The Evening Post FRIDAY, JULY 25,' 1873.

Evening Post, Volume IX, Issue 138, 25 July 1873, Page 2

The Evening Post FRIDAY, JULY 25, ' 1873.

Auckland rejoices in. the possession, at a unit of ics population,; of a'sfcrongmincfed female "afflicted with cacmtfies scribmdi. Her name m Colclottgh, her Vocation that of a pi/Blic sciioolmfowess*. Some .years, ago she imagined that the mantle— or as as mantles have goneontof fashion since the tt&fs of Elijah, let us adopt a more modern pharseology, and say. the polonaise, of Fannjr Fern had fallen on her shectlders, and under the* alliterative signature 1 of Polly ;£ltim. she wrote and published in the Auckland papers a number of short letters or essays on men, manners, and matters in general. Most of . these were wretched twaddle,' but some of them had an , air of almost ' Yankee smartness about them which induced certain sub-editors, in the silly season, to use their scissors in cutting them out for republication^, ...'Mrs Colclough's brain' was apparently unable to stand the fame- thtip achieved. She forthwith" began' to fancy herself , a genius, and from, that moment she was of course? lost. She thought literature was her vocation, and she pestered the various papers in .the Colony by the offer of her^ Jiterary services— for s. consideration. -. We are not aware that any journal was rash enough to accept the offer, and soon afterwards Mrs Colclough, began! to stump it as a peripatetic 'lecturer, ¦ We have no doubt that she lectured admirably, bat we believe the experienced some difficulty in finding audiences. Female

lecturers are not as popular in NewZealand as they are in America — perhaps because there they seldom carry their practical assertion of women's rights so far as to wear pantalettes, which, we believe, are deemed the correct thing for female lecturers, as they certainly are for female physicians, under the Stars* and Stripes*. We never heard of Mrs Colclottgh appearing a la Bloomer, and do not believa she ever did so. This may acconnfc for her utter failure as a lectorer. At any rate she disappeared for a timer from ken as a public character, retiring probably into the affectionate bosom of her family. Latterly, however, Mrs Colclongh's name has been figuring in the Auckland papers as a school teacher, and mysteriously worded paragraphs from time to time would lead to the conclttsion that her services are much sought after in that capacity, that indeed various educational districts are fighting with each other for her possession, and that she is in perpetual danger of being carried off vi et armis by some particularly energetic committee. Now we have no doubt Mrs Colclottgh is an admirable school marm. She is evidently a woman of. fair education and of the world, She has plenty of self-confidence, and would probably be quite in her element in keeping the juvenile nose to the educational grindstone. She is probably quite as much at home in wielding the birch, as she is the pen, and although the juveniles tinder her control might not agree with us, we think it wonkl be well if she confined her energies entirely , to the use of the former weapon. The birch in the hands of any ordinary female, or even in the hands of an extraordinary one, is not calculated to be productive of much permanent injury to, the Commonwealth, in fact, if in these sceptical days reliance is to be placed in the musty wisdom of Solomon, Mrs Colcbngh's free use of the birch might be as efficacious a» Mr Steward's Juvenile Offenders Bill in preventing the growth of larrikinisro. The pen, however, is a more dangerous weapon. It requires more discretion- to order its use, and the injuries it inflicts are more serious, wide-spread and lasting .than those of the birch. VnforitttmtelyMrsCplcloughbasforgotten this, ami probably thinking that the Colonial Press had failed to properly appreciate her, she has sought, and by some extraordinary flake gained,, admission for her productions to the columns of the London Times. Her letter to that journal, we were some time ago told by telegraph, had excited considerable attention at home. We publish it in another column, and no one who reads it can wonder at its exciting attention. We should be sorry to accuse Mrs Colelougb, or any other woman, of wilful misrepresentation. She probably believes what she has written. We have heard of people who believed implicitly in the great sea serpent, and we know that there are people who believe that the "Claimant" is Sir Roger Tichborne. Human credulity has, in fact, no limits, and when we see people 'tinder the influence of delusion and self-de-ception, we can only^pity their mental ['obttjfeneW But tbe evil becomes i serious when they attempt to make converts amongst those who are not . 1 itt a position to detect the real state of , the case, especially when a modicum ! of truth is ingeniously mixed up with a large amount of falsehood, jttst to give the production a . flavour. Mrs Cofelongb/s letter to the Times is"cal- , ciliated' tor do this Colony a great deal of harm : that it has done so is evident by the fact of its Jiaviog excited a good deal of attention at home. No statements by Immigration Agents will ever remove the unfavorable impression produced by reading such a letter, ; Immigration Agents and persons, who advise immigration,, are generally regarded with a certain amoan&'of suspicion' by the class from whom, the most suitable immigrants are';ctrawn. A Victorian, gentleman, who recently went home, writes to a Melbourne paper as follows on this subje'dt — — " I also wrote to our parish minister to the same effect, promising that I would gladly forward a dozen warrants or more, free- of all cost whatever; moreover, that I would lend a hand on arrival as far as I was able., I am thoroughly known in the district, as were my relations for generations, r I also went home to the said' district a few years ago, and never lost an opportunity of speaking Well of Victoria, I conversed with the peasantry often. I learned their condition^ * * * Here yoa would suppose was a fine field for an immigration agtmt. I have told yott what X v offered, add I have often tried to instil a little life into the dry bones, but I regret to say my efforts were a most unmitigated failure. They had no result, except this — a poor half-pauper asked our old parson how much I myself was to xc* ceive as a bonus for every one I sent otit." We want immigrants, but it will be. seen that it is not quite easy at ail times to get them. The publication of such letters as Mrs Colclough's increases the difficulty tenfold. We admit a very small amount of truth in her statement about semi' genteel girls, but beyond this, and. especially in regard to the remarks about female ' servants, we would rather not characterise her statements by the use of: the only monosyllable , which could be 'applied to them. The

