The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIII, Issue 3261, 30 December 1867, Page 2

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUOBO, NON ÜBO. If I hm bflin •nlnpililud, yrtithm tiu A thotuftnd btftcou from th« ipurk I bott.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 30.

We are gratified to find the settlers in the Southern division taking an interest in questions likely to engage the attention of the Provincial Council on its re-assembling. An advertisement, convening a public meeting at Otahuhu, of all who are interested in the prosperity of the province, will be found elsewhere. The object of the meeting is stated to be to take into consideration the resolutions to be proposed by Mr. Carleton bearing upon the existing system of local government. Those resolutions, no doubt, are highly suggestive, and open the whole question which awaits solution at the hands of this, and the other provinces of N&vr Zealand ; but they ought not to be regarded as unalterable • .on points of detail, Whether the details may find favour with

the province does not appear to us to be a matter of consequence at this stage ; and indeed there are cogent reasons why the Provincial Council ought not to express anydecided opinion at present upon the form of government which ought to supersede the worn-out and inefficient provincialmachinery. Whatever that form may be, it must be of a provisional character. The Colonial Ministry are responsible for the good government of every section of the country ; and should provincial institutions fail in any province, (as they are likely to fail in all the North Island provinces at no distant date,) the General Government must be prepared to administer its affairs during the interregnum, as we may term the period which would elapse from the break-down of Superintendentalisnt until the Constitution could be fairly adapted to the altered circumstances of the colony. Therefore, we would advise the Otahuhu meeting to steer clear of detail, and confine itself to general principles on which something like unity of sentiment may be expected. Thus, we think there can be very little room for dispute over the first resolution, viz., — " That the form of local " government now existing in the province " of Auckland ought not to be continued." There undoubtedly would be much difference of opinion were it proposed to affirm the second resolution, namely, — " That in lieu " thereof [of Superintendentalism] it is expe- " dient that the executive functions of the " Government should be discharged Tby a " Lieutenant-Governor, acting under the " advice of the Eesponsible Ministers "of the colony, one of whom sha "be resident in the city of Auck- " land; and that the primary legisla- " lative functions shall be exercised by the ,i " General Assembly only," — although, let us JI say, this resolution differs little, — 'and thafr^P little for the better, — from the scheme which Mr. "Whitaker submitted in the General Assembly as a substitute for * Separation. However, it may be prudent to refrain from an expression of opinion on this point. The settlers around Otahuhu, and others interested in the prosperity of Auckland, are not called upon to indicate any plan of temporary administration, for the instruction of the General Govern* ment, with whom the entire responsibility of governing rests : it is their bounden duty, however, to say whether, in their opinion, the existing system of local government ought to be continued. On that point we propose offering a few remarks. We pointed out, in our leading article of the 20th instant, that the maintenance of the provincial establishments, in the present state and probable future of Auck* land, meant direct taxation to the extent of £20,000 annually, at the lowest calculation. We believe this sum would fall far short of the actual amount that would be required, if the principle were recognised, and taxation for this purpose submitted to by the province. Nor would the country districts be one whit the. better for this taxation, which would go to supplement the moiety of the consolidated fund, now payable to the province by law. The money would all be spent in and around the city, in the maintenance of departments, several of which, in our judgment, ought never to have been entrusted to provincial management. Our fellow settlers, when they assemble at Otahuhu ta-niorrow, will doubtless remember this fact j and consider -whether, keeping it in view, " the form " of local government now existing in the " province of Auckland ought to be con"' " tinned." Our Wyndham-street contemporary replied to our article, and attempted to throw dust in the eyes of country settlers, by assuring them that if the provincial system came to an end in Auckland the cost of government would not be lessened ; that, on the contrary, it would be increased ; and that special taxes would be imposed, without their consent, to make good any deficiency in the revenue. An appeal was also ingeniously made to the passions and prejudices of the multitude, by the assertion that those who were opposed to Superintendentalism wanted to " hand the " province over to the South ;" and the cuckoo-note of "being ruled from Welling- " ton" was set to the same tune. Nothing could be further from the truth than this. Those who are opposed to Superintendentalism have been staunch to the principle 01 Separation ; many of those who now