The Otago Daily Times. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1888.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6738, 19 September 1883, Page 2

The Otago Daily Times. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1888.

Tue Hon. Mr Reynolds is painstaking and indefatigable, and if we cannot always agree with him, we must in, justice give bitu the utmost credit for the manner iv which he, according1 to his lights, watches over the public interests. Though a member of the too Bleepy Upper Chamber, he devotes more attention to his duties than many of the people's representatives iv the Lower House. His letter oa the finance of the Colony, which appeared in our issue of Monday, contains much food for reflection, and if he appears in his zeal somewhat to overstate his case in certain particulars, it is impossible to dissent from his main conclusions. We are undoubtedly spending too much,and relying too much upon' "bOTTOWod-eapHiil. —l£-±Ua»JVHITAKER-

! Atkinson Administration is betteFTir many respeots than its predecessors, no one can Bay that in the matter of finance' it is by any means perfect; in fact, until the representatives of the people are aroused to a sense of their duty—nay, until the people themselves awake ,to the conviction that they cannot go on for ever dipping their hands into the' public Treasury for this or that local object—r-we shall have no real economy. Every! now and then a hot fit of economical fever comes over the House for a time, and promises of amendment are freely made by the Government of the day, but never' kept. Sir Georoe Grey, several years ago, announced that he could easily reduce the expenditure, by £100,000 per annum, but never did it, and' never attempted to show - how it could be done. Mr Saunders, in 1880, induced the' House, after the publication of the extraordinary report of the Cominissiofl on the Civil Service, to reduco salaries all round by 10 per cent, but it did not last. The House felt that it was not so much -a reduction in the amount of individual salaries which was necessary, many of them being already low enough, but a reorganisation, of the Civil Service. Major Atkinson has promised such a reorganisation, but has not laid bis plan before the House; and unless,a distinct expression of public opinion forces the matter on the attention; of the Government it will be allowed to sleep —;• members will comfortably pocket their honoraria, financial juggles' will be resorted to, log-rolling will go on perennially, and the Augean stable will never be cleaned out till, the day of reckoning. comes. The present Government started by wiping out with a sponge the accumur lated deficiencies which resulted from tha Grey Administration, creating about a million of Treasury bills for the purpose. No attempt hast>een made to reduce these, though they added about .£50,000 a year to our outgoings for interest; and when there was a surplus on paper of about £200,000 as on March 31, 1882, instead of redeeming part of these Treasury bills the Treasu-^. rer reduced the property tax, paid £75,000 for defence out of revenue instead of out of loan, and in other, ways got rid of it as fast as possible.. So that it is quite true, as Mr Reynolds saya, that—leaving the surplus of the. year 1881-2 out of acoount— ■the expenditure of last year exceeded the revenue by £168,134. It is not, however, true that this sum remains still to be wiped off. It has been paid out of the previous year's surplus; only , the question is, as we have said, whether that surplus ought not to have been applied in reducing previous deficiencies* Mr Reynolds takes a deßponding view of the financial prospects of the year, and with reason, as the customs show, a serious falling off, and the state of trade is undoubtedly bad. Some of tbjs best months of the year are yet to come,and a part of the deficiency may yet be made up; but unless considerable sav-. ings on votes are effected by the strictest economy of administration, the year will end with a serious debit balance, in spite of the extra farthing in the pound income tax. Mr Reynolds estimates this defioifc at £258,000, and allowing for considerable exaggeration, the prospect is still' serious enough,. .especially when we remember that we are. adding £40,000 a year to our interest by further borrowing. .That the property tax next year will be a penny in the pound at least is all but certain, and even that increase will not half meet this deficit, and we suppose the sponge will again be applied. Are we to go oa shutting our eyes to the serious prospect before us, or to begin putting our house in order? It is easy for Major Atkinson to give the good advice he does in his Financial Statement, about living within our means; but what is he doing to give effect to his precept by practice ?• Our land revenue—thanks, in great measure, to the deferredpayment system—will not meet the demands upon it; and in spite of repeated promises to remove votes for. roads and bridges off the Colonial Estimates altogether, leaving ~thetn entirely in the hands of the.. local, bodies, we have hundreds of thousands, of pounds placed yearly on the Public Works Fund—or, in other words, taken out of loan—for these unproductive works, — unproductive ia the double sense of yielding no inoime, and being to a large extent extravagant luxuries that could very well be done without. Year by year the district north of Auckland receives special favours altogether disproportional to its population and importance; but the votes Blip through almost withont a murmur, each member having some one vote he is anxious about, and being therefore afraid of provoking reprisals. We have again and again protested against so large a portion of the borrowed money being spent on unproductive works, but without avail. We speak to deaf ears.. It is time that Canterbury and Otago, which together have to bear the greater part of the burden, should come to some common understanding, and protest in a manner that would force some radical change of policy in the direction of economy—for example, localising all roads and bridges and cutting down the expenditure on buildings. We cannot afford rail way-stations costing £300,000, whioh, from first to last, including the costly bridge recently partly contracted for, will represont the sum expended or to be expended for station accommodation in Dunedinialono. Nor can we afford £82,000 for a central gaol at Wellington, nor many of tie other building luxuries to which Mr Reynolds alludes. Our Legislature,

