The New Zealand Herald. AUCKLAND, FRIDAY, JANUARY, 29, 1864. THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 66, 29 January 1864, Page 3

The New Zealand Herald.

AUCKLAND, FRIDAY, JANUARY, 29, 1864. THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES.

SI'ECTKMUK AGENDO. _ j '• (Uvo every man thine ear. but few Ui.v voice: i T':ke evh man's censure, nut reserve thy judgment. ] ThU above all.—To thine .nvnself bo true; I And il must f.'ll-.«v. ss tlio uislit tlie clay. | Thou canst not then be lalse to any man." i — * I

By the ' Stonn Bird.' which arrived late last j u night. we have received our usual Southern j 1 files. She left "Wellington on the 23rd. < Wancanui 011 the 2oth. Now Plymouth 011 | y the '27th. and liaglau yesterday. ! ' At Taranaki had taken place ; <" with the natives, in which both the military ! 1 and local forces had been engaged. The j 1 casualties on the part ot' the Maoris were I one killed and nine wounded. One of the 1 t natives wounded was wounded also in the 1 Mauku affair, and another used to work at 1 Mr. Seccombe s brewery. It appears that t none of our own men were hit. A lull 1 account ot this skirmish, trom the .I.oi aiuihi Herald of the 23rd inst., will be found 111 ( another column, and a correct list ot the ( killed and wounded, as discovered , time of the departure of the ".Storm Bird. At "Wellington the usual stagnation pre- 1 vails, and there is nothing to record except J the celebration of the regatta, ot which, in . the absence of anything else, the Wellington < papers make as much as they can. From Kaplan we learn that Major Mac- j Gregor has returned to his regiment, and that Colonel Haultain takes the olliee of i Magistrate at that place. Our 1 correspondent's letter will appear in our J next. f Tiniorau personal courtesy we have been , favoured with a tew disjointed copies ot Lou- , don journals to the 1 Ith November. Those, as far as they go. stop a gap created by the vacuum of the Mail service : and wesuppK a few of the more prominent gleanings \\c ( have been enabled to make. The European atmosphere seems lowering. The Emperor of the Trench and the king of Prussia have both convened their Parliaments and. through them, assured their dear and well beloved peoples of the devoted and constitutional regard they entertain for the preservation of their rights, and the advancement of their prosperity. The speech of the French Emperor has been differently interpreted on diflereut sides of the Channel. In Prance it is assumed to foreshadow war. Tll England, on the contrary, it seems to indicate a renewal of the Imperial affirmation that the Empire is peace." Be the true reading as it may. a Congress of the Nations has been invited, the purport of which, as far as our broken files will enable us to devine, is to obtain an European acknowledgment that the acquisitions obtained from Piedmont and Switzerland, and the new boundaries on the map of the world, as traced by Louis Napoleon, are altogether xclon ri\r/lc. The Address of his Prussian Majesty is as inflexible as ever. In his opinion his Kingdom is one of bayonets, .and by bayonets — as long as he can reign—he is resolved it

shall be upheld. No Assembly can drive him from that position. A budget not to his taste shall be no budget whatever—Parliament may oppose —the people may clamour —but lie alone knows the condition of the country. And the press, already gagged by edict, is to have that royal gaggery confirmed bylaw. So that, to quote the old Jacobite song, it looks very like as it' Ere the King's crown go ilown There arc crowns must be broke. ThisPrussian.State Controversy is evidently a sore in the side of Europe, and from an admirably and anxiously reasoned leading article in the Times of the lltli November, we transfer the subjoined striking paragraph : If the demeanour of the King anil Government give little hope of compromise, it cannot lie said thill the Deputies, on their part, appear at nil conciliatory, j The Chamber is strongly liberal, not to say Demo- j eratic, and it meets, we are told, in a very irritable temper. It is against Die King on the army i|uestion ; it hales his Ministers personally; and it looks iipon the attempt to supersede the authority of the Chamber with regard to the Ludgct as the very gravest of constitutional questions. It is agreed that the Chamber is in one respect more Radical than the last, for though the prodigious efforts of the Government have seated some few Conservatives for the districts where the party is powerful, yet a number of very strong and somewhat intemperate I/ilicrals have been elected, who will probably give a tone of greater earnestness, if not of acrimony, to debate. As to the polities of the Chamber, it is only necessary to read the analysis given within the last few days to see that the Ministry are in presence of a most hostile Assembly. The Left and Left Centre—that is, the Opposition—make up more than 210 votes. The more moderate Liberals, the trimmers of the last ]>arty, have suffered much in the late elections. The TJltramontanes have lost, and are reduced from 33 to 28 ; tlio Conservatives have inereiiscd from 11 to 37j w'nich tr, t.ho tbut o.t present supiwrts fit* •'ishws-'g Miuihtfv; ']'?•!< mj*dU : ogfeliisl MiuisUa* ia at SiSSf

