THE New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1874.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XI, Issue 4049, 4 November 1874, Page 2

THE New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1874.

Me. Troup, in a letter which appeared yesterday in our columns, gave his personal experience of the United States and Canada in so far as a casual visit enabled liim to judge the opinions of people in those countries on the constitutional questions which are agitating the public mind in New Zealand. He attributes to the immense area of their territory, the adoption of the federal system which Sir George Grey referred to in liis petition, and he speaks of its application to the smaller area of New Zealand as rediculous. The issue arising from the present controversy will evidently turn largely on the latter point. Not only the abolition of the provinces as at present organised, but the whole theory of our Government will require to be fully debated and presented to the public from many points of view. All are agreed that a revision of the Constitution is absolutely necessary. Shall it be in the direction of a central power over the whole colony, or the adoption of the federal principle 1— which is more suitable to the character and to the requirements of the colony I Under which will its progress be best secured, and the greatest amount of freedom and self-go-vernment be attained by its people ? We must look largely to tho experience of other countries to shed light on the question. In this aspect, Mr. Troup's reference to the United States is opportune, and invites attention to the history of government in that great country, whose condition socially and politically has so much that resembles our own. We do not, however, regard it with Mr. Troup as a question of area only. The Swiss Federation is possessed of small territory yet lias existed for centuries and preserved its freedom, while great nations around it have been reduced to political slavery. In the United States the area of the original thirteen provinces was also, in nearly every case, remarkably small—smaller than the smallest of New Zealand provinces. Auckland contains more than fifteen million acres. The State of Connecticut has only three millions, Delaware less than one and a half millions, Rhode Island less than a million, and Massachusetts less than live millions. Taking eight of the present States, namely, Delaware, Maryland, New Haven, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey, we find their total area to be less than U7 millions of acres—about half the acreage of New Zealand. New York has only 30 millions, so that the area of these nine great States is still less than that of our nine provinces.

In contrasting political constitutions in this mode, the mind naturally turns to the early colonisation of different countries, and traces with interest the effect which the origin of each had on its subsequent political development. In the United States—especially in the Xew England settlements—these conditions were peculiar in an extraordinary degree. The emigrants were a God-fearing but puritanical sect. They consisted of men drawn almost exclusively from the middle classes, and therefore of singular equality in social condition and singular unanimity in opinion. The story of their emigration still excites the deepest interest in all who read it. Their liistorian, Nathaniel Morton, tells us how " they left that goodly and pleasant city of Ley den, which had been their resting place for above eleven years ; but they knew they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these tilings, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God had prepared for them a city (Heb. xi. 1G) and therein quieted their spirr's." With tears gushing from every eye, and pithy speeches piercing each other's heart, 150 of these noble emigrants, women and cliildren, being included in the number, braved the terrors of the unknown Atlantic in the little, ill-found, ill-pro-visioned Mayflower, to plant a colony where they could worship God in peace. The rock on which they landed in America is nor,- an object of veneration to a great and powerful nation. " Here," says an eloquent writer, "is a stone which only the feet of a few outcasts pressed for an instant ; yet so entirely is all human power and greatness in the soul of man, that this stone becomes famous ; it is treasured by a great nation, its very dust is shared as a relic ; and what has become of the gateways of a thousnad palaces" i It is sad to reflect that these brave and noble men, fleeing from persecution, should so little have understood the spirit of real freedom that they soon became the most bitter persecutors of all who differed from them in opinions, religious or political, in their new home. Xo more striking proof is possible of the dangers of a monopoly of power in the hands of any particular sect or class, be that sect or class who and what it may.

The most interesting to us at the pre*ent moment of the proceedings of .this pilgrim band are those which followed their arrival on the barren and inhospitable shores to which Providence had led them. Their first care was to constitute a society by passing the following Act :—" /n the name of God, amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord, King James, &c., &c., having undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian

faith, and the honour of our king and country, a voyEige to plant the first colony in the northern parts of ~Vlrginia, do by these presenta solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one another covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politick for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance of the ends aforesaid ; and by virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and officers from time to time as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colon} 7 , unto which we promise all due submission and obedience," i&c. This was in 1620, and in it we see the germ of the selfgovernment that has ever since been a remarkable characteristic of the New England system—a. self-government of the most perfect nature, and wliich could not exist in any community but one of the most intelligent and well-educated character. As population increased the country was divided into townships, like the old English tithings and hundreds. They elected their own magistrates, rated themselves, levied their own taxes, and passed their own laws without interference of the slightest kind from any external power or authority. Their laws were of the most severe character, and bore the full impress of the time. "'Whosoever shall worship any other God than the Lord shall be put to death"—no mere form of words, as Quakers and witches were sadly made to feel by sad sufferings and death in the years that followed. The Blue Laws of Connecticut teem with such savage enactments, while those of New Haven decreed that no one should travel, cook victuals, make beds, sweep house, cut liair, or shave on the Sabbath day ; that 110 woman should kiss her child on the Sabbath or any fasting day, and that no one should keep Christmas or saints' days. Such were the Pilgrim Fathers of Xew England. Their democracy, their severe Puritanism, earnest hearts and noble objects, gave the tone to the Constitution of the United States, and trained its people, from their smallest beginnings, to the habits and thoughts of self-government in the widest sense in which its application has yet been witnessed in the history of the world. But so well did these new men and new legislators —the outcasts from their own dear country—understand how entirely the success of their system depended oil the intelligence of their successors that one of their first Acts was to provide for public education, "it being," says the Act of 1050, one chief project of Satan to keep men from the knowledge of the Scripture by persuading from the use of tongues, to the end that learning may not be buried in the graves of our forefathers, in church and commonwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavours.'' Then follow clauses establishing schools for primary and superior instruction, and making stringent provision for the compulsory attendance of every cliild in the colony. The history of the Australian colonies xiresents no parallel. No persecution drove their settlers to seek religious freedom, and the new theory had arisen that no Englishmen had the right to unite together to found new colonies and to govern themselves. Downing-street had grown ui). The Mother Country," as the phrase ran, had assumed the control. From it, and not ironi themselves, the several Australian Constitutions sprung. All have been more or less tinkered, and all are more or less unsatisfactory, but our own is the lirst to break down so utterly as to threaten to leave no vestige of its original form behind. Let us hope that whatever may replace it will be no exotic production, but a natural growth of the deliberate opinion, free judgment, and perfect self-action of the people, on whom alone its successful working must depend.

The following interesting returns give the extent and value (omitting fractions) of lands sold or otherwise disposed of in all the provinces of the colony for the year 1573 : — Auckland —Town lands, 01 acres ; suburban, 400 acres ; country, 2007 acres : for whicli was received in cash £-1429, and £1100 in scrip ; ISO acres were donated to immigrants, while 224.501 acres were alienated to natives by grants under " Native Lands Act, 1805." In Taranaki, 703 acres were granted in satisfaction ot land scrip or " otherwise not specified.'' At- Hawke's Bay, five acres of town, 120 acres of suburban, and 114,030 acres of country lands, realised £52, S9O ; 120 acres being given for land scrip. Wellington rdienated 20 acres of town, 412 acres of suburban, and SO, 130 acres of country lands, for £50,352 and £3390 scrip—New Zealand Company's old land claims or Government scrip or debentures ; 1594 acres were given for naval and military settlers, 11 acres for reserves granted for public purposes, 209 acres to Europeans and natives under "Native Lands Act, 1505," and 149,403 acres to natives by grants. Nelson— 14 acres of town, 105 acres suburban, and 1709 acres of country lands, for £1719, and £25 scrip ; ten acres were granted for reserves. Marlborough—2l acres Town, 704 suburban, and 420 acres of country laud, for £IS4S, and 4573 acres for public works; 300 acres for reserves. Canterbury—l 7 acres of town, and 281,771 acres of country lands, for £500,930, while ISO 2 acres were bestowed for reserves, and 090 acres in satisfaction of land scrip. Westland, 4S acres of town, 443 suburban, and 10,017 acres of country land, for which was received £11,019; and 2043 acres for public works executed. Otago disposed of 095 acres of town, and 150,130 acres of country lands, for £154,714; while 100,010 acres were granted for reserves, 92 acres to Europeans or natives, and 277S acres in satisfaction oi land scrip. Southland, 700 acres of town, and 133,272 acres of country land, for £130,223 ; while SOOO acres were alienated for public works, and 2512 acres for reserves. The totals of all the lauds alienated by the provinces amounted 10S1 acres of town, 2313 suburban, and 750.250 acres of country lands, for £950,755; whila 104,000 were granted for public reserves, and 373,905 acres were granted to natives, aud 4034 acres given in satisfaction of laud scrip. The lands purchased under the Immigration and Public Works Act of 1870 were —For Auckland, 131,080 acres; Wellington, 1 $4,213 acres ; and Taranaki, 45.770 acres ; the total of such land purchases for the present year reaching 304,003 acres.