100, m very costly, absorbing £45,000, or more than half the.receat addition "to the property tax. Albeit we have excellent proßpects, we are a young, straggling Colony, with limited capital and limited income, and ft heavy debt; yet we want to have everything of the boat and everything at once. Education j alone coßts us about as much as would be yielded by a property^ tax of one penny in the pound, and this is perhaps the moat justifiable part of our expenditure ; but even education might, we believe, be more economically administered, and would be if the funds had to bo locally raised. In a certain dense, Mil Reynolds' remarks regarding the incidence of taxation on. the labouring classes are undoubtedly true. Ail taxation eventually' reaches labour, and far more important to the interests of the working man is the question of reducing the cost of government to the lowest possible limit than any nostrums for fostering local industries by means of direct Government aid or protective duties. If capital and industry are burdened by excessive taxation, the artisan and labourer must suffer in two wayB —by the increase, in the cost of living, and by loss of work and wages —the direct result of stagnant enterprise. Never■thelesß, it cannot be denied that lavish expenditure is popular. Sufficient for the day is the evil, thereof. Very few take the trouble to look forward to the reckoning day, which comes to all who borrow recklessly and so discount the': future. The people need educating on these questions, and although we cannot agree with Mr Reynolds1' peasivii\xtr^r)f nnp_^>ro»p«CtiH r Wfl EfUSTi that the key-note which he has, struck will be followed by a responsive chorus taken up by our.. Cham-' bers of Commerce, our Trades. and Labour Councils, and mayhap by an organisation, to extend throughout Otago and Canterbury, having for its object the enforcement of; this one lesson of economy which the bad times are already preaching to us. This is not a mere question of dry figures, but one which touches closely on our dearest interests, on our love of country, and on our hopes for the future of our families—even, as Sir George Gret would pus it, "to millions yet unborn." Shall the future of this grand country be overclouded, and its progress be indefinitely retarded, because we refusa to sit down and count the cost, denying ourselves what we cannot afford? "Economy" should be the refrain of every political speech during the recess, until at last the words find an echo in the understandings of the people. We have to learn to do without. If we will not learn, we' Bball hereafter be taught by bitter experiences. We shall get what' we deserve, and we shall deserve what we get

