The Dialy Southern CrosS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVI, Issue 4003, 21 June 1870, Page 3

The Dialy Southern CrosS.

r/UCEO, NON- URO, If 1 have been extinguished, yet there rise A thousand beacons from the spark I boie.

TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 1870.

A large meetiug was recently held in Sydney for the purpose of discussing the piopriety of establishing a training school for female servants. There are perhaps few among the minor difficulties of life with which colonists have to contend so greab as that of obtaining good domestic servants, and this is just; as much the case in New Zealand as in N"ew South Wales. From the first days of the colony to the present time, complaints have been constantly made of the ignorance and inefficiency of the servant - girls whom mistresses were compelled to employ. Altogether untrained to service, it was not to be supposed thai; these girls could adequately fulfil the duties they undertook to discharge. There is not, as far as we are aware, any divine afflatus by which a household servant can know how to do her work without having first been taught. And yet, if we may judge by the multitudinous duties which these young ladies tell us they can perform, we should certainly come to the conclusion that some such inspiration nrist exist ; they are cooks, housemaids, nursemaids, ladies-maids, without having learnt to be any of these. A servant is inquired or advertised for 1 , and an elegant person, (Tressed in the height of fashion, presents herself at the door next day. She will state, without the smallest , symptom of diffidence, that she can do anything that can possibly be required. The employer, with a thrill of joy at having at last found such a treasure, forthwith makes an engagement, at an enormously high rate of wages. A few days pass, and the pleasant dream is utterly dispelled j in, nine cases out of ten the girl is found to be cai'eless, idle, and hopelessly incompetent ; usually, the more she has said site is able to do, the less she is really capable of doing But sKe knows her advantage, and is perfeotly well aware that, bad though she may, be, the mistress can soardely let her go until somebody else's services have been secured ; and secondly — a point .to which we. wouldV especially draw attention — she kriowsj that she can, go elsewhere I aiid readily get a situation at a high late of wage's, without having to'■produce character or recommendation . Of course in, writing thus we write merely of -the majority,' as we are well aware tnat there are,amongst us, many .respect»fcle and' industrious people who are a P° 3 *** v ® prsdit % to, any service ju, which they may be engaged.,

I Our fellow colonists in Sydney,having become awake to the great evil and inconvenience arising from the state of things we have described, are endeavouring to apply a practical remedy in the establishment of a training school. The meeting for this purpose appears to have been entirely successful ; rules were adopted, and officers appointed. The [ scheme, as far as it is developed in the report now before us, is as follows :—: — A building suitable for the purpose is engaged, and a number of girls between twelve and fourteen years of age ai*e placed in the institution by their pai~ents, who are required to sign a bond in five pounds not to remove their daughter from the control of the committee un(,il she has completed her apprenticeship. In matters of finance, the institution is to be managed by a general committee ; but, in matters fffecling internal ai'iangeinents, it is to be conducted by a committee of ladies, some of whom will visit the school each day. A competent matron is appointed by the ladies' committee, who is to train the pupils in their work. After twelve months' residence in the institution, the girls are to be apprenticed as servants to respectable families for a further term of two years, and the wages for their services are to go towards reimbursing the institution for the trouble and expense taken. With regard to the willingness of parents to enter their daughters upon the register of the institution, no difficulty is anticipated ; for, although " the " greater number of parents will, per- " haps, prefer what they are pleased to " call light and genteel employment for " their daughters, it is considered that " there will be more than sufficient of " the right kind, who can be induced "to enter fie training school." The next point is whether a sufficient income can be raised to meet the necessary expenses ; and it is argued that the benefits offered arc so great that there will not be .much difficulty in getting subscubers. who will subsequently be those to whom the girls will bo apprenticed. By these voluntary contributions, and by the funds derive J from the wages of the apprentices, it is estimated that the institution could be maintained. To our minds there can be no reason why such an institution as we have described should not confer an equal benefit upon Auckland as upon Sydney. Every argument which can be used for or against it there, is equally applicable hera, the only difference being that if such an establishment was staited in Auckland we should probably have to confirae it within narrower limits than in Sydney. The^e is one other point, which we do not care to discuss at length, but to which, nevertheless, it is right we should briefly call attention, and that is that such an institution would liofc merely be one of utility but of benevolence, in saving many young girls, not from " light and genteel" employments only, but from probate misery and degradation. We would respectfuly submit that such an undertaking as that of which we have just spoken is one in which ladies are specially interested, and which, moreover, cannot possibly be established on a satisfactory basis, or carried on when established, without their hearty cooperation. If their assistance can be obtained, we have no fear for the result ; and we would therefore beg that at all events they will give the matter their earnest coiisideration.

