The Otago Daily Times. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1868.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6734, 14 September 1883, Page 2

The Otago Daily Times. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1868.

Ik another fortnight Mr "Whitakee, or whoever may be chosen to represent New Zealand, will be on hie way to the Australasian Convention, and yet there has been very little expression of popular opinion to guide the Government on the Annexation question. The resolutions which passed through the House with hardly the semblance of a debate merely laid down general principles of action, and left uncovered a great deal of the ground which our

representative should take up. la the Australian Colonies, on the .other hand, there appears to be considerable popular exoiterncnt on the subject, and their representatives will- be able to speak and act with a fall knowledge of the feelings of the people they represent. For some reason..', certainly, wo are glad that there is no agitation in New Zealand. The worst of this Annexation question isi that it affords unlimited opportunities for highfalutin. The voice of common sense is drowned in tall talk and fine phrases, and we are' apt to be carried away into the realms of abstract discussion and chauvinism instead of considering simply what we want, what of our wants we can do without, and how much of them there is any reasonable chance of our getting.

To our thinking, the question of annexation, whether of New Guinea or of the Now Hebrides, is altogether secondary in importance to that of preventing the South Pacific islands from becoming a human rubbiah-heap. By annexing all.the islands unoccupied by European Powers we shall certainly prevent this in the most effectual manner, so far as they are concerned. But it appears to have been forgotten that both Germany and France already own several groups of islands, upon which they aro at liberty t;) work their will. It will avail us little for the Union Jack to fly over the New Hebrides if the refuse of France bo sent to tb« Loyalty Islands or the Marquesas, which are indisputably French, and with the disposal of which we have no right to interfere. It seems to us that the first duty of the Convention will be to make Btrong representations to Lord Derby on this poiut. Vatiel may recognise no right of interference on the part of England with the use to which France puts her Pacific possessions, but ours is a necessity which knows no international law. We have the strongest moral right to object to having a rubbish-heap, in our midst, just as the citizens of Dunedin would have v right to oVject to Mr Dukston starting his boiling-down establishment in the Octagon. We have already had reason to feel the effects of the transportations to New Caledonia, and they have been fow and unimportant comparatively to, the scheme which the French Government now entertain, according to which tJie convicts are to be freed on their arrival at these islands. It is to be hoped that the Convention will impress upon Lord Derby the deairability of making strong representations to the French Government upon this subject, oven, if possible, io the extent of declaring that the British Government would look upon the establishment of fresh penal settlements in the Pacific as "an unfriendly act," whether the islands in which these settlements were made were French or not. To' obtain such a declaration would be worth more to U3 than the annexation of all the unoccupied islands put together, and although we do not know how far this is possible, the Convention should certainly be able to induce the Imperial Government to make some sort of representation on the subject to M. ChallemeliLacour, and the stronger the better. Annexation is a very expensive business, and should not be entered upon without strong reasons. The idea of annexing at one stroko the whole of the unoccupied Pacific islands, which appears to find" favour in Melbourne, seems to us premature. The Imperial Government have told us—and with perfect justice—that whatever annexation we gat we shall hayo to pay for.. In due course of time wo have little doubt that it will become desirablo to' annex the whole of these islands, but we really fail to see the necessity for it at present. The assertion of a protectorate, to prevent them from becoming ah Alsatia and to establish sojne kind of rough-and-ready law and order, would amply meet present wants, and all that is absolutely necessary is tho announcement that England will not allow a foreign Power to annex any one of them. So long as "hands off" is proclaimed—and it should be proclaimed distinctly, so as to leave no room for misunderstanding, as appears to have been the case with the New Hebrides agreement—we have no real cause to grumble. And we do not see much chance of getting the Imperial Government to do more than.this in any other case except that of New Guinea. The Australian Press seem' to forget that anybody elsa but ourselves have got rights in the South Pacific. It may be quite true that the French should never have been allowed to acquire their Pacific possessions. But they have got them, and with them a clear right, to a say in Pacific matters ---a right, moreover, which Great Britain admitted by making the New Hebrides agreement. By virtue of our much larger possessions, and of the steps individual Englishmen, have already taken towards colonisation,' we have a right to the first and loudest voice on them, but it cannot be the only one. If, moreover, there exists an agreement between France and England about the New Hebrides, we have no more right to annex them than the French; and that the French should have meditated a breach of the agreement would not justify us in breaking it. In any case the question is a very nics one, which might easily lead to a disturbance in the relations between France and England, and its settlement will require much tact and diplomacy, not bluster and strong language. Wo suspect that our rights in the New Hebrides will in the end have to be secured by concessions in some other part of the world. England will let the French wreak their will upon somo unfortunate savages in Madagascar or elsewhere, on condition of their abandonment of all rights in the South Pacific. But however this result may be accomplished, we cannot' expect the Imperial Government to do more than negotiate on our behalf, and urge our claims to the limits of friendly argument. Not to be allowed to annex New Hebrides does not present a casus lelli; the flooding of them with French criminals stands on aa entirely different footing. And here we would point out the complete fallacy of the argument advanced by several sections of tho Australian Press, that our Imperial connection has been a drawback to us in this matter. On the contrary, whatever faults the Imperial Government may have committed, as in the case of New Guinea, there can be no doubt that it is the Imperial connection which alone enables us to move at all in the matter. If. we constituted a separate Australasian nation, does anyone suppose that the French would have allowed us to annex either New Guinea or the New Hebrides 1 The power in the background is always the real basis of negotiations. When England says she will not allow France to annex the Now Hebrides, she has an army and a navy to mako good her word; but the Australasian Nation might shriek at the very top of their three million voices before the French would pay any attention to them. If chauvinistic Australians would just think of this, they would not ba in Buch a hurry to