The situation and present temper of partics ilo not, liercfore, promise much for reconciliation ; lmt it is mpossible to say what turn domestic affairs will talco 11 the prospect of external danger. If Europe wen; luiet, there would lie little chance of the Prussian lisputes coming to an end this year or tlio next; but Ruropc is far from composed, and the safety of Prussia requires that a good understanding should >xist between rulers and people. There is some dan;er, mid it is of a kind that Germans generally arc lisposed to exaggerate. Although it is impossible to ice any signs of yielding 011 either side, yet it may lie that the winter will not pass away without some .find of compromise. That this may bo the case we rally hope, for the present coullict, if carried out to die utmost, must cud ill the downfall of a Sovereign »r the forcible repression of a people, and either of :he two is a spectacle which cannot he seen without ■egret. Prussia—or at all events Prussia's Sovereign—is still tlio warm supportorof .Russia 111 suppression of Poland's struggle lor independence. One oppressor naturally rejoices in lite oppressions of another, however much Ihe nations iiiav pray confusion to.'ill .such. When Prance, "some sixty years since," was most: goaded the day of deliverance was most near. AV'lien will monarchs learn that they ure but mortals ? The following is the Sorcrcit/n remedy to jc applied for the -preservation of Poland. The Invatith liusse of St. Petersburg of the old, publishes the instructions addressed by General Berg o all the militarv commanders in the kingdom of Poland. The General desires that these commanders ncrease their efforts during the present season to mppress insurrection and to restore tranquility to he countrv. lie adds that such a result is possible 11 consequence of the great increase of the troops mder their orders. The commanders of districts are lehl responsible for the existence of armed bands in he countrv under their orders. General Berg like.so makes the inhabitants of the communes accoun.able for the acts of the insurgents, and orders the tiayors to be tried by court-martial. —Time.*, Nov. 11. The social of Great Uritain «eems to he on the descending scale. Mutilations and murders are 011 the increase; id much so that a degree of civic terrorism •eenis to prevail. AVe adverted in our issue of yesterday to \ threefold murder of a mother and her two children poisoned in a cab whilst driving through the most crowded thoroughfares of the C'itv. The assassin, who subsequently poisoned himselt, was the husband and father, a man named Hum, a traveller in the L'liiplov of Messrs. Butler and Metullock ot herbalists, lie and his wifeappearedtoCovent (lardeu. have led a life of 111111 ual jealousy and tniserv. 11 e caused the cab tost op at a house in Bishopsgate Street, called for a pot of beer, dexterously infused the poison, and having witnessed its successful operation, got out in Ilolboru. instructing Ihe cabman to drive an with tl e victims to a given address. Hunt lived at I'ambcnvell. and a neighbour who had read the account ol the murders, and who had seen him at home without wife or children communicated his suspicions to the police, bv whom Hunt was apprehended, but not before lie had swallowed aconite from the effects of which lie died in great agony ill the C'amberwell Station House. The preparations for the Crawly court-niai till (savs the ./<•««/ W Onutti) are completed on the part of the pro.-ccuiioii, and unless Colonel Crawly should require more tune to arrange bis defence, it is most proLable that the com; will assemble at Aide rsliot about the 17th November. The members will comprise. General Sir George "Whetherail president . Major Generals I.awrenson (inspector of eavalrv), I.'l i.-.-i 11. llnndev (inspector ot lntantry,. and Hodges -, ( olonel Gambler, ho_\.il Altlll<l\ . Colonel < lakes, l:2tli Lancers ; Lieut. Colonel .lenvns, i;;th Hussars; and Lieut. Colonel Sargent, :!d Hulls. Sir Alfred 1 lorsford will be prosecutor, and Colonel Pipon ollioiatiiig Judge Advocate General. The Valcou. 17, screw corvette. Commander Gr. IIParkin, made her otllcial trial of speed at Portsmouth veslcrdav- under the superintendence of Captain I[. 'liroadhead. eommandim:; I lie reserve at the port. The .-hip drew 1 lit. (jin. of water forward, and 1011. Sin. aft, on getting under weigh. The wind was moderate from S.\V.. but squally at times. Six runs wcjvlir-t insidf stt a mr:i>uivil mile with tlu v ioHowmu consecutive results in knots :-S-OW, S-(isl, S'!)ll, S"'7o 71)10. The mean speed ol the six runs via; 8-G 02 knots. At half boiler power four runs over the mile save .V 70! I, 5-012, -l'7:is, li-OSI. Übe mean •peed of the four runs was s'l IS knots. 11l testing -he en.dues to ascertain the time in which they could l,e worked, in obedience to a transmitted order, they were stopped dead in 11 seconds Iron, full speed. (Vom the time of moving the telegraph handle on the Irid-'O ; started ahead in 13 seconds, and astern ill .) -eeonds ; at the conclusion of the trial, the falcon erain anchored at Spitbcad, lint was ordered to leave ■fit evenin". or at davlitzlit this morning for Plymouth <ouud and' Australia. —Timrt, November 11.

