THIS Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2559, 20 April 1870, Page 2

THIS Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20.

Signs are not wanting that the time of the Provincial Council during its approaching session will again be largely taken up with discussion of the Hundreds Regulation Act. The rabid opponents of that measure were very decidedly defeated during the late special session, and were, for some little time afterwards, very quiet about it. Certain recent elections seem to have raised their hopes again. In the Assembly if not in the Council they are now stronger by one vote than'they were last year. On the strength of this they immediately begin to talk of having the Hundreds Regulation Act repealed. The fact that the present Executive has committed itself to a series of resolutions that .differ in but a veiy trifling- degree from the Act itself, is a difficulty in their way which they deplore, but it is no longer a source of despair to them. A newspaper which supports their cause lately called upon the Provincial Secretary to cut the knot of that difficulty boldly. The resolutions were 'a compromise/ agreed to under compulsion—the compulsion no longer exists. Mr Mitchell has come to the rescue; his eloquence and his vote are at the service of the lately defeated party. So Mr Reid is beseeched to throw off all disguise, and to strike out for a repeal of the Act. We did not suppose that such advice would carry much weight with Mr Reid. When, however, we find his old lieutenant Mr Thomson echoing this sentiment while publicly addressing his constituents, we are constrained to ask ourselves whether these repeated utterances may not have a system about them. That they are intended to lead up toa new fight over the Hundreds Regulation Act, it is impossible to doubt. The subject is one upon which some members of Council will not cease to declaim as long as breath is vouchsafed to them. As long as they can find an audience, their grievance is ever open, be it in chimney corner, taproom, or Council Hall. All this we take for granted, and are prepared to submit to. But an organised attempt to overthrow the decision come to at that special session which the opponents of the. Act themselves invoked, is certainly more than we expected. If anything of the sort exists, it is natural to suppose that it must owe its inspiration to the leaders of the party. When a man of MiThomson's position in that party openly avows his hope < that the Government will be prepared to suggest some scheme' for wriggling out ofthe position which it voluntarily took up only four months ago, it is impossible not to suspect that he has been a little behind the scenes, and knows perfectly ■well what the Government is really ' prepared to suggest.' The prospect of another month's discussion, with no flavour or point about it but its bitterness, on the wrongs of the settler and the wrong-doings of the runholder, is depressing. There is quite enough of class feeling and of class antagonism in any community, without its being fostered by periodical repetitions of such debates as fill the pages of that notable volume, the Otago Hansard. We can conceive no more fitting punishment for the man who deliberately addresses himself to the task of thus fostering all that is worst in the temper of his fellow-citizens than the oldfashioned one of being made to eat his own words. We have no doubt that such agitators as Mr Brown and Mr Thomson will a few years hence have to eat the words which at the piesenttime they delight to mouth over. That the Hundreds Regulation Act will presently be brought into operation, no sane man can doubt. That it will be speedily found tp be the very instru-; ment that was wanted to open the available lands of the province for agricultural settlement, every one can see who has not been blinded by an unreasoning party spirit. Once in operation and honestly worked, it will give satisfaction to all classes except the professional landagitator, who believes that the squatter should be harassed out of the country. And if there is any honesty about those who do not hesitate to advise Mr Reid and his colleagues to ignore all that was said and done during the late session, we feel no doubt that we shall some day hear them retracting the bitter words of to-day, and acknowledging that this measure is a wise and well-considered arbitration between, all parties concerned. Though we have no doubts on this subject, we certainly look forward with displeasure ancl alarm to the prospect which Mr Thomson holds out to us when he hopes that the Government will find a way to ' cancel the amendments and recommend the repeal of the Act itself.' The bitterness which such a strife as this must engender, is not an ephemeral thing. The words which excite it, the whole debate and its subject, may pass into oblivion; but the passions aroused, the enmity excited, the jealousies brought into play, too often last for the lifetime of a generation. The question which has engendered such an evil spirit may be settled or forgotten, but the spirit itself remains, and is always working for mischief. Those who by their words and actions awaken and

foster such enmities, do not know the responsibilities they incur, or to what, under a, new set of circumstances, the spirit they have evoked may lead. Tho present Government of the provinco has maintained thus far a not dishonourable career, and done tho State some service. We sincerely hope that it is not" about to mar a fair reputation by any such course as that which is now foreshadowed.

The nomination of candidates for tho representation of tho Caversham district in tho House of Representatives took place yostorday. A good deal of interest was manifested in tho proceedings, which occupied an unusually long time, nearly threo hours being consumed in speech making. Messrs Graham, Robertson, M'lndoe, and Cutteu were nominated, and each of them addressed tho electors assomblod. A show of hands wag then taken, and proved to bo largely iv favour of Mr M'lndoe. A poll waa demanded by Mr Graham, and will be taken on Monday.

