The Daily southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4606, 29 May 1872, Page 2

The Daily southern Cross.

LUCEO, NON TJRO. If I tanvo boen extinguished, yet there ri«« A thousand beacons from the spark I bore.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 1872.

Tn other columns of to-day's issue will be found the report submitted by Mr. Bell, 0. $„ on the proposed water supply of the city. The statement is well worthy of perusal, and a cooipavisou of the figures will well repay the trouble. We should be reluctant to question in any way the accuracy of the conclusions arrived at by a professional gentleman on such a subject, but that, from the multitude of professional and conflicting views that Lave been already advanced on the same subject, we feel that we are standing on debatable ground. From the same circumstance we believe that the views enunciated by Mr. Bell will be freely canvassed by the public in that colonial fashion which is utterly reckless of prestige. We have not a doubt that Mr. Bell has formed his strong convictions as to the superiority of the Western Springs from the most careful observation and strictly scientific calculation and deduction ; and that in the report he has accurately d escr i bed the considerations and processes of reasoning that led his own mind to these conclusions. But unhappily, from whatever cause arising, the impression left on an unprofessional mind from a perusal of the report is that it has been | artistically arranged to support a foregone conclusion. We do not say that Mr, Bell is not perfectly correct ; on the contrary it is possible that Low and Motion's springs may be altogether the finest source of water supply that the province presents. But unfortunately for the force of the reasoning the writer is so earnest in his special pleading that the argument is rather overdone, and in the minds of the most unbiassed a suspicion is awakened that there must surely be something to lay on the otherside. In fact, on Mr. showing, i it is quite surprising '^bat any one should ever have entertained a thought, of Jike ONihotiipu stream. , X>ay t and'

night alter its volume, a "significant "hint" of its ephemeral character; landslips, "great landslips" in fact; gorges, steep ravine*, «oe»siTely tough, and steep ground, dl eep cuttings, embankments, retaining walls, constant slips, follow one another with ! such accumulating force that we feel ! inclined to abandon the scheme in despair under the powerfully repelling influence of dissuasive words. - The pipes perpetually bursting would leave the city at the mercy of drought; while, as for accidents in connection with Low and Motion's springs, " such acci- " dents would not stop work for more " than a day or two ;" and as for the *• pumping-enginfs '* engaged in pumping Low and Motion's water, they would "run for 30 years without " accident and with little repairs/ But this is very fat from being all the supeiior advantages of Low and Motion's springs, or, as they are more euphoniously termed, the "Western " Springs." While Nihotupu has a collecting area of only 1,200 acres, the Western Springs have collected the waters of 4,000. We are not informed ia what way Mr. Bell has discovered the limits of this underground reservoir, or found that none of the drainage flows elsewhere j but he has, and he also knows that the unctuous drainage of the Cemetery streams does not percolate into this collecting basin. Mr. Bell does not notice how the collecting area of the Waitakere streams might be increased ,but he sees how Low and Motion's waters might be, even though the Cemetery Btreams, already shut out, oan be further excluded by embankment. It should also be reassuring to know that Low and Motion's springs can never be tapped; that no spread of population over a disirict so contiguous to the city could ever contaminate the water ; inasmuch as the drainage of cesspools and back yards would pass " through such a length of " ground," and all surface water "no " doubt reappears at the springs filtered " and purified." As to the purity of the water Mr. Bell has, of course, no doubt ; but a report on this subject was too much for the present document. He has, therefore, taken bottles of water for analysis; and we have no doubt, from the present report, that they will prove the water of Low and Motion's springs to be incomparably purer than the mountain streams of Nihotupu, or any other streams that were ever discovered on the face of the earth before. The matter of compensation for the Western Springs is, of course, a trivial concern, a mere bagatelle of some twenty or thirty thous-iud pounds ; but yet it has not been wholly overlooked by Mr. Bell. He has not yot, indeed, l ' considered tbe " matter of acquiring the Western " Springs from the owner," but adds, with a disinterested regard for the public interest and at the same time an appreciation of little colonial failings that do him infinite credit, "It is not " impossible that the assessors, sacri- " ficing the rights of the community to " those of the individual, might assign " such an amount of compensation as " would turn the balance in favour of " some other source of supply." Having so conclusively established the valuable character of Low and Motion's spring 3, Mr. Bell does not confine their capabilities to mere drinking purposes, but sketches out a scheme worthy of his genius and of the aspirations of the City Council ; and, contemplating a possible speculation in which the Corporation could engage as mill proprietors, urges that " the town " ought to acquire these springs as a " matter of foresight " It is gratifying to see that Mr. Bell is so convinced of the value of this source of water-supply that he goes out of his way to discover advantages outside of his brief; but with many persons, unfortunately, this superfluous zeal will tend rather to weaken the reasoning in favour of the Western Springs for the special purpose of his inquiry, as showing a desire to os'ablish by all means a foregone conclusion. We have not space at present to go into Mr. Bell's figures and calculations. He says :—": — " As to the advantages of " gravity over pumping, they may be " divided into the annual cost and the " freedom from accident and interruption. " That is the whole question at issue " between the two methods." Judged by this test, Mr. Bell establishes, contrary to his intentions, that the Nihotupu scheme is preferable ; for by his own figures he shows that its annual charges for the items specified — and exclusive of interest — will be £2,160 as against £3,985 for the Western (Springs, or little oyer one half. His calculation for expenditure on coal, viz, £1,100 per annum, shows either that his engines are to work one fourth time, or that he has made the singular error of not stating the quantity of coal required by three-fourths. It is needless to say that in the price of coal no provision is made either for a fluctuating market or the cost of transport, and that the incident of hostile cruisers on the coast would subject the city to the pains of drought; Need we draw attention to the relative',' cost ot reservoirs at Kyber Pass ? * £1,600! is set apart as the cost of site in each 1 case ; it being expressly stated that the; site would be the same for either' scheme. Yet, while for Low and Motion's water the reservoir will cost only £2,794, a reservoir on the same site for the Nihotupu water will cost £7,000. We confess our inability to r account for this, unless it may be from the superior purity of the water of the Western Springs.