champion Superintendentalism were traitors to Separation, even whilst loudest in their praise of that movement. The danger to Auckland is not to be found in Mr. Carleton's resolutions, nor in the opposition to Superintendentalism, but in the continuance of that system under the guise of provincial institutions. Therein lies the real danger to Auckland, and it is to warn our fellow-settlers against the sophistry that may be brought to bear in its support that we chiefly write on the subject to-day. Superintendentalism has misgoverned Auckland. It has impoverished this fine province, and plunged it almost hopelessly into debt. It wasted our revenue by dispensing much of it as " secret service money," as explained by Mr. Dignan in the Provincial Council the other evening ; and when the revenue failed, did not scruple to spend the loan in an illegal manner to pay salaries whilst a fraction of it could be laid hold of. Superintendentalism still clings to place • and the shadow of authority ; and its advocates lift up their voices and exclaim — "Tax yourselves, good people of Auckland, 11 that the abuses we live by may continue. "Do not degrade yourselves by making " terms with the South, They will tax you " also,andthey areirresponsibletoyou. Weare " responsible, you knowj but when we break " the law we look to you, good people, 11 for a vote of indemnity, that we may have (i a fair chance to run up another score. No fc one vould think of prosecuting us " for exceeding the appropriation ; and no " one should presume to question the purity " of our motives in diverting money from one Ci purpose to another, however improper, where- " as you must be aware that abuses of this kind u could not exist under the checks provided " -by law were the General Government to " administer your affairs. Tax yourselves, " therefore, good people, that we may live ; " and that you may enjoy the bless- " ings of local government under our wise " administration, we ivill graciously give you " permission to levy additional rates to enable " you to educate your children if you would " not much, prefer them to grow up in ig- " norance, and to bridge creeks if you have "an unwholesome aversion to swimming." That appears to us to be something very like the line adopted by the supporters of Superintendentalism, inside and out of the Council j and it requires no argument from us to point out ifes absurdity. Our contemporary either did not »r would not see the bearing of this great question,

He looked at it from a purely provincial or local point of view, and treated the difficulties which beset the province as temporary in their charaoter, whereas this is not so. The Southern papers look at it from another »nd the correct point of view. They recognise in it the downfall of provincialism, which means in their case inability to expend the land revenue for local purposes. Our oontemporary ridicules the notion of Canterbury or Otago contributing to the support of the gaol and hospital, or the harbours and other public establishments of Auckland. The * Canterbury Press has the following on the same, snbjeot: — v The fell of Auckland is the result of the financial system established by the Public Revenues Bill. That bill provides thai the consolidated revenue railed in each province — that ib, all revenue which is raised under an Aot of the General Assembly, not being territorial nor held by the Government in trust for third parties— shall be equally divided between th.3 General Government and the province ; but that the provincial half shall be first charged with the cost of all General Government services within the province, and with the interest and sinking fund of any loan that may have been contracted by the Fro* vincial Government. Whatever surplus remains after making these deductions is to be paid into the provincial account ; while, if on the other hand the charges against the province exceed its half of the consolidated revenue, the balance is to be made good out of its land fund. Now Auckland, having frittered away whatever laud fund it possessed in immigration experiment*, ha* for a long while sub* listed on the payments made to it by the General Government as its share of the Customs— swollen, it must be remembered, to a factitious amount by the presence in the province of a large military force. Since thedeparture of the troops and the removalof the ■eatof Government Auckland has been gradually coming down to its real position, and the result is what we find reported in yesterday's telegram., Last year its revenue was little more than enough to pay the interest on its loans and the ordinary expenses of governleaving nothing, or next to nothing, for public jjrorks— so that the province was even then unable to its functions ; and now it seems that the charges against the province amount to more than its share of the consolidated fund, and that, as Auckland has no land fund to fall buck upon, it has no means of making up the deficiencies— is, in fact, bankrupt. That this conclusion could not long be averted wks evident to every one, and was referred to as a matter of course during the late session of the Assembly by several of the Auckland members, but the possibility of a goldfield being discovered no doubt encouraged the provincial authorities to continue the struggle for existence a little longer. Of course if the Provincial Government is broken up the General Government will