THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, JANUARY 30, 1891.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8477, 30 January 1891, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRI DAY, JANUARY 30, 1891.

The chief goals of emigration from Europe have been America for centuries, and Australia recently. The movement to the United States was already falling off, when a few months ago there came the extraordinary announcement that the huge food export from that quarter was bound to cease within the short period of five years. The reason cited was the growing local requirement, in the multitude and enlargement of towns and cities. But a further and startling reason also came to light—namely, the increasing difficulty of finding good land for cultivation, through the abuse of the privilege of free selection. People would crop the land in such style as to recklessly exhaust the soil, and then leave it to repeat the practice on a fresh selection. Writers like Johnstone and Liebig called attention to such a state of things years before, but their warning was unheeded. No wonder the old rush of intending settlers in that direction has ended.

Neither can it be said that Australia is now rauch in favour with the emigrant. It had always a reputation for drought, and it has suddenly acquired another one for devastating floods. This latter evil is no doubt confined to the interior of the continent, but that fact is not much understood abroad, and discrimination is not generally exercised over it. The few denizens of the straggling townships of central Australia and its widely separated pastoral stations cannot be said to have their lines cast. in pleasant circumstances. Their position seems to be the proverbial difficulty between the devil and the deep sea—either the terrible want of water or too much of it—fiery drought or furious inundation. There has been again apprehension of the overflowing of the rivers, and in some parts the thing has already occurred, with destruction of stock, and in two instances the loss of human life ; while the unfortunate town of Bourke, which was completely submerged last year, has been threatened anew by the formidable swelling of the river Darling. Of course the natural drawbacks of the interior of the continent excite more and more of public attention, with the spread of flocks and herds there, and the increase of the scanty population of pastoral tenants and the hands they employ and the local purveyors for their wants. The knowledge thus disseminated, and seriously pressed to heart, dispelled the idea of many that it would be possible to eventually change the face of nature in Central Australia, and gradually transform what are scorched wastes most of the year, into a country for agriculture, attracting and sustaining a large settled population. Was the hope Utopian 1 Many of the squatters provided permanent supplies of water for their neighbourhood, by combining to dam the rivers that run only in winter, or else by sinking artesian wells. By means of such wells, various arid parts of Australia are now easily traversed; and we know that the French have connected their possessions in Barbary and Senegal, by a line of such wells across the intervening Sahara, '2000 miles wide and that at each of those resting places an oasis of grove and garden has been created by the presence of the water. Finally, the enterprise undertaken by the Messrs. Chaffey stimulated the imagination as to what irrigating arrangements might some day accomplish for Central Australia. , What is now between the great rivers Euphrates and Tigris a horrible sunbaked plain, mostly unpeopled and desolate, was in the time of Nineveh and Babylon a closely cultivated and densely inhabited region, by reason of the network fed from the two rivers. The difference, however, in the case of Australia is that, from the configuration of the continent, so much of the interior has not only to cope with drought but the reverse alsowith floods. The sudden melting of snow on the mountains eastward sends down I each river in a wall of water which rushes

far into the interior ; and it seems impossible to avert the periodical deluge, because the central plain is so sunken as apparently to have been once covered by the sea, of which traces rerr-un in the brackish pools and frequent salt bush vegetation. Let us note that the Messrs. Chaffey did not plant themselves in the interior, but only on its frontier, and far from the mountains— on the lower course of the Murray, the largest of the ever-flowing rivers ; and the tract they have since taken up from the New South Wales Government is still further away from the central plain. It is well known that the desire to emigrate is very frequent among Engish farmers at the present time. And they are just the class of men we want to get in New Zealand. We want rural settlers, and they would bring their rural tastes and skill with them, and each would have more or less of capital. As we see. Australia is not likely to attract them ; indeed, the great emigration for years thither was only drawn by the gold discoveries. Neither are the United States as attractive as formerly for the man who wants to take up land; while the long and severe winters of Canada repel all who are not accustomed to extreme cold, and moreover interfere with industry for half the year. Among other things, we believe our neglected semi-tropical opportunities would very likely be taken in hand by this particular class of husbandmen. The English farmer of today is not as his .father or grandfather was, so prejudiced against change that it was often said in America that the stranger to rural life, fresh from the towns, proved a more successful settler than the farmer from the Old country, who would not easily adapt himself to what was peculiar in the agriculture of the new. The uphill work that followed the repeal of the Corn Laws revolutionised the English farmer. He came to keenly exercise his wits, shook off the prejudices that hampered his strong common sense, and is now a scientific cultivator in a wider interpretation of the term than the traditional routine one. The present would be a specially favourable time to attract the attention of such men to New Zealand, which—through its resources of climate, soil, and mercantile positionis more than any new country, except California, capable of various and lucrative agriculture.

