The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVII, Issue 4192, 20 January 1871, Page 2

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUGEO, NON URO. If I have been extinguished, yet there rise ' A thousand beacons from the spark I bor».

FRIDAY, JANUARY 2O, 1871.

As will be seen from another column, the claims of the unemployed are being pressed on the attention of the Provincial 'Toveraaient and Council. Mass meetings have been held, and the orthodox system of memorial and deputation has been resorted to, with the idea that it is the duty of the State to find employment for all its citizens, which seems to have assumed the form of a settled conviction in the minds of some people. There cannot be a doubt that a considerable number of men at the present time in Auckland are, if not without the means of employment, at least without such employment as suits their tastes, and answers their ideas of a SUffioient meana Pf livelihood. And, while our warmest syTt»]>atYr^ %b.ty>iY& bft«ai\\9,t<s<i for those who with strong arms and willing hearts may be unable to procure sufficient sustenance for those dependent on them, it is difficult to rouse ourselves to feel very strongly for those who in time of emergency are not willing to unbend a little, and, until times return when they can earn a fair day's wages for a fair day's worlc, decline to accept what is sufficient to bear them over the difficulty. That such is the caao with the great bulk of those who are now knocking at the door of the Treasury and making ad misericordiant appeals for public work, we do nob doubt, It requires a very small sum indeed to enable a maw. to keep body and soul together, and such, we protest, is all that any person with manly spirit should require at the hands of his fellow-ciiizens while waiting for the return of circumstances ia which he can win that fair remuneration which is due to honest labour. There are few who do not feel the pressure of the present depression. And it is not creditable for any one (if there is any such) who, being offered such work to be paid for from the moneys of the public, declines to accept it, because it would require his working " from sunrise to sunset," and does not even then provide him with such comforts as he has been taught to consider necessaries in other and happier days. Such work has been provided, and in quantity practically unlimited. And, utterly repudiating the desire of Baying any tiling unkind of fche memorialists, or of adding one drop to their cup of trial, we do desire to evoke their manly sentiment, and ask them to show themselves possessed of true colonial spirit. In a colonist two features of character are absolutely essential to success, and without them no colonist ever can succeed. One is the utter banishment from the feelings of anything that prevents from turning the hand to any thing ; and the other is determined selfreliance. Constituted as colonial life is of irregular fits and starts and incongruous circumstances, a man must be adapted to things as h* finds them, and get over his difficulties by the first means that comes to hi 8 hand. And, as the peculiarity of colonial life necessitates every man having his wits about him, and turning them incessantly to the removal of his own personal difficulties, no one has time, and in consequence few have inclination, to Toother about, tbe tMog% oC smofetxei:. A man. therefore who has allowed his mind to get into that train of thought ! which leads him, at times unconsciously, to anticipate help from others, is wrongly i situated in the colonies. We are all ! creatures of circumstances to an extent ; but colonial life necessitates our bending those circumstances to our purpose, and he is not a true colonist whose mind does not find a pleasure in doing so. It is the absence of these qualities that has produced that most singular phase of colonial life destitution, and want of employment. It must seem strange to those at a distance when they read of men being unemployed in a new country, and stranger still to find that this state of things is chronic. To persona who have seen the value of a little piece of laud, aad the quantity of produce that can bo raised by the smallest effort, it is unintelligible that, in a country where the earth s surface is almost a gift, there should ever bo heard the cry of destitution %ni idleness . Controvert ifc as we may, the mind is convinced that any man's exertions would give any man food ; nnd the merest fraction of soil, if honestly worked by one man, would grow enough to keep any one man and his family from want. It may not make his fortune, it may not give such a return that he can for many years luxuriate in idlenesi. But there is not a man of all the unemployed now thundering at the doors of the Provincial Government, but with a spade in his hand and an honest purpose in his heart, could grow his own food, then his comforts, then his luxuries, then it may be his fortune. And why is it not ao? It is only from the absence of the true colonial spirit of adaptability to circum- ( stances, and of thorough self-help. It is i not ia every one to get over the habits engendered o? dependence ctn. tbe em> ployment given by others, which are characteristic of old settled communities; and accordingly we find thousands "who prefer to rest on the fitful supply of occupa. tion, which alone most colonial employers and employments afford, rather than, by conquering habits, and enforcing a little temporary self-denial, to carve out employment for themselves. And then, \ when employment from the hands of others fails, as ifc often does, they grow] against the country, whereas it is against heir own thriftless want of foresight and determined purpose they should growl. Every man for himself is the law of the colonies, and, he it an. " innocent*' that

