The Oamaru Times

North Otago Times, Volume XI, Issue 348, 22 September 1868, Page 2

The Oamaru Times

AND "WAITAKI REPORTER,

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2 1, 1868.

"We pity Mr Stafford ! he is on a sort of political treadmill — as fast as lie gets over one difficulty another crops up. "What with an Opposition who, with clogged pertinacity, have set themselves to endeavor to bring about Hie downfall of the Ministry, and as a natural consequence to get Lito power themselves — who, having given one pitched battle, which w.">s fairly fought out and resulted in their defeat, have pushed the Government forces to another engagement, which will last heaven only knows how many days, and who have already thrown down the challenge for another fight when this is over — with a Native rebellion assuming a much more serious phase than it has ever done before — with disaffection among Natives hitherto supposed to be friendly — with misunderstandings between officers employed against the rebels, and with serious reverses to the Colonial troops — who can wonder that Mr Stafford is " growing weary of official life, and cares not how soon he relinquishes it 1" But, if the Premier's position is just now one of extreme anxiety and difficulty, it is by so much the more an honorable one ; and we should — and we believe the Colony generally would — look upon a change of Ministry just now as a positive calamity. The bringing in of a new Government would, we fear, much complicate the Native difficulty, which requires now to he dealt with with firmness and consistency. It is very problematical indeed whether a change of Government would not produce a change of " policy," and it is precisely this constant changing of " policy" which is so unintelligible to the Natives, and is a fruitful source of Native difficulties. Mr Stafford cannot just now be spared to retire into the cool bliade of Opposition ; and, even though his arm be weary of the fight, as the champion of the principle of local government — the leader of the real, not the pseudo-Constitutional party — it is his duty to the Colony to fight to the last. It is satisfactory to find by the latest telegrams that his followers were rallying round their chief, and that the Government, notwithstandding the hints which found their way through Opposition channels — with whom " the wish was father to the thought" — that they would have a very near squeak fot their lives, were sure of a good majority. If the division shows this, the Opposition, if really actuated by a desire to serve the interests of the Colony, will give up a useless and exjiensive struggle to oust their opponents, and will settle down to the work of the session ; and if they do not adopt that course, the Colony generally will come to the conclusion that they are fighting le&s for principle than for place and power. We arc glad to see that the Government ai'e firm in refusing to allow the whole time of the House to be taken up with endless speeches to the " no confidence" motion, and are doing their best to get some of the wox-k of the session pushed through — otherwise, probably, the " massacre of the innocents" would have been this session unusually large. Among the Bills introduced, we notice one for the permission of the sending of newspaper exchanges free of postage. This is much more likely to pass the House than was Mr "Vogel's proposition to abolish newspaper postage altogether, for which we never anticipated anything but rejection. It will not materially affect the revenue, and will be a very considerable boon to newspaper proprietors, and through them to the public. Since ■writing the above, we find by a telegram in the " Daily Times" that the division on the " no confidence" motion took place on Friday night, with the following result : — For the Government, 37 ; against, 30. Majority for Government, 7.

Tho Rev. A. Gifford has been returned as Clerical, and E,. B. Luslc, Esq., of Auckland, as Lay Representative of this district, in the Geneial Synod, to be held at Auckland. We are glad to notice that the timber for tho Di illshed for No. 8 Company, has arrived, and that tho contractor is now busily employed in its erection. The Rov. Mr Watt of Green Island, preached a Gaelic sermon on Sabbath afternoon, in St. Paul's Church. This, we believe, is the. first occasion on which the Go&pel has been preached in Oaniaru, in what the Ct,lts fondly believe to have been the language of our first parents. Tho Special Jury Cause, Bank of Otago v. Royse and another, which was commenced on Tuosday afternoon, after occupying the Supreme Court during a long day's sitting, it ended in a verdict for the plaintiffs, for L9000 (the amount of five bills sued on) with i jntereat.

