Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1876.

Evening Post, Volume XIII, Issue 9, 12 January 1876, Page 2

Evening Post. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1876.

Amongst the recent utterances of public men belonging to the Opposition, that of Mr. Donald Reid, now elected for the Taieri, deserves special attention. Mr. Reid gave expression to what is now a general sentiment all over the colony, in declaring that the Constitution should not bo tampered with, on the eve of a general election, without the people themselves having an opportunity of expressiug their opinions as to tho form of government under which they chose to. live. No matter, he contended, how wise a measure abolition might be, and how much it might be regarded as an j advantage te the country, it would be establishing a most dangerous precedent to allow the Parliament to decide, on tho eve of an appeal to the constituencies, which wag the best form of government for the future. In illustration of thii view, he pointed out. that Ministers had taken up the position that they knew bettor than the people themselves what was good for the people, and thus endeavored to establish a practical despotism in a country* possessing free institutions and representative government. Mr. Reid made a strong point when : describing how this ac tion had been resented ' by the electors. He showed that of the 16 ! members who had divided themselves into j watches, and opposed the Abolition Bill J "night and day, every one of them who had I hitherto come forward as candidates during the present General Election had been returned to the new Parliament. In referring to this, the Otago Daily Times draws particular attention to the fact " that three prominent members of the small but determined band have been so very strong in their districts that no one has thought it worth while opposing them. Messrs. J. C. Brown, W. A. Murray, and D. Reid have had a walk over. We might add Mr. A. J. Burns to the number, since to all intents and purposes he had no opposition. It is further noticeable that while Messrs. Macandrew, Stout, and Larnach won their seats by large majorities ; and even Mr. Seaton — notably inferior as he was to his opponent as a man — yet gained a complete victory through the mere force of his political principles ; several of the Beats won by the supporters of the present G*v#rnm«t h*v« tfee'a bat just gained by

& hair's breath, so to speak. Of these ! Mr. Wakefield was elected for Geral- , dine only by the casting vote of the j Returning Officer ; Mr. Murray- Aynesley, by thirty-two votes ; while in Otago the Centralists have only as yet scored one walk-over in Mr. M'Lean's Waikouiti election. The Invercargill election, again, showed the way that public opinion ha 3 gone since the coup d'etat attempted by the Ministry during last session." The lesson which the general elections specially teaches is, that a j majority of the electors throughout the j Colony, of all shades of political opinion, | think that the Ministry acted wrongly in trying to force the Bill through the Assembly before allowing the question to be remitted to the decision of the people. With Mr. Reid's strong Provincial views, we do not sympathise. He speaks as if there was some hope of defeating the Abolition Bill during the ensuing session, when nearly every leading pnblic man has abandoned that idea altogether. He, however, admits that' if there is a majority in favor of abolition, he would offer no factious opposition, but use his best efforts in assisting to frame the new form of Government which is to supersede the Provincial system. It is not altogether clear what the Otago members of the Opposition want. At one time they insist strongly upon SeparatioD, a Federal Government, and the maintenance of the Provincial system, with two Provinces in the Middle Island, but of late there has been less heard of this cry. Apparently, both in Otago and Auckland, the difficulty, if not even the imposibility,.of obtaining separation is becoming fully recognised, and people are now thinking more about obtaining what is practically within their reach. The Otago Times indicates to some extent this phase of public f eelingin stating that all the Otago members, with one exception, make it a sine qua non that that district should have full control over its own revenue, not after the Ministerial plan, by a system of pound for pound endowment, but by a sort of first right, and without previously giving it up, in order that it may be distributed from Wellington. This is somewhat the same proposal as that put forward by Mr. Fitzherbert in his address to the Hutb electors, and it is certain that next session a powei*ful party will be formed to insist upon the necessary concession being made by the Government in the direction indicated.

