OUR LETTER HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9155, 10 September 1888, Page 9

OUR LETTER HOME.

The iast sitting of Parliament took place on the 30th of August, the session levins been continued from the 10th 0 .May. This is rather above the Mveraue length of sessions in New Zealand but the duration of the session was protracted from various causes. It was certainly not because of the large amount of business transacted, for the actual legislation has been but small. Put there was no organisation in the House. There was no Opposition ; the pxistence of the Atkinson Ministry was scarcely threatened at any time. ' But, probably as a consequence, the Government had no compact following, and r !,ey had to grope their way through t lie session as best they could. The public Works Statement was delivered on the 1 Sth of August, and an outline ( ,f it will be found elsewhere. It is very different from what we have had 0 t late years. The Government l;:,ve now available the two million loan. less by what had been anticipated by advances from local banks, it is proposed to expend, (hiring the year about ;L'Sti:2,S:>7 on uncompleted railways and on other public works. It is estimated that the amountremaining unexpended at the end of March next will be above a million. This policy of caution is certainly to be commended,because the colony is under a pledge to borrow no more for three veat sto come, and indeed we feel sure that public opinion will be strongly i-.iain-t borrowing, even if the colony were tinder no pledge. As might naturally be expected, the stoppage of the large public expenditure which has been going on for several years has been severely felt, and a considerable number of persons have been thrown I out of employment. But of these a large proportion will become producers, ami so add to the substantial wealth of the colony, in many cases, our public works have been left in an awkward position, having been stopped short of the points to which it was intended to carry them. This will no doubt involve a certain amount of loss and waste. but that must .-imply be endured. We i.u;< wait till settlement has made greater progress, and then the contraction of these unfinished lines will

be resinned. The Government are enm ivounnir to complete several large purchases of land in the interior, adja- . •.to the line or the North island T-uttk railway, and propose next sesM'>:! to ask tor £'00,000 from the Public Works Fund to make further pur-

The series of Bills effecting such rations in regard, to the Jaw relating in alive lands as w ill enable Maoris to to Europeans their surplus lands, have ]Mssmi through both Houses after '•o::.-iot*i'tiblo opposition. The late Gonrnment. it will be remembered, took the w hole matter .>£* native land dealing into its own hand, and prohibited all transactions except, through a Government department. Hut it was found that the natives would not do anything under this mode, and that if extension of settlement on native lands were to be resumed, the law must be changed. The natives in the interior have enormous areas, which they can never possibly utilise, and the new laws are to enable them to sell such portions as titey choose to part with, the Court being directed to see that they retain sunieient for their own maintenance for nil time coming. On August 16, the Premier brought before the House of Representatives a series of resolutions in regard to the mail services. At present a subsidy is paid for the conveyance of a mail monthly between Auckland and. San Francisco, and there is an arrangement by which mails are carried by Direct i steamers according to the amount sent. j The first of the resolutions brought for- ! ward by Sir H. Atkinson was to the effect that a two-weekly service should he continued between New Zealand and Great Britain. The second resolution authorised the Government to enter into a contract for a Pacific service, j Tae third resolution authorised the Government to make a contract for a four-weekly service by Direct steamer. Mr. Ward, an Otugo member, moved, as an amendment to the first resolution. "That no subsidy shall be given to the San Francisco service." On a division, Mr. Ward's amendment was carried by 4o to 27. The minority was chiefly composed of the Auckland members, who resent the taking away of a service which carries tie great bulk of the correspondence to and from the colony, which performs the service in quicker time than it could possibly be done otherwise, and winch, moreover, is of special importance to Auckland, which could not be accommodated by the Direct steamers. After the division on the first resolution. the Premier withdrew the others, stating that he understood the decision to m-an that the Government were to fall for tenders for a direct fortnightly service and submit t.iem next session to the House. The San Francisco service contract does not terminate till November. jss9_ During the recess the Government wi'l be open to receive en-:- for the continuance of a Pacific service either by Vancouver for conveyance of mails by the Canadian railways, or by San Francisco. The Australian Governments, also, if they yaiue the Pacific service for the facilities it gives for communication """itii the United States, will come forward with statements of what aid they will afford. The whole subject will come up for discussion in next session, and it is to be hoped that m some way such arrangements will be possible as will maintain a Pacific ser-m-e. As it is, the postages on letters Scat by San Francisco cover the amount w the subsidy paid, but the Southern members, and those who are interested in the Direct service, are exceedingly desirous that all the assistance that can be given by the colony should be rendered to the Direct steamers, who carry on the frozen meat trade.

