Hawake's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1879.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5345, 1 April 1879, Page 2

Hawake's Bay Herald. TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 1879.

What may be clone in the way of manipulating electoral rolls has been repent] y shown in Melbourne, in a circular issued by Mr Joseph Jones, secretary to the National .Uegistration Society, the case taken for illustration being that of the West Melbourne electorate. For that electorate Sir Bryan O'Loghlen was returned in April last year, defeating Mr JbYancis

in the contest that then took place. There, , was a good deal of excitement afyoufv tliii election, and the result sur- I priced a;%docV- many, as West Melbourne is'ji locality; abounding in the business' ".place's -^pf bankers and merchants and oifide^; of barristers; tyc. ; Arid 1 , iii £&eh, above all electorates just the one that might be depended upon t6 return/, a member opposed to the Berry •Ministry. .How it came about that the issue was not the one that was confidently looked for is explained by the fact) averred as almost an absolute certainty., that nearly 500 -f^lse votes were recorded at that election; vdt'es" all of- which are believed to have been' given for Sir Bryan O'Loghlen. " Morally and legally," says >the Argus, • commenting on the matter,' ■- " Sir Bryan O'Loghlen has no more right to the seat he occupies in the Legislative Assembly, and in the Cabinet^ than he has to the Grown of England, ftc does not represent the constituency, and his position in the ' Assembly is. one which any man of honorable instincts would shrink from holding under such circumstances as those, which have just been brought to light. He was returned by a majority composed of frauds, and of what the Americans call 'repeaters' — that is to say, men who iako out several electoral rights, in different divisions,, under assumed names and addresses, and wlio ' poll early and poll often/ " What first directed attention to the fictitious nature of the West Melbourne electoral roll was that it contained about a thousand more names than were upon any roll of tbiv'teo'n of the largest constituencies in Victoria. On examination it was ascertained f that while at tho lime of tho election there wore 1071 names upon "it, the number was reduced to actually no more than 366 when tho list was made up. on the Ist of December last. Yet at 'the election there were as many as 860 votes polled, and it is only a natural inference that there wore. 494 false votes. In order to make clear, how this is worked, it is necessary to explain the system of registration that prevails in Victoria. If; differs from ours in two respects — one that there is what is, termed an education test, and the other that there is a fee of one shilling payable on registration. The education test consists i'u requiring the oLv'tuant to sign his name on his voting right — a document which he has to produce when he tenders his vote — and the shilling foo is payable by a stump. The franchise in Victoria is manhood, wioh the condition cf residence in the district. Of course there is no enquiry instituted at the time of registration as to the person claiming to be placed on the roll being actually a resident in the district, and so it would be easy enough, for any number of noti-residcnts to get placed on the roll, a: id also for the same person i.o got registered several times in dillerent names. Something of this kind appears to Live been done in West Melbourne. '-'The practice," says the Secretary to .the National Registration Society, "seems to be to induce casually and permanently employed persons at work in West Mcl bourne, in connection with the wharves, rail ways, and factories, whether resident in the district, or not, to register as electors. This process need not cost the non-resident applicants f6r a residental right anything. One of the present members for West Melbourne furnished to the registrar at least 200, and possibly a larger number of shilling fee stamps, to be used when the present roll was made up. Political agents, the proprietors of some hotels, refreshment rooms, and lodging-houses, also provide feo stamps, and retain the electoral rights, some holding from 20 to 50 rights thus obtained."

By such a system of fraud the votes of the persons who have really the right to vote are nullified, and their highest political privilege is stolen from them. A. greater political CKime can scarcely be conceived, and yet, strange to say, it is of a nature that is too frequently committed in ultrademocratic countries. The practice of roll stuiling, of the wholesale manufacture of fictitious votes, is particularly rifo in America, and it' would almost seem to be the natural accompaniment of the extension of the franchise without other qualifications than manhood. Iv the instance of Victoria the fault lies nob so much with the people themselves, as is the case in America, as with the .sort of men who happen for the time to be at tho head of affairs. There will come a change before long, and then there will no doubt be some system adopted that will serve effectually to purge the electoral rolls of fictitious names, and prevent suoh occurrences as the one at the iast.We.st Melbourne election.

Mr Symons, pianoforte tuner, is now in Napier, and will be happy to execute any orders for tuning or repairing pianos or organs. Orders are to bo loft for him at Jacobs' repository, Hastings-street.

On Sunday next, boing Palm Sunday, a Confirmation Service will be hold in the Church of St. John the Evangelist, by the Eight Rev. the Bishop of Waiapu.