In another column we publish a letter from Mr Bracken, together with an extract from " Hansard," explaining how it happened that Mrs Beackkk's paosage to Wellington was paid at the public expense. The explanation ia perfectly eatisfaotoryas far as Mr Bracken is conVerned. No one who knows him would ever accuse, him of meanness, and we gladly admit that he has the virtues as well ( as the faults of his " qualities." But as ': i egards the general principle involved, and .the action of the Government, the explanation will, we fancy, be far from satisfaotory to the Colony at large. It may at first Bight appear to be fair that if the wives of members for the Northern are brought down to Wellington "free" * bf charge in the Hinemoa,' the wives of Southern members should also bo brought there at the public expense. But the fallacy of this visw becomes evident when we remember that the wives of the Northern members receive a favour at the hands of the public owing to the chance circumstance "that they can be taken to Wellington without extra expense, and that there is no such thing as a right to a favour. If tho Southern members think 1 here ia any unfairness in the matter, their "proper course, is to get the Government ■to, refuse to allow the wives of the .Northern members to come down in the Hinemoa This course would perhaps savour somewhat of the dog in the manger, but as far as the public are concerned, its results would be far more satisfactory than the existing system. The Government seem to us considerably to blame in this matter. When it was 'decided to give hon. members an honorarium, or rather, we should «ay, when 'they decided to give themselves one, the publio supposed that they knew the worst, and it is difficult to understand how any such extra allowance 4s. this can be defended. The amount in.question ,may be petty, but the principle is thoroughly vicious, and these vails and gratifications come with especially bad' grace at a time when our finances are in a bad condition, and from a Government which has just been telling the public that theyoughtto.be more economical and live within their incomes. If the practice ia continued next session, wo trust somo hon. member wilt call the attention of the House to it. It is by a mere chance that the publio have learnt of its existence; but now that they know of it, we feel sure it will be generally condemned as, to say the ! least .of it, loose on the part of the ! Government, and degrading to members themselves. We r«ote, by the way, that Mr Green does' not seem to have played a. more brilliant part on this than on other occasions.

Ministers usually " resign," and we are somewhat at a loss to understand what signification, if any, is to be attached to wording of the telegram which we publish in another column announcing that M. Challemkl-Laootjk has been given his congi by M. Ferry. But whether M. Laooue took tho usual course, or was summarily ejected from the French Cabinet, the meaning of the aot ia the same. M. Lacouii represented what we may be allowed to term the " jingo" element in the Ministry. An intimate of GAMBETTAand a member of his short-lived Government, the ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs had all the zeal, with little, of the discretion, of his* friend. He burned to avenge the ibsuH of 1870, but instead of nursing his wrath till the, proper time came, he allowed it an outlet in Colonial affairs. Since he came into office France has certainly had a finger in every possible pie, but as she has burnt them on each occasion, neither gloire nor satisfaction can have resulted. Although reputed to be a great admirer of England and a warm friend of Sir Chaeles Dilkb, he has managed during the short spaco of six months to stir up more ill-feeling between the two nations than has existed since 1858, if not since 1815. In Tonquin he] has got this country into serious dif cutties with China, and it is not impossible that his resignation may be tho result of the negotiations at Walmer. Ah astute politician like M. Ferry has probably seen the necessity for compromise in this matter, while M. ChallemelLacotjk is just the Chauvinist to refuse to have anything to do with concessions of any kind where, as he would probably phrase it, " the honour of our flag is concerned." In any oase, the removal of M. Challkmeli Lacouii should indicate a desire to pursue a less meddleaomo and more sensible policy, and the fact- that the Premier himself takes charge of Foreign afl'iira shows the importance ho attaohes to the conduot of this department at the present moment. Wo fear, howevor, that nothing whioh M. Febry can now do will be able to eff mm in England the memory of the last halfyear. It ie too late to restore tho entente c-ordiale. Daring the last ten years Englishmen had been getting into thd habit of thinking that the two nations had sworn eternal friendship. Because they took a run ovor to Paris every autumn, dressed in Frenoh fashion?, and ate French dinners, they thought the union was cemented. But they have been rudely awakened

from this pleasant dream. The French .have not thanked -uaforour admiration; they have ouly laughed at the bad grace with whioh their customs sat upon ua. Trade and intercourse do not constitute friendship. French interests lie with Russia, just as English interests are with Germany, and it is perhaps just as well that Englishmen should realist) these facts Wore they are obliged to act upon

