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Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVII, Issue 4330, 1 July 1871, Page 2

LUOEO, NON UKO. If I have been extinguished, yet there riie A thousand beacons from the ipark I bore.

SATURDAY, JULY 1, 1871.

Although we have no apprehension that the rivalry between Mr. Hall's line of steamers, via Fiji, and the mailboats under contract to the new Zealand Government, will long continue, it is interesting- to note the, results of the first trial, so Far a& we are able yet to obtain the data for an opinion. It is known that the great point persistently put forward by the advocates of Mr. Hall's line is the time that would be gained by the people of Australia in the> transmission of Mails via J!iji, as compared with the delay in transmission via, Aupkland. It is most unlucky fop the causes of the Kjian boats that in this particular tieir' first trial has been a -failure, and. that rapidity • of transit' has been considerably' on the side, .of , the, .rival line. As We have »aid, 'the trial -may not be complete, Jjerhaps^ '.but from, a. compa-, rison of ■ wfchefPime' consumed 'by the pioneer boat, the ' Oityi of (Melbourne/ in the passage from Sydney to -Honor, lulu, vil'Mji, ,with 'the -,time consunie^; by the- '-Nebraska? on the vpyag'etrom' 1 Honolulu to. Sydney,, via luc^qji^iye, can 'form a fair estimate o£ the relative advantages in ; thtf rapid transit' of mails if this .rjlyaliy fishould : Continue. The •City of Melbourne^ was 1\ days in, making the passage \o Jiji, .and IS[J' ;days thence W^Stfflg l fto'nb^.u|.u,'- this fbeing exclusive offstoppage at Levuka, a fotaifpff 2lHidays\forft theVpsissag'ejtb#J < Islands: -^oni^thes^Jislands [the 5JS"dr; 15tlifMay,> at.;l iv aia. I i^vi^dn^tdKlanii^o^t^^^ aorHia !^e^-%liange^^^K^k^nip^' i tfew^ f

So that $he whole time consumed on the passage from the Hawaiian. Islands to Australia via Auckland, and exclusive of stoppage in port, was' l9 days 20 hours ; as against 21 days "consumed on the much-belauded rbfcte via Fiji. It is not our purpose to account for this ; it may be from the difference in the steaming power of the, boats, or it may ibe from the advantages and disadvantages in the routes themselves ; Wt the fact is all the same that the first trial of the two services has shown rapidity ..of transit to be considerably in -favour oj the IJew Zealand route Bnd service, this merit of superior rapidity having been arrogated by the projected' service via Fiji, and put forward as tits jnain grounds of claim, on the commercial community of Australia We have instanced the passage of the ' Nebraska' because she went on ,to Sydney. The passage of the 'Nevada' from Auckland to Honolulu might possibly be a more legitimate comparison. Yet by this boat, which apparently is somewhat slower than the ' Nebraska,' the passage was but four hours longer to Honolulu from Auckland than that passage of the ' Nebraska' from Honolulu on which we have based the foregoing comparisons*. ' - These results are really of importance. Had the c Oity of Melbourne' shown a gain of four or five days over a service making what is persistently called the detour by New Zealand, then might there have been reasons presented to the commercial world of Australia for- sustaining the rival service. But when it is found that the advantage on the score of expedition is altogether in favour of the " detour by New Zealand," we think it would require very patent considerations indeed of some new and hitherto undiscovered kind to commend Mr, Hall's adventure to the practical minds of Australia.

