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Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1199, 19 February 1880, Page 2

The Xative Commissioners which were to have settled the last phase of the native tlitliculty by a wave of the baud, are bein£ treated by the natives with contempt that plainly shows that they arc no respecters of any human authority except that of Te ty'hiti. The Commissioners keep a respectable distance from I'aribika. Patriotism is all v,cy well in its way, but a-whole skin is of more value. Te Whiti and his followers are not in tjjejeast indignant at the action of the constabulary and the appointment of t|ie Commission. They seuin to hold the ojHiiion that the Commission can do them no harnj—tljat jt, imkcj], is beneath their notice—and that tha pro:eci]iii c '« of the Constabulary, are not snHiciently n.!£rre3sivc to be injurious to them. The present inspect of native affairs leads to the supposition that little will bo done except spend inouey np to

ignominious finale to the magnificent and all-absorbing prelude of the Hall Ministry. What a contemptible sequel for the accumulated wisdom now wooing at Oeo the dark-skinned prophet and oracle at Parihaka. They beckon, he comes not. What will they do next—return home if they take our advice. These men cannot settle the native difficulty. A blacksmith, might just as well try to make a watch. Special knowledge is necessary. Perhaps they are willing to acknowledge this fact now, and to leave the arrangement of native afairs in the hands of those made competent, by yeare of experience, to deal with them. We have been favored by the Government with a copy of the "Crown Lands Guide," the object of which is (in the language of the preface) "to afford, more especially to persons who may have recuitly arrived in Xew Zealand, and to others who may be ignorant of the land system of the Colony, such general information as to the character and localities of Crown lands, and the terms and conditions on which they may be obtained, as will enable those in quest of land to set abont its selection without much trouble." It also gives the principal features of the Land Acts, and explanations thereof. A mapof the Colony shows what l;ui<l has been disposed of, lands for sale for cash and on deferred payments, lands now being opened up for sale by the construction of roads and drains, lands for disposal 011 the homestead system (without payment), pastoral lands for sale 011 deferred payments, and pastoral runs to be let. These are all distinctly shown in various colors, and descriptions of them given in the work. Some facts not generally known are also published. The total area of the Colony is 04,000,000 acres. Of this 14,000,000 have been sold or set aside as reserves, 16,000,0u0 are in the hands of the natives, or belong to Europeans who have purchased from them, and 34,000,000 still remain for disposal. Of the latter 15,000,000 are open grass or fern land, 10,000,000 forest, and 9,000,000 barren mountain tops, lakes, and otherwise worthless country. The price of the book is 6d, and everyone interested should secure a copy.

A meeting of the Committee chosen to make the necessary arrangements in connection with the visit of Pastor Cliiniquy was held last evening, the Rev. O. E. Barley in the chair. A letter was read from the Pastor announcing that he would arrive from Timaru by the express train on Monday, and the Committee arranged to meet him at the railway station. The Revs. Messrs. Todd, Dewsbury, Barley, and Lewis were appointed to prepare an address for presentation to the Pastor on his arrival. Mr. Chiniquy will lecture in St. Paul's Church on Monday and Tuesday evenings, and it was arranged by the Committee that on the first evening the Rev. A. B. Todd should occupy the chair, the position to be filled by the Rev. H. Dewsbury on the following evening. It was decided to ask Messrs. Moore and D. Booth to take charge of the singing. The subjects upon which Pastor Chiniquy will lecture are announced in our advertising columns, and we have little doubt that he will be listened to by large audiences. We learn that the appointment of the Royal Commission which it was promised should investigate the Civil Service organisation, public works, and local industries, is receiving the attention of Ministers. The Ministry is obviously in some difHulty regarding the choice of men to act on this commission. The friends of the Ministry have surely not been exhausted through the appointment of the Native Commission. The names of several gentlemen who would decide as the Government desires occurs to us as we write.

The fortnightly meeting of the Municipal Council will be held this evening. The hurry-scurry swimming match postponed until last evening was further postponed until Saturday next, when we have no doubt a large number of competitors will conic forward to contest for the prizes.

At the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, before Henry Council, Esq., J.P., Francis Robinson was charged with stealing, at Dnnedin, the following articles, valued at LM, the property of one Bernard Lamb : 1 opossum rug swag, 1 mackintosh coat, 2 shirts, 2 pairs of moleskin trousers, 1 tweed vest, 1 silver lever watch, 1 knife and fork, ties, and socks. The prisoner was remanded to Dunedin, to answer his charge. Messrs. Robert Blair, Francis Bromley, Lewis George Fenwick, Matthew Morton, Robert Morton, Alexander Thompson, and William Henry Tescliemaker have been appointed members of the Kakanui Harbor Board.

The resignation of Mr. W. J. Steward as a member of the Oamani Racecourse Trust has been accepted, and Dr. J. P. "Wait has been appointed to fill the vacancy. In the junior examination for the Civil Service, no less than sixty-one candidates passed, and of these Mr. A. J. Gifford, of Oamaru, stood third in the order of merit; Mr. G. C. Borton, twenty-first; Mr. H. G. Moore, forty-second ; and M>\ G. Brownlee, fifty-second. In the senior examination, twenty-three candidates passed, and of these Mr. A. J. Gilford stood eighth in the order of merit.

A letter from " A Working Man" appears in the Otago Daily Times, ccomplainiug that the laborers on the Windsor-Livingstone line have received no pay since the Ist of December last, and that the local storekeeper stopped supplying the men on Saturday last. We remember that one of the charges brought against the late Government was that they were guilty of the same injustice. But we did expect something better at the hands of the present immaculate Administration.

The February competition of the North Otago Rifle Association -will take place 011 Saturday next, and entries will be received by the Secretary until to-morrow evening. The ranges chosen for this occasion are 300, 400, and COO yards, with seven shots at each. Mails for the Australian Colonics and Tasmania, per Ringarooma, close at the Bluff 011 Friday, 20th inst., at 11.30 a.m. On Saturday afternoon a cricket match will be played between the second eleven of the Oanjant Club and an eleven of the Tradesmen's Club. The Oamaru team will consist of Messrs. Anderson, J. Borton, Coatcs, Fcrens, A. 0. Hardy, A. E. Hardy, Liutott, H, Moore, and Thompson. Emergencies—Balmer, M'Leod, and A. G. Hardy. The Timaru Herald, in an otherwise sensible article 011 the improvidence of laboring men, does them a great injustice. It say 3 that they earn enough during the busy season to keep them all the year round, but that they spend it immediately they get i: ; that then they raise the usual cry of the " unemployed," and frequently get work from the Government and public hodies by demanding it as a right. The Herald asks where the money conies from to pay these men, and it replies that it comes out of the pockets of the people who work harder and save' more than they do. It apparently forget that about one-half of the c :rnings of these improvident guzzlers finds its way into the public chest. The finblican pays the duty on intoxicating iqnors when they are released from bond, tud, if), turn, charges it to his thirsty customers. It will thus be seen how large a sum improvident laboring inch contribute to the revenue, and that they in some measure work for the same money over and over