MAIL SERVICES.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVI, Issue 3887, 5 February 1870, Page 4

MAIL SERVICES.

We beg to direct the attention of owners of vessels and others to tlie highly important advertisement which appears elsewhere, calling for tenders for the performance of certain alternative monthly interprovincial steam mail services, for a period of six months from commencement of contract. The time-table, and particulars of the services, will be found in the advertisement. The tenders are receivable at the General Post-office, Wellington, till the 5th March next.

The latest telegraphic intelligence from i Waikato, which we publish in another column, presuming that it is correct, is far from reassuring. The King natives at Tokangamutu are said to be arming, apparently to prevent McDonnell from following Te Kooti into their territory. The friendly natives, it is also s>aid, have been warned to withdraw themselves from the European settlements. This intelligence comes from a trustworthy source, but yet it is desirable that it should be received with some amount of reservation. We do not think that there is any cause for alarm, because it is not at all likely that the King party will make an aggressive movement against us under existing circumstances. Maoris are iond of " bounce," and threats uttered in the way of mere empty boast are frequently repeated by idlers about the settlements, and magnified according as the imaginative faculties of the narrator may dictate. The report which our correspondent sends na may be, after all, baaed upon a Maori rumour which it was not possible to test. We shall await further intelligence. Great . disappointment is felt at the step taken by the Regatta Committee on rhuraday evening, viz., their deciding not to carry on the races postponed from Regatta Day. The various crews have in consequence been -put to great inconveniienca,* -some having come from the' Thames, ancl thereby lost a great deal of time, having stayed in town all

TFhuraaay and iflriaay, We belieTe that a Very good programme could have been arranged for to-day, as the men-o'-war's men willing to have joined us in the sports. We trust, however, that the committee will See their way clear to arrange ipmo aquatic sports before the Squadron leaves! m Two important questions were dealt with sn the Provincial Council yesterday. The first was that of harbour management. The Government plan is to appoint a Board of Commissioners, of which body the Superintendent shall be ex officio a member, his Honor remaining the corporation for the purpose of holding the various endowment trusts, but practically holding them subject to the management of the Commissioners. A resolution for an address in favour of such a Board of Commissioners was adopted without discussion. It was explained that the Board is regarded only as a temporary body, prior to the creation of a Harbour Trust. The other question was that of encouragement to the construction of the railway from Newmarket to Tuakau via Drury. There was a discussion, lasting two hours and a-half, the result being the adoption of the Government resolution to this effect : — The Council concurred in the views expressed in Message No. 21, and was prepared to sanction the expenditure of £500 as proposed, and to grant the railway plant in the possession of the Government, under the retrictions and for the purposes mentioned in message. The £500 is to be expended in oompleting surveys, with a view to economical deviations; the completion of plans; negotiations for land, &c. The plant is to be given as * bonus to any company willing to construct the line, and to work it, sub3<3ct to restrictions as to fares, speed, number ?> tr « ins per day> &c * Tlie message and Mr. Stewart's report were published in the Cross of Wednesday last. Committee of Supply occupied the evening sitting. We have received some doggerel verses from a local poet, who tries to sing the praises of "the British seaman." As it is "neither rhyme nor reason," however, we cannot find a oorner for it. We recommend the author, as a perfect cure for the rhyming disease, with which he appears to be dangerously afflicted, to buy or borrow an English dictionary, and devote his spare hours to learning to spell. This mental exercise will have a healthy influence on his mind, A discussion is going on in the Sydney Morning Herald on the subject of "Handicapping yachts." A writer named Henry C. Dangar denies that the Royal Sydney Yacht Club encourages the practice of handicapping, but points out that a fixed time allowance is made where necessary. A medical man in Melbourne has been committed for trial on a charge of manslaughter of a female patient. The evidence went to show that the doeter was intoxicated during the accouchement of the unfortunate womanA paragraph from one of the Thames papers has been republished within the last few days, misrepresenting facts as