THE Otago Daily Times. SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1874.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3863, 4 July 1874, Page 4

THE Otago Daily Times. SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1874.

The Speech which El is Excellency delivered yesterday on opening Parliament does not present us with the programme of an important session. The Premier had previously, by various hints, made public the opinion which the Government hold-r-that there should tie a rest from legislation at the present time; and the Governor's Speech plainly tells us what Mr Vogel hinted at. !N"o measures are promised, except such as could not be put off. If the Colony is to take any steps to conserve the State forests, it must be now or never. The repeated occurrence of pointed and almost irreconcileable differences between the two Houses of Parliament, manifested just at the close of each session, and threatening in each instance a serious deadlock, has forced the question of the constitution of the Upper House upon the consideration of Ministers, both by endangering their ' own position, and by causing their following in the Lower House to extort from the Premier a promise that the matter should be distinctly dealt with this session. These are the only really important measures which His Excellency's Speech actually promises. Those others, not deemed worthy of individual mention, which are cursorily alluded to in the Speech, are nevertheless designated as "pressing" in their nature. Everything that it appears safe to Rhelve for the present is dropped out of sight, and no apology for this course is even attempted. Only one exception presents itself. We are to have some tinkering of the Registration of Electors Act—probably for the purpose of introducing into it a " lodger franchise." Nothing presents itself, either in the Speech or in the condition of public opinion on the subject of the i Electoral Franchise, to explain the appearance of this partial and inadequate reform at the head of the list of those measures which Ministers have ventured to commit themselves to. Possibly it is the pet project of some member of the Cabinet which is to he aired in the promised Bill. That at least is the only adequate explanation j which presents itself to the uninitiated mind. Our gold-miners, then, will have to make a great deal more noise than they have hitherto done before our heavensent rulers will recognise their claims to have the law in relation to the Goldfields amended. They will nave to extend the existing organisation, to create a Miners' Reform League, which will j gather into its fold all the mining com- \ munities of the Colony. They will have to drill their special representatives in Parliament into a dangerous phalanx of' free lances—hurtful to the peace of mind of Ministers and Ministerial whips. Then it will be discovered that their " various requirements ' are also of " a more or less pressing nature," and a " measure will be submitted accordingly." As for the Insolvency i Bill, about which the trading community were three years ago so urgent, it has made its periodical appearance so often, and been so much, written about and talked about, criticised, amende'], praised and damned, that we fancy a majority of our business men are under the delusion that it must by this time have become the law of the land. Insolvencies have not been sufficiently rife to enable them to learn practical lessons on the subject of their delusion; and when times change, and the unpassed amendments of the law are urgently needed, they will have their own supineness as well as that of the Government to : thank for it, that all the glaring defects of the present Act are still in existence to plague and exasperate, to eat up estates, to let rogues snap their fingers at angry creditors, and to crush the honest-minded debtor who has a rogue for a creditor, and so on, and so on, to the end of the long chapter with which those who read reports of meetings of Chambers of Commerce are already familiar. As for the Education Bill, which a portion, at least, of the community earnestly demands at the hands of Ministers, we are disposed to think that much excuse may be found for them. It will have to deal— when we get it—with a great social problem, and the men at present at the head of affairs amongst us, the Heavenborn "administrators," as we are taught to call them, are not competent, either to prepare such a measure or to conduct it through Parliament, if one were prepared for them.

What else have we in this Speech ? We are glad to see that the usual quota of "trumpet-blowing" is this year much reduced, both in the variety of the tunes, and in the power of the blast. A gentle hint is given that Departmental Expenditure has been increasing at a great rate during the year. Nothing less could be expected; the State has been experiencing exactly what private individuals engaged in business have experienced. Increasing establishments and increased pay to those employed, are natural accompaniments of such times as we ate passing

through. , Finally, we have.one .of the most curious sentences ever found, even in a Governor* speech, in which' the intense study which Ministers have l>een making of the map of the South Seas, is made known to us. This enigmatical utterance may mean something or nothing. It may be the prelude of some grand surprise Mich as we have already made the public prepared for. Oi- it may be a dextrous backing out of intended projects, which, it has been discovered, might prove too embarrassing :—-" Papers will be presented to you which will enable you to judge that my advisers consider thatthe Polynesian Islands, their civilization, settlement, commerce, and forms of Government, present a problem of greatinterest ami importance to this Colony." Hum—ha—what is to come next?