Tho conspiracy case against Messrs Donnelly and Price -was resumed yesterday at the R.M. Court, and the evidence of three witnesses for tho defence taken. Before proceeding with the case Mr Lascolles asked that Mr Price be excused from attendance, .is ho was suffering from low fever. He; had, in fact, gob out of bed for tho purpose of attending the Court. Mr Price was then allowed .to loavo tho Court. Tho case will bo continued this morning after tho civil business is disposed of.

M. R. Davidson's tenders for tho purchase of the toll-gates and residences at Tareha's Bridge and tho Taradalo-road have boon accepted. The tender for the Taradalo-road house and gate was £35 10s, and for that of Taroha's Bridge £25 10s.

The dramatic company at the Theatre Royal played last night to a much larger house than they have had for some time. The drama of "Worth a Struggle" was repeated, and was well received. Tho. j)lot of the piece is slender enough, but the interest is sustained throughout, and the admirable way in which the different members of the company sustained thenparts made tho piece a decided a success, The Misses Johns and Morgan and Mr Simmons had the burden of the work, and they acted with great care. Tho performance concluded with tho burlosquo "La Sonmauibula," and tho vigorous manner in which it was played stamps this as one of tho host burlesque companies that has visited Napier. Tonight Mr Harry Simmons is to receive a complimentary benefit under distinguished patronage, and tho Artillery J»and is to bo in attendance. Mr Simmons is an old Napier favorite, and we trust there will be a crowded house.

Our Picton contemporary complains Ui;vt oa Saturday last, the day fixed for '.}ho nomination of candidates to iill a

vacancy in the Picton Borough Council, not a single nomination paper was furnished td the Returning Officer, consequently tho election lapsed, and the vacancy still remains. . To-morrow nominations aro required to fill a", vacant seat now vacant in the, Council, and should this be as unsitccqssful as that on last Saturday, ilio Council will coii'sist of. only eight members, with no probability of obtaining tho legal n\\mKci\^£venin(/-: Chronicle. . — *-"' Tho Stewart Family closed thoir season in Wellington on Friday evening at the Imperial Opera Hoiise With a crowded hQUses^'M^Stowart-" took occasion id tkank.tlio* Press of New Zealand for their •tyiUq'iies of the perf ormanco, and stated., •feffr hd Wo'ilM' i'cturri L: totlte colony about tho end of tho year with an entirely now entertainment '-'" The v -Rev. Charles Penny will visit Norffewcrod, on Thursday next, and Wood on iSiinday. The; ■Li/UeUoti. Ifatex, ' speaking of the J position, of. the Agcnt-Goncra! as a diroc- . tor d.f ...a. land company^ says: — "The duties of tho two positions — of AgentG'onoral ; ; aud director' of .a Land and Immigration. Company — must; whether tho settlement portion of the company's programme bo groat or Small/ necessarily clash: 1 -No' man can serve two masters, a'nd> •loa'st- of all in such a"case as this. Yet ' Sir Julius Yogel is trying to do so. and against his bettor judgment, for it is not a groat many years since ho exprc'ssod I his ' decided objection in Parliament to the 'position Avhich his predecessor, Dr Feathorstpn, has accepted as one of; the. directors oi tho iYational Bajik. And though iigainst his better judgmoni lie has ; acted in his iie\v capacity' so thoroughly as to have received, if report . speaks- frilly,, a { handsome .commission, ' stated "at -£20,000 for bis services. If lie co-niio^ serve two .nmstei-Sj : the 'interest of one of them -ni list suffer j .and it is passible that it will not bo tho interest; of the. better paynlaster. >If Sir Julius Yof?el is to continue to act as a proin'oter a-.u't director' Gf joint stock companion for colonial investment, the interests of the public, so rvico require that his connection with it' should cease. ; As it is inadvisable, for his own sake as well as fox* the pitbJic credit's sakoj that any. 'speculation sliodid- pbtaiii' the prestige attaching to his high official position, it is imperative that he should cease to hold that position. It is hi^h time the Go- ' veniment advised Sir Julius Yogel that ho must elect either to, retire wholly into piivato life, or devote himself entirely to tho Ag'ont-Gqnoralskip." \ The telegraph \viros 'to tho South were working very badly cl uring yesterday and la?.{; night; aiiJ iii «ous'oqiiun(se, our xtsual budget by' " special wiro " did not como through, Tho line with Auckland was working better, and we received a few items thence. Tho Marchioness of Normanby has consented to become the patroness of tho Victoria Ladies' Working Association; The object of tho association is to afford to women of culture, whose narrow means of support necessitate personal exertion, an acceptable mode of making that exertion profitable. People who cross City Hall Square at night might havo noticed (says a New York paper) a little old woman dressed in :n.i old brown govvn, a tight sacque, iii id a white frilled eap'scrupulously clean. She walks tho square from 9 p.m. till past midnight to and fro, scanning every maids face, and after many disappointments cvory night goes slowly, very late, up to her home in Melberry-street. About four four years ago John Ecilly, her husband, was employed in the pressroom of tho Herald. About nine o'clock every night ho met his wife, who brought down his lunch and carried back tho dishes. Oue cold dark night he did not meet her, and as sho did not know tho way to the press-room she waited some time and then went homo. In her room sho found his dead body upon the bed. He had been killed by .a roll o2 paper. She did not die, though she was near

