North Otago Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1908. A LIBERAL POLICY.

North Otago Times, 7 January 1908, Page 2

North Otago Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. TUESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1908. A LIBERAL POLICY.

The battle lliat is being waged be tween Messrs l'hilp apd nidston, lik Premier and leader of the .Upppsition in tlid Queensland Parliament, is on the lines of tho liberalisation of every public institution and function. Mr l(idston could not get his measures through an Upper House largely of his own creating, and not knowing exactly where he was with the Labor l'arty, .ho sought surcease from his sorrows Ijy resigning, Mr Kidston was quite well aware that Mr l'hilp could not foriii a Ministry that would lust without tho support of tho Labor Party, wliiclr was coy and diffident as lie canio a body that was making tho most of the three-party system. It holds the balance of power in (lueenslund as it docs in tho Commonwealth Parliament, and there is no'doubt is, to a very!largo extent, the rulor of tho country, -Wlieit Mr Kidston resigned because of tho many political troubles that nlllictcd him. the Governor sent for Mr l'hilp, and Mr Philp formed a' Ministry, winch, howovpr, was in' a minority, the Labor Porly refusing to' tio -itself to his politics, Mr l'hilp know,more than Mr Kidston. Ho appealed to-tho-Governor for n dissolution, to which Mr Kidston offered very strong objection,', but the Governor, owing to tho inability of either party to get it? measures through, granted 'Mr l'hilp'a dissolution, luul .tlio two parties;nre now on the eve of a general election,- each side offering more than ilia people lmvo any right to expect or that will bo good for them. But Mr Philp indicates that his party if elocfted, will be prepared to grant two reforms that aro badly, needed in all tho colonies. One is a reduction of the number of members of tho Lower House add- the other is pinking thp. Upper Houso elective, No reasonably intelligent man could think otherwise than.that this country, for instance, is ovcr-meinbered.' Wtf have doubtless bulged out considerably sinco wo became a Dominion, but Dominion or no wo do not require 'BO mombers to govern this colony. It is ft waste of energy aiuln' waste of money. It is incontrovertible that tho colony could be run at two-thirds, its present cost and one of tho rcasoiis of the present cost is,'the incessant appeals to these 80 members to. provide for tho maintenance by tho Stato of electors or tin children of electors. As long as tin country is prosperous tho :peoplo'will

submit to wliul tlicy know to Le dangerously wrong, hut the party tlmt was led :by Mr/'Scddon—the present Iparty in power Imve not yet had time to. develop itself _in this respectgrossly abused (ho trust plural i.i them by doubling the cost of administering the affairs o( the colony. Hut why should (ho party in power havo iho privilege and constitutional right of electing the members of the Upper House ? The Upper (louse does not, it is true, formulate ut policy, but it can introduce measures (lint may, ii they pass, liiivo a negative effect on tho progress and betterment of n country. Wu havo passed from the ago when men considered it an honor to belong to the highest public bo.ly in tho land, and rich and poor havt degenerated, for it is now a (|Ueslion of money. Tho nssistanco of a microscope is not required to discern tlw causes that lead to appointment tc the Upper House of this or any of the Australian Stales. The " olevatel " must Imvo materially bcuolittcd the cause of tho party in power even if in doing so thoy havo been defeated at the polls, (s this not a degradation of (ho public institutions of the country, and has it not been carried to extremes in this colony? It has become so flagrantly apparent that there is hardly an elector in tho colony outside the Upper House, who has not dtftcrmincd on its destruction at the first opportunity. A Ministry can play fast and ldi)M for a rime with whi)t it considers the intelligence of a country, but tlmt blunting of the political conscience will not last for ever. Thd people are the best judges, and although tho Ministry may evince the disposition of Hussia in regulating tho Upper House to suit itself the people will nssert themselves and cither end or mend the thing. Next door to endintr the Upper House of Queensland. Mr l'hilp Ims done tho best thing in promising to make it elective-thai is if ho is elected with a majority at his • back,

