THE Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 8.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2446, 8 December 1869, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 8.

Although called for special purposes only, and spoken of as likely" to beia short one, the session of the Proyijiclal Council is to be opened to-day will probably be one of the most important that have been held for some years pasfc. On questipris of "' the - highest moment to the province, honourable members will be called upon to play the part of arbiters between the Superintendent and his Executive. In this respect the session will be a peculiar one, and in its general circumstances no previous event in our political history presents any analogy to it. Time' was, when the members of Council; came up to the session prepai-ed to hold * a drum head court martial' upon j the Superintendent of the day. Not many years later, summary judgment was passed in a similar fashion upon ) an Executive which did not please, i In those cases, however, the Council! took action of its own proper motion j and in the course it took on each occasion its members were all but unanimous, and had the support of the country. No simple task of the kind now lies before the Council. Tho Superintendent arraigns the Executive before it as before a final Court of Appeal, but his unmanageable adviser^ will no doubt be found, both able and willing to do battle for themselves^. Their:defence must necessarily take the form of a counter-indictment. If their following in the Council prove as strong; as there seems reason to suppose it will be, the conflict will no longer.be between His Honour and his advisers, but between the: Legislature and the Chief Magistrate of the province. The prospect of such a complication is not a pleasing one, rholding in view the unsatisfactory condition of things which has followed such differences in other provinces of the colony. The public ! questions involved are, however, of too great importance to permit any honest man to indulge the wish that such a conflict, if it cannot be otherwise avoided, should be shrunk from through any fear of possible consequences. All that we can pray for is, that discretion may be found stronger than with those in whose hands the defence of the best interests of the province may be'found to rest. The fact that two entirely distinct isbues between His Honour and the Executive "will have to be tried, will probably tend to confuse parties in the Council as well as to divide them. It is generally understood that those members of the Executive who are-most at issue with the Superintendent on the Hundreds question, lean somewhat to his views in regard to the scheme for handing over the construction of the Clutha Railway to a party of local speculators. It is to be hoped that each question will be dealt with upon its merits—that honourable members will not permit those personal feelings which in our little legislative arena usually take the place of a true party spirit, to wai*p their judgment, or influence their i votes, on matters of so much importance to the province. We anticipate with confidence an unhesitating if not an unanimous verdict of the Council against the Superintendent's railway scheme. It will be very much to be regretted, if this matter should be mixed up with questions arising out of the administration of the Hundreds Regulation Act. The exact nature of the differences between HisHonour and the Executive, as to the action to be taken by the Provincial Government in regard to new Hundreds, has not transpired. The Executive had determined to postpone the matter till the next ordinary meeting of the Council, but their reasons for proposing such a course are not before us. It is very possible that, when, the whole circumstances of the ■dispute are made public, opinion may side with His Honour. But, whatever may be the position of this 'part' of the dispute, we must repeat our protest against any mixing up of the two. questions.l In regard to the Railway projects, • the Superintendent is so clearly in the wrong that it is not easy to account for his action in the matter, in the face of all that has been said upon the subject. His refusal to sit down content with the determination to wEiebJ his own advisers had come—-his appeal to that public opinion which has already pronounced so emphatically against Mm— are equally incomprehensible. It is still more difficult to account for the j fact that one who has so often strained every art to gain a little popularity should act in defiance of public opinion throughout the province. 'The saying is trite but still true— Quern Dem wait perdere, prius dementat. There is another question which comes before the Council .indirectly on the present occasion, which has probably occupied the minds of honourable members more than any other during the past fortnight. It is generally understood that at least a reconstruction of the Executive must take place during the session. Possibly enough a new Government may have to be formed. Our representatives in the Provincial Oouncil have always shown us that they take a very deep interest in questions of this nature. Who are to be the new men to whose lot * place, power, and pay' shall fall 1 The question will no doubt be discussed among honourable members from a point of view peculiar to themselves. The people—whose votes have made the Council what it is—-will think more gravely of the matter. The difficulty of obtaining the right men for the right places has become so great that a change of Ministry is suggestive of very grave reflections. The coalition of last session was a happy one, and it is with some regret that we look forward to the probability ot its being broken up/ The special session of the Provincial , Council will be opened to-day at noon.