Several of. the Southern papers received by the last mail contain articles lamenting over the increase of crime amongst boys. A Christchurch newspaper refers to the subject, and ascribes it to the fact that married couples do not live harmoniously together, as is shown by the numerous cases that come before the Courts. The theory is that parents who are unfaithful to each other, and who have frequent quarrels, will not attend to the proper upbringing of their children, and that therefore they become vicious and demoralised. We would admit all this if we could be satisfied that there were now more unhappy and discordant marriages than before. That, however, we greatly doubt. As is usual in these days, the writer can only look to one source of remedy. He says : —" It is hoped that the evil will be brought so prominently and persistently under the eyes of our legislators that some steps will be token ere long to cope with a difficulty that is hourly becoming more apparent." Are these men at Wellington fit to give us a moral code 1 Can they, who exhibit such want of principle in their every action, inspire the rising generation with such virtuous resolves that they shall be good boys from henceforth What laws can be enacted other than that boys when caught robbing and stealing shall be put in prison or flogged 1 Of late the tendency has been to lighten the punishments inflicted on boys, or to let them off under the Probation Act. Whatever effect such a course has had in particular cases, it certainly has not had any in diminishing the crop of juvenile offenders. A Dunedin newspaper deals with the subject as arising there, and it also flies to the Government for aid. The evil is owing, Jit thinks, to the compulsory clauses of the Education Act not being enforced. Those who have looked at the proceedings in our Police Court during the last few days must have noticed that its chief business has been to deal with boys convicted of robbery. On Wednesday four boys were charged with stealing fruit. To rob an orchard is unfortunately by many not thought a grievous offences, but these boys had stolen the fruit with the intention of selling it, and were selling it when caught. Yesterday Dr. Giles had before him no fewer than eight boys charged with different offences. Three boys of eleven years of age were convicted of stealing various articles, and of these children one was a second offender. Four others, the eldest of whom was aged 13, were charged with breaking into a dwelling house, and stealing therefrom. We do not wonder that the Resident Magistrate said there was " a prolific crop of future candidates for our gaols growing up." The usual thing nowadays when any evil presses itself upon public attention is to call upon " the State" to do something. A free system of education has been provided, under which every child can receive instruction. In Auckland at all events an effort is made to work the compulsory clauses, and we do not know that much more can be done. There is so muqh calling on the State that parents are forgetting that they have duties as parents, and children are forgetting that they have duties as children.

Our cable messages this morning state that the Indian scare which was thought to have been ended has been revived. The mining disaster in Pennsylvania is now stated to have caused a much greater loss of life than was at first reported, the number being now put down at 192. . The rupture between France and Dahomey has not yet been healed, and there appears a likelihood of war being renewed. The railway strikers in Scotland continue to commit isolated outrages. In the House of Representatives yesterday evening an amennment to the Address-in-Reply, proposed by Mr. Rolleston, to the effect that the session should bo adjourned instead of prorogued, was accepted by the Government as a no-confidence motion, and was defeated by thirty-five votes to twenty-four. The Rev. Edward Walker, of the New Zealand Alliance, is at present visiting the Middle Island, and proceeds to Napier to visit auxiliaries of the Alliance on the railway route between Napier and Wellington. Thence he will visit Nelson on the 16th February, and then proceed via Napier and Gisborne to Auckland, arriving on the 2nd March. Captain Sundstrom, of the s.s. Invercargill, while passing through Thompson Sound, observed a magnificent waterfall from the centre of Resolution Island. The fall Captain Sundstrom describes as very beautiful, fully 3000 feet high, with a wide and fan-like expanse. Captain Sundstrom consider it superior to the Bowen Falls, at Milford Sound.

