THE Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, SEPT. 3.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2052, 3 September 1868, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, SEPT. 3.

The news from the North which has just reached us contains matter of more than usual interest. The very full accounts we publish of the disaster which happened to the Taranakionthe 19th of last month, followed by the proceedings at the official inquiry, will place pur readers in possession of all the facts connected .with the case.' There does not appear to be any ground for censuring her unfortunate commander. He was steering the usual course in proceeding up the narrow, channel; he was personally in charge of his vessel; his officers were at their posts; there was no neglect of duty either on their part or on his. Nor was there any reason to anticipate danger. The. wreck.. ; must be attributed to. accident, and it affords another and a . most striking illustration of the hazards to which 'navigation on our coasts is liable. The decision of the Resident Magistrate who conducted the inquiry does.not attempt to investigate causes. But Captain Francis suggests a reason for this .unexpected calamity which is worth consideration. | At the time he was passing through Tory Channel, /the tidal disturbances were going* on in New Zealand.'' It isj a reasonable supposition that the then ] recent^ disturbance of the waters may1 ■ have brought about the eddy tunning out from the rock, never experienced on previous voyages by the Captain of the Tarariaki.. "To the action of this eddy upon the starboard bow combined withthat :of the ordinary tide upon her port quarter, Captain Francis attributes the disaster. The complimentary letter addressed to him by his passengers,: smarting as they were from ho trivial losses of their own, is an unusual feature in such occurrences. It is the highest assurance he. could have received that |his conduct on the occasion deserves no, censure; and we are certain it will be read with-satisfaction by every member of the community. The loss of this fine steamer is not a private one ; it is a; loss to New Zealand. Should the wreck prove so ruinous as to involve the dissolution of the Company, we shall all have reason to sympathise/with the shareholders. !••■■.•■

A detailed and very graphic account of the storming of Te Ngutu o to Manu is not the least interesting item in the intelligence just received. : .This account fully confirms the impression formed at first— that the affair was a signal victory; accomplished in splendid style and attended by a trifling loss. Such achievements ought not to be so rare as they are ; but while they are rare, the men to -whom we owe^them deserve tho special recognition of the country. The thanks" of Parliament on behalf of the colony might be. offered to Colonel M'Donnejll on the present occasion without ally sacrifice of parliamentary etiquette. * Magdala,' said Sir Robert Napier, /on which so1 many victims have been slaughtered, has been committed to the flames and,remains only a scorched rock.* It might be said by the hero of our less . trumpeted victory : |The pah of Te Ngutu ,o te Manu, in which our savage enemies recently feasted on the body of our countryman, - has been committed to the flames and remains only a heap of ashes,' This particular pah, it appears, is one of the most famous in Maoridom, and its utter'destruction must be felt by every hostile native as one of the severest reverses their tribes could 'have suffered. The infamous Tito Jvowaru will no longer seat himself in state beneath its roof > and no cannibal pleasures will be again enjoyed within its walls. ;The firing on the rear of our troops, as they marched away. to-Waihij is no proof, of an unconquered snemy. | It is simply absurd to argue the matter in that.light. The Maori garrison were driven out of the pah and escaped into the neighboring brushwood, from which they ventured on firing some random shots as the troops marched on. *They hung upon our rear, in the dense bush, but would never dare to show a front.' That is the commonest feature in their military tactics ; and unless every man in the. pah had ■ been shot or bayoneted, it is not easy to say what else they could have done, being Maoris. It was no proof of undaunted valour that they should have concealed themselves in the scrub and fired at an enemy they did not dare to meet in the open. Major Hunter, it appears, was among the men who distinguished themselves in this affair. He haß redeemed his character from the aspersions recently cast upon it; but no reason has yet been given for placing any faith in the statements made to his disadvantage in connection with the surprise of Turuturu Mokai. Damaging statements of the kind are very apt to be made without any real foundation by men writing in excited moments, and with imperfect knowledge of the facts on which they comment.

