THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XV, Issue 1878, 12 August 1874, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus PUBLISHED DAILY WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 1874.

The circumstances preceding the ministerial crisis through which Victoria has just passed, bear such a startling* resemblance to a probable series of events which may occur in this Colony at any time, that a glance at the causes which led to the late complication may be permitted, although the results do not immediately concern us. The carrying out successfully the policy of the Victorian Government depended maiuly upon the full exercise of the abilities of one individual and the New Zealand Government is in a precisely similar position. The chief point in the programme of the Francis Ministry was to effect such a reform in the Constitution as would alter the relations between the two Houses of legislation comprising the Parliament. The Legislative Oouucil, or the Upper House, in "Victoria, is an elective body, whose members are returned by constituencies possessed of the franchise by virtue of a property qualification, or a close approximation to it. The Lower House is elected by the operation of manhood suffrage, and the distinction in the constituent elements of both Houses led to results which made it necessary at last, to bring special legislation to bear in trying to effect a reformation. For years, in fact since the inauguration of Responsible Government in Victoria, the antagonism of the two branches of the Legislature led to a succession of dead locks and entanglements, the unravelling of which was the cause of much bad feeling and waste of public time, ending invariably in seriously obstructing the business of the country. To obviate a further recurrence of these impedimenta to a despatch of public affairs, (the Francis Ministry introduced the now famous Norwegian. Bill, or, as the opponents of the Government designated it, the "Scandinavian monstrosity." The object sought to be obtained by passing this Bill was to make provision for a confereuce of both Housea when it was found impossible to agree on any particular question. The proposition was that the "Upper and Lower House should sit as one deliberative body to discuss any measure originated and assented to in either House, but rejected by the other. After a full consideration and debate on the matter in dispute, the question would, according to the Norwegian plan, be put to the vote of the combined Houses, and the ruling of the majority was accepted as final. Although the Francis Ministry went to the country, and had the satisfaction of seeing its policy affirmed at a general election, on the question nf reforming the Upper House by means of some such amendment as that mentioned, the Norwegian scheme met with bitter opposition from a powerful party in the House, and it is to the perpetual worry and torment entailed on a naturally active and restless temperament, in facing and endeavoring to overcome this opposition, that the utter breakdown in the health of the Victorian Chief Secretary is attributed. He had to stand the brunt of the battle alone, on this, as on other material questions affecting the policy of his Government, and it is here the similarity of the positions recently held by Mr Franciß in Victoria, and that now occupied by Mr Yogel here, becomes so vividly apparent. And should such a misfortune befall this country, as that our foremost public man became incapacitated, from any cause which would result in depriving the Colony of his services, ourcondition would be infinitely worse than that of the people of Victoria. There, the great question occupying the attention of the country was, inamanner,of an abstractnature ; buthere the policy to be carried out, is one |which ; no other individual, but one possessing the master mind that conceived it, can bring to & successful umue, aad, moreover,

it is one of life and death to the country, s0 to speak. Mr Francis has retired amid the regret of his friends and the condolances of his political opponents, but his resignation had scarcely been accepted, when a scramble commenced for place and power among his followers, and for a time confusion reignen supreme. The unlucky Norwegian frankenstien was laid aside, as if it had never had been created, and destroyed its creator, but the scheme ,on which the future prosperity, if not the very existence of this Colony depends, cannot be put off and laid by like a worn-out garment. In Victoria, " the King was dead" hardly, when those in the Monarch's train, who thought themselves entitled to the succession, commenced lustily to shout, " Long live the King," each on his own account, and each proclaiming the necessity to the salvation of the commonwealth of bis own coronation. Mr Langton, the Treasurer, wanted to be leader, and so did Mr Casey, the Minister of Lands. The former, as the representative of the free traders in the House, thought he could not give way without surrendering the claims of his party, and the result is he had to retire altogether. However, the Victorian Ministry is reconstructed, and it can continue its course undisturbed by the necessity, unless it should be in want of a war cry, of again attempting to introduce foreign innovations into the Constitution, or of endeavoring to effect violent or sudden changes in the order of established affairs, and probably Mr Francis will be forgotten. But it would be little short of a national misfortune of the Premier of this Colony were, through any unforseen calamity, removed from the control of public affairs. The carrying out of the Immigration and Public Works policy of the Government, to which the Colony is committed, for good or evil, can only be performed successfully by the originator of the scheme, for there is not one of the colleagues of the Premier, capable and honest administrators as they admittedly are in their particular departments, who it is even supposed could take his place efficiently. Therefore it behoves every one interested in the welfare of the Colony to sincerely hope that the parallel between Mr Yogel and Mr Francis will not be capable of further extension, and that the Premier may long be able to guide the destinies of his adopted country.

