THE Otago Daily Times. THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 1875.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4165, 24 June 1875, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. THURSDAY, JUNE 24, 1875.

Ingratitude is the fault of a democracy. Everyone admits as much, historically speaking. Everyone, however, is by no means so ready to remember the danger of ingratitude when it comes substantially under their eyes. Provincial Government servants have, from time immejnorial, been the greatest sufferers from the peculiar idiosyncrasies ot their masters. To such a pitch has this ingratitude arrived, that men of real standing and value, are very slow to put themselves in the position of sufferers. If they do make up their minds to strve the Government, they make terms which might be called extravag-ant, if it were not for the fact that they are driven by long experience to insure themselves against the especial evils that heset them. Under the present regime «and manner of conducting affairs, every civil servant of any pro° minenee has too many masters. The member for the district in which he serves is but too often a sort of spy upon his footsteps, either to be placated or battled with. Stump orators and political demagogues endeavour to put a pressure, sometimes quite irresistible, upon him ; the men with whom he has to deal often threaten him with the »loss of his billet," if he does not work according to their plans. If he passes successfully through a Year of these troubles he has yet to look forward to the session of the Provincial Council and to expect the worst. In that open field of confusion the very worst may be looked for. His actions are liable to an ignorant criticism, not merely from the members of his district alone, who may have had opportunities of knowing something about the matter but from the members ot all other districts who know absolutely nothing The Government, his natural protector, if it is not compelled by political necessities utterly unconnected with the individual case to join in the outcry, is often compelled to hold a merely neutral position. The Provincial Service suffers in the long run, very notably in the fact that men are slow to_ subject themselves to this kind of thing when they are men of established reputation, except at salaries which may possibly compensate them for the injury they may suffer. It will he in the minds of our readers that while our own Council was engaged in finding fault, aiore or less with the District Engineer of Southland, we published a telegram giving some of the results of a commission issued in Canterbury upon the conduct of the District Engineer at the Rakaia bridge. We put it mildly enough when we say that the evidence taken before that commission led us to believe that the Engineer had permitted unwarrantable liberties to be taken with the design and execution of that bridge by the contractor. For a lengthened period it seemed that he had allowed alterations to be made which he should not have allowed. Had he, however, pulled the contractor up as sharply as Mr Bews pulled his contractor, we can imao-ine the result. In the case of the Southland railway, the attitude of both Council and, we are sorry to say, the Government towards Mr Bews, has not been such as to encourage a public servant to do his duty without fear or favour. The discussions on the matter were such as to lead any impartial observer to the conclusion that if Mr Bews had permitted the contractor whose work he had to inspect, to go Ins own way and construct his culverts ifter his own fashion, the Province would have differed, but the District Engineer would have escaped without

rp a T?r bbed; When gentleman read the results of th« discussion and (J^jnittees decision upon,the matter m which he was concerned, wecan well suppose that he made nbf a few litter andandignnnt remarks about the hard lot otonewho served the "many-headed monster." We could not wonder if he diet. The fact being that, having dischargedha thankless and most disagreeable task with a precise and business-like caie,wluchisasadmirableas it isuncommnn, he is treated, if not to positive censure, at least with a coolness thatamounts to positive blame. We do nob enter into precise detail, because it was sufficiently obvious that in the main the prompt action of Mr Bews was clearly and beyond all question necessary. Whatever and wherever the faults were, they were not his. His business was to see that good work was done, according to his reading of the specifications. °He did it thoroughly well, with the result we have noted above. All this, however, is one of the many occasions illus- ; tratmg the difficulty of getting ] ar <r e operations carried on economically through a body like a representative Government. Detail matters of a purely professional nature are criticised and canvassed, are blamed or praised by incompetent speakers, and justice is the last thing commonly arrived at after such deliberations. The next District Engineer who finds things going wrong will hesitate to report upon them 1. st he should share the fate of the District Engineer in Southland. It would seem that if he has an eye to his own advancement he will do well to turn his blind eye to the work he is supposed to inspect, and let things go by the run without raising a host of enemies against himself. We have no special concern with Mr Bews, we merely use this case to illustrate a principle of veiy serious importance. The question is, whether officers appointed to see that public work is properly done, are to be supported in j the execution of their duty or not 1 At the bottom lies the question whethei the public is to get a full return or not for the money it expends upon public woiks- is, thm. a determined and honest inspection must be insisted on. If n ot, why we had much bettet do without inspection, and apply their salaries to making good deficiencies. It may easily be understood which is the most economical plan. The plan upon which the late Council went in this matter was neither economical noi just.

