The Evening Post TUESDAY, MAY 6, 1873.

Evening Post, Volume IX, Issue 71, 6 May 1873, Page 2

The Evening Post TUESDAY, MAY 6, 1873.

Last night, without a division, the Provincial Council Affirmed' ehe main principle emboditd in the Loan Bill, namely; the advigabitity o£ borrowing ? for the purpose of eonitracting pttblio works, ' A great deal was said about the blemishes in the •cbednle, bttt only two or three members rentured to question the wisdom of borrowing * further sum of money in' order to I pvtoeente that policy which has .hitherto been attended with §ach Beneficial results to toe' Province, The views held on this sidt were 1 best expressed by Mr Hnteheson, who r spoke with an earnest sincerity n whicfi commanded hot whose arguments were totally inapplicable to the occasion. When he urgent the moral injury which was being done to the youth of the Colony by the. ificeasant borrowing of; the General and Prdrincial Governments, h# was uttering a thought which must have occurred to every, reflecting mind; but he failed to discern that while such an argument might have carried weight when the policy now in force woV propounded two years ago, it was qoite of place to use it when undertakings had been entered upon, which rendered farther loans necessary for their completion, in order that the money already gpent might be recouped. The Province is in the position of a man who has half built a large house, and must, needs finish, it so as to get a suitable return for his money. Wise or unwise, the work is begun, and must be completed. Happily past experience awakens the brightest hopes of ultimate success, and affords sound reasons for believing that we have but to triad boldly the path we have chosen to attain a brilliant prosperity* . Then too, the contention about the price of labour being unduly raised *by the concurrent execution of » number of large public works cuts both ways, as the matter

is presented from tbe side of the worktoaft or of the employer ; while it is also pfain that any inconvenience thus occasioned would be but temporary, since the best advertisement the Province could Imve as an emigration field for the labouring nmn would be the high wages paid here. The real tug of war will come over tbe schedule ; and we are glad to find the Government taking a firm stand, and explicitly telling tiie Council that it will not permit alterations of the .schedule. That embodies the scheme of the Government, who, if it be carried, must be responsible for it, Mr Bunny used a forcible illustration when he . pointed to th« mischief which had ensned from the Fox Government abandoning its schedule of railways, and leaving the lines to be scrambled for amongst the members from the various districts of the Colony. In these cases, each member naturally has his own pet project; but, of course, if individual wishes of this kind were consulted, it would be impossible to carry itny farge scheme at all, and the only course which a member can fairly adopt is to acceptor reject the Government scheme in' tola. It is the more important that the Government should be firm on the present occasion, becau.se, whenthe bill comes beforethe Assembly its schedule is sure to be rigidly scrutinised, and did it exhibit merely a collection of miscellaneous public works, not forming , n general plan, the safety of the Bill would be jeopardised, -There is one modification, however, which the Governi meat have agreed to consider, namely, the advisability of raising an additional £40,000 for immigration purposes; but we hope that, merely foi the sake of conciliating members, they will not hastily concur in such a proposal. That tbe present immigration- arrangements are bad is undeniable; but to establish a provincial agency would be a most expensive way of remedying the evil, and we fear would not tend to excite the General Government to increased activity, for it is only that which' they want, since there is no lack of money at their service, »or would the introduction of an item of £40,000 for immigration facilitate the passage of tHeVßii! through the Assembly,

The following letter on the subject oS immigration was laid before the Provincial Council yesterday ;— " Immigration Office, Wellington, 3rd May, 1873, Sir,— ln reply to your letter of 'this date, I hare the honour to inform you that the Agent' General was instructed under date the 27th November to forward 1,000 immigrants to Wellington daring the current year, and upon the : l4th Fetirnary he was instructed to increase this number t© 1,250, exclusive of nominated immigrants and those sent hy Messrs Brogden. The Agent-General has been further directed by memorandum and, cablegram to grant absolutely free * passaged, and in order to obtain the numbers ordered, to remit at his discretion all monetary restrictions, main* taining conditions of selection as to character, good health, and suitability for employment,— l have, &c, (signed) 0, E, HAtrcfHTojr, H. Bunny, £«q, ' Provincial Secretary." The last paragraph refers to the cost of removing the emigrants from their place of abode to the ship, which, although not very heavy in itself, has often proved to be beyond the means of persons otherwise willing to avail themielves-of the Agent-General's offers; Under the present arrangements, the ! Agent-General, if necessary, provides for I this expense, taking from the emigrants | promissory notes for the amount payable in the colony/ The schedule of the Loan Bill is to be considered in Committee of the Council tO'inotrow^ At yesterday's meeting of the Public : Hall Company, at the office of Messrs Bethune and Hunter, Mr C J. Pharazyn I being in the chair, the annual report was read by the Secretary, Mr E, T. Gillon, It appeared that the actual cost of the hall wasg4,s3s 8s '8& t ' exclusive of other expenses, Mi* Lockie's original' contract being £2,430, to 1 which several other contracts ; bad to be added. As no eligible offers for I » long lease of the Hall had been received ! (the maximum ; yearly rent offered being I only £450), it was let to Mr Burrett at £60 I monthly, terminable by fortnightly notice ;on either side. The Lambton Quay frontage (08 feet) is leased to Mr Donecker for 21 years at £1 per foot for the first seven- ; years, and £1 10 a and £2 respectively for the second and third terms of seven years, ! coupled with the condition that the lessee | erects a cafe, approved by the Directors, costing not less than £800, The insurance on the Hall is £1,500, which will expire on the 30th proximo, and will not be renewed excepting on condition the building be roofed with iron within six months, which would cost about £150, The balance-sheet was duly discussed, and was ultimately adopted together with the report, Dr Johnston, and Messrs Hunter and Levin, the retiring directors, together with Messrs Dyer and Raioie, the auditors, were reelected, the honorarium in the latter case being raised from one guinea to two. The first annual dinner of the Builders and Contractors Association came off last evening at Donecker's Union Hotel, The dinner was put on in the excellent style for .which Mr Dmecker is justly noted. The chair was occupied by Mr Lockie, President of the Association, the Secretary, Mr S, Brown, acting as vice. His Worship the Mayor and Councillor' Mills were among the invited guests. After the usual loyal toasts from the Chairman, the healths of bis Honor 'the Superintendent and the Provincial Executive (the latter specially '<

