THE New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1874.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XI, Issue 4044, 28 October 1874, Page 2

THE New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1874.

AVe are glad to hear, 011 good authority, that Sir George Grey doe.- not intend confining himself to tlic petition which lias excited such deep and general interest in the colony, but that he is engaged in maturing proposals which will lie likely t.. increase the interest felt, and to command attention from their comprehensiveness, grandeur, and simplicity. Everyone feels a change of sonic kind inevitable, ar.d it is satisfactory io find that we shall have, in such a crisis, the services of one whose wide {experience of Colonial and English oilicial life, and whose personal intimacy with all the earlier phases of New Zealand history render liini peculiarly fitted for the task of initiating a measure for public consideration.

So far as wo can loavn, Sir George's proposals embrace the adaption of the federal instead of the central principle in our future constitution. Thu Provincial Councils would be independent of the General (lovenimeut so long as they conlined themselves to the local duties and local legislation allotted to them. Their Acts, once assented to by the Superintendents, would become law, and if they exceeded their powers, the question would be settled by the Supreme Court of the colony and not by the Central Legislature. The most startling change would be, however, if we have been correctly informed, the abolition of the Governor's odice and of the two Mouses of Assembly. For the latter would be substituted only one Council to consist of not more than 20 to _3u members, whose duties would be strictly colonial—that is to say, confined Lo matters of colonial interest, such as Customs, telegraphs, and po.,t-oflices. The members of this Council would be clected either by the people or by the different Provincial Councils, as might be thought, alter due consideration, most suitable. They in their turn would elect a President ol Council who for four years would fill the office now held by the Governor, but with the important difference that he would nominate his own executive, and that they would have :io vote in the Council. Party Government would thus be abolished, and we .should govern ourselves more_ 011 the American system. I lie party fights and tedious struggles, so unsuitable to our present condition and so injurious to our progress, could bo well spared. lew will regret them, but it would, we presume, be necessary to give to the Council the power of passing, by a three-fourths majority, any Act that they considered advisable wlien vetoed by the President of Council. 111 lieu of the Governor, a Secretary of State, elected by the Council or by the people, would hold office 111 London, and be placed in direct communication with Her Majesty in all .New Zealand affairs. The Queen's light of veto would remain as at present, that of the Governor being vested in the President of Council. Party Government would also, we presume, be abolished in the provinces, and the Provincial Councils be endowed with the same power as the Federal Council, of enacting laws by a three-fourths majority in any case in which they objected to the exercise of his right by the Superintendent.

We arc only in a position to give a brief outline ol' the proposals, the details of which are yet unknown to its. It will, however, be sufficient to indicate some of their most important features. They possess, as we have said, a grandeur and a simplicity which will recommend tlieni to the earnest consideration of every thinking man. Extended to all the colonies, such a system would get rid of many of the most objectionable features of the existing Colonial Office constitutions, and be much more suitable to their present condition, it would also bind them together as parts of a great empire, relieve ahem from the control of the Imperial Ministry except in rare matters of Imperial interest and foreign policy, and enable them to make their influence felt

in London by the joint action of their representatives, whenever such, joint action might become advisable. _ It would, be in every sense a cheap and, if properly elaborated, an effective form of Government, and it would 110 doubt secure the sympathy of that large party at home who desire to see the English-speaking people united more solidly than at present. In that sense it would be a grand step, and one in which IN T ew Zealaud might be proud to have an opportunity of taking the initiative. To those who object to the small population of our provinces we might quote the words of one of the deepest thinkers 011 these I questions, the late John Kobert Goclley. In an address delivered by liim at Lyttelton in 1851, Mr. Godley said : "Iprotest altogether against the asssumption that the amount of population is in the smallest degree a test of fitness to exercise legislative powers ; it has nothing at all to do with it. Local position and peculiarities, not members, should determine the extent of political subdivision. I see no reason why the people conveyed by the first ship to an uninhabited country should not make laws binding 011 themselves the day they occupy their new home. It was so at the time when America was colonised, and I can answer for it that the principle has worked well there. The first body of emigrants to Kew England numbered but 123 souls, and yet from the hour of their landing they exercised absolute and complete power of self-government. There were only 350 colonists in Massachusetts when the Charter was transferred to the colony. Rhode Island, Connecticut, and IS'ew Have-i had every one of them fewer inhabitants than this town of Lyttelton when they established their municipal independence. In the middle of the seventeenth _ century a population of ! 20,000 souls in New England was divided into five separate and independent colonies, and I find the historian of the United States remarking on this municipal subdivision and the variety of laws which it produced, that they ' exercised a beneficial influence 011 the colonists by prompting them to examine and discuss the merits of the different systems, and thus promoting a constant and animating circulation of political sentiment and opinion.' It is very remarkable, too, that the constitutions which were then framed have scarcely been altered since, while under their shadow those small feeble communities have been growing into great and powerful States." These were the- well-matured opinions of one who filled a high position in English political life, and who ranked anion" the most revered founders of the Canterbury settlement. We forbear further comment until Sir George Grey's views are more fully before the public.