talk of Lord Dehbt's refusal to annex aa a blow to the relations between the Colonies and the Mother Country. The fact ia, wo young communities are liko lads who havo just left school, beginning SC f«L'l our strength, and. Burprised to find what a long way energy.will go in (his world. But it ia just as well that wo have got a pirent in tho prime of lif'o, and with a gx>d head to prevent us from yoing too fast and too frtr, and to pull us out of a moB3 if .we skml.d happen to got into one. We trust thit tho Convention will act with discretion as well aa with energy. Everything they do should be done unanimouslj. Their ivquests should bo clear, and-tbeir reasons for making them clearly formulated. They should find out exactly what they want, and urge it with every possible earnestness and vigour; but they are likely to gain far more by taking into consideration the difficulties tbat present themselves, and making moderate and reasonable requests, than by assuming towards the Imperial Government the attitude, if not oC opposition, at least of dissatisfaction, which seems to bo in fashion now iv Australia. Ia saying this we do not forget that for that " attitude Lord Derby's owa vacillation and timidity are chiefly to blame.

It may bo accepted as an axiom that everything cornea out of the land That is tho ultimate source of all wealth. Tho profitableoccupadon of. tho land, therefore, 30 aa to produce tho greatest good to tho greatest nurnbßr, should bo the firet consideration of tho Colonial statesman. .It may be doubtful what ia, and what is not, profitable occupation, and all land legislation must ba more or less experimental. In Victoria and New South Wales, for example, experiments have been tried on a largo Ecale, and with very doubtf si lesulta, becanso a number of people havo been forced, in a manner, to take up land which it would not pay to cultivate, and to get rid if v, as Boon as the law would permit them to do so. "Wo in New Zeahnd aro engaged iv similar experiments, but with, batter hope of success, since tho land and tho climate aro better suited for smill sottloment. Bat even wo cannot yet, with any cort'ainty, predict what i 3 to bo the result of all our legislation. Mr M'Keukow's interesting departmental report on the Crown lands affords a great deal of information, which vre cannot even pretend to summarise within tho brief limits of a single articla, regarding the. progress of settlement, and /we will at present confine our remarks on this report to tho deferred-payment system and its results, bo far as they cm be inferred from figures and tables. During <ho year ending 31st March last 66,917 acres were disposed as agricultural deferred-payment land to 484 purchasers, and 4879 acres under tho agricultural lease system to 42 Boleotora, as against 164,337 acre 3 sold; for cash to 1020 purchasers, ltoughly speaking, then, about one-third of tho number, of selectors availed themselves of the ■deferred-payment systora ; and the total recoiptn from that source for tho year, including agricultural leases, amounted to £78,215' JMr Rolleston's known preference for the systom will probably bring it more and, more into prominence aa one of tho most important meana of inducing settlement. Tha perpetualleasing system, which Mr Kollesto.v also greatly favour.), cannot bo applied all over tho Colony, because .the Upper House threw out tho Land Hill, which, araouj/ other obj sets, was to do away with tho restrictions imposed list year by the incongruous amendment giving a right of purchaeo' after six years' occupation. Let us ccc, then,. to what extent the various forms of deferred payment havo been taken advantage of. A table at the end of Mr M'Kbbi,ow's report gives full particulars for each Provincial District. We will only quote those relating to the whole Colony, and to Otago arid Southland. Tho number of selectors still holding under any form of deferred payment is 3016 (Otago and Southland, 1441); tho acreage :held is no less than 456 801 acros (Utago' and Southland, 276,103) ; tho total payments made to March 31 were £220,634 (Utago