THE Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, TUESDAY, SEPT. 6.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2678, 6 September 1870, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, TUESDAY, SEPT. 6.

Among the many unsuccessful projects which mark the history of Provincial Governments, that of the Nelson and Cobden railway is not the least ambitious. For some years past ifc has occupied a good deal of public attention. At one time, we have been told that English capitalists had taken up the scheme, that the money was ready and the labourers about to start; at another, that English capitalists had raised objections, that the money market was tight, that in fact the scheme had collapsed. Every mail almost has brought out some additional particulars about the progress of the negotiations, which in due time have made their appearance in the newspapers. By this means, the affair has maintained some sort of interest for the public up to the present time. The public in other provinces, equally concerned in railway projects of their own, have not neglected to note the course of events as regards the Nelson and Cobden project. The views of English capitalists in reference to that project cannot fail to be of some interest in Otago,for instance. It is not long since our own Government endeavoured to float a railway project in the English market; bufc the failure of the endeavour has certainly not lessened our interest in other speculations of the same kind. In contrasting the unfortunate negotiations for the Clutha line with those of the Nelson Government, it appears singular that the former should have met with so much less attention than the latter. The Clutha project, one would suppose, would have presented decidedly greater attractions than that of the Nelson and Cobden line. The terms offered by our Government were better, while the line itself promised to be greatly more remunerative. A guarantee of eight per cent is a more promising security than that of a grant of land not available for agricultural settlement; while a line of rail running through one of the most fertile districts in New Zealand is a more promising speculation than one running through rugged and unoccupied terri-

tory. The facfc rem-iins, however, that fche negotiations of the Otago Government were snuffed out at a very early stage of their history, while those ofthe Nelson Government have at least been seriously entertained. Colonel Maude and Sir Charles Fox have * turned the matter over' for some time, and many ofcher men of influence have taken part in the negotiations, Latterly, the General Government, has stepped in to assist the scheme. The Commissioners were instructed to make enquiries with a view to removing difliculties, probably in anticipation of the great railway policy of the present session. J3oine Parliamentary Papers on this subject, recently published, contain a good deal of information of: especial value at this time. Among the authorities who were consulted in tho matter was Sir Charles Fox, a very well-known engineer of considerable standing in London. In a letter addressed to Mr FrrzarßßON, the engineer of the Queensland railway, by whom the Nelson proposals wore subto him on behalf of tho Provincial Go- I vernment, Sir Charles Fox entered into some explanations with respect to the various methods of raising capital for the construction of railways. As the result of his 'extensive experience in Europe, America, the Cape of Good Hope, India, and Australia,' he pronounces strongly in favour ofa Government guarantee to a Company: He considers it in every respect better than grants of land, mileage subsidies from the Government, or the issuing of bonds and the construction of the railway by Government. His opinion on this point undoubtedly deserves attention. The General Government, when it brought forward its vast proposals for the construction of railways, had not apparently arrived at any definite conclusions with respect to the best method of securing their construction. It proposed to borrow several millions of