portion about the " uttr-r vrotch^lness" of having one's summer nights rendered hideous by that insect pesc, the mosquito, is really amusing, but we wonder if Mrs Calclough, when writing with the avowed object of saving poor girls from " bitter disappointment," ever thought that, by persuading them not to emigrate, she might really be doing them a " cruel injustice," as well as inflicting a serious injury on the Colony. Perhaps this aspect of the subject did not suggest itself to her.

The proposals made made by Mr Waterhouse the other day aa to the direction in which his own views went,on the besttneans of securing an efficient and satisfactory reconstruction of the Legislative Council, have an appearance of liberality about them, which is really very deceptive. Mr Waterhouse would make the Council elective, and that by electors possessing only the ordinary franchise. So far good, but Mf Waterhouse would also make the term for which the Councillors are elected three times as long as the tenure of their seats by the members of the Lower House. We have no' hesitation in declaring that any such provision would, render the Legislative Council infinitely more dangerous than it is now. At present it is a j negative evil. Under the conditions suggested by Mr Waterhouse it would become a positive one. At present the Upper House exercises little or no real influence. It is in no settse a representative chamber. It cannot claim, in fact it would scorn the idea, of representing public opinion, even if there were, which unhappily there is not in the colony, such a thing as public opinion. The members are proud of their nominated character, and have had the wisdom not to come into actual collision with the elective branch of the Legislature. If they did so on any important point, the Government, if backed by a strong majority in the Honse, could always bring them to reason by the same threat which, induced the House of Lords to pass the Reform Bill — that of swamping by the creation of new members. But if the Upper Chamber were made elective all this would be changed, and if the members were elected for a term of three Parliaments, the Upper Chamber would be the real governing power of the country, beyond all control and practically irresponsible. Its electoral character would enable its members to claim for it a representative character equally with the other Chamber. Its members could claim equally with those of the other House to represent the feeling of the electors, and in the event of a dead lock between the two houses there would be no means of solving the difficulty. At present, as we have pointed out, there is the possible remedy of nominating new members. Under the proposed system this Wrftjldbe lost, and the only equivalent— that | of sending both Houses back to the connI try, so that the electors might decide be* I tween them would, under Mr Waterhouse's f proposals, not practically exist. The only way it could be brought about would be by having three dissolutions of the Lower House and as many general elections. Members of an elective Upper Chamber who had only to go- to their constituents once for every three times the members of the Lower House had to pass the ordeal of the , ballot-box, would be really independent of all control, and such a Chamber might safely set the popular branch of the Legislature at defiance. The only safeguard against a dead-lock in the event of the Council bting made elective is by pre. serving the right of appeal to the people, and we would rather see the Council remain as it is than see it reconstructed in the way Mr WatefhpuW proposes. ;

The following tenders were received for the construction of the timber wharf and reclamation^ of land at Port' Chalmers :—: — O'Connor and M'Kay (Christchurch), £22,500, declined j A; J. Smyth (Dunedin), £21,438, declined j X, Banchop (Dunedin), £67,648, declined; Mills, Gnthrie and Sutherland (Dunedin), £29,792, declined; D, Proud foot (Dunedin), £16,408, accepted; J. R. Campbell and Co., (Dunedin), £19,801, declined.