We should be amongst the very last to throw cold water upon any scheme which had for its object the promotion of a fresh industry, or the settlement of a hitherto unoccupied block of land within the Province. But at the same time, ia seeking to bring about those much-desired ends, we should see thas we do not paytoo dear for our whistle. When the General Government leased to Dr Monckton the Auckland islands for a peppercorn rent, we thought that they had made a good bargain for the country —and we think so still. If the lessee, after the investment of no inconsiderable i amount of capital, succeeds in time in | reaping any material advantages, no one will ever think of grudging him his profits, when the risk and hardships attending his life on these islands are taken iuto consideration. The case of Messrs Harding and Co., however, who have recently applied to the Waste Lands Board for the lease of -a block of land on tl.e West Coast, ia a very different one. That the applicants are fully j entitled to every facility to enable them to carry on the industry of fish curing, which appears to be the main object they have in view, no one can deny. Indeed, the Provincial Government and the Waste Lands Board would only be doing their duty were they, in their respec&ive capacities, to render Messrs Harding and Co. every assistance in their enterprise. Whatever open land there may be in the vicinity of their proposed scene of operations, will be fairly paid for by the lessees when they give one shilling per acre per annum for it as rent. Before they can cultivate the land to any extent, and run stock on it, they will have incurred an amount of risk and expense which would entitle them to occupy the land required for such purposes upon very easy terms indeed. We do not think, however, that they will have anything like the same claim for consideration, when it is proposed that they should be placed in possession of a block of valuable foreat land, at a yearly rental of a shilling per acre; the rent charged to saw-millers being one pound per acre. The Provincial Government, it seems, propose that 2000 acres of land should be leased to Messrs Harding and Co., upon payment of rent, and one of the conditions attached to the lease is the right to the lessess to cut timber upon the block. In all,probability any block of that extent adjoining the Inlets where the proposed fishing stations are to be established, will consist almost entirely of'fine forest land, a very small area of which would answer all the legitimate requirements of such an industry for the full term of the lease. Secure in their lease, however, with the right to cut timber, the lessees would have it in their power to obtain timber, I for exportation to other parts of the Province "upon terms which would certainly be refused to anyone applying for a similar right over any other area of forest land ir> Otago, however remote or inaccessible.' For the hon&fide purposes of their enterprise, by all means let Messrs Harding and Co. have what land they want, both, forest and open, upon easy | terms. But we trust that the Waste Lands Board, after having so recently brought j into force regulations which have for their avowed objects the conservation of our forest land, and the sale of our Native bush at a price which will both prevent waste and bring in a substantial revenue to the State, will hesitate before they accede to the terms which they have been asked by the Provincial Government to agree to. * The Rev. Mr Waters, in * letter which appears in another column,-throws some additional light upon the proceedings of the Balclutha Presbytery when dealing with the charge of slander preferred by Mr Robert Gillies against the Rev. Mr Bannerman. Our reporter, it seems, in describing what took place at the close of the case, said : "A desultory discussion then took place, and the meeting became very disorderly. Mr Waters almost usurped the functions of the Chairman." Mr WATEjiS takes exception to the use of the word "disorderly,"as conveying anunI fair impression of what actually occurred? i >ur reporter, however, on being appealed to, still thinks his adjective a very suitable one. He has had considerable experience of meetings of all kinds, and he contends that had similar conduct characterised the proceedings of a Road Board -or'tJity Council, he would have used the .same expression without any hesitation. If we accept, however, Mr Waters's version of the proceedings of the Presbytery while the "deliverance" was being discussed, we gain from him a wrinkle about the principles upon which Church Courts administer justice which we did not know before. According to Mr Waters, conversations took place between individual members at the close of the case "as to what form of words might get the concurrence of the largest majority, and accomplish besides one end sought— the acquiescence in the deliverance of two parties immediately concerned," meaning, we presume, Mr Hansbkhas and Mr Gillies. We can only say that thif> was a very sensible view of the situa tion for the Court to take. To arrive at a verdict that would satisfy both accuser and accused would have been a most satisfactory termination to the case. But did the Presbytery endeavour to frame such, a deliverance? What does Mr Waters tell vs1? The resolution which was finally adopted was made up of a motion framed by himself, together with certain additions, by whom suggested he does not say. Mr Waters goes on to say that he "had learned that Mr Banneeman was not unwilling to accept the motion with the additions as attached." Again, Mr Waters refers to an amendment drawn up by Mr Allen, to the terms of which '' it was known Mr Bannerman would decidedly object." The idea of an accused person being consulted at all as to the verdict which the Court should arrive at in his casn, is very rich. Yet this, it seems, was actually done at Balclutha. What would have happened if a majority of the Preabyrery had been of opinion that Mr Bannerman was guilty of slander ? Would not the terms of a deliverance embodying such an opinion have been objected to by the accused, and under such circumstances would not there have been some little difficulty in coming to a decision that Mr Bannbrsian would not be unwilling to accept 1 It must be borne in mind, moreover, that one end avowedly sought to be accomplished by Mr Waters and his brethren, was "the acquiescence in the deliverance of two parties immediately concerned." We have shown that; the I accused was consulted, but were the views of the accuser ever ascertained regarding any of the draft motions and amendments that were manipulated by Mr Waters ? Strange to say, notwithstanding the dictum laid down by the reverend gentlemap, only the acquiescence of one of the two parties immediately concerned was sought after. We shall follow Mr

