AUCKLAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6728, 7 September 1883, Page 3

AUCKLAND.

(FROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

August 30,

Perhaps at no period for some time past have the Natives been so quiescent as at present; and no news may be regarded as good news. At tho same time, judging from the letter just published by Walmnui, they are far from satisfied with the proposed legislation respecting their lands. The only idea which Wahanui keep 3 fixedly before him is to get the security of tenure which English law alone can give, and at the same time that complete control of the land which is given by tribal right, and it is not easy to see how the two things can be accomplished. . . , The ensuing summer promises to bo a brisk one in the matter of public works. It is rumoured that the Dock Committee of the Uarbour Board have decided to recommend tho erection of tho dock immediately the Governor's approval has been obtained to the plans. They are also stated ts be averse to Mr Wardell's suggestion tbat the dock should bo built in two compartments, the dilference in pumping out tho whole dock being only two hours time, and a half-ton of coal. The i< rozen Meat Export Company aro desirous of enlarging the area already granted by tho Board, and are applying for a further grant of .five acres of harbour reclamations, whicn, if. conceded, will give tha Company unrivalled facilities for the loading and unloading of vessels in the very key of the southern deepwater frontage of the harbour. In this connection an elaborate plan of harbour reclamations has been submitted to tho Board, which would connect tho eastern and western suburbs, Parnell and Ponsonby, by an embankment having an esplanado on the sea face three miles in length, traversed by railway, and giving an alternative lino out of Auckland as far as Penrose Junction, to ease the suburban traffic* It is foared, howover, the schomj is ahead of population and of the times, but a firm conviction is entoi-tained that it is 0110 of tho daydreams of the future that will yet be realised. As the timo draws nigh for the bringing the Contagious Diseases Act into practical operation, the opposition of the small but activo minority adverse to the Act is being renewed. The Mayor, however, backed by the majority lof tho City Council, is determined to see this social piooloun past the region of controversy, and into that of actual experiment, before h§

closes hia term of offico. The opposition party actually propose, to make the Contagious DisoaseH Act the one test question on which tho municipal elections of noxt month shall turn, and to put out old members and replace thorn with frosli blood, simply and sololy on tho ground'that tho former aro in favour of, and the new olemont would bo opposed to, tho working of the Act. Tho great bulk of the peoplo are indifferent on the quostion, but prefer that tho experiment Bhould bo tried. If beneficial in its operation, woll and good; on the contrary, if a failure, thero will be tho satisfaction that the failure will be conclusively

proved, and thus an unpleasant and unsavoury subjoct of controversy done away with. So far as the information'of the police and municipal authorities m yet g«o», ao soon as the Act is brought, inta.-operation thorn will bo un exodus of: tlio clasa affected, by it to tho two otlier contres of population where tlio Act is not in forco—Wellington and Dunedin. One city councillor, who regards tho question to somo extent from the financial standpoint, is contemplating tabling a motion next week to the etfect that houses of ill fame ahould bo registered, and pay a registration fee, which should go in liquidation of tho expense to the ratepayers of working tho Act. Ho is at present, however, sleeping on his proposition, and whether ho will bravo tho storm of indignation his proposal is suro to evoke, both at tho Council and among tho ratcpayeis, as well as the ecelessiatic.il thunders of tho Tresbytoiy, re-

mains to bo seen. -The officers appointed by the Council to carry out tho details of tho Act command tho respect and confidence ofthe public, and that is one great point gained. The annual charpo on the city, it 13 "anticipated, will bo about £o'oo a year. Tho first cost, including building and furniture, will bo £2000. It is n curious commentary upon the sudden but somewhat tardy interest taken in fallen women by thoso opposod to the Act that for several years some hundreds of pounds havo lain in tho batik for tho purposes of a Women's Reformatory unutilised, and that

the only practical attempt ever made to restoro fallen women—mado by tho Roy. B. T. (now Archdeacon) Dudley—fell through in consequence of tho indifferent support accorded, and lack of interest manifested, by many of those now prominent in opposing the working of the Contagious Diseases Act. The experiment of managing our charitable institutions by local bodies has proved a very qualified success aa yet, and the whole history of the new administration by committee, so far as tho Hospital is concerned, haa beon a, series of squabbles eithor with the house surgeon (l.)r Mackellar), tho hon rary medical visiting statf, or tho Colonial Secretary. The houso surgeon loaves in 21 hours, without a successor haying boen as yet appointed ; a number of the trained nurses follow his footsteps at the samo time, owing to the economical proclivities of the Hon. Thos, Dick ; and the vacancy in the medical visiting staff caused by the resignation of Dr Stoekwell has never been filled up, uo medical man apparently coveting a placo in tho hornet's nest. Still it is but fair to the Committee to state that, notwithstanding tho cloud of controversy, they have greatly improved the condition of the Hospital. The food for the sick is more varied'and better prepared, and there is an air of homo comfort and cosiness in the wards which attests the determination of the Committee to sco tho patients in our district hospital as humanely nnd comfortably treated as in the Southern hospitals. The employment exclusively of female nurses is also a new departure,- and bo far promises well, although some of the medicos of tho old school shake

their heads ominously at the innovation. The new lady 'superintendent (M 133 Crisp) appointed to carry out these changes is admirably qualified for the duty, having graduated as a "nursing Bister," as thoy are torniod, in the military hospitals of England, and served as such ill the Mouth African and Egyptian campaigns, receiving the commendation of the Queen for her services to tho wounded after the battle of Tel-el-Kebir. Practical, self-reliant, and with all the energy whicli youth and health accords, alio has succeeded in making a wholesome and beneficial change in the department under her supervision, Dr Mackellar, it is understood, goes to Dunedin, with tho intention of competing for one of tho lectureships of the School of Mediciue in connection with the Otago University. Even his bitterest opponents on the Hospital Committee frankly admit Mb high' reputation ao a surgeon, tho grievous complaint being his "impracticability." The fact is, Dr Mar> kellar had a backbone, and through a want of tact at the outset Wounded the amour propre of the Committee; The offonce was never forgiven n'orforgotten. If both sides had the opportunity of playing the game over again, the issue would be very different. Dr Mackellar has at least the satisfaction of knowing that he leaves the Hospital with the esteem of the staff and amidst the regrets of the patients.

