The Evening Star. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1875.

Evening Star, Issue 3733, 9 February 1875, Page 2

The Evening Star. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1875.

We have no idea that any difference with the Natives will take place in the North through the lawless proceedings of a few unprincipled men. The overmastering numbers of the colonists as compared with the Native population has convinced them of the utter hopelessness of any fresh contest. Had it not been for this the conduct of those who are seeking, in spite of the law, to possess themselves of land in the neighborhood of Ohinemuri might very possibly have led to a renewal of civil Avar. We have often pointed out that the Native difficulty lay not so much with the Maories as with the colonists. Most of the disputes in which the Colony has been involved have been the consequence of greed for land on the part of Northern settlers, who first entered into compacts not authorised by the Government, and then sought to be sustained in their bargains by their fellow-colonists. As the CroAvn is expected now to guarantee purchasers of land in the possession of it, the necessity of a clear title to it must be evident; and in order to secure this, private purchases from the Natives are prohibited. Possibly many may consider this as arbitrary. It has that appearance, but it has been forced upon the Government as the only means of insuring justice to the Natives and security to the buyers. The peculiar tribal tenure of land claimed by the Natives and acknowledged by the Crown gives to every person in a tribe an interest in the property held by it; and consequently the consent of all to the terms of sale must bo obtained before a valid title can be acquired. Two classes of men are very much inclined to overlook these individual claims; land sharks among the Colonists, and money sharks among the Maories. The land shavKS feel the cautious inquiry considered necessary by the Government an interference with their liberty to take the Natives in if they can; and the money sharks among the Natives are equally annoyed that they cannot take the land sharks in, by selling what they cannot give a title to. Whether the machinery for securing equity between whites and Maories is good or bad Ave do not at present discuss ; but for the sake of the peace of the Colony, Ave consider the principle on which it is based should be upheld firmly and determinately. General Cameron was much abused in the North for saying that it was not the Avhites Avho needed defending against the Maories, but the Maories against the Avhites. The proceedings of the socalled “ miners,” who are reported to be negotiating with the Natives for the purchase of land, illustrate the truth of his opinion. They knoAv, or ought to know the law: they know or ought to know the reason for it. Having (his knowledge, they must be aware that only by submitting to it, have they any right to claim its protection, it is just possible were they allowed to conclude their purchase aud to take possession, some Natives of the tribe Avho Avere not made parties to the purchase would proceed to drive them off, and Avere they obstinate in striving to remain in possession the result Avould be bloodshed, We need not say that at once our national sympathy would be aroused, and the brutality of the Maori murderers Avould be proclaimed in black colors by telegraph and journalist from end to end of the Colony. No extenuating circumstances Avould be considered, but in the spirit of the blood-avenger of old there Avould be a Avide-spread cry for vengeance. Differences of education, custom, and manner of thought are seldom admitted into our estimate of atrocity; the provocation Avhich to them seems so strong, is in our vieAv very slight : Ave cannot in imagination place ourselves in their position and become Maori in mind in order to understand their ideas. The course pursued by the miners, if miners they are, avlio are said ro be negotiating privately for the purchase of land, is one of defiance of the Government, and is unjust to the rest of the Colonists. It is a proceeding that cannot be allowed, and one Avhich has justified the Government in stepping in to prevent it. Sir Donald M'Lean, by his judicious firmness and conciliatory measures, has nearly succeeded in breaking up the last combination of the Maories against the Government. This proceeding at Ohinemuri, if unchecked, might have the very opposite effect, and be the means of renewing the ill-feeling between the races that has so nearly died out. The Government must slioav determination to maintain its OAvn laivs, or no confidence will bo placed in it by the King Natives ; and therefor© the dispatch of the Constabulary contingent to compel their observance is a

wise and politic measure; for it will not do for a Minister to be striving to bring the isolated tribes to submit to our laws, unless we show a determination to compel their observance by our own people.