to the land at the Thames which has been spoken of as to he opened for settlement. We can only repeat that the land is on the Waihou river ; that its extent is not more than 900 acres ; and that there is no reason whatever to suppose it to be auriferous. The latter fact was mentioned to the deputation by the Hon. D. McLean ; and his Honor the Superintendent spoke of the land only as some that might be opened for settlement It is difficult to suppose that people at the Thames can have an object in exaggerating as to this Waihou land; but undoubtedly there has been exaggeration. Through the dearth of accommodation in Auckland during the present visit of the Plying Squadion, no less than nine people slept under the portico of the Post-office on Thursday night last. We understand that the presentation of addresses to the Ven. Archdeacon Lloyd by the clergy and inhabitants will take place on Monday next, precisely at 10 o'clock in the morning, as the Archdeacon has to embark before 11. It is hoped, therefore, that every one interested in the ceremony will be punctual. St. Patrick's anniversary is to be celebrated at the Thames on a scale of unusual magnificence. We have received for distribution a number of circulars by Messrs,,, Yarrow and Hedley, on "Steam Launches, Ships', Boats, Yachts, and Tugs." The circular is accompanied by a photograph of a steam launch, which can be ; seen at our publishing office, -r here also copies of the circulai may be obtained. In California there is a law encouraging the planting of shade-trees along public roads. The Bulletin advocates the principle of the bill introduced by Mr. Thayer into Congress last year, making the planting of shade-trees a condition to grants to homestead and preemption claims on Government land. The effect would be to increase the taxable value of the land, add to the wealth and comfoi t of the farmer, and ameliorate the climate on the plains. A second meeting of creditors in the estate of Frederick Whitlock, restaurantkeeper, of Auckland, was convened to be held at the Supreme Court yesterday at noon, but, no creditors appearing to prove their debts, Mr. Mowbray, provisional trustee, became trustee of the estate by j virtue of the Act. The bankrupt's liabilities are £1,048 15s, 9d., and the assets \ (nominal) £1,241 18a. 9d.— A first meeting ; of creditors in the estate of Robert Jennings, of Wellesley-street, hatter, was convened for the same time and place, but no creditors appearing to prove their debts the i meeting was adjourned for a week. The liabilities iij this estate are £551 14s. Id., assets £20. Tenders in duplicate will be received at the Commissariat Office until noon of Thursday, 10th instant, for the conveyance of two I companies of the 18th Regiment from Auck- J land to Sydney. Tenders to state name of | vessel, registered tonnage, rates for first and third-class pasaengera (statute adults), and rate per ton measurement for baggage ; also date on which the vessel will be ready to perform the service, The Masonio Ball to the brethren of the Flying Squadron is announced to take place on Monday evening next, 7th instant, at the Music Hall, Symonds-street. We are requested to state that tickets can be obtained from the stewards. We notice that the crew of Morgan's boat have challenged the winners of the match be. tween the gigs of the ' Royal Alfred' and •Star of the South,' to row them in the * Star of the South'a' boat, against time. The offer of Morgan's crew is two to one in fifties. The Shortland Times yesterday contained the following respecting the Concentrating Company's works at Tararu : — "The place fixed upon by the company for the works is nearly opposite the Tararu battery, on the opposite side of the creek. The plan of operations to-be carried out by the company is to concentrate the tailings from the batteries by the patent apparatus for that purpose by Cornell, which has been found to answer on the Victorian goldflelds. When the pyrites are collected, they will be brought to the furnace, and there roasted, after which they will be passed through berdans in the ordinary manner. A great saving will be gained by the company m separating the pyrites from the tailings by the small portable machines which they use, one of which is erected at Russell's battery, and is now working most satisfactorily. The tailings at present being treated are from stone i crushed for the City of Dunedin Claim at Russell's battery. The calcining works will be ready for use in a few days, when we hope j the first attempt \rill be successful, and offer encouragement to the prospectors to carry on the enterprise. " To the Editor of the W^iPfcY N^ws.-r Si t > 7r^ I1 >y? ar las *t. ffe * a «W>» I 'PbVerved * letter frphrMr. J.Cox oh the aWe subject; in whiofc the -writer clftinyi the crVdft'of having made a great discovery., viz., that N*W Zealand flax can be grown from seed ! ! ;

