The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVI, Issue 4061, 27 August 1870, Page 2

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUCEO, NON URO. If I have been extinguished, yet there rise A thousand beacons from the spark I bore.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1870.

Ode country readers will learn ■with satisfaction that action has been taken by the present Government to render the recovery of rates a less difficult task than ,it has hitherto been. That the settler had some ground of complaint, in being taxed to make roads through the properties of those who did not contribute, we are willing to admit ; we could never, however, go so far as those enthusiasts who advocated an immediate sale of land for nonpayment of rates. The difficulty in dealing with the subject has alw.iys been to ensure the recovery of rates within a reasonable time for the benefit of the public without inflicting an injustice upon those absent landowners who would be willing to pay their rates if they knew that they were liable for them. In the Act of 1870, we think this difficulty has been surmounted, and that, whilst on the one hand local boards "will receive the amount due for raters ap soon as judgment has been recorded, on the other the rights of property have been respected, and every opportunity afforded for tho protection of the owner who, through absence f om the colony, either believed that some tenant or agent was paying the rates, ov otherwise was entirely ignorant that his property was assessed. The local boards will now be enabled to collect annually the full amount of rates .recoverable in each district ; the iSuperiutendent advancing the money due by absentees, and, as security, holding a lien upon their properties. The words of the Act run thus ; "It shall be lawful for the Super- " intendent to satisfy the amount for " the time being due on such judgment, " by paying thereof out oi moneys of " the province of which he is Superin- " dent, for the time being available for " that purpose." , But let not the several local authorities imagine that there will be nojimit to tho amount of arrears which i3 they can claim from the Superintendent; in some instances these arrears of rates may have been accumulating against properties during eight or nine yeai\s, and to prevent his being called upon to pay sums perhaps exceeding the -value of 'a" property, it is " provided always that in no case shall " the Superintendent pay over to such " governing bddy any sum, exceeding i " exceeding two' years' rates in arrears." The object of the Act is not so mnch >.to compel absent landowners, who are known, to, pay rates (though it will have, this effect), as to find owners for ! large tracts of unoccupied lands. , Aj&* Mr. y,ogel, tersely Expressed it, "TKe ," fact was that the Act was- intended to \" deal with, large quantities of land j" which Had. '"no owner, and which *f really required' that an ownership, Ksflould^4iven to it." Very few f {proprietors would knowingly allow their {land, if ijb was>of any value, -to be sold /or rates*; and, to give them an oppor-' 1 of > redeeming their , property i^forevit "hasljoeen finally sold, it-is ttat^ihe;,^Superintendent 1 ," j^ftfli p- &V owner of the said,lan<J* f'^be^kjigwnj^se^af to such, owner

t( his then known 1 * place of abode or; " residence, \wnptice ,oi ,fche amount " paid byfeucli" Superintendent "on ac- " coun t t of aucsh rates and assessment, " and of. the. lands *in respeoVof which ",the same was paid." A., wise precaution is taken in charging fifteen per _cent_per~annum~upon- -the money advanced* in payment of rates : but for this, many no doubt would avail themgelvesof the privilege of having their rates paid for them, calculating upon saving their land at the last moment by paying when they had seen their property advertised for sale in the Government Gazette or local papers. Another noticeable feature in the new Act is the fagility afforded to mortgagees for paying off claims for arrears of rates against propevty " upon whMi they have advanced " money," the claim so discharged by them becoming a charge upon the property; or in the words of the Act, " no " part of the lands comprised in such " mortgage shall thereafter be redeemed " or redeemable until the amount so 11 paid, and interest thereon after the " rate of fifteen per centum, shall have " been fully paid and satisfied, and all " moneys so paid shall be l-ecovecable " by the persora paying the same in like " manner as any other money secured "by the mortgagee" In the 12th and J 3th clauses, provision is made for proceeding against an owner who cannot be found, and for one who, though known, is absent. In both instances, the posting the summons, in some conspicuous place in the district in which the land is situate, is equivalent to serving it xipon the owner personally \ but in the former case, where he is not known, "it shall be sifficient to de- " scribe such owner as the owner of " (describing the land with-rea- " sonable certainty)." Heretofore, no precaution had been taken for reaching the properties of unknown owners, and it was requisite to affix Mie summons in some conspicuous place upon the property itself. In many instances it- would have been impossible to find a conspicuous jjlaee, or one near which any person would pass once in six months : any attempt then to give publicity to the proceedings by the service of the summons would have been imaginary and vain. We have laid before our readers the most salient points in the proposed Act, and we think that there cannot be any doubt but that it is an improvement upon that which is now in force, It will at one and the same time meet the wishes of the oountry settlers, by giving them the power to colleot rates when clue, and also prevent any hasty procedure for the sale of land to the injury of the absentee.

