The Evening Star TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 1887.

Evening Star, Issue 7179, 5 April 1887, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 1887.

Mr James Mills may fairly be cen-i gratulated on his first appearance as a candidate for parliamentary honors. His' speech at Port Chalmers was modest and 1 sensible, and the opinions advanced were; supported by argument, which is more than, ean always be said of political speeohes. Prudently avoiding the discussion of a, multitude of topics, lie limited his remarks, to a few important subjects. The readjust-, meat of representation and the necessity for retrenchment were fairly dealt with; and the noisy professions made by politicians out of offiao yere contrasted with their practice whea ia power. "No matter," said Mr Mills, " which aps of men "held the reins of government, there " always appeared to be fchesameold story—- •" loud debouncing of the administration of "their predecessors, great promises of' "reform and retrenchment, and nothing "dope in that direction." There is much truth Jn this and in tfte quiet sarcasm, of the following remark:—That "our; ■"politicians aim&d too much at being "considered •brilliant statesmen, and "did not devote themselves sufficiently, "to the practical work of adminis-t " tration." We quite agree with Mr Mills that in the present condition of the country j it is not brilliant statesmen but) practical | administrators who are required. We do ! not want " to be distraoted by fanciful " schemes of speculative legislation, in what; "may be called political fireworks." He i told his audience, with much force andtruth, that the great want is to restore, public .eeofidence in the Colony. Therej cannot be a shadow of a doubt that the very; serious fall in New Zealand securities has, been brought about by the prevalence.of an uneasy feeling regarding the administration! of the Colony, and, although he did net trace the source of the uneasiness, it must by this time be patent to all that it is to be found in the composition of the Ministry. Until there'ls a change in this respect it is to be pared .that confidence wilfnot.be fully

restored, though some good may be done by | our representatives firmly refusing to countenance the wild schemes that have lately been paraded by Ministers to the detriment of the Colony and the injury of our interests at Home and abroad. As to the best mode in which retrenchment can be effected, it is clear that, whilst considerable savings may be made in our overgrown Civil Service, any large reduction of expenditure can only be effected in the Public Works Department, and a firm stand should be taken to stop what Mr Mills rightly terms " the fritter- " ing away of money all over the country, " without any proper principle guiding the " expenditure, to meet the exigencies of the "moment or to secure and reward political "support." This the private members of the House can do if they are united in action; but the work of retrenchment within the charmed circle of the Civil Service can only be effectively done by Ministers themselves. Mr Mills does not desire to figure in the role of " a brilliant statesman," but he does claim to be a practical man—one who can consider both sides of a question fairly. And many points in his speech evinced the possession of this valuable quality. On the question of borrowing, for instance, whilst advocating that it should be rigidly "curtailed and controlled" by he deprecated the notion of an immediate cessation of borrowing. The latter eourse is, as he declared, quite out of the question. But no money should be borrowed to be wasted as in the past on unproductive works. This indeed is, we believe, the general sentiment of the Colony ; though there may be some slight disagreement as to what are, and what are not, strictly speaking " reproductive"works. Touching our colonial resources, Mr Mills takes the common-sense view that it is to the settlement of population in the interior of the country, and not to " the creation by artificial means of a town population" that we must look for a return of prosperity. Entertaining this well-grounded opinion, he is not in favor of putting prohibitive duties upon imports. " Instead of "seeking further to isolate ourselves-by "putting prohibitive duties on imports, we " should seek to secure some measure of " reciprocity between this Colony and the "sister colonies." We agree with these views, because they tend in the direction of intercolonial freetrade, which must, under any circumstances, be the first step to Australasian Federation. It is certain that if the markets of other colonies were thrown open for our grain and dairy produce the result would be most beneficial and a wonderful stimulus given to settlement. But they are not likely to agree to one-sided arrangements; and it would seem that in considering any proposals of the kind the end aimed at must be the establishment of a Customs Union somewhat after the model of the German Zpllverein. On the burning questions of the new Dock and the Lower Harbor expenditure Mr Mills is in harmony with his constituents ; and as this will probably weigh with them even more than his political sentiments, it may almost be taken for granted that he will be the successor of Mr Afacandrew in the representation of Port Chalmers. We are glad that the mantle of the late member has fallen on worthy shoulders. It is creditable to him that he refuses to tie himself fast to any party in the House. It would be unwise for him to do so, for the policy of the Government is uncertain and contradictory, and the only policy of the Opposition is to criticise the Government, No doubt he will range himself, as the French eay, in due time. But as the election is only for one session of Parliament, he will do well to watch and - The Grafton, with the San Francisco mails, reached Lyttelton at ten o'clock this morning. The mails are being brought down by special train, and there will be a delivery the first thing to-morrow morning. The Waikato Railway League have commenced a vigorous agitation in favor of Mr Vaile's railway scheme. The Victorian Ministry have invited General Schaw, now in New Zealand, to inspect the Victorian defences. A four-roomed house at Kurow, belonging to a deferred-payment settler named Wade, was, together with its contents, burned down on Sunday morning. The insurances are not known. Fjfforts are being made in Sydney to secure the liberation'of Holt, the bank manager, who was recently sentenced to five years' imprisonment for embezzlement. The ground for this movement is Holt's alleged insanity. There was only a short sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, all the cases set down for hearing being settled or adjourned. Messrs C. Hajnes and R. Hay were the presiding Justices of the Peace, The case of imposition referred to at the last meeting of the Benevolent Institution Trustees will be investigated at the City Court before Mr Carew on Thursday. Michael Colemad is charged with obtaining from the Bunevolent Institution an order for the amount of L2 12s Cd by means of false pretences.