The . first day's races ~~~ 11 Meeting of the Takapuna Jockev CI, tter I 1 place yesterday. There was V 1 0o!t 1! programme of eight events, and in Sth y I I few instance? did the favourites win Very 11 large fields of starters were also 1 the day's display, and altogether 16 * L in I handicapper, Mr. J. W. Knight i , th * I congratulated on his work. The attend be 1 was perhaps the greatest feature nf^ 9 I gathering. There must have been 9 1 4000 people present, and the great mv °. er H of those were of course transports 3 ° rity K the water in the Ferry Company's RCr °'' li H The fact that in addition to ordinary H the company was able to deal with^- I extra call on their resources is a , Jt j"'* ■ how well arrangements can be ma] k \ local companies, for there was not a« 7 G hitch from first to last. There v ' I delay; there was a continuous lin? n °. steamers, and as one leSfc her port of d e oi ture one or two others were waiting' their passengers. The races were very w'i contested. A detailed report of the r appears in another column. There one or two spills during the Hurdle am! Steeplechase races, but no serious iniur! resulted. ' " J Ci Our Waimate North ' correspond writes "On Friday, January 23, Marsha 1 ] Atkinson, son of Mr. F. Atkinson, of \\. • mate North, met with an accident at tf races at Ohaeawai. He was sitting on hi! horse when several furious riders,"pract; ing on the course, came in contact wit":' him, and he got his leg broken." 1 There seems to have boen a great amount of juvenile crime perpetrated in and abou» Auckland during the last few days, •jjJ cases brought before Dr. Giles yesterday elicited the remark from him that there was " a prolific production of future candidates for our gaols growing up." He did not know what would become of these lad* Three lads—all about 11 years old, one of them a second offender, were ordered to be whipped for stealing a quantity of sacks and some brushes, which were "sold to a secondhand dealer named Walker. 011 l others, the oldest of whom was 13 yea fS were charged with breaking into a dwell! ing-house occupied by Mr. E. H. Percy i n Napier-street, and stealing soma bacon and cake. These were remanded till Tuesday next. Another youth, named .Michael Tobin, aged 13, was charged with obtaining by falsa pretences, a case of tobacco, of the value of over £5, from Mr. A. H. Nathan. This case was remanded till Tuesday next." Auckland is not the only district where the stamps are non-adhesive. The follow, ing reference to the nuisance is from the Otago Daily Times : —" Complaints art being made in nearly every part of > he colony about the non-adhesive quality of the gum on the stamps at present issued. The revenue will no doubt be considerably benefited, us a good 1 many of these stamps drop off, and the unfortunate receiver finds he has to pay the deficient postage and the fine imposed." Commander Stopford, of H.M.s. Curacoa visited the Dunedin gaol, in company with His Worship the Mayor, whilst staying in that port, for the purpose of examining "into its suitability for the incarceration of naval prisoners. The Curacoa will meet the flagship of the Australian squadron at Auckland shortly. There are grievous complaints from the suburbs of the continued pilfering of fruit from gardens and orchards, and it is now almost impossible for growers of fruit in town or suburbs to enjoy the produce of their own industry. The trees are stripped by day and night on holidays and Sundays. This class of petty larceny is not confined to boys, for even men and -women are engaged in it, the pilfering of fruit bei:.f regarded as a venial offence. The list of subscribers to the Free Public Library is slowly but steadily increasing. In the summer season, when the populace find so many forms of amusement out of doors, it can scarcely be expected that much time will be devoted to reading, but with the recurrence of winter a large addition to the list of suacribers to the Library may be anticipated. Every year a greater number of our citizens are going to the country at the holiday season, to escape the heat and dust of the city. At Te Aroha it is stated there are a goodly number of tourists, while the localities adjacent to Auckland are also benefitting through pleasure-seekers. A larger number of persons have gone over