THE MONDAY, JULY. 5, 1875.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4174, 5 July 1875, Page 4

THE MONDAY, JULY. 5, 1875.

Notwithstanding the telegram in the South Age, we are inclined to think that.Very sdi«Js: little indeed is known in New Zealand jSoßo^ aooufc the future of the Premier. The 'Race small fry of commentators, whose satisi.l c 0.,: ffiCtion ftt riding an imaginary hobbyippiiii horse, named " Righteous Indignation,"reminds us of nothing so much as a stump orator's fervour, have taken the opportunity of deciding that Sir, J. Vogel does notinfceud to live at Home. Rama, The precision with which his motives have been measured, the accuracy with reSi which his tone of mind has been disnaita' cussed, reminds us of nothing so much Bstem as the descriptions of tke conduct of the ( English nobility given by the own corr the respondent of a Western newspaper; lie. at Anyone who baa read this kind of itered thing knows that it finds its chief , per charm in the assumption of intimate 'atcm ■ ac<l lia'ntanc® w^th great men. What i. the Earl of Salvo said to the Marehioptthe ness > orwhat His Grace answered to Sir is, at John, how they looked, and what they ate. Faugh J the scent of the plush is over tor- it all; we acknowledge that the hand of J"eames is in it. This servant-hall- =" ism is never more apparent than when the correspondent attempts to deal with >oms delicate points of honour or tke ill understood obligations of gentlemen. Like thcn~ a beginner on the trayt-ze, poor Jeajcks ==r oscillates not only between his be!.ihandles, but is to be seen sometimes Wm- sweeping grandly through the air, sometimes, sprawling on the flat of his rcct, back. The heroics are seen to oe mock iiiuel l>y the painfully ridiculous mistakes ;hter which are made in the attempt to ""P" speak of what is not well understood. Up to a certain point, a Polite Letter63r\i writer and a book of quotations will carry the Court gossiper safely, but quite surely, ia the hour of meed, these fictitious supports fail the most indus [j;g trious compiler. We have very little v his compassion, we must say, for the per- ', to- petrators of these outrages upon newspaper morality. Whether it be that one party cites Mr Vooel as once an aspiring tobacconist, or another |^_ explodes in passionate rapsodies jg^ over the nobility of the Premier's mind . and the warmth of his heart, the crime is just the same. Indeed the praise so freely lavished upon him, and the pity ~~ for his poor gouty toe, with which he is so often freely bespattered, are. alike reminders of the "valet's hired scowl or smile." More especially in the case of the latter, when such terms as high-minded, part triotic, warm - hearted, sympathetic, and the like, are 'thrown carelessly ofita a^oufc > we bethink ourselves of the bootboy and lacqueys who hang round a departing guesfc and offer to carry anything, fetch anything, brush anything, ar to ingratiate themselves with the departeraud try and earn half-a-crqwn. Q. We sincerely trust that the ability and rice industry of these self-appointed lac- . queys will meet with its proper acind- knowledgement. We believe that the "th worst enemy of the Premier never lew doubted but that he was duly sensible of services rendered to him. To all—from the dignified butler, who -a, took pains to show that he respected himself in offering respect to a greater man, down to the _ minutest lad who brushed his boots, g Sir Julius was always "an open- ' handed gentleman j" showed himself . always most sensible of the rule that a !n> guest's comfort in a strange house must be largely dependent upon the'good-. ",? will of the servants. Some of our conn- temporaries will miss the accustomed its, vails which stood to them in the place „ nd of wages earned by honest work. We 0 bs cannot think that they will be allowed tl to starve, though their forms may be si ||» leas portly than before. There is ? *- always a certain demand for this kind °, £. of service, and the only difficulty will T »" be to find a new friend. £1 Whether Sir Julius Vogel returns C ( ig *° F ew -'Zealand or not is now a matter pi which, upon private as well as on public w *' grounds, must trouble these gentlemen al not a little. Let them quiet their fi » fears, and be quite sure that the devil • n will have hie own, and that if they will " 3f keep their wares in the open market, g< some one, sooner or later, will make tt overtures to them to buy them up. aa D We have no hesitation in repeating SE that in all probability Sir Julius will st be no more than a bird, of passage in V New Zealand for the future. That he # will come out again is likely, that he wi will come out to remain most unlikely. W That the present Government are at SVI o their wits'end (no great distance) how th to shuffle through the next session, is m-' , apparent to all. We noted the other }£ day one expedient, viz.; a change in re( the management of the Police force, no by which; they propose to test the feeling of the House as to the Abolition of vv the Provinces. It will easily be under- f er stood that this is the natural policy of Bo a weak Government, and we cannot an' but admire its dexterity, while pointing WJ out its weakness. f 1"1 We must express our deep sympathy lng for those whose feelings are agonised at the prospect of any change in the 80, Government. We may hope, how- ing ever, that for once the rules of slavery eec will be carried out, and the domestic wit clocqueurs be handed over with the other P or chattels to the new massa. For our part, while feeling the greatest adtniration for the author of the masterly dcs policy of the last few years, and con- ord: Passing that; we have never admired Mr reac Vogel more than when we looked at Pro< the other members of the Executive, we a^ do not confront the future with any • *? such terrible dismay. Even though the that great eltchi be gone, and though the invc present Government be scattered^ we do the not despair of the commonwealth. The as tl project to which we have alluded is one dei" which betokens such thorough weakness thafc^we do not think that its authors will survive even throughout brin the next session. It is one thing to be any guided by a master hand and quite tieul another to endure such an inexpert or ifimitation of the method of states- adve manship. "We are authorized to ®°. me state," —so runs the phrase— that there is no truth, whatever in the meni statement that Sir Julius Vogel " has A fo

