- " pathies, and therefore would make a good " Native Minister." This estimate of his character we altogether dissent from; and we thinkj his whole public career will teach anyone who has a knowledge of human ' nature, that instead of possessing large sympathies, the member for ■ Ellesmere, as a public man, is intensely selfish and unscrupulous. His native policy is a policy of self-glorification, at the expense of natives and Europeans. ; But gentlemen of/ influence in the mother country who read the Press, do not know what its statements are worth ; and hence they bear, and havei borne, bitter fruit for this colony. The article which we quote elsewhere is a fair sample of the stylo of writing, and mendaoious; assertions, that constantly fill /the; leading columns ofthisChristohuroh print. The' people of Auckland may learn one thing from it, however, that in his hostility to this pro-, vince Mr. FitzGerald is in earnest. He goes in heart and soul (as Mr. John Hall would say)! to destroy the prestige of this province. As a,

Minister of the Crown'hie" lfad' tile hardihood' to denounce the public credit of Auckland, ( and to question the solvency 'of our' merchants. HiB organ in the press goes in to ' back 'up these niaiiciou? eklumhies' by 1 others not less unworjihyjof any newspaper pretending to any standing in the country.' We know that tfxe Writer in tho Press, is not ignorant) of{ Ijhe natives and of the state of, tho ( North Islaild, as. a casual reading of tho article in , ques-> tion would lead one to -believe. It is all the more to be deplored, therefore, that .refined Ghristchurch should set 'the example to the rest of the colony of prostituting the press to thojinosti unworthy antl , unpatriotio jpurposeß/ But so long as tho Canterbury members follow the lead of Mr. PilzGerald, and so long as such articles as wo have quoted appear ..in. their newspapers, the agitation for Separation will 'gather strength in the Nprth. "Wo cannot go on as a united colony, with, Mr. FitzGrerald, and men of his stamp, in the Government. And unless we accomplish Separation, and that speedily, there is a probability that the party which Messrs. Wold and FitzGerald represent may again secure the reins of Government. Let our whole strength, therefore, be concentrated in the one effort to obtain complete Separation from the Middle Island.