The conceit in aid of fcho funds of St. Luko's Church promises to be a great success, and certainly doseives to bo bo, those who have piomised to take part in it having been veiy steadilv piactiaing for somo time past. The programme, which will be found in another colum»> is a very attractive solection of sacred and s^u^ar niusic ; and, no Ics3 for their own enjoyment than for the object of the concert, wo hope the public will see to it that every seat is occupied. Mr Gilkison, who has recently been appointed to the Bauk of New Zealand htue, wfts, on the occasion of his leaving Kaiapoi, presentod ,>^th a silver claret jug, suitably inscubed, and -the " tress" of the 17th btates that, *' with the balance of subscriptions, a voiy handsome silver salver has also been -pui chased and forwaided to Onmaru. It contains the same insciiption as that on the jug." A meeting of the Oamaru Distiict School Committee was held on the 18th inst. Present — Messrs Gibbs (in the chaii), Ashcioft, Black, Sumpter, Rule, and J. Booth, Hon. i>ec, also Mr J. Hislop, Government Inspector. The minutes of the pievious meeting were read and confhined. Tho chairman stated that the business of the meeting was the appointment of a Head Master, foi which position there were twelve candidates, most of them, to judge fiom the applications and recommendations, being possessed of great ability. After carefully oxamiuiug tho ceitificates of each applicant, the Committee unanimously appointed Mr R. Haswell, now Master of the Taita School, at Wellington. Mr Haswell is a certificated Master fiom the Glasgow Tiaining College, and is competent to instruct m Latin, French, algebra, mathematics, and music, in addition to the oidiuary branches of instiuction. It was fuithei resolved that the Sccretaiy be instructed, on behalf of the Committee, to lequest Mr Fleming to take chaigo of the school until Mr Haswell's ainval. After tho customary vote of thanks to the chair, the Committee adjourned. Mr Wilson Gray will hold his next Court at Oamaru, on Tuosday, Gth October. The school at Awamoko, under the charge of Mr James Oliver, was examined by Mr fii&lop, the Government Inspector, on Thuisday laat. Thcie weie fouiteen pupils piesent, and they weie carefully examined in reading, spelling, giamraai, anthmetic, &.c. They exhibited coubideiable undei standing of tho substance of the lessons selected by tho Inspector, and the copybooks aud specimens of peni.i.ui&hip showed gieat neatne&d and caie. Under Mr Ohver'a leadeiship two hymns weio sung with accuiaoy and tasio. At the clo^o of tho examination, the Inspector exiue^e'l his entile silisf.iction with the manner m which the scholais nad acquitted thon'selves, and with tho progie&9 they had evidently mado under Mr Oliver's caie. He cousideied that tho appeaiauce of the school and tho progress of the papils affoided abundant pioof of Mi Oliver's fitness for the work of school leaching, and of the intelligence, diligence and skill, with which ho has pel formed his duties as Master of the Awamoko school sinco its eslabishmenc thieo or four months ago. Tho Freetrader, fiom Tasmania,, airived at Dunedia on the 14th instant, with 8U0 tiout ova, which have been landed and conveyed to the hatching boxes of the Society at Capt. Boyd's propei ty. The vessel was only eight days on her passage. The following interesting obituary notice is fiom tho " Daily Times :" — *'On tho 4th instant, the oldest man in tho Provinco died at Saddle hill, at the rare and ripe old age of 93. He left two senb and two daughters, IS grandsons and gionddaughtcis, and 21 gieatgiandsous and gieatgranddaughters, one of the latter being giown up. .For 70 yeais he was a sLite-quai rynian in the employ of Mr Stewart, of Ballacliiili&li. Ho cauio to this Ptovince with his childieu some ten yeais ago, and settled in the vicinity of Boat Harbor. Dm ing hia hfo he was free fiom ailment3, and never indulged in medicine. His natural faculties were to the last vivid. His habits were frugal, and to a very &hoit