HIGHWAYS ACT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume VII, Issue 2105, 24 October 1870, Page 3

HIGHWAYS ACT.

To the Editor of the Hekai.d. ' Sl2.—White agreeing with some of the re- 1 ni»rks made on the above Act by your corre - ( ponilent, " ;i.S. A.," which recently appeared t ia your journal, there are one or two poiu's on 1 which the reasoning docs not appear tome to be quite correct. Your c irre-pondent says '.hat • "all properties belonging; t > the Government should not. be rated/ for the reason that the • Government is th« people, and how can the j people pay themselves rates.-' . Such a reason t »ou!d be perfectly sound if the rates levied £ wre general rate-, and not of a local nature, r. if the monies raised were us-d for general pur- t Poses of the province and not fjr local improve- ( meats. 8.,; '■ H.d.A." must be fully a.vare t that districts might be formed, if not already , formed, one hall the land of which would be 'he property of the Government, and that the J land in many districts already formed is almost -| exclusively the property of private persons. ( 3ow if the Government "land is not to be taxed, 1 only one-hnli the land in the former could be £ fated, while in the latter a rate would be levied x On tiia whole, and the consequence would be Mat under the present system of dispensing Government aid, the latter (supposing * simi- , lar rate prr acre to be levid in each district, and each district to be of the same extent) -, would reeeiTc double the amount of aid to that j S'ven to the former; would have, in short, t double t!ie amount to expend on the roads of 'ne district. Under such a eyeteui the country , jouid never be thoroughly opened up : some , Mtricls would have good roads, other» mere , tracks. Should, then the properties of the Go- ( ternment be rated ? Decidedly not. Butdie- j tncts containing a lame quantity of Government land should receive more aid from the general f un d s o f the province than districts WnUiniag little or none, and districts containing pussable roads should receive less aid than wise districts through which the roads have to be formed. Each district should bo compelled to levy a fair rate. anl then Government aid should be given to tlioae districts ™at require it most, and not in proportion to Ue "mount of taiea raised, as is the case at P'eseat.—l am, £c., 0 H.J.H. Stokea , Point, North Shore, October 18, 1870. , " h'i a great comfort to be left alone," said ! , lnt!b..!<.>ver, " especially when ver sivute- i ***; ts wid ye." '

£ CAK.EEK, OF COUNT BF-MMIOE, . 3 I For Ecrer.il years past, and at the present )r 1 moment more particularly, two names hare I occupied, and still occupy, a" large space in ' j European politics, and in the eyes of the [t world. The first of these is that of Louis (t Napoleon, Emperor of the French, and the . second is tliat of Count Bismarck, Prime ' Minister of Prussia, Cliaiiccllor of the North j. German Confederation. The French Ejiperor's history is well-known to the great bulk of newspaper readers, but thu remarkable ' career of Bismar.-k, from his boyhood to the ' present time, is not so familiar. In these circumstances we may make no apology for ■ a laying the following sketch of the great Prussian Minister before our readers, the ' materials of which are uik.v*n from the moat " reliable so-r.-ces :— ° Everybody must first bo born, and Otto Edward Leopold von Hi-rnarck was born at t -chOnliniisen on the Ist of April, J.SU, consequently he is now in his 57ili year. His ancestors for many genera! inns were noble, and in course of ti-ne liad divided into several branches, hut the Bismarcks of Prussian Germany never (ailed to hold a high position in the estimation of their and countermen. About a year after Oi to was born, the family removed to their estates in Pou-.erania, whore ; his childhood was passed, and where ho attained the proper age he was sent to school t at Berlin. Jlere the boy's progress was somewhat slow at first., but as he grew up aud filtered eoli.-ge he bet:er promise. On aft.v'mng his 16lh year, young Bismarck <p.iarMv' et l wiili a fellow-sill lent, and fought his first duel. Uisopponcnt wasa Jewish lad named Wolf, and the." aeti .11 must have been somewhat unscientific, for we are told, received II wound in the IW , w ,'"' e lle succeeded in cutting the spectacles from the nose of his Hebrew opponent! SoMit'limcß after this it was proposed to reuicnv cjur hero to the University of Heidelberg, but his mother would not. 