THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1888.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9151, 5 September 1888, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1888.

The annexation of the archipelagoes and scattered islands of the Pacific, which the French and German Governments have entered on with such enthusiasm, and are likely to further pursue, is we see now justly ascribed in the English Press to the cutting of the Panama Isthmus, and the prospect of the canal being completed ere long. It was a movement to be anticipated ; it would be wonderful if it did not occur. With the enhanced commercial importance of this ocean so plainly in view, the maritime and mercantile nations might be expected to rush in and occupy vantage posts in its waters, or increase the number of any such they already possessed. And why should not our own nation be as active as others in similarly preparing for the coming change 1 The fact that we have already extensive footing in the far south of the Pacific, as also in the far north, instead of doing away with the occasion for new vantage posts, causes a necessity for them.

A ship can now only come from Europe into the Pacific either bydoubling Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope, in either case a long roundabout tedious voyage, or else by way of the Suez Canal, through narrow seas the Mediterranean, lied Sea, and channels of the Indian archipelago—another long and still more tortuous voyage. What a change must needs be wrought when a passage at Panama provides a straight path through open ocean as substitute for the present difficult, long-drawn-out modes of access. Remarkable progress has been witnessed in this ocean during the last forty years. The Californian gold discovery in 1848 —the first of the great modern gold discoveriesstarted the advance, and slow at first it has become more and more rapid with each succeeding year like the footsteps of a runner approaching his leap. The change will be more abruptly large than is expressed by the term progress, when a gate is thrown open midway in that long barrier of the two American continents that now separates the immature world of the Pacific from the world of Europe and head-quarters of civilisation. The change thus produced cannot but be a revolution. In face of these factsthe ripeness of circumstances for the great work, and the absolute necessity at the present time —we have always maintained in this journal that a canal at Panama is evidently near at hand. We have held fast by the opinion ever since M. Lesseps undertook the task, for the engineer who cut the isthmus at Suez might be relied on to know what he could do at Panama also. Then the strenuous antagonism of the American railway companies, naturally afraid of losing much of their traffic, would of itself suffice to show that there is no such impossibility as they talk about, and that they think the completion of the Canal imminent. The English press is now taking up the subject, and looking out ahead in relation to what, it is acknowledged, has been hitherto somewhat too slightingly regarded. The subject has not however been at all slighted on the Continent, and the Times points out that not only France —who might be biassed in favour of a work in which engineer and shareholders are Frenchmen—but Germany likewise, is fully alive to the importance of the canal, and that it is in view of the work being soon accomplished that those two Powers are annexing so freely in the Pacific. But when the Times' correspondent observes that the Germans are seriously contemplating the addition of Tonga as well as Samoa to the extensive dominions they have already acquired, and then considers that England, with the large and resourceful islands of Australia and New Zealand, can aftord to be generous all round, and allow our foreign neighbours to come still closer to our Antipodal doors, another journal, the Colonies and India, interposes, and reasonably regards the tone thus adopted as "very disappointing." The Tonga Islands flank the seaway between New Zealand and Fiji. Also well-situated commercially is the Harvey or Cook group, of which Rarotonga is the chief island, and reference is made to " the generally recognised danger" that France is about to include this archipelago among the many already under her sway. As is well said on the point by the Colonies and India : We are greatly behind in the great international race which is going on in the Pacific. The fact that we have been fortunate in securing Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, should not be held to act as a preventive to further activity on our part in those seas. On the contrary, indeed, it is our bounden duty, constituted as we are at present, to closely guard the interests of our prosperous colonies at the antipodes, and this we shall certainly not be doing if we allow every Power which comes along to usurp those commercial strongholds which British traders have spent scores of years in developing, and which stand, so to speak, at the very doors of our trade across the Pacific. When to prepare for the revolution the canal must effect, the other nations are busily appropriating islands, we cannot but have a keen sense out here of the importance of England not standing aloof. She has bigger interests of the future as ; well as Dresent to provide for in I

this ocean. Within its circuit the only colonies in the real sense of the word are in her Australasian and Canadian possessions at its opposite ends, and it would be of great consequence that some of the insular groups in the vast intermediate space should be covered by her flag. Then, although it be a common practice of international policy to seize territory without considering the wishes of the inhabitants, it would be at anyrate decent that they should exercise some voice in the matter, and it is well-known that the islanders both of the Rarotonga and the Tonga archipelago, foreseeing that they may be annexed by other Powers, are very desirous to be placed under the protection of England and within the circle of the British Empire.

