Untitled

Otago Daily Times, Issue 224, 8 September 1862, Page 4

Steamer G. To run as already between Sydney and Auckland. We believe this plan carries out as nearly as possible the wishes of the Legislature, at a far more economical cost than Mr. "Ward's system. The routes being short, the breaking down of any one steamer will not as by his proposal disarrange the whole service. The seven steamers are immediately available, namely the Airedale, Lord Worsley, Lord Ashley, Prince Alfred, Queen, Gothenburg, and Aldinga, City of Hobirt or Qm^o. We must not be understood to mean that thi3 plan comes up to that which on previous occasions we have advocated. We admit, Otago does not receive justice by it, but we suggest it as simply the best under the conditions I which the Legislature has imposed.

The successful can afford to be genereus. The House happy to find Mr. Domett's following converted into a strong ministry, looked with indulgence uj»on the episode which, owing its origin to a very different intention, contributed to bring about the happy result. Mr. Fox moved in the form of a resolution certain questions, the purport of which was to reflect upon the imperfect construction of the Ministry. In his remarks he employed at least his usual tone of bitterness and showed the reverse of a friendly feeling towards his successors in office. Had he spoken in a less hostile spirit, it is quite possible he would have carried with him many of the members, because undoubtedly jso imperfectly formed a ministry was a great j inconvenience. But the House refused to be | made the instrument of satisfying either Mr. | Fox's malignancy or ambition. It knew well ! that Mr. Fox had coquetted with the new ; Ministry, and that it was largely owing to j him that a coalition cabinet had not been j formed. Umnistakeable dissatisfaction was ! evinced, and in the endMessrs.Wood and Ward ! offered to join the Minbtry in the capacities I they held under Mr. Fox. So strong was the feeling of the Home that it is quite likely had those gentlemen not showed their willingI ingness that some of Mr. Stafford's party ! would have lent their aid to | buoy up a Ministry which taking | office in a period of difficulty j and danger, deserved some better return for I the hard work it had performed, than a ca- | prlcious expulsion to suit the purposes of the j jaunty ex Premier. But the House, as we i have said, was in a good humor, and whilst it j took the sting out of Mr. Fox's malice it was j disposed to pretend not to see it. In short, j his excuses were received and members acj quic.=cd in the pleasant fiction that Mr. Fox' ; resolution had no hostile intention, and that \ that gentleman was not a disappointed aspirant : after a renewal of office. ; The result was to convert Mr. Domett's ; imperfectly formed ministry into an exceedI lngJy strong cue, an object most desirable at I the present. But again and again the : question has been asked wherein does the I present ministry differ from its predecessors ? j The answer Mr. Fox can best supply. In the I retirement of his farm at Rangatiki, to which Ihe told the House, he would carry, like | another Garibaldi his splendid abilities, he ! will probably realise in very plain terms that I the whole ministerial crisis of'the present I session consisted but in removing him from ■ the ministry. i Mr. Fox may accuse the House of caprice, nay I *.vorse,of imperfect powers of app-;reciation,but I the fact remain*, Fox is not liked. It may be j an instance of what toe rhyme tells us. I «Jo not like tiiee Dr. Fell, The reason vrby I eaimot tell, i But this Ido know very well, I do not like ihej Dr. Fell. j It may be the dislike is dictated by distrust, | ami to this solution probability inclines. True i that between the resolutions on responsibility | proposed by himself and Mr. Domett, but a j faint shadc-.vy diifereuce existed, and that the I first caused his expulsion from office,whilst the ! second were assented to, but the great difference j remained behind, that in the one case Mr. Fox had to put the resolutions into force; in the other, the task would be left to Mr, Domett. Far be it from us to say anything tending to embitter still further the reflections of the statesman who, in retiring leaves his colleagues behind him; but the truth, if unpalatable, is salutary. Mr. Fox, i in his negotiations with Sir George Grey, had j allowed himself to be trepanned into as- | surances that nearly committed the colony to I a disastrous responsibility. Mr. Domett has | equal power to do the same thin r, perhaps - evet greater facility; for fie Ho.i- miy not meet again soon enough to avert tin conse- | quences of a like line of co lduct. Bat the | House believed, and we share ia that belief, ■ that Mr. Domett will ba truer to his trust. It is not easy to exaggerate the difficulties that the Xew Zealand Ministry will have to contend with. Tact, ju-Jg-nent and patient courage they will require to exercise iv no common degree. On the one hand, they will have to render Sir George Grey all the assistance in their power, on the other to avoid any acts that might bind the colony to a responsibility it is not fitted to nudertake. Mr. Domett is said to have no superior in ability in jsew Zealand.—lf not a speaker he is a thinker. In Mr. Dillon Bell he has a coadjutor highly endowed with the untiringindustry of which Mr. Domett is said to be somewhat deficient. Between these two and the official experience of Messrs. Wood, Ward and SewelL. a really efficient Ministry should be found. We look .at least to their givinsuch an account of themselves as will l eaV e uoonetongret Mr. Fox's retirement from j office.

