THE Otago Daily Times. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1876.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4348, 26 January 1876, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1876.

Any one who really wants to knowhow the matter of the Southern Land Fund appears to the Centralist party will find much food for reflection in the Nelson Colonist of the 18th inst. In the leading article of that date the intelligent public of that sweet little place are warned of the evils coming upon them of "increased taxation." These two words always arrest the attention of a careless reader, and it is impossible to doubt that the readers of the Colonist stretched themselves and gave several gigantic yawns when they saw that they were likely to be taxed more. For many a long quiet year they have enjoyed all those substantial benefits to be derived from getting their land cheap— viz,, at 6s (3d per acre. Favoured by situation and climate, and favoured also by the fortune, skill, and prudence of her governing class,' the inhabitants of that happy valley have recked but little of the storms that trouble other folk. Secure in the possession of their fertile estates, the large landed proprietors believed in their luck, and never doubted that in the future they would be able to keep all the halfpence that the Public Works policy might produce; while others, less fortunate, would take all the kicks. If ever a thought rushed across their brain that they might have to pay something for the advantage of a railway, they put it away from them as a hideous and impossible dream, and trusted, not without some reasonable grounds, that their public men would jockey somebody or- other into paying their debts. It has become clear to them, at last, that they must be smart, and find that some one, now that the enemy "increased taxation" was staring them in the face. They naturally look to those " who possess" when making choice of a victim tor plunder, and with the habit that we are told use doth breed in a man, they determine to plunder Canterbury and Otago. We should much like to present to our l-eaders an analysis of the argument by which this organ of the Centralist party in Nelson support their proposal, but we cannot do so, merely because we are presented with no argument whatever. We have a dogmatic statement—an assumption, but never a vestige of argument. The statement runs thus : " Nelson may starve for what Otago cares, so long as that which is really the price of the property of the whole Colony is received and spent by themselves." Aud now we would ask our readers further to mark what is really the keystone of the Abolition programme. It is not often stated so plainly, but we believe that it is always understood and acted upon by the party that supports the centralizing efforts of the present Ministry. The Southern Centralists dare not say it out, because they know that such a proposal would not be listened to here. They deliberately falsify the record, and go all lengths to try and affix the charge of desiring to colonialize the land fund upon Anti-Centralists, but this is what the Colonist says, and this we believe to be the programme of ninety-nine out of every hundred Centralists, North and South. We wish to draw particular attention to the first sentence, because it shows with what sort of regard the thorough-paced Centralist looks upon the local bribery clauses of the Abolition Bill, which the half-hearted Southern Centralist assures us is to be the palladium of our property, the security for our possessions : —" Much has been said about localizing the income from land still further, but what must be struggled and fought for is to bring it, as the only effectual protection against crushing burdens, into one common purse."

We are quite sure that after reading this our Centralist friends will admit that they were intolerably foolish and silly in their attempt to make out that the Centralists wouldn't touch our ( land fund for the world, and that they will pro mise never be so silly agaiu. The leading article upon which we are commenting, in its undisguised advice to plunder the South, attempts, as we have said, nothing like argument about the right of the other Provinces to our estate. It contents itself with holding up the bugbear of in ci-eased taxation, and warning its readers that to steal is the only way to grow rich. Whatever we may think of the morality of the proposal, its audacity is worthy of admiration. But we might remind our contemporary that the same argument which he lues to show the unfairness of Nelson's being poor and Canterbury rich might be pushed a iittle farther, so as to show the unfairness of of Mr De Bukgii being wealthy and Mr Snooks poor. It is impossible sometimes not to wonder at the unequal distribution of wealth among members of the same commuuity. It is certainly too bad that one man should have five thousand per annum, another not five hundred. In that comprehensive scheme of social reform which the Central party advocate, they must not suppose that they wiil be allowed to make equal partition among the sections of the Culoijy, and let individual property alone. Whatever the means employed may be, the Saturday night's partition of weakb. must embrace all and sundry. But we have a proposition to make which we hope will satisfy our Centralist friends, and that is to remodel the taxation of the whole Colony upon the ha^is of land ; and if they will assent to our proposal, we shall agree to the coh.nialiaation of our remaining acres. But to do this we must fir.st understand what has been paid for land, and we shall find that Nelson, Otago, and Canterbury stand as one, three, and .six in tin's respect — i.e., the Nelson people have paid, say (is Sd per acre, the people of Otago .£l, of Canterbury ji'2. Of course, therefore, the taxation necessary must be imposed in a corresponding rauo. A Nelsonite must pay six times as much as a Canterbury taxpayer, and three times as much as an Otagan. How will this seem to the Colonist ? We are afraid it will not give it its favourable consideration j and yet some Mich deed of arrangement, taking also into consideration a due allocation of loan.", seems like to afford the only fair prospect of being able to start upon a career of political Communism.

