THE DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4743, 6 November 1872, Page 2

THE DAILY SOUTHER N CROSS.

LUCEO, NOW URO. If I have been ejUiiig-iushed, yet there rise A thousand beacons fiom the sp.uk I bore.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1872. Q-enebali satisfaction will be felt throughout the province at the fact that a "very compreheKsive Education Bill is in course of preparation by the Provincial Executive, and will be submitted at .the, opening of. the. Provincial ' .OquijpiLr'it.jwill'not be disputed' by any one, that, there is no measure more urgently '' 'demanded by the public in the province of Auckland than one for placing education orT a proper basis. The many attempts that have been made both in, the Council and in the Assembly to : obtain .an Educa-! tion , , Act have been watched with' great interest; an interest not, equalled in any other portion of New Zealand, From .whatever cause or cause's arising, the educational statistics 1 ,of this prbVince have exhibited an, urt-; pleasant contrast by the' sH© of those! throughout the remainder oi .the 'co-; ;lpoy, and, while to other' colonists th> introduction of a ! measure bearing on ; this subject £nto, the, Assejtnbjy, merely Ig^ the prospect' of .consolidation and! general^ improvement in the >,ma-j nagement 1 / ; of ; , - ' education^, J ',\'sf 1 1 ;'the| people -'of» Axicldand' an 'Educationl Bill afforded 'hop c °f a "total change, ' such' ■' as ' might " raise our standard! ,6f education and our educational "ap-j pliances to a leVel with those of the yestj ..©.f Ithe polony. "On.this \subjeot "iiope? <( aejr^e(|.^^hasj.lmpst , inapfe^he^ttearti " sick," and we— can hardly realise the , honestly^ grappleq w nnallyf^SißtJled'

in the Provincial Council. That an honest effort will now be made to a radical change in our educational^ arrangements we have reason to believe/ and we hold that it will be the duty of every member of the Provincial < 'ouncil to lend his efforts to the task .„ of maturing a measure for bringing educational facilities home to the lowest as well as the highest of the people. The in' ended measure partakes of the character of the well-known Nelson system in so far as to depend for the support of schools on household l'ating. It fliffer3, however, in the rate not being uniform, but varying, aceoi'ding to the an mull ratable value of houses, from 10s. ]er household up to 30s. per household per annum, the higher rate being that payable by those whose places of residence are valued at over £50 per annum. This rate it is intended to supplement by a further charge of 6s. per annum for each child of the school age ; be .sides which there will be no school fees properly so called, The sending of children to school being therefore attended with no extra charge, no hai'dship cau be inflicted by enforcing attendance at school, and accordingly it is intended that such attendance within certain limits and conditions shall be compulsory. It is hoped that the' apple of discord, the religious difficulty, may be removed by permission being given to the teacher, at hours other than certain specified school hours, to impart religious instruction. The system appears intended to be strictly secular, but it is believed that the conscnntious scruples of those who value the recognition of religion as an inseparable element iv education may be met by the utmost freedom being given to the teacher for imparting religious knowledge to pupils of the same communion at hours and under conditions such as may in no way interfere with the educational privileges or the conscientious views of those of a different religious denomination. A very important feature in the contemplated arrangements is that recognition of the Grammar School, and any other grammar schools that may arise as part of the same educational system as the common schools. Graduation from the lower to the higher schools is that which can give greatest efficiency to both ; and as a series of scholarships is intended for enabling the pupils of the common schools to continue their studies in the grammar schools, and for enabling the pupils of the grammar schools to pursue their studies at the Colonial Universities, it will be seen that the system is intended to be of a very complete and comprehensive character. Taken altogether, the measure is one likely to commend itself to popular favour, and we trust that the Provincial Government will treat it as the measure of firat importance to the province, and that, whatever may be the party questions raised daring the coming session, the members of the Provincial Council will accept this measure on its own merits, and endea- t your to mould it into a form suitable to the circumstances of the province. Doubtless the bill may be considerably modified even before it is submitted to the Council, but it will be found that in the foregoing we have sketched its main features. So many delays and disappointments have taken place in connection with this question that we cannot think it like l y that any member will counsel fm oher postponement. It may be that such a question could be better dealt with by the higher Legislature, but the Council is no longer warranted in waiting on colonial legislation, and we may hope that the candid discussion of the question, apart from party strife, may effect • such results that this province may be in a position equally with other provinces for being indifferent to delay or action on the subject in the General Assembly.