Waters no further. He complains ? that certain expressions used by us when dealing on a previous occasion with this case were too strong. He presents now, however, for public consideration, a phase of the case which, were it to be commented upon by us in appropriate terms, would demand the employment of language compared with which the words used in our former article would be mild.

Our own correspondent at Wellington telegraphs : —" The Government will not introduce either Goldfields, Education, or Insolvency Bills this session. Mr O'JSTeill gave notice to ask why the Government had not obeyed the resolution, of the House to have •the Goldfields Bill circulated three months before session. Mr T. L. Shepherd gave notice that he will himself introduce a Goldfields Bill. Essentially his Bill will be the same as the one last session, but more condensed. Mr Shepherd has given notice of the introduction of the Otago Land Act Amendment Bill. A similar Eill was rejected by the Council last session, and he intends to remove the restriction on the sizy of deferred payment blocks, and extend it to allow of individual selections to 340 acres." There is to be a Confirmation Service at St. Joseph's Church at 11 o'clock on Sunday morning. Extremes may be said to have met yesterday, when the Suez and San Francisco Mails arrived almost together. We believe this is the first instance on record of the two mails coming to hand on the same day. We have no d->ubt but that the Post Office people appreciated the occurrence. It must have been a heavy sorting day with them, for the Albion brought 20 bags of Suez mails and 13 bags of Colonial, whilst the San Francisco Mail contained 49 bags for Otago. For other New Zealand Provinces, it numbered 141 bags, and the Suez Mail included 55 bags for other Provinces. Thus, the total number ot bags by the two mails was, for Otago 69 European and 13 Colonial, and for other Provinces 196 baga. We are in receipt of the Family Herald and the London Journal, from Mr Joseph Braithwaite, bookseller, of this town. Tue Family Herald contains a continuation of the New Zealand Stors% "A Strange Friendship." The London Journal for May, as usual, is full of a large amount of very interesting reading matter. We are informed that it was resolved at a meeting of the Scandinavian Society, to give all the members' votes to Mr H. J. Walter, a candidate for the Mayoralty. The Albion has brought from Melbroune two merino rams for Messrs Roberts and I Handyside, runbolders, Strath Taieri. These sheep are from the renowned Ercildown flock, which gained its celebrity through the practical knowledge and exertions of Mr Learmonth. No better rams, we believe, have ever been brought into this Province, and although the purchasers had to pay £350 for them in Victoria, there can be no doubt that they will in time get a substantial return for their investment. One case, that of A. Lee, who was arraigned for abstracting a book from the Port Chalmers Mechanics' Institute—was heard at the Port Chalmers Police Couit yesterday. The defendant, a respectable looking lad, pleaded that he had intended taking the book back again; but the evidence being of too conclusive a character to warrant the Bench, taking that view of the ease, he was punished by being sentenced to 24 hours' imprisonment. We published the circumstances of the above ease in yesterday's issue. We understand that the first issue of the new paper to be started in the Clatha district under the title of "The Clutha Leader," will not appear until the 9fch inst. The delay haa been'caused, we believe, by the non-arrival of some printing plant in time to enable the paper to be published on the 2nd inst, as at Hrst announced. , The question of what is a reasonable commission to a'Uow on a sale of merchandise through an agent was yesterday contested in the R;M. Court, when one of the trade sued a well-known firm of merchants for the recovery of commission on a business transaction. Plaintiff alleged that it had been agreed he should receive 5 per cent., the rate allowed on general merchandise by the Chamber of Commerce rules, while defendants denied any agreement, and fixed 1£ per cent., that usually allowed to brokers, as a fair sum. The Magistrate set aside the presumption of an' agreement, and gave judg ment for 2£ per cent. Plaintiff not being a broker, but a country traveller, he was entit ed to a higher rate than the brokerage one. . A meeting of the Carpenters' and Joiners' Society was held at the Hibernian Hotel last evening, Mr Owen in the chair. There •were about 80 members present. In reference to. an article which lately appeared in our columns, ifc was stated that.the tradesmen had not struck for an increase of a shilling per day as therein mentioned, but against a reduction of a shilling per day on the wages they were receiving. A resolution had been passed at the meeting on Monday night that all men not going out on strike should contribute a shilling per day towards the support of those on strike. The business of collecting the I levy'was gone through. It was intimated that the payment to those out on strike would be made at the Hibernian Hotelat six o'clock this evening. - Three members were appointed to aid the Strike Committee in investigating the claims of those out on strike. The rules proposed for the governmtnt of the Society were then read and discussed. The rules provide for the assistance of members on strike, for assisting those who met with accidents while at work, and those whose tools were destroyed by fire. A rule carried was—" Any member taking piecework to be fined £5." The rules were, with some small amendments, adopted. Statements of receipts and expenditure to the present were made, and were considered satisfactory, there being, allowing for expenses, nearly £15 in hand. It was mentioned that a proposal had been made that 20 members should gnarantpe the Society £5 each in case of necessity, and that four had already guaranteed £5 each, and five £1 each. On the announcement being made, niue more guaranteed the £1 each, and two £5 eacb, being a total guarantee of £44. This was looked upon as an indication of an intention to make something for the Society to fall back upon. The names of those willing to become members of the Society were then taken. The election of officers followed. The Right Rev. Bishop Nevill delivered the first of a series of lectures on Church History last evening, before the St. Paul's Young Men's Association, and others specially invited, in the lower hall of the Athenaeum. The subject chosen wsra, "The Christian Ministry, particularly relating to the Church of England." The President of the Association (Archdeacon Edwards) occupied the chair, and in a short speech introduced the lecturer to the audience. His Lordship gave a rather lengthened account of the foundation and continuity of the Christian Ministry, which he clearly illustrated by Scriptural and other references. He made special allusion to the order of j Bishops, Presbyturs or Priesfcs, and Deacons, j showing that they were in the first instance made permanent offices. For 1500 years i •fter Christ's ascension, he stated, no disavowal was made of those orders by any

