SUMMARY FOR EUROPE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 284, 17 November 1862, Page 5

SUMMARY FOR EUROPE.

Again we have to record the detention of the I mails of the previous month. The City of Ilobart, with the October mails, had to put in from stress of weather at the Bluff, and arrived in Melbourne the morning after the departure of the mail steamer. It must not be supposed that these frequent detentions arise from the desire to cut the time too close. On the contrary, the contract time for the departure of the steamer, leaves her nine clear days to reach Melbourne; whilst in fine weather the .passage has been done in less than five. Tiie margin is certainly sufficiently large, but the fact is, the weather'of the New Zealand coast is' so variable, that a different class of stea.ners is required for the mail service. The City of Hobart is an excellent boat, and in some weathers ma' e=3 exceedingly fast passages, but a vessel for the mail service to Melbourne, should be to a certain extent independent of the weather—that is to say, she should have sufficient steam power to pursue her way at all times. It is only fair to the captain of the City t>f Hobart to say, that he was not in the least to blame. On the contrary, he was most earnest in his endeavours to reach Melbourne in time, and remained ac his post on deck night and day. It should be added that the weather was unusually stormy even for this stormy coast. The intelligence this month is of the most pleasing character. The diggings continue to improve. The Dunstan especially, bids fair to exceed Hie most sanguine expectation? of it s discoverers. For sixty miles on both sides of the river Molyneux, and for some distance along its tributaries—the Beaumont, Teviot, Manuherikia, and Kawarau—ricii deposits of gold are proved to exist; and the experience of the last month shows that in the country away from the river, exceedingly rich gullies exist. Thus, besides the winter diggings on the banks of the river, the gullies will offer profitable sumn3r workings. Conjecture is anxiously directed towards the beds of the rivers, and an attempt is being made to turn a portion of the Mtnuherikia. If it succeed, and gold be found, as is expected, in quantity, efforts will be made to get at the bed of the Molyne.ux itself.

It has been a matter of much surprise to the people of Otago that the immigration from England since the discovery of the gold fields has been so limited. Certainly British Columbia, about which there has been so much fuss, has no attractions to offer in comparison with those of Otago; indeed, two ships have recently brought a considerable number of passengers to the Province from the muchvrunted North American gold fields. The explanation of the little excitement the Otago fields have produced at home is to be found in the fact, that Sir George Grey has been so much occupied with Native affair?, as to have entirely neglected to even mention the wonderful auriferous resources of the Southern portion of the colony under his charge. Another cause is to be found in the systematic manner in which the Melbourne journals have run down the Otago fields. The constant missing of the mail from New Zealand lias afforded the Melbourne papers the opportunity of publishing the latest summary intelligence, an advantage which they have most unworthily used. The course they have adopted has recoiled on their colony—for Otago is draining Victoria of its miners ; and the money expended by it in bringing out immigrants is proving the means of supplying Otago with population. Politically there is little of positive interest to relate, but everything points to the speedy resumption of hostilities with the Maories. When war does occur, Sir George Grey will at least be free from the reproach of having hurried it on. His forbearance is truly astonishing. Before proceeding to our usual classification, we should notice, in our introductory remarks, that steps are being taken, and with every probability of success, to secure the importation of a considerable number of alpaca sheep. POLITICAL GENERAL. We have as usual only faint indications, by which to mark the progress of events with the Maories. But pointing as these indications all do in one direction, they leave little doubt of the critical state of the relations between the Europeans and Maories. Since our last summary, a very important document has turned up, in the shape of a letter from a powerful tribe in the North Island to a tribe in Nelson, requesting the latter to co-operate in a movement against the Europeans. Some parts were vaguely expressed, and purposely so, as the remark occurred that, it would not be safe, to trust to writing all that the writers had to say. But they begged the tribe to whom they were writing to send over at once to hear more. They had, they said, had a meeting, and decided to reject- Sir George Grey's overtures, and to decline to recognise the supremacy of the Queen.' The following are the particulars supplied to the Nelson Examiner concerning this letter by a gentleman who had seen it:—

"Xi a * * * * ; ki ou hapu katoa, puta noa i ou rohi katoa."—" To * * * * ; and also, to or for all your people, of every place, throughout your district (Wakarongo mai), listen intently to what we have to say," and then follows: —

"Ka huihui maua, kite kawe i a Wirerau Kingi, ki Ngaruawahia, kite korero, kia hapaing.i, ki aia ano, te maua o Nui Tireni, kia tarewa ki runga."— "We assembled to take William King to Ngaruawahia, in order to talk and consult together, about bringing the mana, power, strength, and influence, of all New Zealand to him, that we may vigorously rise, and triumph over all."