money forthe purpose of taking their construction into its own hands, although at the same time it proposed to adopt the system of guaranteeing interest to Companies, and also that of paying in grants of land. Now this is a matter which deserved more attention from the House than it met with. If railways cai be constructed satisfactorily on the principle of guaranteed interest, there is no reason why the country should be overloaded with debt for the purpose of constructing its own railways—a work for which it has no qualifications of any kind. The experience of other communities should be referred fco. On the one hand, we have the experience of Australia, where railways have been built by the Government, by means of borrowed capital; on the other, we have that of India, where the railways have been built by public Companies under contract with the Government. The Australian railways are notorious for their extravagant cost and comparatively poor returns; the Indian lines have neither involved a public debt nor failed to realise anticipations. The General Government, it is true, have fixed upon LSOOO a mile as the estimated cost of the projected lines ; but there is no certainty that, if they should undertake the construction, the expenditure will be kept down within such a limit as that. There is every reason to fear that the expenditure will greatly exceed it—that, in fact, any precise limit whatever is out of the question. Alluding to the disadvantages under which the Government must labour when it undertakes to construe!} its railways, Sir Charles Fox remarks :— < Political influence and political changes often most materially impede the proper carrying out of the works; and very, frequently the details, both of construction and management, instead of being decided on their merits, become party questions. Ifc has also been found practically impossible for a Government to restrain the expenditure, or to exercise proper control, too much power being necessarily vested in the officers entrusted with the execution ofthe works, whose desire is naturally to protect themselves against any possible blame, and who are thus apt to err on the side of costly construction.' The influence which political considerations are destined to exert over the construction of railways in New Zealand is an element which must not be lost sight of in our calculations. Ifc is to be hoped that the railways will not be made subservient to such considerations. The advantages of the Indian, or guaranteed interest system, are also pointed out by Sir Charles : ' There is a double responsibility: on the part of the Government, to see that the works are thoroughly substantial; on the part of the Company, to keep down the expenditure, in the hope of a dividend above 5 per cent. There being two entirely distinct interests represented at the Board, many objectionable proceedings, under other circumstances too common, are rendered impossible. In fact, the guarantee and supervision of the Government, combined with the commercial advantages of a Company and the special knowledge of practical men, enable an enterprise to be more satisfactorily and rapidly carried out than by any other mode that has been devised.' Before the Criminal Sittings of the Supreme Courfc opened yesterday, His Honour gavj judgment in the case of Regina v. Bagley. The rule was made absolute j the question of costs being reserved. A very considerable portion of the criminal business waß disposed of before the Courfc rose. David Storey was convicted of larceny at Switzers; Samuel Taylor of forgery and uttering at Oamaru ; and in the case of John Paterson, charged with burglary at Kyeburn, the jury returned a verdict for the milder offence of larceny. Frederick Lange, late rate collector at Lawrence, pleaded guilty to embezzling several smaU sums of money belonging to the municipality; and George Renide made a similar answer to the two indictments charging him with being concerned in the gold robbery at Clyde. In each case sentence was deferred. Malcolm M'Lennan pleaded not guilty to the charges

