The Oamaru Times, AND WAITAKI REPORTER. THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1865.

North Otago Times, 17 August 1865, Page 2

The Oamaru Times, AND WAITAKI REPORTER. THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1865.

Following up our remarks in last week's issue on the vice regal Speech of His Excellency Sir GnoiioB Guey at the opening of the present session of the General Assembly, we arrive, as stated, ut the subject of the proposed Stamp Duties. Taxation is invariably a gloomy subject to deal with : all men are alike prone to think what a delightful world this would be were there no taxgatherers at all. They rank amongst the oldest of the world's, institutions, however; all countries have required their services ; and we very much fear that New Zealand is not to be an execpti >n to the general rule. There is the greater reason, therefore, that her colonists should look the matter steadily in t'^e f.ice. At the present moment it is incumbent on them to do so. It is stated t^at not only will the imposition of Stamp Duties be neeess-irv to meet the exigent circumstin^esof the General Government at the present time, but «lso that the ordinary revenue of Provinces stands in ore-it danger of being further trenched upon. This latter will be a severe Jind unexp'eted blow to those Provinces which, notwithstanding the extensive pruning their Departmental Expenditure has iinder?on*» during 1 the pn«* twelve months, yet find their ineome greatlv below what is requisite to nvet all detinues upon their several exehequ<Ms. Should th° additional two ei'/ht<5 of Customs T? *venne. therefore, which has been mnni'^in^ in comic qnarters as the present rned'tated slice from the portion of Provincial Governments — thus leaving only one-eighth available for their own requirements — it will necessitate «<ome careful scheming to make both ends meet for the future. However, we trust matters will not be brought to <meh undesirable extreme*. It is unpleasant to contemplate the bare idea of such under existing circumstances It is a fact, nntent to nil. that the Col on v must ptit herself in a position to meet all calls 'upon the general purse. But in 'he faee of n further continu'.neeof the native stmggie — that siVk'Miin'r tlnin upon our resources in the North Maud — the important qu'Mion come< to br» a^kod. ** How is-ch?<« to be ie-r-omplisi el r" Fur the present, we will waive the question of how *ar the Colony should be held liable — or is really and fairly liable — for tjie expenses of the war; for it must be ad-' ihitted that, through the wavering, vaccillating; and despotic policy 'of Her Majesty's Representative, the financial embarrassments of the Colonv cannot be said to-have-been-of-our own seeking. • They have. ,bee,n in a mea^ »s'ure forced upon us. - Waiving all this, we say. — What is best to' he done under the cirdumstances ? Can tho confi?cnted_ lands, pr any n&i^ion thein^ be^ sol4 for the purpose

of assisting to relieve us of a portion of our burden ? Of cour.se they might, and ought, but, we fear, not at present. Now is a most unfavorable time to get quit of them. It is -ty> be dieaded, then, that the imposition of additional taxation must be~ regarded as a ihnver resort. Last session, great outcry was raised against the hasty and "unsatisfactory manner in which a most oppressive tariff was passed through the House; but men's minds were kept more ea«:y than they otherwise would have been, on beiiig,informed that it was but a temporary expedient for " raising the wind." We wonder what the General Government think now of the promise they then made, or the people of the chances of its being fulfilled. As to the imposition of Stamp Duties, we regard it as, in any case, a more equitable source of revenue than taxation upon the very necessaries of life ; and if additional revenue must be forthcoming, we do not see at present a more feasible or less objectionable mode of obtaining it. Doubtless a considerable revenue • could be raised from Stamp Duties — on Bills of Exchange, for example. There is really little reason in our paying duty on r< mittances from Britain or elsewhere, and at same time derive no revenue from our remittances to those plares. The exports from New Zealand now amount annually to a most respectable total. For the quarter ending 3 1st March last, the value of the exports amounted to £'1,390,71**. Such portions of the p oce ds «>f the sales of such good«, as are remitted to us by Bills of Exchange, are subject to a Stamp Duty, which of course is deducted from the proceeds of the sales, and credited to the exchequer of the respective country whence they are remitted. Is it leasonable, then, that the enormous amounts remitted minunlly from New Zealand ti Great Britain and other countiies should bring nothing to the New Zealand revenue? Our imports are double in amount those of oar exports, and merchants remit proceeds of sales to a very large a-nount by Bills of Exchange upon unstamped paper — the Colony thus losing a stamp duty which should be charged to the foreign consignor and credited to our revenue. We in New Zealand cannot receive the s nallest sun fiom Gtcut Britain without paying to the Inperial Treasury a stamp dutv. yet we remit large sums to the same country, and receive no accession to our revenue. Again, fortunes let hue by relatives of persons residing in England, may be forwarded without the necessity of stump*. In aoy case, however, whether the legatee l»e resident or non-lesident,-wlu-ro property exceeded a certain amount, a Stamp Duty upon probite and letter* of administration, and a tax upon bequests, eoul I hardly 1-e o'jected to by legatees. Then there are certain clashes of leases, conveyances, decN, policies of insurance, transfer of shares in public pompuoies &c . &.C.. which might, we think, be cbasged with a Stimp Duty. The Income an 1 Property Tax. we sincerely trust, will be successfully opposed; and the export duty on wool, sugg^ted a^ a substitute, will, we imagine*, not he carried without ji struggle. We are glad to perceive tb it a strung feeling against increased taxation is becoming general amongst members of the Assembly : and we hope, therefore, that their collective wisdom will devise some menus of relief to the Colony less objectionable to the people.