Our Board'of Education, under the new] regime, seems to make up in energy what it lacks ,in discretion, apparently mistaking notoriety for fame. Recently the teachers got a hiut that they might bo examined upon their capacity to put themselves into "sympathetic accord with their pupils. Another ukase, re the physical training of pupils, cempels male and female teachers every Saturday afternoon to submit to the guidance of a drill-instructor, and even the "sweot girl-graduates " have to give up the Alexandra limp for the " goosestep." The Board have also laid sacrilegious- hands upon the holidays, proposing to reduce them from six weeks threo days to six weeks, only. The teachers declare, witlr amusing gravity, that exhausted nature can endure no more, and that unless these three days are given back there will be an indictment for' manslaughter against some: body. To cap the climax, some bucolic school committee declined to permit religious instruction to bo imparted to the children of the school, even outside- school hours, and tho Board rejected tho appeal of the clergyman who protested againßt this violation of the spirit of tha Act. It is hoped that with the return of the members of the Board, at present on Parliamentary duty at Wellington, common sense will resume ita sway in the counsels of tho Board. At present the action of the professed friends of secular education is doing more harm to our national system than tho open or covert assaults made upon it by its enemies. ' ■

The directors of the Potter s Patent Woolscouring Machine Company had intended to havo one of the' machines, to which I have alluded in a previous letter, in full operation at Wellington before the close of the session, in order that members of Assembly and others might see for themselves the utility of the invention, but time would not permit. An order for 10 machines is now being completed at Hawkcswood's foundry, and in about a month some of these will bo taken down South, in charge, probably, of the inventor—Mr Potter. I understand they • will be worked and testod both at tho Mosgiel and Kaiapoi Woollen Factories, iv order to practically prove the contention of tho inventor and promoters that wool, after being scoured by thi3 process, is fit for the purposes of the manufacturer without any further manipulation. Patent rights have been secured for the Colony aud for Australasia. It is hoped that the invention will realise all the anticipations of the promoters, as it would be an immense boon to tho wool-growing interest ofthe country. Even a, penny a pound extra would be ft respectable sum in the pockets of tha wool-growais ; hut it is believed that tho advantage gained by this machine of Mr Potter's will-represent a much greater gain than that. . ' During the pa3t vfetel. the weather has been remarkably novoro, the thermometer registering in Auckland city as low as 40 deg. Even to the north of Auckland snow has been scbii on the mountain ranges, and tho Northern Maoris, who havenoverseensuch a phenomenon in their districts, have been puzzled to account for it. The Waikato Natives hold that the incident presages ii good season. Some peoplo contend that the denudation of large tracts of country of its'forest timber is answerable for the climatic variations we are now experienchlg, and which are said to be greater than any that havo hitherto taken placo since the foundation of the province. Of lato fires have been tolerably froquont, some of which appear to be tho result of malicious incendiarism, and others of a suspicious character. The competition of the tire insurance companies at the present time is tolerably cutting, and tlicy have only themselves to thank for the present unsatisfactory state of affairs. There appears to be no medium between a holy alliance with an exorbitant tariff, on tho one hand, and spen war with reckloss competition, on the other. When insurance companies present tho spectacle of being unable to trust each other, it is scarcely to bu expected that their clients can be more high-toned, or practise a more exalted code if moral ethics. On the goldfields matters are remarkably quiet at presont, and a return of briskness and speculation is not anticipated till tho advent of summer will permit of prospecting operations being actively carried on. The approaching summer is likely to sco a, large number of miners in the Te Aroha district, as tho conviction that it will yet be ono of the great auriferous centres of mining enterprise is steadily gaining ground. Some of our largest capitalists are evidently of that opiuion, and acting on it, ns they stand to lose or win large sums on the hazard of that dio.Mr Sheridan, tragedian, and Miss Louise Davenport are at--present playing a season at the Opera-house to good audiences. The drama is again looking up, and the Shakespearean revival has brought back to this favourite placo of amusement ita old patrons. Mr Sheridan has not belied the reputation which preceded him, and Mis 3 Davenport, bis pupil, is a young actress of much promise. They have been supported by the Gaiety Company, who, I understand, proceed South at the close of the present theatrical season. It was hoped that Mr Sheridan would have been prevailed on to mako a. tour through the South, but he has finally decided to return to America by the outgoing mail steamer in order to fulfil his engagements there.

—Revival work is wondrously progressing in Natal, Northern Africa, under the labours of tbo "old man eloquent" from Scotland, tho voterau aud patriarch, Di- Somerville. His hoary head is frosted with upward of seventy winters, but his zeal is equatorial. Churches, halle, and theatres are filled. Secular papers are replete with highest praise.