GENERAL NEWS.

Marlborough Press, Volume XVI, Issue 948, 10 March 1875, Page 3

GENERAL NEWS.

Of this year’s wheat crop the Canterbury Press writes :—“ This year it is. a very low estimate to take it at an increase of 200,000 bushels, or a gross yield of 1,630,000 bushels. Taking our home requirements in consequence of the increased population, at 60,000 bushels in excess of last year, we have still a surplus for export of, in round numbers, 1,100.000. The question naturally arises, how is this to be got rid of ? The English market, which absorbed 700,000 bushels last year, is practically closed, as shipments at the latest quotations would not nett over 2s 6d to -2s 9d in Christchurch. The requirements of than usual, as the increase in population is more than counterbalanced by the splendid local crops they have already gathered. It is undoubtedly true that New Zealand as a whole will consume more than last year: but this cannot be estimated at over 400,000 bushels extra, as a large proportion of the immigrants were introduced in 1874, and this increased quantity will be supplied by Otago jis well as Canterbury, and aUo from the wheat grown locally in the North Island, which this year is considerable ” The competition for the cadet district prizes being concluded, the names of those entitled to shoot for the championship can now be given. The regulations provide that the thirty highest seoi#s for the champion prizes, of which there are three, the first being the Cadet Champion belt, with a silver medal and £8 ; the second £5; and the third £3. The thirty, and the scores they made in firing for the district prizes are as follows : -Cadet J. White, Dunedin, 72 ; Sergt. Partington, Auckland, 32 ; Corpl. Yates,, Auckland, 71 ; Cadet J. Currie, Waiuku, 67; Sub-Lieut. Beal, Auckland, 65 ; Cadet W. Ballinger, Wellington, 65; Ensign J. McDouxl, Rangitikei, 64 ; Lieut. W. Worthington, Southland, 64 ; Cadet A. Ballinger, Wellington, 63 ; Sergt. Arnad, Wanganui, 62 ; Cadet W. Hankin, Waikato, 61 ; Corporal W. Rout, Nelson, 61 ; Cadet, W. Milton, Wellington, 61 ; Corporal W. Johnstone, Rangitikei, 61 ; Cadet G. Howe, Wellington, 61 ; Cadet W. Eyre, Dunedin, 60 ; Sergt. H. Hawk, Marlborough, 60 ; Cadet H. Growden, Dunedin, 59 ; Corpl. W. Copeland, Wanganui, 58 ; Cadet Willis, Christchurch, 58 ; Cadet G. Pearson, Waikato, 58; Lieut. Rattray, Auckland, 58 ; Cadet T. Murray, Oamaru, 58 ; Cadet A. Shove, Nelson, 67; Cadet M. McLaren, Oamaru, 57 ; Cadet C. Stewart, Wellington, 57 ; Cadet J. Doige, Nelson, '56 ; Cadet J. Parker, Nelson, 50 ; Cadet E. Yates, Waiuku, 56. The Ohinemuri correspondent of an Auckland contemporary, writes :—“ The Luna is moored alongside Roapata te Pokeha’s settlement, to the evident delight of the brown-skinned villagers, who have the run of the vessel and lounge about her decks or lean over her bulwarks the live long day. The present visit of the Native Minister being an important one, the natives have donned their best attire, and some of them are wonderfully and fearfully got up regardless of expense. Here is one Maori swell, swelled up with a deep sense of his own importance as one of the lords of creation. He is dressed in a fashionable cut suit of tweed, and for which he had been measured like any other gentleman, and upon his head he wears a white belltopper, the color of which is brought iiito bold relief by his dark teown face; altogether his figure is impressive, very much so ; and so is the appearance of another much younger swell who 3tands besides him—a regular ‘ stand off the grass’ sort of gentleman—sporting a black silk beaver, and having a decided weakness for stick-up collars and gaudy neckties. The Maori ladies are not a whit behind the gentlemen in the matter of costume, for the startling colors of their dresses and the mysterious paraphernalia of their fashionable hats are wonderful to behold, and some of them even hold aloft a gingham umbrella to protect their delicate features from the fierce rays of the noon-day sun. Calmly surveying the gay assemblage from the bridge of the steamer, as a father his children, is the benign countenance and white.beaver of the Hon. Dr Pollen.”

Mr J. E. Fitzgerald, the Controller-General, in a letter to the New Zealand Times, declares that Arclibisliop Manning’s reply to Mr Gladstone’s Expostulation is “painfully unsatisfactory” if he is to be accepted as the mjuth-piece of English Catholics. But although persuaded that the Archbishop is not so, yet as he is the exponent of a large party of the Catholic body in Europe, Mr Fitzgerald calls attention to the political immorality of the doctrine his Eminence asserts. “ The doctrine that the civil allegiance of no man is unlimited, and that therefore the civil allegiance of all men who believe in God or are governed by conscience is in that sense divided, is either directly contrary to all political duty, or it is disingenuous and beside the question. If it is meant that a man, in obedience to what he believes to be the higher obligations of a divine law, is sometimes justified in disobeying or opposing the laws of the land in which he lives, submitting to the consequences of his act, the doctrine may be admitted. But that is not the question raised by the discussion on the Vatican decrees. It is whether the allegiance of a subject may morally be divided between two national powers, and this is utterly opposed to all political morality. In this sense a man’s allegiance is not limited either by his belief in God or by conscience. Should the two principles conflict, art honest and honorable man has but one course, namely, to transfer his allegiance and his person to some other State, allegiance to which is compatible with his sense of personal duty. . Any honest English Catholic, therefore, who does not recognise his undivided allegiance to the Queen ought, in my view, to become a naturalised subject of the Pope, and become a foreigner as regards his status in England.”