We yesterday published an important extract from the Provincial Government Gazette respecting the approaching Flax JExhibition at Wellington. We cannot help expressing regret that attention has not been more prominently directed to this subject, or that at least a longer .period has not been allowed to elapse from -the giving of' the notice till the closing of the door against exhibitors. The proclamation, after reciting the objects of tho approaching exhibition, and stating that exhibits are to be forwarded through the Superintendents of provinces, intimates that "samples will be " received at the Superintended 's " Office, Auckland, until - the Ist "of, July, 1871." As the Gazette making this announcement was issued on the 29th June, 1871, there is evinced a promptitude on the part of the Provincial Government that, in a general way, is deserving of all praise At tho same time we think that, in the present case, this promptitude might with profit be relaxed; and if it is really desired that the province should appear at the Exhibition in such a manner as to do justice to our resources, we think that at least those resident in the city might have a few days to prepare their samples. There, could evidently have been no expectation that those resident m the rural districts would take any interest in an exhibition of flax, although it is generally thought that settlers in the country are not indifferent to the development of the phormium tenax. With a notification of two days and ahalf even our citizens anH local manufacturers have not had much time for preparation, and especially as the notification was made only in that doubtless -very useful and deserving, ) though not generally circulated' periodical, the Gazette. As for residents in the country, the course of post would have been unable to convey the intimation, even though our oflicia contemporary should have the most extensive circulation among our rural population. We do ' trust that his* Honor will take on himself the responsibility of delaying the date of reception of exhibits. The *time ap pointed for the holding of the Exhibition was " during the sittings of " the aexfc session of the Assembly." And making all allowance for the necessity of giving to the Flax Commis* sioners time and opp6rtunity for classification and arrangement, there is still sufficient margin left for extending the time for receiving and transmitting the exhibits. In the absence of such extension of time, we would submit that it would be better that the province should be unrepresented at the Exhibition. From whatever cause arising, J&.tickland fibre bas averaged per ton higher in the English market than the ' flax of, tho Southern, provinces; and ' those who take an interest and pride, in, the province would, we think, prefer to have no exhibits present than to see the district placed at a disadvantage. At a disadvantage of a most unfair kind it will most decidedly be placed, if two and a -half days comprise the time for collecting the exhibits of the jjitioraiium tenax of the province. We confess our inability to comprehend the purport, and intention of sucb^ a notice, „aad trust that* its terms will be modified. ' '

Ih" our issue of yesterday a correspondent directed attention to various admitted evils in connection with 1 transactions ingoldmining shares, and,indi-, cated the manner, in which reform' 'might jie effectfe^f' . With reference to one of those 1 evils there is a very general feeling of. ohjection, — that is, the trafficking by mining managers in shares of the company'.yhose^ officers they are. a That tMsipraetibe jlh* fraught witl^ abuse is admitted by; every, one, but it is generally easier to see an evil ttian to suggest an effective remedy. Thelpresent'.cas^iai no" exception to, l§e t rule." , Oiir 'correspondent says 'j-"'T (^woul^,»sugges^-'.fthaVif/ shareholders " shbuldj&glSUa^ It^a $U€!f|meansr»tnat>,Most'^ppyioualyv! pf^^n||^e;l^ia|a^^g^^^p

evil exists. "„. The* special knowledge which a. mining m&nager possesses, and the <~ power -whielP^ie undoubtedly bos to conceal fdfc a* time the richness, or to magnify: for. an occasion the seeming richness; of' a** mine, could be as readily' rendered available through an accomplice and secret partner, or even through an agent, as if the shares were registered in the manager's name, and manipulated by hm own hands, And, | further, we mighty eVen say that there lis greater safety. v to the body of the shareholders in $h6 t open and undisguised possession 'of " x M$p <* lJ by. their mining manager than 1 there would be in such secret arrangements'; for in the one case there is in the* shares openly held by him, and in hjs sales and purchases, a sort of test of the sincere opinions formed by him on his special knowledge ; whereas, in the evasive action which would inevitably result from carrying out the popular idea of prohibiting the holding of shares by the mining manager, there might be an equal amount of evil practices without any corresponding good. If men entrusted with so grave respsnsibilities require to be fenced around by such provisions, their services should simply be dispensed with, and men deserving of confidence should occupy their place ; for no regulations or legislation will make . men honest, or act honestly, who have a bias towards dishonest practices.

