The New Zealand herald.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 871, 29 August 1866, Page 3

The New Zealand herald.

arKCTEMUK AGENDO. ° Give every man thine ear, bnt few thy voico : Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgmen This above all,—To tliine own self bo true And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man."

AUCKLAND, WEDNESDAY, AUG. 20, 1866. MR. STAFFORD AXD THE WAYS AND MEANS.

"Was the late Treasurer's recent movement oil the three-eighths a really intonded attack, or was it a feint made to enable Mr. Stafford to bring in .111 income tax, a measure by no means popular, but a much preferable alternative ? It is quite possible that this was the case. Had Mr. Stafford been sincerely bent 011 appropriating the thrcueighths of the Customs revenue hitherto apportioned to the provinces, he would scarcely have received Auckland support in the House during any part of the late oUicial crisis, or, again, in the re-construct ion of the present Ministry, and yet this support was afforded. There seems to be no reason to doubt but that the amendment of Mr. Moorliousc was planned by that gentleman, in conjunction with Mr. Whitaker, and with the object of causing the rejection of Mr. FitzGrerald's amendment, for it was arranged, we loam, that Auckland members should vote against the want of conlidenco amendment of Mr. Moorliouse when it came on, and that it was owing to a sudden chango of tactics, and the consequent want of opportunity of whipping them at tiie last moment into the right lobby, that some of our Auckland members were found voting, as had been previously agreed upon, against the amendment. Again, in the construction of the present Ministry, it was entirely owing to the influence brought to bear upon him by the Auckland members that Mr. Stafford consented to resume oflice. He was already on his way to Government House to declare his unwillingness to do so, and was only turned back from his purpose by the expostulations of the Auckland men, through the mouth of one of their number. Now, we can hardly suppose our members to havo so far gone beside themselves as to hold so closely to a man whose real desiro was, or is, to bring about a measure most inimical to the inter* ests of their province, and must believe that they know perfectly well the ground they stand upon. It is hardly fair to judge too critically of their political generalship at this distance, and from perhaps insuflicient grounds. It is out of the question to doubt their integrity. It is out of our power, under tho circumstances just mentioned, to say yet that they have not acted wisely.

~\Ve have said that it is very possible tliat the proposed attack upon tlio three-eighths was a feint. Our readers will not havo forgotten that so late as January last Mr. Stafford made a political speech to his constituents at Nelson, lie went fully into his views on most points, and on none more explicitly tliau on this very matter of tlie three-eighths. Mr. Stafford, be it remembered, is no mere placeman, plying the trade of politics, like some others, as a means of livelihood, but one of the few statesmen New Zealand possesses, and one who lias a higher political reputation than any other man in the colony at stake. A man of ample fortuno, tlio emoluments of office offer 110 temptation to political dishonesty on his part, and ho has borne, both in private and public life, the reputation of being an upright and honourable man. Now let us see what he slated in January last:—

" I stake my political reputation against " Mr. Sewell's, that the provinces will have " their three-eighths in full. " Mr. Sewell has said that I could not give " the provinces so mucli as Mr Weld would "■ havo given thorn. I say that I shall give " them tlio full three-eighths, which is more " than tho "Weld Government proposed to " give. The Weld Ministry proposed to give " to the provinces £209,701. Taking the es- " timated customs receipts at nnn :: Htfiy be ag near iy correct, the three-