i by fir3t steeping it in warm water. I rather think that Mr. Cox has discovered a "mare's nest. ' I have seen in. this district— the cradle Z j *^n X iadu stry— for years past various beds of flax plants grown from seed, some of | which was sown after steeping in hot water, in other instances sown without any preparation No serious difficulty need b*e apprehended in growing flax plants from seed, and in many places where piga have been rooting , under old flax bushes thousands of young planta may be seen sprouting from seed. Nearly two years ago I sowed a couple of acres with flax (Phormium tenax) seed, and being aware, as most agriculturists are, that some seeds, having very hard skins, are more certain to germinate if first steeped in hot | water, I put about a gallon of seed in a bucket, and poured water nearly boiling over it, until the bucket was full, then covered it over and left it for 24 hours. I then sowed the seed broadcast, and harrowed it lightly in, treating it exactly like grass seed. In about a month after, flax plants more than sufficient to stock the ground appeared. Their growth was so very slow, however, that I have now decided on ploughing up the land, and planting flax roots. Wherever roots of flax are procurable, it will be found that it is much better to plant than to sow. We are all, to a certain extent, groping our way, both in flax-dressing and culture, as yet : hence many mistakes and misapprehensions, as, for instance, that in planting j flax it is necessary to have deep cultivation, and consequent heavy expense. This is a great mistake ; for though I am not prepared to state that trenching or subsoil ploughing is useless, I can safely say that they are unnecessary ; and that in all cases, whether j the ground is previously deeply stirred or not, the roots should not be buried deep in j the earth, should, in fact, be barely covered; nothing retards their growth so much as being stuck in a deep hole. There is a man quietly working at flax-dressing in this district who is, undoubtedly, Auckland's greatest benefactor. He has taken out no patents, has applied for no Government rewards ; but, if his public services were fully known, I think a wise Government would surely reward them. I refer to Mr. Dougal, of Waitangi, the inventor of the flax-dressing machine, which has converted what was in the eyes of New Zealand settlers a troublesome weed into the most valuable of New Zealand's products. To the notice of the enterprising publisher who is desirous of promulgating useful knowledge on the subject of flaxdressing I beg to introduce him, as also to the notice of the Provincial Council now in session. I also beg respectfully to suggest to the Editors of the Auckland Press that, in future, they should set apart a column of their papers for the flax news of the day, and try to have it filled with reliable information. A great deal of space has recently been filled with gold news from the Thames, which has emptied a good many pockets, and as yet filled very few. Allow me to point out to them an industry in which there are many more prizes than blanks.— I am, &c, Waiujcu. We have received a letter from Mr. F. G. Evvmgton, in which he writes an appeal to the benevolent on behalf of a poor widow with two children, who is now in a j destitute condition, and whose name and address ho will furnish to any one desirous of offering assistance. Mr. Ewington says : — " The pei 3011 on whose behalf I write is a respectable, hardworking, but poor widow. She has two children who are dependent upon their mother for support. Until recently she has piocured an honest livelihood by working with a sewing machine, but severe applica° tion to her work has given her rheumatic ophthalmia in the eyes, and deprived her of vision. For seventeen weeks she has been unable to work, and for six weeks, of the seventeen she w as totally blind, and in most excruciating pain. The few shillings she had saved by her industry have, for some time, been expended, and she ib now in most destitute circumstances. Her sewing machine has been &old to pay some of her debts, and it w ere hard to say what extremes she will be driven to unless assistance is promptly given. A subscription list has been opened, and a few friends have kindly rendered her some help, but those funds are completely exhausted. The poor sufferer lias seen better clays in the old country, and comes of a very good family, She was for seven years an articled pupil in a young ladies" seminary, and ti hopeful of establishing a small school on recovering her vision. ° Mr. W. E. Sadler sends us a letter on what he is pleased to term "Protection." We regret that we cannot afford space for the entire letter, but we give the following portion of it :— " I am not sure that the offering a bonus or a prize for a particular production, presumed to pieferthe general interest of the place, would in anywise infringe the principle or policy of free trade. 