The Otago Daily Times. MONDAY, APRIL 19, 1886.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7541, 19 April 1886, Page 2

The Otago Daily Times. MONDAY, APRIL 19, 1886.

There is a general feeling of relief throughout the Colony, matching in more sober tones the joy so boister-

ously displayed in the districts immediately concerned, at the news that a syndicate has undertaken the construction of the West Ooast railway under the terms of the Act of 1884. How far the rejoicings in Canterbury, Westland, and Nelson spring from a patriotic belief in the remunerativeness of the line, and how far from a selfish and shortsighted desire to relieve the present tension "by the expenditure of large sums of money in their districts, ■we shall not attempt to analyse, any more than how far the feeling of relief in the rest of the Colony is the result of an idea that an undertaking which is too speculative for this overburdened Colony may be legitimate enough for rich private individuals, or how far it partakes of that shallow opportunism which generally means sacrificing the future and somebody else for the sake of present peace and advantage. For our own part, we are much inclined to doubt whether the Colony has made the best of a bad job, as we hear on every side; and we believe that future generations will regard the present contract as one of the worst developments of the vicious and demoralising policy introduced by Sir Julius Vo»el in 1870.

The first opinion that we find on

the lips of the man in the street is that this contract clears the political path, which the AVest Coast railway agitation seemed likely to block; and more serious folk go on to enlarge upon the evils of a bitter and protracted struggle between the districts concerned in the railway and the rest of the Colony. The latter consideration carries little more weight/with ns than the former. An inglorious peace often does ".more harm than a war; and if there is so much latent antagonism between the provinces as is said, the sooner it comes out and is dealt with by some modification of the system of local government the better. As for the political path being blocked by the obstruction of the members for the districts concerned in the railway, the retardation of general legislation would, on the whole, have mattered

little in a Colony where the tendency always is to go too fast, and the obstruction of the rate of construction of public works—at which the railway members showed from their action last session that they would specially have aimed—would have been a decided advantage. In short, we believe the railway members Avould have furnished a very useful brake on the wheel of State for some years to come, and that the higher qualities and more careful attention to public affairs aroused by the contest would have outweighed the paltry irritations which loomed so large at the moment. But, it will be said, resistance could not have continued for ever, and we should have had to yield in course of time. This kind of argument is always a dangerous one. Each year the Colony would have been brought down to a sounder basis, and the sounder the basis the greater the resistance to a premature construction of the line. Those who take the view that this railway is absolutely and everlastingly undesirable have certainly no right to allow private individuals to lose their money over it; whilst those who, like ourselves, consider that the desirability of railways and the value of land in a young Colony must always be comparative and a matter of time, will reply that

delay would probably have resultei

in the introduction of a less objectionable scheme for the construction of the

line, and that at the worst it would have been better that the lino should be constructed prematurely—say, 10 years hence—by the Colony than that it should be constructed now by private individuals, who thus gain possession of a vast district of country which, though now worthless'] must ultimately become valuable. On the other hand, Aye doubt not that we shall shortly feel the detrimental effect upon the rest of the Colony of the temporary prosperity induced in the districts concerned by the expenditure of a large sum of foreign money (for which no interest has to leave the

Colony), accompanied by the introduction of population. Unless we read history wrong, this prosperity will incite a desire to complete the Otago Central and other lines prematurely upon a similar system, and bring about a renewal of the speculative spirit which has wrought so much mischief in the past. The pressure of interest has of late brought the Colony into a sober frame of mind, and there was every hope that we should look to the settlement of the land as the main factor of progress; but we greatly fear that ere long we shall have a revival of the dfish-e to force on prosperity by means of borrowing and public works expenditure, now that we are shown a way of managing it at the expense of our grandchildren, instead of having to pay .the interest ourselves. One advantage of railway construction on a land - grant system is that the contractors must introduce a considerable population to make their concessions of any value; but .we

have some experience of indiscriminate immigration, and who can doubt that there will be great drawbacks to this immigration, and o, difficulty eventually in knowing what to do with a considerable part of it? But, over and above all, we regret the loss to the Colony of so large an area of land which will eventually become of value, and the stimulus which this contract gives to the speculative spirit. How

far the fault of this folly —as it seems ■to us — lies with the people of the districts concerned, and how far with the rest of the Colony, we shall make no attempt to show, except to say that it is a very shallow view 'which supposes that the population of-Canterbury, Nelson, and West! and are more foolish or greedy than the rest of the Colony. The truth is that the mischief is directly traceable to the Public Works policy of 1870 and the dangerously speculative standard which Sir Julius Vogel has done so much to establish in New Zealand.

We understand that the Government has made an offer to purchase the Wainiea Plains railway, one of the conditions of the offer being that the Railway Company shall forego one-half of the four year's rates due up to the 31st ult. We find on inquiry that the acceptance of the offer by the Company would result in a loss of something like £13,000 of the share capital, besides interest, and that there is no probability of the directors agreeing to sell on the terms offered, by Government. It will be seen by an advertisement in another column that the Company has taken the initiatory steps in the direction of levying rates for the past yeav.

Several local reports, letters to the editor* and other matter appear on our fourth page.'

