THE Otago Daily Times. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1572.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3307, 11 September 1872, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1572.

In accordance with* a* promise conveyed through tlie Governor's speech at the commencement of tlie session, that measures to consolidate and amend the laws relating to elections would be submitted to the Assembly, Air Gisbohnt:, about threo weeks ago, moved-tho second reading of1 tlie ' Electoral Bill' in the House of Representatives. In addition to tliis measure, there are two 'othere bearing upon elections—the Provincial Electoral Bill find the Re.gulation of Elections Bill, which have been prepared, and which Mr Gisiiorne intended tp bring forward a.s soon as the Electoral Bill had been i read a second time. As explained by . the mover, the passing of these three "Bills would consolidate, wholly or in part, 18 of the Statutes on the subject of elections at present in forco in the Colony. The most important provision of the Electoral 33111 is a proposed extension of the franchise. By the Constitution Act there are various qualifications defined, on account of which persons aro enabled to vote for members of tlie Houso of Representatives. Every man of the age of twentyone years or upwards, haviug a freehold estate of the clear value of fifty pounds, or having a leasehold estate of the clear annual value of ten pounds, held; npon a lease which at the time of registration shall have not less than three years to run ; or being the occupant of a tenement within the limits of a town of the clear annual'; value of ten pounds, or without the limits of a town of the annual value of five pounds ; is entitled upon registration to vote. These qualifications' are retained in the Bill which has been introduced, but in addition certain new qualifications are provided.; It is proposed that every man of the age of twenty-one years or upwards, not subject to any legal incapacity, shall be? entitled, after registration, to vote: at the election of a member of the House of Representatives, if he receives a salary of not less than £100 a year,5 and has enjoyed the same for a period of six months previous to the formation of the roll, and who lias placed his name among the claims to vote, and has resided and served at some place during the said period, of .six months; or if he is the occupant of a room or lodging, and pays for his board and lodging not less than £40 a year, or for his lodging only at the rate of £10 a year, and has occupied tho same room or lodging for at least six months next before the last registration of electors; or if he is enrolled upon the citizens' or burgess ;roll of any city, borough, or town, or on the voters' or ratepayers' roll of any city, borough, town, highway district, or road district. Turning to those sections ofthe Bill which define the electoral qualification of the holder of a miner's right or business license, we regret to find that it is not proposed that the law as laid down in the Miners' Representation Act, ISG2, and the subsequent amendments to that Act, should be altered. As the law at present stands, a miner may vote under! a property qualification in the distiict for which he is re- ! gistered and in which he resides^ but by virtue of his miner's right, he may claim to vote at an election in another district. It is notorious that at the general election eighteen months , iigo, this privilege was largely abused within the Goldfields Electoral I Districts, numbers of miners who liad : previously recorded their votes in one district, having been brought into another district, and by their votes swamped those of a majority of tho resident electors. Mr Mkiivyn, we are glad to see", drew attention to the absence.of any provision to prevent miners voting out of their own districts, and we hope that while the Bill is in Committee a clause containing such a provision will be introduced. The other clauses of the Electoral Bill by which an alteration in the present law will be effected, are those wluch relate Ato Ithe! registration jof electors. It is proposed that any voter may object to the right of any other person to haveiiis name retained or placed.on the roll by giving to the*--Registration Officer a formal notice of pojc(ction.;.' jA. copy of this notice must be posted to the address of the person objected to, and adequateprovisicjn is made to secure that the notice is delivered." Every list of persons who claim to vote, and who are objected'to,? shall be posted in some public place, and the Registration Officer shall notify through the news-" papers that a* copy of the list lies at his oflice for. inspection. MvGisbokke intimated that when the Bill/was in Committee he , proposed, to- insert . a clause assimilating tlie ' practice :to that whicli prevails in Victoria,■'. by which notice can either be delivered to the person, or sent to him through the Post-office in a registered letter.. ; Mr GisBOKXE, in . concluding remarks with reference to the BUI/ anticipated that the proposed mdthod of dealing with objections to voters and claimants ito vote would save to the country i nearly the whole of the sum of £GOO | which is now spent on advertisements. 1 The Provincial. Electoral Bill consoli- ■ dates the whole law relating to the elections of Superintendents and members of the Provincial Councils. It provides that tlie same -franchiseshould regulate elections for Provincial Councils, as for fche House of Representatives, and it is intended that if alterations are at any time "made in the franchise for elections for the House, such alterations should affect to.,the same extent tiie franchise for the inferior Legislature. "We shall take another opportunity of referring' to. the provisions, of the Regulation of Elections Bill.