" Rupecka ake maua, c toru, rau raugatira tonu, huihu katoa Ngatipoa, ki taua runanga." •-" We assembled together; there were 300 principal chiefs, and also the whole of the Ngatipaoa tribes in that council."

They then go on to state that one subject had been specially discussed at this runanga, and this was, the request of the Governor, that they should abandon the Maori King Movement, and allow the Queen alone, to rule supreme in New Zealand; and the conclusion this great runanga had come to was, "Kahorei wakaetia i ana kupii."—'".-We ■will not hear, nor yet obey this request of the Governor."

At the end of the first paragraph they write:— '' Xi te tare atu tenei pukapuka ki a koutou, ma haere mai,tetahi o koutou, kite Wakarongo ite korero, mo

koutou ki Otuki, kei reira nga pukapuka a nga ruuanga kato, mo tenei motu, a putu noa."—"lf this letter should reach you, let one of your people come over to Otaki, and hear all we have to say, and than lie will be able to give you all particulars; here are all the writings and particulars, of all the runangas, not only for this part, but also for every other place."

They then go on to state that it would not be safe, or prudent, to send these particulars to every place. At the end of the last paragraph they say :—" He kupu atu tena, Id ?> koutou, lioki mai ki uta, kaoa c wakaaroa te pea Langa, te ahatango, c wakaarao ai koutou, hoki mai ki uta, kaua c tirotiroahia he mea wakanana, engare kite ngnkau pono. Hoki mai c lioa ma. E Tauia ma, i ruuga i iaga wakaaro o lnatou."—" We have yet another word or two for you. Do come over to us. Don't allow-either this thing, that tbiug, or anything, to prevent your coming to us. Do come. Don't shrink from tbe struggle, but come, with brave and true hearts. Come., olufriends, all—oh, sons, all; let your thoughts and .ictions be one with ours." * "No te runang.i katoa."— " This, to you, si from the whole*council." One thing, Sir, should be borne in mind, the Maori language is so meagre, that, on a subject such as this, much more is implied than is either spoken or written." Besides minor occurrences (now grown so common as to cease to excite surprise), of resistance to the action of the law, we have no definite intelligence of the movements of the Maories. They are said to be much alarmed at the information that has reached them of steamers being in course of erection at Sydney, to ascend the Waikato, armed with turrets after the plan of the Merrimac- A meetingis also reported, to discuss the King movement, in which it was anticipated that William Thompson would seek to retire from the leadership of an agitation, the dimensions of which had grown to exceed his power of control. We have already explained that the Government purchased the wreck of the Lord Worsiey, to prevent any complication that might have arisen, if a private purchaser had secured it and denvmded of the authorities the protection of his rights. In regard to Taranaki, the Governor has shown no indications of any immediate intention to reinstate the settlers, and many persons talk of the policy of abandoning the settlement, rather than hold it on the present humiliating conditions. With the natives up to the verge of the town, occupying lands purchased and claimed by Europeans, and refusing even a passage through them to their rightful owners, without the payment of enormous tolls, no wonder the Taranaki settlers consider they have cause of complaint. In answer to a petition presented by -them to the Governor, a reply has been forwarded, of which the following is an extract:—" The Government are fully aware of, and deeply regret the unfortu. nate position in which the Taranaki settlers arc at present placed, and you will probably have seen from the public prints, that the whole subject of the reinstatement of that settlement is one that engages the anxious attention of his Excellency and of his advisers. Steps will be taken as soon as practicable, to give effect to this very desirable object, but it is one the attainment of which involves many serious considerations, and will no doubt be attended with difficulty."