In Auckland, at any rate, they are thoroughly pleased with themselves in educational matters. The head master's report of the College and Grammar bcuool has appeared lately, and has given occasion to the Daily Southern Cross to compliment that institution on v. a success It must be allowed that, judged by the usual tests, the Aucklanders have every reason to congratulate themselves upon having an admirable school. First in numbers. During the last quarter of lb/4, the total number of pupils reached 104, of whom 100 were in the lower department, and the remainder in the upper Auckland musters, like those everywhere else, are obliged to grumble at .he fact that boys are withdrawn from school to enter into the struggle of life at too early an age Jf it be some satisfaction to us to find that we are not alone m this complaint, it mint be admitted that it augurs ill for the sound learning of the next generation when our lads leave school just at the age when it might be hoped that they would receive the greatest benefit from systematic training. When will parents learn true wisdom about this? When will they understand that, however immediately remunerative such withu awal of their boys may seem, they are really only discounting their future prospects, and determinate^ preventing them trom being numbered among the first flight in every profession 1 In the first class of the Auckland Grammar School there are eleven pupils, and out of these eleven no less than five are undergraduates of the New Zealand m iv | rfiit JJourof tnemhave obtained 75 percent ot marks m each subject in which they were examined in the first year of their imder-graduateship. Considering the fact that the New Zealand University has adopted a very high standard indeed this result must be considered highly satisfactory and creditable to the master who trained them. The number of undergraduates for each Province during the present year is given in the University Calendar as follows .-—Auckland 9 Nelson 2, Canterbury 7, Otago 3. We must confess ourselves to be somewhat sur>nsed at this, considering our advantages r« ,X 13 litU, e Wonder > in the face of it, that the Auckland people are inclined to make the most of their success, and i deeni themselves most worthy o f having the ISew Zealand University located in their midst We notice that the Cross utters one long wail of sorrow over the inadequacy of the building provided for the College School to supply the demands made upon it. It seems, indeed, to be in a deplorable condition, both as regards appearance and accommodation. Judged by the common tests, the efficiency" of the school has reached a very liio-h point, and deserves more suitable treatment. Tn Auckland at least, higher education has been well cared for, and we rejoice at seeing this result, without one I .article of jealousy. In schools, at any rate, the improvement of one means "a rise in the standard of all.

Ow account of the general health of the city, we sincerely hope there are few streets m it that call so urgently for the attention and efforts of the Sanitary Committee of the City Council as one called Grange street, which is situated on the Pehchefc Bay flat, between Hanover street and Albany street. For its whole len«rth it can hardly be exceeded for its disgusting appearance and fever-gernHnatin"°con-dmon. The street has been, so far simply subject to the process which, we believe, is technically known as "forming," which, in too many instances means the destruction of a comparativelygood street while left in i-s natural state and the substitution for it of another with all the natural drainage outlets stopped up and the firm surface destroyed—in fact a mere flat soft bog. Such is Grange streetfrom end to end full of deep ruts in the' soft clay, and the two sides, innocent of all channelling, are on either side lined by the most disgusting accumulation of house drainage, slops, &c, singled with remains of the late rains, that it is pos- [ sible to conceive. The whole surface of them is thickly coated with putrid matter in various stages of decomposition and shadings of green and blue. To make matters still worse, the street is very narrow, and the cottages, mostly very humble ones indeed, are built close to the causeway ; alas ! almost the only playground the unfortunate children who live in the cottages possess. To make matters even still worse, if possible, there was, at the time of our visit to it, several of the so-called " dust boxes" awaiting the arrival of the Corporation dust-carts even at four o'clock in the afternoon. We are quite aware that the street referred to is one of those originally laid out through private property, and, therefore, for a time may have been kept out of the way of the Corporation's control but now, if we mistake not, all difficulty m this respect has been removed. JSofc a