We are in a position to s*ate that tender* will be called for fie erection of the Oamaru T<>tty in the course of a few diys, Imt that no tender will necessarily l>e accepted unless afc or und> r the ant'.orm 1 s ! im. As we have before stated. Mr RaFoui is confident that the work" can be executed for L7<)0) The tenders will be called for. sublet to the Debentures hem? sold: but; it is cmtcmtiiat d tint then- will be little difficulty on that sc^re, should any on° tender for the woik at or under the L70) '. It. is we understand, verv pro1> ilile that alternative offers for timber and iron will be taken. Tt is with feelings of much regret that we have to announce this week the death of Dr Williams, an old residenter in this district. The sad event occurred at half-past one o'clock on the morning of Monday last. He h id latterly been confined to the house for only two or three days, but he had been suffering verv much for some time past from bionchitis, which ultimately brought on inflammation of the lung's, the immediate cause of death. Dr Waite was in attendance on the decensed to the last. Dr Williams has resided in Oamaru for a peiiod of between five and '•ix ypars, prior to which time he was in practice at i'okomsuriro. He wa« a native of Wales, but has been out in the colonies for a great many years. His loss to this district will be widely felt. He leaves a wife and several children to mourn his loss, as well as a large circle of fiiends in this place and elsewhere who will doubtless he grieved to le.nn of his death. The deceased gentleman ■was respected bv all who knew him. He was a member of the Town Boird here, and at all times took a lively interest in its affairs. His age was 39 years. We liesr to remind our readers and the public generally that, th" Ploughing Match in connection with the Noithern Agricultural and Pastoral Association will come off to-moirow (Fridav), the Wth instant. The land selected is at Mudt'y Creek, on the pioperty of the Hon. H. J. Miller, and now in the posspssion of MrCliyton. We observe from the rules tint all ploughs mu«t 1>e on tb« ground at 9 o'clock a m., at which time ploughmen will di aw lots for place 1 ?. The prizes for ho'se,tnd bullock fa ams will be as follows : - First, prize, L7 ; Pocond priz n , L5; Thud piize, L3 : T'ouith piize, L2; for the best ciown. LI ; for the best finish, LI. Extra prizes may bo allowed at the discretion of the judge*. The third of the s°res of Headings in connection with* the M< chanics' Institute, was d divered on the evening of Fiid.iy last, in the rooms of the Institution, by Mr William Black. The evening was v«rv fnvoraMe, and a la 1 ger number of nersons were present thnn we have before observed. The idace of meeting, though sra ill, we think very siiita't'e for the purpos", and conduces mure to the comfo t of the audi""C9 than ili 1 the Pouit-hnuse. whi'o a cheerful fire contiihuted not a little to hei dren the effect. We could not fsii', however, to notice that the attendance of the la lies of Onmaru was very limited. It was remarked to us at the time tint possibly an ide.v tint the r»oms of th" Institiite would be w it. ting in comfort, had «o r ie abroid; if so. we f •«•! pleasure in being able to allay any uneasiness on that point. Th« «-ul>j, ct of Mr Black's Reading was the "Lfe and Adventures of Ma tin PhimVwit.," from which exquisite fiction a few choice extiacts we>e eiven In mtioducing the sublet. .Mr Black said lie could not do better than lornim nc bv giving the nnthoi's preface. This he considered the tno r e necessiry, sine those of his hearers who had not read Hie book "w ould b» otherwise at a loss to discover the plot, from the few chnpW* he would be ab'e fo read to them wifhm the allotted time. T<> read the whole book woidd ocrupv twn'y hours, so that those present could resili.se how impossible it would be in a single rending to do just ee to all or any of the characters th"r i-i po'ir'ra\el. The nndierc» listened with great attention fchri'tsjlumr and. Scot' h fashion, at the clo c e greeted tlm r a 't with a irf>n"'n u burs'- of ap la^se. The narrativo of Reading, wo feel assured, is^o well known tha f . we consider it quifce superfluous to do moie than mention tho name of tho book. Previous to the meeting separating, on tho motion of Captain, Qodfrey, heconded by Mr James Bruce, a hearty vote of thanks was tendered to Mr Bl.ick. That gentleman briefly acknowledged the compliment, and the meeting broke .up. . To-morrow (Friday), the 18th insfc., lias hean fixed by Mr Haidv, the Commissioner of Roads, as the day of -Meeting at ELampden for,t,he formation ,of that district into"a'Roa<i district. Sirriilar Meetings" will' be held at (J|tepop(i, , on. Monday , the, 21st; and Oamaru, on Wednesday'the 23rd current, afrnoon. l> The O.im'ai a Meeting w,ill takie place in Baker's Hotel. r ,\ , > jMr Eitzg»rald, of Cliristchuruli, has succeeded Mr Mantelljia Niiti^e^Miw?te.«. 31'IALJ I_ > •'