When the Departments of the General Government occupied the upper floor of the Post-office building, the public were permitted' to use the passage leading from 1 . Shorlland-street to Fort-street. This was a very great convenience to those doing 'business with the Custom-house, and has been rendered doubly so by the removal of the Telegraph Office to Fort-street. The passage is wholly distinct from the offices, and therefore no interruption was caused to jthe conduct of business in the various departments. The Provincial Government 'have since come into possession of the entrance leading to the passage, and have lately had a door placed specially for the exclusion of the public. The fact that public offices are built and maintained out of general funds for the convenience and accommodation of the people, and not merely as comfortable asylums for officials, seems in this, as in many other instances, to,be forgo tten. In the passage there were four urinals, which are very necessary in the busy part of the qity, and which from their situation did not cause any uusightly appearance in main streets. , Several gentlemen have complained to us of the very arbitrary action taken, whoever may have been its author, in closing this door; and we believe a further representation will be made in the proper quarter to secure a coatinuaace of the privilege hitherto enjoyed of using the passage as a right-of-way. ) The protracted case of Mohi v. Craig was resumed at the Supreme Court yesterday. Before the case was proceeded with, an unsuccessful attempt was made by the 1 parties to come to a settlement out of Court ; but the case was gone on witb,aud evidence taken for the defence. The Court adjourned until Monday morning, at eleven o'clock. Mr. Beckham, R.M., held tho weekly sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, in the District Court-houso, Edenstreet. There were 18 cases set down for hearing, but of this number six were settled without the intervention of the The remainder were adjudicated upon, with the results shown in another column. The anniversary ontertainment in aid of the funds of the^patholic Institute is adververtised to be held on Monday evening, in the. Catholic -Institute, Wellington-street. Three musicians have been knighted by Queen Victoria. They are Jules Benedict, who visited America with Jenny Lind ; Sterndale Bennett, also widely known as a composer of orchestral and vocal music ; and Dr. Elvey, who is chiefly noted as a church musician, and as the organist of St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. A soirde is announced to be given at St. Mary's College, North Shore, on Wednesday next, at half-past six o'clock, before which hour ferry-boats will leave Queen-street Wharf, conveying parties intending to be present. There was no performance at the Circus last night, on account of the weather, but it is announced that a mid-day performance will take place this afternoon, for the convenience of schools, and families residing in the country. Owing to the unfavourable state of the weather, the lecture on "Fossil Fauna," by Mr. Barton, which was announced to take place last evening, at the rooms of the Young Men's Christian Association, was postponed until next Friday evening. We were informed yesterday by G. B. Owen, Esq., that he has no connection with the new lease at Shortland mentioned by our Thames correspondent yesterday. We notice the Thames Advertise?', alluding to the new lease, also mentions Mr. Owen's name in connection with it. How the mistake has arisen we are unable to explain until we have communicated with our Thames correspondent. To the EditorS Sir,— How is it that the | Parnell Highway Board have not called the meeting for the election of the new trustees ? Do they wish to hold office as long as possible, or are they afraid to meet the rategayers to give an account of their doings? everal of the ratepayers are dissatisfied with the progress of the works, and are anxiously inquiring if it is necessary to employ a foreman of works to, superintend two or three men. It is time for the ratepayers to take action and combine to elect men who will pushjforward the interests of Parnell. — I am, &e^ Ratepayer. % Referring *6o the recent conviction of Lorando Jones for blasphemy, a Glasgow paper says,: — "If the unfortunate sjfllptor, on finding himself inspired by a theological and propagandist zeal which he was unable to restrain, had only betaken himself to the mother country he would have met wiih a better reception. In our own city, to go no 'further,, he might have black-balled the Prophets and the Apostles every day in the year, anditorn the Bible to tatters, without running the smallest risk of persecution. And yet there are people who say that there is more freedom in the colonies than in the l old country." ; ' The^ San Francisco Bulletin remarks: — "Minidg is becoming more of a science. Well-directed capital and labour are more sure of success. A '" And in no kind of mining is success more sur^than jii forking .large deposits of tailings^ jyhicn have been washed but once. The Tniner -always knows what is ahead* of '11110. If he cuts away rock to 1 get at his prize he can calculate what it is, and what will be tibe cost. . He, can confidently count on no Darren plac|y>f jjreat extent in his head. He can learns the nature of^the ground he owns,_ and can know all the difficulties in advance. £et him obtain the rem^ite^grade < for i bis,fla.me, look' out 1 for a pjacej to, discharge the gravel, that it may not back up on hinvr*nchor his flume Becurely,**jjl||t the floods qf winter may<, not WM^it »ffpsfind-htfis<all right." _• ' * s • • 0 *?) understand that an mteres&ik WcofiM H.'ftH'theouke of gain rargh's visit l to the East is " being preP ar ?£, fo £* the P.rM^ % Haig, a Foun|er. ) «mK^ dfOTon^Maig,' t of Tapper gW?^ renown,-; now Chleftngmeerl o» raf^-t^tfesJßengal Government, tod* iWffi^wno recently 1 pubJistiedT.an enter." S^sg.^coantothis tripjfco some picturesque Q ® Uttle;explored-region of the