The Rev. Jackson »mith, on leaving Queenstown, was presented with a purse of sovereigns and an address. The immigrants se m to go off slowly at Queenstown. Ihe ‘ Mad’ states that nearly bait of them still remain unengaged. iVc horbnry t-clmol Committee last night elected Mr Reid and Miss Hrunten, both of Alexandra, to the, positions of master and mistress of the school. Some of our con'emporaries ought to be as well aware as ourselves that the salary of the speaker of the Provincial Council is not an annual but a sessional one, and is paid at the clo-'C of each session. The charge of manslaughter against John Miller was commenced at the Resident Magistrate’s Court to-day, Mr Stout deAs several witnes-es have yet to be examined, there is not much likelih od of the case being concluded to-day. Among the articles of an inflammable nature included in tire cargo of the ill fated ship Cospatriek were 1,082 ga’lons linseed oil, 100 gallons rape oil, 95 gallons turpeuiine, 89 gallons varnish, 20 barrels pitch and tar, besides spirits and drapery goods. The total value of the cargo was 1,16,945. It was stated a few days ago that a protect had been lodged against Mr J. L. Gillios’s election to tho Dunedin School Committee. _ We believe that the Superintendent bus replied to the person protesting. £s the subject is one of considerable interest, perhaps Mr W. Clark will make his Honor's reply public.

A Ro’xbargh telegram in the ‘Tuapeka Times’ says;—“An inquest was held on February 5 at Moa Flat, on the body of Jose de bilva, of Crookston Block, who was found dead in bis bed on Thursday morning on Mr Waugh’s farm, where he*had been harvesting. Doctor Leahy made & post mortem examination. A verdict of ‘died from disease of the heart ’ was returned.”

When will onr complaints against the Telegraph Deuartmeut cease? Yesterday our messages from Auckland averaged five and a-half hours in transmission; aud we received at four o’clock one that was handed in an hour later than that which reached us at seven p.m. We always th-ugbt messages were sent in the order in which they were handed iu at the receiving station. As illustrative of the state of things on the banks of the Waikato, we (‘Auckland Star ’) are informed, on reliable authority, that on Dr Corbet, the coroner, entering the room for the purpose of holding an inquest on the remains of a young lady, drowned at the Mercer, the constable ordered him to take off his hat, aud on the coroner h'sitating, the constable knocked it off with his hand.

The undermentioned Chinese prisoners were received into the gaol last night escorted by Police Constable Nicholson, of Lawrence : —Ah Wong, sentenced by Messrs Hazlett and Wyld, J. P.’s, Clyde, on the 29th ult., to three calendar mouths’ imprisonment with hard labor for vagrancy ; Tseorm Tsi, committed for trial at the ensuing sions of the Supreme Court, for having, at Skippers, on the 10th ult., uulawfullyand maliciously wounded You Cheewith a knife. Mr Bcetham, R.M., committed the* last mentioned prisoner.

.A curious fossil, found by Mr Wilson, of Milton, when quarrying limestone at Kakanui mouth, has been shown to the * Bruce Herald.’ It seemed to be part of the soinal column of some gigantic sea-serpent. "The specimen has two joints, supported by curved flanges. The spinal marrow, a concretion of microscopic shells, occupied its bed in the fossil, and is preserved entire. Another section remains in the block, which Mr Wilson is about to exhume, and, in the course of a short time he will present the whole fossil to the Museum at Dunedin, where its name aud race will be decided upi n.

The example of Mr Bathgate iu wholly clearing his Court in certain cases is not followed iu Auckland or Christchurch, but similar action was taken at Nelson, aud resulted iu _ the principal paper thus writing as follows :—“ We must say that we should not have printed the evidence given if it had been unlit for publi atiou ; at the same time we never heard before i f the representatives ot the Press being excluded from a Court of Justice. In fact, we happen to know that an Auckland Justice of the Peace wis reprimanded by a former Minister of Justice for ordering the reporters to leave the Court on a similar occasion.”