The silt-basins, which wore to catch the solid deposits of Hie city sewage and allow all that was liquid to How away to sea, appear to have answered every expectation. The two I >;i>ins have been opened and inspected, when it was ascertained that the solid matter h;ul been completely deodorised by the recurrent action of the salt water at each return of the tide. In other cities there would have been a keen competition for the silt, to be emijloyed as a valuable manure. There would'have been found men competing one against the other for the right of purchase ami removal, to sell again to gardeners, horticulturists, and farmers ; but here the members of the Harbour Board learn to their astonishment that instead of possessing a revenue in the shape o£ their silt-basins, a demand of £500 is made to remove the contents. It is now, as we are informed, proposed to fill up the intake at Fort-street, than which a greater mistake could not be made. That which water has for the time being partially deodorised will give off all it 3 constituent elements when after a time it has been exposed to earth and air. "We trust the Harbour Board will not carry out such an intention as has been expressed by some of the members until they have ascertained upon competent authority whether such a thing may be done without endangering the health of the city. Laid upon poor land to enrich the soil after it has been broken up it may prove of the greatest value. Tim would be one way of turning it

to account. But to make it the foundation earthwork, 'for erecting buildings on is an experiment which must not be thought of on the part of the Harbour Board, or permitted by the civic authorities.

Slkce free education to all has become general throughout the colonies, a complaint, which will apply in a special degree to this province, is that the children of the degraded, drunken, and semi-criminal classes are allowed to associate in the public schools with the children of poor parents, whose reputation and respectability are pleased beyond dispute. It has been said that if children of all classes are to be swept into the public schools, the presence of some will be" almost of necessity a source of e ,r il to others. The children of poor but respectable parents can hardly fail to be corrupted by association with gutter children. The problem is, how to keep them separate. In Sydney the complaint became so general that a commission was appointed to investigate the matter. The suggestion of the report emanating from the commission is that to children of this class whose conduct renders it unsafe to admit them into the ordinary State schools, the State should place itself in loco parentis, removing them temporarily or permanently from their parents' care, and (as the cause of such conduct is parental neglect) maintaining them at their parents' cost. It appears from the report that somewhat less than 16,000 of the scholars on the rolls during 1573 had been attending private schools previously. The introduction of the new system was, in fact, followed by a complaint from persons interested in private schools, that they were being deprived of their means of subsistence. Since then, however, a reaction has been reported, and it has been stated that were recovering their position, because many parents were deterred from sending their children to the State schools, though free, by the fear that they would be brought into evil communication thc-re. Black sheep are to be found in flocks that are subject to the most careful selection ; but the State has to deal with general rules rather than with exceptions. And it may safely be laid down as a general rule that there are classes of children too clcsely connected with vicious and criminal associations to be admitted into the ordinary State schools along with ordinary children. The only way out of the difficulty, so far as Auckland is concerned, is a resort to private schools by those who object to the mixture of children of all classes, which, under present arrangements, will certainly be found to exist in the provincial establishments.

We notice that Mr. Reader Wood has allowed his name to be associated with " a monster meeting," to be held on Friday evening at the Choral Hall, to take into consideration the present obnoxious Education Tax. A resolution, announced to be submitted to the meeting, is to the effect that his Honor the Superintendent should be requested to summon the Provincial Council, and recommend to that body the appropriation of so much of the sum of £25,000, voted last session by the General Assembly as special allowance to the province of Auckland, as may be required to defray all charges on account of educational purposes to the end of June, 1575. It is surely rather late for Mr. Header Wood to connect himself with such a movement, when the rate has been long due and a portion of it paid by householders. Mr. Reader Wood was a member of the Provincial Council when the bill passed into law, and if he found himself in the minority he should have taken speedier steps than he has done to move the Superintendent in the matter. We do not for a moment thiuk, if the Council be convened, that a majority of the members will be found willing to appropriate the £25,000 voted by tl:.e Assembly as special allowance to this province ; nor do we think His Honor would sanction the appropriation. We are told there is a movement on foot by a body of the ratepayers to resist payment of the education rate, and that a fund has been, or is about being subscribed, to test the legality of the Act in the Law Courts. If this really be the ease, the sooner the Board of Education pins the matter beyond doubt the better. Either the Act is legal, or it is not. If the former, the payment of the rate should be insisted on, if the schools in the province are to be maintained; if the latter, then the Board may as well be dissolved. The question should be set at rest for once and all.