has not learned it. There must of cours be those who, from the necessities o civilised life and their own qualifications will continue always in the employment of others. But they should take knowledge of this fi tfulnessin colonial life, and, if not possessed of the determination to be some time self-employed, they are bound to do something more than merely living from hand to mouth; That may do in the old settlements of Europe; in the colonies it will lead to dependence on eleertdASyttlPy aid • and if such has been Ihei* ignoring 1 of the contingencies of colonial life; and if such has been the result that they are forced to apply for aid to others, they must even pay the penalty of neglect, in unbending pride and accepting such temporary aid in whaler form it is offered. They have no charge against the community but against themselves ; and the pride which would not s£oop to accept honest work at a rate of "remuneration somewhat below the common standard, and because it is not to their taste, is ill? timed, and even unmanly. Breaking stones may not be as resptc table aa goldmining, but the recipient of the bounty should not be the chooser. It is highly satisfactory to know that such employment is available in abundance, so that there can be no actual suffering. And, tWigk tlie remuaeraiion. may be SJttftll, the necessity will be but temporary. Aa for the difficulty in " working from «un- " rise to sunset," a single man will not require it ; and the married man, if gossessed of a true man's love for is wife and children, ' ; should feel a gladness in working so long, and even a piece into the night besides, if thereby he can keep suffering from those he loves. A few weeks over, and the railway works will be in progress, and there will be work and bread for all. But we would counsel those who have somewhat of suffering now, to iniprov© the opportunity that will soon be within their reach, and make provision against want of employment ever bringing trial into their homes again.