The first meeting of this year’s committee of the Athenaeum was hold last evening • present—Mr W. N. Blair (vice-president)’ the Rev. Mr Stanford, Professor Sale’ Messrs Caldwell,_ Pish, Hay, Logan, Steward Stout, and Wilding (secretary), A list of works was prepared to be forwarded to the institution’s ageot at H me, with instructions to him to purchase them at ou e. This list includ- d L4O worth of the latest novels. On the motion of Mr Stout it was resolved that the Harbinger of Light ’ he received, if again presented. The • Evangelist ’ also was received, and it was resolved that all magazines and papers be sanctioned by the. committee before b.-ing laid on the free table.

An inquest was held at the Hospital at noon to-day ou the body of an infant, named Mary M‘Laugh!an, who died yesterday morning. A man named Wm. Barldy had been arrested on a charge of assault, and was present during the proceedings—a statement having been made to the police by the owner of the brothel iu which the child died, that BirkJy had lain on the latter, and that this was the cause of death. The ovidcuce adduced, however, showed that no murks of violence were perceptible on the body, and the jury found that the child died from an injury to the h-a 1, but how caused there was no evidence to show. Baikiy was then discharged. He will be formally brought up at the Resident Magistrate's Court to-morrow, being under re mand to appear there.

A fancy dress ball has actually been given in “.'deepy i iollow,”and on the 29th ult., the anniversary of their Province, the Nelsonites enjoyed themselves amazingly at this novel !orm of amusement. J he loca papersdevotea couple of cohunus to description of the costumes worn and the scone the bail-room presented. At intervals between the dances scenes from operas were acted on a stage erected for the purpose at the end of the ball-room. The that was from “ Satanella,” and represented the slave market in Tunis, with the chorus “ Merry ’lunia.” The second was the “awkward servants,’’ tscenc frmn “ She stoops to conquer.” The third was very effective, representing Druidical monuments on the edge of afforest, the spirited invocation chorus from “iS'orma” being rendered by a number of white bearded (druids, dressed in long white robes, and crowned with laurel. The fourth was the “cauldron scone” Irom “Macbeth,” and the fifth, described as “a musical pantomime ballot,” was a most laughable piece of dumb Show acting to constantly varying and suggestive music. The ‘ Mail ’ concludes tho report by stating that dancing was kept up

with great spirit until half-past three, when one of the moat successful balls in kelson was brought to a close with three hearty cheers for Mr Rawson, to whom the success was mainly due. 'J he number of cases of criminal assaults upon women and children that have occurred lately has caused attention to be directed in some parts of tho Colony to the state of the law, and led some .--oriheru journals to advocate the lash as the only means of effectually checking this class of crime. The latest case commented on is that of James Ihomas Gmit.b, an old man o; seventy, who has been committed for trial at Nelson for an indecent assault upon his grandchild, aged e ’ldit years. Apropos of punishing with the laJl persons convicted of brntaTy, it may !>■ mentioned that Mr Justice Mollor, who for y ars has vigorou-lv opposed that method of punishment, at the Liverpool assizes in December felt compelled to say that “he feared immediate improvement of the lower classes was hopeless in great populations. He had always regarded flogging with horror as a means of punishment, but he was compelled to admit that something must be done by legislation to check the growing evil, especially in its blackest form, that of brutality to women and children. Still, he hoped no public outcry would lead to an indiscriminate use of the lash as a means of punishment.”

