OUR LETTER HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13202, 13 June 1906, Page 2 (Supplement)

OUR LETTER HOME.

: -m I ; ."-'''The universal topic of discussion -.through-, • out New Zealand during the past two day* : has, it is needless to .say, been thy .sudden and altogether unexpected dentil of the Premier of Ihe colony. After a joug and V notable political career, extending over 27 . years, for 13 of which lie occupied the posi- • tion of Premier. Mr. Secldon had just con- j eluded an important visit to Australia. The ■ ■ principal object of this visit was to con- j >■ . dude arrangements for drawing New Zea- • land' and the Commonwealth together in; closer ties of commercial relationship, ami i the record of his doings in Australia dining >• . i,ha past four week* showed that the trip was by 110 means a holiday one. He referred to it himself, on the morning preced- , , ■ ing his death, as " the hardest month I; have ever had,'' and those who have any' 1 knowledge of the late Premier's rapacity , for, work will be able to realise the significance of this expression. Mi. Seddon's ! . work iii "Australia was finished on. i. aim day j . last and ho .left Sydney apparently in good J ' health early on Sunday morning. The following day the people of New Zealand were startled by the receipt of telegraphic information that the Premier had died at sea ' ' on Sunday evening, and that the steamer ■ had put back to Sydney. Details came r !r ' later, and since the sad event people of all parties throughout New Zealand have'join- ''■ ed in their expressions of sorrow, and many ' ; ' messages of condolence have been received from all parts of New Zealand, and from & many places beyond the colony. The late Premier's body is being taken to Wellington, and, no doubt, it will be accorded a . national funeral. A conference of delegates from the vari■J ' ous railway leagues in the Auckland pro- <' V. vince and several other public bodies inter- , . edited in the proposed East Coast railway. : was held under the auspices of the Auck- ; land Railways League on June 1, the object , being to discuss the best means of ensuring the speedy completion of railway communication between Auckland and Gisboroe. Re- '* ; ' solutions were passed to'the effect that tho f~. , route should be by way or Waihi, KatiH kati, Tauranga, and Opotiki, thence leav- , ing the question of route to the Govern - < ment to decide, and that the Government )■' be asked to place a substantial sum on the 'V , Estimates to carry on construction at both Igtl ends of the line. It was also decided to Y " 'urge upon the Government the desirableness pv of railway connection between Mamaku and Te Puke, and between Pokeno and Paeroa, r the object of the latter work being to shorten the journey through the Waikato • - by 44 miles. The annual, capping ceremony in connection with the Auckland University Colli lege took place on May 31. A special f. \ feature of the proceedings was the confer-■ ■ , ring ■ of - the B.A. degree oil Air. Ernest I; '-Chitty, a blind student. In a reference to ?' ' the matter the registrar of the University ;?'■ of New Zealand (Mr. J. W. Joynt) said :• V -this was probably the first time in the hism tory of the University of New Zealand fi that- a degree had bee® conferred on a blind .student. He also pointed out that the examiners in England, on whose re- !>•> .ports the degrees were awarded, were not "i aware, except in one case, that the papers §§f of Mr. Chitty were those of a blind stuii' dent. On'the whole, the examiners were f"r, not aware that there was anything special sij-'l; in the case to differentiate it from any 1 || : other case. This, he need hardly say, was a remarkable achievement. He also point- / "ed out that?*two degrees were being conferred that day for the first time in the his"_'f, tory of the University, viz., those of Mas-' - ter of Science and Master of Laws. At a recent meeting of the City Council " tho estimates of receipts and'expenditure for the current year were adopted. The X;'; total rales ordered to be struck amount to lA 2s 7|d in the £, plus the water rate, which ; is the same amount as last year, the general •/ ■' rate being a penny less and the hospital and charitable aid rale a penny more. The $ ■»' Mayor, in the course of a review of the ||:r. financial position, stated that last year's es- - 1 timates had been exceeded by only £41. ] He that during the coming year over £40,000 would be available for expenty. diture on the parks and reserves. ... A pronouncement of some interest was - . made by the Auckland Licensing Committee at its annual licensing meeting last week. >' ' In the course of some suggestions as to |i| . steps by which the abuses of the drinking ; system could he minimised, a reference was made to the employment of ?V ( "\ barmaids. The committee stated : —"This r," "custom lias undoubtedly a demoralising in-' 1 fiuenee upon the females thus employed, and also tends to increase the number: of j prohibited persons. The habit of frequent- <• ing bars in youth becomes an evil, which is more pronounced in their mature years. :'j . The committee,, as a whole, are of .opinion K v that it would be of benefit.,'from a, moral . standpoint, if barmaids gave place to barf . , men, which is already carried out in some K. ' of the city hotels, tile city clubs, and, as lIS .