THE New zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1890.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8424, 27 November 1890, Page 4

THE New zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1890.

Me. Bryce lias taken a strong line against the extravagance of our present educational system, particularly as regards the outlay for secondary and university education. There can be no doubt that from the purely financial point of view the expenditure on education is out of all proportion with the means of the colony. The bare fact that our education grant for primary schools was, in 1389, £377,858, while that for Great Britain was only £3,G54,000, our population being about 010,000, and that of Great Britain about 35,000,000, is of itself a sufficient proof of the extravagance of our expenditure. It is true that the grant from Parliament does not include the whole expenditure in the primary schools in England. The school boards receive £750,000 from the poor rates, about an equal amount is supplied by voluntary contributions, and besides these there are the school fees. Altogether we may put the cost of primary education at about seven millions, including; the Scotch grant of £575,000. But what is this compared in any way with our expenditure in New Zealand ? Take it per head of population, or per head of children attending schools, or compare it with the total revenue, in any and every way, it far exceeds the expenditure which produces just as good resultsin Great Britain. If the expenditure in Great Britain were in the same ratio to population as ours, it would amount to about £20,090,000 sterling per annum, Die difficulty of dealing with there-, trenchment of our education expenditure lied chiefly in this fact, that it is the most truly democratic of all the items in the Budget, except the railway expenditure. The large body of wageearners, who pay nothing in direct j taxation, and have no concern with the property tax, are immediately benefited by the expenditure on education. If they have recently come from Britain, they have a vivid remembrance of the school fees they had to pay weekly for their children, and for which there was no excuse, except absolute pauperism. There are no school fees to pay here, but they are dreadfully afraid that if the education grant were diminished in any way there would have to be either school fees or a school rate. Moreover, a very large number of the poorer classes are educating their children for situations in the schools, and in the inferior branches of the Civil Service. There are hundreds of families in which Civil Servants and school teachers are bred, just as farmers breed shorthorns. Every child is brought up to look forward for a "billetfor a salary, if but a small one ; for a certainty, although the prospect of any rise may bo very remote. It is sad to see how completely _ lost is the spirit of energy, enterprise, and self-help. These young people are just as unfit for the rough-and-tumble of colonial life as the Cockney who has never been beyond the sound of Bow Bells. They do not know the difference between a spade and a shovel, or between oats and barley, and in their childhood would probably object,as the London childdid, who was taken into the country, that he liked everything well enough except the milk, and, instead of bringing that round in nice clean tins, "they squeezed it out of a nasty, dirty cow." But what with the influence of teachers on the electors, and the anxiety of the electors themselves lost any retrenchment of the education grant should entail any direct expense for school fees or rates, and the very large number of persons who are interested in putting their children into the service of the Education Department, we fear that there is a very uphill fight for economists. Almost anything will be sacrificed but that. You may talk about the duty of the State being limited to the gratuitous teaching of the elements of knowledge, and terminating with the Fourth Standard, and immediately there would be an outcry from all the teachers and from ail the parents of children who showed the least likelihood of becoming pupil teachers or passing the Civil Service examination. The fact is that we are rapidly approaching the condition which already exists in the United States—that all hard or unskilled labour is to be done by immigrants from Europe, and that the educated native is to be employed only in the higher branches of skilled labour, or in clerical, educational, or Government work. This is the real difficulty. Our young people for the most part will not go into the country, will not do any hard work, and would rather pass a life of continual privation and misery in genteel poverty than soil their lingers by any hard manual labour. Until we can imbue them with more wholesome ideas, and, indeed, until a fairer division is made between the producer and the distributor, so that the lot of the producer shall be more pleasant and admit of more relaxation, we shall continue to have this perpetual rush to the towns, this overcrowding of every employment which can be considered genteel, and this difficulty about economising the Government expenditure. People are willing enough to cut down salaries of four or live hundred a year because only a few receive such salaries, and no numerous class in the community is interested in them ; but on no account must the smaller salaries be reduced or the wages men touched. Therefore, in the two largest spending departments —the railways ana education—there seems to be no hope of any real retrenchment until the crash comesj •which cannot be far distant if we so on as we are doing. j

It is admitted on all hands that % w*e can borrow no more ;it is admitted that there will be a deficit at the end of the financial year; it is quite certain that the limits of indirect taxation were reached long ago, for additional duties have only been followed by actual diminution of the revenue from Customs. Where, then, is the money to come from ? Our population may not be * decreasing numerically, owing to the extraordinary birth-rate, but children under twelve, at the very lowest, cannot add to the productiveness of the colony, and we have lost by emigration many thousands of our working men during the past two years. Would it be possible to hope for a few candidates of 'good social position, and large and liberal education, who would say plainly and straightforwardly to the constituencies, " We must have retrenchment on a large scale ; this will involve certain sacrifices which you must make. \ou cannot have your babies sent* to school to bo out of the way : you must positively take charge of your own children ; you cannot have them educated beyond the fourth standard unless you are willing to pay for it yourselves ; you cannot have schools scattered about half-a-mile from one another you cannot have your letters delivered twice a-day in towns ; you cannot have a mail to little bits of townships every day a-week ; you cannot have a policeman in every village, but you must be contented to do as your forefathers did, and have a constable elected by yourselves and paid only by fees ; you cannot have telegraph stations every few miles unless they pa;/, and there are a great many other luxuries that you have been used to, which you cannot have. Will you elect me V These candidates would probably all fail at this election—but at the next—after the crash, —they would be hailed as the only men who had really gauged the situation, and were prepared with remedies for it.