preferred against him, and his case will, we believe, come on today. There was nothing worthy of note in the Judge's AddreßS to the Grand Jury, which dealt solely with the technicalities of the various cases in the calendar. The cases containing the trout ova were opened by Mr Clifford at an early hour yesterday morning, and the ova were at once deposited in the hatching boxes. It is gratifying to learn that, upon examination, the eggs aU showed signs of vitality, the eyes of the fish being, clearly seen. The Acclimatisation Society may fairly be congratulated upon the successful result of their third importation of trout ova from Tasmania. The percentage of fish hatched out upon the previous occasions greatly exceeded that usually obtained in similar experiments by tho principal European fish breeding establishments—a circumstance which is due no doubt fco the unceasing attention whioh Mr Clifford has given to the ova during the hatching process. ...,.', Tho usual monthly meeting of the Dunodin Volunteer Fire Brigade was held at the Engine Station last evening, Captain Wain oooupying tho ohair. The minutes of the last meeting and practice were read and con. firmed. A lotter wais read and received from Mr Birch, explaining the nature of the Payment of Common Jurors Bill. Mr Thomas Hudson was elected a working member, and Mr A. Noalo Was proposed for eleotion at next mooting. A letter was read and received from tho Corporation respecting the repairs to tho Bell Tower. Captain Wain suggested that a practice should be held with the gear on the hill as soon as the repairs were completed, and hoped to see a good muster on the occasion. The Honorary Secretary" called attention to the fact that-the Brigade's usual anniversary occurred next month, and added that he , hoped to see ifc commemorated in the usual 1 manner. It was resolved that the Corporation should receive intimation of the same, and thatthe anniversary should be celebrated by a torchlight procession. A committee Was formed fco carry out the necessary arrangements, to-morrow week was named for practice, and the meeting then separated. We are requested to correct an impression which has obtained, that the entertainment to be given under the auspices of the North Dunedin Mutual Improvement Association on Friday next had been postponed. It will be seen from an advertisement in another column, that the entertainment wiU take place as originaUy arranged, and a good programme is premised for the occasion. A hoax was played yesterday by " some person or persons unknown," which had the effect of causing a number of people to pay a fruitless visit to Port Chalmers. A rumour was circulated to the effect that a Chinese junk had arrived with 200 Chinese and their wives, direct from the " flowery land," after a passage of upwards of 200 days. Notwithstanding the apocryphal appearance of the statement, on the face of it, a good many gullible individuals were induced, as we have already mentioned, to visit the Port to witness the promised spectacle. Wonder and speculation prevailed during the downward passage, but these, on the.return trip, gave pl*ce to mingled feelings of shame and wrath at having been taken in. Some surprise has been evinced in town at the shortness of the time in which the mile race was run at the North Recreation Ground on Saturday ; but it should not be forgotten that the winner did not run a mile, as he had 140 yards start. The race was for a cup valued at 10 guineas, which was easily won by Fairlie, Pollock being secord. The next event was a Hurdle Race of 200 yards, over four hurdles, for 2 guineas. For this race there were three entries : Shell, 1 ; Pollock, 2; and Vaughe, 3. Shell took the lead at the jump, and maintained it to the finish. On taking the third hurdle he struck the top bar and knocked it over, but picked himself up very cleverly, and cleared the fourth in good style, coming in a winner by about four yards. Time, Zl^eo. The boys' race followed, for which jLI was subscribed, the money being.apportioned as follows :—lst. 10a, 2nd ss, Srd 3s, 4th 2s. There were about 20 entries for this race, and it was won by, apparently, the youngest of the lot. The concluding event was a six mile race for 10 guineas, or a go 1 d medal of that value. For this race there were four entries, Howie 1, Austin 2, Shell and Pollock gave up. The race was a handicap one, each of the men except Austin getting 600 yards. A good start was effected, and the men went away at a fair pace. The time made by Austin was as foUows:—First mile, 7 mm. 49 sec, second 13 mm. 28 sec, third 20 mm. 24 sec, fourth 27 mm. 19 sec, fifth 34 mm. 8 sec, and 7 laps of the last mile in 39 mm. 48 sec, making the distance, six miles, less 200 yards, in 39 mm. 48 sec After the 29th lap Pollock ran off the ground, and was followed by SheU after the 38fch, the contest thus being left to Austin and Howie. The latter seemed determined to give the champion a tying up, andsucceededindoing sobycompleting his distance at the same time as Austin had finished his 47th lap, and had 200 yards more to run. In connection with this race it may be mentioned that, we believe, Austin has challenged the winner Howie to run the same distance, giving him 400 yards start; and that the course was certainly unfit for anything like good running on Saturday, as the back part of it was very heavy, and much in favour of the stronger man. It is officially notified that Mr E. ff. Ward ] has been appointed Paymaster for tho Supreme Court Services at Dunedin, under the Public Revenues Act, 1867. We are glad to observe from a notice in the New Zealand Gazette of the Ist inst. that an energetic and popular Volunteer j officer has received promotion. We refer to Lieutenant J. B. Robertson, of the Port Chalmers Naval Volunteers, who has been promoted to the rank of captain, vice Captain W. Thomson, resigned. Mr Robertson is a volunteer of many years' .standing, having originally joined the Sand ridge Naval j Brigade in 1860, and having been appointed Petty Officer in that corps after only ten months' service. After coming to Otago, he joined the Port Chalmers Naval Volunteers on the formation of the Company in 1854, was subsequently appointed Sub Lieutenant and Lieutenant, and has now, as we have already mentioned, received the appointment of Captain in the same corps, the commission dating from the 10th June last, He is succeeded in the lieutenancy by Sub-Lieutenant William Goldie, whose name as the winner of the champion belt during the last two years is weU known throughout the colony ; and he in turn is succeeded in the sub-lieu-tenancy by Mr W. A. Wilson, the commissions of both gentlemen dating from the 17th June last. We also notice, in the Bame issue of the Gazette, that Ensign John Locke, of

