The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3511, 16 October 1868, Page 3

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUOKO. NON VRO. If I h»r« b»n •xitncaUbad, yt tb«x« vtat k ihooiand bt*coo« from th» «p»rk I bor«.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16.

It is biit a few days since we started the question how the new consolidation loan was meant, by the Colonial Government, to affect the provinces. We considered it just possible that, the id,ea might be that the central Government t was to,rea,p a ?ich harvest from the transaction, and the provinces were'to pay as before. But, although 'we started the idea as one within therange of possibility, we could scarcely believe it ourselves. There seemed too little to be gained by so small a dodge to make us ready to suppose the Government deliberately guilty of it, and there appeared so little chance of a blunder creeping into so simple a matter that we could not account 1 for the apparent anomaly on that hypothesis either. Since then, however, we have made inquiries in tho matter, and find that our apparently wild conjecture was correct. The Colonial Treasury, we learn, continues in its i accounts to charge the provinces with the full amount of the . interest and sinking fund \ allowed by the provincial Acts under which the -loans were originally raised. Thus, if we i take the case of a loan negotiated at seven per cent., with a two per cent, sinking fund, which is- considerably less than what is ' paid on some loans by Otago, the Colonial Government will still charge nine per cent, against these loans as before, and , deduct the amount from Otago's share of the consolidated revenue. The result will be that Otago gets no benefit from the consolidation of the provincial loans and the raising of a colonial loan to embrace them all. The same, however, is not true of the Colonial Treasury. By this system a sum of three per cent, goes into the Colonial Treasury in the shape of a. clear profit on the transaction. No doubt the result is gratifying to the Colonial Treasurer, whatever we may say of the process. It is something to get a clear three per cent, from Otago — say upon a couple of hundred thousand pounds — for that • puts exactly six thousand a year into the colonial chest without trouble. The province can thua.be used as a buffer between the Colonial Government and the anger' of an over-taxed people. "It is, the provincial " loan that- costs so, much," we can imagine the Colonial Treasurer exclaiming; "only con- " sider what ruinous things provincial insti- " tutionsmust be." The results of this financial operation are of several .Jrinds. The one probably • most nearly present to the mind of th& Treasure* is, that it would, if properly carried .out, place about £40,000 a year .in the colonial chest which would not appear to be raised by the Colonial "Government for its own purposes* but for those of the provinces. , This would be in a manner found money, and, as .such, might no doubt be spent in carrying out-a native polioj, or any other expensive 'hobby of tie Government. On the other hand, the £40,000 a year would be taken from the provinces. Auckland iwtfuld /lose so much, Wellington so much, and Canterbury /and Otago vhe largest shares. The money, would not be available for local purposes, whether these were the making of ,roads, or the maintenance of the sick and destitute, or the mere support of the officers of provincial establishments ; and the money would have to be found in some other way, and might be expected, perhaps, from an income and property tax, or from special rates. Of course the thing itself is disgracefcl. r ln the first,, place, it is little, if at all, better than a mode of -cheating the representatives of the ' people; because they never dreamt, of sanctioning such a lucrative little monpy-ijjqding:. 7 transaction on the part of Government at theexpense of the provinces. In the second, it-is an insult -to- the common senseof the pe^pie,'becauseifri-»takenforgranted t^%Y ws4,£ot see .t^qug^ tjie attempt -to make money at the expense of local-institu-tions. jß.vit.it ii something worse, we think, $jan,Tth(ese.