WELLINGTON.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3917, 28 May 1877, Page 2

WELLINGTON.

(FROIE OCH OW> T COKRESPOXDEXT.) May 25, 1877. The death-rate of Wellington has fo* years been far higher than that of London?-^. Startling indeed is the thought that here, in so fine a climate, with a scanty population, whereno one dies of starvation, where poverty, misery, and squalor are almost unknown, where all are well fed, well clothed, and well lodged : where very few l^eojrie are old ; in short where everything combines to lower the death-rate, yet do a greater proportion of people die in this city than in dirty, poverty-stricken, overcrowded London. Shocked at this frightful mortality, the Town Council resolved to raise £50,000 for sewerage works. The money raised, the next problem was how to spend it . Schemes innumerable, fantastic, absurd, and impracticable were proposed by a hust of amateurs, everyone of whom was wholly ignorant of even the A BC of sewerage. At last it was decided ..-A to make all the sewers converge to a point in the Adelaide-road, beyond the cricket ground, there to place a, receptacle, and by means of a pump, lift the entire sewerage of the city a height of 22 feet, to the mouth of a tunnel, which, 800 yards long, will pierce the hills and deliver the sewage upon the sandy isthmus connecting Miramar Peninsula and the main land, separates Evan and Lyell Bays, and is the property of our worthy Resident Magistrate, Mr J. C. Crawford. Mr Climie, the engineer, estimates the cost at £80,000, but most likely it will be far greater. Add to this the cost of connecting thousands of houses b}^ means of drains, with the street sewers; add the cost of thousands of-water-closets, and of an equal number of waterconnections, also the enormous cost of pumping this immense quantity of water to a height of 22 feet, and you may then form some idea of the total. Unwilling to bear the responsibility of undertaking on their own responsibility, the Town Council have determined to ask the ratepayers to vote "Yes"' or "No" to the scheme — an utterly foolish proceeding. The principal topic of the past week has been the bankruptcy of Mr O'Shea. Of course there has been n great deal of virtuous indignation on the part of tooconfiding creditors. Mr O'Shca said that, with Heaven's help, he would repay them, but one creditor was heard to remark that he did i:ot think any creditor in Wellington would be fool enough to discount his bills on that firm. The sale of the Ocean Mail for £945 is looked upon as a godsend to the lawyers. On the day of the wreck ship and cargo wore worth hard upon £120,000. As a great part of the wool will be saved almost undamaged, besides large quantities of tallow, the buyers will probably retire with a fortune. The insurance companies

mil suffer heavily ; great will be their grief that they were not able to be present at the sale of the vessel. Cabinet councils held daily by Ministers ; any number of new bills to be brought forward. Rumored in the city that great efforts have been made by the Opposition to detach Sir William Fitzherbert from the Speakership. That he will join the Opposition is extremely improbable. The Opposition is very divided ; the Otago and Canterbury members hate each other, and both alike dislike those from Auckland. Hence its weakness. In the ranks of the Opposition are several men abler far than most of the Ministers. Men like Rolleston, Gisborne, Travers, and others might form a most powerful coalition. The departure, by the last San Francisco mail steamer, of the Hon. Mr Waterhousc will be a great loss to the Upper House. Last session the Legislative Council curiously resembled a court-house containing a judge and jury, the prisoner being a Bill. In the chair sat Sir John Richardsou as judge, and around him sat the legislators. Every bill sent up from the House of Representatives was objected to by the Hon. Mr "Water-house, who seemed to have taken a brief for the Opposition, and was defended by the learned and suave counsel on the other side, Dr. Pollen. If either of these great men were absent, their junior counsel Col. Whitmore and Mr John Hall filled their places. As a leader Mr Waterhouse was not a success, but in Opposition he was most useful. He read every Act with the greatest care, and thus the " lords," without troubling themselves to "work ivp " each particular Bill, heard the arguments for and against most ably argued l_r\- himself and Dr. Pollen. He will be present during a part of next session. Various rumors are afloat that several new men, amonij the number. Sir Dillon Bell. Sir Cracroft Wilson, -Mr Pearce, Mr H. S. Chapman, Mr Gresson and others, will be called to the Upper House. Perhaps the first named may be, but not the others. Indeed, there is a feeling in the Government that the Upper House is qiiite large enough, indeed that the numbers should be lessened. The civil servants complain most bitterly because a cabinet order forbids not only lunch to be taken, outside the buildings, but absolutely forbids smoking. Fancy the injustice, from 9.30 till 4.30, the beloved pipe must be forsaken, and business be attended to. There never could be a more cruel ministry, at least so think the civil servants. They forget that nowhere else would they ever have been allowed to smoke. The Ministry pledge themselves to cany out great economical reforms. This is how they do it. They cut down a-year from the salaries of underpaid and overworked officials, and then show this grand reduction to the country and ask its applause. If, however, the Hon. the Minister for wishes to come down from Auckland, the Hinemoa is despatched to fetch him and his family. The lion, gentleman goes back next week .in the Hinemoa. A special steamer is thus sent 2400 miles to carry his Highness, though he could do the whole distance for £20. The Premier goes to Taranaki. Why ? To make a speech to his constituents. He goes in the Stella : the Stella is appointed to bring him back. Actually, though at least twice a week excellent steamers call at Taranaki, though twice a week there is an overland mail, his Highness cannot come by such vulgar conveyances : a steamer is actually sent from Wellington to fetch him. One naturally asks, were the Ministers born and bred in such mighty luxury that they cannot condescend to come by ordinary steamers ? The two Government steamers are for ever running hither and thither to please and gratify their absurd vanity.