THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY. NOVEMBER 24, 1888.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9220, 24 November 1888, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY. NOVEMBER 24, 1888.

The story of the effort for the construction of the Pacific Cable has hitherto been chiefly distinguished by the unblushing audacity with which the a directors of the Eastern Extension Cable Company have struggled for the g retention of their monopoly. Every j" stage in connection with it has been '■ signalised by some counterblast from y the indefatigable chairman of the Com(I pany, Sir John Pender, in which he has sought to belittle the project and laud I, the excellence of his own cable system, and the disinterested and public-spirited character of the Company of which he has the honour of being chairman. The ■ s assurance manifested in such procet dure has been accentuated in the fact that the Eastern service has been the - most unyielding and selfish monopoly 3 under which these colonies have ever suffered, a monopoly that has done more than anything else to retard the progress and advancement of Australasia. It turned a deaf ear to every remonstrance addressed to it, 4 bullied and threatened when it could, )I 1 and then ever since the Pacific cable d enterprise assumed shape it has whined and cried in the most pitiful way,' blending the most unscrupulous and unblushing allegations against the rival enter- * prise, with promises of amendment and unbounded favours, if the colonies will only be content with its service and • not ruin themselves by rushing to the destruction involved in the construction of an opposition cable. As appears in our telegraphic B columns of yesterday and to-day, the chairman of the Eastern Extension has just written to the London papers deprecating the Pacific cable scheme, jj and pointing out that his company had only given 41 days of interruption in a series of eight years, and adding that _ his company "is willing to reduce their rates to anything," subject to certain conditions, the principal of which would, no doubt, be that no assistance is given to their hateful rival. And then the very next day the secretary of the company gratuitously informs the Times, and through it the world, that the hostile cable will cost four millions sterling, and would be difficult to maintain and protect at that; and he considerately ventures the suggestion that " it would be better to secure cheaper rates on the present cable by adopting Sir John Pender's guarantee _ proposal." The indecency of this iteraj£ tion of, pressure might have surprised c- us did we not learn that a great meet- ->! ing was about to be held in London to ™ consider the Pacific cable question, and 0- Sir John Pender and his assistants were ii merely pulling the press in order to prejudice the minds of those attending the meeting against the new and ill

favour of the old cable. As will be seen from our cable columns, tho tactics of the intriguers have been eminently unsuccessful, and the meeting which has been held has unanimously endorsed the Vancouver-Pacific route o'l cable to New Zealand and Australia ; and that the promoters have responded by saying that subsidy or no subsidy, guarantee or no guarantee from the Governments, they are prepared to carry through the enterprise to completion. This will be good newto the colonies, and none the less welcome in that it cannot but cause peculiar chagrin to the chairman and directors of the Eastern Extension Company, to find that their frantic efforts to malign the rival enterprisehave utterly failed. It is needless to say that on every ground the Pacific cable is to be preferred to the Eastern one with its exposure to submarine as well as political explosions ; but even if it were not in any way superior, the fact of having a rival and competing service to keep the arrogance of Si,. John Pender's company in check will be a consummation most devoutly to bo wished The idea of our Auckland harbour being without its annual regatta would we believe, be an intolerable thought to every right-minded citizen ; and yet the possibilities of such a catastrophe have been freely canvassed during the past few weeks. It is true that a considerable change has taken place within the past ten or fifteen years in the circunistances that contribute to great and imposing regattas in the waters of the Waitemata. Our flotilla of sailing craft has been grievously curtailed by steam, and the class of trading vessels which gave such a picturesqueness to our waters, and prepared the material for many a brilliant Anniversary Day, have been largely frightened away by the iron monsters that darken our Italian skies with their rolling volumes of smoke, and offend our ears with their unearthly screams. Nevertheless, we have had an accession of yachts and pleasure boats of various kinds, that can take the place of the heavier craft that are gone, and spreading their white wings on the breeze can still make the 2!Jth January the brightest and most picturesque of all the New Zealand anniversaries; and for the honour of Auckland, and for the fair fame of the harbour that we pride ourselves in regarding as peerless in these waters, and destined to yet command the commerce of the South Seas, we earnestly hope that no one will for an instant indulge the thought that our annual regatta might come to be abandoned. Tell it not in Wellington, publish it not in the streets of Dunedin, that the thought of dishonour was even dreamt of, and let our yachtsmen and citizens be invited to put their shoulders to the wheel, and their hands in their pockets, and we venture to think that in January next , and thereafter we shall see as brilliant regattas as ever we did in the harbour. The very fitness of things demands i that our anniversary should be signalised by aquatic sports. Not only has Nature intended that the commerce of Auckland should extend on the wide ocean at our doors, but in all the Australasian colonies there is no other harbour so admirably fitted for every variety of aquatic displays ; and it is i our duty to take every advantage of our opportunities for instilling into our rising generation a love of the sea, and with this object in view to encourage i them in aquatic sports. The annual regatta is the great factor in such results, and we should have a civic pride in seeing that the old institution should not only continue, but every year increase in interest. We feel confident = that an appeal to citizens for subscriptions for the Regatta will be cordially responded to, more than for almost any - other public purpose that could be pro ) posed, for all our citizens have bright - and pleasant memories of Regatta days 3 in the past, and will never think of not having and enjoying them in the 3 future. i The duty of getting up the events in l connection with our anniversary has l hitherto devolved on hands which have - faithfully served the public year after s year with but little change in the peri sonnel. Those who have thus for , many years served tho city well, 1 are now desirous of being, if not s relieved, at least assisted by the J accession of new helpers, and we - trust that some of our younger and t enterprising citizens will come to the ' front, and aid in carrying on the work r with renewed vigour. The money will f not be wanting, but it will require to } be asked for ; and in this connection it ' should be urged that the course which t is taken at the Southern ports should r be considered good for Auckland, and that authority should be obtained from > the Harbour Board to have the wharf 3 tees and other points cVa vantage around I the harbour, within the jurisdiction or " the Board reserved and charged for on " Regatta Day at a moderate rate to ' those desirous of being spectators of the I sports. The charge needsbeing no more I than a small one which nobody will 1 feel, and though the possibilities of this ! should not operate to prevent a propci canvass being made in the city and suburbs for promotion of the Regatta. c this source of income may be kept in 3 reserve as one on which the Manager 3 of the Regatta may draw in the event 3 of necessity arising. With such a > tain means of raising revenue, theie 1 should be no discouragement whate\ei 1 in the prospects of the Regatta being made a success ; and we trust that .it 3 the meeting convened for the purpose there will be a good roll up of all tl'° 3t j 1 who are resolved that our harbour sha 3 not be shorn of its great and character istic fete day, nor the citizens of u ' iaiJ has been for a generation the brightest and happiest holiday of every year. ) _______ r ~ ' . 3 We have not before noticed the speec ' 3 of Mr. Peacock to his constituents or - Ponsonby chiefly because there is in 1 " e almost nothing to object to. Itgi^ 3 y an account of the session, from vet.v 3 much the same stand-point as we ha^e - all along taken ourselves. Mr. * L ' l 1 cock is one of the best of our member* - He is independent in position, ana has 5 no temptation to take part in any J • i He is calm in temper, reasonable in judgments, and lias no fads. Rle g<• j 3 his constituents of Ponsonby a fan . • _ ' impartial account of the late lngloi - J j and disappointing session, and s j l . • i his own course. The present poi ltJ