In a Gazette issued yesterday, it is announced that James Townsend Edwards, Esq, J.P., has been appointed Resident Magistrate and Sheriff for the district of Wangarttti, • vice W. L. Buller, E3q; reSigned, Yesterday's Gazette contains a notification that Mr A. 0, Henderson, of Invercargill, has been appointed clerk of the District Court of Western Otago, in place of Mr E, W» Butts, who has resigned. We understand M r Butts has been promoted to the office of Chief Postmaster for this city. There are many men who would think little of scaling the imminent deadly breach for the sake of their country — there are others whose patriotism would carry them as far aa did Artemus Ward's, when he profe9sed hia readiness to shed every drop of his brother's blood for the same object— but there are very few whose devotion to their country's service would induce them to undergo- a kicking. The herdiam which voluntarily submits to such a process for the public good deserves at least to be recorded ; and those who are given to sneering at the Civil Service may be astonished to learn that there is at least one member of that body who has no. objection t« earning a, kicking in pursuit of what he deems his public duty, Kot'very long ago he, entirely On public grounds, suffered himself to be kicked down stairs by an irate tradesman, who preferred 'self 'interest to the good of the State. On that occasion the kicking waaigloriously avenged by the interposition of the majesty of the law ; ¦ and' now we believe th&t the same machinsry is to be moved to pUnish another offence' of the same kind. The difference is, however, that

on this occasion the offender is also a civil Servant. The only particulars we have learnt of the case are that the valuable public officer, whose misfortune it ia not to be properly appreciated by his fellows and the pnblic, was yesterday seen in one of the public offices in the undignified position of being shaken by a gentleman, who afterwards expedited the exit of the officer referred to by a strong motive power forcibly applied behind. Singular to say, the suf- i ferer meets with little sympathy, the general verdict of those acquainted with the facts being, like that of an American jury, served him right. At the Resident Magistrate's Court today, Mr Crawford's duties consisted chiefly in weighing the evidence in a cross action for assault between Charles Knigge and Selina Movie. There was the usual amount of hard swearing and contradictory testimony, compelling the unavoidable influence that it was a clear case of arcades ambo. Such plainly was the view taken by the Resident Magistrate, who however inflicted the small penalty of 5s on the female defendant, as the more violent of the two. A number of fine wires have been stretched across the House of Representatives, with a view of improving the acoustic 'properties of .the Chambers. The wires are, however, like the curtains, of very little practical use. We are requested to remind the members of the Athencenm Committee that the committee meeting is fixed for this evening, at 8 o'clock, when a full attendance is very desirable. The Provincial Government of Canterbury has apparently got tired of waiting on the General Government in the matter of immigration, and has commenced to act on the authority recently given it by the Provincial Council, to resume immigration on its own account. It has very judiciously commenced by encouraging the system of nomination. Under the General Government regulations, persons in the colony nominating immigrants have to pay a deposit varying, we think, from £4 a head upwards. The provincial authorities of Canterbury now announce that cash payments made to the General Government between I2th July and the next outgoing English mail by settlers in this province on account of passages of persons nominated by them as immigrants to settle in Canterbury, will be refunded by the Provincial Government on the production and transfer to them of the receipt of the Immigration Officer or Post Office. Can there be a stronger proof of the inefficiency of the General Government system than this. It is worse than the proverbially unprofitable and doubtfully honest transaction of robbing Peter to pay Paul. A., settled in Canterbury, wants to get ont his brother B. from England. A. goes to the Immigration Officer in Christchurch, and pays £4, receiving in return a printed receipt, armed with which, A. .goes and "interviews" the Provincial Secretary, who forthwith returns the £4, and B, ig brought out by the General Government. The thing is absurd, but at the same time painful, and if carried on to any extent must involve a waste of public money in stationery, and the time of officials. As the Phoebe does not leave for the South until Sunday, the Directors of the N.Z.S.S. Company have issued a number of invitations for a trip round the harbour to-morrow afternoon, when the Phcebe will leave the wharf at one o'clock. We have received the first number of the new Dunedin paper, the Guardian. It may be true, as stated in the opening article, j that the Guardian has the largest proprietary of any journal in the. colony, but a considerable improvement will have to be made On the first number before the Guardian can be considered a dangerous rhal to the Daily Times. Auckland papers state that the Mayor of that city has received a communication from Sir James Fergusson, in which his Excellency expresses regret that he has not up to the present been able to pay Auckland a visit. So soon as possible after the session of the General Assembly shall have terminated, Sir James Fergusson promises to visiO Auckland. There is one thing in which Wellington is, so far as we have had an opportunity of judging, coasiderably ahead of all the other "towns of the colony. We mean in the facilities afforded for obtaining a cheap and excellent luncheon. The fame of Donecker's is well known, and we have often heard visitors wish that such institutions Were to be found elsewhere. Now, however, a powerful rival to the old establishment has arisen in the Central Hotel luncheon rooms, where everything is quite the correct thing, and where the hungry can fare sumptuously every day for the small charge of one shilling. From its central situation, Mr Hausemann's new room is really a great convenience to business men. The Theatre Royal did not open last night. It will remain closed until further notice. The Carandinis had a fair house last | night, and the concert was of the usual cxi ceilence.' Mr Cotterell's illustration of the various'styles of dancing, flirting, and proposing, is particularly diverting, and will bear more than one repetition. We recommend the lesson to the swains of Wellington. To-nighfc is offered perhaps the best miscellaneous sacred programme ever | yet given in Wellington, including as many gems from the great masterpieces of oratorio as the limits of the concert could possibly be made to contain. It will be a treat of the highest order, and we hope to see a crowded audience. Amattitsmed Neil M'Neil, died in the Gaol last night. He had been committed for a month as a vagrant, proving aD incorrigible atrd irreclaimable drunkard,