and Southland, £132,290); and the amount accruiug in future instalments, £603,668 (Otago and Southland, £335,529). The principal tost wo can have of the successful workiug of the system is the regularity of __ the payments, and wo are gLd to liarS that the total arrears only amounted to £19,273, which of course included instalments only just due, or at; moßt a few months in arrear. But, besides this, £27,882 of accruing instalments had beon capitalised, showing that this form of relief is largely availed of. The number of applications granted for capitalisation waa 99, and'tho number of selectors iv arrear 867, tho greater portion of whom are, it must bo acknowledged, in Otago and Southland. In' faot, in this .Provincial District just abjut half the number of selectors were in arrear, or had capitalised. This has arisen in great measure from the high figures paid in many cases by selectors in this part of the Colony. It seems quite clear, however, that even those who have to struggle liard to meet their instalments mean to stick to their land, availing themselves only o£ Buch relief. as the Act of last session affords. The capitalisation provisions are thus torniriarised byMr •M'Kerkow : "A. B has 190 acres, for which ho has agreed to pay £712 10a, in 20 half-yearly instalments. At the end of the firat three years, having resided oft the land, and fulfilled the other prescribed conditions of cultivation and improvement, and paid £213 15s in six instalments, ho may capitalise the remaining 14 half yearly instalments— viz., £498153 ; this would.be £412 7a 2d, which ho can eithor pay at once and obtain the freehold, or pay yearly £29 12s 4d, being interest at 5 per cent, on that sum, The annual amount of instalments on deferred payments is £71 ss, so that by capitalisation the annual burd*m is lessened by £5012s Bd, and time given (11 years) for the settler to establish himself before he need pay tho principal sum of. £412 7a 2d.". Those terms are liberal enough in all conscience, but yet many of tho sotfclera will be anxious to turn their conditional holdings into freeholds aa soon-fift-possible,, and what remains to be proved is. whether, having obtained the frel&old, they will as a rule remain attached to tho soil, or Bell to men of capital. There aro some encouragius; features about the tables ; but we are, as wo have said, still in tho experimental stage, and cannot yet affirm that the deferred-payment system is an absolute success

The lettara. which we publish in another column from Messrs M. W. Green and Bkackbn are characteristic in their logio and in their respective lengths. The member for Dunedin East first impugns our judgment and then questions tho evidence upon which that judgment is based. Wo feel certain that not only " our readers," but also the reporters and members who were present on tho night of Septembor 2, will be very much "surprised " by his assertion that "ho neither attacked Mr Macandrbw nor detailed any charges against him." Iho italioa are his own. " Our o^vn reporter " was not absent, aa Mr Ckeejt'h tortuous mind induces him to "suppose." Unfortunately for tho Dwiodin Oily mombors, ho was too much about when theae things happenecj. The reporters for tho. Press Association were also present, and they confirm .-all that "our owa" said. Putting aside the alleged misrepresentations «<f th|e colleague whom Mr Gkbbn charitably accuses of being "an adopt in the art,I'what caused another member to say that although ho had boen "odified" by hia " Btirring Gospel sermons " in tha past, "what he had said that night had caused him to lose faith in him" ? We shall await with some ouriosity Mr Green's promised explanations based on the "Hansard" report, on which Mr Bracken is doubtless also rslying; but— may we venture to hint it?—the " proofsheets" of "Hansard" before correction would be much more satisfactory evidence than the printed edition published for family use, with all tho improper passages omitted. Mr Bracken's communication has at least two merits which do not ba!ong to Mr Green's. It is short and sweet—like a doiikoy'u