This morning we publish tlie news of another collision in the English Channel, in consequents of which another ship bound for New Zealand has gone down. The ship St. Lejnards, says the telegram, for Wellington, with emigrants, foundered in the Channel after collision with another vessel. Fortunately no lives are lost. AH the passengers'and crew have been landed in safety, but doubtless with the loss of everything but their lives, at Dartmouth. Suoh are all the particulars that have yet come to hand ; but they are enough to make almost all who have sailed out of or into th» port of London shudder at the thought of the dangers they have escaped, lut on the wide ocean human life is comparatively safe, though we have seen two ships aa nearly as possible in collision without actually striking, thou • sands of miles from land. Suoh an occurronoe, however, is extremely r*re, and in the caae to whioh we refer the danger was caused by neglect on the part of one of tho masters: he had no lights burning. But in the ! English Channel, if the weather be the least hazy, or oven on a clear dark night, yon are nerer safe .for an hour. The great multitude of ships coming and going, and ticking and beating, renders it the most dangerous bit of navigation in the whole world. It is such a Bad thing, too, to be wrecked either when you have just left Home.for when you are just about t') set foot again in the Old Country—sadder still, of course, to be drowned, as so many are, withia sight of their native shores. Nor is ''tlieire any possible safeguard against suoh dangers. Nay, the more the trade ot England increases the greater become these.dangers ; and it is just possible they may grow to such a height that, it will be considered necessary to take up or land passengers, aa the steamers already do, at ports in the south-west of England. In the meantime this section of the voyage Home is beset with perils which' it is exceedingly unpleasant to contemplate. Intending emigrants have already a dread of the tiresomeness of a long voyago to Hew Zealand as contrasted with the seven-days steamer passage to America." This collision, coming so closely after that of the Waitara and Hurunufj will, we fear, suggest fears to them of a more terrible kind.

On our fourth page will be found several local reports, Melbourne sporting news, a letter to tbo editor, and other matter.

The Wan»ka, with the San Francisco mail, is expected to arrive at Wellington early this morning; and the Hawea, with the Southern portion, will be despatched at noon for Lyttelton. ■-....

Several interesting items of news appear in our cable "messages this morning. Those of most . importance) from Europe are the foundering ofjjho ship St. Leonards in the English Chariujel, after collision with another vessel; and the deposition from office of M. Challemel - Lacour, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs". The St. Leonards was bringing out immigrants to Wellington. Happily, all escaped, having presumably taken to the boats; but; they were able, to save nothing. The fact that a change has been made in the French Ministry is taken to be an earnest of the desire of the French for peace.

From the Colonies also come one or two interesting items. Cetewayo, that renowned Zulu warrior, is becoming intractable, and the Governor of Natal has had to threaten to send out British troops to arrest him. In Melbourne the Presbytery have begun the trial of the Rev. Charles Strong for heresy ; and from Sydney we have it that a jury have shown such sympathy with a wronged husband as to give him no less than £5000 damages'against the corespondent in a divorce suit.

Among the prisoners recently admitted to the Dunedin Gaol is Herbert Colboin, formerly a police constable at Tapanui. Colborn, in addition to the duties of constable, also discharged those of clerk of the Court, and it may be remembered that in July last he was sentenced in Wellington to a tine of £20, or one month's imprisonment, for neglecting to furnish a copy of his cash-book. The case was a peculiar one, and attracted some attention at the time. Theupshethas been that Colborn, either unable or unwilling to pay the fine, elected to serve his term, and was brought to tha Dunedin Gaol a few daya ago.

Cr Guthrie has given notico of the following motion for next Monday's meeting of the City ' Council: —" That in the opinion of this Council the time has arrived when a city solicitor should be permanently appointed, at a salary ef per annum ; and that applications be invited for a qualified person to act in that capacity," ' ' , The caso of Moir v. Marshall and Copeland, which was heard at the Supreme Court, resulted in a verdict being given for the defendants. The Court will resume its sitting at 10 o'clock this morning. ■ ■■ '

: Messrs Oakden and Begg have prepared plans and sections and a bird's-eye view of the proposed canal from the east Bide of Lawyer's Head to" Dunedin, a distance of 2| miles, and these will ba on view, to-day in Messrs Fergusson and Mitchell's window. A.good deal of .interest 'ihas been .evoked by Mr Smaill's scheme, the soundness of which is endorsed by Mr Begg, who made a preliminary survey establishing the fact that the levels at the beach, and in the.harbour very closely approxim&te. The deptha of water at the point where the canal would debouche are all that could be desired—ranging from 80ft to 78ft at low water. The plans will speak for themselv.es better than any description we could give of them.

At yesterday's Bitting of tha Police Court, Mr Watt, the presiding magistrate, stated that after looking through "'The Licensing Aot 1881" and "The Justices of the Peace Act 1882 " he was of opinion that a magistrate had no option but to inflict a fine of 5s on a person who pleaded guilty or was proved guilty of drunkenness; and that there was no power, to convict and discharge, as is fre. quently done in the Justices of the Peace Court. Mr Watt'a remarks are reported elsewhere. !