The Deputy-Superintendent of Westland, probably acting under instructions from head-quarters, has asked the Mayor, through Mr Wickes, as one of the members of the Provincial Council, how many female immigrants it would be advisable to send to Greymonth. In order to consider the question it was thought necessary to hold a meeting of the Borough Council yesterday afternoon, when the matter of demand and supply for labor of the kind offered was discussed in all its bearings. Ultimately it was resolvod to send an answer to the Deputy-Superin-tendent recommending that fifty female servants, 25 farm laborers, and a few coalminers with families should be sent here. We are not aware what has caused this change in the original intention of the immigration scheme, so far as the distribution of the new arrivals is concerned, because we are aware that the very recent instructions sent by Mr Yogel to the Agent-General were to send to Marlborough, Nelson, and Westland 2000 single females, at the rate of fifty per month. The instructions, taken from the Government papers, were that during the present year the following distribution was to be made : — To Canterbury and Otago, 6000 each ; to Auckland, 4500 ; to Wellington, 4000 ; to Hawke's Bay, 2000 ; to Nelson and Marlborough, and 50 single women monthly for Westland, 2000; to Taranaki, 600. Noticing this the "Canterbury Press" says : — " With respect to the smaller Provinces, we imagine that the AgentGeneral must have found it hard to comply with thia order. We especially doubt the possibility of despatching fifty single, women every month to Westland ; a part of the Colony which, however well it may be known in "Victoria, is exceedingly little known in England. Nor do we quite understand why Westland should have been selected for the reception of so large a proportion of a class of immigrants whom the older Provinces stand so much in need of." We can assure our contemporary that this description of labor is scarcer, more dearly paid for, better appreciated, and more urgently required here thatt in any of the old-established Provinces, and we hope that a good selection will be made of persons likely to meet the requirements of the town and district.

His Honor Judge Harvey arrived in town last night, in order to hold a sitting of the District Court this morning. A.s there are no criminal cases, jurors summoned are informed that their attendance will not be required. The following civil cases are set down for hearing and adjudication : — Fairhall v. Hanney— Claim for L 23 damages caused by trespass of defendant's pigs. Rowe v, Smythe, of Westport— Claim for L 175 10s,' money due for board and lodging of defendant's child. Applications in bankruptcy will also be heard in re Azubah Colman, Thomas Madigan, Charles Bonner, Henry Whittaker, Patrick O'Connor, Walter Hill, and Patrick Aloysious Kyle. We ( • 'Colonist") learn that it is more than probable that the Qualification of Electors 3ill will be allowed to lapse, owing to the desire of Government to abridge the session as much as possible. This, we think is matter for regret, as a simplification of our electoral laws is much wantea j at present they are very complicated, and offer facilities for fraud : and we think the proposed measure, although it is an additional qualification, would eventually have superseded all the others and conferred the suftrage on all subjects of Her Majesty who took the trouble ot register themselves on the Electoral Roll. Alarmists might think this at too wide extension of the suffrage, but in reality, nearly every adult male person could at present qualify as an elector if he thought fit to do so, and the gold miners' qualification, which ib of a very exceptional character, would be repealed. The plan is not new, it has been found to answer elsewhere, and we believe in this country, where the people are educated by travel and the liberal character of our institutions, it would have given satisfaction. A fire which fortunately was not extensively destructive in its effects took place at the store of Mr Robert Rutledge, at Napoleon Hill, on Monday evening.. The cause was the accidental capsizing of a keroseae lamp. A rather important error, it appears has,