made arrangements for the appointment of some of his warmest supportei s to posts of responsibility in a large financial house in England.',' On the contrary, we learn, that the negotiation fell through at the last moment, owing to a chance expression of our warmhearted Premier which happened to be overheard—viz., "Save me froca my friends."

There was laid on the table of the Provincial Council on. the Bth ult. the "First Annual Report, by Professor J. G. Black, on the University Laboratory," but, owing, we presume, to the late period of the session, and the consequent rush of printing, it has only just now made its appearance in print. This is to be regretted, inasmuch as some of its contents are highly suggestive of the necessity of further legislative enactments, with a view to prevent the adulteration of articles of food and drink. And while those enactments, to be generally applicable and effective, will doubtless have to be made by the General Assembly, still the members of the Council; would have had placed before them, in the contents of Professor Black's report, such an amount of really valuable data as would have enabled them to have arrived at the adoption of a few concise resolutions on the subject that might have been of considerable service in pointing out the direction those enactments should take. We know full well, however, that it is a matter of sheer impossibility^ to print everything that comes upon the' table during session while the session still lasts; and we are very glad of the opportunity of acknowledging a decided improvement in the matter of getting in early, and publishing speedily, the bulk of the Depart msntal Reports, which characterised the proceedings of the late session of the Council, and the desirability of which we strongly pointed out to the Government some time before the Council met. Leaving, however, for the present, the suggestive lessons taught by the Report, we proceed, in this issue, to deal simply with a few of the facts disclosed by it. The total number, we find, of analyses, or partial analyses, made at the University Laboratory during the year was 434:. Of this total, the Professor tells us, no less than "332 samples were forwarded by Mr Lumb to be tested for adulteration under the 'Adulteration of Food Act.'" Thus it would appear that whatever may have been the measure of success attendant upon Mr Lumb's efforts during the last year, no fault could possibly be found y?ith him on the score of the paucity of the samples he forwarded for analysis. Glancing for a moment at the recorded Jesuits of the various analyses made in respect specially to eatables and drinkables, it will be seen that our friends of the teetotal«, type have, on the whole, by far the greater cause to "rest and be thankful." Though we advise even these not to " halloo till