timo befoie his death, ho was alw ay«s — ea.i ly at work in the mormnp;, tending cattlo and looking after the firm. Ho was a Gaelic Episcopalian, and on Easter Monday, aud when any of his greatgrandchildren were b\ptiscd, he .attended St. Paul's Chuich, Dunedm. The fuuci.il of this aged veteian was Lugely attended, the service being peiformed by the Rev. Mr Giaingei." A contempoiary thus summarises the Bakeis' and Milleis' Bill, recently passed:— "It contains twentj'two clauses, and pro\ ides that all bread shall be made of 'puie and sound' meal of 'wheat, bailcj', lye, oats, buckwheat, Indian corn, peas, bcaus, lice, or potatoes, or any of them, and with any common, bait, puie water, eggs, milk, barm, leaven, potato or other yeast, and mixed in such propoitions as may bo thought fit, and with no other iugiodient or mattei whatsoever." Household wheaten bread is to bo maiked vvith a Roman letter H ; mixed broad is to be maiked M ; ponalty for not maiking, 10s. Biead is to bo sold by weight otherwise the baker is subject to a penalty of 40s. Fiench lolls and fancy broad aie exempt. Using any other weights than avoiidupois will subject tho bakur to a penalty not oxceeding L5, nor less than os. Also, bakers are to prowde their shops with weights and scales. False weights subject tho baker to a penalty of L5." The " Dail) Mail" diaws attention to a new bianch of industiy established in tho cutting, Piiuceb-street, Duuedm. The industry is one u&iuliy to hu mot with only in cities of some irupoitanee and pretensions. Tho aiticlcs aie of a fancy deuciiption of walking sticks, mado fiom the native woods of Otago, aud are of many and varied kinds— fiom the ordinary and useful, to the highly-finished and gold-mounted stick. The gold is the pioduce of Otago fields, and tho designs aio both chaste and elegant. We lecommend a visit of inspection to Mr Baxtei's collection. Mi 1 Baxter, from his experience in the tiade in Oxford-street, London, cannot fail to be well acquainted with his bubines3, and the tastes and requirements of the public in that particular branch of the tiade. The " WaikouaitiHeiald"has the following: — "Kuowmg the repoit respecting Hau-haus at Waikouaiti (promulgated under tho nom de plume of ' Senn-Pabeka, in the columns of tho ' Daily Times' by a well-known chaiacter, whose haimless effusions have often found space in this journal), to have been most fully and emphatically denied in all its details by Mr Koss, the lesuleut schoolma&tci and Maori Iustiuctor aud Interpietor, and that tlie whole matter was since clearly ex plained to the ' gentleman' lepicsentmg himself as ' Tiavelhug Kepoitei' to the leading journal, wo confidently expected that the UDJust and c.ilumnious statement would have been coriectcd through the columns of the paper fiom which it emanated; but as nothing eontiadictoiy has as jet appealed, we aio requested by Mr Ross to state that no foundation whatever exists for putting foith such, a sensational stor}'. "We consider that Mr Ross's re&ideuco at the Maori Kaik, his thorough knowledge of the chaiacter, language, and manueis of tho Maoiis — acquiied by constant and intimate intercom se with them, extending over a period of several years— entitle Inn 1 to hpeak with authority on this subject, and to place the matter beyond a doubt and entirely refute the statement propagated by ' SemiPjkeha." The Waikouaiti Maoiis are a quiet, inoffensive, industrious, and well-disposed clabs of natives, and it is with pleasuio that we can bear testimony to this fact. Fuither, wo are assured that every Alaori at the Kaik has been converted to the Christian faith, and theieisnot a heathen Maori resilient within the distuct. The " Daily Mail," in adverting to the benefits delivnblo from quick and regular communication between this port and Dunedin, instances the circumstance that " the Wallace, p.a., each trip last week brought from Oamaru and landed at Poi t Chalmers, several carcasses of fine fat mutton, looking as fresh and clean as could be desired."