The end of November has been fixed for holding the Australasian Convention. Representatives of the whole of the Colonies will then meet at Sydney to. discuss questions bearing directly on federation, and the annexation of New Guinea and other Pacific isles. The number of delegates has not yot been fixed. Victoria, New South Wales, arid* Queensland are favourable to .pending four each, whilst New Zealand, Tasmania, and South Australia are disposed to limit the number to two. Fiji has boen invited to join the convention. Western Australia will send one delegate.

The Mayor stated at last night's meeting of City Council that 31 applications had been received for the post of clerk at tha Gasworks. Two of these applications had been withdrawn, and the remainder were referred to the Gas Committee, with instructions to select six of the applicants to be submitted to the Council at a future meeting for the final selection.

Those of our readers who feel desirous of knowing all the ma and outs about the celebrated disputed try in the Auckland-Welling-ton football match will find in another column the^entire history, as told by each of the contending parties. It is pleasing to know that there is a likelhood of a final settlement ef the question. The Auckland mon, strong in the belief that their position is impregnable, are going to refer the point to the Otago and Canterbury Unions —a very proper course, in which tho Wellington men may fairly concur.

An accident occurred at Capo Saundors about 5 o'clock yestorday afternoon, when a boy about 10 years old, son of Mr Chandler, the lighthouse-koepor, foil over the cliffs at a spot where they are about 100 ft high. lie was picked up and. taken tq his father's reßidenoo, and Mr Chaniliw telephoned to Port Chalmers. The Customs steam launch was at once despatched to Portobollo with Dr Eveloigb, who proeeedad on to Cape Sounders, and until that gentleman returns thn extent ef the child's injurios cannot be ascertained.

A tneoting for the formation of a Bowling Club was held in tha Council Chambers at Koslyn, and was attended by 11 gentlemen. Mr Cliisholm (mayor) presidod, and Mr Wilkie acted as uocretary. -It was unanimously resolved to form a club to be called the "lloslyn Howling Club," and 13 gentlemen signified their willingnesi to become members^ The annual subscription was fixed at a guinea" and it was decided that an entrance foe o'

10a 6d should be charged after December next. Messrs Chisholm, D. Scott, J> Curie, Church, and Grey were appointed a committee to make inquiries as to obtaining a suitable ground, and the meeting then adjourned sine die.

The City Council resolved last night that in future its meotings should be held on Monday instead of Tuosday evening, the first meeting under the now arrangement to be held on Monday evening next.

Up to yesterday afternoon 4D entrios had been received for the entire horse parade, which takes place to-morrow, and promise!l, to be as successful as the majority of former exhibitions.

James Durstou, bonedust manufacturer, who wbb recently before the Court on. a somewhat similar charge, was yesterday committed for trial on a charge of being guilty of an indictable offence in having conducted his business at Kaikorai Valley in such a manner as to be a common nuisance to her Majesty's subjects. , . v

Mr Adams, a candidate for a seat 'in the Weot Harbour Borough Council, was to have addressed, the ratepayers last evening,-but ultimately he decided to adjourn the meeting till after the nomination day.

The annual meeting of the Anderson's Bay Orioket Club was held on September 17, at which the following office-bearers were elected: President, Mr J. White; vice-president, Mr J. Macgrcgor; captain, J. A. Fitzgerald; deputycaptain, W. North; match committee—the office-bearers and R. Miller, G. Morriss, D. Bwetart; Bocretary and treasurer, M. Begg.' It was resolved to join the Otago Association..