It was intimated at the last meeting of the City Council that a consignment of lamp-posts had been lately received by the city authorities. This must be con-, sidered as a most timely supply of an article the proper use of which in our streets on a mote liberal scale than here* fore would, we are sure, be very highly appreciated by the citizens. We have on several previous occasions called attention to the pressing necessity for a few additional gas lamps in some of the leading thoroughfares of the city . •It is, no true economy to have our thoroughfares buried in darkness, as too many of" them have been up to the present. The time is gone by when the interests ' and comfort of ■ the citizens can continue to be treated with the indifference which has been exhibited so 1 long by the city authorities on this subject. The imperfect lighting of the Auckland main' strejets has always been a matter of astonishment to strangers, because we are in, this respect far outdone by most of the Southern cities. But the . so-called lighting-up ! of • our back streets, and many of our second-class public streets, is simply atrocidus. Such thoroughfares as Karangahape Road from both ends ito the top of Queanstreef/anti a large proportion: of the last-named street, are most imperfectly lighted. Yet on these a large traffic is maintained late Into the night. 'A~ large extent of Hobson ■ street, and the thoroughfares branching ■ from' it 1 both east and west, are nearly in total darkness. ' The same 1 may be said r of Pittstreet ihroughojit. There is a^heary cutting now going forward in this street, and ' we are compelled to say that the condition in which the works are left at night' is neither, creditable to 1 the contractor nor flattering ,tq authorities. Most people are familiar with the kind of " lights" which are usually hung around .road excavations, tbut w&are sure, it would jpuzzle the 'ablest optician in Auckland to ; tell, at Eve yards' distance what 'these 1 PU^afceet "lights " are "compps&l'pf, ; whether of the smallest; scrap of #~antedi- , " luvian moonshine " stuck, paling, > or a patch of red paiift showing- Mfc'Uy ' through an empty gin-bottle. In abort ( this itreet is r ,in ! a / state of "alrriost 1 tolal; darkness, "with a gaping precipice^ (run-( ( run- ( ning down its centre from.. one. end; to, the other. Some sei'ious accident willj /assiiredly occur. > inithe^locality 7 iff .Sffme.j 1( thißg.be/not; done to • y$ the neigh- i bourhbod.; 'Gr^yritrAet iisf.^So,' +XQ r J iffl-< : perfectly lighted I *' and*'6aght to have,tw.o : or mqre, jaldJtip^al^gaV'iamp's.^^t o^!!! thus be seenvihafc there is rpoinj forwjyiejrjr considerab;l¥'imjprovement in the lighting! of the cit^V4%9^^a fc T^tfujit7

of fittings has (been obtained for this purpose we trust that the subject will receive . the early attention of ' the Council. '" - v .