1 think not, Although, whether right or wrong as to commercial principle, there arises °the other lugtly impoitant inquiry: Can we afford it ? Again, it might be asked, may we not as well pay extra for the aiticle at the ordinary shop, in the ordinary way, as to pay the additional price for it through the medium of our Government ? I must think that any commercial policy which, in its one immediate operation, benefits one country and injures another, is thoroughly unsound ; and, besides, is very likely to redound, by reciprocity or retaliation] to the ultimate detiiment of the very country whose advantage waa so clandestinely designed to be promoted. It is quite possible by policy to benefit all the nations. I believe the grand secret of all the difficulty and the mischief is the tariffs — that the very principle of tariffs is fundamentally erroneous. It is to derive revenue by taxes on trades ; so doing double injury, instead of fostering and subsidising, as some of our estimable friends here are now enthusiastically advocating. And tariffs directly and necessarily induce labyrinthine complications. Protectionism is correlate to 'tariffs, Rectify one wrong by ordaining another. Mix two black substances for the production of a white. It won't do. And, for the community, protectionism won't pay. It is indisputably a policy of monopoly. It i* all very fine for publicists to talk glibly about the State or the Government subsidising a particular trade, and conveying the impression that the mythic State or Government geta its finance from some indefinable, mysterious, extraneous source — perhaps from the sky ; but the whole case seems totally altered when the simple fact is educed and protruded that Mr. State is only the public treasurer for the people, and has not so much as a sixpence of his own. Then, again, there must not be invidiousness or partiality shown in public expenditure of the public revenue. If you subsidise the wool-growers and the woollen-manufacturers, what can be answered to the consequent importunate clamours of the ship-builders and shoemakers? Suppose, then, all subsidise one another ! Obviously protectionism cannot stand reasoning. It is anywhere, everywhere, and anyhow, alike false and foolish, incontrovertibly." To the Editor of the Daily SouthernCross.--" Sir,— May I be allowed to refer to three letters in your paper on this subject. The remarks of ' Clericus' are well put ; his illustration, however, though apt, seems immeasurably below the subject. It may be well to resolve not to give a sixpence towards a scheme to which we totally object, but, as matters stand, it is to be feared that passive resistance will be of little avail. This is a time for action. Who will move to rouse the public mind from the fatal lethargy into which it has fallen, and will overcome i the deleterious and mischievous effects of sectarianism ? If « Clericus' and his friends will bend themselves to the effort, others will help to settle some common bond of union and action. 'Aliquis' shows conclusively that the advocates of sectarianism , are prepared and disposed to act arbitrarily I and tyrannically i so it always will be, if we j forsake the path of truth and light, to stumble upon the dark mountains of doubt and negation. It is somewhat surprising, however, that ( Aliquis,' with his clear views, should be willing to let this question remain .an open one. Can light and darkness exist ..'.together ? He thtffad&ott with- truth Is kgutufc «. When the Council (or the Assembly) s C3nsider thia subject, -they must decide one t way or other : and then it will be for the

Christian people o? this province or colony to move accordingly. (Sue word tp 'P.P.' (It were to be wished that this lady would kindly adopt a more classical or gentle name.) She admires and approves of the Prussian system of compulsion. But we must remember : 1. That the Prussian Government is essentially arbitrary. To advocate compulsion in these daya of voluntaryism does seem anomalous, and most opposed to the spirit of British liberty, and to the common law. 2. How iu the world is compulsion to be carried out in this colony ? 3. Whatever advantages the compulsory system has in Prussia, it is to be feared that the state of irreligion and immorality in that country — take Berlin, for instance — is deplorable. A tree which bears such fruit is to be tasted with great caution. If, instead of compulsion (except, perhaps, in manufacturing establishments), the Government I should use all their endeavours to make the schools as perfect as possible, ifc would draw scholars as volunteers, instead of driving them like cattle. This is an alternative well worth trying, at any rate, before taking a leap in the dark. — I am, &c, Bkitishek. — Our correspondent asserts, if we understand him aright, that the educational system of Prussia is the cause of the irreligiou and immorality in Berlin. This, we think, is a most illogical