If the members of the City Council had hitherto evinced any degree of business ability in the management of other affairs within their charge, the pnblic might feel inclined to approve the proposal to take over the management of the Queen's Wharf, sheds, and tolls. Hitherto, under the leasing system, a large revenue has been derived from the wharf, which could absolutely be depended upon. For the last financial year, ending on the 30th September, 1875, the amount of revenue in the shape of wharf rent was £6575 8s 4d, against which there was an expenditure, including interest on debentures and sinking fund, wharf superintendence, Pier Master's salary, steam hoist and crane, amounting to £4118 17s lOd, thus leaving a net profib of £2456 10a 6d. It may be alleged that under efficient business management, the wharf, in the hands of j the Council, might produce even a larger profit than this ; while by a carefully framed code of regulations, the convenience of the mercantile public would be provided for to a greater extent than has hitherto j been the case, but the danger is that the element of management would be defective I and found wanting. In their individual , capacities, and in the management of their own affairs, many of the members of the Council display both prudence, energy," and ability, but as a public body they fall short most lamentably — meddling and muddling with public business in a manner which would be ludicrous were it not so provoking. Hence we regard this proposal to take the management of the Wharf into their own hands with considerable misgiyivings. If the. wharf is taken over at all, it will be well that the recommendation of the Wharf Committee should be adopted, and the management of the bonded storea, sheds, and supply of water to shipping, placed under the same control. If the experiment is tried for a year, it will afford the Council an opportunity of showing that it* possesses some degree of business aptitude. Hitherto its reputation in that respect has been at a very low ebb, but it might in some measure be raised if in this matter of wharf management the Council could contrive to provide for the convenience of the public by framing judicious wharf regulations, and at the same time institute such a system of management as would secure a fair revenue. At the meeting of the City Council this afternoon, the Wharf Committee's report will be brought up for consideration, when, should it be adopted, the necessary code of wharf regulations will be framed. It i3to be hoped that, as in this instance the Chamberof Commerce | has been consulted, the regulations adopted will be of such a nature as to give satisfaction to the commercial portion of the community, aud remove the grounds of plaint which have so long existed.

Although the Colima is advertised to leave this port for San Francisco with the outward English mails and passengers on Friday next, it may be as well to point out that the announcement is based simply on the supposition that as she is the only available boat she will perform the service. The matter remains in precisely the same indefinite shape as when last we wrote on the subject. The Colima should have arrived from Sydney at Port Chalmers last night, and if so, would leave this afternoon, but as there is no certainty of her coming, the postal authorities have subsidised the s.s. Hawea to take the outward mails to the Manukau on the chance that some steamer from Sydney to San Francisco may call at Auckland on her way thither. The following tenders were received at the Public Works Office, Wellington, for the Rangitikei contract of the WanganuiManawatu Railway : — Accepted — James Lockie and, Co., Wellington, £14,955. Declined — M'Neill and Dunn, Palmeraton North, £14,630, informal; R. Daniel and D. T. Low, Wanganui, £16,339; Walton Pell, Wanganui, £17,646. A soiree will be held at the Odd Fellows' Hall this evening By the Karori Cricket Club, with the object of raising funds sufficient to defray the cost of that club's intended visit to Wangauui to play a local team. We feel certain that this spirited undertaking, on the part of a small village club, will meet with the cordial sympathy and support of all Wellington cricketers, and that they will testify, by their presence at the soiree "to-night, their admiration of the pluck shown by their Karori brethren of the willow. Mr. Cemino's band has been engaged, "and as the price of admission is very small — only 2s 6d, — : there is likely to be a large attendance. There can be no doubt now that the : late mate of the Elizabeth Curie, who disappeared in a mysterious manuer last week, has been drowned, but no traces ol the body have yet been discovered. A match will be played on tho Basin Reserve, on Saturday next, between the S£ar and the Victoria Cricket Clubs. A tea meeting was held last evening at ¦ the Wesleyan Sunday School, Adelaide < Road. The usual lavish supply of good ' things, in. the way of both eatables and : drinkables, was furnished by the ladies of ; the congregation. The Rev. W. Morley \ occupied the chair, and addressed the : meeting, as did also several other ministers and friends. Several hymns were nicely '. song by tho children, fed by Mr. Took*, i