. , ..»« U ichc, merefore, should be lost in I : doing something to remove a disgrace so r glaring, and a source of danger so very j imminent and so serious, not only to the residents in the immediate vicinity, but to the whole city. ,;-=s . Thanhs to our Wellington correspondent - we have at last been able to find out where the steamer Lady Bird is with the English ■ mail via San Francisco. The Press Agency * has been singularly reticent on the point ■ \Je have not received any intimation when r. the Lady Bird left Auckland, nor have we i been informed whether the mails were for > warded South by her. Our correspondent ■ informs us that the mails will leave Welliua- ; ton to-day ai noon, so we may expect our ; letters on Saturday. Our Clyde correspondent telegraphed yesterday that Mr Vause, the late postmaster i at Alexandra, was charged, before the Resident Afagistrate, with embezzling Govern- . ment moneys. It appears he is deficient in ; the postal,, telegraph, and stamp accounts to the extent of some £49. After a lengthy hearing, he was committed for trial. *Bail was allowed—two sureties £109 each, and himself £100. He was bailed out shortly after the Court rose. By a notification in the Provincial Gazette we learn that Mr Robert Stout hss been appointed legal adviser to the Government and acting Provincial Solicitor. His Honour Mr Justice Johnston held a sitting in banco yesterday, and before the Court ros°, he succeeded in reducing the overgrown list to something like reasonable dimensions. The cases which have arisen in connection with the administration of the Southland Waste Lands Act have been postponed until Wednesday next, 'or the convenience of counsel engaged therein. The banco sittings will be resumed this mornine at 10 o'clock. &> Our readers will remember that some few weeks since we published a very interesting article on Siam. We stated at the time that the information was supplied us by Captain Black, of the barque Prospector, and we were led into the error from the fact that the Prospector was for a long time commanded by that gentleman. We learn however, that it is to Captain James Duncan, who is now master of the Prospector, that we are indebted for our information, Cantain Black having left the barque some time ago in Yokohama. We have much pleasure in making the correction. The proprietors of the Australasian announce that a series of papers, descriptive of the political, social, and industrial condition of New Zealand will shortly appear in that journal. The pipers are the work of a special correspondent " who has had excellent opportunities of acquiring a full knowledge of the details of his subject, and they are likely to be read with great interest, especially by Aew Zealand readers. The first paper will appear almost immediately." In our report of the opening ceremony in connection with the turning of the first "sod of the Kaitangata railway, a little item in the programme was omitted. The special correspondent of the Tuapeka Times fills up the gap by stating that, when Bishop Nevill s health was proposed, a faint attempt was made to sing •• He's a jolly good fellow." Ihe Bishop took the joke good humourcdly and stated that he was pleased to be thought a jolly good fellow. Some time was spent at the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday morning in ascertaining the form of <»th applicable to a Hindoo, one of Mahomet's followers, who recently arrived in this Province. The foreigner, who is a native of Cashmere, having explained that in his country an oath was administered by joining the hands and kissing them, suggested that the prevailing custom here of kissing the Bible would do Iho Magistrate accepted the proposition, and the Hindoo was sworn on the Bible. The authorities at Wellington promptly replied to the communication forwarded by Mr Mansford, R.M., of the Port, in the case ot the men thrown out of employment by the stoppage of Strachau and Co.'s railway contract. The reply was sent by Mr John -Unowles, Under-Secretary of Public Works aud ran as follows :-" Sir-The Hon Minister of Justice has referred your telegram re Strachan's contract to this department The workmen should take the usual steps under the'Contractors' Debts Act,' and on their doing so their duly certified wages will be met. The Act only applies to workmen not to sub-contractors, who will probably seek legal advice as to how they are to act '• This reply is satisfactory, so far as it guaran- ! tees the payment of the day labourers' wages; but what about the unfortunate sub-contractors? They appear to be "left out in the cold ;" for the reply very dis- ' tinctly states that the Act does not apply in ' their case. It is of course quite possible ] that the Government may have enough ' money m hand to liquidate their claims also ' but the only inference left open by the tenor ] of the reply is that they will have to come as ' ordinary creditors upon the contractors' es tate. However, the" Jeaal ad vice" recom- ' mended may perhaps provide a more satis- ' factory solution of the difficulty. 