It speaks well for the humanity and right feeling of Englishmen, that there are few British communities >at*the present day without its statute providing against the' offence of cruelty to animals. "We in New Zealand are not', behindhand in this respect; bat , we have been sometimes struck with the manner in which this particular law Sis I carried out in this partjofjhe colpnyi A | fine of five shillings, or the being niulot,ia the coßte of a police prosecution^ where /> man ;ha>^een^n^ip of cruelly? abusing - »• . dwafc , -wjite,

id, t we think, a very inadequate punishment for this offence. Insuoh ituMinctt, and also in the case of furious riding and driving in the public streets, our magistrates; we think, are ! bound to^show that it is not intended that the law shall be treated as a dead letter. It must be borne in mind th.it, as a rule, in not one case out of ten in which, these offences are openly committed is there even the attempt to brine; the offender to justice. If the magistrates were to form their opinion of the prevaiency of the offence of maltreating horses and cattle in and about the city by (the number of cases appearing in the Police Court, their conclusions on this subject would be very erroneous. The offence, we are sorry to say, is far from being uncommon, and therefore there is the more reason that it should not be lightly dealt with. It is not only out of a feeling of humanity for the poor brutes which suffer that these practices should be put down, but out of regard to public decorum as well, and even in mercy to the individual offender himBelf, vrhose want of proper feeling and self-control, if checked in good time, may be prevented from growing into a coufirmed habit. Nothing is more calculated to engender habitual violeuce of temper than unbridled indulgence in acts of cruelty to dumb animals, and hence the peace and good order of society at large is more or less directly affected by this question. As a rule, the offence begins with the young and thoughtless who have had much to do with horses ; but it grows with advancing strength on some until they feel themselves unable to exercise the least degree of patience under trying or irritating circumstances. A t one time this evil habit was looked upon as a very veuial offence, but thanks to our advanced civilisation it is so no ]onge. Neither horse-beating nor wife-beating is now considered acceptable evidence of manliness aud courage. Public attention has been repeatedly drawn to this subject of late in consequence of the remarkably light sentences which have been passed upon the offence from time to time, and we trust our worshipful Bench of Justices may be able to see their w»y to a somewhat different estimate for the future of the degrading practice here referred to.