[ It appears to us that the idea i« in itsejlf, sadiwepijbable as to.jbq idirectly in-i jurious to our standing as a colony. ' There is so much' thai is contemptible in the idea oorf r S lending th ; e name of the, colony, for two of i three peji.cent.,.to the pijovjuces, that we are afraid itrwouid have ;a <bad>effect upon our credit 1 'everywhere, and we are sure it is ' a iddume', no honourable man can j approve. But more thantthis, the course taken is an illegal course. The Colonial Government^ we learn, fthaygfta ffi fl pynvit^n^ nf Aucklana wjth the full rate of the interest and sinking fundiW was ,paid ,upon her 'loan while it I w-aa a purely provincial affair. ■ As a matter df^feet, hdwever^the Auckland loan has been merged ih. the seven-million loan authorised |lj)^>m^^4i|f4 .byi^^Fit&ettyrli, in England. Instead then of six per emteftart

teresfc and two per- cent, sinking fund, the real expenditure upon the Auckland half-million loan this year will be six per cent, in all, which representsasavingof£lo,oooon theyear. Thus, atthepresentmoment, the provinceof Auckland is being charged at the rate of more than £800 a-month for interest which is not being , paid, and sinking fund no longer being invested. ' As we have already said, the course is essentially an illegal one, in addition to all other objections that may fairly bej&ken t< it. The authority under which the Colonial Treasurer takes po&session of any part of the revenue for the purpose of satisfying the claims for interest and sinking fund is that of ' the 'Public Debts Act of last year. By clause 3of that Act, the Colonial Treasurer is empowered to retain money otherwise belonging to the< provinces, in the following .terms : " All " sums of money that may, under the pro- " visions of this Act, be paid by the Colonial " Treasurer for interest and sinking fund on " account of any of the provinces shall be " charged against tlie province ■> in respect of " which' such payment may have been made, " and shall, in accordance with the provisions "of the-Public Revenues Act, 1867, be de- ?' ducted from any moneys payable to such " province." This is the sole authority under whiehth* Colonial Treasurer acts, and it gives him no power to retain one sixpence on account of interest-and sinking fund but such as he pays. Indeed, by one of the customary blunders of our legislators, it appears that he cannot deduct one sixpence lawfully, until he has actually paid away the money on account of which, he 1 claims it. The , course now pursued flies directly in the face of the intention, and yet more strikingly in the face of the words, of this Act. The Government, in a spirit worthy perhaps of a broker on the Stock Exchange, but not of the very meanest representative of a nation, is trying to make a little money out of the embarrassed Provincial Government — one of the great sins of ' which is that they are embarrassed. This they are doing by charging interest and sinking fund against the provinces' share of revenue, which has neither been paid nor invested, while the only legal ground on which they can take it is that it has been paid and invested. Take the matter how we may, it is a disgrace. It is a miserable idea that our rulers have no feeling of what is becoming in ruleis ; it is a wretched thing that they do not- scruple to do what is at least sharp practice, when they think they can do so with impunity. We do not know whether it is more humiliating to suppose them too stupid to understand their own Acts, or too unprincipled to care about conforming to their provisions, but we | fear that one of these alternatives must Ibe accepted in this matter. The fact ! that as yet ■ Auckland's loan is the only i one belonging to the larger p*oviuces yet i fully dealt with is the reason why Auckland 1 alone complains, but we suppose the attempt Swill be made upon all alike. We sliuuiu, ■however, advise the Colonial Treasurer to i pause. The dislike to Provincial Governi ments is not strong enough to excuse all possible wrongs that may be done to them ; and it will not forward the idea of a strong central I power, that its acts are found to be at once petty, unjust, and illegal.