As anticipated, the rain on Sunday evening and the early hours of Monday morning have had the effect of clearing away the heavy clouds which, hung over the city for several days towards the find of last week. Yesterday the weather was most lovely, and last night there was every indication pi beautiful weather to-day. It is well it should be so. The farmers fiom "a distance ire busy getting their stock and various exhibits forwarded so as to be in their places early this morning in the Albert Barracks, rhepreliminary operations were being rapidly pushed foi ward yesterday, and we are glad to assure our readers that tlie show will far excjed all its predecessors hore in the number and impoi tauce of entries tn^ide. We have been privileged to examine the catalogue, and find that already about 500 entries have been made. There will probably be a considerable number of -'post-entries, which will further swell thenumber. The several branches of manufacturing industry carried on amongst us will be better represented, than on former years, bub not so well afl they ought to be. There are a great many industries and occupations carried on amongst us which find no place amongst the catalogued entries, but these defects will doubtless be rectified in future years. We observe that one son of Crispin has his wares represented, but why should this class of exhibits be donflned to one establishment ? It ia not the fault of the committee, but the neglect of those pursuing that occupation. We also miss Mr. J. Case and his flour mills, &c. There ia no entry catalogued of the iron or steel, wrought or unwrought, manufactured! ftfom our iron sands or iron ores. Many other" omissions we could point out, but hope those defects will be supplied on a future occasion. The show will open for the public at noon, and as almost the whole of the business establishments in the city, together with Government offices, will be closed, the attendance of sightseers will doubtless be large. The collection of dogs will be something to admire. No fewer than 17 different breeds of doga are entered for exhibition, and this alone will doubtless tend to draw a considerable number of spectators. Then there i 3 the Horti* cultural Society's Show that opens at two o'clock in the Drill-shed. The twoishows will be held so close to each other that no difficulty will be found in passing from the one to the other . From all that we can learn there is every reason to hope that an excellent treat awaits those who desire to spend their holiday or half-holiday, as the case may be, in rational enjoyment. " Both the flower show and agricultural show will afford sources of pleasure and instruction, which we trust our citizens will largely avail themselves of His Worship the Mayor was in receipt' yesterday afternoon, of a telegram from the Executive Government at Wellington, stating that the transfer of the police force from the Colonial to the Provincial Government was postponed until the end of the present mon.h. Ib is very generally considered that since the Executive haVe been apprised of public feeling in Auckland on the subject it is not likely any change will be made. A meeting of gentlemen interested in the formation of a Chess and Beading-roam Society was held at Hale's Booms, Parnell, la9t evening ; Mr. Tonks in the chair. It was resolved, on the motion of . Mr. Barber, seconded by Mr. Rose, to accept the offer of Mr. Hale, which was to furnish the rooms j with everything required by such !an institution, including colonial and English periodicals, and on condition of receiving £30 for the first six months. If the members' subscriptions were not sufficient, he would be the loser, and the Society to pay him £60 per annum after the expiration of the first six months. The following gentlemen were appointei as a general committee to confer with Mr. Hale : — Messrs. Dargaville, Lusk, Barber, Adams, and ColdneL'-RoJokes/ <' The meeting then adjourned for a fortnight, for the committee to bring up rules for adoption. 1 We are glad to learn that all descriptions of crops are looking first-rate in the Hamilton districG on both sides of the river. Tn the east, or Kirikiriroa, about 125 acres have been laid down in wheat, which promises to average 30 bushels per acre ; in the west, or Hamilton, there is something over 100 acres, which looks equally prorrising. Oats and barley, of which cereals about 600 acres have been sown, without exception all look well. Potatoes which were e ( «ly, planted suffered considerably from late frosts, but the,- main crop, amounting to something over 100 acres, is now coming above ground. Grass is very abundant from the late genial rain and warm weather ; numbers of paddocks which are laid up for hay look splendid, and farmers in general this season look forward to a year of plenty, should the weather continue as propitious as it has been. — Waihato Times. The usual weekly parade of 'the Waikato Bifle Volunteers was held on the 2nd instant in the Volunteer Hall, ■ Hamilton. After parade a meeting was held to elect a captain , in room of Captain Cvm T ming, resigned. The chair was taken by Captain Gumming. Lieutenant Highley and Mr. Thomas Far r ell were duly proposed and seconded as candidates, and the - votes taken by > ballot. The chairman declared Lieutenant Highley duly elected by a majority of seven. Captain Cumming then vacated the chair to Captain Highley. There were two candidates for the vacant lieutenancy, Ensign McDonald and Mr. Thomas Farrell ; the former was duly» elected by a majority of 13.V Two candidates were nominated 'for the ensigncy, and Colour- Sergeant Williamson was declared duly elected by L a' majority 1 6i six.' There , were two candidates for ' colour-sergeant, which resulted in- Sergeant ■ Small ' being elected by* the casting' Vote* 'of "the 'chairman. Corporal Dunn waa.elebled sergeant, and Volunteer Bus table cor poraK, _• * -

- Vigorous measures- are being- taken (says our _ correspondent) to ■ render the ' Thames races a success. At a, meeting ; of the com' mittee held on Monday night at the Governor Bowen Hojbel,' a sub-'cdmmittee' s of Messrs. WalnutC B. Kennan," McClougheh, E. Thomas; Mcllhone, and Captain Skene was appointed to prepare a programme, and also to r lay; out a racecourse^ aj; iWawai. Sub'acription lists were ordered to, be provided as soon as possible, in order that; canvassing the district might proceed Without 'delay. ' ' ' ' Oari'co'rrespondent writes"":— -," The ' Kauwaeranga Highway Board has lost an efficient a chairman in, Mr.- Burgess, w.ho, at. a meeting of ■ the trustees held on .Monday nighfcj' 'tendered his resignation; the same being accepted.;. Mr. Burgess .was induced to resign, on. . account. iof some .differences rrhioh had arisen 'between himself and his fellow trustee's. From' what I can glean of the matter in 'dispute, jMr. jß'urgess acted with straightforward juvtice throughout. The loss of his services tp the Kauwaeranga , district is to be regretted. -Mr. T, R. Jonea has been elected, in his, stead." ) . / „ Xf , " As some misapprehension seems to have arisen regarding the nature of the correspondence readat the ' City Council meeting yesterday m reference to 'the waterworts, we may state that, the letter,' read. 1 related to Mr. McGregors offer to prepare plans of the proposed new waterworks for. the city. Tbe letter cautioned- the Council against closing with Mr. McGregors offer. As the subject is one' that wilhiofr probably be dealt -with for some time to come, the letter was laid upon the table for reference with the one received'from Mr. McGregor. \ F *\ 5 A 1 desire rfo? _of r «f practical character has been disclosed in various ways among the farming classes in Victoria. Farmers' clubs have been established in several localities, and prizes .have been offered for the best managed farms. The Government have established a new department of agrifculture, 5 andrhaxe invited applications for the post of secretary. Each candidate is to forward to the Minister of Agriculture' an essay upon, the, benefits .which, can be conI lerred upon the community by a department < f *griculture. 5 5«ia' r r oht ta^u^- ?e 3i r i< a |