Very recently the southern portion of the Queen-street Wharf has received a coating of metal, and since then drays have been driven near the edgo of the wharf— to the. great inconvenience of foot-passengers. Only yesterday a blundering drayman almost knocked a lady over the wharf with his vehicle. In order to have the metal in the centre of the road worn down, Mr. Allwnght had a number of .trestles made, and placed so as to compel vehicles to keep tne middle of the road. We are glad to learn that there is every probability of Lieutenant Snell receiving the appointment of Drill Instructor to the Cavalry Volunteers. The need of such an officer has long been felt, and the matter has frequently >>c n brought under the notice of the Government. From Lieutenant Snells previous training, he cannot fail t? ' c one of the most efficient drill instructors that could be obtained in the colony. He served in the Imperial Army for a period of nine years, in the 9bh Lancers and Inniskillen Dragoons. He served in India for some time, and performed the duties of Adjutant in the 6th Inniskillen Dragoons. The following is the rota of attendance of Justices at the Police Court for the week ending September 3 :— Monday, August 29, J, M. Dargaville, Charles Davis ; Tuesday, Janes Dil worth, J. A. Gilfillan ; Wednesday, H. Gilfillan, W. A. Graham; Thursday, September 1, S. Graham J. H. Home ; Friday, H. M. Jervis, J. S. Macfarlane ; Saturday, Joseph May, G. M. Mitford.' A few days ago we announced the fact of a company being formed in this city for the purpose of establishing a paper-mill in or near Auckland. To-day it will be seen that prospectuses and other information may be obtanecl at the office of the company, Messrs. Stevens and Bolger, Shortlandsti eet. Thomas Beckham, Esq., IL.M., held a sitting ot the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday. A large number of cases were set down for hearing. A considerable number of the cases were in connection with mining companies. We had the pleasure of inspecting yesterday, at Messrs. Stevens's, two very excellent oil-coloured photographs by Mr. Webb, of WeUesley-street. One is Hunt's Claim, and the other Tararu Creek. We believe the photography was by Mr. Bartlett. A. Beetham, Esq., sat at the Police Court yesterday. The only business was, to fine a woman for drunkenness. Speaking as to the proposed Intercolonial Customs Union in the Legislative Council of New South Wales, Mr. C. Campbell said anyone must have known that it was totally impossible for any Ministry to form any such federation. The Melbourne Argus relates that a somewhat amusing case was heard at the St. Kilda Court, though the comical part must, have been more felt than appreciated by the principal party. Mr. Pavenscroft Stephens, living in Westbury-terrace, one evening heard a great laughing and giggling in the servants' room, and, on going to see what was going on, found that the maids were entertaining two young- men. Mr. Stephens ordered them out, but instead of complying they set upon him. His son went for a policeman, and returned just as his father had been floored; but the lad, taking him for one of the visitors, went into him right and left, and did not discover his mistake till he had done a considerable amount of damage. .The young men were fined 10s., with 10s. costs each. 1 A movement is on foot in Melbourne to establish a settlement at Vanna Leva, Fiji. The land has been bought, and it is proposed to call the colony Wilberforce, and the town- j •nip Childers. t ' T f The Sydney Morning Herald laments the Idukess of the times in New South Wales, i j At Maitland, very recently, a remarkably '.large. meteor appealed in. the northern sky. ilt suddenly appeared in the sky, gradually till it presented a mass of bluish light equal to four stars from aßoman'caiidle rolled/into tine, and after remaining , visible for^i'Alf^Tipiaute or more, and throwing a distinct it exploded, leaving' behin^lit Strain of sparks that' very slowly faded and disappeared. /vjtn'the Qounty Court, Melbourne, a,ngry words werepassed between Mr.McKean, the solicitor; for the "defendant, and Mr. <&.?. Smith, who appeared for the plaintiff, which elided,, in the former publicly accusing the