have to step in and make such arrangements as will be sufficient to keep things going for the rest of the year. The question was put in the House what course the Government would adopt in case of a province being unable to meet its liabilities during the recess, and Mr. Stafford replied that "should such an event occur the General Government would provide for police, gaols, and other requirements until the question could be considered next session." It will therefore be the duty of the Assembly at its next sesrion to determine under what system the public affairs of Auckland, and of »11 other provinces which fall into the «arne unfortunate situation, shall be administered for the future. We may hope that some measure will be adopted applicable, not to the insolvent provinces only, but to the whole colony. The provinces that potsess any land fund are peculiarly interested in having this matter settled on a general basis. Auckland, for instance, ivill get the expenses of Us police, gaols, <te, paid for it by the colony, while Canterbury will have to defray all these expenses out of her land fund. This is decidedly unfair. The land fund cannot rightly be applied to any such purpose*. Itjis capital, and should be expended inimprovements of the estate, not in defraying the annual expenditure, which should come out of income. If tiie *yatem we advocate were adopted— if, that is, an end was put to all payments to provinces, if the provincial debts were taken over by the colony (they must necessarily be so taken over in the case of ■everal provinces, and the interest; paid out of the colonial revenue), and if the police, gaols, all m ■horfc that we are accustomed to regard as Government departments, were placed under the control of the Central Government— then_.the -land fund, | which is now compulsorily encroached upon, indirectly but not the less really, for the maintenance of provincial establishments, would be set free for its legitimate purposes. It would become the absolute property of the districts where it was raised, and no longer be liable to be extorted from them, as it now virtually is, for the general expenses jof the colony. The land fund of Canterbury is at present to all intents and purposes gone. By the policy we recommend it would be recovered and effectually retained. The Lyttelton Times pipes to the same tune, and so do other Southern papers. In fact, it is quite evident that the time has come for altering and amending the Constitution. " Provincial institutions," worked as we have seen them by Superintendents, have rnn their course, and must give place to something better adapted to the circumstances of the whole country, North and South. Auckland is, and has been, the key-stone of the system. The Middle Island provinces are alive to this. They know full well that no province can exist for any length of time without a land revenue ', and the land revenue is at an end in the North Island. If Auckland abandons provincialism, as predicted by the Canterbury Press, the land revenue of the South will be used as ordinary general revenue, and go towards maintaining those establishments throughout the North Island, which must become local charges if the existing system of government be continued. Therefore, we say, it is a question of taxation or no taxation the province must determine.

The s.B. 'Tauranga,' which came up from the Thames on Saturday, brought nearly lOOoz. of gold in private hands, the product of small claims. His Excellency Sir George Grey, accompanied by bi» Private Secretary (the Rev. Mr. Thatcher), left for his prirate residence at the Kawau on Saturday afternoon, in the Colonial Government paddle-steamer 1 Start,' and will return this afternooa. The Circular Saw barque 'Alice Cameron,' which •ailed yesterday morniDg for Sydney, took 753 bales of Auckland flax, bhipped by her owners, Mesirs. Henderson and Macfarlane ; and 144 bales, ■hipped by Mr. Balharry. A deputation of members of the Auckland Provincial Conncil assembled on Saturday for the purpose of presenting to his Excellency the Governor the farewell addrest adopted during the sitting of the Council. The address was presented by the Speaker, G. M. O'Rorke, Esq., and suitably acknowledged by his Excellency. The address and reply are given elsewhere. H.M.B. 'Challenger' and 'Falcon' leave thU harbour to-day, the former on a cruise off the Kawau and the latter for Wellington and Sydney. The * Falcon' is under orders for England |on the arrival of relief, but we believe she will return to this station before taking her final departure. In our obituary of Saturday last we recorded the death of the wife of an old and respected colonist (Mr. Henry Keeping, jun.). This amiable lady, well and deservedly esteemed by a large circle of friends, was a long sufferer, but bore her afflictions with unexampled fortitude and patience. She died greatly mourned for by her large family of nine children and bereaved husband, and universally regretted by all who bad the pleasure of knowing her. She was buried on Friday last, at the Jewiih Cemetery, Symonds-street, followed to her last resting-place by a long train of friends and acquaintances. The Melbourne Argus of the 21st ultimo regrets to observe that the Cook's Straits telegraphic cable has already broken down. We are glad to find that our remarks on ships' gangways in Saturday's issue had the desired effect, and that stages are about to be provided, with a view of preventing a recurrence of similar accidents to those we have so frequently been compelled to chronicle. William Bray, farmer, of Mount Albert, was apprehended on warrant, on Saturday, charged with assaulting Mr. A, K. Taylor, on Christmas Jfive, but was subsequently admitt d to bail, himself in £200, and two sureties of £100 each, for hit appearance to answer the charge at the Police Court this - morning;