The members of the Methodist Free ! Church will hold a eoirde this evening in the^ large room of the Young Men's Christian Association Building. Addresses by ministers and lay members will follow, interspersed with musical selections. The whole of the public offices, banks, and wholesale establishments will close at noon this "day. With scarcely any exceptions the retail establishments will follow suit. The " Please to remember the Fifth of November" observance was maintained yesterday by numbers of ragged boys carrying still more ragged "Guys," mounted on broken chairs, through the thoroughfares of the city and suburbs. A small harvest of coppers was reaped by the boys, who perambulated in sets, which were thrown ay them tnoie with the object of getting rid of a noisy nuisance than from sympathy with such a commemoration. In the evening, more particularly in and around Freeman's Bay, there were numerous bon-firea 'and a general discharge of Chinese crackers ; but there were no pyrotechnic displays as was the wont in years gone by. At the Tham.es there was a banquet, attended by a large number of Orangemen. The pieces played at the Prince of Wales last night were a repetition of the previous evening's. To-night'the performances will be under the patronage of the Committee of the Agricultural Society, ar>d will comprise, for the first time in Auckland, H. T. Craven's very fine drama of " Our Nelly ;" to be followed byShakespeare's comedy, "The Taming of the Shrew," With two such excellent plays | under such popular patronage, there will no doubt be » very full house. It ha* been definitely determined to lay the foundation of the Market-house on Monday next, which will be observed as a public holiday in honour of .the Prince of Wales's Birthday. Invitations to the luncheon which is to be given on the occasion have been issued. The catering will be under the control of Mr. Charles Canning. We understand that permission has kindly been given by Sir George Grey, K.C. 8., for the title and designation of the Blue School Cadet Corps to be altered to Sir George Grey's Rifle Volunteer Cadet Corps. We hope the company will prove worthy of th.eir new title. Pickles for the male se*. Too long have helpless and much-enduring women been insulted by overbearing husbands coarsely notifying their non-respoii,?ibility for wifecontracted debts. At length the tablesare turned. The avenger has spokC n - . ? 8 ' Robson, late Mrs. Picklea (she scorn.? *° c c indebted to Pickles even to the extent 01 nis surname), declines to keep that gentleman In pocket-money any longer. He must now shift for himself sis best he can. Here is the formal notification from a Sandhurst newspaper :—"I: — "I hereby give notice that I will not be responsible for any debts that my husband, Thomas Green Pickles (brother of George Pickles, coachbuilder), may contract from this date. Mrs. W. M. Robson, late Mrs. Pickles." Poor Pickles !— "iEgles,"in the Australasian. ( A miner, named Wood, met with an accident at about seven o'clock on Monday evening, in the Pumping Association's shaft. It appears he was at the bottom with two other men when a piece of iron fell and grazed his hip and back. Fortunately it only ! slipped past him, and the injuries he sustained are therefore slight. Had it been otherwise it must inevitably have killed him, for it fell from a considerable height. The signal was rung by his mates, and he was at once raised to the surface. Dr. Croft was in attendance and dressed the abrasions caused by the iron. The man then went to his own residence in Campbell-street. — A dvertiser. The amount of claims for compensation for I losses caused by the Belfast riots exceeds £7,000, and doubtless there are yet many claims to be sent in. . Since his release on bail, the most tempting offers hare been tpade to the Tichborne claimant by enterprising managers of public entertainments. The first he received waa | from the proprietor of a large travelling caravanserai. The terms were somewhat enticing — £1,500 for three months; but that was completely overshadowed by tbe disinterested thoughtfulness of no less than three lessees of leading London theatres — the first suggested £1,700 for two months; the second, £1,000 for three months ; and the third, £2,000. They only require that the claimant appear in two scenes of a dramatic novelty, in which he was represented, that he might feel quite at home. Mr. Brown, of Fort street, has opened the building in Shortlani-street formerly occupied by the Auckland Club, as a reading and refreshment room. The building is especially adapted for the purpose, and will doubtless be liberally patronised. Already a considerable number of newspapers and periodicals, including Punch, the Illustrated London News, and Home News, have been laid on the tables, and no doubt in a short time the whole of the current magazine literature will be procured. The readingroom has been very nicely fitted up, and is light and airy. It is connected, by a staircase leading from the back, with the Customhouse Hotel in Fort-street. It is intended shortly to fit the upstairs rooms as billiard and chess rooms. The object kept in view p,pr33rs to be to make the establishment furnish as far as possible the conveniences of a club. j The Chinese have a peculiar method of preserving grapes. A hole is cut in a ripe pumpkin, making the aperture large enough ito admit the hand. In bhe inside, after ,being completely cleaned, the ripe grapes are placed, when the cover ia replaced, and pressed in firmly. The pumpkins are then kept in a cool place, and the grapes are said ,to retain their freshness for a year. The ; common field pumpkin is all that is wanted I for the purpose. Horse-ploughing must soon take its place ! with atage-coaching and hand-loom weaving, i We 'have done our best during the controIveis'y touching the wages of agricultural .labour to enforce the truth that the fund from which this increase of wages must issue would result from the more liberal employ- ' ment of capital in agriculture. It is now stated that in the mere work of tillage the yearly saving resulting from the employment of steam would be £9,000,000. As to the indirect advantage, Mr. Horsman has lately estimated the consequent increase of crops at £18,000,000 a year. We are persuaded that nothing is more injurious to successful cultivation, especially, in clay land, than the treading of the furrow by the hoofs of a team of horses and the feet of the ploughman. It is proposed to form a large central association' to provide numbers' of steam ploughs for Use in all parts of the country. We heartily wish the proposal may receive the full measure of success it deserves. It is no exaggeration to say that such an association may effect a revolution in our agricultural system. It will at once dispose of the. doctrine of the absolute necessity of large farms, for there is nothing to prevent small farmers from laying their fields together — divided only by pegs or stone landmarks — and lessening the cost of cultivation by allowing the hired machinery to pass over two or more fields at one operation., It will, we should hope, give an impetus to co-opera-tive agriculture. — Echo. The most' noble monument of Brunei's "engineering skill is the Saltash Bridge, over the river Tatnar, near Plymouth, England. All the banks,, principal, merchant offices, and , wholesale' and retail establishments in London, are closed at 2 o'cjock on Saturday?. It has been remarked, that every European Prime Minister, except Cardinal Antonelli and the Turkish' Grand Vizier," is a Freemason. ,<!.- Portugal, in a- hundred years, has not 'quatrelle d with any Power. Probably the oldest city — or rather the city containing the most standing relics of I the past in the shape of houses, buildings, &c. , in Europe — is Antwerp. The cholera has appeared in Tthe western part of the Russian Empire. ;;The new' game of polo is very, popular in England. . -?\ • . !„ .>