Another charge has been made against a Melbourne clergyman of plagiarism. The offence appears to be rank, as viewed by many orthodox laymen, and we presume it is looked upon by those in holy orders in the same light. A question will naturally arise in the minds of many, why should not a clergyman preach a sermon which has been preached by some one else to a distant congregation, and which may contain more religious thought and biblical analysis than he is mentally capable of producing himself. There would be no harm in this, if a clergyman delivering the sermon of a more able man than himself would only have sufficient courage to acknowledge the source from which it is taken. It is quite common for newspapers to give the editorial opinions upon any important or interesting subject, in the words as expressed by a contemporary editorial writer. All that is deemed necessary is to acknowledge the authority, and no offence against public propriety or literary honesty is committed. A clergyman of any of our churches probably preaches one hundred or so sermons in a year, and if he does not possess more than ordinary talent, general reading, and versatility, he of necessity must feel that his repertoire becomes exhausted. In this case, and it must often happen, why should not a clergyman edify his hearers by reading a sermon selected from among those which have been published by some of our most eminent divines ? There are few ministers who are capable of composing over one hundred sermons annually, which shall embody fresh thoughts, and engross the attention of a congregation.

The absence from the shelves of our pro? vincial libraries of works having reference to the history of the settlement and progress of our own and neighbouring colonies, as well as works of fiction or otherwise from the pens of colonial authors, has been frequently noticed by the habitues of the libraries of the various Mechanics' and similar institutions distributed throughout the colony. The want is certainly a marked one, and not at all complimentary to ourselves. On the occasion of laying the corner stone of the new School of Arts, in Newcastle, N.S.W., the Hon. Henry Parkes, Premier of that colony, who performed the ceremony, took occasion to remark npon this peculiarity. In addition to the enduring works of the great teachers of our land, he said they should have every work identified with these colonies. He had been surprised on many occasions when visiting some of the institutions of the colony a t not seeing a good collection of books, from which alone a true account of the rise of this young empire could be derived. The committees of these institutions ought to spare no pains to obtain copies of the old books containing the early history of New South Wales, when Mew South Wales was Australia—especially that delightful book, "Collins's History of New South Wales." They ought, to obtain the work of a man who had understood the colonies, and who had been at the trouble of expressing his opinions about them. The committees' of such institutions, as he had said before, ought to procure every work that treated of these Australian colonies. The substance of these remarks will ai>ply with equal fox-ee to many of the literary institutions of New Zealand.

It has been proposed, by the secretary of the Dunedin Athemeum to place two billiard tables in the lower rooms of the building. He expressed liis opinion to the committee that if this were done there would be an increase of at lease one hundred members. One of the committee, the Rev. Mr. Stanford, was of opinion that billiards was an excellent scientific game, and should be encouraged. It would be far better for those

-who played billiards at public-house 3 to have a place where they could enjoy the game free from certain temptation. There were some objections raised to the proposal, but the general voices appear to be in favour of it. An expansion of public opinion appears now to be a feature in the Dunedin Athenaeum. So different, so very different from the time when a proposal was made to allow a draught-board to be placed in the room, which caused a reverend gentleman to rise and exclaim, '' What next?'' after which he walked out of the room. That reverend gentleman has long since departed this world. What his opinion of a billiard table in an Athemeum would have been, and what stronger exclamation he would have uttered, can never now be known. This much, we believe, is allowed, that the Dunedin Atlienreum is the best managed institution of the kind in the colony.

Tins is "another way of putting it," as Mr. Carleton says :—William Cullen Bryant, the eminent American writer, lately delivered a lecture, in which the multiplication of insects was commented on, and in which the opinion was expressed that one of the chief causes of this increase aud the attendant comparative failure of fruit crop?, is the wanton destruction of birds. There is nothing for us to do but to take our winged allies into partnership, allowing them a part of the annual product on condition of their protecting the remainder, as the traveller in the East pays a tribute to the Bedouin chief on condition of being protected by him from the robberies of his tribe. We must make choice between the insects and the birds. Birds multiply with comparative slowness, and if they prey upon the crops they can be seen and scared away. Insects multiply by myriads, and evade the attempts of m;m to destroy them. Birds take a small part of the fruit or ripened grain : insects destroy them by whole sale. But, even if the crows only were destroyed, the eu'ect would be mischievous. Crows feed upon grasshoppers, crickets, and other insects, and their stomachs are found full of them. A single insect which escapes them becomes the parent of thousands, and each one of these is the progenitor of thousands more, which move silently and surely to the work of destruction. Even the uprooting of a few com plants would be a loss of far less consequence than tiie mischief of millions of destructive j insects propagated without check. The Chairman also read another extract, in which allusion was made to certain experiments made in Australia, proving that ihe crows consume great numbers of caterpillars, whose ravages would otherwise be quite apparent upon the wheat crop of th;-.t country.