We are requested to state, with reference to the collection of the capitation rate, that, whatever may have been the intent of the Legislature in framing the Act, it leaves no discretion with the receiver as to the mode in which the collection is to be made. The law is clear ou that point. The rate is to be paid for all children between the ages of six and fourteen—" Provided," says the USth clause, "that no person shall be liable to pay for more than four children, nor for any child residing more than three miles from any school established under this Act, nor for any child attending any school not so established, inrcspcet of whom such parent or guardian as aforesaid shrill produce to the reccirer a certificate s'njnvd hi/ the teacher of utich la.--t----■meiitionul /school sh< wimj thai sack child hn-i attended that school for at least three months pervious to the leri/iity of such rate.'' It is held that under the terms of this clause the receiver has 110 option but that the parent or guardian is to take the necessary measures, and, by sending the certificate to the Treasury, free themselves from the liability. We are also requested to state that every facility t. ill be given to any parent or guardian so far as the necessary certificate is concerned.

We may go abroad for a good hint. New York has probably su(lured as severe losses from fire as any city in the world. \Ye may, perhaps, except Chicago. The authorities of the former city have passed the following clause in an Act for the more cfVectual prevention of fires:—"All stores, or storehouses, or other buildings which are more than two stories or above feet in height above the kerb level, already erected or that may hereafter be built in the said city, except dwelling-houses, school-houses, or churches, shall have doors, blinds, or shutters, made of tire-proof metal, 011 every window or entrance above the lirst story. AVhen in any such building the shutters, blinds, or doors cannot be put 011 the outside of such door or window they shall be put on the inside, and if placed 011 the inside shall be hung upon an iron frame independent of the wood-work of the window frames or door ; and every such door, blind, or shutter shall be closed on the completion of the business of each day by the occupant having the use or control of the same ; aud all lire-proof shutters or blinds that now are or may hereafter be put upon the front or sides of any building on the street-fronts must be so constructed that they can be closed and opened from the outside above the first story." The Inspector of the London Fire Brigade recommends that the roofs of all buildings containing inflammable materials, or in ivhich hazardous businesses are carried on should have a tank, holding riot less than a thousand gallons of water, with a hose leading to the inside, with a stop-cock sullieiently long to reach through the floors to any room in the building. In decking (Yictoria) every owner of a water-cart is compelled to have it tilled at the close of the day. In Greymouth and Hokitika the Borough Council place buckets filled with water at various parts of their respective towns, which are only to bo used in the emergency of fire. In Ohristchureh the steam tire-engines have steam up throughout the night. In Otago watchmen are constantly 011 the look-out from sunset to sunrise for any indications of an outbreak. 111 Auckland only one or two large buildings are provided with iron shutters, while all other precautions mentioned here are cither overlooked or disregarded.

Exi'EuiEN"cE has taught how very little influence the information which is to be found in the columns of the newspapers, or the adrice tendered by those who write for them, have upon a mining population, when the account of a new field and a rush comes to hand. More especially has this been noticeable with respect to the Palmer diggings. "We have from time to time drawn attention to the hardships which have been encountered and endured by men leaving this and the provinces south of us, for Queensland, but the caution, whether uttered by ourselves or our contemporaries, has been but little heeded. We now see by a telegram, dated from Palmcrville and forwarded to Brisbane, that a public meeting, comprising representatives of the leading storekeepers and miners from all the principal camps, was held at the Palmer diggings, at which Bishop Quiim presided, when it was decided that immediate steps should be taken to make known to all in the sister colonies who might be induced to come on to the Palmer what it was they might expect. The business took the form of resolutions, whicli were unanimously adopted:— " 1. That this meeting, taking into consideration the present condition of the Palmer Goldfielcls, the large number of men continuing to arrive from the south, and the inevitable danger of famine during the rainy season now fast approaching, deems it a duty to take steps to ensure the publicity of the following facts. 2. That there is no alluvial gold-bearing ground opened on the Palmer diggings at present, except what has already been worked. 3. That the majority of the diggers on the ground are not earning wages, mauy are only making rations, and a consider-