The S.S. Aldinga having been repaired sufficiently for the voyage, loaves for Melbourne today, but she takes no mail or passengers We have not prepared oar usual Summary* fo- Mcl bourne, as the Gothenburg now due will probably return in a day or two. We may mention, hoir- | ever for the benefit of our Victorian readers, that \ l he B™T" dlg?i!lgs Promise l° 1* a remunerative held lor a limited population, and that the prospects of the older field, at Tuapeka, Waipori, H,ghlay and Waitahuna hold out promise of a .nccessml s^on. The last ducoverv at the Nokomai avxll also probably turn out a* valuable addition to our gold fields. The last escort from the older gold fields showed a marked improvement, the qiumuty brought down being 8789

The recent accident to the Aldinga must suggest the great necessity there exists for a graving dock at Port Chalmers. With the already large anißtmt of shipping resorting to the port, and its flwrtxable great increase, tlie advantages of a dock for the repair of vessels can scarcely be over-esti-mated. No such provision as yet exists in New Zealand, and if one were constructed at Port Chalmers, it would have the effect of inducing many captains to get their repairs done there, in preference to having to run the risk of a voyage to Melbourne or Sydney for the purpose. It will" be seen in our shipping columns that the "Robert Henderson, from Glasgow, may be daily." expected at this port, she having arrived at the Blufl some days ago. She brings three hundred passengers, of whom about- half are for Otago and half for Southland. The diggers who set on" in such haste to Coromandel,are beginning to return to their old "hunting grounds." The Albatross from Auckland brings back forty-three passengers, mostly from Coromandel. A special general meeting of the Dunedin Volunteer Fire Brigade is convened for to-mor-row evening, at half-past seven o'clock. This meeting is to be held at the Provincial Hotel, and as the business to be brought on is of importance, a full attendance of members and those intending to enrol themselves is necessary. The rush from Canterbury, to *the Dunstan diggings still continues. The Geelong brought no less than 107 passengers on her last trip from Lyttleton, the majority of whom she put ashore at Waikouati. The condition ot the entrance to Port Chalmers is becoming more sarious and requires prompt and efficient measures on the part of the Government. For some time past the channel has from some cause or other, been gradually shallowing, and it would appear from the soundings'made by Capt. Kennedy, in the fair way channel, that there war, only 11V feet of water at that time. "We learn from Dr. Yates's report, that on Friday night there were 99 patients in the Hospital, or two less than on the previous Friday ; there having been 14 admitted and 16 discharged during the week, The general state of the Hospital was very satisfactory. Some of the passengers by the Grasmere, from Glasgow, met with a fright and a ducking on Saturday, afternoon, by the upsetting of a boat in which they were being landed at the Jetty, from the steamer which had brought them from Port Chalmers,- Tiiers was much screaming on the part of some women and girls ; but the unfortunates in the water were soon got out, apparently none the worse. It will be seen by advertisement that the Government reserve on the Landspit, Waikouaiti, has been laid oil in allotments,, and will be suanutred to public competition at the Land Oftiee, on the 6th October. It may bo irrportaat for intending lessees to know, that arrangements have been \ made for the continued running on the coast of the steamer Geelong. We have to draw attention to the Government land sale at Waihola, which takes place at 12 o'clock to-morrow, in the School-room, Waihola. The sale of land in the Molyneux Township will beheld on Thursday, at Barr's store, Chitha Ferry. With reference to the latter sale, and the opening of blocks 1, 2, and 3, Pomahaka district, for application on the 15th," wo have it under authority to say, that.engagements have been entered into with Captain Murray, for two years, to run a steamer on the Clutha liiver, as far up at least as tho Tuapekii. " My Poll an;i My Partner Joe" anil " Jocrisee" were the [.i-.ce.s at the Princess' Theatre. There was a good house, and the latter piece passed of! with very great success. The Canterbury settlers have taken the alarm at so many of their working population leaving the province, for the Otago diggings. The Press urges upHi the Government the necessity of giving nu r- <-lU'ouragement to immigration and that at least ii \y thousand pounds should he appropriated to the purpose. Canterbury, like Otago is n candidate fur the surplus female population of England. Says the Press: —We advocate, then, the expenditure of a corsiderable portion of the sum which we have proposed for next year's immigration in wringing out at least two or three ship loads of young women with free passages. Even the i;iereocod facilities lately offered by the Government will be useless to remedy the present evil?. The difficulty must be fairly got mi'lfibefore we can insist.upon our own terms. We may even think onrselvc3 fortunate if we can 111 the ships ut all; and be thankful that money vriil procure us from the old country what no money will provide us with hero. But against one class we must protest. Let us have no distressed milliners in the ships. We want young women who are able and willing.to discharge the duties of domestic service, and in time, to become themselves the mistresses of respectable homes. Any others will, except in'very rare cases, be a burthen rather than an assistance, in a community where all should be workers. Every useless individual is a loss to the province:—we might per- j haps add with even more truth is a source of positive evil. The recent discoveries of'gold in this province have instigated the -Provincial' Government of Canterbury to determine upon a thorough prospecting of the province. An advertisement appears in tho Lyltdton 'limes, signed by the Provincial Secretary, to the effect that the Government are desirous of fitting out two prospecting parties, one to go to '"the north, and the other to the south. The latter party is to be placed under the direction of Mr. Ilaast the Provincial Geologist. Applications must be made to the.office ot the Provincial Secretary, Christclmrch, In reference to the new diggings, near the Mataura, it may be interesting to remark that in 1856 the following letter was written by Mr. C ,W. Ligar, the {Surveyor General of > Tew Zeaian d ~to the Superintendent of Otago . —"Sir, —As I deem it the duty of every one in the community to increase the stock of information relative to the resourcc-3 of t!»U, our adopted country, I hasten to inform your Honor, that on my recent visit to the south part of the Province of Otago, I fouud gold very generally distributed in the gravel and sand of the Mataura River, at Tuturau; and that, from the geological "character of the district, I am of opinion that a remunerative gold field exists in tho neighborhood." Mr. Ligar's letter, which would have been sufficient in ■ these times to set the whole population gold-hunting, met with a very cold reception at the hands of the then Superintendent (Captain Cargill.) ' In hi= opening address to the Couueil, Cipt. Cargill referred to Mr. Ligar's letter in the following terms: —"It is right, however, to observe that gold has been found for years past in Auckland and Nelson, bnt hitherto quite unremunerative, and that in no circumstances would it be advisable to allow any searcher to go upon a run without leave of tiie lessee, or upon a Native re- .. erve ' without leave of. the Natives.' 1 ;