This may mean anything or nothing. Some persons account for Sir George Grey's surprising inactivity, by supposing that he has sent home his resignation, and desires not to embarrass his successor by adopting any definate line of action. Others suppose that he really means to do something, and has hitherto only bided his time. In support of the latter proposition we should mention that the Government has just sent H.M. steamer Harrier down to Canterbury to purchase a small steamer to place on the Waikato River. Whether to carry up troops or supplies, or for merely commercial purposes is not knrjwn. The despatching the Harrier on such a commission is certainly somewhat strange.

Whilst on the subject ot rumours, we should mention a vague report flying about—that General Cameron, disgusted with the forced inaction to which he is subjected whilst the Governor is submitting to all kinds of indignities from the natives, has tendered his resignation. Whilst Sir George was carrying his humiliating attempts with Wi Tako, General Cameron was left without instructions, and the most favorable season of the year passing by. One thing is certain amidst all this vague intelligence,—that Sir George Grey has been utterly unsuccessful in his pacific policy, that he has not by the minutest fraction succeeded in quelling the Native insubordination, but on the contrary, the Maories are more mutinous now than when he commenced his well- meant efforts. Meanwhile the substance of the Colony is passing away. Our readers will scarcely credit that the Government of the Natives is now costing the colony the yearly sum of £113,000. We give the items, so that there can be no mistake. It v sad to think how utterly the money is wasted:— Native institutions (Sir George Grey's plan) .. .. ... £20,000 Contribution of troops.. 27,000 Schools 7,000 Interest on war loan of 1860 .. .. 12,000 Interest on second half-million 10an... 30,000 Militia ... .. .. 10,000 Miscellaneous ... .. ... ... 1,000 . £113,003 PROVINCIAL. POLITICS. As the session of the Provincial Council approaches—the meeting is fixed for the 26th November, —interest is manifested in local politics. The necessity of borrowing money for public works is, we believe, recognised by the Provincial Government, and a proposal of the kind will be made, if the consent of the General Government can be procured. We believe this consent will be given to only a limited extent, and then it will be subject to the approval of the Queen. The land fund of the North Island is practically at an end, since the Native Land Bill has put a stop to purchases by the Government from the natives. The larid fund of the South Island, will therefore, be the only security which the General Government can give for the loans it may require for native purposes, unless it consent to mortgage the Customs duties. The Home Government will require that ample security should be left for the purposes mentioned, seeing that probably the Imperial authorities may see fit to claim, besides the loans already issued, large payments from the colony for future expenses. We thus fear that the Prd-

vinces will be prevented from borrowing anything like the amounts they otherwise would be justified in asking. TVe apprehend they will be permitted limited loans for specific public works, which when completed, will themselves be securities for the advances. The question is lilrelj* to be tried by Canterbury—which province, in addition to its loan for railway purposes, proposes to ask the power to borrow £500,000 fur general purposes. We much fear that the power will not be permitted, and we expect that the General Government will lay down some principle, on which to regulate the borrowing powers of the Provinces. It would obviously be unfair to allow one Province to borrow in excess, and so make another Province responsible in a larger degree for the General Government liabilities. We are not expressing our opinion as to whether the resources of Canterbury are not sufficiently large to permit it to borrow the money it desires, and yet leave sufficient security to offer for future loans for Government purposes. We only point oTit^hat, to the same extent, Canterbury is allowed to borrow in proportion to its resources, the other Provinces have the claim to equal consideration. To place the matter on a broad footing, the resources of the Provinces should be from time to time valued, and. a stated power bo granted to borrow on a certain proportion of what may be termed the capital of each Province. We have assumed in these remarks that the Provinces have a vested interest in their own resources, but it is to be remembered that, as far as the Land Fund is concerned, each Province only holds its interest at pleasure. The concession can be withdrawn. It is no good disguising these facts, because, although not generally patent, the ■' Government arc necessarily acquainted with them. The mere security that an} r Province could offer is worthless, because all its resources are withdrawable at the pleasure of the Assembly. It is the approval of the General Government that .makes the security a colonial, and hot a Provincial one, and the Government know that, in giving this approval, they are mortgaging property to which the whole colony has a claim. As we have said and believe, a limited power of bor_ rowing will be permitted for specific w«rkg which themselves will become securities when completed, but we doubt whether the Provinces will be permitted to, borrow to the extent that their means would justify, if those means were really inconvertibly their own. The only cure ibr this wretched complication is the separation of the two Islands, when the Middle Island could raise sufficient money to dispose of, at once and for ever, all claims on it for the settlement of the Maori question. The Imperial authorities would say v You de?ire to leave to us the adjustment of these difficulties; we are content do so, on your paying us such and, such a contribution, and we will take the ri?k of its proving sufficient." Surely this would be better than the unconstitutional, arbitrary demands made upon the colonial revenue, without the discretion of refusal being permitted.