We have not Leinl much of the unemployed lately, thank goodness, and wo may take it for granted that their

silence 13 to be understood as meaning that, they have no reason for grumbling. Judging by the facility with, which late shipments ef immigrants have been cleared off, the labour market was never in a more healthy state. Judging by the battles that have been raging in the households of our contemporaries about printers' wages, and so forth, we may judge that in this branch of trade the men have it pretty well their own way, and that they have nothing to complain of as to the Dunedin compositors' rate. In almost every branch of business it seems that good men are still sufficiently scarce to command, if not their own price, at least a very high rate. Of course, with harvest beginning in some quarters, and coming on directly in most, we have nothing to fear for some months. It is undeniable, however, that a good many tolerably well-informed judges in such matters expect that, about the middle of the winter, things will be very dull, and we may reasonably suppose that all the trades will feel a certain depression. It would become those who are still in goo-1 work to look forward a little, and lay by something while there is still time. The habits of Colonial life are so opposed to thrift that it is probable that many who are now earning far more than enough to support themselves are niaking little or no provision for the time when things are dull, and when they will find it impossible to get work. We would remind the newcomers especially that in Colonial life there are good and bad seasons, and that it is only right that they should learn the lesson of providence, and strike a, balance between the wages of summer and winter. This is a lesson which comes very hardly to the English j workman, who has been accustomed to a far less variation in settled trades. We would say to such that it is, at any rate, most unusual here for the rate of wages to be continued through the winter as in the summer, and that he had better remember that this is his harvest time. We have no desire to be alarmists, and we certainly do not think that there are going to be whole troops of unemployed about Dunedin in June. At the same time, we must expect to see far more difficulty in obtaining work next winter at full rates than we have seen for the last two years. The railways in the vicinity of'town consumed a good deal of odd labour last year, and now that they are finished, it will make a great difference.

The Lyttelton Times can take credit for having discovered the reason why the Hon. C, C. Bowen, the Minister of Justice, is such a staunch advocate of Centralism. It seems that Mr Bowen in farmer clays travelled in South America, and afterwards wrote a bock called " A Visit to Peru." From this work our contemporary extracts the following passage, showing how the Peruvians are governed : —"The Government of Peru, such as it is, is a pure Centralism. Prefects and sub-prefects exercise a delegated authority in Provinces a,nd Districts ; and under them again the chief man in a village or small town receives a commission as Governor. This dignitary is generally very illiterate, and sometimes tyrannical. . . . There is a second authority in the village, the ' alcalde, 7 who is chosen from among the Indians, and acts as a magistrate in Indian affairs. As far as I could judge, he is in most cases a mere tool or servant of the Governor. At Pucara the the alcalde waited upon me as a sort of uncivilised 'boots' by order of the big man of the village, at whose house I slept one night. The alcalde carries a staff of office, adorned by silver rings, which denote by their number the length of time he has held his appointment." No doubt the system has many advantages. To begin with, it saves the people the trouble of interfering in the management of their own affairs. To be sure they have to pay through the nose for haviug this benefit conceded to them ; but on the other hand, they have none of that unwholesome turmoil which is to be found in what are termed " enlightened" communities, and which leads to their political and social advancement. Moreover, this system has led to the Peruvians becoming a docile and industrious race, and why should not the New Zealanders become like them 1 The task of governing a people who cannot get rid of their rulers when they wish, must be a light one" compared with that to which the Ministers of this Colony have to address themselves at the present time, and why not go in for the easier task of the two ? Such thoughts, no doubt, have occurred to the Minister of Justice, aid we have seen how he has tried to put them into effect. Will he succeed ?