they are out of the wood." We find that of 39 samples of brandy submitted., two are set down as "adulterated," and seven as " impure;" of 54 of whisky, five " adulterated," and "five "impure;" of 35 of rum, five "adulterated," and. two "impure." "Geneva," of which five samples were submitted, and " beer," of which eleven samples were operated upon, seem to have passed muster well, being marked respectively : " Adulterated, 0 ;" " impure, 0." Coming to wines, however, we find a much more serious state of things developed. Opposite "Port wine," of which nine samples were submitted, we no longer find the proportion of "adulterated" and "impure" as marked in the previous instances, but the plain, unvarnished statement, "All more or less modified." Opposite "Sherry"'—of which 12 samples were operated upon—we find the words : —" Eleven, strengthened and sweetened." Beyond the so-called "Port" and "Sherry," no samples of the various wines vended in our mids 6 seem to have been forwarded for analysis. How is this ? Are the ordinary tastes of our very active Revenue Officer known to be of such a plebeian character that suspi cion would be awakened by his asking for "a bottle of fine old claret," one of "sparkling champagne," or some other of the more loudly puffed " high class" wines ? or is the amount of the funds placed at hiß disposal either as salary or otherwise, so limited as not to admit of his giving such a "noble call?" Whatever be the reason for the omission, we are inclined to regret that Professor Black was precluded from manipulating, professionally, any other wines than port and sherry during the entire year covered by his very excellent Report. Coming to the portion of the Report in which our teetotal friends may be expected to take a more than ordinary amountof lively personal interest, they will be happy to hear that opposite the word "pepper," of which condiment six samples seems to have been submitted — the words appear :— "AH genuine." It must, also, be highly satisfactory to us all to learn that milk, bread, buns, biscuits, teas coffee, chicory, and flour, as well as pepper, all come out of the ordeal to which they were submitted, so remarkably well. Indeed, the teas—of which fifteen samples were submitted—are said to have been " all genuine." The same is taid alfio of the twenty-seven samples of coffee and chicory; they also wore " all genuine." Thfre is just one line in the list showing " the nature of the samples analysed " that by way of calling special attention to it, we give just &$ it stands in the report. Here it is:—" Sweets 30, twelve poisonous !" In explanation of tlie above line, Professor Black says :-—" The sweets were coloured with chromate of lead and Prussian blue '

Where these twelve samples of " poisonous:' sweets came from we are not told; but that the law should be such that persons may still go on vending them with impunity, is surely proof positive enough that further legislative enactment is urgently required. But into that subject wo must not attempt to go on the present occasion.

We have on severai recent occasions referred to proceedings of our Waste Lands Board which appeared to us of an eccentric and exceedingly unsatisfactory character. Whilst carefully guarding ourselves from misapprehension, and sincerely disclaiming all intention of imputing any motives ofa«orrupt or morally improper kind to any member whatever of the Waste Lands Board, we have yet felt that its proceedings are characterised by such caprice and eccentricity as are altogether incompatible with the satisfactory discharge of the important duties which bylaw devolve upon it to perform. All rule aad all precedent are utterly ignored by this peculiar body, or if noticed at all, are known only to be despised. The novel and somewhat extraordinary devices to which the Board has resorted in the settlement of the Hundreds proclaimed during the latter end of 1874, and opened a few months ago, would ere this have formed the subject of remark in these columns, had we not been aware that several appeal cases were pending, involving the question of the legality of the devices we have referred to. As soon as these cases are decided we purpose endeavouring to show to the public of Otago the true effect of the land policy of the Board and Government during the last six months. As it is always well, when bringing charges in general terms against any person or body, to refer them to particular instances which disclose the vices or infirmities imputed, we propose now to advert to a recent, and, to our mind, somewhat singular instance of the eccentric and one-sided manner in which the Waste Lands Board promotes settlement upon the Crown lands of this Province. A fortunate individual, whose name we