From our Australian telegrams via Hokitika, it will bo seen that the Victorian Ministry had a majority > f two in the division on the address in reply to the Governor's speech. A vote of want of confidence was then moved, and was proceeding at the date of last advices. It was thought the division would be unfavourable to the Miuistry. The annual meeting of the suhscribers to the Home for * eglected and Destitute Children was held last night in the Young Men's Christian Association Rooms. The attendance was moderate, and the chair was occupied by his Honor the Superintendent. A very highly satisfactory report was submitted and adopted by the meeting. It showed that a balance of £84 3s. sd. was in hand, and that a considerable amount of work had been done by the children during the year. A motion was carried affirming the desirability of establishing a reformatory in the city, and his Honor the Superintendent spoke strongly in favour of it. He recommended the cutting off the supply of young criminals as the hast way to stop the constant supply provided for gaol. A report appears in another column. The District Court opened yesterday, when the action Glenny v. Morrison was advanced to that stage where the evidence in support of the declarations waa brought to a close. The Court adjourned at 3.30 o'clock until 10.30 this morning, when witnesses will be called for the defence. The case may probably be concluded to-morrow afternoon. The examination and cross examination of three witnesses lasted throughout two sittings, and nearly the whole of the evidence turned upon dock-weeds : how they should be dealt with, whether by ploughing or digging them, burning them, or allowing them to lie on the ground ; how the seeding of them was to be avoided ; how loug the seed would live underground ; and how long a time would elapse before a dock-germ would become a living dock. His Honor expressed himself highly edified at the enlightenment he had received as to the botanical propensities of this much- despised weed. Ht. John's College, Taraaki, will ?e-open in July, under the direction of the Rev. John Kinder, M.A., formerly scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. The College is the property of the General Synod of the the Church of England in Now Zealand, and is designed for the training of young men in the higher branches of education. The course of instruction will include such subjects as are required for University <-cholarahipa and degrees, and for Civil Service, and the preliminary legal examinations. The College is endowed with several valuable scholarships, intended chiefly for the encouragement; of students of divinity. Mr. James Adams, 8.A., of the University of London, will succeed the Rev. John Kin der, M.A., as head master oflthe Church of England Grammar School, Parnell, in July, when the Rev. John Kinder enters upon his new duties at Tamaki as master of St. John's College. At the end of last week another stoppage to the progress of the telegraph works from Grahamßtown to Coromandel took place near the Tiki Hotel, but I refrained from alluding to the subject, believing it was only temporary. I regret, however, to find to-day that the stoppage is likely to continue, ns Milne, the Government superintendent, tells me there is no sign of the difficulty being at present arranged. It is a pity that some responsible representative of the Government was not sent down to try and arrange the dispute, and so complete what is so much -required— direct communication with Auckland and other portions of the colony. Taipari t WM, n prevented front going to Auokland, iowjng^to'soineletters which he expected from the'Beftfnce Minister,— [Correspondent. ] The second ; day'a firing of th,o Thames 'Rifle Association meeting commenced with the fifth match, All Comer's, the competitors being men , of the first classs. Ranges, 400, 500, and 600 yards, second-class targets, any position, five xhote «t each range. There were a great many entries, and eight prizes, which fell' as follow :— Captain Murray, T.S.V., Ist, 47 fpoints ; Lieutenant Hazard, "No. 2 H.R.V., 2nd, 43 points j Volunteer Mills, No. 5 Company, Auckland Volunteers, 3rd, 42 points ; Mr. Carpenter, T.R. A , 4th, 42 points ; Volunteer Bower, No. 1 H.R.V., sfch, 89 points; Petty' Officer Thompson, T.N.V., 6fch, 39 points.; Volunteer Warren, of Auckland; 7th; 39 points; Volunteer Fenton, T.S. V., Btb, 38 points. The special match open only to members ef the Thames Association was Ijeirig contested when the ateamer left. 1 Ranges, '500 and 600 yards, second-clasu target*, any position.— [Thames Correspondent.] . _ . We Are glad to learn that Messrs. Quiok i and Co. have.reiolved to; 'ran fcheir Waikato. coaches through to Hamilton, instead of j stopping, as at present, at Ng»ruaw*hi». This wiiLbe felt to 'be a great convenience to ;the n large body of settlers. Iking beyond '!Sfgiwuiiw»his. ,The new, arrangement will comme»oeon Monday next. ' ,_ ' j I $er«ice Miaonioliodgemeetinglakeaplaoo thia evening. t <