In another column a correspondent calls public attention to a proceeding rather unusual in the transaction of public business. It has arisen out of the desire of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board to have the Old People's Refuge erected on the Hospital Hill. It appears that the Board, having found that it is illegal to have the site diverted from Hospital purposes to be used for a poorhouse, have resolved to make an appeal to the Public Trustee to aid them. They are to ask that official to sanction the plan of having a portion of the reserve Leased to the Hospital Board for the purpose of having it turned to a use which the law does not sanction. What idea the suggesters of such a scheme may have of the sense of responsibility entertained by that gentleman for the faithful preservation of the objects of trusts committed to his charge, we are not in a position to say. It was resolved by a majority of the Board at its last meeting "That the Public Trustee be informed that doubt has arisen as to the legality of building an Old People's Refuge on the Hospital enclosure, alongside the building now used for that purpose, and that he be asked to take steps to grant a lease to the Board of part of the Hospital grounds, in order that the Board, as tenants of his, may be enabled to erect a building for present uses as a Refuge, but with a view to such building being hereafter used as an adjunct to the Hospital when required for that purpose." The addendum as to present uses and ultimate possibilities is as clever as it is amusing. The same reason could be adduced for building a publichouse in the same position,- the possibility of its being in future years converted into a supplementary hospital being quite as allowable. Indeed, there is not a public reserve in the provincial district which could not in the same way be diverted from its original objects if the public trustee or other persons entrusted with its conservation were actuated by the easy principles which are assumed to govern an Officer of the State, to whom probably beyond all others the public look for strict integrity in his administration. Let it once be seen that the Public Trustee can connive at a side way being taken for evading the law, and the obvious obligations of his trust, and farewell to all confidence in an office which is one of the most valuable and useful that for many years have been engrafted on the public institutions of New Zealand. Indeed, we can hardly conceive of a more insulting proposal to a public officer than telling him that doubts have arisen as to the legality of a certain course, and then suggesting to him a convenient method of evading the law. This question of placing our great Provincial Workhouse 011 the most beautiful and commanding site in the whole provincial district, within the bounds of the city itself, and so that it should be the first object to arrest the attention of strangers arriving in the harbour, has been debated ad nauseam. This course has been persistently pressed by a few members of the Hospital Board, in defiance of the almost general feelings of the people of Auckland, who hold that in the interests of the inmates of the Refuge, in the interests of the public health, and for the credit of the place, the institution should be located two or three miles beyond the city boundary, where the aged inmates might have quiet and retirement as becomes the evening of their days, and where they might have such a modicum of gardening and rural pursuits as would give them a little healthful recreation, while contributing in some degree to the costs of their maintenance. The removal to such a position is supported by the whole of the medical staff of the Hospital, and by the intelligent and influential portion of the community ; and with the exception of some members of the Board, who happen to have a small majority, it is only objected to by some of the amateur and dilletanti visitors, whose philanthropy, it seems, cannot bear the strain of having to go a couple or three miles by railway to carry out their self-imposed duties. If by any means the majority of the Board are enabled to locate our public Almshouse in such a conspicuous and wholly unsuitable position as 011 the Hospital Hill, they will have done that against which the feelings of almost the whole of the people revolt, and which would be resisted by the public in any way in which resistance could be shown to be effective. And as the majority at the Board, in this attempt to lead the Public Trustee to a diversion of a public trust, show that they are prepared to push matters to extremes, it is time that the public should rouse themselves to make their opinion felt on the subject. It is rumoured, we know not how correctly, that the application has been already forwarded to the Public Trustee, and as there may, therefore, be no time to be lost, and the Colonial Secretary, in whose department the Public Trustee's Office is, will be in Auckland in a few days, it has been suggested, and we strongly endorse the suggestion, that a deputation of influential citizens should wait on him in relation to the subject. It might seem an affront to a public officer to ask him to faithfully conserve a trust for the purposes for which it has been placed in his hands, but all the same, it may be well that he should be informed that the people of Auckland do not agree with an attempt to divert a trust, and that the location of a workhouse on the Hospital site would be repugnant to the feelings of the community.