says the " Times," been discovered in a paper laid before Parliament. It occurs in a '. paper on- the Sales of Waste Lands in the Province of Otago, in which the average price of the land sold is set dowo at Ll7 lla per acre in place of 17s lid. The mistake was mentioned by the Speaker in the House. At a meeting of the Hokitika Hospital Committee, held on Monday evening, the* President explained the grounds on which* 1 he had received a cheque for L 2 113 from the i Greymouth Amateur Ethiopian Minstrels. He was not willing to take it at first, as he was particularly averse to any course that would seem to put one institution against the other, but the amateurs told him that if he wouli not take their cheque they would go further afield, and he took it accordingly. He thanked the company on behalf of the Hospital Committee, but he thought that a special vote of thanks should be given to them. He added that it was one of the conditions that an acknowledgement should be inserted in all the papers, and he gave it to the "Evening Star," with the understanding that it should he forwarded to both the other papers. By some means it had not been sent to the " West Coast Times," and he took that opportunity of explaining how it occurred, and with whom the blame rested On this, a resolution thanking most cordially the Greymouth amateurs for their generous donation, and also thanking Mr Robert Walker, of the Duke of Edinburgh Theatre, for his liberality in giving ,<the theatre rent free for two nights together, with lighting, music, &c, was passed unariimouslj . Amongst other appointments which are to be made during the recess is that of an Inspector of Lunatic • sylums for the Colony, for which purpose a vote of LBOO has been taken. How far the Inspector will have power to interfere with provincial arrangements respecting the several Asylums, we have as yet no information, but it appears only just that if, as may be anticipated, from the appointment, the Colony assumes the control of these establishments, it should also assume the cost of their management and maintenance. The " West Coast Times " understands that the new wire bridge ever the Kapitea Creek, put up under the auspices of Mr Mueller, Chief Surveyor, answers all requirements, and the dans*** of the Kapitea are materially decreased by its erection. This stream is one of the most treacherous on the West Coast, continually shifting and being full of quicksands. If equally safe means of crossing all our West Coast rivers were afforded prospecting would progress apace. A private telegram was received on Monday by Mr T>ixon, of Mace and Dixon, who has favored the " West Coast Times " with its perusal, in relation to the Ajax Company, Reefton. They washed up their last crushing on Saturday Insfc. The amount of stone put through was 43 tons, and the result was the very satisfactory yield of 960z of retorted gold. The Westport Protective Works are progressing. The "Times" informs us that under the direction of the Resident Engineer eight small floating breakwaters are being constructed for experimental use in protecting the river bank in small bays, now in course of being shored up by fasines. The breakwaters consist of triangular frameworks of wood braced together. These will be moored s" short distance off the river bank and kept in position by guy lines secured on shore, the object being to break the force of the surf coming at high tide, and thus ensure the safety of the temporary protective works until heavy stone can be deposited. The plan has been tried elsewhere and found successful. Our correspondent at the Greenstone informs us that Messrs Armstrong and party, on Russell's Terrace, struck gold on the 9th inst. H 3 was shown one piece from the prospect weighing over 2gr. Our readers will be surprised to learn th-g the Maori population of these islands is in excess of what it has been stated to be. This does not arise from an increase, but; from the numbers having been more carefully ascertained, indeed, a study of the leturns must lead to the conclusion that the original race is rapidly diminishing, an the increase is evidently insufficient to compensate the losses from natural causes. The numbers on the Ist June last were : — Under 15 years, 15,494 ; over 15 years, 30.522,- total, 460,161— "0 f whom there are 43,408 in the N«rth Island, and only 2608 in the South Island. In both Islands the males exceed the females in number, the excess of the former in the North Island being 3870, and in the latter 226." The number in Nelson Province is said to be 440. The