Political interest centres entirely in the Budget, a much more practical matter than a debate about Policy. An outline of this interesting revelation appears in our telegraphic columns, and will be eagerly studied by every newspaper reader in Otago. It presents the old, old story which Treasurers"are perpetually called upon to tell—no reduction of taxes, no increase of reveime,_no anything that is pleasant to think of. Our noses must still be held to the grindstone. Mr Haii,, with, the air of a doctor in a bad case, endeavours to re-assure us by saying that our taxation is not altogether so bad as it has been represented. It is not quite so bad as it is in England, he says. Now an invalid who should complain of the severity of the climate would not be much, comforted, by the assurance that

the climate is much more severe in Norway. It would be a very extraordinary thing-if our taxation was greater than that of \an old Empire never free from the danger of war, and consequently bound to retain standing .armies^ and a large navy for its defence. But there j is every prospect of our taxation rising ! until it stands higher than that of Great, Britain ; at any rate, there is no prospect of its ialling. The Customs Bevenu c has decreased to the extent of LBO,OOO,- and must of course be supplemented ; whilethe iStamp Revenue has decreased to. the extent of L 16,000, and will also-require supplementing. A falling off in revenue" at the rate of Lloo,ooo per annum can not go on much longer, so that the Income Tax, or something equklly rasty, may;be looked for at no distant day. It will be seen that the Government have putby a'^um of L2B,oQoto meet the expenses attached to future native disturbances, c should they occur.' It is pretty certain thatthey will occur, and the sum reserved to pay for our martial pleasures *will.not go far towards a settlement of the bill. We cannot congratulate our readers on the financial prospects. Retrenchment' does ;not seem t6 occupy as much of the Ministerial attention as it ought to do, and if our representatives in, Parliament do not bring Ministers to book on that matter, they will be false to their constituents and the country. .: '.-■;' . ; -.= ■..

The directors of the Chamber of Commerce j caused to be forwarded'to the PostmasterGeneral a copy of the resolution recently adopted by them, as to the necessity for keeping up mail communication with England by the Suez route. 3Ve! understand that a reply has been received by the Secretary to the Chamber,' to the effect that the financial condition o£ the Colony reiidera'it impossible to continue to subsidise a! steamer to brifigtaFewZealand letters by'the Sue? mail j but that mails for that route Vill continue •to be sent and to be received, by unfiubsidised steamers.—A reply has also been received from the Postmaster-General, to the resolution of the Chamber respecting the' early closing of the boxes in Dunediii on the departure of the Panama branch steamer. The Postmaster-General has caused instructions to be given that, in future, the steamer shall leave Port Chalmers at four p.m. on the sth of; each month,the mails to closein Dunedin at two p.m. - -

We; believe that' the Cause List for this session of the Supreme Court, contains 10 cases at present; five being for Common, andfiveiorSpecial Juries. ;'■',.- ■•■■■;

The following Bills passed by the Provincial Council, and assented to by the Superintendent, have come into operation, viz, :— the Gunpowder Ordinance, 1868 ; the Sheep Ordinance, 1867,' Amendment Ordinahce, : 1868 ;|the Appropriation Ordinance, 1868-9; the Imprest Supply Ordinance, 1868 ; the Cattle Trespass Ordinance, 1858, Amendment Ordinance, 1868 ; the Goat Nuisance Ordinance, 1868; and the* Appropriation Ordinance {No. 2), 1868-9.

The. Governor has accepted .the resignation of E, B. Cargill, Esq., as Trustee of the Dunedin Savings Bank. >

Mr George Graham Orbell- ha 3 been gazetted as Lieutenant, and Mr Frederick Wain as Ensign of the Waikouaiti JRifle Volunteers.

We observe by the Gazette that the Governor has disallowefd "The Inflammable Oil Ordinance, 1868;"' and "The Fencing Ordinance, 1868 >'• passed by the Provincial Council here during the last Session.