settlers in the districts visited bv v and we took occasion to comment L li l spirit of "we know all about it» •'? settlers are sometimes prone to'irrl,,! in relation to methods of farming ii g ? we protest that no such spirit In* i, shown by the settlers in the Wi.i >eer } district but, on the contrary t | has everywhere been exhibited adl 3 to take advantage of any su"c, esti * lr9 he might make as to improvement • dairying processes. To say, thf-reSJ 0 that Ins lectures "in the tVaikiVl i other parts of Auckland appeared to S less appreciated" is a most unjustithvf charge. In fact, the visit of the T spector of Dairies has been quite meteor" like so far as Auckland is concerned" and it was hardly known that 1' had come till he had gone \ f hours in Auckland and a coimla i days in Waikato, where lie apL- r 2 without any notification or prUin, summoning together of the settlers ar surely not a fair test of the df- re of our settlers to take advantage of his instructions. We trust that Mr McCallum's health will speedily be '' stored, and as Auckland at lea-t I never sympathised with the apinrent jealousy and calling in question "of his qualifications, which greeted 1,; in the South, we feel confident that* with proper notification of his intended visits, so that some preparation may be made in the several districts for his re" ception, the inspector and instructor in dairying will have a good welcome, and his information and suggestions will be cordially appreciated by the settler.- " in Waikato and other parts of Auckland." U "

The Cork branch of the National Lea» has passed a resolution condemning \| r Parnell's moderation. The more°raVd members talk of an appeal to arms. ' cording to the, latest intelligence from Khartoum, great excitement has been produced there by the receipt of a message from the White Pasha calling upon the Mahdi to quit the city. The White Pa-ha was then only a few days' march from Khartoum. It is stated that Lord Salisbury is not altogether displeased at the refusal of the Chinese Government to ratify the American Treaty. In a fight between a band of horse stealers in America and a Vigilance Committee, seventeen of the former were killed. It is notified by the oflicer-in-charo-e of the telegraph office that mails for United I'riited Kingdom and Continent of Europe, via Rio de Janeiro, will close at Wellington tomorrow at one p.m. Ordinary telegram, for the above should be lodged not" later than twelve noon, ami urgents not later than half-past twelve p.m. The mails for Australian colonies, via Sydney, will close at Russell to-day at ten a.m. Oniinarv telegrams for the above should be lodged not later than twenty minutes past nine a.m., and urgents not later than forty minutes past nine a.m. On Tuesday, the 11th instant, at ei<dit p.m., Mr. E. Withy, M.H.R., will address a public meeting of his constituents, and will deal with public expenditure, borrowing, interest, profits, wages, and the uses of money. On the 23rd instant the Doric is expected to arrive in Auckland, and by that vessel Commandant Herbert H. Booth, third son of General Booth, of the Salvation Army, will be a passenger. He comes on a visit to the Army in the Australasian colonies. On arrival in Auckland he will receive a hearty welcome by the officers and members of the Army here ; and on Monday, the'24th, the first of the public services in connection with his arrival will take place. Commandant BSoth is expected to be here about four days. On his mission in Auckland being closed he will proceed to Wellington and the other chief centres of population in the South. The criminal sittings of the Supreme Court were continued yesterday. William Anderson Crombie, who on the previous evening had been convicted of stealing two bottles of grog from the Thistle Hotel, was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. David Edmond Porter pleaded guilty to live indictments, covering ten charges of embezzling the moneys of his employers, the Colonial Bank of New Zealand. .Mr. E. Hesketh made a strong appeal to Jfis Honor to extend to the prisoner the privi lege of the First. Offenders Probation Act. His Honor could not see his way <"0 comply or even to pass a light sentence, and the prisoner was sentenced to three years" penal servitude. William Noble and James Stoddart were tried on a charge of stealing a large sum of money and cheques from Brodie's Naval and Family Hotel, Pittstreet and Ivarangahape Road. After a lengthy trial the prisoners were convicted of receiving the money knowing it to be stolen, and each was sentenced to a year's imprisonment. The Court then adjourned until ten o'clock this morning. The members of the Progressive League met on Monday night in Robson's Rooms to arrange the programme for the next open meeting, which will take place the tirsc Monday in October. Messrs. T. West and Farrington were elected to open the subject of Freetrade v. Protection in its relation to New Zealand. A few readings and recitations will then be given, after which the meeting will be thrown open, so that visitors may take part in the discussion. Dr. Mackellar has called our attention to a very dangerous nuisance which is just now being created in Parnell, in a paddock on the east side of the Manukau Road, just opposite Mason's Gardens. A large quantity of rotten fruit, principally oranges, have been carted to this paddock and left exposed. These not only create a pre.it nuisance by the stench which they exhale, but they are a source of danger in another way, for crowds of children congregate around the heap, picking out the lessdecayed fruit and eating it, and the result no doubt will be a fruitful crop of sickness. We may add that the paddock in question is within the limits of the Remuera highway district, and we hope the Road Board will at once compel the owner of the paddock to have the rotten fruit ploughed in or otherwise buried. At the ordinary meeting of the Parnell Borough Council on Monday evening, twelve days' leave of absence was granted to Mr. Reynolds, town clerk. Mi'- -^ c " Lachlan tabled a motion, " That the action of the town clerk in refusing to carry oat the wishes of the Council, expressed at hut meeting, that the offices be kept open on one night in each week for a month, is unsatisfactory." After some discussion, the motion was lost. The Council resolved, "That the y Finance Committee be instructed to inquire into the matter or borough finances, and report to the Council." Mr. McLachlan moved, "That the advisability of joining the city be considered." Mr. Savage considered that an expression of opinion 011 the subject stiou.d be obtained from the ratepayers. Toe motion was lost. The duly advertised meeting of thepeopj 3 of Avondale, re the postal delivery, was her on Monday night. Mr. Francis Gittos was elected chairman, who thereupon called on Mr. McKenzie, as secretary, to read tne minutes of the meetings held in Avondale South. He explained that the aim of the meeting was not to injure Messrs. Bollard, senior or junior, but to get the symp itt "J and assistance of the people of Avondale tor the re-establishment of the delivery ot the mail in Avondale South, as Mr. Biss toi him that a request from the people 01 Avondale would be attended to. -" r - Bollard, senior, being called 011 for an explanation, gave one which was receive" with mixed approbation and disapprobation, and in reference to his doings on b-hauo Avondale South was quietly brought - task by the chairman as not stating I! * c s " As there were some persons evidently ben on a disturbance, Mr. Pooley, senior, characterised their conduct as un-Eng 1* > and not a kind reception to new ' c ? n ? eIs t .u P the locality. This was endorsed b>. chairman, and quiet was restored. A after Mr. W. Thomson proposed, and -ur. J. Broun seconded, the following motion That Mr. Biss, Chief Postmaster, Auckland, and the Postmaster - General, 00 earnestly requested that the delivery mail in Avondale South and New Lynn ° 9 a wain begun and continued as from loth . la > - 1888 A'2 th July, 1388." This was put- « the meeting and unanimously earned ' 0 the chairman callirg for an amendment, there was none proposed. lh ® l in McKenzie, on belalf of the sett er Avondale South, tlanked those pre?e.tjor their assistance aid sympathy, an » that Mr. Biss woild at) once comply the reaueat.

