The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3039, 23 April 1867, Page 3

The Daily Southern Cross.

LITOBO, NON XTEO. " If I hm]tntn •xtincnhhtd, ytt Uiwrt liM A thouuidlbMOOiu from th» ipuk I bora.*'

TUESDAY, APRIL 23.

The question of a policy for Auckland, raised by our correspondent " Civis," is one which the people ought not to overlook. He states that which is the truth, when he says that " in politics, as in other matters in this place, " it is too much the fashion to take things on " trust." "We hope the electors of Auckland will not be content to take things on trust any longer. In politics, in law, commerce, and religion, they nave had repeated examples of the folly of such a course. It is their duty to take T pledges of their representatives. By this, we do not mean to say that the representatives of the people ought to be delegates simply, exercising no discretionary power. On the contrary, we think they ought to have comparative freedom of action j but on greatand vital questions of policy, their views ought to be in harmony with those held by their constiluents. There is a notable example in recent times, of a member of Parliament who steod up in his place in the House of Commons, and declared that in deference to the known wishes of the majority of the electors whom he represented, he would vote in opposition to his own opinions. Sir James Graham recorded his vote against his convictions without being pledged, but at the close of the session he sought another constituency, .whose views were more in unison with his own. This example ought to be set before our representatives in the General Assembly. They are sent to the House to represent the majority ; not to act contrary to the opinion of the majority. The question, however, arises here — what is the known opinion of the majority of the province ? The representatives may plead that they do not know — that circumstances have changed, — and they may also very fairly say, that they were returned at the last election without any pledge or expression of opinion whatever demanded from them. Ihe province took it "on trust" that they would all vote for Separation, and oppose any Government which did not carry out a Separa- , tion policy ; but, unfortunately, the province was disappointed. The question of ' Separation was never raised by the Auckland party, Mr. Whitaker's resolu-' tions notwithstanding ; but after that absurdity had, been laughed out of the House, the Auckland members voted courageously for the Stamp Duties. ■ Good easy men, like their constituents, they also took things on trust. Had not Messrs. Whitaker and Williamson .been deputed to wait on the Government' and come to terms ; and did not these gentlemen report that a LieutenantGovernor, and separate Executive, and all the rest of it, would be granted, to Auckland if they only voted for the Stamp Act ? They took- it all on trust ; — and they have been j laughed a.t ] for their pains; ll "'

1 Now, with " Civis," we do not want to take things for granted any longer. The Northern Association took things on trust ; —believed that the members in Wellington would make everything right, and in that belief gave over the agitation. They, however, trusted to a broken reed. They were deceived by those who were themselves the victims of deception ; and all because the people of Auckland, in politics, as in other matters, are too much in the habit of taking things on trust. If the formality of pledging the members on the hustings had been complied with, there would have been no misplaced confidence. Our correspondent " Civis " asks the question — "What policy will our members pursue in the next session ? We ask another question — Have they any policy whatever? Do they really comprehend the gravity of the situation; and are they prepared to initiate and abide by a clearly-defined policy ? These are questions the province ought to have answered. These are questions the people of Auckland must take steps to have answered, or they will be cajoled, deceived, betrayed, as they were last session ; — ground down by taxes, prostrate and helpless at the feet of the South. There is no good in mincingmatters. Those on whom the province mainly relied betrayed the trust reposed in them. The example set will be followed by others, unless the province takes proper guarantees. But Auckland must be united. The political situation must be well understood before a right policy can be decided on. And who can explain the political situation? Who but the representatives of the people ? Let the members, therefore, call their constituents together, and enter into explanations and mutual confidences, and then they will see to what extent the people wish to go on this or that measure. " Civis " has fairly raised the question as between insular Separation (which was admittedly burked by the Auckland party last session to enable the Stafford Government to' increase taxation and swell the civil service) and ultra-provincialism, as it has been called. He prefers the latter : we prefer the first; but either system is preferable to the present. We have had enough of SuperintendentAgents of the General Government. Auckland will have no more " divided responsibility" of that kind. Either let us have insular Separation, with a fair distribution of the financial obligations of the colony, or make provincial institutions paramount. By either systems the enormous cost of government would be reduced. At present the General Government of New Zealand assumes the character of an organised and gigantic fraud. It is the duty of the electors to require from their members at least ajpledge to cut down the civil service by more than one-half ; to relieve hundreds of healthy young men from a life of pampered ease, and send them out into society to be of use to themselves and their fellowcreatures. The constituencies ought also to decide whether insular Separation or ultraprovincialism ought to be the policy of the future. The elections for the City West and Raglan afford opportunities for pledging two representatives, which ought not to be lost sight of; and the other constituencies ought not to take anything on trust, but have a distinct understanding with their representatives. There is ample time for this. Unquestionably there will be an attempt made by the Government to destroy provincial institutions altogether, without granting Separation ; and if the province is not content to sink into the insignificant position of being split up into a group of unimportant municipalities, under the Wellington Government, they will take pledges from their members to oppose every Government which would bring such a state of things to pass.