‘‘ Pr mpter ” informs us that the theatrical papers by the last mail do not contain many references to old Colonials, though very favorable mention is made of those who are noticed “ Most of the. news has reference to the metropolitan theatres, who e managers aie finding the present a most plethoric season. «he spectacular ot Richard Cceur de Lion at old Drury, Sothern at the Haymarket, Irving in “ Hamlet” at the Lyceum, the “Geneva Cross” at the ‘ deiphi, and Julia Matthews in “GirofldGirofla” at the Philharmonic, appear to be ®uji ying the lion s share of public patronage. At the Standard Miss Dolores Drummond, better known to Dunedinites as Dolly Green, has made a decided hit as an interpreter of Shaksuearian character, appearing iu such plays as' “The Winter’s Tale,” “ Hamlet,” and “ Katherimand Petrucbio. 1 ’ The ‘Era’ says of her that “ she must be credited with a most gratifying success. She has a handsome and expressive face, a good stage presence, a' musical voice, and in speech and action at once easy, graceful, intelligent, and relioed. She was frequently applauded, and at the end was summoned to the footlights amid loud acclamaion.” At the Pavilion, the “ Plyiog Scud.” with J. B. Howe as Gosling, is an immense success ; and Willie Edwin and Young Morris, as great favorites as ever, are to follow the fortunes of Lydia Thompson to the Globe. In Dublin, Barry Sullivan is playing an engagement, prior to visiting America, and exciting genuine enthusiasm by his Shakespearian performances. “Walter Bentley,” who is nob unknown to the Dunedin boards, is a member wf the Court theatre company. The musical events of the month have been the production of l.ecocqu’s latest work, “ Fres t>t. Gervais, ’ at Bpiers and Pond’s theatre, and of the reproduction of his “Madame ■ ngot.’ The tirst-mentioned is said to be a delightful little work. The vitality of “Madame A ngot” is instanced by the ‘Era ’ as one of the most remarkable events connected with the history of opera bouffe. Mrs Gladstaue is playing “ Elizabeth” in Ireland, and Miss Juno is in London, but too ill to accept an engagement. The European telegrams we publish today mention the deaths of the Emperor of China and of Lord St. Leonards. “ The child of tho sun,” who was only nineteen years old at. the time of his death, was the eighth of the Tartar dynasty ot Tatsiog. Before his accession he was called Prince Tsaisung, and during his minority the affairs of the Empire were administered by his uncle and prime minister Yih-Soo, better known as Prince Kung. During his reign many useful reforms have been introduced into the country, and with the help of the English the Taeping rebellion was suppressed. The late Lord St. Leonards, best known as Sir Ldward ougden, born in 1781, was the son of a Westminster tradesman, fur a few years practised as a conveyancer under the bar and was ca led to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn in 1807- Before donn-ng the gown, his treatise on “Purchasers” attracted the attention of the profession, He gave up conveyancing, obtained extensive practice at the Chancery bar ; and in 1822 became a King's Counsel, and a Bencher of Lincoln’s Inn. On being retu ned to the Commons he look a prominent part in the discussions, and was the loremost amongst those who oppos-d the Reform Bill He was SolicitorGeneral m the Wellington Cabinet .of 1829 ; Lord. Chancellor for Ireland iu the Peel Ministry of 1834. and held the same office in the second Peel Cabinet from 1841 to 1846 ; and in Lord Derby’s administration in 1862 attained the woolsack with the title of Baron t't. Leonards. His Lordship applied himself to the reform of the law with a vigor and energy which more than realised public expectations, and on his ruturn to power, in 1858, Lord Derby was desirous that Lord St. Leonards should again receive the Great Seal ; but he declined the responsibility in consequence of his advanced age, though he has since taken an active and influential part iu the business of Parliament, and has exerted himself to keep up the character and efficiency of House of Lords as a judicial tribunal, and to correct by legislation several anomalies in the law of property. In addition to his celebrated treatise on “ The Laws of Vendors and Purchasers,” Lord Bt. Leonards has written a work on “ Powers,” which reached an eighth edition ; a treatise on the “ Cases decided by the House of Lords;” an edition of “Oilbert on Uses an essay on the “ New Real I roperty Lawspamphlet against the Ixegistration of Deudy and other essays on legal subjects. His last publication—- “ The Handy Book of Property Law”—is familiar to most readers. Dr. Carr will give one of his amusing seances at Caversham on Friday evening next. It will be seen by our advertising columns that a Derby sweep has been opened ou the Dunedin Cup. A meeting of the stewards ot the Taieri Jockey Club will be held at the Mosgiel Hotel to-morrow evening at eight o’clock. The Rev. Jackson Smith, late of Queenstown, who has accepted preferment in England, will pleach at Gt. -Matthew’s Church tomorrow evening.