OUR LETTER HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11770, 27 September 1901, Page 1 (Supplement)

OUR LETTER HOME.

The most profound sorrow has been felt throughout New Zealand at the death of President McKinley. The news of the attempt on the life of President McKinley was published on Saturday, the 7th inst., and caused a great sensation, and the sadder news of the President's death, which reached here on Sunday, the 15th, was received with tokens of the deepest grief. Never since the death of Queen Victoria* have indications of mourning been so general or widespread in New Zealand. On the day the news arrived special memorial services were held in nearly all the churches, and on the succeeding days the American Consul for New Zealand, who is resident in Auckland, received verbal and written messages of condolence from all classes of the community ; in fact, the Consul states that even in America, though more directly touched, the grief could not have been more genuine or widespread. When Parliament met. the following motion was adopted, on the motion of the Premier: —"That the House of Representatives expresses its sorrow at the sad and melancholy death of the President of the United States of America, and sincerely sympathises with the people of the United S:ates. and offers heartfelt condolence with Mrs. McKinley and the relatives of the late President, and joins with the English-speaking people throughout the world in deploring the calamity that by his demise has eventuated ; and that a copy of die foregoing resolution be presented to the Government of the United States." Similar expressions of sympathy were sent to the American Consul by churches and societies of all kinds. On the funeral day Parliament adjourned, and business was suspended in all the Courts and in public offices, while memorial services were held in the churches. In Auckland there were two memorial services on the funeral .day, one in St. Paul's Anglican Church and another in the Pittstreet "Wesleyan Church. Parliament Is still in session, but the business transacted since last Summary left has not been of absorbing mterest. The debate on the Financial Statement was brought to a close on September 13, and the House proceeded to consideration of the Estimates. A somewhat lively scene occurred on the discussion of the first item of the Estimates. Mr. James Allen, the member for Bruce, alleged that the Premier had utilised the returned troopers of the Fourth Contingent for political purposes. He stated that when the troopship Tagus reached Albany many of the men were ill. The officer reported the sickness on board, and said it would be disastrous to send the men by the southern route to Invercargill, and asked that the Government should authorise that the ship go by a. warmer route. That was refused, and the Premier would have to take the responsibility of refusing to accept the medical advice, even though it might result in the sacrifice of the lives of some of the men. If, added Mr. Allen, the people of Invercargill had known that che alteration of route would sacrifice the constitution of the men, they would, he felt sure, willingly have foregone the honoui of receiving them, as everyone knew that this coldness of climate would tend to bring on enteric again. The Premier gave an emphatic and somewhat dramatic denial to the charge made by the member for Bruce. In the course of the discussion it was shown that Colonel Davies, who was in charge of the contingent, telegraphed from Albany:—-Dr. Thomas, .M. 0., notifies me very unwise expose troops who hare been through Beira to cold voyage to Bluff, also on account of sickness on board : at present strongly recommends port arrival should be changed ; please instruct." Apparently the only reply sent was from the Commandant of'the New Zealand Forces :—" Defence Minister cannot now change the port of arrival in the colony." After a warm discussion the incident ended by Mx. Allen withdrawing the following portions of his speech:—" Since the ship left Albany, five or six of these men were dead. Who had the responsibility 1" and. latei on : The Premier was afraid to offend the oeople of Invercargill, even though to please them he had to sacrifice ihe lives of men who had been serving their country;" and, also: 'The hon. gentleman had taken the responsibility of the lives of these men upon his own shoulders. Who had the responsibility of all the sickness and the breakdown in health of all these men, by sending them by a cold route *He would modify another phrase to this: He would have to answer to the House and the colony for declining to accept the | advice given by the doctoi," and j • would withdraw the statement that these men had been " sacrificed to political exigencies." The incident has given rise to a good deal of comment in the colony, and there is a feeling that the whole matter should be the subject of an impartial inquiry. Mr. Allen has stared in the House that he made these withdrawals at the request of several members, and in a fit of generosity. He moved for a series of returns on the subject, but it is thought chat the Government will block his motion, so as to prevent the subject being again discussed. A large deputation of members of both Houses of Parliament waited on Ministers on Saturday, wi«h a view to obtaining a grant in aid of perfecting the Otago Medical School. Mr. Seddon, however, made it quite clear to the deputation that the Government was not in a

position to help them in regard to the application for money. He said it was now his intention to practise the most rigid economy, and he would not put anything on the Estimates outside or above what had feeejtdQafeiftihehPjfcsk £h.e&e.-».ese

departures meant increasing his Estimates, and then the Government would be charged with extravagance. If he were to grant this request other universities would come with applications. They had, therefore, to look at the question as having a general application. So far as financial prospects were concerned they were not very bright this year.