The ordinary meeting of tha School Commissioners of Otago was held yesterday, and was attended by Messrs J. P. Maitland (chairman)> W. H. Pearson, A. C. Begg,.and the Hons. W. H. Reynolds and Dr Menzies.: A letter was received from the Education Department at Wellington stating that the Government approved of the Commissioners' .proposals with reference to land in Waikaia, Wendon, Wendonside, and Hokonui districts j and it was decided to request the Government to declare run 88, Wyndham, open for .sale, in sections of from 200 to 320 acres.' The Secretary'reported that the sale of reserves at Oamaru on the 15th inst. had realised .annual rentals amounting to £916 16s 12d, which was £640 8s Id in excess of the sum'obtaiued for the term just expired. , ; "

' The ordinary meeting of th« Loyal Hand-and-Heart Lodge,. M.T7.1.0.0.ft, was' held in the Hall, Stuart street, last night, when about 80 members were present, also visitors from the Loyal Dunedin, Caversham, and Valley Lodges. The following were elected aa delegates for the district meeting, at Tapahui, oh the 29th inflt, :-P.P.G.M. Geddes, P.P.G.M. Swan, P.G's Wood, Hitchcock,-and Robertson. ■ Five candidates were proposed for membership. Before closing, it was agreed to pay an official visit to the Loyal Valley Lodge on Monday night. • . ■ ...

The ceremony of laying the foundation of the Roxburgh bridge takes place on Thursday (tomorrow), and of the Beaumont bridge on the following day. Mr Vincent I'yke, M.H.R., will conduct the ceremony at eacli plae.e.,. The Roxburgh Borough Council have v.oted £25 for providing a " Bpread," and the other arrangements made are of a becoming character. The Beaumont people, at a meeting cm.Monday, decided to give an al fresco meal to all 'and sundry, and to invite Mr Pyke and ; the leading residents, including all the members of the Tuapeka County Council, to a sumptuous repaatinthe Clifton Hotel. A largo number of people from Lawrence have signified their intention of witnessing the ceremony of laying the foundation of the Beaumont bridge.

A full meeting of the Protestant Alliance Friendly Society Sports Committee was held at Porter's Hotel, Cayersham, on Saturday evening, when it waß resolved to carry.out the sports, the same as last year, on November 9. Bro. W: Dickson wag voted to the chair,' and among other business transacted was the election of Dr Fletcher as president j Mr W.Dickson, vice-president; Mr H. A.. Dobson,. treasurer ; and Mr T. Johns, secretary. ■ "■■ .

It turns out that the hedgehog which so mysteriously turned up at Pleasant Point, near Timaru, was a pet ode brought out by ft gentleman from England to ChristchurclTsdme three years ago. Its present owner, who lives about a mile from where it was found, lost it a few weeks ago,

The Roxburgh Presbyterian Church congregation have decided—" That it ia desirable, in the interests of the congregation, that instrumental music be used in the services'of the chnroh." . -

1 The London correspondent of th« Age,>peaking of the elevation of the Agentß-general to the quasi-rank of ambassadors, Bays that "the same policy is being pursued towards them as was used with the Radical contingent of the Liberal party when, during. the Palmerston r&rimc, it was deemed advisable at all hazards to bully or bribe them into concerted potion with the official Whig clique, who,'failing their co-operation, seemed likely to be permanently, deprived of power. Mr Bright has caustically described the social allurements'which were scattered broadcast ia their path by high-caste dames arid great Whig houses, in some cases, ifcmust be regretfully admitted, with only too much success. The word has been passed that our own' fierce democratic' may be subdued into a sort of tame beardom by tactics of the same description, and our Agentß-general consequently now move amidst a shower of gilt-edged dinner invitations and aristocratio at-home cards. It is not understood in English circles hqw little the Colonial representative's react on Colonial opinion, and how completely they are the mere mouthpieces of the antipodean Government and public opinion the day. Were the position in this respect accurately grasped,' the Agents-general would probably blush' to an extent which would be anything but palatable to the more pushing members of the fraternity. The social amenities referred to, harmless as they are in their effect on- the Colonies, have not been without their deteriorating influence upon the morale of the Colonial representatives. Something of the ' grand air ' is in some quartors beginning to be assumed, and there is a sort af understanding that anything lika an absorbing devotion to the mere material interests of the Colony is wholly inconsistent with the high diplomatic functions with which the officials in Victoria street have recently been clothed." ;

A correspondent writing to the NelsonColonist says: "In Grey mouth and Hokitika there is a free-and-easy social tone, not without its touches of rough playfulness and humour, as is illustrated by the. following incident which ocenrred some years back. A certain magistrate had been on. tho spree with some jolly miners, one of whom, however, became slightly furious, and had to be put under lock and key until the next day, when he was brought up before the magistrate who had shouted for him the previous night.' The accused disclaimed having been drunk and disorderly. 'Have you any witness?' asked his Worship. ' Yes, I have you. You were present at the time; I was along with you the whole evening,' was the reply.. 'All right,' the Resident Magistrate said :• I will-fine you 10s, and advise you to keop better company in future.' Tho Groymouth people are especially witty, genial, and hospitable."