It has been ascertained that, out of 'l>soo 1 salmon eggs, in to^prdinary coarse of nature only one produce*** mature salmon. If all the eggs laid were to produce salmon, the ocean in half a century would be- a moving mass of salmon. . The opium trade, of India yields theßnfcish Government £8,000,000 annual revenue. The system of employing ladies in .the British Government offices is extending. The i Glasgow Weekly MaU says : — " We understand it is, in contemplation to introduce a staff of female clerks into the Telegraph Department of 'the Post-office here. As our readers are aware, large numbers of female clerks are employed in the General Postoffice, London, and elsewhere throughput the country • and the resolution to eSfiend their employment has, been forced upon* Che Postoffice authorities* by the enormous increase in the work of the Telegraph Department. We believe that, as soon as a sufficient number of applicants present themselves, a class for female clerks will be formed in Glasgow. The work is light, and admirably calculated to afford a suitable field for the employment of women. Applicants should be well educated and respectably connected, and between the ages of 14 and 16 years. The salary they would receive during the period of instruction would be at the rate of Bs. per week." "It is rather amusing, "says the Fiji Thnes, "to read scraps of intelligence from Fiji winch i appear sometimes in colonial papers j and it is also rather puzzling as to the way in which such items get circulated. Surely some one must have played a ' goak ' upon the journal which contained the following :—: — 'The 'Young Australian,' from Fiji, brings news from Levuka to 29 th April. A public meeting had been held at Levuka to reprove the British Consul for refusing to , witness the will of the late Lieutenant ■Woods.' If the journalist who wrote this were to have a peep at Levuka just now, he would be astonished at the amount of vivacity displayed by the • defunct' gentleman, whose energy has only lately astonished the whole of the Group. So far from being dead, it would almost seem as if he had entered upon a new life, the first actions of which startle and amaze the 'malua' settlers of Fiji." The lights which were ordered some time ago from Syduey, for Levuka, arrived there by tho s.s. • Wonga Wonga.' They were, however, injured in the transit, and consequently there will be some delay before the present temporary lights are replaced by more powerful ones. * A big overgrown fellow has been sent to gaol for six weeks at Doncaster, for giving his mother [a "terrific blow " over the eye. The woman hanged herself next day. One house in ]Sew York is inhabited by 1,218 persons—" a village under one roof." The New York Tribune truthfully remarks that the Presidential campaign of 1872 will be " the most infuriated contest we have ever had," owing to feuds existing in the Hepublican ranks. . A girl of tender sensibilities eloped with a man near Knoxville, Tennessee, recently, and, when her iather sought to detain her, she knocked {the old gentleman, down with, a shovel. Her parent pursued the couple atfcer marriage, aud, the husbandjand father having exchanged shots, the blushing bride emptied a revolver at the head of her liegslord, disabling him completely, and then returned hope with her papa. Who says the age of chivalry is over in Tennessee ? An intelligent and reliable neighbour of ours (says the St. Louis Journal of Agriculture), who has for many years been making experiments in corn, has discovered an importance and value in replanting corn which is quite novel and worthy of publication. We have always thought that replanting corn was of little consequence, but this gentleman says that it is of so much consequence, he replants whether it is needed or not, or rather he plants, two or three weeks after the corn is planted, a hill about every fifteenth row each way. If the weather becomes dry during the filling time, the silk and tassel both become dry and dead. In this condition, if it should become seasonable, the silk revives and renews its growth, but the tassel does not recover. Their, for want of pollen, the new 3ilk is unable to fill the office for which it was designed. The pollen from the replanted corn is then ready to supply the silk and the filling is completed. He says nearly all the abortive ears so common in all corn crops are caused by want of pollen, and that he has known ears to double their size by their second filling. At Pichant, in Peru, there has lately been seen an extraordinary meteor, which suddenly descended from the sky. It was balloonshapflfl, o£ a red colour, with thfl pointed end towards the earth, on reaching which an explosion took place, injuring the roofs of several huts, and knocking down a fence for 500 yards. Among the stones heaped around by this aerolite were found several fishes of different species, which are supposed to have been lifted out of the river and dashed against the stones. Similar events have happened near Huacochullo and Atucacht, causing great fright to the people. The most unique system of teaching music known in public schools is that adopted in New York. A correspondent of the Tribune reports that, at the largest grammar school for boys in the city, he heard 800 boys instructed in singing "Act ou the Square, Boys," describing some fast boys' experience with "peelers," who arrested them at a "a high old night ;" the low nigger minstrel songs of " Iminenksikoff " and "Slap, bang, here we are again '"—while tho book they were, "instructed" from contained, also "Not for Joe," "Captain Jinks," and plenty of Offenbach music. Highly elevat- ' ing this must be. French nails are manufactured at Charleville partly in large factories by machinery, partly in a multitude of small factories, or rather ateliers scattered about the densely peopled villages. These villages, and especially one of them.Neufmanil.are not only • inhabited by people, but by an " ouvrier" class of dogs. The labour of these dogs, whose hours are exactly regulated as those of their human fellow-labourers, consists in furnishing motive power to the bellows, which fan the furnaces of the ateliers. They get inside a wheel, and turn it, juat like the squirrels in a cage. There are four stages of each day's labour. The first lasts from 5 to 8 a.m. j the second from 8.30 to 12 p.m. ; the third, from* 1 to 4 ; the fourth, from 4.30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Each dog works during two stages only. The early dog, who works from 5 to 8 a.m., misses the second stage, and is not worked again till 1 p.m. The dog who begins his work at 8.30 misses the third stage, being reserved for the fourth. Another peculiar feature of nailmaking industry is, that each workman or woman belonging to a particular atelier has to furnish a fixed and equal supply of fuel to keep the furnace going, which is conl sumed, whether the individual contributor works " or not on that particular day. As ' the workpeople are paid by the quantity of nails each produces, the burning of their fuel, whether they work or not, acts as a strong stimulant to continu- ' ous labour. We are requested to inform holders in the Caledonian Claim, also Thames . Company shareholders, that Mr. F. H. Lewisson has cut up into drops part of-«the large specimen bought from Mr. Totbill, v manager of the claim.— [Adv.] "An lowa girl, who" read Cooper's novels until she became impressed with the idea that she could never be happy unless as the of a " red man of the forest," found ,6he last week', married him, and went to the banks of the sylvan stream where he trapped for mudbrats. She only stayed one night, and came home with a.black eye, and ha,dto send put' forVbottle of hair, 'restorative. ' It' seems, the' abble got 'drunk and punched Jber on the eye, while his old.squaw went pmong , her hair. The girr^pn't ,wanfcj any more'lndian, if fche knows her own heart, j ?A married couple in Springfield have not spoken to each other for years. The man fewjti that he has the happiest home in the (Swiatry,

