THE New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1874.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XI, Issue 3864, 1 April 1874, Page 2

THE New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1874.

The Fijian news by the Marion Ronnie is of great importance ami will be rend with eagerness by all who take a personal interest in the country or care to watch the development of polities among the mixed race inhabiting those islands. It will be remem•"bcrctl that our latest intelligence described the proceedings of the Commissioners and their very satisfactory meetings with settlers ill various parts of the country. The desire everywhere was for annexation—a desire in which the Commissioners evidently shared. Their letter to the King was conclusive. They warned him of the difficulty he would experience in governing the country with the increasing number of white men who were being attracted to it. They were emphatic in the desire of the Queen to consult tho interests of both races and the determination of her Government, if the islands -were ceded, to do equal justice to all. They were especially emphatic in their assurance that there was not the least desire to acquire the sovereignty either by force or fraud and that no attempt at annexation would be made unless tho King and chiefs voluntarily offered tile cession. Everything therefore turned upon that point and there was but little reason to doubt what the decision of tho lvinp; would he. In fact he had gone so'far as to write through his Ministers to Lord Kiinberlcy, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, asking on what terms the cession would be accepted. His Ministers it was well known had counselled cession as tho only escape from the difficulties of tho country.

/ The course was clear and on the sth March the Commissioners met the King and liia Privy Council, composed of all the leading chiefs in tho group. They laid before him fully and fairly the consequences of cession, and the only conditions on which it would be accepted. On the following day they rc-assomblcd in the Great Church at Ban. To the surprise of all, the King then informed the Commissioners " that he desired they would convey to Her Majesty his thanks for the honour she had done him by sending out a Commission to enquire into the affairs of his kingdom. He had listened with great pleasure to the generous and considerate tone of Her Majesty's message. It was just what ho should have expected from so great and good a monarch. Great Britain was powerful and rich. Fiji was weak and poor. Tho Queen owned many countries. lie owned only a very small one. He had been led to fear that Great Britain might need Fiji and take it by force, hut now the Commissioners told him that such was not the case, and that all the Queen desired was tho permanent good of Fiji and its people, just as she desires that of all other peoples. He also desired the permanent good of the country and the success and prosperity of the foreigners resident therein. The question then to be decided had simply resolved itself into.one point. Would the Fijians of their own free-will cede the country or not? He had asked his chiefs to consult together and carefully consider this question. They iiad done so and sent him a resolution signed by all the leading chiefs to the effect that they did not wish to cede the country to any foreign power. His wish coincided with theirs and lie would therefore ask the Commissioners to inform Her Majesty that, as she had left the question to his decision, ho had decided not to cede but to retain the rule in his own hands and at the same time to assure Her Majesty that he would do his utmost to rule wisely and well. He trusted shewouldlcnd her countenance to his efforts." The Commissioners could not but be stirprised at this unexpected turn of events but they listened with becoming patience and replied that if he and the chiefs desired still to rule their country it was well. " The Queen would only require of them to rule wisely and with equal justice to both races. Still they thought the letter sent to Her Majesty's Ministers by Mr. Thurston in January of last year, enquiring if Great Britain would accept the cession if a«ain made and the offer afterwards made through the responsible Ministers of tho Crown, should not have been sent unless tho minds j of thu chiefs had been deiiuitely made up. However this decision having been given it only remained to be considered how the country could he best governed by the native authorities. As tho Government was brought into existence by tho help of tho whites and the laws were passed for their government and it was thro-igh them the loan was effected they ought to have a voice in the government of the country. The new Constitution could not be allowed to go forth in its present; shape hut they would give their moral support to a modification of it to be approved by tho Foreign Consuls resident in Fiji. They would further advise His Majesty that the European Ministers should have the confidence of the wltites and to this end tho Foreign Consuls ought to be consulted with a view to the re.

construction of the Cabinet. They thought the whole scheme of the Government on too large a scale, and touiiselled vigorous reductions," The Canmissioiiers then took leave with many expressions of good will and so closed this very important meeting.