" eighths of tliis is £292,000. This is what « i I H '°P OSO *° and a proportional share of which I have already given." Here is a plain and uumistakeable statement, Do Mr./ Stafford's antecedents, coupled with the action of our own niembeis, M'lio mufii know his real views and intentions, justify us in believing that Mr. otaflord ever really intended to carry out the proposed attack 011 the three-eighths, any more than he did to carry out the threat Aoflinsfc the laud fund, which drew forth. Mr,. Moo.rhquse's exclamation., "that Middle island men would have civil war first, before they would submit to any attempt upon their la»d fund?" We think not. Mr, Mailord had. felt the pulse of the country" upon the question of an inc.omo-tax diirin 0 * the I'Occss. Everywhere it met with opposition. It Might be just possible that with the knowledge forced upon the Assembly that the expenses of Carrying on the Groverninent must be met from somewhere and that if one source fails another must l)c drawn upon, the liew Ministry may see their way more clearly than the late one to the imposition, of an income, and property tax, in consideration of leaving the provinces to the undisturbed enjoyment of their three-eighths and land fund's. The JS etxoii C'ulomst, a journal, which till very 1 recently, at least, was looked upon as Mr. Stafford's Organ, and which, as a Middle Island jourual, is, at least, impartial iu its recommendation, says very pertinently.-— " Why not put the new tax on the proper " shoulders ? Whynot, if an Income Tax Was " impossible from any cause—»why not impose a tax on wool, which would have fallen on " proper shoulders, on those who had "helped to provoke this costly war, and. '' those who have made their wealth, by '• fortunate strokes of cheap land purchase, " and sheep rearing in this colony?" Why not indeed ? Why should not. wool obtained fro in th.) public estate for a trilling royalty, pay tribute as well as gold, Kauri gum and llax in the North should, iu fairness, also be taxed ; and with a very moderate income tax and tho. cutting off some two-thirds of that noble army of martyrs, 1,100 strong, who assist one another hi doing as little as possible for the public money, we believe t here would be no real need for any Ministry to cast aii evil eye upon the little ewe lambs of the Provinces.

Tire New Secretary fob the Colonies.— The JS'elson Colonist says :—The new Secretary for the Colonies, acting in the nowlyfo.rjned Ministry of Lord Derby, is the Bight Honorable Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, Earl of Carnarvon. Lord Carnarvon, as his position, imports, is of Conservative politics, and is still a young man, having been born in 1831. He was educated, at Eton, and Christ Church College, Oxford, where he graduated as a first class in classics. He succeeded to the title while in his minority. On taking his seat in the House of Lords, he was highly complimented on his maiden speech by Lord Derby, who, as evidence of his respect for tho young lord, nominated him, in to the oflice of High Steward of the University of Oxford. Lord Carnarvon has dabbled a. little in the local antiquities in the

neighbourhood of his estate, some lectures on which and on historical subjects he delivered in Carnarvon, and subsequently published. He also, some six years ago, published a small volume on the Druses of Mount Lebanon, being t]ii> result. Of a journey to the Kast. Lord Carnarvon represents the younger branch of the

house of Pembroke ; but has never been looked 011 as forming a mail of particular mark in the Upper House ; and we can. remember nothing

that lie has done Or experienced which qualifies him for the diilicult post of Colonial Minister, an oflice which requires exceptional tact and business nihility, and no small degree of judgment and experience, for the varied requirements of the many colonial dependencies can ill brook a learner's management in the Colonial Office in Downing-street."

Coroner's Inquest.—An inquest was held yesterday upon the body of tho late John JNorman Campbell, who died suddenly in the jled Lion Tavern, on Monday last. The evidence adduced went to show that deceased had been a surveyor employed in the Waikato,~fhat lie had been suffering a long time from rheumatism, that he had formerly drank pretty freely, but latterly had been exceedingly temperate. A great deal of medical testimony was taken to show the state of the brain and heart. The. lieart was fatty and the brain full of serum, the effect of which was, the deceased having fainted, to prevent the recovery of the functions of the heart. Tiie verdict pf the jury was that deceased died by the visitation of God, from serous apoplexy. li uN aw ay Horse.—Yesterday an accident occurred in Hobson - street, to a little child named Latham. It appears that Henry MeNaughton, the driver of a light cart, and in tho employment of Mr. Maxwell, butcher, Victoria-street, was driving down Pitt-street. The hOrso bolted, broke the harness, galloped at full speed down Hobsoii-streot, coming in contact with a verandah, where tho little girl Latham was playing. The effect of the concussion was to splinter the verandah-post, one of tho splinters .being driven with considerable force into the child's Faco. The injury, we are happy to say, is not of a serious character. The runaway horse broke another verandah in his headlong Speed, but, fortunately, without doing further injury. The driver MeNaughton also sustained some slight injury.