In the Supreme Court, yesterday, Edwin Lovell.for forging a cheque, and uttering the. same, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, with hard labor.—George Enais; for an unnatural crime, was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude j the Judge "saying that that was the lowest penalty allowed by the law, the sentence having, until recently, been, without option to the Judge, one of Death recorded.—Thomas Edwards was found Gailty o£ stealing seven LI notesy in Dunedih; and it was ordered that he should be brought up.to-day, for sentence.—Benjamin. Henry Bartlett and 'Paul Brown were indicted for having, at Switzers, obtained, goods by false pretences. They were. found Guilty, but were recommended to mercy. Sentence was postponed until to-day. "

At the .Resident Magistrate's Court, Port 'Chalmers^ on Tuesday, before D. Rolfe, Esq., J.P., Isaac Clark and Hugh Gilchrist were fined 10s, or 24 houra' imprisonment, for drunk and disorderly conduct. Clark was* further fined 20ai or 48 hours' imprisonment, for assaulting the police in the execution of their duty.

A Concert, in aid of the funds of the Con-, gregational Church, Port Chalmers, took place in the Masonic Hall on Tuesday evening; There was a good attendance, and on the whole the music was good. As the .whole of the performers were amateurs, and tried their best to please, it would be invidious to mentioa names, save that the lady juveniles rendered their several pieces with taste and feeling not expected of their years. The committee have reason to congratulate themselves on the success of the entertainment.

A half-yearly meeting of the Directors of the Standard Property Investment Society was held yesterday evening, in the Society's office, Princes street. Present—Messrs T. Dick, J. F. Watson, J. Kilgour, B. Bagley, A. E. Livingston, D. Campbell, and C. Reid (Secretary). The Secretary stated that 110 new shares had been taken up during the month, making 1738 shares issued, during the eighteen months' existence of the Society; and the subscriptions and repayments amounted to nearly LSOO per month. Securities for advances to the extent of LISOO were approved ; and several accounts having been passed for payment, the meeting adjourned. .

The attendance at the Princess Theatre last night was very good, and the performances went off with spirit. The "Child Stealer" was carefully played. At "its close, Mr E J. Taylor, the Champion Skater, appeared, and went through, a number devolutions upon tha skates. : The Varsoviana dance was very graceful, and Mr Taylor's performances elicited loud applause. He next gave an imitation of a boy learning to skate, which was very natural and very comical. The farco of "Aunt Charlotte's Maid" followed, and the audience were kept amused by the excellent acting of Miss Polly Leake and Mr WLmot. The same programme will be presented this evening.

We understand that the statement in tha report of the Licensing Meeting published yesterday, that a license for the Prince of Wales Hotel had been granted to William Halliday, was erroneous; and that the license was granted to Mr Henry^Williamson.

(BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH*)

(FJtOM OUR OWNOOBKESPONDENTS.)

Wellington-, September 2nd.

Mr Hall commenced at 9;40 last evening, by regrettmg thaiv for the first time in the history of the Colony, he had to announce a falling off in the revenue, and to speak of .financial difficulty, v : ; V.

( He explained in detail the difficulty of getting into working order the machinery created by the Public Revenues Act,, occasioning delay in accounts between th e General and Provincial Governments. In spite of these drawbacks, he was now able to lay a detailed statement of account for the past financial year, which had never before been done by any Treasurer a£ the time of making the Annual Statement.:;'. .... '.■':."."•.'. ■.''"''•. i. ■"

He suggested that a change should be made in the date of jthe ending of the financial year, fixing the date at an earlier period, so as to obviate the otherwise

necessary delay which must occur every sessibn before the delivery of the Budget. ...... „.