A party of our townsmen stole a couple of days last week from the cares :in<l toils of business to enjoy a trip to Slug Point, and view (he pxtensive works which lire being- carried on by Mr Hutchison, the • nterprisiiig proprietor of the coal mines there. Ariiving there, they found the workings at the head of a small rock bound raviue,fitp which small ve»selsare taken and loaded with great facility and despatch A wall of solid masonry. 70 feet ac-oss, is eonstincted here, and on the southern side is luio-.hnr and longer wall of solid stone, nenien'ed "and finished in the strongest manner. This latter forms a very suitable wharf. • A lock at the entrance, however, has been an obstruction to Mr Hutchison's operations, ami li° has expended a great deal of time and money in endeavouring to blast it, but hitherto without much success. Mr Balfour, the Marine Engineer, when on a visit to the place some time ago, promised to use his influence with the Gove» nment, that s me assistance might be accorded to Mr Ilutchinson in.his enterprizu ; but, up to this time there are no signs of anything being done in the mitter. The coal procured at Shag Point bears a good character, anil is very suitable for stoves, burning as it 'does more clean than tiiatiy other Kinds of New Zealand coal which we have seen. It finds a good market here ut £ i 3s per ton, but little has been done for the past few months in consequence of Mr Hutchison's vessels having been sent round to the West Coast. He has been far from idle, however, as he has been engaged in forming a road to his marble quarry in Shag Valley. Four miles of it are already completed, accomplishingitat a vast expense. The difficulties which every way beset him, we are told would be too much for our Government Road Engineers, unless at a cost ten times the amount which Mr Hutchison is expen ling. The road is formed across and through gullies and over ridges, stone culverts on a large scale being found necessary in some places. Following this route, we aie informed', that the formation' of a road to Hampden by'Kartigi, would not be an expensive work, ofFoiing, as it does, no serious engineering obstacles. It is seldom that such an amount of perseveiance and entei prize is displayed by any single individual, as we find in the case of Mi- Hutchison, and we sincerely trust that every th msand pounds he h-is expended in roads and works at flhag Point, will return to him wi f h ample mteiest. The piufcy did not return to Oatmru without a •' souvenir" of their vwt to that pai t of the coast, and that in the shape of one or two of the famous boulders, of a porcthle size, gathered at what the natives characteristically term the " Devil's Foundry." At a mpeting of the Executive on Tuesday, it was conside-ed most advisable that steps should be at once taken for th» purpose of exploii'ig a route to the West Coast from the head of Lake Wauaka, in ordvsr to bring about a result that Would be so advantageous to the Fiovince, and contribute so matei iaily to the development of a country whoso rich natural endowments are as yet only a mitter of conj ctuie, as well as op->u up direct communication with the A est Coast Goklfields. We reft r our readers to the Programme of the Pastoral anl Agricultuial Association's Show iu October next, in another part of this issue. A quantify of straw, empty cask*, and refusp material weiv. on Sunday last, obseived to be on fiie at the rear of the premises occupied by Mr G. R. Taylor, general stoi^k^epei, Thames-street. The flmie.s were extinguished before any serious damage was done. Had the building. ho%vever, been constructed of wood in p ace of being built of stone, there cannot bo a doubt that the whole wo'il I hive boon b-unt to th»* uro'ind. The debris was h ing quite v;lo-.e to the bick wall, wh.ch was bl te'eened by the s'noke The pclice and several of the eifzens deserve great, praise for the promptitude with which they extinguished the flam-s and remove I all danger. The origin of the fire lias not