No man can consider the present electoral prospect of the city of Auckland with satisfaction. We had a good deal a short time ago about the rights of labour and the power of trades unions. The leaders of the strike endeavoured to starve the community, and to destroy all enterprise and all capital by stopping the supply of coal. The difficulties then were overcome. But apparently it has been agreed to allow the representation of the city to fall largely into the hands of the "labour party.'' The majority of the present candidates are the nominees of Mr. Desmond. llepresentative government supposes that the electors shall send to the Councils of the nation the best men in the community. •Suppose that the present candidates were sent to Parliament in a body, would the citizens of Auckland be proud of them ! Dr. Wallis was not altogether a satisfactory member when he was our representative before, but at present he is many degrees above any of the others. As for Mr. Thompson, we have no great fault to find with his action in the past, but at present he does not seem to have any opinions at all. A correspondent defines the project of taxing the bondholders as a policy worthy only of theKelly gang,and yet Mr. Thompson, although he has been a legislator for years, professes not to be able to speak positively 011 the subject. Perhaps it is because he has been a legislator for years, and has had his moral sense ruined. For instance, he says, " His inclinations and sympathies were entirely in favour of taxing the bond holders, providing they could do it legally and honestly." Why, who is to tell us whether we can do it legally or honestly, if it be not you, Mr. Thompson ? You know all about it, and the whole of the circumstances of the case, and why come before the electors with a statement like this ? Why does Mr. Thompson say that he will do it, if it is honest to do it, or legal to do it ! Surely he ought to know whether it would be honest. But putting the " honesty'' out of view, why does not Mr. Thompson, who knows when our loans fall due, who ought to know something of the London money market, tell us whether it is possible or politic? These are the two best of our candidates. We are not altogether proud of them. As for the others, what feeling can be entertained 1 And yet, as matters now stand, one of them must be a representative of Auckland. This is the last day on which nominations can be received. Surely the citizens of Auckland are not to be left to the choice at present before them.