Having been requested by some of our readers to give the date of failure of the Western Bank of Scotland, we have to state that upon inquiry, we find that that institution suspended payment on the 9th JTe-yem-ber 1857. By an error which appears in Miss E. Hughes's evidence in the recent breach of promise case, she is made to say that there was some scandal got up about Mr .Shand's si3ter and Mr Grant. It should be Mrs Grant. We learn that Mr Deans, of the Acclimatisation Society, liberated 20 starlings at Lawrence yesterday. They flew away very strong on the wing. He has taken 500 trout to the Beaumont River. There are several streams in the district well adapted for thia kind of fish. The Dunedin School Committee are apparently determined to keep prominently before the Provincial Government the lamentable state of the Middle District School, owing to the removal of the old building in York Place. Another deputation waited upon His Honour the Superintendent yesterday, and strongly urged the necessity of rebuilding the school; and, of course, His Honour promised that the Government would do all that was required when funds were available, which would not be eaiiier than the end of March next.

The South Dunedin Municipal Council held their fourth meeting in the Forbufy School on Monday evening. Present -Ttie Mayor (iv the c'>a'r) and all the Councillors. The roiuutcs of the previous meeting having been read aud confirmed, correbpondence was received from Central Board of Health and tbe Police department on the subject of sanitary measures to be taken. Motions to the following effect were carried : —l. That a Sanitary Committt-e, consisting of the Mayor, Councillors flardy, NaumaEti, and Barrowuaan, be appointed. 2. That Messrs Sievwrigbt and itout he written to, under seal of the Corporation, intimating their appointment as solicitors for the Muuici pabty. 3. That the teal be also affixed to tiie appointment of Town Clerk. 4. That the appoinm^i.t of Consulting Engineer be deferred to next meeting, and again advertised. Applications for the oilije of Working Inspector were then opened and read, after which a ballot w.is taken, resulting in the election o: Mr John. MelUe^.n, at his off.:i of £2 14a per week. It was also resolved to call for tenders for cleaning ditches. The Council then adjourned to Monday next, at half-past 7 p.m.

A chiniuey on fire in Stafford street caused a stir among the firemen last evening. The alarm bill rang out loudly, and members of the Brigade were soon at their posts, but fortunately their services were not required. A fishmonger who carries on business in Princes and George streets has been summ'iv el for a breach of the Fisheries Act by selling mud oysters, obtained from Fort Adventure, Stewart's Island, during the cb>se season. The Aefc allows a penalty of £20.

An Italian named Fortunatus Luokey was arrested yesterday for indecently assaulting a girl near the railway line, Caversham.

An advertisement in another column in. forms our readers that Mr Conyers has determined to try the experiment of running a late train once a week to the Port for the convenience of persons visiting friends or places of amusement in town. The first night train will leave Duneclin to-morrow evening at 11 o'clook, and every succeeding Thursday at the same hour. We might mention that unless within the next month the trial does not prove satisfactory the trains will be discontinued. We have advooated late trains so often, and with such ill success, that we are almost ashamed to advance anything in favour of this List experiment. It is to be hoped, however, that our Port friends will endeavour to support the scheme, and thus induce the railway authorities to make the arrangement a permanent one.

The Sanitary Committee of tlie South Dunedin Municipality held a meeting last evening, at which it was decided to cooperate with the Dunedin Local Board on matters pertaining to public health generally. It was resolved that the Committee should endeavour to enter into an arrangement with the Dunedin Local Board for the removal of the infected to the Dunedin Fever Hospital, the South Dunedin Board bearing the neoessary expenses. A motion was carried that a deputation from the Local Board should wait upon His Worship the Mayor, as Chairman of tho Local Board of Dunedin, to discuss sanitary matters generally. Several members of the Committee asserted that they strongly suspected that the infection had been carried into their district by means of the eight-soil deposited in the Manure Depot. It was further stated that Dr Hocken had expressed a decided opinion favouring that theory. Dr Gillies is acting as Medical Officer of Health for the Municipality •pro tern.