He congratulated the Colony on the satisfactory settlement of the Imperial and Colonial claims, which was due to Mr Weldfs; sending. Home half-a-million of Debentures, and the exertions of Mr l Fitzherbert and Major Richardson. He estimated the Revenue of last year at Ll,084,000,: of which L 980,700. were I actually received, to which must be added i L 25,000. Treasury. Bills. _ 1

There was a decrease in the Customs of L 80,198, and in the Stamps of L 16,595.

Owpg to the departure of the troops» therewere no loans to spend, r The low price ]Of wool, &0., had-occasioned a general depression., ;

The revenues, from the Post Office and the .Telegraph, .which, were good indices to the condition of the Colony, had increased. The Government, believing that the use of stamps was largely evaded, had under consideration measures for repressing and prosecuting whenever an evasion of the Stamp Act was discovered.

Qn the expenditure of the year^ there was an apparent saving of L 154,000, partially, because of eleven months' salaries having been included, which was equal to Lsliooo. .. ;1 v, : ,

The cash balance at the Bank was, L46j900, out of which L 25,000 has to be paid for Treasury Bills. There was also an asset from Southland of L 55,117.

The Trust Funds amounted^ to L167,Q00, all invested., .

The particulars of the Consolidated Loan gave a saving to the present time of Lll,ooo annually to the Colony,, and about the same to the, Provinces, wliich more than compensated for the increased capitalised debt. ']\

The total amount received for the loan, of Ll,114:,000 is Ll,080,580; There ■will be,.however, L4Bjooo even of this not required for purposes specified under the Loan Act, which (after, deducting the cost of .raising the loan, say at least L 10,000) will be appropriated to liquidating the Old Treasury Bills, still amounting to L 125.000, exclusive of the L 25 s OOO above mentioned. ■ A full statement of

liabilities on account of confiscated lands will be submitted, and however unpleasant it. may be, to have to pay where a profit was anticipated, the honor of the Government required it to be done. The receipts amounted to L 12,000, the payments to L 26,000, and further accruing , liabilities, for surveys, &c, to L 28,000. Mr Hall believes the receipts from the sales of confiscated lands would cover this in two years; and proposed issuing Treasury Bills for two years to meet it meanwhile.

The L55,11V, available asset from Southland, is to be appropriated as follows ■:— L 15,000 for new Government House, L 3,000 for increased offices for the Government and Legislature, L 8,500 for the Telegraph Department, including extension: to Wanganui. The remaining L 28,000 will be reserved to meet renewed Native disturbances, should they occur.

The following is the estimated.revenue for 1868,-9.:—Customs, L 800,000; Bonded Stores, L 6,500, Stamps, L63,00Q; Telegraph, L 15,000; Post Office, L 60,000; Miscellaneous, L 56,000. Total, L 1,000,500.

The Expenditure is estimated aa follows :—Civil List, L2"r,500 ; Permanent Charges (Interest, sinking f und),L320,542; Public Domain, L 2,880 ; Public Departments, ; L37,863 ; Law and Justice, L56,687>; Postal, L 106,401; Customs, ■L 41,781; Native Expenses, L 12,384; Miscellaneous, L 30,029 ; Militia and Volunteers, L 22,183 ; Defence, L 47,497 ; total, L 714,647. These figures show an increase on Permanent Charges of L 627, and a decrease on all the rest, viz., Dor main, LI, 196; Departments, L 5,704; Law, L 13,561; Postal Charges, L 42,178 j Customs, L 2,690; Native Expenses, L 11.160; Miscellaneous, L 18,054; Militia, L 2,355. The Defence wa5L109,025 last year, but was charged on the loan. The Defence Minister is to be abolished at the earliest possible moment.

The proposed saving in the items of this year over the same items last year is L 152,149.

The Government are unable to announce any reduction in taxation. The taxes in "Sevr. Zealand have been exaggerated. They are not so high as in England, compared with the rate of wages. There it is L3 03 lid, and here it is L4los per head.