dying, and she still waits every night to meet her husband. . Winter and summer are alike to her, and no', weather delays Her, though sho is sixty years of age.

One of the wards of the Melbourne Immigrants' Home was recently near being the scone of a dreadful tragedy. About midnight one of the inmates, an old fellow named James Smith, left his bed, and, in a state of nudity, went on to tho verandah. -The riight,nurse expostulated with Smith, and advised him to return to his ward. The man apparently took the nurses-advice,s -advice, but in ■ reality he merely proceeded to his ward, whore he obtained a table knife, armed- with which he stole into the room of the wardsman, who was in bed at the time, and dozing. Tho wretched maniac made 'several lunges with his knife at tho wardsman, who, by this time, was fully awakened to his perilous situation, and who succeeded, after a struggle, in disarming tho would-be homicide. Smith was taken before the City Court, and as there were doubts entertained as to his sanity, he was remanded for a week for medical examination. It appears that Smith some , time since made a similar attack upon another wardsman.

St. Peter's Church, Wellington, according to the Chronicle, is to be provided with a peal of eight bells. The tenor will weigh loewt. The cost of the peal willte about .L'soo.

The following announcement lately appeared in a newspaper: — '"Edward Eden, painter, is requested to comniuni-' cate with his brother, when he will hear of something to his advantage — his creditors are dead."

The Akaroa Mail of Tuesday says, that a slight difficulty occurred between the captain and crew of the Hawea, which called in there on Sunday. It aj)poars that about eight of the crew .struck work, on the ground that they ought not to be called upon to work in port on Sunday without extra pay. The captain called upon the- police to arrest the recaloitrant seamen, but the " men in blue" declined to interfere.. The officers, therefore, had to turn to and load and discharge the cargo themselves.

In the Legislative Assembly on tho evening of the loth inst. (says tho Sydney Mo mint/ Herald), an address to be presented to the Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, prior to his Excellency's departure for Now Zealand, was agreed to by 41 votes to 2, tho minority being Messrs. M'Elhonn and Terry. It expressed approval of liis Excellency's administrative capacities iii connection with public affairs m New South Wales, and stated that his career in his new sphere of action would bo watched with interest. Tho Speaker was appointed to TH-p^-f, the address to the Governor, and did so in due course. .

Preferring to tho disclosures , made by the accounts in the bankrupt estate of a Manchester linn, the chairman . of a meeting of Us creditors said ; — " Since the Collie fraud of 1885, no commercial failure has occurred so disastrous to tho credit and pockets of Manchester men as this of Ueugh, Balfonr, and Co. I will not enter at any length upon those accounts, as any information will be given to you by tha accountants ; but there is one item in the separate estate of John Heiigh, which I cannot look over— it is the sum of £33,917 5s 4d for the expenses of the orphanage and charities. (Laughter.) This munificent charity of tin insolvent estate appears to me ghastly in the light of these revelations. (Hear, hear.) It reminds me of a remark of our bishop that there arc some men amongst us who build churches out ox their ungodly gains to fee them to heaven. (Laughter and applause.) I speak strongly because I fool intensely that wo in Manchester have been frightfully deceived for years past as to the position of the credit of Mr John Heugh."