GovEnh:iin.NT return I)as just been laid before tho House of !R ep re so ntativ es, giving a list of nil officers in the; employ of the Government of the colony, and the salaries they receivc. Tlio return fills seventy-four folio pages, and supplies the names of about 1,450 persons, wlio are salaried out of the colonial revenue. By a cursory glance given to this return, we thirik that Mr. Stafford might have found, within its pages some scope for his pruning lctiife, 'whith would bptter have assisted him in his promised savings of expenditure, than some of the economies he has attempted. As soon as wo are able, to digest the returns, wo will give our readers an. insight into the amount of salaries which this army of.; officials receive.— Nelson jSxam.iiter.i 22nd inst.

The Fhokt.—'A correspondent of the Wangctnui Times writes from the Front:. —"I omitted to mention that some of the natives who have surrendered report having had. amcragst them, two soldiers of the 57th l£ogt., and one of the Koyal Artillery,'' A Pkopiieci" by the Pope;— The following story went the rounds of the .Neapolitan papers in the early part of the year; and purports to have been elicited during a conversation with a high Spanish dignitary. 'I'lie words of the Holy | Father are said to have, been :—" Unfortunately j it is to bo feared that the year 1866 will be one in which a great deal of blood will be shed. The fire of the demagogues will burst forth ill nvany parts of Europe ; however, this dreadtul conilagration will liayo finished in 1857, when peace will be re-established, Home will view with grief a second onaetipn of the scenes of 1810, and tho l'opo will be obliged ;io abandon tlio City- the Church as a fugitive. In 1867 ; vrnen the'.Pope returns to the Vatican, s> grand council will be assembled, and the centenary of St. Peter will bo celebrated. In .186$ you will be ; preseatatmyfunerali"

I Waj>-qabei Coal may now be procured in any (jaantity, large or small, at a price which renders it'far cheaper than; wood, and. we are glad to notice tliat the' quality of the coal' is improving as the works proceed further into the mine. This, wits to be expected,, and with coal of such very superior quality as may now be procured at a price of 20s. per ton, from the boat at the Queert-street YVharf, or 1 .in "retail quantities,', delivered.at. ,30s. per ton, by Messrs; Hurst and: Co. of Queen-street, and by Mr. A. Gunningham of Victoria-street, Eist, and delivered in any quantity (see, advertisement), no other coal can possibly compete with the produce of our own Auckland mines.

Extensive Farming ik Southlakd.—We learn from the Southland 'Times that in the Oteramika Hundred, and on the banks of the Mataura, the operations! of one company—for we understand the various estates, which may well' be called such, are to be amalgamated—are deserving of notice. It has at present about 50,500 acres of land fenced, a good deal of it Subdivided, and a large portion under cultivation. In addition to this, it possesses 40.000 acres, which it is intended to> bring under cultivation as speedily as possible. There are five steam ploughs at work, turning up the Soil in preparation for culture, and three more are expected, besides which, there are sixty pairs of plough horses in constant employment. From two to three hundred men aire daily engaged in clearing and breaking up land for the ploughs. There is a floiir and. oat-miil in course of erection, which is to be worked with an engine of twenty-fivo horse power, and two steam saw mills have been in constant work for months. The perfect.appointment of everything on these estates is such as is seldom or never 1 seen in a new colony, and is quite equal to the highest culture in the home country. We understand that the instructions to the managers of these various properties are to lay down at least 10,01)0- acres yearly in English, grasses The cartage, alone from" Invercargill forms no inconsiderable item in the expenditure, and would justify the belief that a railway constructed in this direction would prove a remunerative undertaking. Twenty horses, besides several bullock teams, are in daily employ raent carting between Invercargill and the different properties, at anaverage of four pounds per ton.