'near of this arrangement, as she was afraid that her 50:1 would contract the detestable habit, of drinking beer—s.d.l to be fashonable at the timi' at that ancient seat of learning. Gvttingci was. therefore, the place resolved upon, and there he went, accordingly. These vrere the days—how unlike the present—of j.illifi-alions, practical jokes, and duilling anion;; the students, and Bismarck entered into the spirit, of the madcap games of the p!a«i> with an ardour that could not be snip used. In the course of three terms at Gotlingeii young Bismarck fought one and twenty duels with success. Swords were the only' weapons used, aud he escaped unhurt with tlio exception of once, when his check was laid open, and the sear, we are told, may he still seen. After leaving college Bismarck studied law. and his first public appointment was that of Auscultator, or Kxtiuiiiicr in Berlin Police Court. He was then twenty years of age, remarkably tall of stature, "and rery prepossessing in appearance. At this period he attended a Court B dl, and wa» introduced for the first time to I'riuee Wdliam, the present Kins of Prussia. How much and how intimately have I heir names been associated since ! But let, us not anticipate. Herr von Bismarck along with Herr von Schenek • — :iho a lawyer and also six feel. .' in height—•j.dvanced, hat in hand, to Prince "William, and after the introduction ' his Royal High,.ess looked at the two, f : and said, good humotimlly—•• Well Justice " seeks her young advocates according to the ! ' standard of the Guards !" But the tempera- ' : ment as well as the temper of Bismarck ill ' suited law's dry musty arts. lu the summer ' of ls3S) ho quitted the law to undertake the I ! management of the Pomeranian estates, in ' partnership with his elder brother Bernhard. 1 ' lle was pretty succcsful as an agriculturist, ' but as a country yeuiieman or Junker he very ' ] soon astonished the whole dUlriec by the wild '. ■' life which he led at home and with the officers i ] of the neij'ibouring girri-ons. In short, h> I ' reputation bccimc. ui;eriTi:ibl>', and thcclderlr j ' ladies and s;entlen- n of t'ie neigiibourhjod I [ predicted the moral aud pecuniary- ruin of ' •'.Mad Bisuiarek." But they were'false prophets. He left t'omerania for .Schonhaiis?n, x where he joined liic Cuv-ilr , . , of tlic Landwehr, ' a.-iii became a JVfiuty in the !o<'al Asiemblrin place of his father. In the summer of l 1.54-2 Bismarck obtained his first order of ] merit. Oμ day he was ou duty with his I regiment at L'.:>p"hne. when his gi'oo:;. rodfc ' a horse to the lake to give it a drink, and I e both tumbled in. " A ten ile cry of horror t rcsoundcl, and Bismares t.urew olf his sword, tore oil'his uniform in an insrmit, and dashed ' headlong into the lake to save his -ervant." ' After a great struggle h.- succ.-eded, and as .1 I T r«wa~d for hi-br.iVei'V h.? wis presented wit.h ■- an address nntl the Prussian -afety .Medal, ° inscr.be.l with t'i.'e word. ' ; For rcsiaie from v da-ger;" .-•ml this si I.pie medallion, we are told, may still be -eeii. Hinomr rasuy ex:.lt.-d z stars, on the breast of the Prussian Prime a .Minister. Lie is said to bj vrr.y proud of this c ' simple dec.Titiot\ ; aud ou one occasion, when " he was aske Iby a noM.- diploiiatis l the mean- q ing of the plain medal, Ihe answer w:is—"l "•*' am in the habit sometimes of sarin" a man's P life!" » Wo h.ire alrradv mentio .ed the reputation " •' Mad Bismurek""obt.iiu.'d in Pomerana, and l as he had lived at Schunliauseu for several t years perhups the ixood folkj of the former fc district did not hear of !u's reformation. v Imagine, therefore, the horror and consterna- ' tion of the quiet and «,,.{\y house of M.-rr von fl Putkammer on Ihe ie eipt. of a letter positively I 1 asking for the ban lof thu old man's daughter "■ and the con-irru-itio'i was increased tenfold c when the maiden in a m.dcst but firm manner F acknowledged her :iff K tion "ft seems.," l said He:r Putk..nnner. "as if I had been f fell with an axe!" But the old man re- ' covered; the match was made up, and ' on the 2Sth July, 181-7, Olto Ton ' Bismarck and Johanna von Puikainnn-r .' were united in marr-mp. A short time .! previous to this interesting event. B:sm»rk had been chosen a member uF the Unite I Diet, which met at Berlin shortly after Frederick l William issued his fain-ma muni esto. Politics, ' or rather revolutionary principles, were ruiinin!! high on the Continent, and Prussia ) was stirred from centre to circumference. The 1 great majority of the Diet- were democratic * in opinion, but. Bismark had no hesitation in ' ranging himself lw'lh the Conservatives, and , in standing up for thy Divine riyht of his - 1 King. But our hero and his Conserrative * associates in this 1 haiuber struggled in vain c aeainstthe pro!?res3 of revolutionary principle*. ' The year 184S came, and with it came the I revolution. The proud nafcrician was morti- I fied to see the streets nf Berlin obs ru.