Private letters from which we have obtained the above information, also tell us that tho Ministry had resigned. The King having declined to take their advice it was impjssible they should do otherwise. To avoid a hazardous interregnum it was finally settled, on the urgent representation of tke Commissioners, that Mr. Thurston should, ad interim, administer the Government. Mr. Thurston accepted the trust only on condition that he should be untrammelled in his proceedings which have, we arc told, been of the most vigorous nature. He has at once reduced expenses beginning with a reduction of nearly one-half in the civil list of the King, his own pay, and the pay of all higher officials -with a. corresponding reduction in the number and salaries of others in tho public service. Having thus brought the expenditure well within the revenue ho has convoked tho Assembly again under the Constitution of IS7I. The wisdom of these measures is apparent. Retrencliment, comparatively easy while the administration is in the hands of an unfettered Minister, would be difficult or impossible when undertaken in face of a Parliamentary opposition. He lias taken also tho vorv significant stin of disbanding nine hundred of the armed force and confined himself to the 300 stationed at various posts in the recently conquered interior. The Assemlil" y.'L"« ;t 'meei,s -vili thus do so without danger from the physical force by which opposition was formerly overborne. With administration of this character, if the Assembly .shews a large- spirit of conciliation and docs not allow itself to be disturbed by intrigues from disappointed candidates or reduced officials, we may hope that peace will be restored to the country. It will however bo impossible for the Imperial Government, having gone so far, to withdraw from the plain duty they have taken upon themselves of seeing the Government " well and wisely administered." Short, of annexation there is only one means of accomplishing this end. Keooguition at least, on some sound and clear basis is inevitable and whatever the form of Government may be the British Consul cannot fail to exercise a powerful and active influence; over its destinies and the destinies of the country.

THE nominations for a member to represent electors for the district of Franklin in the House of Representatives were made yesterday at Otahuhu. There were live eandiI dates, four of whom addressed the electors. These were, Mr. "William Goodfellow, Mr. Joseph May, Mr. William Woodward, Mr. Frank Henry Troup, and Mr. J. M. l)argavillc (not present). Mr. Goodfellow's enunciations wore chielly of a negative character. He spoke very plainly as to what he did not approve of, and very little of what his special leanings would be if elected. He did not approve of the public works being pushed on too rapidly, as such a policy was calculated to unduly raise the cost of labour to the injury of the farming interests and other legitimate pursuits. He did not approve of , protection, nor the policy of the Government granting bonuses in aid of manufacturing enterprise. Mr. Goodfellow objected to a sinking fund, but omitted to state what other plan should be adopted to pay oQ'the colonial loans which had been and are still being raised in the English money market. The candidate did not approve of provincial institutions. He had no objection to the optional reading of Bibles in schools ; and would not support the Thames and Waikato railway. But Mr. Goodfellow would support the present Ministry. Mr. May's address was more exhaustive, and went further into detail than the previous candidate. He was not going into the House, if he were returned, simply for the purpose of supporting Mr. Vogel, who was a statesman requiring some restraint . being placed on him. He fully believed, however, that the salvation of the country depended upon the vigorous prosecution of the public works. Mr. Hay was opposed to the scheme of the Thames Valley and Waikato railway, lie considered that at present only the main lines should receive attention. He was in favour of t"he extension of the franchise to manhood suffrage. If every man paid his quota of taxation he certainly had a right to a vote as a tjuid j/ro quo. Mr. May . would oppose any scheme for the development of the South Sea Islands, considering that Ministers had quite sufficient on their hands in carrying out those public works without which the colony could not make progress nor meet its indebtedness. Mr. May would oppose Boards borrowing on their own security. The Government had acted liberally towards them. He would " also oppose the amalgamation of several districts. Mr. May expressed himself in favour of protection, as more suitable to a new colony, while for an old country he had no doubt free trade was best. Mr. Woodward's address consisted chielly in approving of every measure which had been broached or | carried by Mr. Vogel, and contrasting it with the policy of Mr. Gillies, the once leader of the Opposition. He was in favour of the establishment of manufactures, and of a ge.ncral education scheme. He believed that if Mr. Vogel had a good working majority he would maintain the-jintegi-ity of the province. If Mr. Troup's address was not so long, it hail perhaps more pith in it than the addresses which had gone before. Approving of the immigration scheme, he believed it had not been well worked out by the subordinates who had been employed in the home country. He was.opposed to any protection policy, but was favourable to the granting of bonuses for the encouragement of certain industries. With regard to education, he would oppose any measure which would force a section of the couuuuuity to pay for that which they could not conscientiously allow themselves to reap any benefit from. Mr. Troup, contrary to the opinion expressed by Mr. Vogel, would advocate measures in preference to men. In all measures party should be made subservient to the public weal. He- did not look upon Mr. Gillies as the leader of the Opposition. We have here briefly digested the enunciations of the four candidates who addressed the electors. Mr. Bargaville, we may presume, will take some opportunity to express his political views, or it may be he assumes they arc already sufficiently well known.