Stoppage of the Commercial Bank.—By tlie last mail from Dunedin We learn that the bank is making a compulsory liquidation ill Chancery, tho Otago liquidators being Messrs. James Rattray and W. A. Tolmie. It is stated that this Manager, Mr; J. Is. Mackenzie has declined to hand over anything unless his own claims on the bank are distinctly provided for, and his engagement had six years to run. Doubts are expressed as to the result of the winding lip beiug favorable.

Fowl Stealing Again.—There now seems to be. a gradual withdrawal from iJewton, by the practised hands in this tirV. Their occupation, like Othello's, is gone in that quarter, no more fowls being left to bo stolen. Like good strategists, they—the fowlers, not the fowls—appear to bo working towards the city. Let the city look out. Beginning at Upper Queen-street, Mr. Bain seems to have been the first victim. Some of the gang appear to be known, and Mr. Bain's l advertisement may give to others a tirnelv hint.

Military.-—Tho 14th. Regiment, the headquarters of which aro, we believe, stationed at Wanganui, are under orders to leave £Te,w Zealand.

Melancholy Accident.—Death by Drown-ing.-—A §hd accident, attended, we are sorry to say, with fatal results, occurred in tho harbour early yesterday morning. The cutter Doady, belonging to Mr. 13. Kane, was proceeding down to the. Wade for a cargo of sand, having on hoard two men named Henry Bushell and Wm. Jones. There was very ilttle wind at the time, and when about, a quarter of a mile of O'-Neil's Point, Bushell went down below to prepare the breakfast, leaving his mate Jones at the tiller. Shortly after this ho noticed the boom come over, and heard a heavy splash in the water, and upon going on deck saw Jones overboard endeavouring to get to the vessel. The dingy was towing astern, and Bushell sang out " Catch hold of the dingy, Bill," but he almost immediately sank and was seen no more. Bushell picked up deceased's cap floating astern, and at once came on shore and. reported the case to the police, leaving the. cutter to drift down harbour, but her progress was soon arrested by her coming into collision with the schooner Celt. Jones Was a married man, and leaves a wife and three children to mourn his loss. The police were, dragging the harbour throughout yesterday, but up to a late hour the body had. not been'recovered. It is supposed that deceased was knocked overboard by the boom.

Burgess riiß Murderer.—The Victoria Police Gazette: of July 19, contains the following account of the notorious " Kichard Burgess, alias Sydney Bill, charged to murder a Mr. Pox, is .identical witli .Richard Hill, alia* Charles Harris, tieket-of-leave holder illegally at large."