The Gorman Court scandal cuso lias been full of surmises. A journalist named Hcrr Harden published certain charges against Count von Moltlie, I'rinco LMiilip Eulenbtirii, Count Williclm von Iloheiuiu ami Count von Lvnur. The persona concerned resigned their positions—civil and military. Count von Moltlie initiated n prosecution, and Counts Hohennu and Lynnr tied to Eirypt. Count von Moltku's case failed, liia larnier wife giving incriminutimr evidence against him. The evidence given at the trial was ol a disgustiiii* character. Tlio Public Proseentor of Berlin intervened, and ordered a new trial lieforo five judges. At this trial the former wife of the Count acknowledged that her previous' evidenco wus false, nnd the verdict went in favor of the Count, The President of the.Court, as stated in a cable in yesterday's issue, declared that Count von Aloltlie " emerged unstained from the trial,'' uml Hcrr Harden was sentenced to four months' imprisonment. Nothing the President said, had been proved against Princo Eulciiburir. Hut nothing is suid about Counts llohenau and Lynur, who fled to "Egypt soon after the revelations were made. These two latter were the companions and intimate friends of the two former, and if they accepted tlio position by flight they certainly condemned themselves in . the eyes of all unprejudiced persons. An innocent parson docs 'not generally seek safety in flight from a phantasm, and whether tlioy accept the advice of tlio Minister of War " to return and Bland their triil for the honor of Germany and their families'; tlio fact that they in tlio first instance placed a safe distance''between themselves and the German authorities, who, at the ins'lcntion of tlio Kaiser, arc enforcing cleanly lives in German officialdom, is a point that will be hard to discount by any Hunfcqncnt events that may appear to be favorable to thorn,

The 'S.s, Wiinnkn loads for Napier, Gieborne, and Aucklntul about Fridav January 10th.

Tho s.s. Toroa arrived in port on Monday morning, and offer taking in produce left for Nnvior. Clirlstcliurch is about to arrange for tt poll* oil the liulMiolitlny question in terms of the Act.

Mnjls,for tho United Kingdom and Continent of Europe, via Monte Video and fcucrilTo, per I'aparoa. close at Hollmglou on Thursday, 16th inst. at 10 a.m.

Jho local bodies in and about finmru are taking steps to protest against the closing of the Lund Ollice at linrnru, owing to the largo number of Government settlers in tho neighborhood.

Iho annual meeting of the contributors to the North Otago Henevolent fcuciety will bo held in tho office of tho Society on Thursday, .the 9th inst,. at JJ o clock.. Iho business -is to elect two trustees,

Tho s.s. Corimin, 1271 tons, Captain Cumeron, arrived from Duncdin on Sunday night, and landed .11 tons of general , caivo; (liter loading 10 tons of produce she sailed for Timaru early yesterday morning.

Tho present' spell of dry weather in the is' having a bad cllect. on- the jaericiiltural prospects of tho district; It is feared that unless rain falls within a wcclc or two, the result will bo disastrous,

Potatoes seem to bo a drug on the market, A Wairarapa trader report! that ho has just bought 200 sacks of potatoes, real good Up-to-Dates, for £lo-a shilling a sack, The tubers came from Oamaru.

A farmer of this district says that he will have to plough up his turnips, so badly have they become infected with.the blight; but, liko others, lie is no doubt waiting for ruin tlint would remedy most of tho ills tho agriculturist is suffering from. Our subscribers on tho Kurow line will note that wo aro taking advantage of tho morning train twice ut wcok lo despatch our papers thither earlier on those days than has been possible in the past. The alteration will bo ap-, predated, we havo no doubt. ; :

At the .Courthouse, yesterday, l before Mr G, lirownleo, "J,P, 4 ' James M'Neil was charged with indecent exposure in tlie public gardens dt Orimaru on tlio 29th December. Mr Tljorrinp appeared for tjie accused. Sergt.. Griffith applied-lor a remand till noxt day to allow the case to be heard before Mr Turtori, S.M., and there being no objection tlw remand was granted. Alfred Millon .was charged with' drunkenness at Glonavy on Saturday, and with procuring liciuor during iho currency of a _ prohibition order, A similar application for remand till this morning, was granted, Messrs Dalgety and Co., Limited, have received tho following cable message from their London oflico, dated January 2nd: " The butter market is firm. . The CopcnKagon oflirial quotation is unchanged. Tho total imports info the United Kingdom for tho.wnek ending 28th,utt. amounted-to 62,000 cwt, as.compared with 58,000 owl for the corresponding period of 1906, Wo