this summer to Northcote, for instance, than in any previous season. It is stated there is not a house unlet, and about a dozen families are now encamped on the beach, in tents near the Sulphur Beach. Resort is also being had to tents at St. Heliers Bay, and at Green Bay, Avondale West, where a number of persons have gone out from Auckland and are "dwellers in tents." A relic of a vessel wrecked on the coast nearly 60 years ago has been found on the beach near Opunake. Mr. John Ross, while going along the beach, discovered the 12-ponnder gun belonging to the barque Harriet, wrecked off the mouth of the Okahu river, near Cape Egmont, on the 29th April, 1834. The gun has been presented to the Taranaki Town Board, and is to be mounted. Mr. Ross at the same time found a bronze coin in a good state of preservation, dated 1824. Yesterday afternoon persons who had occasion to pass along Jervois Road, near Sc. Stephen's Church, complained of a most offensive smell, which appeared to be wafted on the breeze from some of the gullies near Cox : Creek. The first of a series of entertainments bv a company styled " The Moa Ministrels" took place yesterday evening at the City Hatl, before a crowded audience. The programme, which was of the variety class, characteristic of minstrel troupes, contained some excellent songs and sketches. Miss Melton and Miss Lena Irma, who have pood voices, sang two ballads, and were recalled, whilst Messrs. Charles Irma and G. Washington were also encored. Comic songs were given by Messrs. J. Corbett, C. Denver, J. Burke, and W. Arrowsmith,and were greatly appreciated. In the second part of the entertainment Mr. Burke gave a skilful clog dance, Miss Irma was recalled for a character song, and Mr. Irma caused a good deal of enthusiasm by his ecentricities in the playing of the piano, and his skill in proi ducing tunes from glass bottles. The other items of the programme were fairly good. A farce closed the entertainment. The Moa Minstrels are again to appear to-night, and then on Saturday and Monday evenings. At a largely-attended meeting of pro-perty-holders in Blenheim, a resolution was passed to the effect that the fire underwriters were guilty of a breach of faith ia not reducing the rates as promised, when a water service and fire appliances were obtained. The premiums are now 4 per cent, with a special borough rate of sixpence ii the pound. The Otago Daily Times thus criticises some of the newly-made " lords"^ e cannot but regret that the present Government should bring their career to an inglorious close by making unnecessary #P' pointments to the Legislative Council. Nor can we regard then* selection as in every case a happy one. Of Mr. Orrnonds abilities there can be no question, but he has for so long abstained from taking a" active part in the Lower House, that it would be idle to suppose that he will trouble himself to be useful in the Council. Whether Mr. Charles Johnston is appointed on account of his being Mayor ol Wellington during the Jubilee year, or because of the honourable relation in which he stands to Her Majesty the Queen in connection with the sponsorship for the Governor's New Zealand-born son, we do not know; but we do know that he is one ot the last men likely to do work in the Council. Mr. Fulton and Mr. Downw Stewart should both be useful members oi the revising Chamber, and the legal knowledge and attention to detail of the latter will supply an element the want of which was felt in the Council. Mr. C. C. Bowen, who will be remembered as Minister ot Education when the present Act was passed, should prove a serviceable member. Air. J. B. Whyte, if not very energetic, is a man of good sense." Some larrikins at Masterton, aiter tha nature of their kind, have got into the practice of behaving rudely to the women and children of the place, c j*J "] them bad names and so on. A male M aor through the columns of one of the loc*j papers announced that if the offenders cti not mend their manners they would prosecuted for using obscene Junguag • What a commentary (writes a contemporary) the matter is upon our civihsatio • What must the Maoris think of our c ° anne . and education system when they " ave , threaten our youths with prosecution una the Police Offences Act to compel them act like intelligent and decent people.