believe is Mackay, and. who follows the genial—and, we may even admit, useful occupation of wayside inn 'or accommodation house-keeper: on the Stfitiers road, has succeeded in enlisting; the sympathy and do - operation both ■of the Superintendent and the, Waste Lauds Board in enabling him to acquire, in a somewhat remarkable way, nbout 200 acres of Crown lands within the limits of the Heriot Hundred. Of the individual himself, we know nothing. He may, or he may not, be personally deserving of the amount of attention and sympathy he has received at the hands of a paternal Government and a benevolent Board, but we certainly feel that ihe public is entitled to some explanation of the peculiar course adopted towards this favoured person. The course we shall now proceed to explain, By section 36 of "The Otago Waste. Lands Act, 1872," itis provided that the .Waste Lands Board, with the consent of the Superintendent first obtained,: may sell to any person who may have improved the sarhe prior t© the passing of this Act, any. portion of land within a Hundred not exceeding 320 acres ; and further, that t]ie. price for such land sludl be fixed by tlie"Board. Mr Mackay has fenced in and cultivated a smali paddock of about 13 acres round "the Dunrobiri." It was clearly, within the power of the Board (so far as this clause alone is concerned) to Jfiave.sold to Mr Mackay the land of which he was in occupation, buc no mere, at a fair price. But they have sold to him, without .competition of any kind, and without any other person being able to apply for the land, 197 acres at 20s per acre. The most curious part, however, of the affair is to come. Our readers are doubtless aware that the Board and Superintendent have recently arrogated to themselves the power to throw open the public lands, not for application or selection, but.for competition at auction at any price they may. happen to be in the humour for fixing at the particular'time they sit. It is, of course, evident that if they have anyideaof who are likely to want particular lands about to be, opened, they have in the exercise of this power an opportunity to make it as.V.hbt'' as they please for one and as easy'a3 possible for another. The Government and the Board are of course quite above this sort of thing, but we confess the possibility makes us a little uneasy. Confining ourselves, however, to facts, we find that about a third of the land1 recently opened has been opened fW selectionat 20s per acre, and the remainder offered at auction at prices varying from 22* 6d to about 45a. in some cases the land raised to 40s adjoining that opened at'2os, is of exactly the same character. Occasionally the Board has resolved to offer landat 22s 6d ; then being in a different humour next sitting, has resolved that ifc shall be 40s and not 22s 6d. We purposely refrain from venturing any opinion as to the legality of these proceedings, we simply connhe ourselves to a statement of facts. Our readers may perhaps, however, begin to" wonder if we have lost sight of the fortunate Mackay with his 200 acres. Not at all-we have merely been preparing their minds for tne reception of the information that the Board professes to discover in all tfie land surrounding and contiguous to the land bestowed upon Macicay a " special value " and that it has declined to agree that such land shall be offered for public competition at an upset price of something over 40s per acre. Now, we can scarcely see the escape of the Board and Superintendent from the horns>of the following dilemma:—Either they considered this land honestly worth 40s per acre or they did not. If they did, then we profess we cannot understand why they sold to Mackay at 20s ; and, if they did not, ™en why raise the price to that figure? Why Mr Mackay should have about 180 acres of unimproved Crown lands at 20s without competition, and any person desirous of purchasing the land contiguous be compelled to pay over 40s, we are at a loss to imagine, and we have little hesitation in venturing; the opinion that the Board and Superintendent have exceeded their powers,, and that the sale is illegal "'"

[ Our Clyde correspondent telegraphed last I evening as follows:— The Northern Escort leaves here to-morrow with: the following quantities of gold :—Queenstowh, 1658. ozs. j Cardrona, 320 ozs. ; Arrow, ,78$ pzs ; Cromwell, 4186 ozs. (including 1650 amalgamated ; Alexandra, 590 0z5.; .Roxburgh, 740 oz3. ; Clyde, 190 ozs,—The member'for the Dunstan in the Provincial Council, after giving an account of his stewardship, delivered a philippic against the Dunatan Times, and said he wished it fco be understood he never was nor would ba influenced by. that paper. No vote of thanks was accorded htm.

Our Auckland correspondent telegraphed on Saturday:—Later Fiji papers, via Syd. ney, announced the good offers made for land at Kandavu, but holders are unwilling to part.—The Fijians are forbidden to allow white men to be in their houses after eight o'clock.—A good deal of maize has been planted at Tayiuna, and a very good harvest is expected.—A public meeting was held at Rewa to consult as.fco measures to prevent the spread of typhoid fever in this district, which is now at Levuka arid Bau. Measles are very prevalent. Afc the chief townLakfcbu—6o natives succumbed to the disease, and the epidemic is still raging. News fronv Kandavu states that measles carried off 2000 natives, The epidemic seems to have worked itself out, writes the Rewa correspondent of the Fiji Times, and with it thousands of Fijian subjects. Chief, and slave, old and young, heathen and civilised, alike have fallen victims—all being biought to the same level, not only after death but before it. In most cases, when towns were amittfln, the missionary teachers ran away, and the people yielded to, the old school teaching and threw off the shallow impression made by missionaries—which I am inclined to think has been more system than gospel— and sought comfort in their old superstitions. In one town,where a teacherdied the people buried him, and alter wards buried his wife and children, who had not died. This, they said, might rid them of the disease.

A burglary was committed early ou Saturday morning at Messrs Webb and Fulton's Office. An entrance was 'effected into the clerk's room through the up-stairs window, and the Eaaby'a despatch box taken, which was afterwards found in an adjoining street, forced open, and the papers scattered about By to-day's mail there will go home, from the District Grand Lodge of Otago under the English Constitution, an address of congratulation to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales on his appointment as Most Worshipful Grand Master of English Freemasons. Some fellow attempted to force an entry into the main hall of the Railway Station early on Saturday mosning. Though the window was discovered forced open, nothing inside was disturbed.