The business of the R.M. Court, Port Chalmers, yesterday, although more than usually heavy, was promptly disposed of. Adjourned cases again«t J. Dale and H. Dench, for permitting nuisances to exist on their premises, were again called, and, it having been shown that the nuisances had been abated, the case against Dale was dismissed, and that against Dench was met with a fine of 2s Gd and costs. The adjourned caso against P. Kennedy for keeping a disorderly house waa then called, and his former plea of having abandoned the house having beeu substantiated by the Police, the case was dismissed. Civil cases followed. One of Erridge v. Perry, to recover £10, value of damage done to a buggy, had been adjourned , for judgment, was re-called for final settle ment. His Worship proceeded to deliver a lucid and exhaustive judgment, but, before he had finished, Mr Adams, plaintiff's solicitor, elected to accept a non suit. The case of Sutton Brothers v. M. Sayers, claim to recover £57 Is 7d for goods supplied, went for plaintiff; |as also did. the case of Fuller v. Day, to recover £9 93 lid, value of goods supplied. In the case of Cornish v. Burke, brought to recover £3 13s for board and lodging, judgment for £1 14s and costs was given. Four cases, brought by as many labourers to recover wages from a railway sub-contractor named M'Grath, were met by the money haviug been paid into Court. Our correspondent at Port Moiyneux writes:— Mr James Garro*vay, lessee of the Alexandra Hotel, Port Moiyneux, was drowned here on Saturday afternoon. The deceased, along with a man named Sullivan, had gone ouo for a pleasure sail, when they allowed the boat they were in to drift under a hawser attached to a kedge froth the schooner Friendship now lying in the river, and the top of the mast being caught by the rope, tipped the boat over, throwing the two meu into the water. Sullivan succeeded in catchitg hold of the hawser, and got on board the schooner; but Mr Garroway, although he also got hold of the rope, either through want of presence of mind, or it may have been through some affection of the heart, let go his hold, and immediately sank. The body has been, continuously sought for, but up to the present time has not been recovered. Mr Garro way has occupied the hotel but for a short time, and leaves a wife, but no family. A handsome presentation, consisting of a gold Albert watch chain, was made to Lieutenant Tarrant, No. 1 Company City ■Guards Cadets, on Monday evening last, on the occasion of his retiring from the Com pany. Captain Wales, on behalf of the Company, made the presentation on parade, and in doing so complimented Lieutenant Tairant on the efficient manner in which, he had fulfilled his duties during the last four years. Sub-Lieutenant Cuddie was afterwards elected to fill the vacancy caused by Lieutenant Tarrant's retirement.

The Southland Times learns that the recent frost, although it was apparently of a slight nature, has done considerable damage to the potato and turnip crops in the country districts of Southland. At Edendale, the potato fields have now a most blackened appearance, and we hear of turnip crops in that aud other parts of the district having been quite discoloured by the late frost, which has also had an evil influence on the products of gardens and nurseries in and adjacent to the town.

A Tapanui rnnholder informs the Bruce Herald that he has this year had to pay £1 per bale more for carrying his wool to Dunedin than before the opening of the Southern Trunk Railway. He states that the usual charge for carrying goods by waggon from Tapanui to Balclutha is -10s per ton, and that he gets his wool carried by roal to Duaedin at only 7s a ton more than the railway charge alone from Balclutha to Dunedin. It is greatly to be regretted that the want of roHiog stock should prevent the railway department from effectually undertaking this season's wool trade, but doubtless next yearw.'ll see matters differently conducted in this important branch of the public service.

A concert was held iv St. Paul's Schoolroom yesterday evening in aid of the building fund of the School. There was a tolerably good attendance. Owing to there being a ■ difficulty in getting the gas on, the building was for a while not quite sufficiently lighted, and some delay occurred before the performance was commenced. The vocal music did not rouse the enthusiasm of the audience in any noticeable degree. The songs "The Memory of the Fast," "Day and .Night I thought of Thee," and the duet, " O'er the hill, e'er the dale," appeared to be those Tyhich pleased most; the iirat mentioned was j iudecd very nicely given. The programme : conhiated largely of instrumental music, hut, though some parts were evidently listened to wiih pleasure, there was ou the whole rather too much of it. Mr Towsey presided at tue piano. The usual compliment was tendered to the performers ; and Mr H. F. Hardy, who apologised for the room in whisu the concert was hold not being ia a more finished state, mentioned that ere long another concert would be given in aid of the building fnud, on which occasion he trusted there would be a numerous attendance. The amusing comedy " Leap Year " was repeated at the Queen's Theatre la-it evening, and passed off very successfully. Tug outertair.ment concluded with a favonrite afterpiece. "Hob Hoy" ia announced for this evening.

The Duceilin Artillery (Jouajnny "will l>:wide at Uie Head (Janitors i'riii Shed this

evewug.