Our cable messages this morning state that Mr. Parnell has been re elected leader of the Irish Party. General Booth's emigration scheme is characterised by the Charity Organisation Society as impracticable. While everyone must heartily sympathise with the efforts of the head of the Salvation Army to reclaim the masses, his proposal to deluge the colonies with his reformed characters is by no means one that ought to find favour in this part of the world, and it is not a little surprising that the colonial Governments have not"made their opinions known in regard to his project. The financial crisis in the Argentine still continues, and several firms have succumbed. _ The outbreak of Indians in America is assuming a serious aspect, and it is feared that the rising will spread to Canadp, The Premier of Victoria has fixed March - as a suitable date for the meeting of the Federal Convention. This date, however, will, says a Wellington telegram, possibly prevent New Zealand being represented at all. Captain Kussell can hardly be spared, as all the members are wanted so near the opening of the session, and Sir W. Fitzherbcrt would find it difficult to attend and be back in time. The illness of Sir George Grey, the third delegate, also complicates the matter. The Government are now considering the position. In our cable advices the safe arrival at Sydney of the barquentine Edith May, after an exceedingly stormy passage of seven weeks from Port Chalmers, will be noted. 1 hough she has not visited this port, the Edith May, which is a Sydneyowned craft, and a staunch wooden vessel 0 -13 tons, is well known in the intercolonial trade. She recently took a cargo of guano to Otago from the islands, and left on October 8 produce-laden for Sydney. As she possesses the reputation of being a good sailer her protracted passage gave rise t°no little uneasiness, and all concerned will be glad to hear of her safety. On Tuesday evening Mr. E. Harrow, of Lake Takapuna, delivered an address in the Temperance Hall to the city electors, giving his views on the state of the colony, and the property tax in particular. Mr. J. Quinn presided. The attendance was limited. Mr. Harrow read his "notes," which were rather voluminous, and made some discursive observations on the Waitemata County Council and other bodies. The address was an amusing one, and though Mr. Harrow is not a candidate for Parliamentary honours he received a vote of thanks, coupled with a suggestion that he should contest the city. Mr. Harrow declined the honour. A meeting of the Auckland Rifle Association" was held in the Drill-shed last evening, at which Sergeant Soall presided. The secretary stated that after clearing off all liabilities the association was £3 12s to the good. A short discussion then ensued relative to the forthcoming rifle competitions at Auckland and at Napier, but it was considered useless to go into the subject when so f«w members were present. It was therefore decided to adjourn until Monday next. A general feeling of disappointment was expressed by the meeting at the surprising lack of interest displayed by the volunteers themselves in matters which so nearly concerned them, and it was pointed out that while such was the case, it was futile and absurd to look for sympathy and support from the general public. It was hoped that every member would be in attendance on Monday evening. '

. -—J The first meeting of the newly-elected Waitemata County Council—the annual meeting for. the election of a chairman, &c» —was held yesterday. There was a contest for the chairmanship between Mrv Bruce, the recent chairman, and Mr. Robt. Mackay, which resulted in favour of the latter, who then took the chair. The ordinary business of the Council was then taken up, and it lasted until nearly five o'clock. Some of the new councillors displayed a great deal of eagerness to air their views, and unless the chairman deals with a firm hand, and insists that no member shall have leave to apeak on any subject more than twenty times, the meetings of the Waitemata County Council will become more interminable than ever. Commenting on Sir George Grey's proposal to tax the British holders of New Zealand Government Bonds, the Sydney Morning Herald says:—lb might fairly have been expected that, warned by the effect produced in London by the tax on companies' dividends proposed by the (Queensland Legislature* Sir George Grey would have felt the ex* pediency of eliminating from his programme any allusion to such a thing as taxing the holders of Government bonds. With something like a feeling of panic, British investors hud represented that to tax companies' dividends would entail on them a double income tax, and be otherwise unjust to the colony's bondholders ; and trie instructions cabled to the Agent-General were to explain that the tax would only be levied on the profits of divi-dend-paying companies, and that hold-' ers of Government bonds would not be affected, And yet, in the face of this information, Sir George, nothing daunted, gravely propounds the notion of expressly imposing a tax on the Government bondholders of New Zealand. He had enough information on the matter to make him pause and modify his proposal. But he proceeds as if nothing had happened, and as if it were a virtue to trifle with the good faith of the colony, and to extract from tho pockets of the bondholders a charge not contemplated when they invested in the colony's stock. This is not statesmanship. At all events, it is not honest statesmanship, and is, moreover, very suicidal as it respects the interests of the colony. Tho proposal to tafc the incomes of absentees derived from the colony is a piece of weak surplusage intended to serve the purpose of a political war-cry. The agents of these absentees have to pay property tax on the properties on investments whose management they are entrusted with, and the idea of placing a further impost on the amount remitted to the proprietors is simply an impracticable hallucination. But to propose taxing the colony's bonds means that the colony would soon have no bondholders. Investors would not take the colony's stock at any price, and those holding it would make haste to get rid of it at what it would fetch, and the effect on the market and on the colony's credit can easily be imagined. That, instead of raising, as now is the case, would speedily be found below zero." Dr. Giles, in his position as Trust Commissioner, held a court yesterday afternoon according to the provisions of the Native Lands Frauds Prevention Act, at the Resident Magistrate's Court. Several deeds were confirmed, after having been subjected to the necessary legal scrutiny as provided by the above-mentioned Act. Yesterday at noon, the election of members of tho Hospital and Charitable Aid Board took place at the Auckland City Council offices. Messrs. J. M. Lennox, P. Dignan, C. Atkin, and W. Swuiles were re-elected for the city ; Mr. 0. May? was re elected for Devonport and Rodney ; Messrs. J. Bollard and R. Udy for Eden County ; Mr. S. Gooseman for Manukau County in place of Mr. W. F. Buckland, and Mr. Alfred Kidd was re-elected to represent the boroughs of Newton, Newmarket, and Onehunga.