A. suspicious fire took place ia a threej roomed cottage in George street, occupied by one Matthew Gostello, a carriage trimmer in the employ of Mr Robin, about 10 o'clock on Saturday morning. After it had been extinguished a quantity of light clothing half burned, and also some hay in a similar state, was found near the fire-place. The furniture, of which there appeared very little in the house, was insured for £100 in the London aud Lancashire Insurance Office; but the cottage, belonging to Mr Dermer, j chemist, was uninsured. Costello left just before the fire broke out, and did not return until some time afterwards. Onlnspector Mallard and Sergeant Dean calling upon him to make enquiries, he refused to answer any, and when they asked admittance, said he would

the see the police blessed before he woaJd let eful them in. Whea asked aJS to the value of the" pni- furniture, he recommended them t<> ask; at tiT th° insnrahce Office ' adding that there yroa ;Q ® the same quantity there as when he insured, iste An in luiry will probably be held regarding M . he origin of the fire. : ! ay, As is usual, on the last day in the week, a hin light calendar was presented at the Police Of Court on Saturday. Kary Duffus, who had ng- been locked up for drunkenness, was let off md With a caution > aßd EliJah Williams, charged. Bof with stealing a pot of jelly and a tin of preent sersred salmon from the shop-door of Mr K. the Merc?r» Pnnces street, was senteaced to iof b^tee months' imprisonment. Messrs Ward his and Flexman presided. .''■'. lall The, Waste Lands Boards seem to be in an j• ?* unfortunate plight just now. From Southv d land the ecnoes are rung of appeals in which m [ certain parties of the names of Morrison and vho M' lntosa are the appellants. In Otago Mr the and Mr Herbert have likewise come md *° the fore as the assailants of the Board. $20 And now a new crop of litigants turns up in for the peraons of Messrs Clarke, M'Kellar, and rd. Herbert. Unhappy Waste Lands Boards; ted It is.evident that.they are aot,doomed to ml "everlasting felicity," nor are they "like his the Btars of eaveil to shine for ever." As t 0 an English judge recently,said with regard in to raUway accidents—What would our 'cc. lawyers do, just now, without a Waste m- Lands Board? ',- .-,; .• ■ . ny Hitherto the North Island of New Zealand ;° c has not possessed any District Grand Master of Freemasons under the English Constitute tion > although there is a Deputy Grand n( j Master in Auckland under the Scottish. In to the Middle Island Mr J. H. Harris ;is Dibhe triot Grand Mester for Otago ; l.)r Donald, 3C- of Lyttelton, is-District Grand. Master for ny Canterbury; and Mr J. Lazar is District he Grand Master for Westlan I. Lately com. ne' munications nave passed between'some of ; ■**■ the Lodges in the North Island and the District Grand Master of Otago. The result of V the correspondence has been that Sir Donald ey M' Leau has been requested to accept the :or office of Pistrict Grand Master for the North rd Island. Sir Donald M'Lean has agreed to of accept the office, and it is expected that in a ty few months his commission will be sent out ir- from the Grand Lodge at 'Hume. It is likely iat that the installation will take place at 'Weled lington in October next, and that it will be conducted by the District Grand Master of ut Ota £o> assisted by the various officers from to the other Lodges of the, Middle aßd North o f Islands. The event will be a most important \y one in many respects, and it is expected that 2s the installation will be conducted with unar üßual ceremony. '■■-.- " ifc Mr D. Wright, missionary of KrioxChurch, c conducted the weekly service at the Queen's *£ Theatre last evening, when the,building was ~ & again crowded, notwithstanding the incle iy ment weather. Two of Sankey's hymns were ye beautifully sung by about a dosen voices. iV We understand that an interprevinciai ye pigeon shooting-match has been definitely , or arranged, and will come off on the 9th of *c November. The conditions of the match _' d are M foUows ••—Ten of the best shots from „ each Province will be selected, and will fire on their respective gronnds on the above a . date. Three prizes will be given. The first jg one is valued at 100 guineas, being a very ly elaborate piece of plate; the second valued a- at 50 guineas, and the third at 30 guineas. ■ Jg It is distinctly stipulated that no money ] is prizes shall be offered. Mr S. G. Smith has f y been deputed to look after tht, Otago men; and from what we know of his ability both \ fc as a shot and having a good knowledge of ?j the best marksmen in Otago, we can guaranIQ tee that our local team will not be badly re- ) 3 presented. Mr S. Meade Dalgleish will look ' n after the interests of the Wellington comi- petitors, and Captain Wheeler will generally \ c superintend affairs in the North Island. c Mr Henry Eager, once well known in j !