A public meeting of the agriculturists and settlers of the district! of' Pakuranga, Paparoa, and Turanga will be held this afternoon, at 4 o'clock, at Brady's Hotel, Howick, for the purpose of taking measures to assist the funds of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society. A number of holiday-makers visited Cremorne yesterday, but the weather was rather unfavourable for indulging in the sports provided by the proprietor of these beautiful grounds. We have been requested by the police to state that a letter, addressed to Mr. Pieroe, Panmure, and a bundle of home papers, were found in Short-land-street yesterday. The letter ii unopened, but the wrappers are off the papers. The owner can have them on calling at the Police Office. At the Police Court, yesterday, before Hugh Morrow, Esq., J.P., three persons, named Henry Sanderson, Patrick .Coghlan, and Edward Measor were punished for drunkenness. An assault case was postponed until to-morrow. An adjourned meeting of No. 3 (Parnell) Company of the Auckland Rifle. Volunteers was held last evening, at the Exchange Hotel, for the purpose of determining upon the pattern of uniform to be worn by the company, and acceptance of tenders. Major C. Heaphy ably filled the chair. It was resolved that the making of upwards of fifty suits of uniform should be contracted for ; and the tender of Mr. Robert Hampton, Shortland-street, was unanimously acoepted. The meeting then dispersed. A public meeting is convened to be held this evening, at half-past 7 o'clock, at the Newton Hall, for the purpose of "forming a society of protection against the rascalities so prevalent in this city." The convener of the meeting has not appended his name to the advertisement, but we do not doubt, should the weather prove propitious, a large assemblage of persons will muster at the appointed time, to be made acquainted with the prevailing rascalities against which it is considered so necessary protective measures should be taken. A scratch matoh between ' eleven of the Mount Eden Cricket Club and eleven of the Phoenix Club was commenced yesterday in the Domain, but owing to the inclemency of the weather a postponement was determined upon. A meeting of gentlemen who signed Mr. Jamei Busby's petition to the jHouse of Commons, in relation to his land at Wangarei, is convened to be held this afternoon, at 4 o'clock, at the Chamber of Commerce, when an explanation will be afforded of the steps taken in referenoe to the petition and its ' results. A man named Jesse Cole was arrested yesterday by constable Walker, on a charge of embezzling certain sums of money collected by him on behalf of Mr. Henry Wadham, wharfinger, in whose employment he had been in the capacity of clerk for about three years. ,Two pocket-books and various papers were found in his possession. He will be brought before the Bench and charged with the offence. The quoit match for a silver cup, which was commenced on Friday last, was returned yesterday, in Mr. Aker's yard, Victoria-street. .Messrs. Stirling and Drummond were the first to compete, and resulted in Stirling scoring 21, and Drummond 10. Messrs. Stirling and Wilson next contested the game, and Stirling again proved the victor, making 21, and Wilson^., Mrv Stirling was, therefore, acknowledged, winner, having defeated both his adversaries. Several races on foot also came off, and were contested in a. very spirited manner. Professor W f Kohler, the great necromancer, repeated his' astonishing sleight-of-hand tricks last evening, at the Prince of Wales Theatre, before a moit satisfactory audience, considering the very urifavourable weather which prevailed at the time of commencement. The successful accomplishment of the many wonderful feats promised was' provocative of great applause'by the well-pleased audience. Themembers of the* Auckland Choral Society will give, a performance this evening,- at half -past 7 o'clock, at .'the Mechanics' Institute, of Dr. ..Elvey's "Refrurreetion^.and Ascension;^ and' Mozart's "rhrclfCMais,"