The Provincial Council sat again yesterday. There were various matters of considerable importance brought before the ! Council, but undoubtedly the chief was the petition from the working men presented by Mr. Swanson. A considerable discussion followed upon the petition. The Orders of the Day were at laat called °n, and the "Licensing "BYVi ana tT&B S^s^'^'a S\\\;Trex«. postponed, to allow of the Railway Bill J>eiug discussed. This bill was read a second) time, passed through committee with a few{amendments, read a third time, and passed. The nomination of members to serve in; the House of [Representatives takes place to-day at noon at the Parnell Public Hall, and at Onehunga Court-house at the same hour. A special meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held yesterday, when some alterations were made in the rules. After the special meeting the annual meeting was held, when the report and balance-sheet were adopted, and office-bearers were elected for the ensuing year. A motion by Mr. Mason was agreed to, to tha effect that the Chamber recognise the importance of a revision o? the tariff, and that the committee report to the March meeting on the question. A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Macffarlane, the retiring president of the Chamber. At the close of the meeting Mr. Yon Der Heyde introduced to the notice of the members Mr. Ollivier, who exhibited several very fine samples of flax, prepared according to a process for which he has applied for a patent. A meeting of the unemployed was held yesterday morning at the drill-shed, Albert Barracks, when a deputation was appointed to wait upon his Honor the Superintendent with the petition adopted at the meeting on the previous evening. A full report of the interview and the subsequent proceedings of the meetings will be found in other columns. They afterwards adjourned to the Drill-shed and resolved to present a petition to the Provincial Council, and to hold another monster lUC9ting this evening at six o'clock 3* fee 3>rill-shed. At the sitting of the Native Lands Court yesterday a female witness, named Erana to Ketu, gave splendid evidence. There was no faltering, no hesitating, but the answers given to the various questions were given with a frankness and freedom which would shame may a European in giving evidence. Her evidence must be of considerable importance to the Ngatimaru cause, as she was living with the Ngatihaua when thefights and disputed ownership arose. According to her evidence, it was only lately that the Ngatihaua set up a claim to the Te Aroha block — they having been originally placed upon it through pity, after they were beaten in battle. The Art Union drawing" at Mr. Bartletts is announced to take place this afternoon at four o'clock. The Thaues Naval Volunteers, under command of Captain Best and Sergeant Broughton, gunnery instructor, turned out on Wednesday evening for a first practice at the big guns. Blank cartridge was first fixed., and then, shot 5 the target baing a flag on a wine cask moored at 800 yards. One of the shots fell very close to the target. This morning the same gun detachment mustered for shell practice, shrapnel and common shell being used. The shooting was excellent — one of the shrapnels carried away the flag. There was a fair attendance at the Theatre Royal last evening, when the drama of "Flowers of the Forest" wan produced. The drama, which is a popular favourite, was d»ne fuilljustice to.— To-night," " The Factory Girl " is the piece de resistance. A parade of the Auckland Rifle Volunteers took place at Albert Barracks last evening, when about 150 men were exercised in the new drill by Colonel Gordon, the officer commanding the Auckland battalion. The parade is only the first of a series of a simitar kind] *nd it is to be hoped that the attendance will continue to be as good as that of last night, so that the whole of the men will loao no time in becoming efficient in the new drill. We notice by the last Ctazcfte that newspapers published in the colony are exempt from postage when forwarded to athenaeums, mechanics' institutes, hospitals, public libraries, and lunatic asylums. A Maori chief, to whom we have referred on several occasions as being dressed in a "peculiar' 1 manner, has,sein-fit to change his style ef garb. Yesterday, he was neatly attired with a " b,e!l-topper," tweed vest, and a fine black cbit. This is as it should be, and we are glad if we have been the means of bringing about an improvement in the habiliments of tin's distinguished native chief. It is notified that William Gisborne and Nathaniel Levin, Esquires, have resigned their seats in the Legislative Council, and that such resignations have been accepted. His Excellency the Governor haa been pleased to appoint Hopkins Clarke, Esq., to bo Registrar of Marriages, and of Births, Dwthjj *ftd Marriages, for the District of James Foloy, settler, Tauranga, has filed a declaration of insolvency. At the Thames Police Court, yesterday morning, P. L. Corstoii a collector, was charged with embezzlingfcwo sums of money belonging to parties for whom he had been collecting. The charges jwere brought by Edwin Hooper and John Grey, both of Auckland, the sums specified being £4 10s. and £10 Is. Bd. Mr. Sub-Inspector Bullen obtained a remand until Saturday. A Mr. Ooran was charged witi having assaulted one Walter Leighton, a (hild ten yeata old, by striking him on the laiee with a switch. Defendant was fined ss. dnd costs. A meeting of the Grammar School Board' vm held y «Ltter<Uy at zuwu

It is notified that the undermentioned candidates have passed their examinations under the Civil Service Regulations j — E. Oaborne Gribbes, Whangarei, Auckland ; K. H. Vincent, Parnell, Anckland, His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to appoint William Kerr Nesbitt, Esq., J.P., to be a Resident Magistrate for the district of Waipu. The half-yearly meeting of the Union Sash and Door Company is announced to take place this afternoon. The Committee of the Home for Neglected and Ttestitatse Children beg to acknowledge through our columns, wibh gratitude, tll6 following :— From the committee of Moonlight Concert, £'37 15a. lid. ; also, from Mr. Wilson, 1 water-tank. We understand that the committee intend extending their operations, by the admission of boys into the Horne — the admission hitherto having been confined to girls. We have been requested by Father Francis Del Monte to state that the account giv<sn by our Coromandel correspondent of a marriage hoax at that place is exaggerated. The facts of the case, he desires us to state, are, that a young man waited upon him, and asked the rev. gentleman to officiate at his marriage, which was to take place on a certain date. Learning, however, that the man was not a Roman Catholic, Father Del Monte declined to perform the marriage ceremony. Father Del Monte also emphatically contradicts our correspondent's statement that the sum of £Q wa.s ga.i<l in advance aa a marriage fee. A meeting of the Regatta Committee was held last evening, at the Club-house. There was a good attendance. It was decided that tenders should be called for the conveyance by steamer of visitors to the flagship ; also for flagboats, and the catering for the luncheon. Ihe next meeting will be held on Monday next.