The civil sittings of the Supreme Court commence at 10 o'clock this morning. In the first

place tlie common jury cases will be disposed of, and probably to-morrow or Wednesday the order in which the other cases are to be taken will be decided. The list of civil business has already appeared in these columns, and is an unusually

heavy one.

There was a short sitting at the Police Court on Saturday, Messrs W. Langlands and S. Isaac* J.P's., presiding. 'A young woman named Nellie Hanson was charged (on remand)* with attempted suicide, and was discharged upon her

promise to reform her mode of life. Sergeantmajor Bevin stated that she was generally wellbehaved, but had been drinking of late. A byelaw case was also dealt with.

A coalshed and outhouse belonging to a house in Cumberland street caught lire early yesterday morning, owing to a tin of hot ashes having been left in the place over night. The house is the property of Mr F. Lyders, and is occupied by Mr John Wilson. There is no insurance upon the premises, and the owner estimates the damage at about £5. The Brigade were in attendance, and quickly extinguished the flames.

The funeral of Mr Thomas Mnrtland took place yesterday afternoon, the procession leaving the residence of the deceased at Linden for the Northern Cemetery about 3 o'clock. A large number of Volunteers turned out, representatives of alltheDunedin and suburban companies being present, also the Garrison Band, who played' the Funeral March.. The coffin was borne to the grave by six members of the City Guards Company, of which deceased was a member. After the conclusion of the burial service, which was performed the Rev. Mr Gibb, a firing party from the City Guards Company fired the customary volleys over the grave.

The defence works commenced during the

" war scare " are being carried on gradually iv various parts of the Colony. Ifc is some time since the two batteries for the defence of Dun- i ediu were finished at the Oceau Beach, and the defence of the city is now to be strengthened by the construction of another battery half-way between St. Clair Point and .Lawyer's Head. This new battery is to be erected on the Sandhills, about 300 yds to the west of the Pacific Hotel, and is to consist of two six-inch breechloading rifled guns, mounted in concrete pits. The area of the pits is to be covered by steel shields, carried on the carriage of the gun. The work of constructing the battery will begin this morning, and about 100 of the men who have obtained employment from the Government as unemployed will be engaged on this work; some of them at the work of excavation and others in getting stone for the battery. The guns which are to be mounted at the Beach have been, along with others required for the defence of the Colony, ordered for some time, and they will be more effective weapons than the seventon muzzle-loading guns at St. Clair and Lawyer's Head.

The Dimediri Parliamentary Union opened its session on Saturday evening, when the Governor of the Union (the Hon. G. M'Lean) attended and read the opening address. Sir William Fox attended during the evening and sat near, the Speaker (Mr J. L. Gillies). There was a good attendance of the public in the gallery, who appeared to take a keen interest in the proceedings of the mimic Parliament.

The bicycle sports held on Saturday were

successful^from a racing point of viow, but the attendance was not very large. The principal event, the 10-mile championship of the Colony, was won by Mr F. Webb, after a good race with Messrs Reeco, Cutteu, and Kerr.

The anniversary services in connection with St. Andrew's Church, which were held yesterday, were very well attended. The pulpit was occupied both morning and evening by the Rev. Daniel Dutton. On the latter occasion the rev. gentleman preached a sermon on "Justification by faith." The collections for the day, which was in aid of the debt extinction fund, amounted to about £3i.

The death is announced this morning, in another column, of Mr James Jardine, lato chief reporter on the London Echo. Mr Jardinc arrived in the Colony on January last by the ship Wellington, having been recommended to the Colony for the benefit' of his health. Ho was considerably improved in health when he arrived in tho Colony, but while up-country he caught a severe cold. He returned to Dunedin, and was taken care of by Mr James Dobie, but notwithstanding every attention on the part of his friends and medical advisor congestion of the lungs and jaundice set in, and he died on Saturday morning. Mr Jardine began his connection with the Press as reporter on the Dumfries Standard at the age of 18, under Mr W. M'Dowal, who is the oldest editor on the Scottish Press, and a very pronounced radical. Mr Jardine became afterwards sub-editor of the Sunderland Echo, and after occupying that position for six years he receivod the appointment of chief reporter on the London Echo, relinquishing it some two years later ou account of ill health. Ho was held iv high esteem by members of Parliament, literary men, and the editors o£ many of the metropolitan newspapers. Ho was conscious almost to tho last, and retained his old interest in everything that transpired with regard to English polities. jWe understand lie leaves' a wife and child in Scotland to mourn tUc early death of a career of much promise.

Tlio Tuapcka Times states that the surveyors of tlie Lawrosicu-Uoxburgb. railway route siave now got as far as Beaumont and are advancing the work very rapidly. At the present rate, the survey should be completed through to Roxburgh in the course of a few weeks.

The new Presbyterian Church at Brighton was opened last week by a soiree. The statement submitted showed that financially aUVu-s were in a very satisfactory condition. The Key. Mr Watt was in the chair, and apologised for the absence of the Key. Mr Will and Dr Stuart.