' Divine services, in connection with the anniversary of the High-street Wesleyan Sunday-school, were held yesterday, morning and evening, »nd were numerously attended on both occasions. The Bey. 6. S. Harper preached in the morning, from the following text :— Exodus ii., 9: "Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages." The Rev. J. Boiler officiated in the evening, and preaohtd "asermonto the young," before a good congregation. The rev. gentleman founded his discourse on the 4th verae of the 6th chapter of St. Paul's Ist Epistle to Timothy, and delivered an excellent sermon, impressing upon the attention of his hearers the importance of an early regard for the principles and precepts of the gospel, and conoluded with an impressive application of his text to the hearts and consciences of his hearers. Collections were made at the close of each service in aid of the school fund, which amounted to £3 15s. sd, in the morning, and in the evening to £ 3 18s. 4£d. Addresses were delivered in the afternoon, and a collection was made on behalf of the Sunday-school Union, which realised £3 12a. 6d. The usual monthly parade of the Auckland Rifle Volunteers will take place to-morrow morning, j at half-past six o'clock, when all membere are expected to be present. The annual soiree and concert in aid of the funds of St. Paul's Sunday-school will take place this evening, in the school-room. Tea will be placed upon the tablet at half -past six o'clock. The second concert of the series to be given by the talented Beale family i» announced to take place this evening, at eight o'clock, at the Mechanics Institute. The programme of the music to be performed will be found in our advertising oolumns. A general meeting of the members of the Chalmerston Land Association is advertised to be held this evening, at 7 o'clock, in the .Newmarket Scotch Church, for the purpose of electing office-bearers for the eusuing year, and the transaction of other business. A full attendance of members is solicited. A meeting of the creditors of F. H. Lewisson is oonvened to take place to-day, at noon, at the offices of Mr. J. B. Kuseell, solicitor. The barque c Bella Mary,' which arrived yesterday from Hobart Town.brougat a shipment of birds, comprising parrots, magpies, doves, &0., an inspection of which is solicited on board. As showing the depreciation in the value of proptrty in Auckland, we clip the following from a letter written by a gentleman residing in the above city to a friend at Timaru, and published in the local journal of the latter town :— ' • There is no investment with a certain interest now in this place to be made. You can buy anything you like for an old song. The great lesson that has been taught by this crisis is, that property in New Zealand has not necessarily a money value — land is particularly valueless — in bad times it won't fetch anything at all. I Baw at an auction a forty-acre block of good average land Bold within the last month at eighteenpence per acre. I have bought a block of 300 acres in the pick of the country, said to be the finest land in the Northern Island, for fire shillings per acre. I have been offered 5,000 acres, fronting on Tauranga harbour, for two shillings and threepence per acre. The new Auckland Waste Lands Act [authorises the actual giving away of land to anyone who will cultivate it. And this is not in out-oE-the-way places, and odd bits, but in the pick of the country, and within an easy distance of the markets, such as they are. I must allow I never expected to see New Zealand in such a complete prostration as now exists in and around Auckland. People here have become careless of consequences, heartless, and all more or leas ruined ; lar^e failures take place every week j creditors look on with a melancholy smile of satisfaction, and consent to anything, under the conviction that they soon must follow. .... The Thames diggings i 3 quivering in the balance. It is pretty well ascertained that on the land already opened there is no alluvial diggings, at all events at under 150 feet, and the quarta-reefing will not employ all that are there now. Over three thousand people are congregated upon an uninviting-looking block of land, where a year ago a white man could only be met with at the rate of one in ten miles. Some of the quartz reefs aref yielding good returns, but; of course the rich reefs are in the hands of a few. Not a tenth part of the people are profitably employed, and starvation, the result of restless idleness, stares them in the face. You can judge of the plight of Auckland when the return of any number of diggers to their old haunts is deprecated as an evil, from the absence of anything remunerative to do. This is a change from when they paid £14 a head for each immigrant— and that only four years ago. But Canterbury did the same, and has felt the reaction, thouohnot bo severely as Auckland."