A very satisfactory report wa3 read by the ', secretary, Mr. H. Blow. It gave the following statistics : — Total number of schools on the roll, 120; average attendance for the year — morning 82, afternoon 66 ,• number joined during the year, 67 ; number left (including one death), 28 ; number of teachers (three joined and one left during year), 12 ; income for year, £13 18s. 9d. ; cash balance in hand, £1, a similar amount standing to the credit of the library account, which latter is supported wholly by voluntary contributions, and numbers 247 volumes. We find that the actual number of votes polled for Mr. Johnston by Wellington and Hutt residents, at Paikakariki, was thirtythree and not thirty as stated yesterday. As Dr. Buller only polled four Wellington votes at the same place, the actual result is that, of votes recorded in the the Manawatu district alone, the numbers were — Dr. Buller, 160; Mr. Johnston, 158; thus giving the former a majority of two in the district. We are in a position to state that the Wellington and Masterton' railway will be opened to the public so far aa the Upper Hutt on the Ist February, unless another unprecedented flood or some other unexpected accident should occur. The ship Avalanche was towed round last evening by the b.s. Rangatira to the Patent Slip at Evans' Bay. The vessel was placed on the ways this morning, and the operation of hauling up commenced at eleven o'clock. There were one or two stoppages, but ultimately the operation was completed, and the veasel made fast at half -past 2 o'clock. As the Avalanche is a vessel of 1160 tons, she is the largest that has ever yet been placed on the patent slip here, the St. Leonards, the next in size, being ¦ 1053 tons. The Avalanche will come off the slip on Saturday. She will while there, take in 200 tons of ballast. About thirty or forty persons were present on tho occasion to-day, having driven out in trap 3. The hauling up was done under the supervision of Mr. Thirkell, who deserves praise for the skilful manner in which he accomplished the work. : We are requested to call attention to { ! the fact that all entries for the coming Inter/provincial Regatta must be sent in to the committee to-day, addressed to the Secretary at the Pier Hotel. In order to I allow the utmost possible latitude to outj side competitors, entries received by telei gram, or by letter bearing this day's post- | mark will be accepted, and some further extension will be granted in the case of several yachts known to be actually on their way hither. The Theatre Royal was very fairly attended last night, when "The Struggle for Freedom" .was performed for the second time. The characters were, as on the previous evening, well sustained, and the audience showed their pleasure by frequent applause. The settling-up of the Athletic Club in connection with the recent sports will take place at the Pier Hotel to-night. We regret to learn that they have not proved financially profitable to the club. This doubtless was owing to their coming so soon after the New Year's Day Caledonian Meeting. The members of the club intend, if possible, having an aquatic-athletic meet* ing at the Thorndon Baths shortly, when prizes will be sriven for swimming, diving, &c. Serious complaints have reached us of the very indecorous behaviour of some of the bathers who frequent the Thorndon baths. It is unnecessary to enter into particulars ; and we hope that this hint may prove sufficient warning to the offenders against a repetition of their misconduct, which has been a source of much annoyance to some of the residents in the neighborhood and to passers-by. The cases referred to occurred betwee^ three and four o'clock in the af ternnon; ¦** No change ha 3 taken place in the condition of Paul, Reidal, or Young. For some weeks past there has been a notable scarcity of fish in this harbor, owing to some unexplained cause. This scarcity, however, suddenly has ceased to | exist, the bay this morning being absolutely alive with finny swarms of every description, and the. fishermen made some tremendous hauls, subsequently selling the fish at unprecedentedly low rates, to the joy of many a thrifty housekeeper. We learn from Constable Stewart, who arrived from the Hutt this morning, that, although a most active search had been prosecuted up to the time of his leaving, the body