The Auckland portion of tho mails ex ,l„ r, M.s. Tongariro is expected to reach K'bv the s.s. Gairloch at the Manukau TO Saturday evening. The London dates are up to December 13, a week earlier than the Suez mail which the To Anau brought to hand yesterday. The Midland Pharmaceutical Association 'field a special meeting at Christchurch last nicht. There was a good attendance of town and country members. It was unanimously decided to support Mr. Barnard I*iac of Dunedin in testing the validity of the recent Pharmacy Board election for ■filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. E. S. Ellisdon. It was also resolved to solicit the co-operation of all chemists in Mew Zealand. A roan named Alexander McKee, formerly coal dealer, of Christcliurch, was arrested yesterday on a warrant charging him with larcenv as a bailee of a horse, the property of William Martin, of Melbourne, about the 3rd of January. It is alleged that McKee sold the horse and left for Mow Zealand with the proceeds. Very general regret is expressed at Nel»on at*the news of the death at Dunedin of Mr. W. E. Fairer, late manager of the Bank of New South Wales at Nelson. The scheme which is being initiated by the clergy of tho Anglican Church in tne Sydney diocese for ameliorating tho condition of the unemployed is not unlike that nut forward by General Booth. The plan proposed is to provide the unemployed with food, shelter, and advice ; finding them something to do to test their willingness to work, and to prepare them for making a permanent livelihood. A refuge for tho homeless and shipwrecked in life will also be provided, where they can have temporary employment and be brought under moral and religious influences. Attached to the refuge will be a labour yard, so that no man may be rejected because he lias not the means of payment. The establishment of a labour bureau, by which employers and employes might be brought together, forms an important portion of the scheme. It is proposed to keep a register of all the unemployed in Sydney, divided into their several trades, and to invite employers to send in their requirements. The clergy in the country are to be requested to fill up forms, which " will bo supplied, setting forth in what ways there are openings Tor labour in their districts : and, lastly, as much more labour is needed in country than in town, it is poposed to have a farm for the cultivation of vegetables, where men unfitted for any other sort of work can be made useful. Owing to the present hot weather the attendance at. the City Freshwater and Saltwater Baths is very large. These institutions are highly appreciated, and it rnav be doubted whether in any other town in New Zealand so largo a percentage of she population have acquired a knowledge of the art of swimming. At Dunedin yesterday in the case Atkinson v. Atkinson, Judgo Williams dismissed the petition with costs on a motion for a new trial for judicial separation, the Judge further decreed that the petitioner was entitled to judicial separation, the respondent to pay hef an aunual sum for maintenance of his children. The Wellington Post says : —" lb is a fact perhaps not altogether without some political significance, that the present House of Representatives only contains one member who possesses an Imperial distinction. The late House contained no less than six gentlemen who had received special marks of Her Majesty's favour—Sir George (irey. K.C.R.; Sir Harry Atkinson, K.C.M.G. ; Sir John Hall, K.C.M.G. ; Sir MauriceO'Rorke, Kt.; Mr. Larnach, C.M.G.; and Mr. Richardson, C.M.G. The previous House contained seven such members, as Sir Robert Stout, K.C.M.G., also sat in it. Now Sir John Hall is the sole representative of such distinctions.'' At St. Sepulchre's Church on Wednesday last a very pretty wedding took place. The bride was Miss Mary Grace Wylde-Browne, daughter of Mr. Ralph Wylde Browne, late of Her Majesty's Royal Navy, and the bridegroom, Mr. Arthur G. Clarke, of Carlton Gore Road. The ceremony commenced at three p.m., the service being conducted by the Rev. Archdeacon Dudley, assisted In' the Rev. Archdeacon Willis, brother-in-law to the bridegroom. The bridesmaids numbered six, viz., Misses Jeanette Wylde-Browne, Anna Clarke, Nora Walker, Alice Aickin, Eva Richardson, and Ethel Willis. The dresses of both bride and bridesmaids were both artistic and becoming. The service was a choral one, Mr. Beale officiating at the organ. The Timaru Herald has the following : — "It is with pleasure we note that Mr. Torn Mills, who served his apprenticeship as a compositor in this office, and was many years on the Herald Staff, is now filling the chair as sub-editor of the New Zealand Times, Wellington." Soon after the Tarawera eruption, when the ash was a foot thick at Te Teko, a quantity of blue gum seed was thrown broadcast over the surface, and now there is quite a forest of bluegums. The Bay of Plenty Times suggests that the Government might try the same method with wattle seed over the ranges near Lake Tarawera ; in a few years the wattle forest would be very valuable. The performance of the Harvey Brothers' Minstrel Troupe Mas greeted by a large audience in the Opera House last night. The programme, which was a now one, was well carried through, nearly all the musical efforts being deservedly encored. Miss Helen Cunard was very successful in the ballad " Norali Mavourneen," and also in the operatic selection " Tyrants Soon." In both of these items she was recalled. The Harvey Brothers created great merriment in their comic sketches, and musical eccentricities, and the step-dancing was also worthy of mention and heartily applauded. The performance concluded with a very laughable farce entitled " The Foiled Mashers." The company will again perform this evening, when all who can appreciate a hearty laugh should put in an appearance.