Yesterday afternoon a little boy, named George Lee, was arrested by I'etedive Teranhan on a charge of obtaining, on Satur day last, a sum of 3a., by means of false pretences, from Mr. Lindleyy in Wyndhamstreet. It appears the little fellow" bad gone to Mr. Ltndley's wife, and informed her that her husband had sent him for 3a., which tale she believed, and parted with the money. The result is now known. This is one of the cases which call fora leformatory. The boy is about eight or nine years of ago, and is the son of Dr. Lee, who waa in Auukland a few years ago. Hia mother is said to be still living here The littio boy's case is no doubb one of many similar, proving the truth of the old sayin r, that " evil communications corrupt good m.umera." He will be brought before the Police Court this morning. We are glad to observe that shares in rao3<"> of the bubble companies which have been fomed in the Coromamlel district are now well nigh unsaleable, and we trust that the market in this respect may remain in its present condition for all time to come, so that the credulous and unwary may not bo entrapped into throwing away the result of years of labour and economy f»r the possession of a few pieces of worthless paper. As far as we know there are only five mines in a sufficiently forward state of development to send good and pavaMe stone to be crushed during the next month, namely, the Tokalea, Bismarck, Prido of Tokatea, Golcond», and Green Harp There may soon be others added to the list, of course, but in many instances capital must He dormant for some time, and much dead-work must be done. Can persons of very moderote means afford to wait so long for a return, and perhaps in many instances lose all ?— Ooromandel Mail. We are requested to state that, as the case of Glenny v. Morrison, in the District Court, cannot be concluded before to night, the mining schedules cannot be entertained until tomorrow (Thunday). Parties interested need not therefore attend until that day. We learn that an entertainment is to be given next week bv the pailora of H.M. ship • Rosario in the Parnell Hall, in aid of the Orphan Home. It will be under the patronage and in presence of Captain Challis and the officers of the ship. A crowded house is anticipated. Dock weeds upon land has always been looked upon as an unmitigated evil j but it was found yesterday in .he District Court that the leaves of the dock will makeajaji equal to Russian cranberries, and for tarts there was nothing superior to preserved i dock. Ibis piece of information may be valuable to confectioners, pastrycooks, and others. It was also stattd that dock leaves were admirable in the pieparation and manufacture of sauce piquante. As this province, aud the city of Auckland contained within it, is pre-eminently blessed with a superabundance of docks, we may yet have [ the satisfaction of placing on record that dock jam and dock sauce piquante have become two of our staple articles of export, and as affording a very wide field for local industry. It may eve n come to pass that a law will have to be made for the prevention of the adulteration of duck-leaf jam by employing an inferior vegetable. The Hawke'sßay Tdegraphsayßt—"Mr. 3. Allen, the representative of Mr. W. JBuckland, of Auckland and Waikato, is now in this province with the object of purchasing store sheep for his run on the W aikato. We understand that he is about to proceed to Messrs. Birch's run at the Patea ; nnd should he buy there, he proposes to drive acros3 to the Kaingaroa plain, and thence to Cambridge. The \ aikato promises to be a new outlet for Bawke's Bay stock." Mr. Hales has returned from his examination of Mr. Booth's track to the Taupo plains, and informs us that ho succeeded in .etting on to the plains with his men and paekhorses, thereby proving the practicability of the route, which for the most part lies along the top of a long range. Mr. Hales says that about i hree weeks' work by a good working party would make the track quite fit for pack tiaffic. We hope the Government will lose no time in getting this very necessary work put through without rl^l.iy, as it is not improbable that the reported discovery of gold in the Tuhua range may necessitate its use for traffic very shortly. — Wanganui Chronicle. It has been found by all a^iiculturists on a small scale that without the aid of machinery they are unable to empete with lari<eproduceis, who, from the magnitude of their business, can \uth advantage purchase machinery To get over this difficulty machinery in moat of the agricultural distncts in the old country and in the colonies has been put chased jointly by the farmeis themselves, or some enterprising individual has purchased thjashiu*, winnowing machines, &c, and let them for a certain commission to these who require their services. We need say no moro on this subject than to recommend our farmers to act upon the experience of others. — Waikato Times. News has been received of an accident which befel a son of Major Topia. The lad was thrown out of a trap, diiven by Hori Grey, and one of the wheels passing over his body injured him to such an extent as to cause his death. — Wanganui Chronicle. The Piovincial Government of Taranaki is a very unpietending institution. From the estimate of revenue and expenditure laid before the Council, for the half-year ending December, it appears that the available ie« venue for the year from all sources,including the 15a. capitation grant, but excluding grants for public works, as being of an exceptional character, only amounts to the sum of £4,450; while the expenditure is estimated at £5,984. No wonder that the Herald considers the present cumbrous system of government absurd, and advocates a municipal system. Before people allow themselves to be led astray in their opinions of the San Francisco service simply on account of thfc recent irre I gulanties, it would he well for them to hay« a look at the comparative cost of this and I the Suez service under the old airangements. At one time the Suez line cost us fully £40,000 a year, not including any interpio vmcial sewices. Under the arrangements mad*» by Mr. Vogel our subsidy will amount to £27,000, subject, however, to very probable deductions, which will bring it down j possibly to £20,000 or even less. — Giey River Argus. Amongst the natur 1 productions of Waikato (says (he Times) aie letches. These re to be found in considerable numbers m some of the creeks emptying themselves into tlie Waipa river. We request that some of our settlers will collect a tew, and send them to our office. Wo will send them to Auckland in order that the members of the medical i profession may have an opportunity of test- i ing their value. If they are found to be of the right description, a sufficient number can be obtained to supply the whole colony. The Thames Advertiser says :—": — " A native woman, who came to Shortland on Saturday to visit some of her relatives, has seen the specimens taken over to the King's placr, and also knows the place from which they were obtained. Our informant states that the specimens were carried from Tuhua to Te Kuiti in a bag, and that only a little gold was in the form of dust, most of it being in the quartz. A good deal has been said about these having besn alluvial specimens,, and about; the existence of an alluvial field, but this information gives no support to these statements. \ll the specimens were found on the Ongarue river, which rises in the bush on ft mouutain named Hurakia, near Tuhua, and.flewa into the large Whanganui river; and we may remark that these streams are probably the causes of gold having been found occasionally on the Upper W hanganui." (The transfer books of the Mutual Mining Investment Company will be closed from noon on Monday to noon on Thursday, when a "dividend of ten shillings will be payable. Miss Stothard's lecture on bobany is announced for" Thursday, in the Council Ohiunbdri... ■■ ■_- '.