A bazaar, in aid of the Blueskin Church, will be opened-ia'Sfc George's Hall to-day. The ladiea who, for weeks past, have displayed so much industry and enthusiasm

in its preparation, have collected r» multitude of x>rctty things for disposal. Many, in fact, . arc of a highly meritorious, as well as novel, useful, aiiil pleasing.character, and.evince ah aatonishirtg amount of skill and ingenuity on the parfc of the fair confribntons. Miss Bell, Mr Towsey, and others, havokiiidly consented to give their gratuitous' assistance ; and ser, [likewise, haye the members of tlie Provincial Brass Band. An art anion of pictures wiU be, held before the bazaar closes, and those who visit the hall in tho afternoon will be presented wifch tickets, which will be available in the evening. If thi! patronage of the public should be equal to thcindcfafcigabilifcy of tlie promoters of the bazaar, who in their endeavour to gratify J;he wishes of even the ■ most fastidious have produced so many valuablo curiosities, wo .shall have the pleasure of chronicling its unqualified success. The bazaar will be open from 2.30 p.m. to G p.m., and will re-open at 7.30 p.m. A motion will be submitted by Mr Walter at a me-atingof the City Council this evening, which ought to be unanimously adopted. Ifc proposes tbat the ordinary meetings of the iCouncil should be held in the afternoon, in- ■ stead of in fche evening, as afc present. The adoption of the motion would meet the views I of several Councillors, effect a saving inthe expenditure of -gas, and lighten the labours of the officers, one afc least of whom is admittedly very much overworked. Ifc is said thafc the members who are opposed to the motion object to it mainly because attention to their pnblic dntie** in the afternoon would injuriously affect their private business. As, however, attendance at the meetings of the Council necessitates the sacrifice of little more than forty-eight hours iv twelvemonths objectors, if they accept as a counter-balance the arguments in favour of the motion, and the coveted honour of being Councillor, should object no longer. As, also, three of these gentlemen took a somewhat active part i in favour of the Early Closing Movement, they could consistently support, but woidd inconsistently oppose, the motion. In our issue of Monday we published a telegram from our Auckland correspondent ;' in which ifc was stated that some of fche navvies in the employment of Messrs Brogden ; had been brought up before the Police Court i charged with drunkenness, and thatthe men, , through their solicitor, had complained of .; the manner in which they were being treated ■ by Messrs Brogden. The agent of that firm J in Auckland, it appears, was telegraphed to by Mr Henderson, C.E., on the subject, and s the following reply, which .we willingly, publish, was received :—"There arc about fifty men at work. Other fifty to sixty are ( moving their boxes, &c.J on to Otahuhu, to houses they have taken there. There arc about twelve sick, and I think the whole ' will have turned itt to work during this week (excepting the sick). All unfavourable re- ' ports as yet are false." A meeting of the Preservation Inlet Coal Mining Company >vas held ycatcrday to conaider a report from the manager of the mine, ' who has arrived by lhe Flying Squirrel. ' The report was considered to be very favourable, both as to the quantity and quality of the coal. It was decided that a contract be entered into for raising from 200 tons to 500 tons for disposal in the, local market. A sample was burning in the fireplace grate of the office in which the meeting was held, and made a pleasant fire* with a bright blaze; and little smoke attd ash. At a meeting pf the Dunedin Mutual Improvement Society, held last evening, Mr Pirie read an essay fan "Money Making.'' Mr Low, Vice-Presidc-ni;, occupied tho chair The attendance *vvaS)Sm&ll. The following books have been received by the mail for Wise's Library :—" Satanella," by Whyte-Melviile ; " Lord Bantam," by the author of " Ginx's Baby"; "In a. Glass, darkly," ,by Le Fanu ; , "Mutineers of the Bounty," hy Lady Belcher ; " For the King,'' by the author of " For Lack of Gold;" "Fair to Sec," by L. Lockhart ;"■ Three Books.of , Song," by Longfellow ; "Cecil's Tryst," by_the author of "Lost Sir Massingberd"; "Kitty," by M. b! Edwards; "Patty,"by Macquoid; "Out of her Sphere," by the author of * " Just a Woman "; " Half-a-dozen Daughters,"by Masterman;''Friends -'• and Acquaintances," by the author of " OV- \ scure Life." . Messrs Sparrow and Co. have just turned out ten large bridge girders for the Clutha Railway. ..They arc each 33ffc. Gin. long, 37 inches in depth, weigh each about.2 tons 5 cwt, and, we are informed, have been spoken bf by* Mr Blair, C.E., as being superior to those imported. Mr : Henderson, Mr Brogden's engineer, has left Danedin for Christchurch. He will, we learn, probably visit Greymouth soon, in connection' with railway matters and mines. A contract has been entered into by the Provincial Government for the erection of a timber bridge over the, Owakeßiver, on fche road from Glenoamaru to Catlin's River. The aihount is £290, and' the successful tenderer is Mr William M'Phce, a resident at! Catlin's River. The bridge is to be 94 feet long, and will have a roadway 12 feet wide. It will be in four spans, two of the piers being upon sills secured to the bed rock, and three on piles driven down through the clay. Mr Walter Paterson, formerly of the High School, has been appointed to the District : School, Saddle Hill." * ' The usual meeting of the. Porfc. Cbaliner3 Town Council was in the Town Hall on Monday evening. 'The-Mayor, Mr H. Derich, presided,, and all the. .CouncUlors were present. Some correspondence was read. A' request by Messrs' Stumbles and Chick to cross the footpath, in George street, under the supervision of the Engineer, was granted. A balance of £10 due'to Mr Thomas for kerbing, was held.oviar till the Engineer should lie consulted. Tlie balance, amounting to £40, of the Engineer's account for preparing plans and specifications, for waterworks, wa3 ordered! *to stand ' over till next meeting. A few minor accounts were passed for payment. The Mayor complained of having re-, ceived no notice of the holding of a meeting. of vthe /.Finance . .Committee. Mr Murray Baid that if the Town Clerk had failed to'seiid the Mayor notice, ifc was ho fault of the Committee. A motion, that the gas account be not paid until an agreement was drawn up and signed, was carried. In answer to Mr M'Kinnon, the Mayor said he would attend any Committee, but would not be the convener .of the Water Committee or any other one, unless he was convener and chairman of the whole. On this a hofc^ discussion ensued; and * aii length, amidst acrimonious remarks, the Mayor adjourned the meeting. Two Chinamen have been lost in the snow on the Lammerlaw ranges. The body of one has been found. On the morning of the lOfch August, the men, whose respective names were Ah Qua and Sum Toi, leffc their huts near the Lammerlaw Creek for the pur-