1 We notice by our Melbourne files that the New Zealand horses for the Melbourne Cup ' have been treated rather heavily by the ' handicapper. That game mare, Lurline carries second top weight, at 9st 71b' Calumny is fifth on the h'st, with Sst 121b • Mr Delamain's Templeton will have to carry Sst 21b; and Castaway just escapes eight stone by a pound; while Captain Hutchison's King Phillip is weighted at 6s fc 71b. The amount of business transacted by onr City Fathers last evening may be estimated from the fact that when the Council adjourned shortly before one o'clock this morning the published Order P aper had not been c mraenced. The Reserve Committee's report relative to the recommendation of the Commissioners re the Supreme Court site was adopted, and it was decided to inform His Honour the Superintendent that the proposed offer would be made to the General Government. Mr Mercer was re-elected as the Council's representative at the Harbour Board. A report of the proceedings appears elsewhere. For some time past a very commendable effort has been made by several gentlemen in Oiversham and the Forbury to supply Sunday school instruction, and also religious teaching, to the families dwelling on the flat The use of the Government school-room has been obtained ; services have been conducted for adults, and children have been tau«ht who otherwise would not have been brought under religious influence, there being no regular place of worship within a convenient ! distance of the place. Last evening a soiree ' was held, to which the inhabitants were invited, and the school room was filled to overflowing. Mr VV. In gs occupied the chair and several friends from Dunedin were present, as also the Rev. Mr Russell, of Caversham. After tea, the Chairman gave an account of the work, which had extended over two years. Christians of various denominations had joined in it. They had an average attendance of 80 scholars at their Sunday school; and, although the religious services for adults had not been long enough in operation to expect much fruit, they knew that they had sown good seed, and felt sure that the harvest would come. The object of the meeting was to bring people t gether, so that they might know one another, and take an interest in the work, and also in recognition of good already accomplished. The meeting was addressed by several gentlemen

n connected with the movement, as also by the 0 Key. Mr Resell, and Mr Reid, the new 7 schoolmaster. The latter, gentleman solicited t tbe empathy of the parents for the work in which he.was engaged; viz., moulding the characters; bf.Jhe young. The soiree was .- quite a snccess. / c At the Port Chalmers Police Court yesterday, G. Smith ?.was fined ss, with the usual f alternative, and J. Thomas was fined 10s, or in default, 4S hours' imprisonment, for being 1 drunk and disorderly. Thomas Gardiner a 3 boy about 13 years of age, one of the larrikin tribe, was brought up on the b charge of having attempted to extinguish . and break one of the lamps in Crickmore's L . Assembly Rooms, by throwing his hat at it. ihe boy pleaded that he was only trying to throw hia hat upon the lamp, and had no in- . tention of breaking it. It was shown that He had been before the Court on a previous occasion for assaulting another boy, and was tmed 5s for the offence. His Worship remarked that the evidence in the present case was scarcely clear enough to convict upon, and the prisoner would therefore be discharged. He had, however, better take care not to appear again before the Court or he would certainly be sent to the Auckland training ship. We would su 2 g est to the boy s father, if he has one, the administration of a sound castigation to the youngster and not "overall." ' On Tuesday evening, in response to an invitation made by the officebearers of St Andrew's Church, Walker street, a large number of the members and adherents assembled in the school-room underneath the church, and spent a very pleasant evening The room was very prettily decorated with flags and ferns, and after the good things provided had been disposed of, several of tfankey's hymns and some anthems were sung by the choir, led by Mr Deno-an, and short addresses were given by the Rev. Mr Gow and Mr John Paterson. During the evening, Mr James Smith, elder, on behalf of the ladies of the congregation, in a suitable speech, presented the pastor with a pur^e containing fifty-five sovereigns. The Ilev. J. Gow, in responding, thanked the congregation very heartily, and in the course of his reply stated that he was quite ignorant that such a presentation was contemplated, and he considered the recognition as a token that his services were appreciated, and that he had gained the affection and esteem of his congregation. The meeting was of a very social nature, there being no set speeches, and a full opportunity being afforded for converse among the congregation. Mr Andrew Mercer, in a humorous speech, then moved a vote ' of thanks to tbe ladies for their exertions, and the entertainment was brought to a close i by the benediction being pronounced by the ] pastor. A general meeting of cricketers was held at the Shamrock Hotel last evening, "to ' consider