gallop. As a sample of righteous indignation condensed into half-a-dozen lines, it does credit to the honourable member's literary judgment. Wo are eoiry that our notions of Parliamentary behaviour do not equally coincide with hie. We suppose his constituents know best as to whether they ssnt him to tho Housa tn compare hia colloaguea—or was it their heads ?— to " boiled turnips," and recite sacred verses for the purpose of making fun of the Sibbath ; but we fancy that everybody else wilt agree that ho has yot to leara how " to behave himself before" Parliamentary " folk." If it will appeas.vMr Bracken's compressed wrath, wo will grant thit there is a distinction between him and Mr Oreen. The latter,makes a £pol of himself and of hia constituents without being aware of it; Mr Beaoken knows that he is making himself ridiculous, and evidently orijoys it. When kings were tho legislators, there used to be a jester, or fool attaohed to every Court. The membar for Dunedin Central aspires to introduce the cap and bell* into Parliament. This i 3 a mediaeval revival which, like Mr Beacken himself, could well bo sparod from a modern logial ituro.

On our fourth page appear various reports ani letters to the editor.

The following gontlemen have been admitted by Mr Justice Williams as barristers and solicitors of tho Supreme Court:—Messrs B. A. Joel, 11. T. W. Halliwell, and John Wilkinson. *

Tho Harbour Board engineer, in hia monthly repert submitted at yesterday's mooting of the Board, again drew attention to tho advisability of providing suitable berthago at the Dunedin wharves for vessels of larger size than bare hitherto como up tho Victoria Channel, and the Board decided to instruct, him to prepare plans and specifications for tho extension of the Eattray street Wharf, this being tho best means of providing accommodation for such vessels. Tho engineer, reporting on recent soundings in the channel, said the channel was now quite equal to the passage of vessels drawing 16ft or 17ft, while with a favourable tide veßseh of even greater draught could come up with safety. The retiring harbourmaster also commented on this satisfactory state of affairs, and mentioned that the Te Anau on her last trip might havo proceeded direct to Dunedin, and would havo done so had the arrangements for working her cargo been completed. Writing of tha bar, Captain Thomson-gave it as his opinion that nothing shoct of striking at its cause (whatever that might be) would give a permanent depth of water across it, and he attain advocated tho employment of prison labour, as the work waa of greater magnitude than the Board, in the present state of its finances, could grapple with.

A private telegram from a passenger by the lonic speaks in high terms of the comfort of the ship, which rendered the passage a very enjoyablo one. The passengers were all well.

The ordinary monthly meeting of the Dunedin Salvage Corps was held at Carmalt's Hotel yesterday evening ;' Superintendent Carmalt in the chair. Two new" honorary members were elected (Messrs Donald M'Crae and'R. T. Waters), and the following. were re-elected: —Messrs James Pinch, James Daly, M'Gregor, M'Gavin,. Charles -Greenslade, and John Haydon. It was decided that the members of the corps should accord their patronage to the benefit performance at the Princess Theatre this evening. ' .

The Progress Lodge, No. 10, Protoatant Alliance Friendly Society, Cavorsham, held its fortnightly meeting on Wednesday evening, when two candidates wore initiated and soveral others were proposed. Tho D. 0.. Master, Bro. J. K. Henderson, installed .tha officers as follows :—W.M., Bro. J. Mulligan ; D.M., Bro. Roberta ; treasurer, Bro. W.- A. Ross ; socretary, Bro. Abel; S.E., Bro. Applegarth • 1.E., Bro. Munday; 1.G., Bio. Riddle ; 0.G., Bro. W. Grimmett; chaplain, Bra. Watson.