section of the Christian Church. The Bishop also referred to the assumption of the Church of Rome in making Sfc. Peter the presiding head, whereas in the first Councils of the Church, St. James (Bishop of Jerusalem) presided. At the conclusion of his lecture, which was attentively listened to throughout, the Bishop Avas greeted with applause. The Vice-pre-sident of the Sfc. Paul's Church Young Men's Association proposed a hearty vote of thanks to Bishop Nevill for his admirable discourse; Mr G. F. Reid seconded the re olution, and suggested that in future more publicity should be given to the Bishop's lectures, to enable a larger number to attend. The vote was carried by acclamation, and His Lordship briefly responded, and closed the proceedings with the Benediction. The Chairman announced that the next lecture would be delivered about a month hence. On Thursday evening a meeting of the Dunedin Coloured Opera Troupe was held at the Hibernian Hotel, for the purpose of presenting Mr D. MathesoD, one of the members, with a token of their appreciation of his services in connection with the troupe. Mr Matheson having recently become a benedict, in accordance with the established custom of the troupe, a handsome timepiece was selected for presentation. The Conductor, on behalf of the other members of the Troupe, made the presentation, and refeired in complimentary terms to MrMathe- ? on's services and the great interest he had always taken in the success of the Troupe. The members present, numbering thirteen, .-pent an hour or two most pleasantly, some capital recitations and songs being given. Previous to dispersing it was decided that the Troupe would give a concert on an early date, and that every exertion would be made to make it a first-class one. • The extraordinary case of incendiarism under investigation in Auckland when the Wellington ltffc was exciting considerable interest there. The Court was crowded daily, and it appears from the evidence that the information given by Brown from time to time prior to his arrest, had led to several persons being under surveillance by the Police. Sus picion eventually fell on Brown, by the contradictory accounts which he gave of the discovery of the fire, and was strengthened by the Police finding, two days afterwards, a bundle of paper and raga wetted with kerosene, and which had been apparently thrown hastily over the hoarding round the new Post-office, next to Must and Co. 's store. In this bundle there was a torn page of the Jewish Chronicle, and the remainder was found in the house of Brown's father. There was also a part of the New Zealand Herald, of which the remainder was found at the same place. Other articles in the bundle were identified in the same way, butthe motive for the crime remains a mystery—that is supposing Brown to be the guilty party. It may have been, in that case a boyish freak, or the result of a plan to secure reward for the discovery of the fire. But in any ease it is clear that absolute incendiarism was not intended, as the fire must have attacked the door first, and could not have spread at that early hour of the evening without detection. Tho door of Must and Co.'s store is one of the best lighted spots in the city of Auckland ; for the lamps of three public houses and four other lights converge upon it, while it is in full view from the windows of the hotels directly opposite. A more serious case which remains undiscovered was the attempt to burn the Catholic Institute, which was deliberately fired about midnight, though the fire did not spread, being stopped by a sheet of tin. Nothing was known of this till morning; but, strangely enough, about' midnight a brick was thrown through the windows, and alarmed the inmates who sleep on the premises. It is supposed that the miscreant, after firing the building, gave the alarm to save the people, and took this curious mode