We understand that the Provincial Government have accepted a tender from Mr Proudfoot, the contractor, for the construction of the Port Chalmers Railway/for the sum of L7Q.060. This sum is to include permanent way, rolling stock, and stations. ." The contract hasiiot yet b§en signed,rbut;we understand that^all''the arrangements have been verbally made. A vacancy will shortly occur in the Provincial Executive;, as we believe it is the | intention of the Treasurer to .visit Europe by the next mail steamer. i ■ . ; During the month of November, 176 psrV sons were arrested :by the police in the province. Of these 150 were convicted and variously dealt with; 6 were sent to the Lunatic Asylum; 1 man, for assault, was bound over to keep the peace for 12 months ; 3 boys and 2 girls were sent to the Industrial School for four years ; 2 men were committed for trial; 1 man was remanded to Ashburton, Canterbury, and 1 is oh remand; and 10 were discharged. Of the 150 convictions, 112 were for drunkenness, not including habitual drunkenness, and other minor offences. In a paragraph which appeared in our issue of yesterday, regarding a'letter addressed by the Muyor to: Mr J. W. Hutchison, it was stated that "the step taken by the Mayor was ' opposed' by Borne, but condemned by a majority of the Councillors." By a typographical error the word "opposed" was substituted for the word " approved." We 'have much pleasure in stating that Warders Thomas Maenamara, James -V?at- | son, and Samue! Duncan, of the Gaol, have been promoted to the rank of Sergeants, as a I reward for their long and efficient services in that department. An examination of tha mathematical class of the Middle District School for the special prizes given by Mr George Turnbull, M.P.C., and Mr Stuart Hawthorne, Rector of the ! Highl School, was conducted yesterday by iMr John Hay. At the close of the examina:tibn that gentleman gave a certificate to the effect thathe had awarded the prizes with some difficulty as follows :—lst, Robert Wallace; 2nd, James M'lntosh ; 3rd, John Chapman. Mr Hay added—"! may be permitted to add that after the first it was not easy to place the others, and that were a fourth prize to be awarded, it would be difficult to name the boy most entitled to it." The prizes consist of a writing-desk, an edition of Shabspeare, and an album. An accident, by which a miner named I Ovpen Galvin very nearly lost his life, occurred on Monday morning »t Naaeby. It appears, that Galvin went to work in his claim as usual, and whilst he was cutting away some earth, a mass of it, weighing about a ton, fell upon him. His collar bone was broken, and he was severely crushed. On being extricated he was taken to Hogan's Hotel, where medical aid was quickly in attendance. The following prisoners were received into the Gaol yesterday :—George Hagerty, of 1 Hindon, committed for trial at the next criminal sittings of : the Supreme Court, charged with attempting to commit a rape upon his daughter, Mary Ann Hagerty, a i girl of .about 13 years of age ; also, with I attempting to commit suicide by drowning himself in the Taieri River. Andrew Lilburn,* veterinary surgeon, sentenced to one month's imprisonment, with hard labour, for violently assaulting John Donaldson at Tokomairiro, on the 3rd-inst, by Btriking him on the head with a loaded whip. Frederick Middleton, seaman on board the barque Laughing Water, sentenced to six weeVs' imprisonment, with hard labour, for desertion. The adjourned gener>l« meeting of the Agricultural and- Pastoral Society of Otago ivas held yesterday at the Athenaeum. Mr H. Driver presided; and there were also present Messrs J. Douglas, J. Stephenaon, Rosbotham, W. D. Morison, Walcott, and H. J. M'Lean, Dunedin; Grant, Nimmo, and Stevenson, West Taieri; Gow, and A. and W. A. Todd, East Taieri j and J. L. Gillies, Tokomairiro;, During a discussion which took place, Mr Gillies expressed an opinion that the non-success of the Society was mainly owing to the manner in which its shows had been managqd. Many exhibitors, he believed, were dissatisfied with the wvyin which they had hitherto been conducted. At the last meeting judges had to be appointed on the ground, at the eleventh hour, and those who knew the merits of their owa stock did not care about being treated in such k manner. The success of the country district shows was entirely owing to judicious management ; they selected as judgeß practical and not theoretical men. He was indifferent whether his prizes were paid over or not, but it waa ye y galling to prize-takers nob to receive what fa d been awarded to them. The following motion, of which notice waa given by Mr Murison on the 26th November, waa proposed and carried .-—"That the affairs of the Agricultural and Pastoral Society of Otago should be wound up; that the plant, &c., belonging to the Society should be disposed of, and the amount realized, together wit v such balance as there may be in the Treasurer's handg after defraying a'l money claims upon the Society, should be distributed amongst the prize takers at the shows held in January, 1868, and 18G9, inp oportion to the value of the unpaid prizes."