We learn that Mr. Jervis, agent of 'the P., N.Z., ,and A.R.M. Company in Auckland, has .received intimation that the Panama service it to be stopped, , and thatithe intercolonial services are to be modified. I We presume these alteration* wdl be made) by agreei ment with, the New Zealand Government. . It must - have been. evident to anyone that, with the scanty ! freight and the few passengers obtained, some alteration was absolutely necessary. It is a pity that our direct communication with America is to be broken off by the stoppage of the Panama lw*, but to maintain it was ruinous for the company, and the colony of New Zealand will no doubt be able to spend the money in some better way. An important public meeting was held yesterday at Mr. Buckland's yards, Kemuera, to consider what steps should be taken to prevent the re-intro-duction of pleuro-pneumoma into tbe province of Auckland. The meeting was numerously attended. Mr. Jamel Farmer, M.G.A., was voted to the chair. Resolutions were passed to the effect that it was expedient that immediate steps should be taken to prevent tbe re-introduction of pleuro-pneumoni* into the province, and that nothing but the Prohibition of landing cattle on the main land will effect that object. A deputation was also appointed to lay the matter before the Government. We are informed that for some time past the precautions to prevent the importation of diseased cattle have been ifar from adequate, and the advices received in Auckland of a shipment of infeoted animals have aroused the settlers to a sense of the impending danger. It is now proposed to' establish a sort of I depot on one of the islands near the mainland, so as to' prevent any .possibility of the re-introduction- of thfc I disease. It is known to stock-breeders and i veterinary surgeons that infected' cattle are often placed on board ship when the disease has not > reached^ sufficient stage of development to be discoverable, and cattle are sometimes landed m 4hat state after <•» sea voyage. The plan suggested, of placing cattle on an island, would therefore be -a | safe one, so far as the prevention of the spread of the disease is concerned, as it would enable the .inspector to h»ve the animal under his eye for a period, during which he might carefully note whether , any symptoms of disease made their appearance. Sjtne of the leading members of the New Zealand Agricultural Society waited on the Deputy-Superin-1 tendent yesterday, before the meeting at Kemuera j ' but, as the deputation w»s unable to lay any > bin 41 definitely before his Honor, no conclusion was arrived at. It wai undent >od, - however, that hi< , Honor expressed himself desirous to further the I interests of the settlers in^ every reasonaJb-e way, ' and that so soon as the' matter had >>e**n officially ! laid before him he would bring the subject under the j notice of the Provincial Executive. ! The nomination for the vacancy in the Northern i Division, caused by the retirement of Mr. Daore . from the Provincial Council, took place at the , Devonport Hall, North shore, yesterday. It was expeoted that, Mr. Oliver May-, who has been frequently solicited to come forward to represent jthe i Division in the Council, and who made an excellent 1 address yesterday, would walk over£h« course; but this was not so, as Captain Cooper and Mr. D»vid Bum nominated Mr. Farnall, of Wbangaparo*. Our readers will keep in mind that this is not the 1 gentleman spoken «>f some time ago for the vacancy I —Mr. of the AVade. The jpojl will take ; plaCfj on Wednesday, the 21st October. ! ,ThejGeneralvBynod of New Zealmd met again yesterday. The (jrincipal busiuew was the <h»cu4t>ion on a motion to the effect that Bishop ftelwyn should at (early m* "possible nominate his successor to the Bishopric of Auckland, and make the necessary arrangements for his consecration. The motion was agreed to. The committee appointed to consider cud report -upon the question, of .jsompleting the euclesiastipal arrangements < respecting then see of Dunedin brought up their report, which recommended that the appointment) of Dr. Jenner.be not confirmed, lon the ground of; the < insufficiency of the iendo»ment, 1 and >the improbability of- the endowment being increased' 'in- the face of the ritualistic tendencies of Dr. Jenner. On the motion that/ the appointment be not confirmed, Jwhich was<tmoved by the Bishop ofc £hristcharch, it was moved as a amendment that thei-consideration of the report be' j postponed j until members had been furnished with j printed" copies «>f it, tog»ther with copies -of .* 'AjtatementV; received! from Dr. <- Jenner by the mail 1 yesterday. Another motion 1 was 'made ■ that ihe committee bring uptbe evidence upon which their i report- < was ■ founded} ibut the Dean of> Ghristchurch ; thereupon stated that the > evidence had not betn taken in writing, c He Jiowever laid > tne minutes ,oa the table.' The motion for the postpone' ment of the question? was agreed to,i .and the ; Synod adjourned at until' !4 p.m. this day. ■' A meeting of the members of. the Firiance Committflg cbnneWwith- the 7 - Airidlfal Mb 1 Volun-, teerstookplaoeat Mr. Hughes office, 1 Shottlaud-