; The quarterly entrance examination for pupils wishing to join the High School was held in-tho Sohool HaU, at 10 o'clock yesterday morning. Seven boys from various town schools presented themselves for examination in tho subjects recommended by tho High School Commission, and adopted some time Binco by the Education Board as tho test for admission. Two only out of the seven succeeded iv passing to the satisfaction of the examiners, two having failed more or less in all subjects, and three chiefly in arithmetic. Tho enforcement of this regulation, though in the meantime it may have the effect of preventing a rapid iuorease of numbers, must, eventually, be productive of great good to the Institution as well as to provincial schools generally, by gradually raising the standard of education, and inaking the High School—what its original promoters wisely intended it to be— a placo for imparting the higher branches of learning to the children t.f all classes of the community. We understand that a similar examination will be held on the Saturday previous to the beginning of each 'quarter, or oftener, if occasion should require. The second quarter commences this morning, the pupils assembling in what may now bo called the new building.

The fifth annual meeting of the Dunedin Congregational Church .Town Mission was held in the hall under the church, last evening. A large number sit down to tea, on the conclusion of which the chair was taken by the Rev. David Johnstone, pastor of the church. The annual report and financial statement were read by Mr J. B. Thomson, and on the motion of Mr Jago, seconde i by Mr Bathgate, were unanimously adopted. The financial statement showed that the sum of Ll6O Is Id had been received since the last yearly meeting. Of this sum Ll7 10s 7d remained after all disbursements had been made. Mr M'Fee detailed his labours to the meeting, whioh was subsequently addressed by several other gentlemen. The remainder of the evening was spent in devotional exercises.

We understand from the Chief Postmaster that the reason that mails for India, &c, were despatched by the Tararua yesterday was in order to give them a chanoe of reaching Melbourne in time to catch the P. andO. Company's steamer. As mails for the United Kingdom will be despatched via San Francisco in a few days, it was not thought advisable to despatch any by the Suez route, on account of the probability of their being detained in Melbourne for a month.

The Harbour Steam Company's little steamer Result made & short trial trip yesterday afternoon as far as Macandrew's Bay and back. Mr W. R. Douglas, Government Inspector, Messrs Hill, Fulton, Copeland, Warren, Dansey, Cuddy, Lanseigne, Sly, and several other gentlemen were on board, and Captain Dickie was in charge. The Result, which was formerly the Enterprise, has been very much improved since she came into the hands of her present owners, and is now equal in speed to the other steamers running in the harbour. She will take the place of the Peninsula, which will now be laid up for six weeks for a thorough overhaul j and we believe it is also proposed to lengthen that favourite boat by some fifteen feet.

"Audi Alteram Partem" writes :—"Sir I am sure all those who take, any interest in the Government of this colony must hive been gratified at the intimation, conveyed through your columns, that Mr Fox was likely to address the Dunedin citizens on "Politics," and, I hope, on "Temperance." Might I suggest that Mr Stafford, who is at present a sojourner in the neighbouring province of Canterbury, should also be respectfully requested to give us more light on colonial topics. Personal contact with this Nelson bogie would, I telieve, show us that our fellow colonist, who has so often occupied an honourable position in the Government of his adopted country, is not quite so black as some limners would paint him. The meeting would also be of great benefit to Mr Stafford himself, and he wou'd be able to form some proper idea of our progress since 1865, when he last visited us."

The members of the Mutual Improvement Society met at the Athenaeum yesterday •evening. The chair was taken by Mr Charles Smith, who delivered the inaugural address. In the course of this address, Mr Smith said thatthe name chosenby the Society wasa good one, and yet it was in some respects unfortunate, as previous societies bearing the same name had, from various causes, failed. He looked upon this, however, as an additional reason for the members to stimulate themselves to fresh efforts, and so remove from the public mind any unfavourable impressions that might have arisen. The object of the Society was to unite them together for the advancement of useful knowledge. Their object was a worthy one, and they had a wide field before them. A great deal might be done by combined effort on the part of the members, each of whom, he thought, should consider it Mb duty to exchange his ideas and sentiments with his fellow-members. By doing so, their methods of thinking and their reasoning powers could not fail to be improved, and they would acquire better modes of giving expression to their thoughts. Careful reading on the part oi the members would, if well cultivated, be productive of the most beneficial results to the society. He hoped to see the proceedings conducted in a proper and decorous manner, and that the victorious would not I chuokle over the defeated, aa such a practice caused annoyance and ill-will. The intention of the society was "to make the man a better mechanic, the mechanic a better man." After some further business had