We reprint elsewhere tbe portion of tbe business affecting Otago transacted at the Kaiapoi sitting of the Native Lands Court. The Court (Bays the Lyttelton Times) disposed of some 200 claimß of one kind or another. Moat of these were claims to succeed as next of kin deceased owners of land formerly granted to Natives, and were disposed of without much trouble, beyond the exercise of considerable patience on the part of tha Court, who had to listen to almost interminable pedigrees totally unintelligible to the uninitiated. Some of tbe claims were of a more serious character, the applicants claiming large territories, and in one instance nearly the whole of the Middle Island. On being reminded by Commissioner Mackay that the Court bad no jurisdiction in these casoß, the Chief Judge recommended the claimants to petition Parliament. The recommendation appeared to excite much merriment among thosß present, about one-half of whom belonged to the gentler sex. A feature in the proceedings throughout was the prominent part taken by the women, who frequently expressed their views in a most outspoken fashion. The behaviour of the Natives during the Bitting was most good-humoured, oven in cases where the claims "wore disallowod; and his Honor the Chief Judge, at the close of the proceedings, took the opportunity to compliment them on the good example they had set.

There is a noteworthy differenes (writes tho New York Tribune) between the way th» Salvation Army is' troated in this country and in England. Here it attracts only slight attention from the public, and comment on its work is gonerally unfavourable. It is voted a nuisance, and the polica suppress the enthusiasts whenever trouble arises botween the Army and the street crowd. An order wa» issued in Brooklyn on Friday by tbe Polica Commissioner, which probably will prevent preaching, and consequent disturbances in the streets of that city hereafter, In

London, when the cry was raked that the Army was a nuisance, the papers replied that it was the unsaved orowd of street ruffians which made the trouble, and which ought to be suppressed. The work of tho Army was approved by so great a Church dignitary.as-the Archbishop of Canterbury, and in many other religious quarters there was a feeling of tenderness toward it. One reason for this difference in treatment possibly is that in this country we haveno establishment, like the Church of England, which, remembering the Wesleyans, dreads the " evangelical" influence of the Salvationists if they should become hostile.

Mr James Wilkinson, who has proved himself a useful member of Mr Willmott'a company, and who has a peculiar claim upon Dunedin audiences, was the recipient of a benefit at the Princess Theatrs yesterday evening. There was an excellent attendance in the stalls and pit, and Mr Wilkinson assumed a rCle which offered him every opportunity of scoring an individual success. His performance of Rip Van Winkle is not marked by all the fine shading which some have been taught to look for in the character'; but it is .from first to last a piece of careful and meritorious acting. In broad low comedy Mr Wilkinson is decidedly more successful than in the pathetic passages that fall in his way; but he nevertheless manages, as Kip, to give hi? audience pretty general satisfaction all round. As we before remarked, the version of the piece presented in not the one made famous by Jefferson, and Borne of the most telling situations are lost in consequence. Miss Crawford, Messrs Hesford, Rede, and others of the com- | pany lent able support yesterday evening, and the applause was frequent.

. Mr M Pym wilt sell Tunisian cbinaware to morrow. Messrs Stephenson and 00. will hold bone sales every Saturday at TattersaH's. Messrs James Samson and Co. will sell freehold property, furniture, &c. at North-Eiit Valley tomorrow.

Inconsequence of tho very largo amount of doubtiul and bad debts on my books, I bave decided to make a reduction In prices lor cash aud ghoit credit, ustomers will be pleased to learn tbat every article is prime, and tbat 1 shall maintain the proud position of belnu too cheapest and most civil butcher In town. For prices, see new price lists, aid compare them with what Is charged by others. This day 16 very large Oxen and above 100 Uheep will be sqldj at the new prices, both at George aud High streets.—A. DorsWBMi.—[ABVT.J . ' . ■