Victoria receives only $1,200,000 * .year, but she owns several large. -dairy farmi, and her butter commands the. highest price in the London market.—^Amejioan paper. "Shot through the heart" is a -common expression, yet out of 884822, pases7 4 822, pases of gunshot wounds reported during the late war it 18 said that in only four cases the bullet wounded the heart. 1 he Broad Arrow announces that Lieutenant Saville, 2nd Battalion 18th Royal Irish, has commenced a courae of army signalling and telegraphy at the School of Military Engineering, Chatham, tit is mentioned as probable that Major Pocklington, of the Ist Battalion, will shortly succeed Ijp the lieutenant-colonelcy and command, of the 2nd Battalion, at Devonporfc, by the retirement of Lieutenant-Colonel George A. Elliot. Anna Dickinson says fhat "all womem marry for love." To which the. New York Commercial takes exception, saying : "Anna is mistaken. The statistics of domestic happiness show that nearly one-half of them maryy for revenge." At Hanley, England, a young man was fined for kissing a married woman.*— -Exchange. [The woman's husband generoifsly paid the tine. He said he felt a profound compassion for the misguided youth. Ho knew how it was himself.] A pleasant writer in a Boston (U.S.) journal recently visited a Dutch dairy, and"vd "v"v" v he describes his eiperiences in animated language. He says : " The farmers' boys and girls of America would, I am confident, like ,to go with me into a Dutch farmhouse. , Stable, house, and daily are under one roof. The house which we visit stands on the banks of the canal ; the water in the canal is almost on a level with the ridge-pole. One of the dairymaids has been out to the canal to wash her pans and dishes, and now she is taking them back to the house, drawing them in a little cart. Look at the shoes— wooden ones turned up at the too like a skate. Some of the cows are in the fields, blanketed to keep them warm. A girl with red cheeks and bright eyes opens the door of the stable, and takes us along the stalls to sec the cows — 26 standing by their cribs, or lying down, chewing their cvd 5 !, fastened by rope halters, and funniest of all sights, each cow had her tail drawn up to the ceiling by a cord and pulley, so that in time their tails -grew straight up into the air ! "There are great tubs tilled with milk and curds and whey. 'I here is a fireplace in the stable where they scald the milk ; also a cheese-press. We enter a little room, and see the pots of butter and the rows of cheese, each cheese almost the size of a 64-pounder cannon, not quite round, but, like the earth, flattened at the poles.'