The history of the port-of-call contro. vefsy affords a most instructive lesson to students of national character. The colony has lately been the spectator of a kind of duel between Auckland and Wellington, the ex-seat of Govei-nment and the pi'esent metropolis, as our fellow-colonists in the South delight to have their city denominated. The gage of battle was thrown down when the Postmaster- General assented to the contract with Mr. Hall, whereby Auckland was made the port of call for the Sydney and Honolulu service. It is not our purpose to-day to discuss the many excellent reasons which more than warranted the arrangement, as these have been already so fully ventilated thafc any further remarks on the subject wotild be a mere repetition of what we have previously said. The attitude and behaviour of the two combatants, however, are well worthy of a passing notice. The people of Auckland, however energetic they maybe in private business, are certainly very backward in their method of managing their public affairs. An excellent description of their peculiarity in this respect was given in the recent lecture on Public Spirit. Acute enough where individually and directly interested, only with the utmost difficulty can they be aroused so far as to take a transient interest even in the most important public matters. In the present case, knowing well that the facts were altogether in their favour, they do not seem to have thought it possible that any audacious hand should seek to despoil them, and therefore they took no trouble in the matter. At length the very spirited, though wholly unscrupulous action taken by Wellington aroused our dormant energies, and the question at is&ue was fully and ably discussed in the Chamber of Commerce, and again at a full public meeting, and on both occasions it was amply demonstrated that the most efficient service would be secured by confirming this as the port of call. In furtherance of this object, it was thought advisable to draw tip a report, aiid send a deputation to t confer with the Sydney Chamber of Commerce. The result of all this stir is, that the deputation has not gone, that Auckland has calmed down ' again, aud is once more, ,to all appearance, blissfullyJqrgetful of the existence of any dispute on the subject. ! Wellingtoo, on the other hand,' was most: prompt, in her measures, Immediately on the'newS bern waa to be the favoured port/ alL r soi».t3- of phjec^ious were vailed ;to the contract. To recapitulate them ,wbuld be,b§side "our present purpose : suffice ' it. merely to -say -that they wire «ot generally characterised hy that

accordance with fact which is called truthfulness. That, however, was of comparatively small moment, seeing that the statements were for a Melbourne public. Vigour was the quality required, not truth, and Wellington showed herself equal to the occasion The South Island of New Zealand was well canvassed by plausible agitators, and a deputation was sent over to Melbourne ; the Government were denounced in language the' most forcible, though not always parliamentary; and lastly poor Auckland was attacked with a sort of feline fury, hopelessly unreasoning and unappeasable. It is perhaps not without the 'guidance of some unseen power that his Honor the Superintendent happens to be in Wellington for the Assembly. Heavily as he has laid his lash across the shoulders of Auckland, for her shortcomings in respect of public spirit, We think that in Wellington he will find a still more widely spread evil, and he might see cause to add there an appendix to his Auckland lecture, showing that the absence of public spirit is indeed a very small thing compared with the absence of public veracity. It is not easy to see how so great a difference of character as that we have described should have arisen between the two places in the few years since this country was colonised : in fact we can scarcely attribute it to any other cause than the difference of climate. ]n Auckland tha climate, .at this season of the year, is frequently damp and relaxing, which may account for a kind oi lassitude and indolence in the transaction of business not directly affecting the individual. The boisterous winds of Wellington, on the contrary, may well be supposed to inspire a certain hardihood, moral apparently, as well as mental and physical, in Us inhabitants,