At the Trinity Church Literary Society last evening, Mr J. Baker read ah essay upon the question, "Is business, as ordinarily conducted, in harmony with tho teachings of Christ?" Tho essayist strongly condemned the selfishness shown in the keen competition of ordinary business, and the regulations of Bupplyaud demand which rule' in the labour market. -Theao ho considered to ba opposed.to the golden rule which is understood to guide all Christians, These positions were vigorously assailed in discussion. Mr.8."8. Rigg tendered his resignation as Vice-president of the Society, in consequence of hia removal from Dunedin to Invercargill. A very hearty vote waa passed expressing the regret of tha Society at the loss of one so highly valued. About 100 were present. The winter session of the Society will close at the end of the present month;

The following were the tenders received for tho superstructure and iron piers of the Dunedin railway - station ovovhridge :—Ac - cepted : Kincaid, M'Queen,.and Co., Dunedin, £13,826.. Declined: John Anderson, Christchurch, £15,001; B. S. Sparrow and Co., Dunedin, £15,388; Coasens and Black, Duriodin, £15,118; Palmer, Booth, Co., Dunediu, £20,946. . ' " .

We learn, from the Tapanui Courier that a fire occurred in Northumberland street, Tapanui, about 3 o'clock yesterday morning, by which the workshops of MrFargher and.Mr Hagen were totally . destroyed.; When first discovered, the fire had a 'firm hold on Mr Fargher's shop, and it was impossible to rescue anything from the building. A good proportion of. Mr Hagen's stock was saved. The might, fortunately, was calm, but the greatest efforts were necessary to so far confine the fire. Mr Hagen's stock won insured; Mr I'argher's waa not. Mr Hagen'a shop was insured in. the New Zealand Office for £100, and hia stock for a similar sum. Mr Farghsr's sbep was. insured for £75 in Dunedin. :

In tho adjourned civil case of F. Bennett v. Jas. Drummond, a claim for £10 6a 3d, wages due, Mr Watt, K.M., yesterday gave judgment for plaintiff for £811s, with costs.

Our Lawrence correspondent writes: — "The fate of tha Drainage of Mines Bill is a matter of regret, as the necessity for such a measure ia urgent. In the early da^s of the Blue Spur each claim had its own rude appliance for getting- rid of the water. ■ But as work advanced the bottom was taken out, and some of tho claims broko' through. Those water-lifting appliances were abandoned, and tho whole brunt of drainage allowed to rest on the deepor ground of this basin-shaped spur. The Otago Company labour under the heaviest part of the trouble, as they alone are pumping. They have been draining tho spur for tho last eight years. Could this claim afford to cease work for a period, combined action on the part of other claims would be imperative, as the water would in time reach the upper levels. As this course is out of the question, the Otago Company may go on for ever pumping, unless somo law is passed to bear ■on those parties who are not ashamed to take advantage of the situation. A powerful pump, at a cost of say £500, placed on either Halea Hindo's or the Otago Company's ground would be of incalculable benefit. It would also allow acres of ground to be sluiced which are now practically locked up through insufficient drainage. The Perseverance Company and others are by this cause debarred from working excellent ground, and are at a disadvantage which can scarcely be j estimated, and which will continue until the Drainage of Mines Bill becomes law." j

Mr 3 Potts lectured in Christchurch for the first time on Wednesday night. Tho Theatre Royal has never been so crowded as it was upon tho occasion.'

The following letter has beon received by the Secretary of the Christchurch Industrial Exhibition Committee from the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce:—" Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of tha 2lst ult., enclosing circular of the New Zealand Industrial Association upon the proposed exhibition in Chrietchurch in December noxt. Tha Committeo of this Chamber very cordially recognise the great benefits that arise from such exhibitions of the industrial skill of our Colonial artisans ; they aid in the development and undoubtedly lead to aa increased demand for our Colonial manufactures, from the latter being brought more prominently before consumers by these exhibitions .than is the case if they were left to make their way by private means. With the good wishes of the Committee for the success of the exhibition, — I remain, Sir, yours truly, Geo. Bkil, Chairman."