and teing vm au?h rejected from the I Hospital, to which place he was at first sent. lie laterly became very feeble, atd yesterday morning complained of illness ; he was therefore directed ti remain in bed, and all possible medical attention ami care was bestowed, but at ni^ht ha became worse, and this morning was found dead in hi? bed. The cause of death was disease of the kidneys. An inquest was held this afternoon before Dr Johnston, Coroner, and a verdict returned of " death from natural causes." One of the Auckland papers recently devoted a somewhat strong article to a criticism on the political honesty displayed in the management of pnblic affairs in j Westland, and made some unfavorable comments on the character of the men by whom the affairs of that county have been administered. At this one of the Greymouth papers has waxed wroth, and thus apostrophises the writer :—": — " Let him look through the list of Auckland SuperintenI dents, and say then if there is nothing of the past which he would wish to conceal ; let him recall the frequency of fires, and their cause, a few years ago ; let him even rake up the records of the Courts, and he will find both Justices' decisions and juror's verdicts which excite a stronger feeling than that of surprise : lastly, let him con* sider the history of the Thames Gold Fields, and then tell us what Auckland public morality is, as compared with that of Westland. At the last criminal sessions in Auckland, a sailor named Epp Wright was convicted of a most cruel, deliberate, and premeditated murder, and was sentenced to death. It seems that some of the clerical body in A uckland fancy they have made a convert of the condemned criminal, and nob content with having snatched his soul as a brand from the burning, are now using every means to save his neck from the noose. A petition, with seven hundred signatures, has been sen 1 ; to the Go•vernor, praying for a commutation of the sentence, and in relation to it the Auckland Star makes the following remarks :—: — We think a great deal of false sympathy is being worked up in favour of the murderer Eppwright. We believe it is the work of the parsons, who have got it into tlieir heads that they have effected a great change in the mind of the man. If they have done so, then it will do him no harm to leave this world as soon as possible, and judging from, his past history it will do this world no harm however soon he goes. Down at Honolulu this man and his mates made a perfect hell on earth, and had produced a kind of reign of terror among the inhabitants, who felt the uttmst delight at the departure of the vessel. If the man is really changed in heart and character, that makes no reparation for the crime he has committed, and ifcg acceptance as reparation by earthly courts of law would have a most deleterious effect.