street, last evening, Captain Derrom in the chair, for the purpose o['taking into consideration a communication fiom Adjutant and. Commander Tisdall, | enclosing a letter from W. H. Molloy, acting garrison adjutant, requeitingpermißsion for the 2nd Battalion 18 nh Royal Irish to use the rifle range, Point Chevalier, for the annual course of musketry instruction, O! mmenoing on the first proximo. The letter intimated that, shbuld the request be granted, fatigue parties would be at once told off to do any necessary repairs, put the place in order, &c. The following resolution was moved by Sergeant Hughet, seoonded by Mr. Burns, and cartied unanimously ; "That the request of the 2nd Battalion 18th Royal Irish be oom plied with for the use of the rifle range ' at Point Chevalier for annual musketry practice, on condition that they leave it in the name state in ' vr hioh they took it over, and that the Auckland Rifle i Volunteers be allowed the use of the range on M?ondaya and Saturdays." A vote of thanks to 1 the' chair- ' man olosed the proceedings'. A correspondent of the Thames Advertiser, writing . from Hastings on the 12tli instant, says:— "l am •orry to have to report a case of attempted stickingup on the Flat on Sunday night 1 last. The facts of the case are as follow :~Mr. Graham, who is employed at the machine of Messr». Gibbon* and Co., went down to the Flat ,at 11.30 at night, to ascertain if the « fcfalcyon' had arrived. When near the Hastings Boarding-house, -he pabsed two men, who were going in the same direction. Soon after, one of them left his companion, quickening his pace until he came up with Mr. Graham. He then said, • Can't you give a poor mau ss. ? '—which request not meeting with »u affirtKutiT©, he attempted to use force, but being favoured by the ;darkuejB,-wind, and rain, Mr. Graham" maria Jed. to escape, from their clutches, and hide himself. The 1 two' men then commenced an active search for their would-be victim, scrambling over heaps of coal, &c, but without auccesi." The well-linqwn claims at Tapu which have lately proved so rich, viz, the Clyde, Tapu Mmt> Marquis of .Hastings, Littje Wonder, and one or two others, purpose amalgamating, and forming a company. This will cause, a material difference ' to holders of interests jn' these ..claims, .who may, be away from the field. A good, Australian manager will be appointed, and large , dividends may be periodically expected, both on account of the richness ol the claims, and the different system of working them. The diggers are now beginning to see the necessity of amalgamating and forming into oompanies, in order to enable them to get machinery, and work their ground on a larger scale. The fire which we noticed in yesterday's- paper as having beeu observed towards Onehunga on Wednesday evening, w,ai, .we now learo,< oaused by the burning of the coach-house and stable of Mr. >W. Kattray. Mr. Rattray reached hia> house from town 1 about halfpast six o'clock; and^ .after, putting up the^horse; the coaqbman ,vfent with,* .message to a house at a short distance awayj; andarh'e was returning he noticed tbat the stables ivrere on. fire.' On the alarm being given, all the. neighbours., turned out, and assisted Mr» Rattray in. keeping; the/fire from spreading. It was useless to attempt ' to save the -stable, but the horse and buggy wore (got out. The stable was iusured to thq extent of Nsfc'sO. ilt is thought that the tire originated through, i Some of the hay, wb.iob.wai damp, navjagoiguittsd.' . The usual' weekly sittings of the' Resident Magistrate's Court took 'plaueyeit^rday. 'The ohly case of any interest was that of Jftsslmg (on behalf of the Choral Socibty) v'.- Talb'6t, seciebary to- the Mechanics' Institute, fill* 'this recovery of certain wooden fofuis, alleg-d to be the property of the Uhural Society, which were in the Mechanics'' institute, aod iwbich 'the secretary.