Messrs. James Naughton and G. P. Pierce^ J.P.s, were the presiding magistrates at the Police Court yesterday morning. There was ir> no than the ordinary amount of business gone through. A case of arrears of highway rabes was dismissed on the same grounds as a c?,-e which we reported fully a short time ago, when Mr. Johnston w?,? sued for arrears of rates of the Mahurangi Board. Highway Trustees should conduct these affairs in a more systematic manner, and try to comply , with the provisions of the Act. A man MaiiPcl Shepherd was sen£"tjo gaol for one month on a charge of vajnvficy.. One of the charges pgp,in<>u Francis FrJcon aid Joseph Smith, for the late Shortla id-street robbery, was gone into, but the decision *vas deferred unt'l Lo-day, when the charge of stealing from Messrs. Winks and Ha ll will be heard. Mr. N. Wilson, of Mahurangi writes to us as follows, on " Purging the Electoral Roll" : — "The roll should be made self-puri-fyin 5» auc^ ms cannot be done tinder the present system, where it is left to the caprice of individuals or parties — especially when these parties are not bound to pay the expenses of the person objected to, when the objection is not maintained. The plan adopted in the colony of Victoria seems to me to be well fitted to remedy the evils of our present system, which is a? follows :—: — Every person entitled to -vote has to register his name anew, once in three years. A person is appointed in each district to receive the applications, and to ascertain whether the qualifications are correct. By this means, all who have left the district, or have died, are omitted in the new roll, and all who have come can have their names enrolled. Thus the roll is purified every three years, without the intervention of any' one, and without engendering any ill-feeling between roan an I man, as in our present mode, and the elector is secured against party intrigue. The appointment of officers for the above purpose would not be co3tly, as there is generally some percon in each district who holds a Government appointment of some sorL ; and, if not, the schoolmaster of the plrce could, no doubfc, be induced to do it for a small consideration. " Tenders are invited by the Deputy-Super-intendent, until the 11th July, for the erection of a Court-house at Whangarei. This evening an essay will be read before the Newton Athenseum by Mr. J. Wilkes : subject, "Man the World Worker." "Agricola" writes as follows respecting a visit to Flat Bush :—"I: — "I recently left town for the country for a few days, when I enjoyed much life, with an old friend in visiting different places, besides stockhnnting on his own beautiful farm, where a person can see beeves that would be a credit to a dealer at Smithfield market,., even, to the great Me Combie. One^pljyje, in particular, which I visited is Plat Bush, the farm of John Wallace, Esq. , in order to see 1 his flax machinery at work. ■We found this enterprisiug gentleman here at work ; and, by good luck, all the different departments were in full swing — some feeding machines ; boys taking the fibre to the stream to be washed, and afterwards brought to the bleach fields, where acres of ground are covereJ. Several rope-wires or lines were also loaded with stuff getting dried to be sent to the scutching machines, where men, women, and boya were busily engaged preparing it for the market. I certainly left the scene of operation with a better opinion of what may be done with flax than when I went. With such men of genius and perseverance as Mr. Wallace, people may expect before long to see flax leaving our shores l in a very different condition from what it has hitherto been the case, Mr, Wallace is one of the first pioneers of the province. I will not class him as an I Old Identity : he is too j energetic for that dormant set, who are a great drawback to a place Hke Auckland. If we had such men in Auckland connected with our Chamber of Commerce, the people might expect the portof -call question to be definitely settled in our favour ; but, under present circumstances, I doubt it." Creditors in. the estate ,,bf J. C. IX Bowden are requested to prove their debts on or before the Ist of July, io the Trustee, Mr. John M. Mowbray. The meeting of the creditors of William Wilfrid Wilson has been adjourned until Saturday, the 25th instant, At the Melbourne District Court, on May lOtfyJohn Vickers appeared on warrant, haviug been arrested in! Auckland, charged with larceny as a bailee of one carpet, six chairs, a bed, blankets, and other property, to the value of £30, belonging to a woman named Mary Brown. The prosecutrix said, the prisoner told her in June, 1869,' that ho saw a good chance of getting into the Golden City Hotel, Ballarat, if she could allow him to have the loan of sufficient furniture to furnish it, She agreed that he should Have the loan of the furniture. While she was absent on one occasion, and while Mrs.. Vickers, the prisoner's wife, said he was at work at a foundry, the fnmiture in the house wag all sold, and the -|amily went away. Prisoner had been arrested in New Zealand. Mr. Lewis said if anybody had committeql the offence it had been prisoner's wife*.f c*. who was now in New Zealand, and alleged that , he could prove ..thfitf prisoner,* -though Said to be in Ballarat, was- in Sydney w>hen the, sale' ,was -effected,.! x Part of- the goods, too, were . disposed of at Mrs. Brown's request.. At, this ,sfcage the prisoner was >reman.dedrtill the 17th -r-tb.e_case to be brought up again before that time, if the police were i*ea'ly. Bail was allowed 'for jrisoner, hin> ;se3fi>£loo. • < *-;_ '•-•." "• likst night Frederick 1 B. l Haseldeii^was" arrested by Constable Daly,- eEarged jvifH 1 indeeencyinDurham-street. Bridget |lawlcey ' "was arrested on a' charge of vagriwidjr.^Bdttt^ prisoners will be brought up tjua morning, ,