Great Fire in Queen-street. —We invite the attention of our readers to the narrative of this disastrous catastrophe, which will, be found ! in another column. We cannot allow the. opportunity to pass without mating especial mention of the services rendered by the .police under Mr. JTaughton, and volunteer firemen under Mr. Asher, as also to Mr. Win. Swanson, and several others whose names we were unable to learn. The rapidity with which engines No. 2 and the Northern engine frcre brought to the spot, deserves the greatest credit. They were admirably handled, and but for them, several stores on the. east side as well as those on the west side of Queen-street, must have been burnt to tlve ground. Pa itxEr.i. Volunteer Fire Brigade—A meeting of the residents of Parnell, was held last evening, to hear from the provisional committee promoting this object, their report and to consider what mean? should be taken for its permanent establishment. The report will be found in another column,, also the subscriptions. The provisional committee were appointed a permanent committee with power to add to their number. Mr. Si Kempthorne occupied the chair. Co rom an del. —'The Tasmanian Maid will leave the wharf at half-past two o'clock p.m. tomorrow, for Coromandcl, and return on Saturday next. Mr. EijAts invites; tenders, receivable until the 6th of Sept., for the erection of four houses, together with fencing, drawing, ,a'nd roadmaking at Otaliuliu. Odd Fellows in Tasmania.—The loyalty of the Odd Fellows to the Queen and .Governor is thus noticed by the latniceston JExamiiTbt', in speaking of the anniversary: meeting of the members of that order, Hobart Town" On Friday evening a liighly successful anniversary of tlio Loyal Tasmanian Youths' Lodge of Odd Fellows, Manchester Unity, came off. -The, report read by the secretary furnished a satisfactory . account of the state of the Lodge, ' which .includc's 58 members, and .funds amount- i ing to £.63 l<)s. Qd. An interlude of a novel character,, designated a Back Parlour Burlesque, " GrusQe," well sustained by the juveniles', and afforded much amusement. • The: finale of " God Save the Queen " included the following appropriate stanza : —• O Lord, her Yicorov blosa, May he in righteousness T»smania rule. Grant \iß prosperity ; May all united bo,- ■ And shout right loyally. • God savo the CJuoeri. Mrs.-Gore Brown, Captain Steward, the Color, nial Treasurer, and Mis. Meredith, wereamoEg the viaitoia."

, Gratton-eoad Wesleyan Chapel.—On Sunday last, two sermons were preached in this fine new neat little chapel, in behalf of the Sunday School connected with that- place of. worship, the one,in the,morning by the liev. Mr. AVhe- : well; and. that, in the evening by the ]Rev. Mr. Buller; Last eyening, a tea. meeting ■ was'" held ift the chapel on. behalf of the same cause ;■ the attendance was very numerous, and the refreshments everything that could be desired; Tea haying, been cleared oil', the business of the evening commenced by the Jtev. Mr. Buller taking the chair. This. gentleman. first called upon Mr. A. Somerville, the Superintendent of the Sunday School to give a short statement of tlio object of the meeting. Mr. Somerville stated that the school had. not. been in existence .more than six monthsj haying commenced on the ISth February last, with forty children, and nine teachers, and there were now one, huddred and seventeen, scholars and sixteen teachers. Last Sunday , morning Sixty five children attended class, and the same afternoon there: Were seventy six present. The teachers were determined' to go on with-the workj and. he wished them every success... . The present meeting was to raise funds for purchasing rewards for the children, and he hoped they would be successful. The IJev. 11. Lawry, Mr. ■C, Arthur, the Rev. Mr. Whewell, Mr, Eowe, and several otlvor gentlemen next addressed the meeting on the necessity of. providing for Sunday schools, and the beneficial results derived from such institutions. . A subscription was then made for purchasing a library [ for the school, and prbyed Very successful, a large amount of money being collected on the spot. Shortly after this the alarm of firo in. Queen-street being given, the meeting "broke, up very abruptly. .. . . Decline of the Maokt Back.—The .Wellington correspondent of the Lj/lteltmi Times, speaking of the decline of the Maori race, says : —" Two gentlemen, whose official duties have recently taken them separately over ultnost all this island, have made, independently of one another, each, his own estimate of the number of Maoris now existing; It has been supposed that the native population varied from 40.000 to 50,000 persons; but one of these estimates: gives the number at 31,000, the other at 27,000, ' certainly not over 30,0.00;'" A.ii. v ~ IXo. 4. —A meeting of this company will be held in the stores of Messrs..., Isaacs, to-morrow evening, at half-past seven o'clock.

We perceive that the Shortland-street fir® bell, lias been removed, to its new position, corner of Victoria and Albert-streets.

Mr. L. W. Eaton will, sell to-daj", in the timber-yards of It. B, Shalders, Bp,ouo feet of kauri boards and scantling: also, a quantity tit half-inch lining,, in. lots to suit purchasers. Mr. Samuel Cochkask will sell to-day, 1 ton of native dressed flax, half a ton of Tuakau flax, and half a of Waiuku flax.