The Melbourne Exhibition, which opened on the Ist of August, has been a great success, so far as attendance goes. It is, however, even yet in a Most incomplete state. Complaint was ''lade shortly after the opening that there was a most inadequate representation of the mineral resources of New Zealand. Steps have been taken to amend this, and owing to the exertions of several gentlemen connected with fining in the Auckland district a considerable quantity of specimen ore has been collected, showing how the minerals occur in this district. This has been sent to Melbourne, and will be placed in the New Zealand Court. Dur--111 ? the continuance of the Exhibition there will be a large number of visitors to Melbourne from all the colonies and from Europe. In our last summary we stated what taken place with regard to two prisoners who had escaped from New Caledonia, and who had been picked JJP at sea by a vessel coming to New They were brought on here. After being several times before the C-nirts in Auckland, they were taken to ellington, where the French Consul demanded that they should be handed over to him, in virtue of a treaty between France and England. Lu >'y. one of the escapees, was discharged, but Gasparini was handed £ V(;r to the French Consul,' who sent ji lru to Sydney in charge of a detective. , 11 arrival of the vessel at Sydney, however, it was found that the prisoner f'p disappeared. The detective states hat the vessel left Wellington on the 11 i 'of August. On the night of the pth Gaspitrini was seen by the detec--IVe ia bed, but next morning he had

disappeared. The steamer was then 130 miles from Sydney. The vessel was at once thoroughly searched, in case Gasparini might have stowed himself away. It was twice searched after arrival at Sydney. It is now concluded that Gasparini must have thrown himself overboard in despair at being taken back to the French penal settlement.

I Earthquake tremours of a trifling character are not uncommon in New Zealand. Slit on September 1 the central district of the colony, comprising the southern part of the North island and the northern part of the South Island, experienced several shocks of more than ordinary severity. A part of the spire of the Cathedral of Christchurch was shaken down, and fell into the Square before the building. The disturbance was greatest in the Canterbury district; but except for the injury to the cathedral spire no material damage was done. At the last half-yearly meeting of the shareholders of the Bank of New Zealand in Auckland, a committee was appointed to make an investigation as to the position of the Bank. The committee have completed their work, and have now summoned a meeting of the shareholders for the 3rd of October to receive their report. It is stated in the notice summoning the. meeting that a resolution will be proposed authorising the directors to increase the capital of the Bank by the creation of 100,000 new shares of £10 each, and the issue of such number thereof as may be deemed expedient. It is understood that the additional capital winch the directors may consider it necessary to raise will be obtained in London.

One of the most prominent incidents of lie month, affecting as it does all the Australasian Colonies, is the strike of the coal-miners at Newcastle, New South Wales. Newcastle is the largest coal-producing place in the colonies. Victoria has no coal within her own boundaries, and is entirely supplied from New South Wales ; New Zealand also imports a large quantity of coal from Newcastle. The strike has arisen from a dispute as to the terms on which the men are to take out certain seams which occur amongst the coal. The wages made at Newcastle are high, amounting to :20s, :2:ls, and even as high as 2ns per day. Great inconvenience will be caused by the strike. The effect in New Zealand has been greatly to increase the output of our local coal. If the men continue to remain out mines will be worked which are at present lying idle. For some months past there has been a steady, if slow, increase in the amount of settlement on the land, the best foundation for a colony's prosperity. When things are abnormally brisk in the cities, from a large expenditure on public works or otherwise, small settlers are tempted to abandon their holdings and to come to where high wages are to be obtained for labour. But, on the other hand, whet, there are no public works going on, and when private enterprises are being curtailed, many go to the country and become settlers. This process is proceeding at present, and no doubt will be one of the main factors in increasing the permanent prosperity of the colony.

The calendar of the criminal sittings I of the Supreme Court for the quarter, i which opened on the 3rd instant, was I exceptionally light, only 12 persons j being charged with offences, although j there were 32 charges. Ten of those, however, were composed of charges of embezzlement against a bank clerk, eight against a watch repairer, who took watches for repairs, and pawned them, and the other offences were mainly comprised of breaking and entering, and passing valueless cheques. The two principal cases of offences against the person and offences against property were, in the first instance, a charge against a man named Boyle, accused of unlawfully wounding a woman named Annie Hill, with whom he had been cohabiting for eight years. There was nothing to show malice, and it was apparent that the whole affair was the result of a drunken frenzy on the part of a generally sober man. He was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment. Ann Mahony stood her trial on a charge of arson, and was acquitted. The session was unusually short, and the crimes were in no instance of a grave character.