The settlement of the question of the subsidy for the San Francisco mail service has been awaited with interest, but so far the PostmasterGeneral has not brought the question before Parliament. Last year our Government paid a subsidy of £17,000 for a mail service between Auckland and San Francisco which gave thirteen round trips and was timed to run from port to port in 21 days. This year it is asked to pay from £25,000 to £30,000 for a much superior service, giving seventeen round trips in the twelve months and running from port to port in .16 days. The old service was by steamers ot 3000 tons ; the new service is by steamers of fully double the tonnage. In conjunction with the steamer improvements there have been important increases of speed on the American overland railways, mail trains now running between San Francisco and New York well under the four days. What can be done by the modern steamers and modern express trains which are now employed on the direct Homeward road, via "Frisco, is aptly shown by the present mail time. The mails which left Auckland on August 17 reached San Francisco on September 2, and were despatched from New York by the Campania on September 7. The Campania's time enables them to be delivered in London in 25 days 16 hours after leaving Auckland wharf. Considering the supreme importance to the colony of such really wonderful mail speed, which cannot be approached by any other route, it seems unquestionable that we should be prepared to make any reasonable sacrifice to ensure its continuance. Since we are offered the new service in return for a subsidy which actually amounts to very little more per trip than the much slower service which preceded it, there can be no doubt as to the reasonableness of the proposal. Yet Mr. Seddon in his Financial Statement offers the same subsidy for the new as for the old and not a penny more. With characteristic disregard for facts and figures he talks of diverting our Homeward mail to other routes, as though any other route could possibly offer the same advantages or be maintained at the same comparative cost. The Premier talks about bringing the P. and O. or the Orient steamers over to New Zealand from Australia. But what subsidy will be asked by either of the great Suez lines for making Wellington its terminal .port—for we may be very sure that Mr. Seddon does not dream of bringing them to Auckland 1 And supposing that the colony should be able and willing to pay the tremendous subsidies which they would ask—what good would they do our mail-service ? The Suez route does not and cannot approach the 'Frisco route in speed; for New Zealand it is several days longer than for Sydney, while Sydney itself gets her fastest mail time to London not by Suez but by 'Frisco. From a mail point of view the proposition is absurd. Then the Premier talks of a Vancouver service ; and here again the question forces itself to the front: Does Mr. Seddon want a fast service or will a slow service suit him better, provided only it terminates at Wellington 1 For it is not proposed that this Vancouver service shall be conducted as is the 'Frisco, by new and splendidly-equipped steamers of 6000 tons burden, steamers that will make the journey down the Pacific a pleasure trip and encourage the tourist traffic from which the colony ought to profit so greatly. The 'Frisco steamers will greatly outpace and outvie any boat that can be placed on the Vancouver run. Not only this but they have a shorter voyage and connect with the swiftest trains. In point of time, we may certainly compare the Suez and the Vancouver routes, but the 'Frisco route is incomparable with either, as has always been recognised.