On Saturday evening, ■■■'• Oliver Twist*' was produced tt the Theatre Royal, and capitally played. Mrs. Clarauec Holt, aa the hero, looked .veil, and forcibly brought out the patho3 of the ttharastor. The love pas-iages between Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Cooney were made irresistibly comic by Mr. Shiels and-Miss Matthews, and they were rewarded with roara of laughter. Mr. Wolfe was sufficiently -repulsive' as the housebreaker (Hill Slices) ; Mr. it. B. Dale revelled in" the broad humor of the Artful Dodger, and Mr. W. Ryan was a good average Fagin. Madame Duret, of course, made Nancy a very prominent character. Her bold defence of Oliver, and her fretful efforts after a better life being most effective. Tho farce of " Stage Struck" concludedthe performances. But for the successful opposition of the Otago members, it is .probable that the new diggings near the Mataura ritar would have been included in the boundaries of Southland. The Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton. Tunes thus writes on the recent attempt to alter the boundaries of the two Provinces :—" A smiling infant whose nurse had brought it successfully through tho disorders of the Legislative Council came to an untimely end by snifucation iv its cradle when removed, all unprotected, to the lower -chamber/ This* was a little bill whose duty in life it was to repeal the eighth commandment so far R3 it applied to provinces. It meant to'make' some territory for Southland by removing the boundary a little more northerly and easterly than the .Mataura river. The Superintendent of Otago, who is one of the dearest, pleasantest, uprighte?t, old pepperd gentlemen breathing took exception in a polite but expressive manner to this infraction of the moral code. In the style of the immortal Mr. Chucks of Marryatt's fancy, hi , begged very humbly and politely to inform his honorable friends from Southland that with all respect it xvas in his opinion a vilhinous, ini'juitoiij, contemptible, dishonest, sneaking, infernal hui.lgrabbin'g act of a pettyfogging little province. At least, if hu Honor did not say so ho luoked as if he intended to be underload so, and that comes to the sumo tiling with the* ILjus/j. An 1 so the House took part with the gallant old boy who has won everybody's esteem and respect, and kicked the bill out ignominiousiy for him. Many if not all the Canterbury numbers vuled against the bill, adhering to their well-known principles ; though I think if the Major had not been fortunately present, they might have had so strong n recollection of the similar and more- successful iand-fiiching landmark-moving operation of last session as to overcome: any principle, however good in the abstract." The Supreme Court' Sittings in Canterbury were opened by Mr. Just ice Ureisou on the l.st iii3t. The calender was a heavy one. There was one case winch appcuie} to have been by collusion between the - prosecutor >md the accused. Tlw report of the Li/ttelton" Times is as follows :—The Provincial Solicitor called the attention of the Court to the charge against Charles McAlpine for a criminal assault, who had been hell under heavy recognizances to appear at the present sessions. It was not thy learned gentleman's indention to proceed with the case, as the principal witnesses could not hi found, though every search had been ma In for them. His Honor replied that he could not consent V> tho accused's discharge. From wh it he recollected of the ease, it was ai clear to him •i« could be to a judge who hid not gone through the evidence, that there hal been collusion between the accused and the prosecutor. He should therefore feel it his duty to !i-->M the necu«ii \ {•> appear 'when called upon, in his own rueogni^.-uKvs to the amount of £2Cn.' Mr. Trivers rcjn itU I any part in the colluskhi inf.*rr.