propositions re proposed Australian ' match, and such other business as might be ' brought forward." There was about a i dozen present, Mr G. K. Turton presiding The vice-president, Mr W. D. Meare, in ■ referring to what had been done by the sub- .' committees appointed, stated that letters \ had been received from Christchurcb, Auck- . land, and Wellington, to the effect that they ,' would be glad to co-operate with the Otago t cricketers in arranging for the proposed , match, and he (Mr Meares) had sketched , the probable expensas, which he estimated, for board, lodging, and passage money, of the visiting team to this Colony, to be about £750, which might be made up by Dunedin * Christchurch, and Auckland each contribut- ! ing £175, and Wellington and Nelson each ] £110. It was mentioned, incidentally that | at least £100 would be required to make ( the ground payable. On the motion of Mr c M. Cohen, it was agreed that Otago con- t tribute £175. Messrs Meares, Benl, Rose, J and Tait, were appointed a committee to ' complete arrangements, and communicate 1 with the secretaries of clubs in the other ' Provinces and Melbourne. It appeared to i be the general opinion of the meeting that t the match should be an odds one ; fifteen a I against the visiting team of eleven being l mentioned as a fair contest Before the l meeting concluded, the manner in which the cricket oval has been abused by the football J players was somewhat warmly discussed. l Some curious rumours have been flying ? about Ballarat lately concerning the conduct a of a bank manager whose sphere of operations has been lately transferred from that ( city to New Zealand. The local papers have referred particularly to the case of a Mr ! Kmnear, who was contemplating an equity * suit against one }of the banks, to recover v possession of certain securities alleged by f, him to have been deposited for advances s but of which the bank books showed no record. The alternative appeared to imply a criminal charge against t'ae absent manager but we (Argus) are info.-mcd that advices re' eeived from that gentleman by the Albion clear hw proceedings of that imputation, and place the claims of the would-be suitor on quite a different footing. The Tuapeka Times states that—" A daughter of Mr S. A. Miller, four years of age, fell into an abandonod shaft in one of the streets near the Hospital a fortnight ago. In the hole there were some broken bottles and on one of these the child's knee got cut. On her return home, the wound, which did not create any alarm, was attended to, and for a few hours it appeared to be healing. A day or two after, however, it commenced to discharge matter, and has continued to do so at intervals, to such an extent that it is feared the poor sufferer's leg will have t* be amputated. It is high time the whole of the abandoned shafts within the municipality were filled in. Only last week we had to record the loss of a valuable horse, and now there is the probability of this poor child being crippled for life through the same cause." The Shag Valley Herald reports that another pig hunt came off at Mount Royal on Tuesday, the 15th imt., at which between forty and fifty pigs were killed, many of them of gigantic proportions. Mr Giimore was the first to draw blood, while Mr Sloan killed several large boars, one of which gave him some trouble before it was disabled He had to follow it for a considerable distance on horseback, the dogs being unable to hold it, and at length by a shot from off his horse he killed it. Mr Sloan's expertness was much admired by the sportsmen. Unfortunately there was a thick fo<* which was greatly against the sport We understand that pigs are very numerous where the hunt is to come off on Friday next. J The following item of news may be of interest to those who witnessed Edwards's performance in the drill shed when he walked 100 miles under twenty-four hours - -On the night of the 23rd April, at Philadelphia, Daniel O'Leary, of Chicago, began a walk of 115mil PS , to be accomplished in 2i hours. On the 24th, at eight minutes past U p.m., he completed 116 miles, thus malnng his distance, with a mile to spare, iv 52 mmutes less than the time set down. Inis is the best time on record. A contributor from Wellington has written a long rigmarole to the Argus about what the people of New Zealand think of the ab sence of Sir Julius Vogel from the Colon V In one portion of his letter the writer says'- —" Is New Zealand a Colony, or is it the private estate of the Premier? From the free-and-easy manner in which it has been treated during the past year, the latter might have been supposed to be the case." Then (the Argus, commenting on their contributor's