With reference to the Annexation Conference, the Timaru Herald thinks that if a Minister bn sent to represent Now Zealand, Mr Whitaker should undoubtedly ba chosen. But, it says, is it absolutely necessary that tho . Commissioner should bo a Minister ? If not, there is a course opon to the Government which, though it might be unexpected, would nevertheless, we honostly believe, be the best thay could take. Why should they not ask Sir George Grey to represent New Zoaland at tha Conference? He is far and away the fittest man in the Colony for that duty. Ha ha J

taken a very great interest for many yean in the subject of annexation, and he took ft leading part in bringing it before Parliament during the late session. No one has a better right to speak with authority on that subject. Then, the prestigo of his distinguished career, and, above all, his personal dignity and grace of manner, would make him unmistakably the most prominent personage among the assembled representatives of the various Colonies,

In tho annual report of tho Committee of tho Christchurch Rowing Club the following occurs: —"Tha fourth annual race with the Otago Rowing Club took place on the Taierj River in February, and was won by your repre. sentatives. Tha Otago Rowing Club desire, for the future, to row the race in inrigged boats instead of, as heretofore, in outrigged, they stating that the water at Dunedin is not favourable for outrigged rowing, and consequently placing them at a disadvantage. Your Committee consider the change should bs agreed

Mr Montgomery writes as follows to tho Lyttolton Times:—" I wish to remove a wrong impression which appears to be in the minds of some of my friends. By th-5' Pre3S Association' report of the proceedings in the House on Saturday last, some members seemed to suppose there waß a private arrangement between Major Atkinson and myself 'that no business should be done' on the day of prorogation. I havo to etito that I never made any arrangement on the subject. All that took place was this: I asked Major Atkinson publicly on Thursday evening, when the Speaker was in the chair, just before the adjournment of the House, if be intended to bring forward any more business before the prorogation, as some members wished to leave next day by tho boat going South; and his reply was that he would not bring forward any more business. I only asked the question, I made no arrangement, eithor for myself or others," '

Tho craze for submarine tunnels (says the Homo News) ha 3 extended beyond the English Channel. Just when the Joint Committee of the Lords and Commons has recognised tho dislike of the nation to the establishment of this dangerous communication between England and France, Spain is bitten with a wild idea of being brought into closer connection with Africa. A scheme is on foot, it is said, to mak a tunnel under the Straits of GibraltarTho breadth across, from Tarifa to Capo Spartol, is barely eight miles, and from an engineering point of view there is no supreme difficulty in the undertaking. But even still more than in the case of tho Channel tunnel, the question of cvi bono intervenes. Of what earthly advantage would such a passage be to anybody ? There is little or no traffic between Spain and Africa. Who would risk capital in an undertaking from which no returns are to be expected ?

The Russian papers are very enthusiastic concerning the wenderful order that reigned in Moscow during the coronation, but this order ceases to bo a subject of wonder when one knows that the Emperor was defended by a guard of no loss than 40,000 men, dressed as common citizens and as peasants, every one of whom was personally known to the police. The succcssof this difficult project has even given the idea of forming a national guard, as in France, and of dismissing a great number of regular police officers.

The Now York correspondent of the Argns, writing on July 21, says:—" We are having the intensest of summer heat. Not for many years have the States of the Union along the central belt been visited by weather more trying to 'the health of the human family. . The mercury has not shown an unusually high temperature, but the air has been very humid. There have been^in this neighbourhood almost daily showers, and the nights have been insufferably stifling. That the death-rate has not mounted more rapidly and higher than in previous years in the city of New York is due to the'fact that the sanitary oversight of the city is very much ' better than formerly. The streets are kept cleaner, the requirements as to air and light and decent food are more strictly enforced, and the system of summer tenement inspection is much more rigid and effective. But considerable as has been the improvement, the suffering in the crowded quarters has been something surprisingly terrible, especially among the children."