Anv experiments having for their end the adoption of means for the better security of life on the high seas, must possess an interest for everyone. Headers of the daily journals need only call to mind any of the sail casualties of the past few months, such as the sinking of the Juirthlleet and the Ville du Havre,"to at once observe the necessity which exists for the establishment of a system or a code of signals, whereby one vessel may be made aware of the vicinity of another in the darkness of a foggy night, through the want of which lias occurred at frequent periods great loss of life and property. It is satisfactory to learn from the Knglish papers to hand that practical men are endeavouring, at the present moment, to establish a series of sound signals, sufficiently strong and powerful to ati'ord warning and guidance to mariners. The difficulty of doing this, however, is greater than those not practically acquainted with tile subject can readily believe, but has been admirably explained by Professor Tyndall, who with the assistance of the Elder Brethren of Trinity House, has been engaged in experimenting on the subject. To explain the result of these experiments, Professor Tyndall gave a lecture recently in the theatre of the Eoynl Institution, taking as his text the acoustic transparency and opacity of the atmosphere, |

during the delivery of which he successfully dispelled many falacious opinions with regard to the action of sound, and brought to light difficulties which were not previously imagined to have any existence. tZ ? onduot o£ the

experiments referred to, two stations were established at the South Foreland, and instruments, chiefly powerful steam whistles and trumpets, were placed there, the effects of which were noted by the lecturer, who ascribed whatever success might be attendant on the inquiry to the gentlemen connected with the TrinityJlouse, who placed a yacht at his disposal for the purpose, and to the cheerful promptitude with which they carried out his Irishes. To condense the report of the lecture, he knew that the investigation would be a long and difficult one, owing to the capriciousuess of the atmosphere, but there was no problem, if a scientific man were faithful to his task, that would not reward him in the end. The experiments commenced on Jlay 19, and continued down to the beginning of July. Sometimes the sounds proceeding from the guns at the fort predominated over those of the horns, which almost inclined the lecturer to recommend their use as fog signals, but at other times, so capricious was the atmosphere, the horns were heard at distances where the guns were entirely inaudible. The range of the sonuds increased more or less till the approach of July, when on the 3rd of that month, within a range of 2h miles from the shore, the heavens without a cloud, no sound whatever could be detected. An American steam whistle, which sounded like the bellowing of a bull when hidden in a thick haze, was perfectly inaudible. Professor Tyiulallsaidlie had heard fog was destructive of sound, and that clear v.'citl'.cr \vr.o f h n '"" + '-"i"" 1 " «f +»-.,.*. mission, and yet with such a transparent atmosphere within a short range no sound was heard. It had been, believed by generations of scientific men t|iat a cleav atmosphere was best for the transmission of sound, but his faith in what he had previously learnt.was entirely destroyed, and ( slowly and utterly gave way. In order to find out what strangled the sound with such a mass of transparent air, a mental picture had to be formed, without which a man was unfit to be a philosopher, and Professor Tyndall wished to say that aerial reflection ensued and intei'eejjted the sound ; in proof of which he made some experiments of extraordinary delicacy, shewing that by the interposition o£ a elo\icl, the action of vapour, perfectly transparent, which was ascending from the sea, was checked. Before that cloud came no sound eoidd bo heard, but as the sun lowered the transmission of sound increased greatly. By the law of conservation it ought to be found that sounds would be thrown back by reflection, but instead of that they were greatly augmented. In conclusion the Professor exhibited and explained the peculiarities of a revolving disc, which could make a sound that was best described as an explosion, and which the lecturer said would be a great boon to the mariner. Far from the opacity o£ the atmosphere being detrimental to the transmission of sound, the late fogs proved to .the contrary, the air appearing then to be full of sound, and after their dispersion the sound was only one-fourth in intensity.