— Southland Times. At the Police Saturday four persons were charged with drunkenness, and vyere fined ss. and costs, or t;> undergo 24 hours' imprisonment with hard labour. A case of assault was on the list, but as neither parties appeared it was stru3k out. The Tasmanian Times is responsible for the following :—": — " It is stated that the Prince expressed a hope to spend Christmas with Sir George Grey in New Zealand, but that Commodore Litnbert refused to recognise any departure by H.R.H. from the ronte laid down in the instructions from the Admiralty. The Duke of Edinburgh has presented his crew with £500, which amount is to be distributed pro rat*." The following account of a visit to the collection of English birds about to be sent to New Zealand appears in the Field of October 19 :—"Mr. Bills, the experienced and well-known "bird fancier, invited a friend and myself to his store-rooms in Brighton, to see the birds, which were ranged around two large rooms in their travelling cages, containing from two to twenty birds in each, according to the different species. He furnished us with the following particulars of his enterprise, with the further informa tion that the order emanated from the Otago Acclimatisation Society of New Zealand, and that Mr. Thatcher, of Brighton, an old servant of the Society, had been commissioned to carry out the order. Ihe cages contained— blackbirds, 100 j missel thrushes, 4; song thrushes, 100; Btarlings, 150; hedge accentors, 100 ; larks, 150 : linnets, 150 ; robins, 50 ; house sparrows, 150 ; goldfinches, 100 ; yellowhammers, 12 ; and blackcaps, 2 ; partridges, pheasants, swans, Ac, to be added in London, making up a complement of 1,500 birds. The quantity of seed, paste, corn, &c, laid in will cost upwards of £135. Special accommodation has been provided for this cargo on board the 'Warrior Queen, ' which sails from the Kast India docks on the 20th insit., and will be worthy a visit from any of our readers who may be thereabouts on that day. The voyage is expected to be accomplished in about 90 days. I consider it only due to Mr. Bills to add that a better choice could not have been made to carry out the spirited and liberal order of the Society, flis lifelong experience of the habits and wants of the feathered tribe, added to his steady character, are the beat guarantee for a successful termination to what has hitherto been found a very difficult undertaking.—W. J. V." The Adelaide correspondent of the Hamilton Spectator writes as follows respecting the departure ot the Prince from South Australia: — "Telegrams from Melbourne bring to our ears accounts of princely glories in that city which are now to us things of the past. But the Prince did not get away from us without some disagreeables, and occasioning some heartburnings to the mannerless mobs who would be for ever pressing their meddlesome and unwelcome tongues in every matter. The Prince invited a party on board the ' Galatea' on the day of his embarkation, to drink a social farewell glass with him. Surely, after throwing open his ship during the most of his stay here, and giving members of Parliament an exclusive day to themselves, the Duke might have enjoyed these last few hours in our waters with whom he pleased. But not so. The bad taste of some of our colonial aristocratic flunkeys pestered him to the last. The first boat, containing the invited guests, contained also many uninvited, who, once getting on board, could not from delicacy be ordered off. But when the second boat came off, his Royal Highness was their match: A lot of names were called, and those who could answer ascended the vessel's side. But when the words ' That's all — shove off,' came, three M.P.s were still in the boat, and were conducted back to the port in humility and dishonour, to meet there with such a hooting reception from the assembled crowd as might have made the fiends pity them." The Commercial Bank of Canada has stopped payment, owing to a large loss in connection with the Detroit and Milwaukee railroad. With a view to cover the sum due from the railroid company, it was recently determined to reduce the shares from 100 dols. to 60 dols. each ; but this measure, instead of inspiring confidence, as was expected, caused a run upon the bank, and compelled the directors to close the doors. The total paid-up capital was 4,000,000 dols., or £800,000, and there wereteventeen branches , and agencies in Canada, as well as eight foreign agencies. The shares were recently quoted 45 dols. $o 50 dols. The liabilities we considerable, bnt the

exaot amount lias not yet transpired. The agents in London, the London Joint-Stock Bank, are fully covered. Mr, Henry Hidings will sell by public auction, to.day, at 11 o'clock, at the Market Auction Mart, 200 volumes of books, comprising very valuable works. Messrs. William Hunter and Co. advertise that they will offer for sale to-day, by publio auction, at one o'clock, at the Newmarket sale yards, fat and store cattle, dairy cows, fat sheep and lambs, fat and store pigs, &c. Messrs. 0. Arthur and Son will sell by publio auction to-day, at 12 o'clock, at the residence of Mr. 1 E. J. John, Liverpool-street, Karangahape Road, the whole o! Ms household furniture, piano, engravings, books, &c. Messrs. S. Coohrane and Son will sell to-day, at their mart, at 11 o'clock, wines, spirits, ale, porter, cheese, &o, ; also, at 12 o'clock, shares and allotments in the Thames goldfield and Shortland Town, land in the Waikato, and small farm at Papakura.