The most serious obstacle in the way of retrenchment was the present financial

relations between the General and Pro** yincial Governments. Four Provinces out of the nine had nothing left out of their share of the consolidated revenue, after paying their jshate of::. Provincial charges and interest and sinking fund. Indeed, some were actually in debt. , The Provincial cry to every Ministrywas, f more money or your life.* " The Government had decided to recommend that on Ist January next this partnership should, cease, and the funds (should any be required) for Provincial administration slumld be specially voted by the Assembly^ the Provincial debts to cease, and to be charged against the Provinces raising them; The Harbor management is to be cora^ bined with/the Customs solely under th& General Government. A,Capitation Grant of seven shillings . per head, based on the census population returns, is to be paid to the Provinces in aid of Police, Gaols, &c, and to be spent under audit Besides this, the Provinces would retain the land fund and such local revenue as might be raised by acts of the Provincial Council. Had this plan been, in operation last year, Auckland would have; gained L 9,195 ; Taranaki, Ll,96fj Hawke's Bay, L 3,093 • Marlborougb, L2,l32l;^Sojath]^id,. L 17,974 j whils Wellington-would have lost Lii,ooo 5 kelson, L 20,453 j Canterbury, LT67;; Westiand, L 2,213 ; , Otago, Soijthland, by .reason of the large amount of her debt, would.have to pay L 12,006 annually from the Land fund; while ta Nels6n, L 90,000, and to Wellingto», L 15,000, casH down, would have to ba . paid by the General Government in fall compensation. ;, A, lump sum down is; preferred to annual payments.

The ; sinking funds of all Provincial Loans are to be invested in comptrollerßt and two trustees, as also those of Colonial

Loans.

A sum of L 193,948 will shortly accrue in the hands.of these Commissioners, out of which the Nelson and Wellington com.-

pensations are to be paid,

The debt of L20b,000 charged on tfce/ territorial revenue of the Middle Island, and the Llßo,ooo expended on land purchased.in the Itforth Island, under the arrangementof: 1856, are to be re-

leased.

The proposed, new financial scheme could, only trench on the Territorfei Revenue qf^the Provinces 6f the Middle Island, in the event of their Consolidated Revenue not coming up to their interest and sinking fund, &c. which was aa intprobability. ■;-

By the first of the following resolutions he now proposed-that the Government would stand or f aIL In the others they would accept amendments of details^ viz:—•

-■;-,!. With a view to simplify resolutions between theCplonial and Provincial Governments, &c., the.present systems are to: be abolished,- and [the consolidated fund to be at the disposal of the Assembly^ charged , with loan interest, [expenses o£ the Colonial Government, Harbors, &ql

2. That L 90,000 be paid UTelson, and L 15,000 Wellington, and Southland have L 12,000 deducted annually from its ter-

ritorial revenue,

• 3. Capitation Grant to be appropriated annuallyior Police and Gaols.

4. That leave be given to bring in & Bill as above, commencing on Ist January,. 1869.; .;.:-..;. v ,;-..■,.. ~,..-" '•" - ■

The financial discussion has been fixed for Tuesday. :

The met to-day, and appointed a committee to examine and report on the Budget.

Many of .the country party are irate a£ their views having been wholly ignorei

by the Government.

There -was;;a good attendance at %k& ISTew Zealand Instituter last,night. Ifc Hector lectured on the earthquake waves* after which, Sir George Bo wen read aa address from the Governors of the Institute, Sir George Grey replying very appropriately.

. : Blteff, September 2n& The Tararua left Melbourne on the 28th ultimo, at 3 p.m.

She encountered heavy southerly gales all the way, being compelled to heave>t» twice, and arrived at the Bluff at 3 p.m* to-day.

Passenger List: Saloon—Mr and Mra Heatly and two children, Messrs Matshall, Blyth, and Holland; and 22 in. the* steerage, besides 25 Chinese, and 38 passengers for other ports.

She brings one hundred and seventy-

two tons of cargo.