It is a singular fact thai; the greatest egotists are those who most loudly condemn egotism in others. An illustration in point it at hand. In a recent issue of the Canterbury Press, the speech of Mr. Moorhouse is reviewed.; The reviewer does not content himself by criticising the arguments of the candidate for the . Siiperintendency of Canterbury!; lie devotes some little attention to tb,o speaker himself : thus — ; " It is curious to nee how a speech t of such length can be filled up. In that before us there is one solitary topic which occupies every paragraph, (ills every corner, and points every sentence, ''and that is — William Sefton Moorhouse. A young; and inexpeiienced youth will sometime 1 !, through very shyness,' obtnule his personality into'hißnub'ject j but even then men would say that nothing of leal worth could come of a mind which saw in every subject it» own image reflected. But Mr. Modi house hai been for a long time before the public. If the public do not know what he is capable of, and what he can do, from his pas,t career, they will hardly now take it on trust from his telling. He may lie expected, at least in public, to forget himself in the questions he undertakes to discuss ; but he cannot. ' Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh ;' and it is not in the nature of things for any man to talk of himself for two hours consecutively without thinking of himself and himself alone." Now, 1 if any one would take the trouble to read the foiegoing extiact from the Press a second time, and ohange the nan.c William Sefton Moorhouse to James LMwaid, J?itzGerald, he would have as concise and truthful a description of that well-known New Zealand celebrity a3 could be written. An application was made some time ago to the ureuernl Government for letteis patent, by Messrs. Osborne and Boyd, for a cement which, was to' be composed by au improved method of mixing pulverized (.coiia a«li and lime. An objection was made to the issuing of the letters patent by the Superintendent of the piovince <>f Taranaki, in consequence of which Mr. Weaver, Engineer-iu-Chief of this piorince, has received a commission from his Excellency Sir George Grey as investigator into the objections raised against the application. All parties interested in the matter aie to communicate with that gentleman as eaily as possible. A public meeting of the peisons interested in the forming and improvement of the PonsoiiDy Koiul is to bo held to-morrow evening, at 7 o'clock, at the Sussex Hotel, College-street ; and to which all persons interested in the improvements aie solicited to attend. Ou receipt of information regarding the supposed case of homicide at Waiwera, the Commissioner of Police at once sent an officer to the scene of the occurience. Accuiato information has not, as yet, been received in town We may add that on Saturday wo received the following letter from a gentleman resident in the locality, dated November 23rd :— " I am sony to tell you that aftoi the poll had closed heie at four o'clock (the voters having adjourned to the hotel in a body) some one unknown struok George Dare a blow on the temple, which killed him on the spot. The crime was committed about eight p.m., and the man who did it has since disappeared. We arc waiting for the arrival of the Coroner, who will hold an inquiry into the nftair." ' We have been lequested to remiud our readeis that the sale of sixty five allotments at Cheltenham, Noith Shoie, will t.ike place this day, at Mr. S. Coclnane's auction mart, Foit btieet. The allotments to be offered are situate on the sandy beach, opposite Rangitoto, and will be disposed of ou veiy liberal terms. Mr. Cochraue will also offer for sale to-day the wooden buildings situate in ShorlLuidstreet, lately occupied by H M. Customs, and those used as the Immigration -Barracks. We are gratified to leai n that by the last mail from Wellington Mr. E, J. Cox, of the firm of Brookfield and Cox, solicitors, Auckland, received an intimation that his Excellency the Governor had been pleased to appoint him ltevising Officer for the proviuce of Auckland, under the Building and Land Societies Oidiuance and its amendments, and also under the Friendly Societies Act, 1856. The warrants of appointment were also foiwauled. From Mr. Cox's long and intimate connection with the many successful building and friendly societies which have been established in Auckland, we are sure our readers will agree with us that a more fitting appointment could not have been made. Wo call the attention of our readers to the announcement in another column of Lewissons' Grand Mammoth Diamond Baffle, which will be continued for three weeks only, between the hours of twelve and six p.m. £400 woith of valuable jowellery will be distributed in forty prizes, and paid as soon at diawn. The goods are on view at Messrs. Lowisson's establishment ; aud all prizes not approved of will be exchanged for any suitable article in the shop, on the usual terra*. Tho list of prizes will be found in the advertisement. The Judges, at the late sitting [of the Court of A ppea), decided on a question that was raised, as to whether lawyers, when pleading, were bound to appe<u> in the orthodox legal costume. A rule has beon made by the Judges, 'that after the Ist October next year no lawyer will be allowed to plead in couit, unless attiiedin the oithodox costume., viz., English barrister's gown without the purse. — Wellington Independent, November 11. Mr. Colenso, last evening, addressed a large audience in tho Council Chamber. — Ifawkc's Bay Herald, November 21. It is well kuown iv Napier that indications of gold have from' time to tima need found iv the. country adjacent to Poverty Buy. We now learn that similar indications have been recently exhibited to the eyos ' of some of the old diggers who constitute so large * pait of our colrnial forces, and that a little prospecting may not unlikely succeed to the moie arduous duties they are oalled upon to perform in' the! Turanga district, — Ibid. The weather continues unprecedentedly dry and bohteiom. With short intermissions, it continues to blow from the westward, raising clonus of dust, and further blighting the already p»rched-up vegetation. On ttiree or four occasions, Tantalus-like, the clouds darkeued ominously overhead, and a few drops of heavy rain have fallen, as if the prelude to a perfect deluge ; but on eaoh occasion the clouds quietly dispersed or retreated, before a heavy westerly squall. Should no change occur soon, most of the' crops will be worthless; and pasture, except in very moist situation?, 1 will become wholly burnt up. Sheepshearing proceeds with a rapidity which has not often beon experienced — tho oulybit of iilver lining 1 to the dark cloud.— lbid. A Wesleyan chapel is being erected at the top of. the Grafton Road, in which dutriot there ii now a' large and increasing population, and where several of the other religious bodies hava already provided places of worship. The building, which will be 45i feet long by '3o;feat is designed in the gothic style. The entrauoe is at the eastern end, by a neat , porch, overwhich will be a large window, ornamented with tracery. It will have » laminated arch roof, and all the internal fittings will be of a neat and ap- , propriate, character. It is proposed to Hue, an^finish ■the building before opening it tat' worship, Which m not usually done with the smaller chapels iv the suburbs. The building has been designed by Mr. Breton, who is aho the contractor, and judging from so muou as is erected, and the plans, it will be one of tho best chapels of iU class. The opening will take place some time iv January.

" "The firtrdivVd«?d~of 7r/6dritT thV/P in"thr*state . ;of Keuben Wi|otJkii,wiU.' f be|-payable7at the office of - Mr. S. H..:Smifch,.one,b£ihe_tnutee* l J>n.ftnd.aftie£ - I Wednesday next, the 29fch November. . - - An inquest was held at the Waiirer* on Saturday, , before the.Coronprrfor^thje $atri%ou. the/ body of George Dare, a settler there, who was killed on the previous Thursday, in a publiohouse quarrel at the termination of the election for the Northern Divi. sion. After hearing the evidence, the jury returned ft J Verdict 1 of. "Manslaughter against some person, orl persons unknown." ■ In consequence of' information received, the ' ; Sergeant-major of police and two officers of the iCurtoms left town on Saturday for a place which it j wouldnot be proper to indicate more precisely than by | saying it is , only aJ e w/ miUs^ south' ' of A uokland, ( where it was stated that illicit distillation win being conducted on a considerable scale. The remit oL itu ( iir !l sbiti:oh will jn'obabljTbe'kriowri ft' town 1 to'-diyi 1 I We notice that Mr.. Baird has been employed in ; surveying tbat portion of the harbour which it is itlic, intention, of the Provincial Government to reI claim. ' The 'space, which, we 'belFeve, i» a blobk of > i thirteen acres, is now marked out by posts or piles, 'and extends from Messrs. Jacob Joseph and Co. '« 1 new store up to Grey-sfcreet — Wellington Independent. "' ' ' ' At the Prince of Wales Theatre, on Saturday 'eveuing, the popular two-aot " drama entitled , "llobert Macaire" was produced before a good audience, followed by the burlesque of "Rumti foozle." The afterpiece was given in the best style of this company, and reflected great credit on the management. The local puns, with' which it abounded, were much appreciated, and oreated considerable mirth. The whole concluded with the drawing ~im the gift enterprise. ' '