The summary of receipts air.l expenditure of the Cook Islands Inderal Government, for the year ended June last, shows that the revenue amounted to £4252. This includes a sum of £976 cash in the Treasury. The expenditure was £2465, and the deficiency in the late Treasurer's accounts £169. There is a surplus of £1301. The estimated expenditure next year is £2491, and the estimated revenue £3800. The Government have now introduced a Bill to provide temporarily for the government of the Cook and other islands in the Pacific, within the boundaries ot the colony of MewZealand. Local laws and usages are to continue in so far as the same are not repugnant to the general principles of humanity. Provision is made for the gradual introduction of New Zealand laws, with such modifications as are expedient j for the good government and weltare of the inhabitants. The present courts of justice are to be continued with an appeal to the New Zealand Supreme and Appeal Courts. The Governor-in-Counci] may nominate a Supreme Court Judge to peals in Rarotonga. Colonel Cud geon, British Resident, is appointed Resident Commissioner. Provision is made for a tribunal for ascertaining titles for lands, and the continuance of the Federal and Island Councils, which enact local ordinances, the Resident Commissioner having the power of veto. The Federal Council is to have power to levy and collect Customs duties. The Bill provides that all goods imported from New Zealand to the said islands, and from the said islands to New Zealand, shall be admitted duty free. Reserves may be proclaimed for Imperial or colonial naval and military defc>tt(% or »»y. .otjie*. jHifeliCP^rEOse*.- - -~

A poll of ratepayers of the City of Auckland was taken on September 11 on a proposal that the City Council should borrow £100,000 for various city works. The result wr.s that the ratepayers, by large majorities, sanctioned £60,000 worth of improvements, as follows: —Fire brigade, £12,000; Queen-street paving, £8000; water supply extension, £25,000; abattoirs, £5000; refuse destructor, £10,000. The remaining proposals were £20,000 for the erection of a town hall, and 4.000 for the purchase of land opposite the present Municipal Buildings. The town hall was defeated by a small majority, but there was a large majority against the land purchase. The city is now moving Parliament for the removal of the peculiar restriction which previous Acts of. Parliament have placed on the rating power of the Council. The city rates by these Acts .are limited to 2s in the £, and though the Council propose to carry through the improvements sanctioned by the ratepayers without increasing the r.<\xes, it will be necessary to remove the restriction in order to float the loan to advantage, the existence of the restriction giving a feeling of insecurity to lenders, which militates against the credit of the city. Petitions, signed by about 1000 ratepayers, have been sent to Parliament asking that the restrictions be not removed until a. poll of ratepayers be taken on the question, but the City Council regard the result of the poll on the improvements scheme as a, mandate to them to get the restrictions removed and proceed with the work, the more so as before the vote was taken it was publicly announced that the Council's bankers had stated it would be courting failure to attempt to raise the loan until the restrictions are removed.

The New South Wales (Australia.) Rugby football representatives

left Auckland for Sydney on Monday, September 9, after a disastrous tour through this colony, playing seven matches.! and winning but one, the victory being against Wanganui, where the home team was admittedly a weak one. The most important fixture was, of 'course, the test match, New Zealand v. New South Wales, and the hollowness of the victory, won by the home team, can leave no shadow of doubt on the minds of the critics across the Tasman Sea as to the superiority of the New Zealanders as exponents of the Rugby game. The Welshmen did not come with their full strength, but even had they brought the strongest side the State can muster they must still have suffered defeat, and. as Mr. Henderson himself admitted, the tour simply went to show that it is nothing short of a farce for the authorities on the other side to send weak teams to New Zealand. The visitors unhesitatingly voiced the opinion that the New Zealand team would' have defeated the English team that the Rev? Mullineaux brought out to Australia, where they met with marked success.

The curtain was rung down on the Rugby garae'j as far as Auckland is concerned, with the match against Taranaki on Thursday, September 19, and once more the local representatives have emerged from the fray unscathed, and with their brilliant record untarnished. For a fifth year in succession the fifteens of the Northern province have not tasted the bitterness of defeat in interpovincial football. Seventeen matches in all have been played against the sister provinces of the colony during that time, and of this number 14 have been won, and the remaining three drawn, the matches in which the honours were easy being against Taranaki. Canterbury, and Otago, in 1898, 1899, and 1900 respectively. The points scored run up to the formidable total of 216, while against them only 45 points have been registered by allcomers, leaving a margin of 171 points in favour of the blue and whites-, and giving an average of nearly five points to one in all matches played. In addition to this the Aucklanders defeated the New Zealand team of 1897 on its return to Auckland by 11 points to 10, and on September 7 lowered the colours of the New South Wales touring team by 24 points to 9. The record is undoubtedly one of which we have reason to be proud, and we may be well excused for indulging in a little crow at the success that has attended our men for the last five years.