tiiioiti'finest 118s, unaaltctl -"Jj™ s a ' good demand. fov inferior qualities.- Wo do not expect any important chango in prices lor tlio present. • llio Loinuutiea of the lui.s.ri nW met in tho institution i.H'iML'. Present,; Messrs bcooi tn. u didentl, Tliomaa, Headland, Uavw, aiwiimush, • town."■ Ucswick, .UttJl'Adam and Vlutton, .and ' iiMCon Gould. Ti'o librarian s lep.n on tlic roll. W to offer tho nailers and »»»" do by lender as usjal. Account., i wore passed for payment,, and tin uieoting shortly after terminated. A severe accident happened to a young man named Daniel Go < inR. ol Georeotowu. on Saturday night. He was cycling over from Gcoigetow t Enfield with two. companions, and inoiniiig driwn the st'ooji Tussocky Koad iilii l icvelo cot away with h" n > ami 10 was thrown off, and neye smashed. When picked up he • found to bo unconscious, and p» »">' Inn was sent for, who ordered his ie moval to the Hospital, whero ho now lies still unconscious.* Tho the accident "happened is veiy steel, and tho fall, must havo been a buyore one. • . Some timo ago the , Lnnt ' Dopartment entered into " c 2° "J" with tho Borough Council with *- r nnco to the endowment of tue j rnuu body held under an unexpired lease |)V Messrs It. Campbell and S°ns, fiom Si tho Otekaiko Estate as tag ourchased l,y tho Government. T Council has now agreed to accept surrender of the lease, with " N ' reoderincf it m ono ortt v oa ' C area of the endowment is 13 and tho unexpired term of tho ease is about five vem's. [lie Council, hoft • over, have not yet decided when .the lease shall bo offcml. but it s p o V In that it Will 1)0 alter the ballot [or Otokaikc, when those who aie unsuccessful in tho one will have a >1,,,- chance with tho other. H o Land Purchase Hoard had decided to take over the lcaso from Mcssis 1. ' hell and Sons, as from tho 9th Mai cl. Vnn, which date tho new lease will "Vile Limericks craze is not considered by the Commonwealth aw aut ho lilies \says tho Melbourne Aws j ; ■Mill ult.l to he a form of lottc j which tail bo legitimately dealt with dialer Federal postal legislation, borne little time ago tho Colac i'W'css Js; sociation ottered a pn« °f th o guineas to tho person who sent in e best lino completing a Limerick, fo ut lines of which were advertised in.tne local press. ..Somebody whose sense of the ludicrous was rather blunt senta letter to tho Tostmastcr-Geneuil, ask ing him to deal with tho competition as a lottery, and place the correspondence upon the postal pro nbi'ion; The matter was referred to the Crown Law authoiities, with the result indicated. It is understood, however, that tlio l'ostmasler-Gcnernl has bten advised that the Stato Government can, if so disposed, deal with. Limeuck competitions; The papers ,in the present case will probably be sent on to Mr Bent. Yesterday the PostmasterGeneral lidded to hi 3 " index the jolItiwing German lotteries: (U Tho city of Hambuig Stato .lottery. Hamburg; (2V.thq Duchy,of Brunswick State lot(etV.'Nowsfrdlitz.,so' postal articles so will bo forwarded by tho Commonwealth Post Office, The (fallowing are tho liabilities and iiss'eW'in tlit).(jstatc of.Thomas loung Clarli, builder, of Duntroon, who has been adjudged a bankrupt: Creditors: lvurow-11. Brims, £3 18s 7d, Dun-edin-ilogg arid Co,, £5 ; J. .K, Butler, lis Ikl; D.1.C., 110 3a 7u; Kaitiiiiiruiu Coal ComlHUiy, W 2ajlUl. Oaiiiaru—T, Kennedy, £3 2s 2d: Wuss. and Hons, 15s; N.Z. Glothnw Companv, £3 17s; C, I!. Morris 13s; Ogilvic and Son, .£1 '.ls ; <l. Craig and Co., £1!)-14s Id;;.' Biwynlee. il 8s lid: J. G, Finch aiid Co,. £IB;,N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Company, .£2 2s • Oamaru Mail, .£1 10s. Ngapura— Milligan and Bond. .€l3. Christchurch—Trade Company,'it Is. nywi1mm — I Traynor Bros.. £ll 12s lid; Finlayson and Co., IBs. \\niniate—». ('nmiTon, ss,- lnverrargill—\Yrcn Bros. £3O ss; Southland Timber .Company, .£72 13s Bd.: ■,Hall, South Co.. Cl;, N.Z. Hardware Company, £270 lfis 2d ;■ Tintany Bros.. £ll Os Sd ; Broad, Small and Co., £27 8s '.ld; Southland Eii"ineeriiifr Company., £lO-; «. Lewis, £1: M'Konzic, £2 : M. Welsh. £3 10s; -T. H. Stewart and Co., £10; M, Gilfcdder, £lf Ms Id.Duntroon— Fyfte Bros,, £25 7* ; 3. ■ London, £1 Jss': 11. Samson, £3 125,; 11. -Watson, £7 17s 'fidtotal, £f>2s 10s 0(1. The assets lire; Timber, etc., £lO 19s 2d; jjook debts. .£lO • total, £56 19s 2d. ' Deficiency. £SOB lis <1(1. The examination will be held on the lltli Janunry, _ At the meeting of thc.Oaiuuru Atne-na-juiu last night reference was inade to tne loss which the Uommiltcd was to sustain in the removal from Oamaru of the Veil. Archdeacon Gould, who tins weeic removes to Uuncdin to'take up llio position to which lie was inducted on Sunday. Tho'President (Mr J. Scoon) remarked, when other business was concluded, that this was the last meeting at which Archdeacon Gould would be present, and he would like to express his appreciation of the. valuo of his work on behalf of the institution, He had given valuable assistance in the (leliberations of the Committee, and had takon a keen interest in the selection of ' new books. For some eighteen years the Archdeacon had been connected with tlio institution, and all were very sorry indeed that ho was now about to leave. Mr A, Headland, as probably tho oldest member of the Committee, expressed his regret at tho loss of Archdeacon Gould, During the many yoars ; they. had. been on the Committen together he (Mr Headland) had admired the Work done by the Archdeacon. He had rendered valuable assistance in the arduous task of cataloguing tlio library some years ago, and on many occasions had shown his' interest in tlio Athenaeum, l)r Whit-' ton ulso remembered that ycdrs ' ago, when a member of Committee, ho bad admired Archdeacon Gould as ut consistent worker in tho interests of tlio institutions Mr W. H. Brown also cordially supplemented what had been said. Archdeacon Gould, in reply, thanked the members for the kind expressions that had fallen from them. Tiioro was no institution in Oamaru with which lie had been connected longer than this, and ho had had a erait deal ol pleasure in this connection. He was sorry to see the subset ikers' roll falling so low as atpi'csoit, and tho moro sorry because ho believed it was the best library possessed by any similar sized town in Now Zealand, He hoped interest in it would revive, and that it would increases in usefulness. It was agreed that a small committee should prepare a recognition of Archdeacon Gould's services to the institution, . to bo engrossed in tho minutes, and a eon;- to be fonVardcd to Archdeacon Gould.