It will comfort the Board of Education of the Province of Wellington to hear what is said of them beyond their bounds. This is how. the Auckland Southern Cross speaks of them in a late issue Shame must Have no blush, and justice but little meaning to the Education Board of the Province of Wellington, otherwise we should believe it impossible that they could have passed such a resolution as they adopted with regard to the remuneration of teachers for training and instructing pupil teachers. The instruction, it appears, has to be given, as, of course, it necessarily must, after the ordinary work of the school is over. Yet the Board decided that masters of schools should receive the munificent allowance of £8 per annum for the first two pupil teachers who successfully passed the standard specified by the Inspector, and £3 each for every additional pupil, and it is. added that ‘ masters would be expected to give pupil teachers one hour's instruction each day, or five hours per week.’ This is overtime payment with a vengeance. £8 a year is just 3s a week, or less than 54d an hour for training youths to teach the children of the Colony. The youngest boy in the printing-office of this journal, whose duty it is to fold papers and run errands, gets 4d an hour for overtime, or four-fifths of the pay given by the Wellington Board of Education to educated men, who perform the work Of training the teachers of the future! Few masters will have more than three pupils of this kind, and the most will have only two. At the best, therefore with three pupils to train, the master would have £ll a year for the work,-or just lOd an hour—a sum at which a pick-and-shovel man for steady work would sublimely turn up his nose. Oh, windy city of the South, may airs. from Heaven teach your rulers, tf not generosity, at least justice !” The Bruce Herald reports a case—Capstick v. Badeock— heard before Mr Carew, R.M., to recover a debt of £9 9s 6d. The defendant, who described himself as “ a swell out of luck,’’ deposed that two years ago he received money from Home under his father’s will ; the event wa* impressed upon hi** memory, because ho went to

see the Melbourne Cup run, when Don Juan won it. The first money he got Was £IOOO ; that went mostly on race-horses. Witness recognised the cheque' he had given, on which he was sued } but what he gave the cheque for he could not recollect. He had received money from Home subsequently to the £IOO0 —nearly another £IOOO, he supposed. Defendant was a single man, and kept no'house or servants. Things were in such a peculiar position just now that he did not know what he had and what he had not. If his creditors would allow liim time to get well, and remember, he would settle his affairs, but taking him by the wool unsettled him. He had signed a deed in the hospital about a month ago, but could swear he did not know what he signed. He Wanted money to get little comforts, and would have signed anything. This paper was put before him, and he signed it. He would have signed anything. The paper was something about defendant’s property, which consisted of land, shops, and houses in Milton, worth nearly £IOOO. He could not recollect whether he had previously given a mortgage over that property to Edward Forbes to secure a sum of £250. The election for the Municipal Couucil of Milton killed him. Defendant was sorry to say he knew a person named Albert Larnach, some time manager of the National Bank, Tokomairiro. He saw Larnach at the National Bank, Fort Chalmers, after the election, but could not remember the date, Defendant knew no more of dates than did the man in the moon. He remembered getting some money from Larnach. Defendant had an indistinct recollection of Forbes' name being mentioned in the bank, but remembered nothing about documents signed in connection with him. Defendant thought Forbes was some office fellow. He was not in the habit of bothering his head about that sort of fellow. Forbes came to his bedside when lie was half dead. Defendant would not swear whether or not he had said that he had only received £IOO out of the £250. He might get himself into trouble if he got admitting these kind of things. The money was given to pack him off to Melbourne. Defendant did riot remember, in November last, signing a conveyance of his shops and houses to Philip, of the Commercial Hotel. He remembered getting some paltry pounds advanced at the time by either Philip, or Maule, or somebody, and signing a document. Mr Reid gave him the money as he was in a buggy going to town to the hospital. Dyer came to the hospital to see defendant, as he was a friend of his. Dyer was very kind to him. Mr Mount’s clerk used to come to him at the hospital, and chuck a £5 note at him occasionally. Mouat and Dyer might have explained what he was signing, but defendant could not remember. In his condition of health he would have signed anything. At present defendant had no property beyond the clothes on his back. He had owned a section at the cross-roads which once belonged to Mr Black, but he did not know what he had done with it. He might have sold it to Mr Dyer.—Mr Taylor : Then you have spent £2OOO in two years, and yet had no establishment and were a single man.— Defendant: No’ establishment! I had a deuced fine establishment. The Oarandinis were there one night, and we had lofs of Champagne.—Plaintiff was called and proved the debt, and judg? ment.—The Court made an order for payment within one week, or •in default one month’s imprisonment.