meeting.

pose.of going to prospect some of the gullies 1 at the head of Fidlere, Lammerlaw range, 1 and did not return. The police did notreceive I

in formation of the men beiug missing till the 19th lilt. Search was made for them ou the following day, but without success. It was then ascertained thafc a miner had, on the lOfch ult. seen two Chinamen auswering to the description of the missing men going in tho 'direction of Fidkrs, aud that a snow storm came on, in which ho lost" sight of them. It was thought probable thafc they went; into the shelter rf some deep gnlly, and got covered with' snow and perished, the enow being from 50ffc. to 100 ft. deep in mosfc of tho gullies, and that the bodies would nofc be found till fche snow melted. Diligent search was kept up by fche police and Chi. nese, and ifc was not till the 3rd inst. that the body of Ah Qua was found. No trace of hh mate has yefc been obtained. An inquest was held on tiie body of Ah Qua, at Lawrence, on the Gth inst., aud the verdict given thereat was—" Thafc deceased, on or about the 10th ult., periiihed from exposure, exhaustion, and suffocation." Among ihe students of the Free Churdi who have taken the degree of B.D. in Glasgow, we notice one of our Otago young men, Mr Andrew M'Queen, M.A. The two firsfc 151'jcks of concrete for the Oamaru sea wall havo beeu successfully laid. They consist of mosses of 12 ft. by 12 ft. by G ft, containing each aboufc 70 tons weight of cement, enclosing blocks of hard volcanic rock. Tbey were made hi mtu, the boxes being removed after the mass has had a few daya to harden. Probably another tier will be laid in tliis way, and then the breakwater wiU l;e carried out with blocks of 20 tims weight, made on shore, and laid in a sloping position by. menus of a powerful moving crane, whicli, we understand, is in course of construction by Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and Co. - We understand that the Mr Rogers, upon whom an inquest was held afc Adam's Flat lately, was not a teacher certificated by the Otago Education Board, but simply held a temporary appointment under the local School Committee. Coal has been found on the property of Mr William Dunn, Lliversdale, Tokomairiro, within two miles of the township of Milton. There is a stripping of .seven feet, and the seam is nineteen feet thick. The quality of the coal has not yefc been definitely ascertained, b?fc the indications are mosfc hopeful, and lead experienced parties who have examined it to believe that it at least equals that wliich is now being procured from JCaitangata. Indeed, it is believed to be a continuation of the same scam..* Mr Dunn is now having a pit opened out, and within., a few days it is hoped Tokomairiro will be supplied with a superior coal, and at a price considerably lower than hifchet to, At the inquest on Ah Kern, the Chinese miner who was killed by his claim falling in on him at Naseby, the finding of the jury was, " Accidental Death, caused by a quantity of earth falling on him." Mr -Tames Elder Brown, LP., ex-Mayor of Milton, has been elected Clerk to the Tokomairiro District .Road* Board. Thero were six candidates. The election was by ballot (contrary to the Ordinance), and Mr Brown obtained a majority of one vote. . .Operations have been commenced at Waihola, on Messrs John Brogden and Son'sTaieri section of the Clutha lino. There are afc present aboufc 180 mon employed. Some of thorn aro engaged by the picco, anrl dtliora by the day, and more will'be put on as soon as fche nccessai-y plant can be obtained. We learn that ifc is the intention of the Messrs Brogden to take every advantage of the fine weather. The first-12 tiriles of their contract for the Mataura railway is about to be sublet on the agreement that it shall be finished within six months, the objecfc being to!have tho line speedily finished, so as ,to enable the preserved meat! to be brought down from the Woodlands factory. The contract for the sleepers for that portion is now