Mr J. SWINDLEY, Surgeon Dentist, will visit Kurow on. Thursrlav next, January 9th. and may bo consulted at Spinrs' Hotel. A miscellaneous lot of very necesBaty household articles that hove como up for special mention. These are goods in everyday demand, offered at prices now in force ot Penrose's Wliito Sale. Linen table covers, mado up ready to wear, bordered all round, sjilcndid reductions, sizo 2yds x 2yds; usual prices,- 9s' fid. 12s, 15s; white 6»lo prices, 6s Gd, 8s 6d, lis Gd. Sizo 2yds x 2Jyds:, usual prices, 10s fid, 12s Cd, 17s fid; white solo prices, 7s 6d, 8s 9d. 13s fid. Size 2yds x 34yds : usual prices, 14s 6d, 18s (id; whitf sale prices, 10s 9d, 13s Gd. All linen serviettes, half-price; usual price 9d. wliito sale price 4Jd, Fifty pairs white lace curtains, half-prico; übubl prices, '7b fid, 8s 6d,ios fid; wliito sale prices, Us 9d. 4s 3d, Ss 3d. Fifty pairs (only) wliito lace curtains at half-prico; come early for lace curtains. All wliito noods greatly reduced, plenty of useful articles suitable for presents.- 1 PENROSE'S Drapery Establishment. -