^efUiied tv give up. A report will be found elsewhere. Three young women; ' belonging to that class ; generally termed '" unfortunates," were apprehended last evening by"detectiv l es Mmpby and Ternahan, t*l g liJ?-^~ — *& I, Sfc? l^ B lfe«ifißfly"kr^e3 -*~ AackTaiid.-' If seems that 'the prosecutor met one of the">girls yesterday mormug, and accompanied her to one of the bad houses in town, and while there he missed the whole of- his money, amounting to abou^ £30. He at ouco went to the station, and gave information to the police, when the constables mentioned proceeded to' the house, and .apprehended the three women. ' On being searched part 'of tb« money was found upon them. They will be brought up at the Police Court this morning. At the Police Court yesterday, Thomas B*rnes and Joseph Williams wvreea'ch fined ss. for obstruot T ing the footpath. Catherine Keats was bouud over to keep the peace for sir jnouths. Martha Holmes was fined ss. ,and costs,, fcnMssiaulting Ellen Mynn ; and Richard Kodwe'l pleaded guilty to having assaulted .RicHard^'Carter, and was fined 20a. and costs. During the proceedings of the General SynoH, yc3«f terday, the Primate informed the members fthat the vessel by which he; purposed to leave wouldt sail on Tuesday, at 3 p.m.* at the latest. The proceedings of the cSynod are not likely to extend over.the. the current week. A lecture on ' chemistry is announced- to be dej livered this evening,' at half-pa'at' 7 o'clock, in the Mechanics' Institute, by Mr. C. A. Robertson. The lecture will be illustrated by experiments and diagrams. A correspondent writes as follows :— " Happening to have business in a certain locality, nob far from West Quean-street, yesterday, my attention was drawn to an establishment in that neighbourhood which 1 was induced to enter; and I have now to lay before the readers^ of the ' Southern Cross a scene" of the gro«aesfc indeceucy, immoraljty J; and debauchery, such as it hat never before been my lot to witness. In o'ne^ropm, squatting on the floor, were between twenty and thirty natives (most of them from/ Tauranga) ot^ota sexes, the males largely in exces/'df the females, in various stages of intoxication, from half-seas-over to, beastly drunk ; some j iv a semi-nude slate, and' others all but naked1 A noted individual, bearing some resemblance to I the great usurper, Richard 111., appeared to be the 1 leading .man ; and a stout woman, belonging to the Ngaiterangi, lei the haka, Seven bottles of -waipiro were on the floor, o fiom which the natives were taking copious libations ; and' fromthe way in which I they were going, on when my visit was made, moat of them would very shortly be f eitherina state of madnesi or oblivion. If the former itate, it is 1 hard to say with what results." . , The bi-monthly Customs returns tor the port of ' SUortland for the period ending, the 30th ultimo have been made up this week, and _show,the following as the hade of the port .-^-yessels j arrived, 167 ; aggregate \onnijge,, 5,363. , Of ityese^ ,93 have .discharged cargoes ai, ShortlandV-and,, 64* at Graham's Town. The patsenger traffic has been: — Inward*,. 3,023 ; outwards, 2.394; iiicgjasg of population, 629, 50u15. The quantify , of, gold ( p««it(d J through the,Cu«ifc"m3 : from all SHitces-durJii&jthp, .fortnight was 7,1630z. The fol oyviut building mftt-,riai« have been! imported: -Timber, 435.2#)ft ; «hingles, 221,0)0; , bricks, 30.600; lime, ,^9or .bushels;;, p*iing*>. ,5,900 ; po t«, 1 714 L ; rails, l.ilOj'hou-e-biocks, 17,0,; i»ileH, 13; <»ld houses, 12; d^>rs and Bashes,. 2B4. nackages,, The ' fol'owin^*re some rf.,the prin,cip)ii|it«p.< imported in | the foitui/iht :— Hor^ 3 , H • mule, 1,; cowa, 11?; ■ bullocks, 55; pig", 24,, c^ves 2; goat«, 5 ; ] live and de*il, hvy f 44 t,i"B and 17; bales; bran, 9 tons and 3> bags , chaff, 160 bags ; maiz-, 1 12 tons and 262 bags, -o*n, 32 bags ; leather, 28 j buudles ; boot>< and s)i,oei, 2^ truuks^pqwder, 126 '■ ke^s ; drapery, 28 caBes,2l baUs, and 7>"icka^es; furniture, 38 ,tons and 578 pac^a^ts ; quicksilver, 24 bottleH-; keio>iDe, 54 CiSes; steel, 30 t>ars ; iron, , 1 ton, 218 bars, 'and 10 bnnd'l'-s ; galy«u e<i iron 12 , tons, 6 case«, and' '4l sheets; iromn^g r v, 301)! packages ; machinery, 2 tons and 49 ; steam engine, 1 ; hteam boiler, 1 ; water wheel, I; \ water tanks, 21 ; ,coais, 427 / tons arad 44 b*g« ; tire- | w00d, 480 tonß ; fencing wire, 3 tonH,; wheelbarro« 8 . \ 15-, 'sundries, 3 tons, and 828 p*tk»ges.— Thxmc9 ] Advertiser.