been ascertained. We are informed that steps will immediately be taken to enlist the snpfort of the publiofOtimam and biirroii'idi g disti icts on behalf of the Oamaru Race Meetinc, win h itis pioposed to hold, as UMial, about the time of the Pastor.d and Agricultural Associ ition's Show in October. We believea public meeting will be calle I for the evening of Fiiday, the 25th insfc., in the S+arand Garter Hotel, fWthe purpose of making the ueccssaiy arrange > ents We observe tint tho Rev Chailes Connor will deliver a I>ctuie on bphilf of thp Sleuh mi s' Inslitut-, on the evening of Fri lay, the 1st S -ptemVr n^xt. We are informed that Mr liestell, from Chri<tchurch, having oecuinn to vi«it Oamaru, ha« kindly cois»nted to deliver a Ljctuie next week. We slid! intimite th<j day. and subject in our next issue. Ab the Resident Magistrate's CVnu t here on Safcurd.v last, Geor,.ce Paul, latciy employed as wa tei in Bakei's Northern Hotel, was brought up on the clurgo of stealing a number of knives, spoons, salt cellars, <ui I a ta'-ltj cloth, the propel ty of Mr Baker. No'ie of the nt ticb s could be sworn to, with the exception of (<h<> fable cloth ; and he was found gmltv of th it offence At the conclusion of the case. Sergt Bullen cravf d a postponement of the sentence, to enable hi-n to biing forward a second cbaige of stealing a bund'e of shirts fiou the same hotel. On this charge Paul pleaded gnilrv, at fir,t admitting that he^h id taken them by mistake. He was summardv sentenced to six months' imprisonment, with haul labor; being 4 month* for the fir^t and 2 months for the st'eond charge, he having admitted hw guilt witli regard to it. It is rumn'iml tint Mr Henry flapcott, who retired in favor of Dick in the contest for the Superintendency, is likely to become Provincial Secretai v. It has been notified hv the Government that a SubInsppctor of Sheep for the Southern district, in loom of Mr ITarvev. is required Applicitions for the appointment mn»t be made by letter to the Piovinci d Treasurer not later than noon of Tuesday, the 29th August current. A Christohurch telegram reports the dissolution of the Auckland Provincial Council. Previous to the departure of General Cameron from Auckland, he caused a copy of a letter ho had sent to hi* Excellency Sir Georsje f*rey, to be inserted in the " Daily Southern Cross," in which he denies th' 1 statement of the latter in his speech at the opening of the Assembly that. Brigadier-General Waddv, C B., Colonel Trevor, and other officers were precluded by their ordeis fiom taking any pirt in the opeiations ngainst the Wereroa pah. This w ill doubtless be a nut for Sir G j or<?e to crack, but ceitiinly the taste which prompted the Geneial to publish tins statpnient in the manner mentioned is open to question. Viewing both S'des of it, impartial thinkers must now doubtless come to the conclusion that both have erred in the course they have recently pursued. General Waddy, in Irs letter of the 19th -July to the Governor, st-ites that he could not, unless he received orders froii General Cameron, tike any put in the immediate, reduction of the pah. We find the policy of Geneial Cameron tallving precisely with that advocated in a recent number of the London "Times." The latest news fiom the *^orth repoits that the cutter Kate has been destroyed by natives at Whakatine, Auckland, and that Mr Fallnon, the Government interpreter, and the ciptam and mate of the vessel, wre mmdeied. Mr Robinson, an int< nded settler at Whakatane, was also murdered. Lieut. Waiipg, of the 50th Reiriment. was «hot, on the 9th inst , at Kakaramia, the fu'thpst outpost up at Paten, in the Wans»anui distiict, bv ambushed r«>bel«, while out pigeon-fchooting one'day. His body fell iuto the hands of the savages. The Alhanibra, which sailed for Melbourne on Tuespav. took a cargo of provincial produce, consisting of 2493 bags of oats, 1210 bags of potatoes, bisides nearly 8400 oui ces of gold. Tho "Timnru Herald" h.is an artiele on the desi-a-bilitv of otiening up oornmnnienfion, throuctb a suptioied pass ri the Mackenzie Countrv, with the W. at Coist,, and winds up with the following remaiks : — '• We rea'lv think that some movement should be taken in the m itter l>y the nrv rcmtile com n init.v here ; xnd we belipve tliev would not have n-uch difficulty in oh^aini'ig the cooperation of Oairaru and Dunedin— for the opening up a road to the We-.t Coast i'i the direction meiilion»d would materially add to the wealth of