We believe the Separation Committee are coming to life again. They see in. the present condition of affairs, unanswerable arguments for separation, and they hope that the local jealousies which have interfered to prevent that amount of union between the Provinces which was a necessary condition to success,' will now be merged in the common danger. A great farce has just taken place, in the election of a member for a district that does not exist. By a bill passed last session, the District of Dunedin City was abolished, and in its stead two districts, of Dunedin North and Dunedin South, were established. The two members for the old district were distributed, one to each of the new districts. Major Richardson, translated to the Dunedin South District, thinking it fair to give the new constituency a fresh chance of selecting its representatives—resigned, and the Speaker or Chief Secretary, by an abominably stupid mistake, issued a writ for the old district, instead of for the new one. The Iteturning Officer had no option but to go on with the election, and the only two individuals present took upon themselves to propose Mr. Paterson, who was therefore declared duly elected. As he is elected for a district that has ceased to exist, he of course cannot sit, and in justice to himself, we should say there appears no reason to suppose that he was a party to the farce.

The Provincial Government propose to bring on no less than twenty-six Ordinances this session. Most of them are of a routine nature. We may briefly define them :—

Impounding Ordinance, for establishing pounds throughout the Province, and pro" viding remedies against cattle trespass. The Licensed Pawnbrokers' Ordinance, a. bill for regulating the trade of pawnbrokers within the Province of Otago. The Hospital Ordinance, to provide for the management of the affairs of hospitals. The Cemeteries Ordinance, a bill for the establishment aud management of cemeteries. The Common Lodging Houses Ordinance, a bill for the well ordering of common lodging houses. The Licensed Theatres Ordinance, a bill for regulating places of public exhibition and entertainment. Licensed Hawkers' Ordinance, a bill for licensing and regulating, pedlers. Sunday Observance Ordinance, a bill for securing the better observance of the Sabbath, and the prevention of Sunday trading. Electric Telegraphs Ordinance, a bill for constructing and maintaining electric telegraphs. The Police Regulations Ordinance, a bill for the regulation of the police force of the Province. Dunedin Building Ordinance, a bill for regulating the construction of new buildings and streets, within certain limits in the City of Dunedin. The Dunedin Improvement Ordinance Amendment Ordinance, a bill amending certain sections of the "Improvement Ordinance." The Destitute Persons Relief Ordinance, a bill for granting certain powera to the Superintendent in dealing with the relief of destitute persons, and extending the provisions of a.previous Ordinance to persons deserting their wives and children. The Cattle Branding Ordinance, to provide for the branding of cattle in Otago. The Licensed Carriages Ordinance, for regulating public carriages and vehicles plying for hire. The Town and Country Police Ordinance, a bill to provide for the more effectual management of towns and other-places in matters of Police. The Marine Board Ordinance, a bill to establish a Marine Board for the Port of Otago. The Sheep Importation Ordinance, a bill to suspend the operation of the " Scab Prevention Ordinance, 1862," and to permit the importation of sheep into the Province of Otago under regulations. The Auctioneers' Ordinance, for regulating Sales by. Auction and Auctioneers.. Miners' Provincial Representation Ordinance, to provide for the due representation of the Gold Fields in the Provincial Council. The Harbor Improvement Ordinance, the Dunedin Municipal Estate Ordinance, and the Unimproved Lands Ordinance. There are also three or four more Bills in course of preparation. We believe, if it be found that the Council have the power to amend the present Electoral Roll, the electoral districts will be cut up, and a redistribution made, together with an increase of members. The Council will probably dissolve, in either case, after the present session, and a fi-esh election take place.