able number not even so much. 4. That ] quartz reefa are not and cannot be worked j so aa to afford : lucrative employment until machinery is placed on the ground- 5. That l the present rate and charges of provisions— the mere necessaries of life —cannot be procured at a less cost than that of one ounce of gold a man per week. 6. That the present prices of rations at the principal camps are as follow :—Flour, three shillings per lb.; sugar, three shillings and sixpence per lb., tea, seven shillings per lb.; salt, two shillings and sixpence per lb.; jam, three shillings and sixpence per lb. tin ; potatoes, four shillings per lb.; rice, three shillings and sixpence per lb.; and blucher boots, which cost five shillings in Brisbane or Sydney-, are thirty to thirty-five shillings per pair. 7. That the supplies being forwarded from Cooktown and Townsville are unequal to the present wants of the population now on the field. S. That large numbers are leaving through fear of famine during the approaching rainy season."— Here is a statement to which publicity is given in a journal which, but for its wellknown sterling honesty, might possibly have withheld it. There cau be little doubt but that before the summer id over, with its long and scorching droughts, Government aid will have to be invoked, and assistance sent to the relief of the mining population, either in the way of provisions or with means of transit to bring them back once more to life and civilisation.

In Auckland, as in other provinces and other colonies and countries, "parents, guardians, and others" have in no few instances raised their voices against compulsory vaccination. They urge that the State has no more right to compel them to vaccinate those under their care than it shall say whether a child must have its hair cut at intervals, or permit it to grow without being submitted to denudation. The chief objection raised is, that certain hereditary diseases are liable to be transmitted to the healthy child. Herein doctors differ. The French medical school say yes ; the English medical school say no. Parents were in England fined time after time for disobeying the statute therein made and provided. But when at length it was discovered that this disobedience of_the law was no! in contempt of it, but arose from conscientious convictions, then the English Parliament directed a commission of enquiry to be held by men of the very highest professional repute and scientific attainments. The commission gave their almost uninterrupted attention to the investigation for a period extending over four years before they tendered their report, which was as follows:—" After a careful consideration of the evidence, your committee are of opinion: That the cow-pox affords, if not an absolute yet a very great protection against an attack of small-pox, and an almost absolute protection against death from that disease. That if the operation be performed with due regard to the health of the person vaccinated, and with proper precautions in obtaining and using lymph, there need be 110 apprehension that vaccination will injure health or communicate disease. That scnall-pox, unchecked by vaccination is one of the most te; I'iblc and infectious of diseases as regards the danger of infection, the proportion of deaths among those attacked, and the permanent injury to the survivors. And therefore that it is the duty of the State to endeavour to secure the careful vaccination of the whele population." When tho long time the commissioners gave to their investigation in connection with the subject is remembered, their large medical experience, and the means placed at their disposal for obtaining information, while the anti-vaccination-ists used all the influence they ] assessed to destroy the efforts of the investi ,;ators, the verdict of the commissioners rnnsi be looked upon as nearly conclusive. Then/ore the objections raised by our correspondent, " L. S.,'' will be regarded as of little value, and he may rest assured that the law will be made t<> take its course.

\Yk hope that class of larrikinism lias received a cheek which leads men, who would be highly oll'ended if they were designated ill the public prints as other than gentlemen, to insult respectable females when making progress through the streets of the city. On Monday one of these young gentlemen, for this offence, was lined by the justices in a penalty of 20s and costs with the alternative of seven days' imprisonment. As the ofl'enco comes under the Vagrant Act, imprisonment with hard labour might have been inllicted, and we trust that should such a charge be brought again before the magistrates, they will make it a severe punishment to the offender, and a caution to those who may be desirous of imitating him. It has long been difficult for respectable females to pass along the side thoroughfares of the city after night-fall without being subjected to insulting importunities or made to take the gutter. One of these semi-genteel " roughs,'" a night or two since, received a sound thrashing, but as he took his chastisement meekly he was not further exposed. It is, however, well these men should learn that respectable women are not to be insulted with impunity. Of larrikin boys we have now comparatively very few, but of the class of young men we refer to they have of late been greatly oil the increase, more especially in the suburban thoroughfares.