those pi ices. The Cancel hmy Government ou»ht to p'ace funds nt the disposal of the Timiru Roul Bond the purpose <>f assisting to fit out »n expe lition. We have si precedent in the master; for a party of gentlemen in ChrNtchuich, more desirous of speing the countrv than rendering i*" a i frvice, w re supplied with funds to issist in pa\ing their pic-nic. If a subscription-list wts opened, a goo'l sum, we be'ieve. wo'ild be subscribed, and with an addition from the Government, a party co ill be fi ted out, or a reward offered for the discovery of a pass." The Postrmstpr-Gpnpral, in tbp Hnn-e nf Assembly, th« other day. s'ateil tint instructi >ns had been sent to linrland for thirty or foHv miles of eaMe for the -ub-mai-ine Te'psra^b to connect the North and Mid Ma islands of NpwZ alnnd. The ens' of the ciMo will be Lilt 000 and T,10.0' 0 mo e i« si-t apart for tlie expense (t e importing it, laying it down, and oHiur incident d charges "Tho Attorney-General," says the " Lvttelron Times," " has "given an opinion ad ver«e to the Munici|>al Councils Act, which will affect all bodies corporate of Hew Zealand generally." _ '_ ' __ Two gentlemen at Akaroa have obtained during the winter there one hundred and fifty doz^n of the true mud oyster. They are said "to have been very fine samples. < ' A Rifle Match between 10 men each of the West Taieri Bangers and the Eist Tiiieri Rifle Company, has resulted in favor of the former by fifteen points. At ■ the conclusion of the match^ Captain Thotnson,an(,l Jiieu,tenimt Fultoji, in name of the inembers of the West iTpieri Rangers, presented Dril^Instructor Stevens with a purio ■containing £20, in tokon of their appreciation of tlie services which ho has zendere.J to' the Conjpauj.i. T/

Yesterday afternoon, while several boj s were amusing themselves iu the court-yard of the Northei n Hotel, one of them thoughtlessly applied a burniusj match to a large furze hush which closely adjoined the hack wall of the Asaembly-roojn. Iu an instant it was in a blaze, and, had the w.tll ,beon of wood in place of iron, any one " may conceive the cxmsequences which would undoubtedly' have happened. As it wn.% the neighbors turned out with great alacrity, and with a few buckets of water extinguished the -flames. Tho youngsters, wo thought, rather enjoyed the sport, and perhaps were if anything chagi ined that it was brought to such au early end. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, Rampden, on Thursday last, a man named Donald Borrie was charged wit'i Having brought two bullocks across the boundary line at the Fiorse .Ranges, between the infected and clean ', cattl ■ districts. The offence was proven, and Boirie was ■ fined in the penalty of L50pei head for the two bullocks. , This is certainly a- large fine, but for intei est of the disstiic6 it is not the less impel ative that the spiead of ; pleuro-pneumonia should be prevented by every possible means, and it ispieferable that one should suffer, than that evciy herd in the district should be placed in jeopardy.* It in suspected that more cattle have been brought across the boundary line in a manner similar to th.it in which the animals iu question were brought, but we should hope that a few costly lessons like the pres nt will opei.it© as a salutary check. There are now two vacant Spats for the City of Dunedm in the Piovincial Couucil, in consequence of the elevation of Mr Dick to the Superintendeiii'y and the resignation of Mr Horace Bastings. It is i eported that the late Supeiintendent, Mr J. H. Harris, is willing to fill one of the seats, and that Mr M'Glashan will be asked to occupy the other. From the nieterological observations taken by Mr Rkey, of Dunediu, for tho month of July last, we find that the approximate mean temperature in shade for the month was 4}. So Full., highest maximum te-nperattire 6O.80 ; lowest miuimum do. 30.0o ; mean daily ran-te of temperature 10 8«>. The mean velocity of the wind per day for the month was 267 miles. The greatest velocity observed for twenty four hours was 600 miles. The total rain fall on seventeen days amounted to 2.626 inches. At the Canterbury Land Sale, on the 7th instant, 2810 aci es wero disposed of, realising in all £5620. A male seal was lately captured on the North Beach, near Kaiajioi, Canterbury, measuring 7 feet 7 inches in length, by 4 feet in girth, and weighing upwards of 4 cwfc. It showed fight to the three men, who captured aud killed it by successive Mows on the nose.