The Italian Ministry has been remodelled as follows:—Count Robilint resigns his appointme»t aa Minister of Foreign Affairs, which office will be held by Signor Depretis; Signor Criapi will Signor Depretis as Minister of the Interior; Signor Zanarduli has been appointed Minister of Justice; and Signor Vale, Minister for W&p. At Oamaru yesterday Mr Robinson, R.M., decided that euchre was not a game of skill. The prosecution was at the instance of the police against Mathew Cunningham, for permittiug an unlawful game, to wit, card-playing, in his licensed premises, the Windsor Hotel, bn the 7th March, the stakes being glasses of rum. Lord Ueerhurst, who recently resigned his appointment as aidede ; camp to Sir Henry Loch, has given notice that he will not appear in the appeal case Deerhurst v. Sutton, in which the latter, an English bookmaker, was sentenced to fourteen days' imprisonment for alleged assault. The appeal' was to be argued to-day. Messrs W. Bragg and R. Chisholm were the presiding Justices at the City Court this morning. For drunkenness William Southgate was fined ss, in default twenty-four hours' imprisonment; Mary M'Callum was fined L 3, or »ev#j /Jays'; Margaret Cotterill was sentenced to oho iftQfrtk's imprisonment as a habitual drunkard. Thoww Qljver (for whom Mr Macdoriald appeared) was charged obstructing the footpath In 27orth-casb Valley by placing a quantity of timber across it. The case was dismissed. The Caversham School Committee met last evening, when there were presentMessrs Toda (in the chair), Tennaut, Creigh, Graves, and Rutherford. It was reported that the girls' playground lmd been finished, an,d ihat an American organ hajd been tough* lop Bjid.irig the teaching of singing. The school roJSJ jvere inspected, and the attendance was found .to'be'satisfactory, the average for the jwst montft haying been 670. Eight of the Normal S.choo) af, ijtfenjs were reported to bo attending the sfihooj. The members of the Committee undertook to canvass for subscriptions for the Maoaridrcw memorial .fundi .It' was' stated that the school was overcrowded, and a new addition to the building was urgently needed.

