New Zealand Times. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1874.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4213, 21 September 1874, Page 2

New Zealand Times. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1874.

It would be with surprise, not unmingled with indignation, most of our readers would learn (on Saturday) that it is the intention of the Provincial Government to offer for sale by auction, the unreclaimed land in the harbor, described in the advertisement issued as a supplement to this journal. Without doubt ther.e>will be a strong protest entered against such action, and if, either by injunction or otherwise, the sale can be restrained, it will be. The Provincial Government may, and probably will, explain that until the terms of the sale are made known, to comment upon it is out of place. Such a plea will satisfy no one. If the reserve placed upon the land should be_ so large as to prevent any one bidding,' we ask why it should be offered at all. There is, we are aware, another large sale of land advertised, but this is a totally different affair. If the land be surveyed, and there be reason to suppose settlers are anxious, to purchase it, the Provincial authorities would act unwisely if they withheld it. But it is impossible to avoid reading the advertisements by which it is shown that 100,000 acres are to bo offered for sale, the Manawatu block is to be, and the portion of the unreclaimed land in the harbor, together, and by she light .of recent events ; and thus a suspicious appearance attaches to each. There can be no pretence set up that the unreclaimed land is wanted by the public. No one but a speculator could think of purchasing it. The contractor has not com--menced to reclaim it, and although, humanly speaking, it is probable that he will complete his bargain to the satisfaction of all parties concerned, there is the possible contingency that ,he may not. The action of the Provincial Government may thus be explained in three or more ways. The sale may be in the interest of speculators. It may be proposed after the mode that a careless and unprincipled bankrupt rushes whatever property he has into the market in order to realise some funds that he may squander. It may be because the Provincial Government hears the knell of its own death bell and means to leave no estate, personal or real, for the conqueror to seize upon. Or it may be an idle farce.got up for no useful purpose that can be conceived.. Whatever may be the idea for which the sale is to be attempted, the advertisement recalls forcibly to the memory the apt quotation of the Premier in the heat of debate on the State Forests Bill, “for ways that are dark and tricks that are vain,” —Messrs. Bunny and Fitzherbert are peculiar. Mr. Yogol also said that he would rather be a constable to the Provincial Government than act as a detective. All these hard sayings the two gentlemen named are doing their level best to deservo. They are proving that if millions of money were placed in their hands “they would find means of showing that they were still short of their needs by a million or so ; and they would ask for it.” They are demonstrating that there has been “ no possible excuse for the Province of Wellington being in difficulties, except an excuse bo found in the unrestrained exercise of spending beyond the means at command.” We quote from Hansard because these remarks exactly apply to such an iniquitous proceeding as the attempt to force a sale of this portion of unreclaimed foreshore. Once, during the session, Mr. Yogel stated his belief that the General Government would have been justified by Parliament if measures had been taken for suspending the Superintendent of Wellington from the execution,,of the duties of his office, and now it would seem that Mr. Fitzherbert is determined to try and find out what may be called the limits of his tether. The Premier, bethinks, is “far, far, upon the sea,” and ho will make hay whilst the sun shines. But he will, to a certainty, find out that there is a limit to the patience of the people whos.e estate, instead of being administered properly, it is proposed to make ducks and drakes of. What the members of the Ministry might be doing gn Saturday we cannot tell, but the one topic of conversation amongst thoughtful people seemed to be, how Messrs. Fitzherbert and Bunny could be restrained from making such a shameful sacrifice of a property that it may fairly be calculated will be very valuable in the course of three or four years, but which could only be purchased now as a speculation by a capitalist who would expect to realise much more than cent, per cent, upon his money. It has been with the very greatest re' gretthat.wo have felt compelled to direct attention to this wild proposal of the Superintendent, and to comment strongly upon it. We say wild, because such it undoubtedly is. The Superintendent might, as far as ordinary mortals are concerned as purchasers, as well offer for sale an' equal number of acres in the heaven above, as those he proposes to offer, now lying at the bottom of the sea. There is no analogy to be instituted between such a sale and that of a swamp which the purchaser drains and converts into arable land. The sale of the foreshore, at the present time, would bo a reckless waste of public property and an indecent scramble for money. Even: the best friends of the Provincial Government will be compelled to admit this.. The concluding acts ,of a Government that -has received warning its services may not be longer required should be of so very different a character. More, sooner than less, circumspection should have been observed, so that when his Honor dissolved his last Provincial Council, he could, with prido and dignity, have pointed to his administration as one that, to its close; had had a jealous regard for the public rights and estate. But the proceeding we have been alluding to can be defended on no tenable ground, and the best and wisest course the Superintendent could pursue would bo to at bnbe issue a notice that the projected sale will not take place. He might and ought .to do this in deference to public opinion. Whatever may be his view respecting the undesirability of beingforoecl to retreat from a- position that has been taken up, there would he wisdom in the course that we recommend—much more than in following out a bad line of policy to its bitter end. He would not bo the first person in authority who has had to jdeld to the opinion of the people against his own strong feeling.' And in this case, yield ho must, to a certainty. Oneway or another,'the sale must be stopped; and it would be bettor to yield gracefully than to compulsion.