The funeral of the late Mr. P. Grace took place yesterday. The remains were followed to the grave by" a large number o£ old settlers from Auckland and the surrounding districts. A correspondent, signing himself "A Resident and Subscriber," writes :—": — " Such is the wretched state of Barrack-street that nearly all its residents at the eastern side are completely blocked up. Egress and ingress is almost impossible, except at great personal risk of broken limbs or begrimed garments. Great and just complaints were made of the condition of this street, but, bad as- it ,was before, it 'was a thousand times preferable to its present break-neck state. The City Board, at the eleventh hour, set about tinkering the street, and a precious mess they have left it in, no doubt, as everyone who travel through it can bear witness of. It would be dangerous for a very strong horse to pass through this street, even with' out anything on his back. There are holes and pools of water in the roadway some feet in depth, and the wheel-tracks are so deep that a man passing across of a dark night might find a very deep grave without giving the ssxton any trouble whatever. How are the inhabitants to get firewood or any other matters requiring the aid of a horse and cart ? Even the footpath is impassable. It has been channelled and kerbed, but not a single load of scoria ash put upon it. Are we to be blocked up in our houses, like a parcel of penued-in cattle ? I believe myself the City Board is actionable for the disgraceful manner in which they have left Barrackstreet." The Raniie plant was introduced into the Sydney Botanical Gardens more than twenty since, and has been frequently alluded to by Mr. Moore, the director, in his lectures onßotany. Mr. Moore has a few plants but no seeds at his disposal. The plants like a warm climate aad good shelter from cold winds. In Newcastle it has been grown to perfection, r >cl is also well known in Queensland, where one gentleman, Mr. Heussler, M.L.C., has about five acres under cultivation. To be a commercial success it is considered that it ought to yield two crops a year. Ail accident, almost without parallel for its singularity, occurred lately on the line of the North-Eastern Railway, betweeu the two Ha: lepools. A gentleman was in the act of crossing the railway. Before he could geb over, the buffer of the engine caught him on the lower portion of his body, and flung him to a considerable dittance. Most providentially lie fell clear of the train, which waa brought to a stand -with all possible speed, when, to the intense relief of the driver, who, of course, imagined that the gentleman had been killed, the latter sprang to his feet, little the woi se for the occurrence, and waved his hand for the train to proceed. A month or two ago we gave the parlicul?,rs of an occurrence on the Hawthorn line of railway (Melbourne), very much reiembling the sensation scene in " After Dark ;" and strange to say, another, almost rivalling the dramatist's conception for its terror, occurred on the same line 01 the 26 bh April last. Two drunken men came to the Havvthorn station, before the G. 30 p^ni. train from Melbouvue was due. Just when the approaching train had whistled, the two men began io fight at the upper end of the plafcfovm. To the horror of the spectators, a'nong whom were several ladies, one of the belligerents fell off the platform upon t ! ie rails, the traui being at the time within less than 20 yards of him. Everyone rushed to the spot, and the man was seen lying motionless, right between the sleepers. The scene became one of indescribable excitement and consternation. The engine was so close tbat no one dared to jump down and haul him off. After lyiug still for about five seconds — a fearful tiive under such circumstances — the man looked up, when the engine-light almost glaDced upon him, and quickly rolled off the line, bellowing with all hi 3 might. Not content -with this, he rolled over ihe next Hue of r?'ls, and into a dirty gutter, where he apparently thought himself saie. He was picked up and given in charge. We may remind our readers that Bachelde^'s diorama of Paradise Lost will be reproduced Co-morrow evening int'ie 0 ty Hall. The following instance of filial duty is not often surpassed : — A poor woman named Griffiths was admitted into the Ararat Hospital the other day. Some time afterwards her little daughter, fourteen years of age, called at the institution with a supply of underclothing for her mother, with which she had walked barefoot a distance of twentyfive miles. Having seen her mother and delivered the parcel, the little girl cheerfully set off on her long return journey, after having partaken of some refreshment with which the nurse supplied her. — Ararat Advertiser. A most heart-rending case formed the subject of a coroner's inquest at Eddiugton, ! Vistoria, a few days ago. A poor woman, the mother of a family, had been lying ill for some time. Her husband staited for some medicine, but got drunk on his return, and was turned out of a public-house at an unearthly hour in the morning. When he reached home his wife was dead and cold. The poor woman had a baby only three weeks old. The coroner gave him a thoiough setting-down when, recording the decision. The 50lh section of " The Wines, Beer, and Spirits Sale Statute " of Victoria provides that the holder of a license, «ho shall in his house supply liquor to any person in a state of intoxication, shall be liable, for each such offence, to pay a sum of not less than two nor more than fiva potmda ; and if any such intoxicated person be allowed to remain more than twelve hours on the licensed premises, the holder of the license shall in each case be liable to the like penalty. A Mrs. Fialier, of JRutherglew, has set an example to wives Avho are cursed with husbands who neglect their domestic responS sibilities ; she summoned William Baker, for supplying drink to her husband, he being intoxicated at the time. The Mayor was on the bench, and he stated that he had no alternative but to inflict the fine. A mad pig in Melbourne Road, on a recent Sunday evening, at half-past 6 o'clock, just as the streets were crowded with church-goers, naturally produced great excitement. The animal was of immense size, and rushed open-mouthed at great speed after two or three persons, at the same time giving vent to some hideous shrieks. He burst open gates, and seizing one lady threw her down, inflicting some nasty wounds on her arm. Seyeral boys were severely bitten, and one man was knocked' down by the animal, and had his clothes nearly all torn off. The pig cleared the street in a very short space of time, men, women, and children taking refuge in gardens -and on fences. Several persons 'armed themselves with sticks and stones, but never dared to face the insane porker. At last Sergeant Lamer arrived, armed with a! loaded rifle, and sho.t the pig. It weighed about 2ewr.