_. connexion with Mr Grace as one of the pro- j g prietorsof ground now owned by the Shot- < over Terrace Company, has been unfortunate , at the Palmer, his venture .there by no + it means having turned out a golden, one. In „ t writing to his old mate Mr John Elliott, g manager of the Arrow United Company, and i . one of the Phoenix tribuWs,' writes our j . Arrowtown correspondent, Mr Eager depicts .» • his position as a most forlorn and hopeless £ ; one. He reprssents himself as completely v . broken down in health, and a wreck in V j mind and body.. Having spent months in $ 1 prospecting he had found nothing to pay, ci I while as to the future prospects of the j s p Palmer Mr.Eager sends a very poor account, j , He also states, that he had been ill with y fever for several months, and had he the . means he would gladly return to New Zealand. This is going farther and faring J | worse with a'vengeance. '.'" '■"'" r The Committee of the Dunedin Football q \ Club not having arranged a match or as- Q . sembly for practice on Satiirday afternoonf j D [ only three or four players appeared at the B . Southern Recreation Gronnds, and conse- pi ', quently a beautiful day was lost. About di . two dozen members of the Union Club were m practising the Association Roles at the North Dunedin Grounds in order to play them in 01 the return match with the Dunedin Club, on o t ; Saturday, the 17th inst. The so-called re- j n creation ground was in a disgraceful condi^ di tion, and positively dangerous for football j n It is highly discreditable to the'principal city ai in New Zealand for the Corporation to allow dt so valuable a block to be utterly juseless. o f We understand that the Union Football a fc Club intend to request permission to drain v i and otherwise improve the ground. If this re were done, the Albion Cricket Club could i n have a suitable place for practice, and again of come to the fore next season. A match be-' j so! tween the Dunedin Football Club and the tb Engineers will take place next Saturday. pu The Sailors' Home contained 23 boarders I his on Saturday last; 12 entered and 5 left j en during the week. In During the week ended 3rd July 141 siD patients were admitted into the Dunedin Hospital and 12 were; discharged therefrom, j doi John M'Leod, aged 55, platelayer, native of j aa< Rosshire, died from disease of the liver. So I*° Tye, labourer, aged 35, native of China, died j Be^ from disease of the heart. The number of 1 tn€ patients at present in the Hospital is 177, j Pei of whom 41 are females. j lin« The Rev. Mr Leeson, of the Trinity j Wl'* Church, Port Chalmers, delivered a search- j aVI ing and sensible sermon yesterday morning J cos upon the preservation of the sanctity of the j on Sabbath Day. He chose for hiß text Dcv- j nesi teronomy y. 29. After commenting upon J sca^ the laws laid down by the Almighty for the I m ' guidance of the Jews and also the 1 *^ and the terrible disasters that befel the Jews J wer through their departing frota God's ways, J 'eBSI the rev. gentleman dwelt particularly upon j an<* the Fourth Commandment, and out spokenly I w&l said—" I know perfectly well, indeed, that I Tl what I am about to say will go but a very I trad small way towards preventing what ap-1 Perl: pears to me to be the needless desecration j be f< if the day of rest at seaports, where the I Bar: jractice of infringing upon the sanctity of the j pleas Sabbath is becoming, as all right thinking J essaj md wisely thinking men must agree, only I is an ioo common. Can we be right, for the sake I speal if saving a few hours in despatching vessels llt is o do what the steamboat companies appear I whiel 0 do, viz., regard Sunday as a day above all j the I thers to be selected for sailing upon. , This I cuttii practice is pernicious in the last degree. It jto pr< 1 but the beginning of the end ; and if things pertii oon as they are going, we may look to see ing, ( lie dearest privilege given to labouring mode umanity—that of keeping the seventh, day nence s a day of rest—gone for ever. In this collat 'ort, once the very sti-uiighold of Sabbata- hath