The frL&adfl of Mr Hi W. Stockwell will be pleased to le&rn safc ho'has made a most successful debut as a singer in Melbourne. He mado his first public appearance at shs concert given to introduce Slgnorina Marchetti on the 26th ult., and concerning him the ' Argus' says :—" A new tenor singer, Mr Henry Stockwell, was also heard at this concert for the first time in Australia, and the result for the singer proved to be a success of enthusiasm. Mr Stockwell's selections were as follows, namely: ' The Message,' by Blumenthal, and ' Awake, thou gQJden blush of morn,' by Curschmann. He &J[c.o took part with Signor Lencioni in the duejj .' *iolo profugo,'from ' Martha,' by Jlotoy, and' w£th Miss Riddell in the dlie* /Maying..' mentioned.' 'Mr Stockwell's voice is of ropusi and agreeable quality, of equal iimhfe from lowest to highest compass, satisfactorily vigorous, and gratefully fresh. The singej? is clear in his enunciation of words, and intelligent and sympathetic in the matter of expression. As an encore to 'The Message' he.saag 'Queen of the Earth,' and repeated Curßctymam>'e song to the great gratification of all hearers, fl/s pext appearance is to bo looked forward to \vith inuch interest." The 'Daily Telegraph/ speaking of bis performance at a private soiree, says 3 "He will take the Melbourne public by; storm. Such full, fresh, and sweet, yet rol/ilst, singing has not been introduced here, outside opera, since the debut of Armes Beaumont. He sang 'My Queen 'and: * There is a flower' in such a perfect and inspiriting manner as will ensure him here an enthusiastic welcome from the public" We notice that in toe advertisement announcing the second Marchetti concert Mr Stockwell is put forward as an attraction equajHto the pririla donna herself. " : - : ?

On tlit that the cost to the Crown of the witnesses' expenses in Regina v. Boult is close on L3OO. The gross proceeds from the Oamaru Jubilee File were L 570, and the expenses LIBO. Mr and Mrs Reid'and their friends raised about L2OO of the first-named amount. George Tyree, six weeks old, died rather suddenly at the house of Mrs Mary Smith, North - east Valley, yesterday morning. The child had been in delicate health, and Coroner Carew has deemed an inquest unnecessary. The ' Mataura Ensign' states that a prosecution is to be instituted in connection with the consignment of pigs which were sent from Clarkson's station at Hornby to the Five Rivers station. Twenty-five of the pigs were dead when the train reached Gore. Mr John Mill, of Port Chalmers, after a twenty-five years' sojourn here, goes Home for a trip by the mail steamer Kaikoura. Mr Mill has been a member of school committee eighteen years, and has represented Port Chalmers ou the Harbor Board twelve years. Captain Airly, one of the Soudan contingent, recently obtained six months' leave of absence from the New South Wales Permanent Artillery and proceeded to Burmah, where he was attached to the staff of General Sir Frederick Roberts. In an engagement with one of the bands of marauding Dacoits Captain Airly was badly wounded. The latest news from New Guinea is to the effect that Captain Francis Cadell, of Sydney, was murdered, and his ship destroyed by fire, by order of the Rajah of Ullora, in revenge, it is asserted, for his cruelty to the Natives. The murderer was hanged. Captain Stra?han reports that the Btate of affairs on the western portion of British New Guinea is deplorable. He describes the country of Dutch New Guinea as splendid nutmegs and fruits and valuable timbers growing protusely. Mr Ivess, in addressing his constituents atAshburton the other evening, gave the Inspector of Prisons as his authority for the statement that the First Offenders' Probation Act was fully answering the anticipations of its friends. He said he was informed by Captain Hume that some fortyfour persons had been biought under the provisions of the Act, and only one out of that number had thrown away the opportunity offered him to reform. This solitary person had, of course, been sent to do his sentence in prison. A similar Act had been found to work very successfully in America, and he felt sure it would have a very beneficial effect in this Colony. A newspaper vendor named Cauben alias Smith was charged at Bow street Police Court recontly with attempting suicide. About half-past eleven at night the attention of a constable was drawn to the prisoner in the lake at St. James's Park. With difficulty he was recovered in an insensible condition. He was removed to the police sUtion, when it was found that he was drunk. An emetic was administered, which had the effect of causing him to vomit four shillings, a sixpence, and a halfpenny. In reply to the Magistrate, he said that lie had sold out his stock of newspapers, and had got drunk. He missed his money, and could not understand what had become of it. Ho therefore threw himself into the water, and now appeared greatly surprisod at the singular recovery of his money. Ho was ordered to find two sureties to be of good behavior for one month.