conclusion. But the argument cuts both ways. Is the parochial system of education in Scotland the cause of the irreligion and immorality in Glasgow, and other large towns in that kingdom ? or can we charge the notorious immorality and irreligion of London, Manchester, Sheffield, and other centres of English population, to the denommational system of education in England? If out correspondent's argument is worth anything, it is a death-blow to the principle which he advocates, of combining religious instruction in schools with secular education. According to him, Broadhead must be a product of the denominational system. It is a pity the advocates,' of the Bible, as a class-book, should weaken their cause by reckless assertions of this kind. Messrs. Lewis and Whitebourne, solid* tors, 24, Basinghall-street, London, offer a reward to any person giving infoimation of the present address of Augustus Richard Barton, formerly of the 26th Regiment, late of Wing Cottage, Bucks, then of Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. A woman living on the property of Sir Watkin W. Wynn has presented her husband, a labourer, with five children at a birth. Three days ago they were all alive. The Queen has sent her £7. Twice she has had three at a birth, all of whom have lived. The poor woman has had twenty-two children. Female suffrage in England has manifested a strong Conservative tendency. The following is from the Home Ifeios: — "The Radical electors to municipal offices in Exeter are shuddering at the Frankenstein thenparty has raised up in female suffrage. Loyal ratepayeresses of the Conservative persuasion, regardless of age or inconvenience, nocked to the iiollmg-places on Monday, November 8 ; the few of the fair sex who dared to own themselves Liberals giving their votes, it is said, manifestly with a wholesome dread of public opinion. And the result of the elections is that, whereas in ISTovembei, 1S68, six Liberal and six Conservative town councillors were chosen, the proportion this year is three Libeials to nine Conservatives." At some tables) (though the fashion, 1 am sorry say, prevails moie m Fiance than m England) chaimmg little bouquets rue laid on each guest's plate, or placed in the champagne glass. Every one seams pleaded to receive such a sweet welcome, and they aie speedily transferred to the dies-sea <>i their fair recipients, or to the button-holes <>i tlie sterner sex. As a gentleman now hardly considers himself dressed "point-device'* without his button-hole bouquet, perhaps a few words on making them up may be accaptable our fail- readers. Provide yom self with plenty of fine wire, and with this fix securely the petals of any rose, ro&ebud, or camellia that you may ba going to use : driving the wire across the bottom of the rose, straight through, and bringing the ends of it How n tho stalk. For geraniums, azaleas, &c, a drop of the stiff est gum in the centre of each flower will keep their bright petals from falling. Always back the bouquet with some leaves of the fancy-edged geranium, then the rose or buds, or camellia, or whatever you are going to use ; then a tiny spray of maidenhair ' fern, and some heliotrope oi Paima violets, or any little floweis that the season may give you, And with another bit of fern your bou - quet is complete. Hound each flower as you add it put a twist of wnc to keep all firm. — QuPen. The close observer of women's various and often inscrutable, thimgh aV« ays charming, ways, must Lave noticed that almost mvanably, after making aiiy ascent or descent, however slight — as, for instance, on getting into or out of an omnibus, street car, or other similar vehicle, on going up or down stairs, or rising from a sitting posture or the like — it is her custom to signalise and celebrate the event by a certain peculiar scintillating movement of tho body, more or leas piolonged. This movement resembles nothing so much as the incipient undulations of tlie redowa, or the rope-dancer's initiatory struggles with the delicacies of balance, except that it is not lateral but backward and foiward, like a rocking-horse or an unpractised skater — a see-sawing motion, m short, what the children in their rude but vigorous dialect call " teetering." And teetering we have determined is to be the hitherto undiscovered name of tuis old but yet uncelebrated accomplishment. To the philologist the word will suggest the additional reason of a score of fancitul analogies. For teeter is only another form of titter ; and the graceful exercise we refer to is in reality, as it were, a physical titter, a pedal simper, a crural giggle ; a reflection of tho facial smile that usually accompanies and heralds it. But we shall not pause to busy ourselves with philological felicities ; a more important task awaits us in the philosophical consideration of the practice we have been to tho trouble of baptising,— -Round Table. The explanation ordinarily given of