being executed. They are of black pine and totara, and are "being got '-■ in: the vicinity of Invercargill. The rails and rolling sfcock which have been ordered by the. Go. vernment, are now afloat, and the rails, when they come to hand, will be laid as fast as the; earthwork proceeds. We learn from the . Duustan Times that Anderson and Co.'s dredge on the Kawarau river, near Roaring Meg. creek, has obtained 40oz. of coarse gold as the result of a week's work. The Nelson Examiner ,'aays :—"Mr W. Davis, photographer, of this city, hasshowh ns some specimens of the new phofco-carbon printing process which he has lately executed, thafc for faithfulness of expression, as well as evident immunity, from decolouration, is j likely to supersede the present system of j photography." - - The West Coast Times.of the'2nd insfc. says :—"A new rush set in lasfc week to some ground on the southern side of the Hokitika River, near Ogilvic's Half Way House, the lead being a, continuation of the oue styled the Aylmer Lead. It is reported that several claims arc paying from £10 to £20 a week per man, while others are on wash that only pays from £3 to £4 a week per man. There are about 40J men on the ground." . . ■ A country settler in tlie- Province of Auckland lately wrote to the' Southern Cross stating that he sold a ham at 8d per lb to an.Auckland dealer, who afterwards sold it as a Canterbury ham at Is per lb.. The Reefton1 correspondent of the Grey ; River Argus, writing on-the 30fch ult., states j fchat "the reaction to-be-anticipated from I the insane rush qf business.men to an undeveloped district has, fairly set in, and at the present time the town is really in a state of collapse." .f, , * •- According to a Christchurch .paper, Mr Morton Tavarcshaw purchased; all rights in the Canterbury Music Hall, which he in-, tends to convert into a comfortable theatre, ,and to open with a good company. r Mr O'Conor, :in the late , no-confidence debate, stated thafc the expenditure by the. General Government on the road from GreyRiouth to the Inangahua had been unsatisfactory. Tbo description of the road given by the Grey River Argus bears ont this* statcraent, as after only,two days' use ifc liad become almost impassable, while the banks threatened in several places to slip downThis result, top, has been arrived afc "notwithstanding the extravagant cost that has characterised its construction," to quote our contemporary's words. ':■ ■ :At the sixty-eighth anniversary of. the British and-Foreigu Bible-Society, held .at.. Exeter HaU, oif the lst'^May, the EaTlJof Shaftesbury presiding, the.ltcv. DrTyng,;of New York,. iii.. the. course of • his address,stated:—",My Lord—l am happy to say that we have little original infidelity in America. We get it all from yoa; it all comes

from English books, or from Gorman books translated hy Englishmen. I heard a brother speaking hero lasfc uighfc of the,poisoning of the souls of his feUow-countrymcu in America by Americans, I have never yefc heard the question raised, whether'we shaU have the Biblo in cur schools. Why, there is "not a village in the United States whero a man would not be hooted beyond tlio bounds of the village if ho were now to moot such a question as this, We havo long since settled thafc question."

Charles's Japanese Troupe, who have so ' recently gained so much popularity in Duuedin, gave an entertainment in Sfc. George's , Hall, Milton*, on Monday evening. The Hall was well fiUcd, and the audience were* both astonished and delighted wifch the won- ; derful feats imd tricks then exhibited. !

Last evening's performance at the Princess Theatre .appeared to in oef, with the appreciation of the audience.

; The regular meeting of the Lodge of Ofcago, No. 844, E.G., will*be held this evening at 7.30, The oflicers and members of the Provincial Crand Lodge of Now Zealand, S.C. ofthe Dis'ricfc Grand Lodge of Otago and Southland, E.C., and of the Celtic Lodge, No 477, S.C, are requested to attend afc the same hour.