GOVERNMENT HOUSE.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3320, 7 March 1868, Page 3

GOVERNMENT HOUSE.

"An Aucklilndbb" calls attention to '. the '„ reports which, have been current since Mr. Stafford's arrival in Auckland, relative 1 to proposed alterations ' at Government House. We do not happen to know how far these reports may be true ; but this we do know, that one of the. finest- oak, trees in front of Government House has already been j cut down, destroying the privacy which was the charm of the place. How far the Vandalic taste of those entrusted with ' the '<- preparations for the reception' of the Prince at Government House may lead them to destroy the line of magnificent oak trees it is impossible to tell ; but, with „" Aiicklander," we do say that the men of Auckland owe it to themselves to put a stop to it. Good -taste would suggest the thinning of the shrubbery j but the destruction of the oak " treei is wholly unnecessary. With regard to the dinner service, and the few pieces of r ironmongery bought in Auckland ' for : Government House, if the Ministers want these for his Excellency's residence in. Wellington, let them remove' . them, by all means. Our only objectiojn to this course would be that the colony would "be put to unnecessary ' expense for freight, seeing that Mr. Stafford might auction the ituff after his. Excellency had left Auckland, and jcarry the proceeds to the Treasury at '• Wellington in his breeches pocket Of course, 'we fl&ume that similar .goods could be purchased fy, Wellington. { ,If our correspondent ,be xight/in the surmise that- the Gor vernmenkwill^ribt decorate the ball-room,; and make provision for a supper-room, all we can iay is, that ..we trust the citizens of Auckland will not assist them. It ought to be remembered that the ball-room was actually sold to the Choral Society before it was erected, an^ jthat the coleny will lose nothing j ( on this.hiead. ,, Altogether, the action of the Gorernmentfin. this matter, so far as Auckland appears to be in the worst possible taste and spirit. If the intention be of Edinburgh and the ;;c ifGKiivernor^wicomfoj-table, «nd therefore disgusted with Auckland, perhaps' they may >■ •ftoarfcty fcuWe people of Auckland, possess poj^jc^'pj^er 'which will enable them to balance the account, and which, we trust, for once they will -take care to exercise.

litibii'c^;th»t P*b*ihc#/*ccording to the last ceuni..