«l, an.l r^nin h» 1 the ('ourt tiiat McAlpine bal been already in bonds f>r three sessions. His Honor freely exonerated the learned counsel from any implicit! >:t in the frad; ilen t abduction of the witnesses ; bit he felt so strongly t'i» corruption that appo-jre I to hnvo been practiced, that he must exact, recognizances fur tho accused's appearance. The Army and Namj Gazelle of June 7th, says :—The return of the 75th regiment from India, wiil in nil probability complete the movements of regiments between home an I foreign service for the year. Tim state of affairs iv S*;\v Z'jalaiid no (lought sniy unable. Sir George Grey to dispense with two of the battalions in that colony; and as the f>sth have been away since May, IS tG, and th-j 70th since January, 181/j, we may expect the return of these regiments early in 1303. The second battalion of the lUh went out to relieve tho Gsth. and the 70th will not b;« relieve 1. so that no regiment will be sent abroad in their pl.u'c. The -Kith, which-went- abroad in July, \S~y2, and the 57tii, in February, 18.13, will also have a claim to return h>m,' ue:vt year, and one battalion is likely to be sent to replace them on the Australian station. One of the Canterbury papers. (The.Standard) having published an "extra," containing some very glowing accounts from Coromandid, copied from the Auckland papers. Mr. J. S. Fleming writes to the Lyttelton Times as follows :• —" Sir, ■ —I observe in an extra, published by the S!um!_ ard to-day, a paragraph with reference to the Co. romandel gold fields, and;to the effect that large . finds of auriferous quartz are being made at f Driving Creek,—that one specimen of lOibs. . yielded 3J-!hs. solid gold,—that the men arc in . good spirits and are confideut of doing bettor . when the line weather sets in. This paragraph . appears to be copied from the Southern Cross, of ; 23rd August. Isy the same mail, I have several i letters from Auckland up to the same date, and • two from Coromandel, and as these contain in- . formation {somewhat different to that of the , paragraph referred to, and arc from parties at work on the field, whose veracity I can thoroughly depend upon, I will thank'you to publish the following extracts :—' The fact is, no one ig getting anything except a few specimens picked ofr the ( ground. The largest yet found is one of 14lbR. t weight, and which was sold for £ir>o. There is „ not a man on the diggings earning ss. a day. ; 'vlost of them are paid by companies got up in f Auckland to work the quartz reefs, and there t being no alluvial 'diggings this is not the place for a poor man. I have spoken to men who have ] ' been here ever since the so-called diggings com- \ menced, and they calculate that not more than ' 300 or 400 ounces have been got in Coromandel J The ' yarns' in the newspapers are simply got up in order to create a rush. Tho people may be required for the Maorics. Another party writes me 'At present there are only seven working '' claims, and in none of these has gold been struck as yet. Many hundreds of diggers have visited "\ the gold fields (?) but they have all returned to Auckland, and are waiting for a vessel to convey 3 them elsewhere. The nuggets said to have been , found are supposed to have been discovered in the newspaper otlices—most certainly not in Coro- ' niandel. I may mention, however, that it is generally believed here that a good gold field really exists in this Province, but that it still is in possession of the Maories,"

We extract the following from the Daily Southern Cross : —lu the naval promotions of June, we find Commander F. W. Sullivan appointed to 11.M.5, Harrier, vice Sir M. Macgregor, promoted.* All who have had the pleasure of meeting Sir Malcolm Macgregor, will join hi their best wishes on his promotion, but every Mew Zealand colonist will regret losing one of he most deservedly popular commander* in ;:r waters. Ship and captain, officers and c ;;w alike have always bean great favorites here, and and justly so. Commander Sullivan has been, we bc-Heve, on half pay. His last command, if wo recollect rightly, was ih;: Greyhound, screw sloop, 17, when attached to the Channel squadron.