Sudden deaths, suicides, insolvencies, and disturbances in the ranka of the Salvation Army (writes the Adelaide correspondent of a contemporary) are rife just now. All these to be accounted for by the sunspots reaching their maxima this year? This is a question which must be left to the scientific inquirer; all a newspaper correspondent can deal with is the plain facts, which are as I have stated. Scarcely a day passes without two or three sudden deaths or suicides, and it is to be feared that Borne of them are brought about by excessive religious excitement. What with Mrs Hampson'a meetings, and the strong feelings which they have evoked in connection with various communions, to say nothing of the dissensions that have disturbed the Salvation Army to its core, an undue state of excitement has been produced, and one death, if not more, has been the result. Hard times are also telling very seriously upon the mental condition of scores of our citizens. Every day one hears of persons bolting, calling their creditors'* together, or resorting to queer expedients to make both ends meet. Probably commerce has never been in Biich a depressed condition since the drought of 1860. All kinds, of property are most difficult of sale, and all one can do, if he does not want to sacrifice, is to .hold on for better times, which look to be in store for us. Wo have had a good lambing, and it is tolerably certain that we shall have a good wool-clip and an abundant hay harvest. All we want to make us jubilant again is a 10----bushel wheat-crop.

Tho writer of Sydney Netes in the Argus has the following:—" I do not know whether you in Victoria have ever heard of our Liberal Association, It is an association of Freethinkers, or, as they are now often dubbed, Freethoughterß, to distinguish them from the large minority of educated people whose mental operations are also conducted with freedom. Well, these Freethoughters run an organ called the Liberal, whose editor is a Mr George Lacy, and among whose proprietary is Mr Charles Bright, the Sunday evening theatre lecturer. The chief business of the Liberal waß to reproduce Mr Bright's lectures on Freethougbt. In fact, the paper seemed to be his particular organ, and he its raison d'itre. Latterly, however, the relations .between the editor and the lecturer became, in diplomatic language 'strained,' and the climax arrived the other day in. the form of a letter of resignation by Mr Lacy of the editorial function. Editors have often resigned their offices before now, but I question whother any editor ever abdicated his chair because he was annoyed at a superfluous indefinite article. This, however, is Mr Lacy'a case. His mind ia perturbed because Mr Bright insists on advertising his Sunday lectures under a false quotation from Shakespeare. Our luminous Freethoughfcer takes as his motto, 'Reason, mighty, strong, and effectual,' and Mr Lacy has sent in his resignation because, according to him, Shakespeare wrote, 'A reason mighty, Btrong, and effectual,' and because, as he says, the trio of epithets have no reference whatever to the abstract attribute of reason, but only to the particular reason for a certain course of action described in the context, whereof I candidly confess crass ignorance ; yea, even after many weary searches in various Shakespeare dictionaries and concordances."

I An advertisement appeared in a Napier paper recently announcing that " dancing with refreshments during tha evening" would take place at a certain date in a country town hall. A resident wrote protesting against this programme :—" If we ore expected to dance with refreshments, and not with living glowing youth and beauty, it will be a failure. This will be very much to be deplored, because the proceeds are intended for a most charitable purpoßO. Our beauties do not like the idea of a dance without a man. * They do not like to trip ' the light fantastic toe' with an arrowroot biscuit in ona band and a slica of cold ham in the other. Our gentlemen ' mashers' are soriously wondering what kind of good things they will be required to dance with —whether they will be expected to danco a Scotch reel with a bottle of whisky for a partner, or will Jt be necessary to waltz round tha room hugging a little darling pork pie."

Messrs Maclean and Co. will sell the Summorhill Eatato about tho end of Novomber next.

Mr Jlontagn Pym will sell turnip seed on Saturday, and household furnituro on Tuosdayin Leith atruofc.

llr D. M. SpcdJinj will sell apples to-day. Jlr J. F. Watson will soli mining and other sharei to-morrow.

Nominations fot the DnncUn Cup, Jockov Club und Forbury HftU'iicapa close oa Saturday evening.

" Base ia the riava that knows what ia right and does not do it." Unfortunately lam uot in a. position just now to act up to ray convictions bat hope to bo so soon. In the meantime I shall sell as chvnp as possible, and give tho best value for cv>h In town. Superor Pork and Beef Sauaaitoa frab hourh\ Small cooda, thfl very bsat primo Roasts, Leg-* of Pork, and Logs of MatUm at A. Dohxweil's.—[Aiivr.)