Information was received by the police last night ' that a boy, aged eleven years, named Edward Bridges, left his home in Grey-street at 4 o'clock, , and nad not returned. Be is dressed in » black ' cape, light trousers, and black cap. He had no boots on. Also that another little boy has been •missing since the same hour, named James Dickson, whose parents reside in Grey-street. He i» eight Tears old, dressed in light cap and trousers, no booti on. An amateur musical and theatrical entertainment was given at the Catholic Institute, Wellingtonstreet, la»t evening, in aid of the funds of the Society. Notwithstanding the very unfavourable evening, there was a good attendance of friends of the Institution ; and the entertainment passed off with success. The musical part comprised a choice selection of songs and conoerted pieces, and the audience seemed so well pleased with their execution by the artistes that the encores were irresistible, and had to be complied with in numerous instances. 11 Scenes of Borne," by Mr. Yates ; " O'er hill and dale," by Misßes Sheehan and Donovan ; "Gipsy Countess," by Miss Griffin and Mr. Brett j "Di Jriacer," by Miss Donovan, and other*, were all oudly encored. Miss Griffin sang, "Has anybody here seen Hugo ? " with considerable freedom and good voice; and, when called upon to re-appear, very gracefully substituted the aria, "I do not mean totell." The trio, " A little farm well tilled," was also very well executed. The second part of the entertainment consisted of the popular farce of " Slasher and Crasher," by the young men of the Institute. A lecture on phrenology and physiology is promised for delivery by Mr. Stackpool E. ODell, on Tuesday evening next, at ha.lf-past 7 o'clock, at the Young Men's Christian Association Booms. Free admission will be granted. Bridget Hawkey was lodged in the lock-up last evening for using obscene language in Chancerystreet, and will be brought up at the Police Court this morning. The Wellington Evening Post gives the following extract from a letter received from the East Coast : — " When at Mr. 's he mentioned to me that his son had found a boiling spring quite close to the house. We went to the spot. About half-way up the ranges is the well, which is fire feet deep ; it makes a noise, which can be heard some thirtyyards off, resembling a pot of boiling water. The ground all round is hard, dry. fern land, and very stony ; the mouth of the well is about six inches in circumference. On applying a match to the hole it ignited instantaneously, and burnt fiercely for half-an-hour, when we extinguished the flame by dosing the aperture with fern. My first impression was that it was kerosine, but I afterwards found that the liquid, cold, will not burn. I brought a phialful home, and now send it to you. In taking what is now sent from the well it was skimmed off the surface, and if allowed to stand for a few minutes a thick sediment falls to the bottom. The flame emitted rises to a height of from two to three feet, and resembles that from spirits." During the year 1867, the cost of our post-offices and telegraph will amount to about £200,000, while the revenue derived from these sources is not in the least likely to exceed £60,000, at the very highest estimate. We find, therefore, that by some means or other the department is so conducted that it preys upon the other parts of the revenue to the extent o£ £140,000 this year. This, we may suppose, is paid out of the money raised by the Customs taxation. That money is paid by the mass of the people. The rich man pays little more towards.it than the poor man ; while, as we h&ve shown already, the poor man is forced to pay far more towards it than he can afford. We wish, first of all, to have this fully understood by the people, for it is the only real basis of a reform. The post-office costs £140,000 this year, which the postages on letters and papers do not pay. This money, then, comes out of their