The death statistics of the colony, furnished liy Mr. William R. F. Brown, RegistrarGeneral for the Colony, go' to shew how free « arc from all descriptions of miasmatic diseases in comparison to the home country, and indeed most of the eoloniesof the Southern Hemisphere. During the year 1572 only two deaths are recorded from variola, none from measles, ami none from scarlet fever; hut there were 5.'? deaths from diphtlitcria, 44 of these being juveniles under fifteen years of age. Only five succumbed to influenza, while there were 2S deaths from dysentery, and 137 from diarrhoea. Two deaths are from cholera, and only four deaths from that painfully prevalent complaint— rheumatism. 211 persons died from tubercular diseases, and 240 from diseases ot the nervous system. Xo deaths occurred during the year from puerperal fever ; 30 deaths occurred from old a«e. Hydrophobia is unknown. We take the following in connection with the above from the Wellington Ind'p'-ndviil: The rate of mortality hi the rjroviueo of Wellington during the year 1872 was just about 13 per thousand of the population—very nearly the same as that in Otago, where it was rather more than 12, and in Auckland, where it stood at very nearly the same figure. In glancing through a Statistical Register of South Australia, we find the death rate quoted at 14.5—0ne described as being unusually low; in fact, the lowest then recorded. The Registrar has afforded us the opportunity of ascertaining whether this rate of mortality obtaining hero is really high or not. By his tables we find that, however the state of health in the town may be, it has not become worse during the past few years. The population, bo it remembered, has been augmenting rapidly. In ISO!) there occurred 293 deaths in the province. In 1572 there were 304, exclusive, of course, of those of aborigines. "Whilst alluding to this, we might point out that in this province, and throughout the* colony, the rate of births is about three times in excess of that of deaths.

Statistics are sometimes amusing, due to the deductions and inferences which may be made from them ; not unfrcquently they puzzle and embarrass the reader, while, again, on occasion, they will be found interesting and instructive. We have a statistical table before us shewing the total number of letters received and despatched to and from Now Zealand from ISG3 to 1572. During this period, extending over ten years, no less than (1,528,040 letters 'were received in or despatched from the colony; but not a little singular is it that it shews we received and sent away more letters in ISG3 than, we did in 1572, by 76,5-55. The following official return will be read with some interest, as exhibiting the number of letters received from and despatched to the United Kingdom by the colony : —There were, in ISG3, 643,010 letters; in ISO 4. 704,200 ; in ISOS, 756,107: in ISISG, 750.245; in ISG7, GS3.O7S ; in ISOS. 650,000 : in ISOO, 555.701 ; in 1870, 505,913 : in IS7I, 555,024 ; in 1572, 507,001. It will lie seen by this return that there was a decrease in ISGS upon that of 1804 ; a decrease in ISOG against ISOS ; and a steady decrease during the next three years ending IS7O. In IS7I there was a slight increase, but in 1572 the number of letters received and despatched was fewer than in any year for nine years previous. " The reason why" is not given, and there is a problem for some one to solve.