nanism; nothing appears to be 'ttonghfr despatching-aswas the"case bnly^ttn last* aanday-twoj'or %e : e a^aMCTa,: ibft this graaping cupidfty of owiiers, iigeniaV'^anA othera, deprives many men who reefairp iW and time in which they may unite, fa-the public worship of. their God^eprWWtheß* i of the power of either taking the one ortfoing the.other.C No, they cannot serve. God. Their time must go to minister to rthe iniquitous- gains of those whds<3 position "in a Christian and a civilised' &mnium# shoMd have induced them to' set; their fates' resolutely against such a godless arid'such; an. evil custom. TMg and, other neglect o£ the.day of rest >„>!. fear,-a.growing evdin our land. r Mr Leeson theniompared Sabbath observances of the. present day with those of the past, and pointed out how the day of rest chiefly benefited' the woifcjng classes, and that the bulk of tW- people would be the sufferers if the maridate.of ;Wr was trampled upon/and the seventh day de graded to a common day." He earnestly faa. pressed upon his hearers to set their' faces as much as possible against the desecration. oE the,seventh day as one of rest,, and/to.-make a bold stand against any. attempted further inroad upon it. Mr Lesson broadly affirmed that he held no Jewish opinions about the keeping of the seventh day. "No man's liberty should be restricted one inch in harmless things, nor would I attempt to lay; down: | rules for the correct way:qf spending; Sueday." Each must be guided by "his or-heir own conscience, and what one might; do without offence would be cause of stumblihgto another. The sermon, one of thebest'' ever, delivered in the Church, concluded witfit an earnest exhortation; to unity to check the growth of the wanton and utterly gdilesst desecration of the day of jrest. '- Messrs R. S. Sparrow and 00. have m ' hand ihe work of constnicting two jtok. steamers on the bank of the canal neartWi^Bt • premises on the reclaimed land,' and^ttjfJr^ keels of wMch are now laid! 'One of'themis for Messrs Seagar and Co., of Wellington, and her dimensions are to be as follows : Length of keel, 100 ft.; length over^ 109 ft; breadth of beam, 16ft.; depth of hold, 7ft. 6in. WiU iarry about. 90 tone. She will be fitted with a pair of comppuud engines, nomiaal atrength.3o h. p., but. which will be capable of working up to 180 : • She is to be employed in the trade between Wellington and Napier. A second steamer of similar dimensions is being 'built for a Napier firm, Messrs Richardson and CaWpbell, the ownars of the steamer Fairy bailfc in Dunedin about a, year ago. She is to be fitted with a pair of compound1 engme3,'aad will have a saloon on; deck for , the accommodation of passengers;. All the Iwork of constructing these vessels, including: the making of the compound: engines; >will be done by Messrs Sparrow' and Co. Both steamers are to be completed about the end of October. We are informed that iron shin building is much kept back We tfirougk want of water frontage, and that if the canal were deepened much larger iron vessels could be constructed in. Danadin, a resu!fe which would be beneficial,to the iadostriea of the City. ■ ; , ..-..'.. The Heriot Hundred hydra-headed .controversy which has been fought oat before the Waste Lands Board' by Mr Coiinell, is now in adefinite form to be brought before His Honour Mr Justice Johnston. The lands within the hundred are to be opened for sale or lease on the deferred payment system to-morrow, the 6th July., Messrs J. F. Herbert, David M'Kcllar, and Josepfc. Clarke are the pastoral- tenanta.primarily iu~ terested iri the question, but their ease is the case of every runhblder in the Province. An action has been already commenceja, or will be commenced to-day, by each.of the gentlemen named, to restrain the Waste Elands Board from proceeding to give effeeft to its avowed determination; to open «ie ' lands to-morrow. We understand; taat an. ineffectual attempt has been made to indues ihe Board and the Provincial Executive fo igree that one case shall decide the fate of ihe, others. The non-success which; has ittended this effort compels each of the >astoral tenants named to iastitute proceednga on his own behalf. We" hear Ithafc kfessrs M 'Kellar and Herbert have retained tfr Macassey, Mr Cook, and Mr Haggitfc ax heir counseL Mr Smith, we: understand; fill lepreseufc Mr Clarke, and Mr Stout the Vaste Lands Board and Provincial Exeeuive: '** is nofc desirable that we should liter into any discussion of the questions at wue, for, as we have already, said, Mr ustice Johnston will have the whole'matter brust under his nose before long. One of those ridiculous faction fights whicfr ppear to have been begotten of the dull taws, and which have been productive of so inch harm to the peace and well-being of le Wakatip district lately, writes.: our [ueenstown correspondent, was dealt wit& i a moat admirable manner by Mr Richmond eetham, in a suit and counter suit for tresass heard before him in the Extended Juriaictionof the Eesident Magistrate's Court [r John Roach and Mr George: White, two Ijoining neighbours, living at Lake Hayes i not very amicable terms with eacfc iher, gave vent to their pent up fee!igs and animosities, and sought to iW*""*' ress their real or imaginary wrpngii by istituting actions mutually against one lother for the .sum of £50, for images to crops and fences by the trespass : stock. Each came to Court with a formid>le array of witnesses, besides being oroded with, the necessary legal assistant ta inder the combat on either side as 'Aam^^JßC^ gas possible. The cases were, as a: matter ~^ course, opened with all due form and lemnity, the grounds of the charges being at Mr White's cattle and sheepViiad, by tiling down Mr Roach's \ fences, entered s paddocks and there feasted upon- his 3ps of grain, and grass and clover pasture. Mr Roach's case the injury wa&preoisely ailar, only it was horses and sheep that d committed the damage. The Magistrate übtless mentally thought that if there d been any wrong done, it was owing the neglect of the disputants ithemves, who had not properly instructed s animals calling them master with, a pror notion of keeping within the boundary ss of their several estates. He, therefore, ;h but slight he-itation, gave in each casa erdict for the full amount claimed and ts, which,1 with the exception of some £3 the part of Roach, whose array df.wifcses was upon a rather more elaborate le than White's, they both left the Court much the same frame of mind as whea centered. The only conceivable results c that they had been taught a very good on, the lawyers had pocketed each a fee, the witnesses had enjoyed themselves i a. day's outing on the cheap. he North Otago Times publishes an ext from Lord Bacon's Essay on Judicature laps no more interesting reading, could sund at the present time for Bench and in Dunedin. We have therefore,muck ■ure in re-producing a portion of tha r:—" Patience aud gravity of hearing essential partof justice, and an overking Judge is no well tuned cymbaL no grace to a Judge first to fitid that h he might kave heard in due time front Jar, or to show quickness of conceit ia. ng off evidence or counsel too short, or event information by questions, though aent. The parts of a, Judge, in hearare four -To direct the - evidence ; to, rate length, repetition, or iinpertt sof speech; to recapitulate, select, and :e the material points of that whiclt been said; and to give, the rule ok-