Wo have received the following from "A. Whau Bookmaker:' 1 "Sir, — With j oar kind consent I will say a few words to my brother tradesmen. It is their duty to strain every nerve in -their body to carry through Mr Kirby against all oppositon. That gentleman came forward, and placed £700 or £B n o in the business that was entrusted to him to carry through ; and on the-e grounds I be of every man in the trade to stand to him like a brick, and before ; Inn" we shall m-tonr heart ahove water ; and I hope that builders will assist us in patromsiug Mr Kirby, and show that they are not lovers of amonopoly of any Kind that touches a local induirry in this coun-ry, which we have made our horn i, and whos 1 . progress <wery man Bhould do his beat to forward. I hope the public is not taking a wrong conception of what the brick makers me n. It is not their intention fco raise the price of bricks to an exorbitant price. For instance, the railway tunnel may take from 500,000 to 700 000. but that will not affect the price the slightest. By giving the briokniakers from one month to two months' notice, who would employ more labour, they would «* be forthcoming. 1 hope, sir, you will pardon me for taking up so much of your valuabJa space, but I feel in my duty to do what little I can to establish the trade ou an honourable and legitimate basis." Week y Statement of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, for the week ending May 25, 1872 : — Remained at last statement, 115 ; admitted since, 1 ; discharged since, 0 ; dead since, 0: remniuing at present, 116 (77 males, 39 females). Distribution of cases : Epilepfcicjmania, ]0; idiocy, 4; imbecillitas, 1(5 ; mania, 49 j melancholia, 18 ; demeutia, 17 ; monomania, 2. Thanks are returned to Mrs. O'Callahan for a collection of Illustrated News, Graphic, &c.

A meeting of creditors of Mr. William Lindsay, of North Shore, is eouvened for this afternoon. A call of sixpence per share ha 3 been made in the Van Goldmining Company. Creditors are requested to prove their claims against the Felix Goldmiuing Company. An extraordinary meeting of shareholders in the Caruatic Qoldmiiiint; Company is convened to be held at Coromandel on June 19. iMr. M. Henderson invites tenders for taking down a building in Auckland and removing it to Coroinandel. Tenders will be received till Tuesday next.