A public meeting was held lust evening in connection with ' the'Finanoial Reform League, in the ball of the Meobanios' Institute. Archibald Clark, Esq , M.G. A., presided. The attendance was not nutneroan. Several speeches were made, and office-bearers appointed. The proceedings lasted over three hours. A correspondent, writing from Tauranga, states that the seventy Arawas who have proceeded from Maketuto assist in the defence of that settlement are under the command of Te Maihi Rangikaheke. 1 - Seven of the natives imprisoned for offences connected with the Whakatane affair have been released by order of Governor Sir George Bowen. Most of them were on board the vessel at the time the murders were committed ; the others were convioted as accessories before the fact. The names of those released are— Haki Tnkioo, ftanfera Werotokotoko, Himone te Aura, Utuku te Kangi, Wiremu te Amopu, Eria te Hakona, and Hawera te Bihira. Preparations for the reception of the Prince are being ma'df at Maketu, and the Arawas, who have gone to' Opotiki to fight, are to be brought back. , A guard of this tribe will escort the Punce through the 1 Lake district. A sitting of the Native' Lands Gourttfs advertised to be held at Taupo on the 4th •f April, but w* presume it will be postponed; as the grea&r" number of the witnesses will be then at Maketu. A meeting of the Reception Committee appointed' to prepare an address for presentation to his Excellency -Sir Gt. P. Bowen on his arrival in Auckland, was held yesterday, at the stores of- Messrs. Li D. Nafehan and, Co., and largely attended. The address," which wj4 be found in the: report of, the meeting, was 'unanimously adopted ; and, after some discus* sion, a committee— consisting of the heads of various public bodies in Auckland, coupled with the names of his Honor the Superintendent, Major Heaphjy [ ViC., J. T. MackeUie, Esq., and Captain Daldy— was appointed to make the necessary arrangements' fbr4he public Inception proposed to be given to bis Excellency. ' We have been requested by a native to publish the following in answer to the «tatement« ) bf Mr. house, with reference to the recall r ot ' Sir George Giey :— [l ransUtion.]— " Auckland, March 4. 1868. —JO father, Duke of Buckingham, greeting: This is a word of mine to beat down the newspaper of that mad person who has turned on you. Do not listen /to the false statements of Charles Hursthouse, Iwho says that two millions of persons approve of Governor Grey's acts, who has been recalled by you and the Queen, Friend, Duke of Buckingham, drive this London street-«oer back to New Zealand to his place at Taranaki, to eat fern-root, that he may do no more, mischief by beguiling the people of London. ; Father, ihe Duke, as to that man, now is he to know anything, about the affairs of New Zealand ? Friend, Charles Hursthouse, write on subjeots of which you have some knowledge about your millions of $nen. We know that what you say about the millions is mere wind coming out of your mouth. Not a Maori in New Zealand has anything to say in favour of Governor Grey. Is it right that prai&e should be accorded to a man who breaks the law; who abrogated the Queen's covenant, the Treaty of Waitangi ? The man who shed* blood will not be praised by the ' Maoris. 6 friend " Charles Hursthouse, do you wish Sir George Grey to leave you in charge of the birds . and beasts at the Kawau? T From Tl AMONEKI." In another place we report the proceedings at the meeting of the.Reception Committee which was' field yesterday. It will be seen from the programme that the recaption, will be on a much modestcr scale than was at first contemplated. The fair sex will be disappointed at learning that, although a ballroom has been built, there is to be no ball. , A sitting in banco was held in the Supreme Court yesterday, before his Honor Mr. Justice Moore: In the case of the Queen on tie relation of W. Rowe v. J. Mackay, Mr. MacCormick made an application under the 24th section of the Court of Appeal Act, 1862, for leave to appeal from the decision of the Court given on Monday last, on the ground that it was, contrary to law. The Court granted an order for leave to appeal, notice to be given that day to the other side, with liberty > for them to, move on Tuesday next to discharge/the order. The. question of costs was reserved.. An application was made by • Mr. Heskeihfor the discbarge of Peter S, Mackenzie, a debtor, from prison, under the 4{Hh section of the Bankruptcy Act, ths debtor having filed a declaration of insolvency. Mr. Wynn appeared Jo oppose the application. The application was refused. ' ' . A general meeting of subscribers to the Auckland Philosophical Society is to beheld on luesday afternoon nex^ at the Acclimatisation Society's rooms.' Queen-street, for the election of officebearers and other business. Persons desirous of joining are also requested to attend. . A fancy bazaar in aid of the funds of Sb. Joseph's Convent, Onehunga, is to be held on Monday next and following days at the Catholic Half, Onehunga. A large collection of fancy and useful articles are to be exhibited for sale. . , ' A general meeting of the Auckland Volunteer Fire Brigade will be held on Monday evening next, at half past 7 o'clock, at the British Hotel, Qanenstreet, when all members are reqjeated to attend. There was no business at the Police Court yesterday — not ere a a single drunkard to be disposed of. Mr. C. J. Taylor and Mr. .. H. Gilßllan were the Juatioes present. The return match ; bet ween the Devonport Cricket Clnb andl St. Matthew's will be played in, the Domain this .day, weather, permitting— stumps to be pitched at half -past 2 o'clock. 'Thursday, February 20, was appointed to be ob> served as a day of hnmtliatiou and prayer, in Otago, inc onsequence of the recent calamitous floods and storms. The Government office*, banks, and merchants' offices were closed, and religious services held in several churches in the city. There -were large attendances at the different churches, and appropriate services were read. . > .The Queenstown correspondent of th* Dutiedra JSvening Pott reports that all the miners' rights in the Wakatip district bare been issued under the repealed GoidfiVlds Act of 1862, and are consequently illegal. * The Government are requested to take steps to correct this forthwith by issuing legal rights under the present Act. A public meeting was held at Dunedin on February 14, "for the purpose of determining what measures should be resorted to for relieving the distress of those who have been so severely visited by the late storm and floods.'* The attendance was very numerous. - His Honor Mr. Justice Chapman presided. He read a letter from his Worship the Mayor, in. which the writer regretted that he was unable to be present at the meeting* in consequence of his having been obliged to leave for Wellington. He desired to express his sympathy with the ooject of the meeting ; and they might rest assured th*t he would plead the cause of the province to the \ General Government in connection with the calamities with which it had been recently visited. An amendment, moved by Mr. Gillies, was carried, to the effect that the meeting expresses its deepest sympathy with the sufferers by the recent floods, and that a committee be appointed to invite applications from those requiring assistance. A committee was afterwards appointed. The Melbourne Argua says j~" There appears to be a limited class in this community from which the committees of our public charities are nearly always elected. This olasv is not remarkable for intelligence or special capacity of management, nor isjit possessed of instincts which, in the absence of intelligence, sometimes guide people to correct conclusions. It is pragmatical, self-opinionated, very self-asserting, and tolerably innocent of those advantages which are uoderatood to be born of education. But it is composed of persons who in their way are very ambitious, and who, having failed to distinguish themselves in any other capacity, succeed in shining with great lustre at weekly committee meetings, they are eloquent after their fashion ; they make set hpeeches, and gesticulate with a vehemence that is quite impressive. They, have convinced themselves of their | entire disinterestedness, and they are especially aggrieved if any_ suspicion is expressed either' of their fitness or their perfect devotion to the task they' have undertaken, The reluctance of really eligible, men to act} upon committees causes them to be somewhat in request, and so they have no difficulty in persuading themselves that they are indispensable. It has thus come to pass that, year after year, there occurs very little change in the composition of these managing boards. Strictly speaking, the election is little more than a practical expression of mutual' admiration. They appoint each other. The annual meeting of snbsori'ers is little elxe than a 'full, attendance' of the committee. They ' inform' themselve* that they have acted entirely to each others' satisfaction during the past year, tbafctheirzeal^and .energy-have surpassed belief, that the cbar-ty must have ceased to be but for their unwearied efforts, »nd then they hold up their hands and become c<-mmi tee-men again for another twelve months. Now and thep, by chance, a stray gentleman loses his way, and gets among these singular people, but, he finds himself in such uncongenial onmp ny,. and israltoget£er s$ kustled and worried, that 'he commonjy takes the ,fimt favourable opportunity^ resigning, >nd registers asolemnjow neiser to become a oohr^teermfuaagain. r r , , M o \ ' :