the Oamaru Rifle Volunteers, has been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, vice Lieutenant J. Borton, resigned, being succeeded as Ensign by Mr George Sumpter. Both commissions date from the 28th June last.

The following Ordinances, passed by the^ Provincial Council, have received the assent of His ExceUency the Governor :-r^Distriot Roads Compulsory Land Taking/Ordinance, 1870; Tokomairiro School/Iwsidence and Glebe Land Sale Ordinance, 1870 ; Lawrence Athenaeum and Mechanics' Institute Beserve Leasing Ordinance, 1870; Oamaru Race Course Reserve Management Ordinance, 1870.

The Auckland Society of Artists propose to hold an exhibition in February next of works of art of all kinds.

The Timaru Herald learns that an action has been brought at the instance of the Provincial Government of Canterbury, against sheep farmers in the southern portion of that province, for crossing sheep over the Waitaki without giving notice.

The exceUent entertainment given at the Masonic Hall last night by Mr and Mrs Hilton, aided by several gentlemen amateurs, was a very successful one, the hall being filled in every part Mrs Hilton was in very good voice, ahd sang a number of baUads in fine style. Her best effort was perhaps " The Wanderer," in which she succeeded in rendering the abrupt transitions from contralto to soprano with great effect. She also sang jin two duets—'A What are the Wild Waves Saying ?" with a gentleman amateur, and " The Sailor Sighs" with Mr H. Leslie, the latter being, we think, the gem of the evening. Master Solomon played a piano duett "La Gazza Ladra" with Mr Sykes, and a descriptive scena "Storm and Sea" very nicely. Mr Leslie sang ' • The Sexton,'' and "The ViUage Blacksmith," and was warmly applauded, and Mr Hilton was as successful as usual in Lis comic songs, "On the Beach at Brighton" in female costume, being particularly liked. After the concert, a ball took place, at which dancing waa kept up to an early hour.

We understand thafc the performance of the Amateur Coloured Opera Troupe at the Theatre on Friday next is not in aid of the funds of the Benevolent Institute, as stated in our issue of yesterday, but in aid of the funds of the Troupe. This Company of Minstrels has already performed gratuitously during the last two years in the Lunatic Asylum, and has also given two benefit Concerts to that Institution; and as considerable expense has been incurred, and is bang incurred, by individual members of the Company for the necessary dresses, properties, &c, they wish to form a fund to meet those expenses.

The quarterly licensing meeting will take place at the Resident Magistrate's Court at noon to-day.

The annual soiree in connection with the North East VaUey Presbyterian Church will be held in the North Dunedin DriU Shed, this evening at 6.30. The monthly meeting of the Lodge of Dunedin, No. 931, E.C, will be held this evening at 7 30. The 6th meeting of the Third New Zealand Building and Mutual Investment Society will ba held this eveninjg at 7 o'clock.

The annual meeting of the Citizens' Cricket Club will be held at Watson's Royal Hotel, Walker street, this evening at 8 o'clock.

We have received a little book entitled, "The Education of the People : Ten Letters addressed to His Honour T. B. GiUies, Esq., Superintendent of the Province of Auckland, New Zealand, with Notes and Appendices. Ry William Taylor, Head Master of St. Matthew's School, Auckland." Ifc appears to deal in a comprehensive manner with the subject of Education in New Zealand, and more especiaUy in Auckland, as it is, and as it ought to be. It is published by Mr E. Wayte, Auckland, and is neatly printed at the Southern Cross office.