Mr. J. Scott, Mount Eden, called at our office yesterday in reference to the paragraph which appeared in Tuesday's Herald about the phylloxera ravages in his vinery a year ago, and states that anyone reading the paragraph alluded to would infer that very great carelessness had existed on his part in the management of his vinery. He states that it was neither overcropping nor want of water was the cause of the pest) appearing therein, and thinks that Mr. Bridgman very well knows that the disease among Mr. Scott's vine.'i came from the same quarter which introduced it into Mr. Bridgman's vinery, as well as into others. Mr. Scott has known vineries in the Whagarei district successfully conducted, and large crops obtained for many years without getting one drop of water at all except what fell in its natural way from the heavens, not even so much as to be syringed. Mr. Scott thinks Mr. Bridgman is too confident about his success in overcoming the phylloxera, and urges him to remember the saying, " not to halloo till out of the wood," as he will know better about it two years from now. Mr. Scott says he thought he had done with the pest and its ravages, and consider.) that after the service he rendered to vine -growers in general, by making known the existence of the disease, and destroying his vines for the benefit of all a soon as he was aware of its existence, ha should not have been blamed for mismanaging his vines. At the meeting addressed by Messrs. Yaile and J tees at Mount Eden on Tuesday evening a pamphlet was distributed containing certain correspondence between Mr. Mitchelson and Mr. Vaile regarding the latter's scheme, and another pamphlet, entitled " The Story of the Acquisition of the large Estates in New Zealand," In the latter it is shown, from a speech by Mr. C. C. Bo wen, in the House of Representatives in 1579, and from other sources, that) Sir George Grey was responsible for the creation of the large estates. The Richmond Road Primitive Methodist? Church anniversary was celebrated on Sunday by special services, and on Tuesday by a public tea and after-meeting. Appropriate sermons were delivered on Sunday to good congregations by Pastor birch in th« morning, Mrs. Kerr in the afternoon, and Miss B. Lefanu in the evening. The singing, conducted by Mr. J. H. Jones, with Mrs. Maxwell as organist, and a strong orchestra, was a marked improvement in the singing of any previous year in the history of the church. At the tea on Tuesday the following ladies presided at the tables j —Mesdames J. H. Jones, H. Buckley, Swain, Giles, Richards, Motion, and Miss Buckley. Dr. Thomas Kenderdine, who presided at the public meeting, said he was glad to be present, because he was in hearty sympathy with all Christian bodies that are doing good in a practical way. The Rev„ W. Laycock read the treasurer's report, which showed the income to bo £32 9s 7d, the expenditure £27 9s 2d, leaving a credit; balance in the bank of £5 Os sd. Good ad* dresses were given by the Rev. A. J. Smith, Messrs. Thomas Booth and Henry Field. The choir again did good service. Votes of thanks to all who had helped forward the anniversary meeting to such a successful issue, and the Benediction by Mr. Smith, brought a very successful anniversary to a close. A notorious criminal, whose name is William Anderson, and who also rejoices in a number of aliases, was sentenced by Dr. Giles, at the Police Court yesterday, to one year's imprisonment, with hard labour, fcr being an incorrigible rogue and vagabond. Ho was arrested in Hobson-street, about) four o'clock yesterday morning, by Constable Stephenson, who had noticed him prowling about in a suspicious manner, and saw him trying to open two of the windows of the Prince of Wales' Hotel. From the character given him by Detective Kirby, the man seems to have had a brilliantcareer as crime is concerned. He had served two years for burglary, eight months for picking pockets, and several other terms for various offences in New Zealand. Besides this, lie has been in prison in Victoria, being a noted Victorian criminal. In sentencing this man, Dr. Giles remarked that he never remembered seeing a worse record against anyone. The defence set» up was that the accused had no intention of entering the hotel, but was only leaning against the window while ho emptied soma gravel from his- boots. The Commercial Union, a very powerful British Company, have not only agreed to purchase the business of the Colonial Insurance Company, but have arranged with its staff to carry lb on with greatly extended limits arid powers. Customers of the Colonial therefore will experience no inconvenience or indeed noticeable change. Losses, should they arise, will bo adjusted by the same manager at) the same office. .The Commercial Union have obtained a very large share of business in Australia, and pursuing a like policy will doubtless become prominent her®.