coupled with the name o£ the Provincial Secretary, Mr Bunny) were proposed with gpeecbes very complimentary to the ability and energy f,hown by those gentlemen, by Messrs. Carter and Milk respectively, and were drank with enthusiasm. The Vice-Chairman then proposed the health of the Mayor, whom he asserted to be entitled to as much credit as the Superintendent and Executive for the iecsnt gratifying progress of Wellington : the toaafc was received with immense cheering. The Mayor said he was vain enough to accept their cordial reception of the toast as a token that they approved the manner in which public affairs bad been managed duriug his term of office. He was aware many tmkind things had been said of him, but he eottld assure them he had ever been ac&nated by a constant desire to do the best in his povf er for the welfare of the citizens, and he believed he reaily did enjoy the goodwill of the large majority uf his fellow citizens. He should j always do his beat for theii interests and i if be failed it would not be for wano of desire to succeed. He had njw to propose the toast of the evening " Success to the Association," he regarded their large gathering that evening as a good sign for Wellington, showing as it did how powerful and influential a body had the charge of the interests of that trade to which, he considered, the Association bore the same relation, as did the Chamber of Commerce to the merchants. He hoped they would go on prospering, and at their next annual meeting feel justified in inviting the Superintendent and Executive. His Worship ended with a warm compliment to their " able and intelligent chairman," Mr Loukie, the President; of the Association, who accordingly expressed his acknowledgement and those of the Association, Mr Halley and Mr Worth respectively proposed " The Guests" and "The Early Colonists," to which Messrs G'ruickshanks and Mills responded, Messrs M'Kirdy and Greenfield proposed the "Mercantile Interest" and "the Ladies," acknowledged by Messrs T. W. Young and Stuart. Mr Barry proposed " the Press," coupling with it the name of Mr Rons Marten, who accordingly returned thanks. The procedings were pleasantly varied by a recitation from Bums and several songs, and. the company separated shortly before midnight. At the Resident Magistrate's Court this day, before J, C. Crawford, Esq., K.M., Elizabeth Hutchins'^nd Owen Williams, for being drunk and incapable, were fined 5s or 24 hours in default. There were a few trifling debt cases of no interests Mr Roberts, one of the Wanganui lawyers, has been having rather a bad time of it during Judge Gresson's judicial visit to that locality. The lawyer's character has been rather roughly bandied, but that perhaps would, not .have mattered much, and* so th'e'unfilnttest ctffc of afl was reserved for the last. In the case of Drury v. Roberts for slander, the jury, yesterday evening, after four hours' absence, returned a verdict for plaintiff on all the issues, damages £500 and costs. The entertainment given last evening in the Odd Fellows' Hall by the Catholic Young Men's Society was a marked and gratifying success, the hall being crammed ,in every part. The first portion of the programme consisted of Christy songs with choruses, which on the whole went well. The second part chiefly consisted of dancing, and included a " Silver Belt Jig," " Swiss Warblers," gong and dance called "The Girl with the High - heeled Boots," and another piece, all of which were cleverly executed and -well received, the three first named being encored. The finale was a negro extravaganza called "Be ßarber ob Sebille," which went off with spirit, and excited considerable merriment. The band, in the ttsttal *• nigger" style, was efficient, and tbe whole affair seemed to give universal satisfaction, which must have been largely shared "by the Treasurer from the agreeable magnitude of the pecuniary re* ceipts. At the Theatre Royal last night, the revival of " Camille" drew a fair house. Miss Colville, Mr J, B, Steele, and Mr Hoskins, in the principal characters, acted with their usnal well-known ability and success. To-night an attractive novelty is promised in the melo-drama " Belphegor," which will introduce in the title role a new comer, Mr H, Is. Douglas, of whom report Speaks in high terms, IP^fVe have to remind our readers that this evening Charles' Diorama of the Franco* Prussian war, and of the Suez Canal and the Nile, will be exhibited for the first time at the Odd Fellows' Hall, This Diorama comes with a very high character from elsewhere, and no doubt will attract a large number to the Odd Fellows' Hall to-night, _______^_