of Hector Grimshaw, who was j drowned in the river on Sunday, had not { been found. | The opening session of the Wesleyan Conference has been postponed to Friday, in consequence of the non-arrival of the Hawea from the South, as the President and other ministers were expected by her. We are requested to draw attention to Mr. James Smith's extensive clearing sale of first-class furniture, pianofortes, sewing machines, &c, at his mart, Lambton Quay, to-morrow, at two o'clock sharp. Mr. Hall, the City Missionary, thankfully acknowledges the receipt of the following contributions in aid for December : — A Friend, 5s ; Captain V., £1 ; J. W., 10s; John ML., £1 2s; Mrs. W., 10s; J. M. f ss ; 8., 2s 6d ; Mr. P., 5s ; G. M., 10s ; Mrs. H., ss ; S. S. & Co., £1 Is ;J. F., 53 ; Merchant, ss ; W. J. H., £1 ; W. G. J., ss; J. G., 10s; W. C, £1 ; total, £9 10.s 6d. Also a packet of tracts from Mrs. Fox, from England, and bundles of tracts from Mr. C. and Mr. H. for distribution. • The Kaiwarrawarra Rifle Volunteers will fire for choice of district representatives for the colonial prizes to-morrow at 2 o'clock p.m. A man named John Berry was admitted to the Hospital at 10 o'clock last night, suffering from a severe cut on the left arm. It appears that Berry was felling timber near the Pakuratahi, when he slipped into a gully about fifty feet deep, and the axe with which he had previously been working fell after him and lit upon his arm, inflicting the injury mentioned. He had to walk three miles before he could obtain assistance, and when he reached the Upper Hutt, Dr. Wilford dressed his wound and sent him on to the Hospital. We mentioned last evening that a large number of whale porpoises had been stranded in Lyell's Bay and taken possession of by MrLiardet, our enterprising local furrier, who marked them as hiß property in the manner usual among* whalers. This morning several persons whose names we did not learn, forcibly took the fish and blubber from Mr. Liardet and his men, and appropriated the property, which is valued at fully £150. Mr. Liardet. at once put the matter into the hands of Mr. Travers, and legal proceedings will be taken forthwith, unless the property be surrendered. The list of intending competitors at the regatta on the 22nd, although not yet complete, nevertheless is already tolerably extensive. The yachts likely to compete in their own class are the Xarifa, Red Jacket, and Flirt (Wellington), Minnehaha (Nelson), Fleetwing, aud Annie Ogle (Canterbury), Spray (Otago), and one from Picton not yet named. Of these the Fleetwing, Annie Ogle, and Spray are now on their way from Lyttelton. The other events are likely to be well contested. The Star Club's crew for the champion four-oared outrigger i 3 now placed as follows : — Lennox (stroke)," Walden (2), Webb (3), Jo eph Ames (bow). The crew of the four-oared outrigger race, and that of the whaleboat race, is not yet fixed. Lennox (stroke) and Walden will pull fh« pair-oared outrigger and Johnston and

Webb the inrigged boat. Lennox and Turnbull will represent the club in the sculler's race. The Wellington Club's crew for the champion four-oared race is not definitely settled, owing to the illness of an important member, but will include Woods, Moore, and Walker. The trial of the unfortunate woman ; Wall, who killed her two children at Auckland with au axe, is fully reported by the Auckland papers to hand. The defence set up was that she was insane at the time of committing the deed, the insanity arising from excessive drinking. Dr. Philson said he had examined the prisoner at Auckland and. hardly considered her accountable for her actions. The witness regarded the whole case as the result of drink. Prisoner appeared to be recovering from the effects of drink, and when these had passed she resumed her usual sanity. He considered that her mind was diseased from the effects of previous drinking, at the time she committed the act.— C. F. Goldsbro', M.D., from the evidence adduced, considered that it was a case of homicidal mania, caused by the dis- [ eased condition of the brain. He examined I prisoner that morning*, in company with Dr. Stockwell. She was then sane, but did not show that great amount of sorrow naturally to be expected. At the present time her mind was sound. He was acquainted with cases in which, when the mania had passed away, by proper treatment, the patient had completely recovered sanity. It was his opiuion, that by no exercise of her will or reason could she have avoided the impulse- to commit the deed. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty, on the ground of insanity, and the Judge said that the order of the Court would be that prisoner be kept in strict custody in the Mount Eden Gaol until the pleasure of the Colonial Secretary was known. Another case of murder has also been tried at Auckland. A woman named Annie Muller jumped from the wharf there with her child in her arms, the result being that she was rescued, but the child died from the effects of the immersion. The defence was that the woman at the time was suffering from a melancholy state of mind owing to her pregnancy, or was suffering from puerperal mania, one of the symptoms of which was a state of delusion. Medical evidence having been given to this effect, the jury found her not guilty, on the ground that she was insane at the time .of committing the act. She was sentenced to be kept in custody until the pleasure of the Colonial Secretary should be known. We learn from the local papers that the contractors for the Karere portion of the Manawatu railway were to commence operations last Monday morning. If advantage is not taken of the remainder of the summer weather to finish it, there will be a repetition of the misery and discomfort travellers experienced during the last winter months. The death of a veteran member of the fourth estate is thus noticed by the Hawke's Bay Herald :— " We deeply regret to learn that intelligence has arrived of the death of our late highly-esteemed fellow townsman, Mr. James Wood, formerly proprietor of this journal. We have received no particulars, not even of the time and place, but we fear that the information is only too well founded. The complaint from which Mr. Wood was suffering when he left Napier, it was known, must ere "long prove fatal, and nothing but the unusual strength of his constitution enabled him to bear up against it so long as he has done. He arrived in Napier and started the Herald newspaper in 1857, and since then up till 1871, the history of his career would be the history of the rise and progress of Hawke's Bay. Besides conducting the Herald, he wa3 for a long time a member of the Provincial Council, and filled for some years most efficiently the important post of Chairman of Committees He was ever foremo3t in any work which called for a manifestation of public spirit, and there are many of his old friends among us still by whom his loss will be felt as a personal bereavement. The number of nominations made through the Dunedin Immigration Office between the Bth December and 6th January, for free passages to the Colony was 97, equal to 78 adults. These nominations have been forwarded to Wellington for transmission by the next San Francisco mail. On Christmas Day a child two years old, named William Churstheim, was drowned iv Lake Wakatipu, near Kingston. The little thing had strayed from his parent's house, and when missed shortly afterwards the body was seen floating in the water head downwards, life being quite extinct. A leather dealer named Ireland, who was a candidate for the Franklin seat, took it into his head a few days ago, at Auckland, to state publicly "that the Government simply manipulated Hansard as they liked, and that both Sir George Grey and Mr. Reader Wood had pointed this out." Mr. Hugh Carleton, au old member of the Reporting Debates Committee in the House of Representatives totally aud emphatically deuies the truth of this assertion iv the columns of the Southern Cross. He call* upon Irelaud to show when and where Sir George Grey had made this statement, and proves beyond a doubt that the Government cannot possibly do that which they are charged with doing. The Oroua natives are. giving trouble again. According to the Advocate, the news was brought by Mr. Bradley on the last trip of the Feilding coach, that the natives were erecting a fence across the new road from Awa Huri to Fielding. If the report should prove true, it is to be hoped that the Government will act as promptly and decisively in «this affair as they did in that at Opunake. It is quite time that the natives were given to understand that they will not be allowed to carry matters according to their own way of thinking, with such a high hand. We learn from £he Rangitikei Advocate that an interesting discovery was made the other day by Mr. Abernethy, traffic manager of the Foxton and Palmerston Tramway While out iv the bush, a few miles from Foxton, Mr. Abernethy came upon a veritable specimen of the English oak. The tree is about fifteen inches in diameter, and grows perfectly straight for some twenty feet from the ground, and gnarled, as is generally the case with the oak. We are given to understand that about forty years ago some of the first missionaries gave the natives a lot of seeds of various English trees, and it is generally supposed that this iB the product of one of the acorns thu3 distributed. The appearance of the tree would denote this as being its age, allowance" being made for its quicker growth in New Zealand than in the old couutry.