The secoad quarterly meeting of the Otago Licensed Vietualers' Association waa held last evening at Williamson's Prince Alfred Hotel, Princes street. The President was in the chair, and there waa a numerous attendance of menders. The repo;tofthe Committee was read as follows:—"In presenting their quarterly report, your Committee would state that, in accoidance with resolutions passed at last; general meeting, circular letters were sent to the principal licensed victuallers in country districts and towns to request their co-oper-ation, and that they would use their influence wifch the licensed victuallers in their district in inducing them to become members and further the objects of the Association. A deputation also waited on His Honour the Superintendent as to revenue officers being appointed, when His Honour promised to do all he could to see the same carried out. . Financially, the Asaociation is ia a good condition. A draft of an Ordinance to amend the Licensing Ordinance will be submitted for your approval previous to its being presented to the Government for submission to the Provincial Council. In conclusion, your Committee hope that the number of members of the Association will be greatly augmented, and that the affairs of the Association will still continue to prosper. Your Committee are also glad to notice the exertions made by Constable Hanlon in obtaining a conviction for sly grog selling," Considerable discussion

ensued, and the Report was ultimately adopted. Fourteen new members were balloted for and duly elected. A draft Bill to amend the Licensing Ordinance was submitted and referred to a Committee for consideration, with power to act, and to present ;the same to His Honour the Superintendent for submission to the Provincial Council. The meeting wa§ then terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman.

The following items of mining intelligence are furnished by the Dunstan Times:— Several shares in the Bendigo Gully have changed hands lately. The prices realised have, as a rule, been satisfactory, but did not reach the enormous sums expected for them by some of the very sanguine shareholders.—The reports from Blacks, Drybread, Devonshire, Tinkers, Welshmans, Dunstan Creek, and in fact the whole of that large district, are of a favourable nature.— Some four or five years ago a party of miners working on the Serpentine discovered a quartz reef. At that time reefing was considered valueless in this province, and, after sinking a shaft, the party abandoned it. The recbrit discoveries, however, have induced others to test the value of the discovery. Mr Hastie and party proceeded vrith the work, arid their enterprise has been rewarded by the discovery of a payable reef. We have been shown some sixty or eighty pounds weight of stone taken from the claim, in which gold was generally diffused throughout. Claims have been taken up on each side, and shou d they prove successful there is no doubt that many more will try their fortunes in that locality. It is understood that a trial crushing of stone from Hastie's claitn will shortly be made, when we shall be in a position to give a more positive opinion as to the value of the reef. In the meantime it would be well to wait until something more definite is known ere any great number of miners proceed there. —Quartz-mining is rapidly progressing in Butcher's Golly. Six claims arenowat work nightandday, viz. , those known as M'Donnell's, Jones's, Stanbrooks's, Paget's, Halliday's, and Evans's. Fourof these parties have applied for tenders for sinking shafts to a depth of from sixty to eighty feet.—At Conroy's, Iversen and party are at work night and day. The shaft is nowdown something over sixty feet, and the stone making. The same party have nearly completed their tail race, cut for the greater part through solid rock. We have received a copy of a book entitled "The education of girls ; and' the employment of women of the upper classes educationally considered : two lectures by W B Hodgson, LL.D." The Royal Horticultural Soaiety's first flower show this season will be held on the 17oh inst. in the Post Offioo Hall. The attention of intending competitors is directed to the rules of Committee published in our advertising columns. Members of the Dunedin Private Musical Society are requested to attend practice in the new Post Office Hall, this evening at 730. We observe from an - advertisement that the Directors of the Caledonian Society offer for competition among the pupils of the schools in Otago, three prizes of the value of L 5, L 3, and Li respectively. Further particulars may be ascertained on application to the secretary, Mr W. S. Douglas. We are requested to remind our readers of the entertainment to be given by the boys of the High School, assisted by the Dunedin Private Musical Society, on Friday evening, io. the Post Office Hall. Tickets may be obtained of Messrs Begg, West, Wise, Eeith and Wicolson, Livingston, and Murray.