Mention was made some time ago of a laudable intention on the part of the ladies of Dunedin to establish in that City a Servants!. Home. The intention is now, apparently, in process of being carried.out, and, as they may be a guide to the ladies of other cities of the Colony, we notice some of the statements made and proceedings taken at a preliminary meeting which has just been held.- At this meeting, held in the Dunedin Athenceum, Mrs. M. Holmes presided, and we are told, in the

words of the local reports, that • “ Mrs. Holmes, after offering up an earnest prayer for the blessing of God upon the proposed institution, explained thatthe promoters ■wished to establish a home for servant girls. The idea was to provide accommodation for female servants when they were out of employment, and also a Registry Office to enable them to obtain good situations. None but respectable girls would be admitted ’to the institution, so that any lady applying to that Home might be satisfied that the servants would be honest and truthful.” With the further explanation that the word “room” was used in the first proposals, because the promoters desired to begin on a small scale, Mrs. Holmes read the regulations, of which the following are the principal ; —“1. The founding of a room for servant girls and others, open to all, to read, write, and sew, and where they can receive useful information for their guidance—such room to be always open. 2. The propriety or otherwise of adding to the above room accommodation for six or eight girls to sleep, and also a kitchen where they can cook their own food ; the use of such room to be charged for at the lowest remunerative rates, and subject to the rules of the Association. 3. The providing tea on Sunday afternoons (the room being open to all comers), such refreshment to be charged for at the rate of 3d. each. 4. In the room the local papers shall be provided for the use of the girls ; also the Sunday at Home, Leisure Hour, and such other.periodicals as may seem suitable to the Committee. Further, that a library be formed through donations of ,'books or otherwise, such books to be read in the room, but not to be taken from it. 6. Sewing and fancy work will be taught free of charge, and whan finished such articles will be for sale for the benefit of the Institution. 6. That placards and handbills be issued for the purpose of making the above Home known ; also, that a standing "advertisement be inserted in the newspapers, and that means bo taken for lettiug immigrants know on board ship and at the depots.” From the further report of ,the proceedings, the ladies present at the meeting seemed to go about the work of carrying out their object by appointing a President and Vice-President among themselves,- by making arrangements for the selection of a matron, and by agreeing to invite the aid of local clergymen who had expressed their desire to aid the institution. Ultimately another meeting was appointed to be held, and the Home seems to be in. a fair way of being successfully started.

Some of the American journals seems to be apprehensive of British o> - German intrigues for the possession of the Sandwich Islands. “It was thought,” writes the New York Herald, “ that the election of King Kalakaua would give domestic peace for some years at least. It has not, however, proved to be so. A petition has for some time been in circulation praying the Legislature to set aside the election in virtue of which the King occupies the throne. Great Britain and Germany are both suspected. One of the suspicious movements of the moment is an attempt to raise a loan of one million dollars ; rate of interest, six per cent. It will be well for the Government of the United States to keep an eye on these movements. We cannot afford to allow either Great Britain or Germany, or both united, to rob the kingdom of its independence. In any change which may become a necessity,' the Government of the United States must be consulted.” Great Britain has made so many difficulties over the acceptance of the protectorate of the Fiji Group that it is somewhat hard she should-be suspected of ulterior designs as regards the Sandwich Islands.

M. DE Lessbps, who was so successful in carrying out the Suez Canal, proposes to create an inland sea in Southern Algeria. An immense basin, known as Lake Triton, exists there, dividing Algeria from Tunis, and it is calculated that by cutting through the Isthmus of Gab.es, to which the Bey of Tunis has consented, the waters of the Mediterranean would flow into the basin, and form the sea. The French Government propose ‘to expend a sum of 25,000 francs in surveying the basin of the proposed sea before the cutting is made. , The formation of this sea',' it is stated, woqld have a very important effect in ameliorating the climate of the inland portion of Algeria. Some French savans are apprehensive, however, that the only results of the works would be the creation of an enormous artificial salt pit, from the evaporation that would take place.

Germany and Rome are at deadly war. Tire Emperor, remarks the New York Herald, has informed the Minister of Public Worship that it is his wish that the new ecclesiastical laws shall be , administered with lenity and forbearance. But unsparing vigor is to be applied wherever serious resistance is offered to the authority of the State. “ This,” remarks our American contemporary, “ means that the hand of Germany in dealing with the Roman Church will be a hand of iron in a - glove of velvet.” | There has been correspondence lately between Russia and England on the subject of international law. We learn from an American source that “ Lord Derby has informed Russia that England will consent to no amendment of international lawthatwill limit the usefulness of her navy. In other words, she claims the right to capture or destroy any vessel that sails under an enemy's flag. This postpones tho idea that a law might be adopted protecting peaceable merchant vessels against war, no matter what flag they carried. Russia favors this idea, not from any humane feeling, but because she has a smaller navy.”