Among the crew of H.M.B. Curacoa, bow in port, is a seaman named John Iderson, who is one of the survivors of the crow of tho ill-fated H.M.s. Drphous, wrecked on the Manukau bar some 2S years ago. As the Curacoa will probably pay a visit to the Manukau, he will have an opportunity of reviving old reminiscences of that lamentable and mournful episode. The Auckland tract distributor has sent out 0080 pages of free reading matter, in the form of tracts and papers, at a cost of upwards of £4 to tho society. Tho cosh donated towards the same is 4*s 6d. Mr. J L. Toole and his comedy company repeated the comedy of " Chawlcs" and the farce, " ioeon Parlo Framais," at the o]3era Houses last night, with the same brilliant success as on its first production, tho applause and laughter of the audience being amnio testimony to the mirth-pro-voking excellence of the performances. The house on the lower floor was packed to its fullest capacity, and notwithstanding the :ounter attractions of the Masonic bill, there was a large attendance in the dre->» circle, nearly double that of the opening night. There is a change of programme to-night, when the three-act comedy, "The Don," will introduce Mr. Toole in the character of " Mr. Mi!liken, M.A.," which he has made famous. Itt is one of the most recent additions to his extensive repertoire, and it has the merit of originality, borders closely on farce, bu" it- affords a scope for humorous iinil somewhat ludicrous situations, of which, it is needless to say, the most is made. It has been a pronounced success wherever it has been played, and we have no doubt the Auckland play-goers will, with good reason, endorse the universal opinion. The Star of Auckland Lodge, A.C., meet this evening. The I'-nrna Club entertainment will take place mis evening, ia tho Masonic Hall, Newto::. To-r.iy and to-morrow a Christmas-tree will K held by the ladies of St. Patrick's L'atlu n»l in the Catholic Institute. Thf Hou. K. Mitchelson will address the electors of Eden, in the Schoolroom, SwanJim, n Monday evening next, at half-past sever o'clock. A neeting of past ami present students will >e held in the Library of the Auckland Uniersity College co-morrow afternoon, at i (ji irtcr-past five o'clock. Tie Gospel Temperance Mission will hold a iccial meeting this evening, at eight o'cK'k, when Mr. A. Cox and Mr. R. Fry wi deli ver addresses on special phases of the work. 'lie sacred cantata of " The Blessing of the Giblren" (Henry Labee) will be given for t' ■ first time in Auckland, by the members o St. James's Sunday-school choir, assisted I' friends, with full orchestral aceompanirents, in St. James's Hall, this evening, nder the eonducrtorship of Mr. J. L. Walon. The proceeds are in aid of the Sundaycbool library. A Christmas tree is to be held at the Catholic Institute to-day and to-morrow, under the direction of a committee of the ladies of St. Patrick's parish, from three to five p.m., and from seven to ten p.m. It will be formally opened at seven p.m. by His Lordship Dr. Luck, Bishop of Auckland. M essrs. Wilson and Clayton will continue the clearing sale of Mr. T. E. Carter's pictures anil musical instruments to-day, commencing at two o'clock p.m. Absolutely no reserve. In consequence of statements publicly made, inferring that his proceedings in connection with he Ease Coast Land Company were improper, Mr. W. L. Rees announces that he will give a full public explanation of the whole matter, including the action taken by the Government. and invites Mr. Mitchelson or any other member of the Government to be present at such meeting. Due notice of the time and place of such meeting will be given. Mr. W. L. Rees will address the City electors at the Ponsonby Hall, and Mr. H. W. Farnall at the Foresters' Hall, Karapgafcape Road, this evening; while Mr. W. J. Napier will address them at St. Sepulchre's Schoolroom to morrow evening. A.v off Kit of £10, would not purchase die goodwill of the public, yet Arthur jathan's Teas have gained the unanimous n probation of all classes. Why? Because rlcy are what they are represented. The "Ut of all. 'Js and 2s 6d per lb. Easily I'tbved. 19