position is very singular. There is no question of Government and Opposition. "When this Parliament ends the House is to be reduced from 95 to 74. There are two sessions still to come. Till these two sessions have passed, Sir Harry Atkinson is fixed as Premier. The members of the House of Representatives could no doubt out-vote his Ministry. Put then lie -would claim a dissolution, and a dissolution would miean the reduction in the number of members specified above. The members *re not. patriotic enough to risk their teats for two sessions, although they may think the Government is ruining the country. They would rather keep in otlice the worst. Ministry that ever held office in New Zealand. We do not say the present Ministry is the worst by any means. But the position is a curious one. It is by no means wholesome for the country, and it certainly destroys all political interest. Mr. Peacock was throughout the session a supporter of the Ministry, but at the outset of his speech he could not help remarking that in regard to retrenchment the Premier did not take the linn stand lie ought to have taken. In regard to education Mr. Peacock advocates the same views which some time ago we endeavoured to insist upon, but on which we were defeated both in Auckland and in the House. The point ,-euld not be better put than it was by Mr. Peacock. He said :—" If it could be shown that beyond a certain point in age and acquirement of instruction the mass of the people could not take advantage of the State education by reason of the pressing demands of the family and the need for the youth of the colony to earn their own livelihood, then that should be the point near which free education should stop/' It seems to us, however, that nothing can be done to reduce the cost of our education system till there is no money in the Treasury to carry it on with as it at present exists. The working classes in the large towns have got it into their heads that a costly education system is their perquisite, though only about one in a hundred jets any advantage out of the sixth or seventh standard teaching, the benefit or these going exclusively to well-to-do people. If the working classes only were studied in our education system, it would cost only half its present amount, and the working man would have less taxation to pay on his tea and sugar and clothing, and everything else that he eats or wears. Mr. Peacock thinks that the change made last session in respect to native lands will facilitate dealing, while, at the same time, it will prevent the acquiring of large blocks. We are afraid that this matter will have to be further looked into. For some considerable time past a Land Court has been busy with the titles in the King country, and the blocks have been individualised from To Awamutu to Te Kuiti. But all dealing by private parties has been prohibited for three years. The Crown is at liberty to purchase, but then the Crown has no money. Next, session the House will have further to remove restrictions, because it is obvious that, the Government cannot for many years resume the purchase of native lands. And through all this country a railway has been made at the public expense. Mr. Peacock has no patent cure for the depression. We must .earn to labour and to wait. Happily our eyes are now pen to what will cause the country to resume the path of progress, namely, settlement on the lands. Mr. Peacock, although a town member, sees clearly what the colony wants, and we have no doubt that he may be trusted to do as much towards it as any one member can.