In the Resident Magistrate's Court on Fiiday the folio-wing oases were disposed of : — White ▼. Jones, claim l<fi 5s. for goods supplied. Judgement for plaintiff, with 13s. costs. "White v. Rusbaeh, claim L10 15a. for goods supplied. Judgement for plaintiff, with 7s. costs. Lewis v. Royse, Mudie and Miller, claim L39 8s. 4d. for goods supplied. Judgement for plaintiff, with costs. On Monday, James O'Brien was charged with stealing a purse containing about 28s., tho pioperty of Michael Kezan. Sergeant Bullen stated that prisoner and prosecutor had been friends for upwards of two years, that they camo into Oamaru and drank together, prosecutor becoming hopelessly intoxicated. On coming partially to himself Kezan found that prisoner was m possession of his purse, and gave information to the police. Ho (Kozan), however, now i of used to prosecute, ou the giound that ho was not sure that he did not hand over his purse to prisoner's custody, and that even if he had not done so piisoner, from his long acquaintance with him, was perfectly justified in taking care of his (piosecutor's) puise on seeing the stato he was in. The Sergeant applied for a dischaigo, which was gianted. Fines for the trespass of hoises or cattle weie inflicted in tho following cases, the amouuts given including costs : — Neil Fleming, 9s. ; Thomas Haitley, 9s. Gd. ; Gavin Paterson, 3s. 6d. ; George Orr, 4s. Gd. ; Andrew Baker, 2s. Gd. : John Dodds, 3s. Cd. ; John Hamilton, 2s. 6d. Tho Magistrate stated that these fines woie inflicted under the Municipal By-laws, but by a recent Ordinance of the Piovincial Council a penalty as high a» L5 could be inflicted for cattle trespass. Ho hoped that cattle ownei s would take warning. Thomas Walker was charged with occupying ceitain wnsfco lamia Of llio Crown in Block VTT , Oamaiu, without license. Defendant said ho had lodged an application for a license, but had commenced woik befoie he had leceived it. Serjeant Bullen produced his authority as a Crown Ranger for the Piovince. He had found the defendant quairying btouo upon tho section referred to, and had called upon him to pioduce his license, but he had none. Defendant's employer stated that the leason why he had allowed tho quanying to proceed without a license was that ho had ascertained that another person had quanied a quantity of stone just pieviously without a license. Ser^eaut Bullen said this was on the principle ,of "two wiougs mako ono right." He did not wish that a heavy penally should bo mfiicted, as defendant had since piocured a license. Tho penalty might ha L50, but he only asked for a small n-io, so as to show the necessity for obtaining a propci license. The Migibtiata said that had tho defendant taken the tioublo to apply to the Ciown Rangei foi pennibMon to quanj landing the leceipt of h« license, the ca.->e would have been veiy ddfeieut, but as it was he would meiel^mflict a small penalty besides the costs. Fined Is,., ami 10s costs. Phillip Kollar was fined m the costs, viz., 5s. Cd., for obatmcling the footway by allowing a horso to remain upon it, and in a similar sum tor turning a hoiso looso in the public sheets. Thomas Procter was chaiged with an iufimgement of his licen&o by allowing spuituous liquors to be drunk on his premises after 10 p.m. The defendant admitted tho fact, but pleaded justification ; tho persons to whom the liquor was supplied weie bona fide tiavellers. They came to his house just as he was closing to tiansact some business, and oideied two glasses of liquor, which, however, they did not drink. One of tnem came in fiom the Kakanui and tho other from the Totara, the thud was a s hanger. One of the three slept at the hotel all ni^ht Publicans woi o compelled to keep a llEcht burniug all niylit. That was, lie presumed, for the convenience of tiavelleis. Seigoant Bullen did not thiuk that peisons residing within a few miles of town, and who lotuined the same night, could be consideied bona fide tiav lleis. The Magkhato said that undor the p'e&ent oidinance theie did not seem to Do any exception made in favor of tiavellers; under a pievious oidinauce theio was such an exception but no definition of the term tiaveller. Under all tho circumstances he would fine defendant in tho costs only, via., 6s. Gd. In the Supicino Couit ou Fiiclay, m the eajao o£_£l»-a Bank of Otago v, Campbell, the jury returned a veidict foi the defendant.