A fatal aecident occurred at Papakaio yesterday. About ono o'clock a threshing engine belonging to Mr Richmond was leaving Mr Dalgleish's farm, in charge of Mr I. Cathbertson, who was accompanied by a young man named John Giddinga. Near the main road there is a slight hollow, and Giddinga was asked to take thp reins pf the shafters. Cuthbertson, after the hollow had been crossed, had occasion to my something to Giddings, and receiving no answer looked around, and saw him lying on the road. On running up to him he found he was quite dead, the wheels of the engine having passed over his body. It is supposed that deceased was either struck by the shaft and knocked down, or in attempting to get on the shaft fell off, and thus met his death. The unfortunate young man's parents reside at Hyde, and they were immediately communicated with.

Dunedin Presbytery meet to-morrow morning. Gaelic Society's monthly meeting; to-morrow at 8 p.m. Fire and marine insurance office* will be closed on the Bth, 9th, and 11th. Public meeting to-morrow evening, at Mornington, in connection with Otago Bible Society. The usual Good Friday meetings for united waiting upon God will be held in the lecture hall, Y.M.0.A.. oa Friday next, at 11 a.m., 3 p in , and 7.30 p.m. Fryer's Japanese Wonders and Equina Show open on the reclaimed ground on Saturday. Tney have just completed a most successful season in Wellington.

Mrs Macpherson, who has been appointed to the charge of the cookery classes at the Girls' High School, intends to resume her public cookery classes after the Easter holidays. Miss Helen T. Todd, of Invercargill, has reoeivod intimation from the Inspector-General of Schools that the marks pined by her at the recent matriculation examination' entitled her to be classed among those who passed the D examination, and that she has been classified accordingly. A meeting of the Trinity Sunday School Band of Hope was held last eveuing, the Rev. W. Morley presiding. An address was delivered by Mr A. S. Adams; Mioses Jennie Sparrow, K. Shepard, and L. Simon sang solos; ftnd recitations were given by C. Bush, E, Pan-ant, a»d'jj. Simon. After a lengthy and successful career £hrqugh Australia, the well-known Lynch Family' of Bellringers leave Sydney for San Franoisoo by the Zcalandia on the 20th inst. The company intend, however, to break their journey l at Auckland, and visit a few of the principal towns in the Colony. The advance agents of the company are Messrs' J. Sijiith and H. Barnes," who piloted the company with great success in their recent tour through the eastern portion of the world. At last night's meeting of the Loith Lodge, 1.0.0. F., which took place in the Albany street Hall (N.G. Bro. Joel presiding), an exhaustive report was received from P.G. Bro. Wathen, as the lodzo's representative at the recent session of the Grand Lodgo in Auckland. The following appointments were made by the G.M. :—G. Chaplain, Bro. Lane; G. Marshal, Bro. Hamilton ; G. Conductor, Bro Fyfe; G. Guard, Bro. Ward; G. Herald, Bro. Morrison. The Southern representatives had been hospitably entertained by brethren at Auokland, There wasanimportantmotionauthorising subordinate lodges to reduce the initiation fee to s*. Wellington, and other ports. It was resolved—"That a hearty vote of thanks be passed to Bro. Wathen for the able manner in whioh he represented this lodgo at the recent session of the Grand Lodge." One member waß initiated. The lodge agreed to co-operate with the Pioneer and other lodges in arranging a concert and ball.