The annual general report of the British army for the year 1811, just published, shows that tfn Jan. 1, 1878, the' army was considerably above its t authorised., strength, the establishment tfeing 464,877, a'tid tho effective strength, owing' to the number of siijTbrnxunaries enrolled, amounted to 166,306 rank aiidftlo,. The number of troop's stationed in 'England is sit'#fc&l to bo 70,058; in the Channel lslahd^lß'62;.irtT-rel'ind, 22,792; ancVin Scotland;' 40361 The" c'oloniqs absorb 27,942, and tho garrison of Inclify, ftCjV counts for 61,612, making a total, 'including drafts on passage to and from India 7 and the colonies, of 190,245 of all winks'; . A,youngster, ; while poru'sirtg* £t r chapter of Genesis, turning to his father, inquired if th : e people in those days used to do' their sums on (he , grpuh'd. It was . discovered that ho had b'eon; reading', the passage, "And the sons of -men! miiltij)liocl on the face of the earth." . Tho fashion of " reversing" in the. valse is all the rage just now at dances, and bids fair to deprive the " mazy valsel" of much of that elegance and smoothness which the poet has described as "the poetry of motion." Tlio'se' ' who' are proficient in this somewhat difficult a'cebniplishment, and, worse still, those' who 5 arc not, career about a ball-room in all directions 1 , twisting' and twirling evidently very much to their own satisfaction, but greatly to tho. inconvenience and annoyance, of the . uninitiated. — Loncto'n Tvuth. '■ "iEgles" contributes' the following to tho Australasian.—" k gentloimtn who ; formerly held a commission in the 11 Hi '' L'ancjprs, and who has been a resident of Melbourne foT' jftany years, determined the other day to return a'rrd' settle in the old country. An intimate and consictetatei friend asked -him if lie had any books to road on tha voyage. 'No, 5 was ;the reply j ' I have not —all ray books I have read more than onae*' ' Then,' said jttie friend, ' leave the provision of books to mo. I would like to give you s'dnie'i' ' Af6w days later, there was a book sale by',, auoiitfn, and tho. faithful friend bought freely, sending his purchases as a .kindly ■gift to tho voyager. A day oi 1 ' tw'tf later said the departing lancer, 'My dear follow, it was very kind of you to send mo these books, but ".curiously enough they are without exception from my own library, which I sold last Saturday at Goinmoil's !' "' '

Noticing tlio obelisks of Egypt, 1 the' Philadelphia Bulletin says :• — '■ Next after the greatest, it may be in order to' nofcioe tlie oldest of the existing obelisks. This is tlio duo close to the modern vilof M atareeah, on. the site of Heliopolis, . in tlio land or Goshcn, near Cairo'; ; A single perpendicular line of hieroglyphic ornaments on each side records its erec-^ tion by Osirtasen 1., or probably about b.o. 3000. The inscription, with one slight exception, is the same on all sides. A myriad of ' wasps' nests now completely obscure the 1 carv'irfgg on two of the surfaces. Authorities differ regarding its height, but sixty-eight feet two inches is given as the latest measurement by Mariotte Bey. Nearly six feet of the length is buried in the accumulation of soil deposited by the Nile ; and the stone, even at thn surface of the ground, presents sad evidences of the destruction caused by repeated visits of the water. The opposito sidos only are equal, the measurements at the base being six feet one inch and six feet three inches. Pococke gives six feet and six feet four inches as his finding 1 in the same connection. The southern side of the shaftis the best preserved, while the western is in the worst condition . on account of having scaled to a height of about fifteen feet. This obelisk is supposed to. have stood at the entrance to the great Temple of the Sun, whore Moses studied thoology. Remnants of the temenos or enclosure of this sanctuary still remain.

A correspondent of the Port Augusta Dispatch (South Australia), writing on the 10th inst., relates. the following sensational incident :— " An engine drawing eight waggons containing railway muterials, &c, left our local station at about 4 o'clock On Monday morning for the Fifteen-mile Camp. Several persons on the train were admiring the beaiitiful effect produced by the 'sparks from the engine, when just after entering the hills this" side of Saltia their admiration was turned to dismay as the guard from the end trucks was seen leaping from one truck to another in an excited manner, exclaiming ' A fire in the powder truck.' Of course the driver stopped the engine at once. The truck in which the fire was contained, besides tools for workmen, 12 kegs of gunpowder, each containing 501 b. The guard before leaving the end trucks uncoupled the last three under the impression that there was no other chance of escaping destruction than by leaving such dangerous company behind as soon as full speed could do it 1 . Mr Harrison, an overseer on the line, .Avas a passenger. He took a bucket, filled it from the tender, and rushed to the sixth truck containing the poAvder, and after using four buckets of water the lire was extinguished, the other passengers leaving the train and running in various directions. Tho only covering over tho powder was two bags, one of which was totally destroyed and the other partially. The end of one keg containing powder was charred almost through, a second one being also slightly damaged. A more miraculous escape can hardly be imagined, and had it not been for the presence of mind of Mr Harrison it is doubtful if the whole train would have escaped total destruction, together with the loss of seven or eight lives, besides damage to tho permanent way."