of accomplishing his aim. The following produce telegram from the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, dated London, 24th June, 1874, has been kindly placed at our disposal for publication :—Tallow— Stock of all sorts is 24,000 casks. Mutton, 43s per cwt; beef, 40s do. Leather—ll,ooo sides Australasian have been sold since last report. Preserved Meats—The demand is decreasing and stocks are accumulating. Wheat—Adelaide is worth 65s per 496 lbs ; reports are favourable concerning the growing crop here. Copper—Burra is worth £87 per ton; Wallaroo. £S9 ; Regulus of 16 per cent, is worth 15s per unit. The Pacific Commercial Advertiser of the 16th May states that Sir William Martin, late Chief Justice of New Zealand, Lady Martin, and the Rev. Dr Lang, of Sydney, N.S.W., en route for Europe, paid a visit to the Legislative Assembly on Monday, and remained an hour, listening with much interest to the debates. Sir William expressed himself much pleased with the order and decorum and the business-like style of our Hawaiian legislators. The Geelong Advertiser says: — "We have been afforded an opportunity of inspecting samples ef Baliarat-made flannel printed by Mr Dockery, of Smeaton, and we hardly know which to admire most—the excellent texture of the material or the very neat style in which they have been printed. Both are. calculated to show that two very important industries can be successfully carried on in Victoria, and now we: have got woollen fac- ! torie3 every encouragement should be given by Government, in the way of a bonus, for the establishment of print works on a large scale," Notwithstanding the counter attraction of a benefit at the Princess Theatre, Dr Carr received a large share of patronage, and his endeavours to interest his audience were cvi dently appreciated. As we predicted, Mrs Walter Hill had a full house at her benefit at the Princess Theatre last night, when a very pretty twoact drama, entitled "Broken Ties," was produced for the first time in Dunedin. The plot is a simple one. Lionel Warner (Mr J. B. Steele) and his wife (Mrs Hill) have separated soon after their marriage, and the wife takes to the operatic stage under the name of "La Sylvia," and makes a great name abroad. Years after, she returns to London to find the s infant son she left behind a man, living with his father in the belief that his mother is dead. The son (Mr Hooper) sees Lady Sylvia at the Opera* and gets into a quarrel in defending her good name. In the complication that arises therefrom he learns that she is his mother, and t'.e drama ends with an affecting scene, in which first son and mother, and then hus. band and wife, are reconciled. /The drama was well put on the stage, and the part of " La Sylvia " beingdne wellsuitedtoMrsHill, that lady played ifc as only an accomplished actress could, with grace, force, and pathos. Mr Steele played in his usual natural and manly manner as Lionel Warner. The part of the son was played Toy Mr Hooper, who has appeared in Dunedin before. He gave a fair rendering of the part, but in some of the scenes was far too stagey. If he would endeavour to be more more natural, we are sure he would succeed better. Miss Lilly May, Miss Willis, Mr Keogh, Mr Musgrave, and Mr Lawrence, sustained the other characters, and acquitted themselves well. On the whole, the piece was remarkably well played, and at the fall of the curtain Mrs Hill received a hearty round of applause, in response to which she came forward and bowed her acknowledgements. Mr Joe Small then gave one of his comic songs, which caused roars *-f laughter. The performance concluded

with the farce, " The Captain is not a-miss." To-night, "The Fatal Brand, or Temptation," will be produced, and Miss Bessie Vivian will make her first appearance. Mr Ramsay's Central Committee are re quested to meet in the Athenaeum Hall this evening, at 7.30.