sentence. Whatsoever is above these is too much, and proceedeth either of glory and willingness to speak, or of impatience to hear, or of shortness of memory, or of want of a atayed and •equal attention. It is a strange thing to •see that the boldnesß of advocates should ■prevail with Judges, whereas they should ■imitate God, in whose seat they sit, who Tepressoth the presumptuous and giveth to the modest; but it is more Strange that Judges should have noted favourites, which cannot but cause multiplication of fees and suspicion of bye-ways. There is due from the Judge to the advocate some commendation and gracing where cases are well handled and fair-pleaded, especially toward the side which obtaineth not, for that upholds to the client the reputation of his counsel, and beats down in him the conceit of his cause. There is likewise due to the public a civil reprehension of advocates, where there appeareth cunning counsel, gross neglect, slight information, indiscreet pressing, or an over-bold defence. And let not the counsel at the bur chop with, the Judge, nor wind himself into the handling of the cause anew, after the Judge hath declared his sentence; but on the other side let not the Judge meet the cause half way, nor give occasion to the party to say his counsel or proofs were not heard."

A short time since, in referring to the rise io the price of meat by the butchers in town, we took occasion to remark that there was not fctincient reason for this advance, which ■was doubtless the result of a combination. The following paragraph from the Southland Times serves, in a great measure, to confirm our remarks :—lt seems something like a contradiction that, while the local butchers tire complaining of the scarcity of fat stock, the New Zealand and Australian Company should hare recently negotiated the sale of 5000 fa'; sheep, to be delivered in Dunedin. A third draft of the lot, consisting of 750, started the other day, and we understand that they will be about a fortnight on the road. It appears that a large order like this was executed last year, and that not a single sheep was lost on the way.

We fiud the following in the Tribune of the Ist inst. :—Sir Julius Vogel has not joined the Rothschild firm, and he will return to New Zealand, but there will be no end to rumours of a contrary character until iis makes his appearance here in propiia jpermna. To those who circulate these canards denial is of no use.

" Under the Gaslight" was played at the Princess Theatre on Saturday evening. The lower parts of the house were well attended. The programme for this evening consists of "Dollars and Cents."

The monthly meeting of Lodge St. Andrew will be held in the Masonic Hall this evening at 7.30.