There is a general feeling of insecurity in financial circles in London.

An extraordinary meeting of the Lion G.M.Co. to be held in the Governor Bowen Hotel, Grahamstown, is advertised for Monday, November 25, at 7.30 p.m. An extraordinary meeting of the Kooringa G.M.Co. is advertised to be held in Messrs. McDonnell and Wildman'a office, Grahamstuwn, on Tuesday, November 26, at 7 p.m. Tt will be aeen by advertisement elsewhere that the p.s. 'Golden Crown' will make an excursion trip to Tararu and back on Monday, November 11, at reduced fares. A deed of assignment has been made by Hyman Phiueas Oohen, storekeeper, Auckland, on behalf of his creditors. The monthly parade of the Auckland Rifle Battalion takes place to-morrow evening as usual at half past 7 o'clock. It will be noticed from an advertisement in another column that Messrs. Sceats and Page, the gentlemen who have purchase d the right of selling provisions, fruits, &c, in the Albert Barracks, have intimated that no vendors of fruit with either baskets or barrows will be allowed within the Barrack walls. Tt will be as well that the hawkers of these wares should early become aware that their presence will not be tolerated. An Official Agent's notice appears in our advertising columns respecting the Pride of the Kuranui G.M.Co. A list of defaulting shareholders in the Otago G.M.Co. is published in our advertising columns. The transfer books of the Cure G.M.Co. are to remain closed until noon to-day, when a dividend of 7s. 6d. per share will be payable at the company's office.