;he has towered bo completely above other poliw tuaans, and has established snch a complete 1 .dictatorship, that both his colleagues arid Parliament appear paralysed when eontem-': plating the possibility of his continued alisence. Amid all the disadvantages- under which we labour, it is satisfactory to think that we in Victoria need not fear being placed in a similar dilemma. There is no one man in our Parliament whese withdrawal would materially affect the course of events ; mdeed. we think that we might spare even two without interfering with the steady flow of do-nothingism which goes by the name of public business." The Argus of the 11th inst, give the following account of an attempt to commit suicide at sea during the passage of the A.S.N. Co.'s a.s. City of Adelaide from Sydney to Melbourne by a steerage passenger named Morris. • At 10 a.m. oa Wednes day, when the steame- was about 15 miles N.E. of Wilson's Promontory, arid goin^ at full speed, Morris, who was recovering from the effects of drink, rushed np the steerage companion on desk, aud befoie he could be prevented sprang over the side. The engines were speedily reversed, and a boat lowered and two life buoys, one from the bridge and one from aft, thrown to him. The b«at in charge of Mr W. Thompson, third mate was manned and in the water in a very few minutes, and the crew pulled towards the drowning man vigorously. Their exertions were well-timed, for Morris was disappearing below the surface head downwards. Thompson, the third officer, seeing this placidly dived under him and held him ud until the men in the boat pulled him in board. After picking one of the lite-buoys up, the boat returned to the steamer, which then proceeded on her voyage. So smartly were operations conducted that the steamer was forging ahead full speed again within 15 minutes after the man had gone over the aide. So well pleased were the passengers with the activity and intrepidity displayed by Thompson that a sum of money was collected on board and presented, along with an address, as a mark of their approval of his bravery in rescuing Morris at such considerable personal risk. A portion of the money collected was divided amongst the crew of the boat. Regarding the movements of M. Blondin, we Had the following in the Hobart Town Mercury of June 7th .—"A private letter has been received from the far-famed 'King of the Air,' by his recent agent, Mr H. P. Lyons, who is at present in Hubarfc Town Writing from Galle, M. Blondin intimate that himself and family were in excellent health, and had experienced pleasant weather, the only drawback being a visitation of the 'prickly heat.' The chevalier purposes visiting London, Paris, and other Kuropean capitals, aud thence returning to Australia, arriving about October next He intends performing in Sydney during the Christmas holidays, and in New Zetland either in January or February of next year I here is every probability of his paying a flying visit to Tasmania." WE* A rather amusing story (says the Hawke's Bay Herald) is being circulate 1 in towa about a marriage which was to have taken place a few days ago, but did not. The lady and gentlemen, it is said, intended the nuptial knot to be tied by the Registrar, and for that purpose proceeded to his office; but, from some mistake as to time, that official was not on the spot to perform the ceremony, so they agreed to dispense with his services until next day. The wedding feast, however, which had been prepared, was duly partaken of by the happy couDle and the assembled guests, and next day the gentleman. Proceeded to theßegistrar'soffieeagaintomeet the affianced bride ; but on this occasion she did not put in an appearance, and on enquiries being instituted it was discovered that she had eloped with one of the guests at the wedding feast. The unfortunate swain is said to be out of po.ketby the transaction having presented the lady with sundry articles of wearing apparel and jewellery and this loss, added to the sho^k to his feelings by the lady's abrupt departure, has rendered him very disconsolate. He has also been "chaflvd" by his friends, who l.;ok only on the ludicrous side of the picture. A benefit performance was given to Mr J. Moran, Irish comedian, in the Temperance Hall, last evening, which was numerously attended. A number of amateurs contributed their services, the programme beiug of a very diversified nature. The "Paradise Lost" diorama, at the Queen's Theatre did not attract a very numerous audience last evening, counter-attrac-tions telling, no doubt, on the attendance. While the subject is not one of a kind usually exhibited in dramatic or dioramic form, it must be said of the scenes that they are 4116 figures being parLuThe well-known drama of " The Marble Heart" was played at the Princess Theatre last evening The leading parts were well sustained by Mr and Mrs Bates. Miss Stoneham and Mr Stoneham, acquitted themselves very creditaMy, and the performance went f£J»°°-h£ To-niSht "Tne Marble rleart will be repeated. vTI£o D°U^ me°tin 8 of L(>dge St. Andrew, £o 432, $ C., wIU be hel<i in the Masonio ±i£ll this evening, when the R.W.M. and officers will be installed. The officers and brethren of Lodge Celtic, S.C., and also of Lodge Ofcago, E. 0., are requested to attend the installation. Creditors in the estate of G. H. Campbell will meet at noon to day at the Provincial Hotel.