-led by l barricades and his R iyal master insulted in l his very Palace by exulting mob«, hut he w»s powerless to prevent filler. By and by the new Constitution was promulgated, and the United Diet at Frankfort e-tahlished. Bis- ' niarck became a member, and once more lifted c his powerful voice in favour of the Divine right <■ of Kink Frederick William IV. and the 1 nationality of Prus-ia. He was str.mgly J against the Confederation, with Prussia in- < eluded us a mere unit. In a debate on the Constitution in September, 18<19, he < said:—"The nation does not wish t> see the 1 Prussian Monarchy melt, awiy in tli« filthy j £ fermimt of South' German immorality. We j I are Prussians, and Prussians we desire to i remain. I know that in theae words L utter 1 the creed of the Pru-sian army, the creed of ( ' the majority of my f.-llow-count.ryriien, and I i < hope to God we -h .11 eoutinue Prussians when < t'de bit of paper is forgotten like the withered | ] leaf of autumn !" ! In 1851 Bijina-rk was sent as Envoy to I • Frankfort, where he served his apprenticeship ' as a diplomatist, and made the acquaintance ] of many distiimuishdl ibreistners, ineludinp; Prince ' M.tteruicli. In this position lie 1 remained for several years, ami conceired a 1 thorough contempt for the Bund, as well us I I for the diplomacy that, was counecied wit li it. 1 lie writes:—"The people, here worry them- I pelvea about the. mei-e-t trifles; and these ' diplom.tists, wi-li their important nothings, already appsnr more ridiculous to me than a Deputy of the decnud G umber in Mis fullblown dipui'y. I now know accurately what . 1 we shall h.ive done in one, two, or flvo years, and co'dd bring it about ii 24 hours, if the ! others w.mld for a single day be re isomible i and irsiMifiil. I never doubted tlmt they all - Mtidit ho'Aj} vritk Waiter; but such a aiiuple,

" I thin water gruel, in which yon can t see 0 i globule of fat, astonishes me! Send me J Justice X. or Herr von Arsky hither from th< c toll-gate when they are washed and combed, 11 and I will lord it in diplomacy with them. ] e am making enormous progress in the art of 3 sayin nothing in a great many words. I 0 write report* of many sheets, which read as e tersely and roundly as leading articles, and il 1 MunleufTtil can say what there is in thorn after ~ f he has read them he can do more than I can." : In 1559 we find Bismaa-k at: St. Petersburg 0' as the ambassador of Prussia. Writing to hu D wife on the -nd July of that year, on the sube jeet of the Itulo-Austrian war, he suye : — '' - "If we lire 0:10 shot ou the lthine, the : Italo-Austrian war is over, and in place of it e . j we slmll see a Priuso-French war, in which j Austria, after we have taken the 10ut. , , (Yom her shoulders, will assist us us far a3 her own J 1 interests arc concerned. That we should play ! a victorious part, is scarcely to be conceded. IBe it as God "wills ! it is here below always a 3 j question of time. Nations and men, folly and .' I wisdom, war and peace, they come like waves, j and so depart, while the ocean remains ! " ' I In May, lsSO'-i, be was transferred-after a brief interval, from 3t. IMci'sburg to Paris, but his resilience in the latter capital a3 the representative of Prussia was of short duration. The Liberal majority in the Prussian Legislative body bvca-mc so exacting in their demands that a serious crisis took place. The Ministry resigned, and after much deliberation Bismarck was summoned from Paris to undertake tic formation of a new Government. In September, ISG2, he enlered upon the herculean \voil;,and aboul a month afterwards we find him writing the following characteristic letter to his sister :— '•' Such good black puddings I never ale, aud seldom such good liver. Jf.iy your slaughtering be blessed ! for three dayj I have been breakfasting upon the results of it. Tho rook Kimpe has arrived, and I dine at home alone when I am not at his Majesty's fable. [ got along very well at; Paris. At i.itzlingen I shot one 'tag, one sow, one badger, live brockets, foil.- lioad of deer, and blundered tolerably, il", perhaps, not so much as my neighbours. But the amount of work is growing" daily. 'L'o-d:»v, from eight, to eleven, diplomacy ; from "eleven to half past two, various ".Ministerial sijimbble conferences ; then till four report to , the King ; from a quarter past to three-quarters, a gallop in the rain to tho Hippodrome ; fir,. , o'clock, dinner ; j from seven till now-ten —wo.'k of all sorts. But health and sound s leep--lremendous thirst!" The struggle for supremacy between the Government aud the Diet went, on for three yeats, but we must reserve an account of tho proceedings, and of the events which led to the great war of ISG6, for another paper.