beon transacted, the meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the Chairman. Referring to ; our remarks on a recent oc casion on tho increaso iv tho amount of gold sent down from Queenstown during the first three months of the present year, as compared with the corresponding por'.od of 1869, the Wakatip Mail says:—"The Daily Times is wrong in attributing this to a few very rich claims ; it is duo to a general stato of progress ancl prosperity." What we said was, that tho very largo increase shown by Queenstown went "far to confirm tho statements rooently published regarding tho almost fabulous we«lth of some of tho claims inthe Lako district." On referring to Mr Warden Beotham'a report for the month of February, we find tho followmg passage :— " At Skipper's Poiut, the claims of N.I. ffinney and party, and Aspinall and party, aro proving to bo of almost fabulous riohuess, the yield being about LISOO per month por man " Wo are not awaro of how many mon each of these parties is composed, but taking it at three, we find that the total valuo of tho god yielded by these claims during tho month of February alone was L9OOO. The average prico per ounce of gold in tho district is Btatod by Mr Beetham in tho leport wo published yesterday to bo L 3 17s 6d j consequently tho number of ounces yielded by these two claims during one month only was 2322, or mo*re than half the total yield of the district during the quarter. Even, therefore, if the yield of theso claims has beon over-estimated, as we ourselves think, there still remains a margin amply sufficient to justify our remarks.

Intelligence to hand from fche Nevis during tho week, says the Cromwell Guardian, is as follows:—Tho find of one ounce of gold to the dish is confirmed, with the explanation that it wa3 simply a patch, and that patches of a similar kind are not uncommon. The shaft is down about 50 feet, and although the richest part of the ground is but patchy, the prospect of' getting on to ah ad is satisfactory. They aro at work on a false bottom of stiff clay. O'Hare and party havo been at work in the vicinity for the last nine months. They have completed a tail-race three-quarters of a mile in length, and after sinking three shafts w.«re compelled to knock off in consequence of the accumulation of water. With the view of draining tho ground they are putting in a tunnel, and at the time our despatch left they were in expectation of striking gold every minute. They had got in about one thousand feet, and at various places had to cut. through the rock for distances of seven or eight feet. The European population was on the increase, lut that of the Chinese diminishing.

A Tokomairiro contemporary states that the lamp at the Nuggets lighthouse is now set up and in thorough working order. It has not yet, however, been lighted after dark, as a proclamation requires to be made in the Gazette before this can be done.

On Monday evening, Miss Dolly Green, assisted by Mons. Fleury on the violin, and Mr Millburn on the harmonium, gave her Monologue Entertainment at the Masonic Hall, Port Chalmers. Owing to the short notice given, and counter attractions elsewhere, the audience wag rather less than might otherwise have been expected. Thoso present, however, were much pleased, and enjoyed & hearty laugh at the different characters pouvtrayed. Where all were good it is difficult to select, but the Irish servant girl, the Scotch lassie, and Jane Dowdie, the novel reading girl, were particularly well rendered. The conclusion of the Seven Ages, by grandmother, was very feelingly given, there being a marked absence of the levity, &c, with whioh this respected aged lady is too often represented. Mons. Fleury's playing of several pieces was also much admired. The entertainment was repeated last evening to a much larger and equally appreciative audience.

The entertainment of the Lancashire Bellringers, together with the singing of Miss Liddle and Mr Hilton, attracted a very large audience to the Masonic Hall last evening. The front seats were well filled, and the baok part of the hall was crowded. The audience was a very enthusiastic one, and the various performers were repeatedly encored. Tonight a farewell complimentary benefit will be given to Mr H. Eastwood, and an attractive programme is announced for the occasion. The Christy Minstrels drew a good house at the Princess Theatre last night, and the applause with which their efforts were greeted was well deserved. We are sorry to say, however, that the Anvil Chorus, which should have been the feature of the entertainment, was spoiled by negligence in arranging the properties, but this will no doubt be remedied at once. Messrs Rainford and Braham received a well earned recognition of their several songs, and Mr Bent was as funny as could be wished in the farce. We are glad to see that the dress circle is kept select, and we have no doubt that the management will be rewarded for their enterprise.

We observe that it is intended to give a complimentary ball to the Volunteer Representatives of the various provinces on the 29th inst. The names of the gentlemen of whom tickets may be had will be found in our advertising columns. Mr M'Dermid will meet his his constituents at the school-house, Sawyers' Bay, this evening, at 7 o'clock. We notice that a "long felt want" has been supplied by Mr Macdonald, of the Old Club Stables, Maclaggan street. He has placed several pair horse carriages on a stand in Water street, where they will be available for hire, by time, from 9 a.m. to Bp.m., at moderate rates. The monthly meeting of the Lodge of Otago, E.G., will be held this evening, at 7.30. S