Fhom ihe very first. when. ;it the close of last year, we brought before the Auckland piillficthe necessity oforganizinga movement for the relief of the wives ami children of the <oldierv at the front, we never loubted for a moment that the matter once started would be allowed to lapse —ami we ivere After one or two appeals irom he Hkkai.l) the matter was taken up by aur two other cotcmporaries. and the result has been the meeting of Wednesday, with its carefully collected statistics and matured )];UIS. , 1 As we said before, the first dilliculty to be jvcreome is tlie question of house room, and this appears to be ihe opinion of the late provisional committee. The native iiostlery and the immigration barracks would doubtless provide lioitse room for many families, but not for one quarter the number who require such accommodation, and it must lie remembered that this number is daily increasing ; that in the ' Kea King there arrived, on Wednesday, women and sixtv-nine children, the families „f soldiers-and that in the ' Empress fortyfour women- and seventy-four children may shortly be expected. These numbers are additional to those ascertained b\ Mt. Gn(illan, and swell the amount ol work ueloi'e Uf> Tho Provincial Council of Auckland has voted a sum of £200 towards the relief timd. With all duo duferciw.'e io tliilt letfislalne body we cannot think that this amount can be intended as their share towards the genial contribution. Indirectly Iho province is a. gainer by the introduction of the v> iH's and families of soldiers into it, lor the heads of such families usually remain when they obtain their discharge, and the settlement here of one fainilv is a greater acquisition o the provincethanthat three singlemenshould remain. The Provincial Government have allotments and parcels of land lying idle m several parts of the city and and i c do not see why a portion of the money to be exnended on immigration might not be w iseh put aside for the erection ot a number ol buildings upon them, suitable for the occupation of the wives and families of the soldiers, and justly so too, inasmuch as such expenditure would be indirectly carrying out the object for which that portion of the Provincial' loan was appropriated It is not generous because they are here already that the Provincial Government should rchiw UtiH >,n W to thfj nunilifU! I.') ■W.Mi-.'J 1! SiiWi "*■

attract those at homo, with whom it is optional whether they will come or not. j 15ut there is one point which must be borne in mind, let who may provide houses room lor these people. It is intended that by providing houses free ol" rent the lodging money allowed to women out ol' barracks i should go to tlie augmentation of their i scanty rations, and to provide clothing, &c.. ; for themselves and their children: but if | house room is provided rent free there is 100 | much reason to suppose that the prerogative of .Red Tape will step in and say that the | sixpence a dayi s given as lodging money, and j can be given only for that purpose —and so the soldier's family will be deprived of half the intended good; will simply receive cleaner and better bouse room, and we shall be saving the lodging money to the comissariat ('best, instead of putting it into the hands of thosts who really want it:. "Whoever then provides those houses, whether Ihe Government or the committee of the relief fund, must receive the sixpence a day as rent, and either return it to the individuals themselves, or throw it into the common fund for the relief of the further necessities of this class. As will be seen by our readers, a long list of collectors of subscriptions to this fund has been appointed—a system for the continuous and effectual operation of the relief intended lias been organized, and an assurance thus given that, the subscriptions of the public will lie economically and usefully employed. It now rests with the people themselves to atl'ord the means for carrying out the more onerous portion of the work, the supplementing the scanty rations allowed to these pool- people by the Imperial Government. Half a pound of meat and as much bread per dav for the woman, and only half that quant it v for children tinder ten years of age, is all that is allowed them from the commissariat chest. To furnish ihem with the means of assisting themselves in earning inonev at. the only work they can practice — washing; to supplement this scanty allowance of food and provide the means of obtaining clothing, a little furniture, and those numberless little comforts we think absolutely necessary for the use of our own little ones, whether in health or sickness, is a duly which the people of Auckland will, we know, press forward to share in ; and whatever the amount raised, the hand will in 110 case give that which the heart grudges, but all will rather wish that their means had enabled them more largely to take part in the performance of that which must lie considered rather in the light of a, public duty than a private charity.