A Southern paper says Semmes » de scended from a lon* line, and aNorttertt paper says ye<, and ought to be suspended , from a short one. Harsfield, a German actor, recently «saaulted the Leipzig critic, Dr. Silberstem, because of an unfavourable criticism j ana all the critics of the town have combined to j»a]se_jvft..mentiDn_of-bim- I «rhatever, after this. _ Three young men have been drotf ned a Port Cooper by the accidental capsizing of boat. They were named McCormack, Mur phy, and John Smith ; but the fourth, Em mete, was saved. - An English officer of good family^ great wealth, and brilliant prospects, committed suicide. He simply left behind him a* noto sax ing that " life had given him a headache, * and that nothing could cure him but a good churchyard sleep." Three tons of pressed hay were destroyed at Newcastle lately by a stroke of lightning. An avalanche recently fell upon a railroad train in Switzerland, by which three persons were killed, and Eve were ■eriously injured. The engine-driver saw the ma«, and put on all steam, so that only the three J»t passenger cars were struck. Ifc is said that Mr. Spurgeon has recently announced his intention of delivering a lecture to rich men only ; none to bo admitted to the hall except he has forty thousand pounds. The Rev. Warlow Davies, M.A., will deliver another lecture upon the "Early Christian Church" to-morrow evening, xa the Albert-street Church. The Kilbourn City (Wis. ) Mirror reports that during a Btorm the telegraph office at that place was struck by lightning and sefc on fire. The instruments and inside of the office were burned considerably. The fire was extinguished by tearing down a part of the depOt building. The operator and night watchman were knocked down by the concussion, but suffered no material injury. Messrs. W. T. Buckland and W. CDaldy should be the presiding magistrates at the Police Court this morning. The Thames Advertiser, which opposed Dr. Sam's election, "pokes fun "at him now the contest is over. The Advertiser says :—: — " Dr. Sam is M.P.C. for the Thames. Wo sincerely pity the Provincial Government. The Superintendent cannot retain his position j the 'imbecile' • Executive must resign in a body. We all know the Yankee story about Colonel Crockett, who was such a famous shot that when a 'coon saw him coming with his gun, it would call out, 'Don't shoot, Kurnell; I'll come down.' Nothing could stand against the Dr. : a flourish about the 'noble digger,' 'the best and brightest constituency, about the Government wishing to depopulate the Thames by ♦ exposing it to the ravages of disease,' evidenced by their not building a female ward at the Hospital, will at once settle the business, and a complete change will be made in the policy of the .country. No man need hope to hold office unless he can make himself agreeable to the Dr., and the simplest way to get out of the difficulty will be to make him Provincial Secretary at once, and also the delegate of the Governor over the goldfield." To-morrow speoial servioes will be conducted in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, when the Bishop of Auokland, the Rev. C. M. Nelson, and the Rev. D. Jones will take part. An emergency meeting of St. Andrew's Lodge will be held on Monday evening, in the Lodge.room. At the monthly meeting of the Chamber of Commeroe of Sydney, a report was received from the deputation appointed on the 19th July to wait upon the Government respecting the postal service via San Francisco. The seoretary was instructed to convene & speoial meeting of the committee for consideration of any proposed Acts of Parliament affecting the commercial and maritime interests of the colony, and a resolution was passed to invite the attendance of members of the Chamber practically acquainted with the working of such Acts, to give their assistance at such meetings, held to deliberate upon them. A final call of Is per share has been made in the Tapu Great . Republic Goldmining Company. On Thursday evening another of the entertainments in aid of All Saints' Church will be given in the City Hall. Madame Carandini and company, assisted by Madame Winter, will take part in the concert. The entertainment will be under the patronage and in the presence of Lady Bowen. Mr. Weld, of self-reliance memory, ap pears to be winning golden opinions. The Sydney Morning Herald bays :— " The colony of Western Australia seems to have found in Mr. Weld a Governor determined, first, to find out the resources of the country, and, secondly, to let the rest of the world know about them. He had no sooner entered on his duty, and disposed of the necessary formal business, than he set out on excursions which involved in the aggregate a journey of 2,100 miles, and thus obtained a personal knowledge of the country whose affairs he was to administer." The following, by the Otago correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald, is a specimen of correct reporting : — " The steamer 'Tauranga came into collision with the ketch ' Enterprise,' when the latter foundere I ; the crew happily were saved : the steamer was disabled," At a meeting in connection with the Con* gregational Church, Parraraatta, the Rev. R. Mansfield said, "The first resident vTesleyan minister in Parramatta, the Rev, Walter Lowrie, came here just half a century ago. With that Mr. Lowrie Mr. Forsaitli was connected by marriage, as he (Mr. Mansfield) had learnt from a grandson of the Rev. Mr. Lowrie, recently on a visit to him from New Zealand. It was, therefore, a happy coincidence that, besides being connected by marriage with the first Wesleyan minister of Parramatta, Mr. Forsaith should pastorally occupy the same spot. (Applause.)" Child desertion is on the increase in Mel* bourne. Very recently, at Maldon, Mr. and Mrs. Walker, a respectable married but childless couple, heard something flung violently against their door at two o'clock in the morning, and it turned out to be a fine blue-eyed, flaxen-haired boy, ten or twelve months old, wrapped up in dirty clothes, and accompanied by thia note, which reads like the emanation of an impudent practical joker : — " Dear Mad m, — I have heard 'from a friend that you are very fond of children, and wish for one. Therefore I trust my little treasure to your tender care. Treat him as your own. Tell no one how you came by him, and you shall be rewarded beyond your expectations. His name is George." The Postal Department of Victoria had issued the following notice: — "In consequence of a communication received this day from the New Zealand post-office authorities, in which they decline to forward mails from this colony by the contract vessels running between Sydney and San Francisco, on the terms proposed by this Government, it is intimated, that, until further notict, no mails will be made up at this office for despatch by, the steamers leaving Sydney for San Francisco under contract with the New Zealand Government.— (Signed) Thomas T. A'Biokett, Commissioner of Trade and Customs." A Georgia town is so healthy that it is going to cut np its cemetery into building lots. Bfyt A Missouri pig has rooted 2,000 dollars in gold, buried during the war and forgotten hy its owner. An Illinois jury has awarded damages of three-quarters of ft cent in a libel case against an editor. ' ' We are requested to call attention to the clearing-out sale of jewellery by Mr. Heinricli Kohn, as announced in our advertising co-lumns,—-Adv. * }