The usual meeting of the Mount Albert Mutual Improvement Society was held on Fri lay evening, August 31, when an animated discussion took place or the subject of "Which Does the More to Produce r ime— Poverty or Wealth?" Mr. J. E. Astley opened the debate, contending that the greater portion of the crime is perpetrated by the poor and criminal classes. He thought that wealthy people were, as a rule educated and refined, consequently, not so likely to commit crime. Mr. Farley, who took "the opposite side, argued that, next to intoxicants,-' possession of wealth «-as a great incentive to crime. He quoted prominent cases where wealth was used for criminal purposes; and contended that wealthy people had more facilities for committing crime than the poorer classes. Several members of the class took part in the debate and after the openers had replied, the members decided by a majority jf 19 votes to 17 that poverty produces more crime than wealth. Vocal and instrumental selections of music were rendered by members at intervals, and the meeting closed with the National Anthem and Doxology. The Devonport Borough Council met on Monday evening, the Mayor (Mr.Niccol) presiding. A report was received from Messrs. J. Baber and H. N. Warner, stating that a survey of lot 15a, scction 2, Takapuna, showed that there were in that lot 5 acres 1 rood 37 perches, or 1 rood 37 perches more than stated in the Crown grant, whilst the eastern boundary fence was 110 links longer than the eastern boundary. Mr. Cameron moved, "That the Council's solicitor be instructed to give the owners of lot 15, section 2, legal notice, requesting them to remove all obstructions from off the Beach Road in front of their property, and should they fail to comply with such notice, that the foreman of works be then employed to remove the said obstructions without further delay." At the suggestion of the Mayor, the motion was amended to read after the words, "with such notice," " That such further action be taken as the Council's solicitor may advise." The Mayor reminded the Council of the probable cost of a contest in the Supreme Court, which doubtless would be firmly contested. The motion was agreed to, and the Mayor, Messrs. Cameron and Philcox were appointed a sub-committee to prepare a case for" the opinion of the Council's solicitor. It was decided to notify the owners of property in Yauxhall Road that they must clear gorse from their land. In reply to an application from Mr. J. Morley for license for 'bus to ply between Devonport and Lake Takapuna, the Council resolved to ask him to first submit his time-table and have his bus inspected. It was agreed to form an approach to Cheltenham Beach, and also a footpath in Lytton-street. A motion by the Mayor to the effect that steps be taken to have the Council's title to the several reserves in the borough more clearly delined, was agreed to.