the ardour with which women pursue the fashions is, that they do it from a natural desire to make themselves charming in the eyes of men. That is the resolution of the problem which nine men out of ten will give, and which lately has been more than once announced by one of our weekly contemporaries, in its usixal condensed or apophthegmatic style. "Women dress to please men." As a diagnosis of the original physiology of women's love of ornaments, or as an evolution of the fir jt elementary principle whence sprang that habit of self-adornment which is now congenial in women, this apophthegm, though inadequate, no doubt partly expresses the truth. But as an explanation of the I causes of the modern extravagance of dress- | worship in woman, it is not merely inadequate, but positively untrue. Whatever j may be the case in a savage community, it is certain that, as English society is at piesent constituted, women do not "dress to please men," but to please, or rather to escape the persecutions of, their own sex. Fear of woman, not love of man, is the feeling which makes them submit to the tyranny of fashion. I Woman is, in this respect, her own enslaver. j If any woman doubts this, let her ask ! herself whether, when she dresses for a dinner party, it is the attention bestowed by | the host, or that bestowed by the hostess on her toilette, that gives her the most concern, | Is it the criticism of the men, or that of the women, that she most courts and fears ? Is 1 it before or after dinner that justice is done to her dress? The truth is that the nine men out of ten who tell us that "women dress to please men" never criticise women's dress at all. If a woman is very eccentrically or very unbecomingly dressed, most of them have a vague general impression that some- '; hing is wrong. ; but not one in a hundred criticises the dress of his hostess or of the women between whom he finds himself at the dinner table. Fear of each other is |hen 'tie* principal* sentiment which* ties women* down to the slavery of dress worship ; and this feeling, combining with the instincts or congenial habits of imitation and self-adorn*

.meni;, and with tlie want of the highest originality, which, seems to be a natural defect in the sex, and is illustrated in the fact that in the art of music, the one subject in which women JigLVe generally received better instruction than men, no 1 woman has ever become a fir3t-rate composer, is sufficient to account for the proclivities of women to follies of costume. — American paper. There has been much talk lately about the cultivators patented by Mr. Edwards, of Marong, Victoria, and exhibited by him at most of the agricultural shows of this and the previous season. The implements have a very attractive appearance ; the style and make are altogether out of the common ; and there can hardly be a doubt of their perfect adaptability to the purpose for which they are intended. They are meant to work land to the depth of eight inches, and this they do thoroughly and effectively. The pulverisation of the soil is performed in a manner that leaves nothing more to be desired in a seed bed for wheat, barley, oata, or pulse. As they are of much lighter draught than cultivators of the old style dealing with an equal breadth of ground, they are admirably adapted for present use upon the stubbles. The success of these implements has induced the patentee to take out patents also in America, France, England, and several other countries, and to establish a manufactory of them in Melbourne. A foreign merchant, writing from Havana to the New York Herald, states that recently two ladies, both natives of* Sp'ain — the one from Madrid, the other a long time a resident of Cuba — were together in a bath by the seashore not far from the city, when they began to talk politics. The lady from Madrid remarked, "I hope to see the Government make a stable of Aldama's house." The other retorted, "I hope to see Cespedes in the palace occupied by De Rodas." Immediately the first seized her fair antagonist, ' thrust her head under the water, and would have dtomied her had not others interfered. Hurrying on her garments, the Spanish sympathiser went in hot haste to the palace, and when the other returned to her house ; she found an official there with orders ' directing herself, her husband, and entire family to proceed to Spain by the lwxt mail steamer — meanwhile to remain under surreillance. "A man who'll maliciously set fire to a 1 shed," said Mr. Slow, " and burn up twenty cows, ought to be kicked to death by a donkey— and I'd like to do it myself." Slow 1 is very severe sometimes. "I say, Sambo, does you know what makes the corn grow so fast when you put the manure on ifc?" "No, I don't hardly," "Now, I'll just tell ye. When the corn 1 begins to smell de manure, } im don't like the fumery, so hurries out of the ground, and sits up as high as possible, so as not to breathe de bad air."