hon. the Native Minister, on resuming his duties in Parliament, has lost no time in supplying much useful information as to the work of his department. A.mong the various papers supplied, probably the most immediately interesting, is that showing the land transactions under the Immigration and Public Works Act. From it we find that 871,691 acres have passed by sale to the Crown, and 170,142 by lease, and that negotiations are in progress for 1,832,838 acres freehold, and 1,823,485 leasehold, on which considerable amounts have been paid. The gross tofca* is 4,684,156 acres, over which the native title has been or is being extinguished. Those transactions have entailed a cost of L 215,757, and are probably, from a mercantile point of view, the most profitable the Colony has effected under the public works policy. For some score years or so one of our neighbors, says the " Marlborough Press," has been experimenting in mechanics with the full belief that he could devise a new motor which by some contrivance of wheels and cogs and balances and levers and so on was to eventuate into perpetual motion. Impervious alike to the admiration and sneers of his friends, he has still stuck doggedly to his pursuit, and he now tells us he has completed his model, and proved to his own satisfaction at least that he has discovered the grand ultimation of many a philosopher in past ages, and before many weeks he purposes demonstrating to an unbelieving world the truth of his theory. He is aware that one or two others have some idea, of his plans which they have obtained surreptitiously, but hopes to anticipate them very shortly. While we are among those who may be classed as unbelievers, yet we are a war 5 that the world is. largely indebted to many of those plodding searchers for valuable discoveries, and therefore, if for no other reasons, we trust Mr J. Gorrie will yet obtain a rich guerden for his long-continued labors. It appears that Sullivan, one of the notorious New Zealand murderers, who has just been released from custody, was a student of phrenology, and carried with him the following chart of hia own charactrr, drawn up by the late Mr P. Sohier in April, 1857 :— "Phrenology Department, together with the character of Mr Sullivan, of Mount Korong. 30th April, 1857." After giving the various figures descriptive of the comparative intensity of the various passions, the paper goes on to say — " This gentleman has a very strong temperament, He is well suited to endure fatigue and much muscular exercise in the open air. He has in his character a very great attachment, and he is very fond of both ladies and children ; cares little for money— hardly enough to make or retain a fortune ; but be is very cautious, circumspect, and discreet. The great fault in this head is that firmness, resolution, strength, and perseverance of will are not large enough; hence he is too easily influenced by his frieads and oirounwfcances. He should study

firmness and self-confidence. He is kindhearted and liberal, extremely social, has ta9fce, love, neatness, and calculates well. He would make a fatuous seaman, farmer, &c. Let him be careful in the choice of his friends.— P. Sohier." A rumor which, bo far, can be traced only to the " News," an evening paper published at Hong Kong, is abroad to the effect that Heller, the well known necromancer and pianist, who has performed successfully in every city of Australia, has been murdered in Mexico. That journal states that certain superstitious families in Mexico, where he was performing, imagining that he-was-either a magician or in league with the devil, or something equally probable, killed him by means of a snakeskin filled with sand — a practice, it is said, peculiar to thai; people. It may be as well to point out that the Mr Robert Heller here referred to has never been in Mexico, and that he is now performing successfully in the English provinces with Miss Haidee Heller. We have been told, however, that a tragic event similar to that related did occur many years ago, in Mexico, and that the name of the victim was similar to that of the talented performer with whom we are acquainted. The curious part of the business is that the same report got into circulation here about two years ago, but Mr Heller's amusing letter from India, contradicting the rumor, appears to hare escaped the recollection of our country, contemporaries.