-an 'institution, is invariably the case in the ~ American hotels. The committee would fL warn the licensed victuallers of the city that , , public opinion is strongly against females being employed in the bars of the city hoC" tels, and would earnestly invite their co- !•'*' ■ operation during the coming 12 months in bringing about a much-needed reform at v ' their own instigation, to show the com-i munity a conciliatory spirit, rather than an y ■ antagonistic one, in the conduct of their hotels. Pending steps being taken on the part of the trade in the direction indicated <"■ „ during the coming 12 months, the committee refrain from taking any decisive action l! ■ ■ until the next- annual meeting." V , The ceremony of unveiling the statue of ; Sir John Logan Campbell, the " Father of • ' Auckland," which lias- been erected by the - people of Auckland in recognition of his | ' gift of- Cornwall Park to the public, was |i 1 . performed at the park on Empire Hay (May , " ' 24) by His Excellency the governor (Lord | I Flunicet). ' There was a large and repreV, sentative attendance,' and the great gift of ' Si? John to the people was eulogised m tf-vl j speeches made by the Governor, the Hon. ft E. Mitchelson (chairman of the Statue Com--1 •' mittee), arid the M'ayor of Auckland* (Mr. A. M. Myers). The Governor, in the course of his speech, addressed Sir John as follows: —"You have been honoured by your Sovereign, you have been honoured. ',■ by your municipality, and now the people of Auckland, one- and all, have combined .'to show their gratitude and affection for fjf you by erecting the statue which I, ain i. about to unveil. (Hear, hear.) , Such an fs appreciation of your services must be very pleasing to you, and, alter all, it is only , ■ the forerunner of what is to come. For If, even in 10 short years from now, at the:'j ' present rate of progress v.'c shall have a , •j" city here of at least 120,000 .people; and ji?'; as tlie busy throngs pass backwards and forwards they will look at this statue and ' ' . say: This is the man whose noble muniU. . licence and wise forethought ha» conferred ■ Much a benefit on. us, our children, and those to come after us, by enabling us to k ' ■ enjoy for all time, in the midst of a crowded ||m city (as it will then bo), one of the finest. ffe'.-Vporks in the British Empire." (Applause ' ' and cheers.) Sir John Logan Campbell made a feeling and eloquent speech in reH t ply, and was repeatedly cheered in the |!s' . course of his remarks. flie annual meeting of the Northern *Stearnship Company was held oil May 18. < • The net profit on working amounts for- the [, , ' year ended March 31, after making provi~''v ,'*',siun for insurance, depreciation, boiler aci\, '. counts,'- and interest on new shares, was lamp£7l93 ' 17s lid ; transfer fees. £14 17i 6d,; IfrL.-i ' balance ■ brought forward. April, 1905. less Hlfe honorarium, £502 15s 2d; total, 9raf| £7711 10s". 7d. The following appropriaV tions, were agreed to: —Dividend on shares issued' prior to March 31. 1905, at 7 per |||#-'• cent, per annum. £6901 lSs 4d, leaving a MM}-} balaneo of £605 12s 3d to be earned to the. Hap V; sreditof profit and loss account Messrs. .1. H. , Upton. J. Brown, and N. Alfred Nullum 'i - were re-elected director®. Captain H. F. Audejsvui retired from the: directorate; alter some IS •' years' service on the board.

NT R. J. Jeffiay. the representative of the Commercial Intelligence Committee of (he •British Hoard of Trade., has recently concluded a visit to New Zealand. The result of - Mr. JefiVay's mission lias been the obtaining of much valuable information. With regard to New Zealand, he ascertained that the displacement of imports from tho Mother 'Country was considerably less in percentage as compared . with Australia. ' One reason was that the ; powerful-and"subsidised lines of steamers ! from the. Continent of Europe bad not en- | tered directly into the New Zealand trade. and the connection between New Zealand ! and Britain had remained less interrupted. ! There was, however, he stated, a very large, business 'done between New Zealand and Melbourne and Sydney, and it was impossible to ft ay to what extent foreign goods were imported through this channel. Statistics, however, showed that while 27 per cent, of the total imports into Australia were from foreign countries, New Zealand only received 3.7 pet cent. The preferential tariff in New Zealand has considerably :benefited British manufacturers. At a large and representative meeting of manufacturers, held on May 17, it was decided to form an industrial association for Auckland, -the object being the promotion of colonial, industrial, and manufacturing interests. The association already has a | large membership, and •«. useful ""future is i predicted for it.