pockets. The labouring man may not write his one letter per month j hei may never see a newspaper from one week's end to another ; he may know no | more about the telegraph than he can gather from | looking at the wires, and wondering at the stupidity which puts up posts of the very worst wood in the forest. All' this may be the case, but let him not fancy he escapes any taxation by that means. He still j smokes his pipe, or has his glass of ale, or at least wears clothes, uses tools, and drinks tea and sugar, and in this way he pays for the postal service. Postage stamps may cost him little or nothing, but postage stampß after all only cost about a fourth part of the whole turn to anyone. The merchant buys his postage stamps and posts his letters, but in 1 doing so he only pays about a fourth part of the cost of sending them, while the other three-fourths are borne for the most part by the man who does not send letters at all. This, then, is class legislation of the very worst sort. The rich man sends his letters with a view to trade which is to make him him more rich — the poor man does not send any letters, but he pays a large share towards the rich man's convenience. This is the general result of our examination; but there are other and more particular results not to be lost sight of. The vice of making one part of the community pay for the convenience or gain of another part is deliberately followed out in every way. If there is a more scattered population in one province than another — for instance a number of sheep-stations with perhaps a few members of Assembly residing there at times the mails in that province are more numerous and costly than in another where the population is closer together or not so impatient for frequent communication. Thus, as we have seen, Marlborough costs three times as much for its mails as it pays in the way of postages, and Canterbury and Otago more than twice as much, although they have a large postal revenue. The Southern Island costs nearly £30,000 a year more for inland postage than its revenue pays, while the Northern Island costs less by £3,000 than its revenue will meet. These, we maintain, are the marks of bad management in our rulers, who are either ignorant of the principles of justice or careless about putting them in practice.— Nelson Examiner. Messrs. Jones and Co. will sell by auction to-day, at 12 o'clock, at the stores of Messrs. Brown, Campbell, and Co., O'Connell-atreet, bulk and bottled ale, Geneva, sherry, eau dei cologne, tea, candles, &c. j also, at the Te Kori Hotel, stock-in-trade, furniture, cattle, &c. Mr. George Sibbin will sell to-day, by order of the trustees in Craigs estate, lease of allotments and cottages in Newton. Mr. Alfred Buckland will sell to-day, at 12 o'clock, at Macky's wharf, an assorted cargo of timber j also, at 2 o'clock, at the Triangle, steers, cows, merino wethers, &c. Messrs. C. Arthur and Son have received instructions to sell to-day, at the Auckland Insurance Company's office, Queen-rtreet, the whole of the office furniture, safe, &o. Messrs. Bright and Co. are instructed to sell today, at their mart, hams, bacon, couches, chairs, potatoes, &c, Mr. Henry Kidings his been instructed to sell today, at 11 o'clock, at the Governor Grey Hotel, Grey' Street, the entire of the stock-in-trade and furniture. Mr. L. W. Eaton advertises that he will aell today, at 11 o'clock, at the stores of Messrs. Eaton and Dewolf, a yacht about four tons burden, well found in sails and rigging. Messrs. Hunter and Co. will hold their usual weekly sale to-day, at Otahuhu, at 1 o'clock, when they will offer fat and store cattle, dairy cows, sheep, horses, pigs, &c. Mr. C. Stichbury will offer for public sale to-day, at 12 o'clock, at his stores, land in the parish of Kopuru ; lot -14 of sec. 44 of the town of Auckland? city and suburban properties lately belonging to H. J. Wadham ; and houses and allotments in Sale and Centre-streets, Freeman's Bay.