Mr Pyke, M.H.R., is now engaged addressing his constituents in the various centres of the Dunstan electorate. At Clyde, where he spoke on Thursday evening, he received a vote of thanks and confidence.

During the passage of the s.s. Taupo from Auckland to Port Chalmers the vessel was visited by a number of larks, linnets, thrushes, and sparrows, which had evidently been blown off the land by the strong westerly winds which have lately prevailed.

Mr J. S. Fleming, coroner, held au inquest on Friday on the body of Alexander Henderson, au old settler in the Puerua district. The evidence showed that while deceased was engaged felling timber on Wednesday afternoon he was struck by a falling tree, which broke his leg in three places and caused internal injuries. Henderson died at 10 o'clock the same evening. The Jury returned a verdict of "Accidental death."

The following applications for new patents I have been made:—R. D. O'Donnell, of Auckland, for an invention for preventing chimneys from smoking; H. Hight, of Etlesmero, for an invention for loading drays with farm produce: T. V. Farra, of Dunedin, for a milk strainer; C. S. Howard, of Richmond, Canterbury, for an invention for coating blackboards; J. C. Newberry, of Melbourne, for an invention for improvements iv the web method of extracting metals from crushed ore, &c.; E. D. Kitchingbain, of Colliiigwood, Victoria, for an improved waterproof coating for ships' bottoms; H. J. G. Catanach, of Sydney, for an improved deodorant and disinfectant; T. Dauks, of Christchurch, for a wrought iron bolt pump.

The Wellington Times states that the Government will charge themselves with the future of young Ward, son of Torpedo-instructor Ward, who was drowned at the wreck of the Taiavoa.

The prospects of the. Southland Frozen Meat Company (says the Southland Times) are still brightening, the latest item of good news being that if a cargo is guaranteed the ship Oamnru will bo available to load at (ho Bluff and sail iov London in June next.

A civil action was brought before Mr Baddeley, R-.M. at Ashburton, by James Campbell to recover £1G 10s, alleged to havo been woh oft; him at billiards. The magistrate decided agaiust him, on the ground that money lost at gaming could not be recovered from a principal; smd as it had been laid down by several judges that the Court need not waste . its time in hearing such cases as the one before I the Bench, plaintiff was nonsuited.

In connection with the storm of rain and wind which occurred on the evening of the 10th iust., the night on which the Taiaroa was wrecked,

ic Wellington Press states that the rain fell

in such heavy torrents at Pahautanui that many members of. the congregation who attended the local Catholic Church were unable to leave for their homes after the evening service, and elected to spend the night within the sacred building, the tempest keeping them prisoners till 6 o'clock on the following morning.

The Christchurch Press draws attention to the conduct of the police and a decision at Ashburton by Mr Baddoley, H.M., in a recent case. A small farmer named Toner, requiring some sticks to roof soniu ricks, was directed to a piece of unclaimed bush in the district, but iv cutting the sticks found his way on to land belonging to the Alford Forest Compauy, adjoining this bush and not separated by a dividing fence. Toner was informed by one of the Company's employes after he had cut the sticks that he was on the Company's land ; but, under the irnpressior that the Company's manager would not mind ins

;aking ths sticks after cutting them, he carted

them home. The Press states that the Company's manager, who was not on good terms with Toner, did object, and straightway sought out a constable and proceeded with him to Toners house. This constable arrested Toner straightaway, without any warrant. Ho wauted Toner to walk the whole 13 miles to Methven,

and ou his objecting threatened to handcuff him and even to drag him by a rope at the tail of a horse, but ultimately he was allowed to ride. The arresting constable in his zeal was not con-

tent with the mere arrest. Though the stolen poles were visible outside the house—no attempt having been made to conceal them—this zealous guardian of the peace searched through Toner's house, opened his drawers, ransacked his cupboards, just to see what he could see. Mr Baddeley, after taking several days to, consider the case, found Touer guilty of larceny and fined him 40s.

The Hospital Trustees at Wellington have been able to make great savings in that institution since it has come under their control. The chairman atnted at' a~meetih"g~l3st~ week that the first quarter of ISB6 would show a saving of £200 as compared with the corresponding quarter of 1885, and he felt certain that the trustees cou'd show a saving for the year of at least £1000.

During the proceedings in the French Chamber on the 25th February two revolver shots were fired by a man seated in the gallery set apart for the public. He was arrested just as he was about to fire a third shot, and much ex. citement prevailed in the House for some time. The man said his object was to call attention to a letter he had addressed to M. Clemenceau ex-

plaining a plan for the delivery of Metz. He remained cool, and showed no excitemont when being questioned. M. Clemenceau and his secretary think he is insane.

It U stated by the Melbourne Telegraph that the Department of Agriculture of Victoria is engaged iv revising the regulations for dealing with cattle suffering from contagious

diseases so as to include tuberculosis in the list, in which case animals suffering from tubercular disease would be at once slaughtered. A competent witness has stated that in one district of the Colon}' 3 or 4 per cent, of the stock die annually of tuberculosis. Mr Robert Stirling, district inspector of stock, who has given attention to the question, has stated in evidence that from 1 to 2 ov 2g per cent, of all cattle sold in the yards can easily be detected to be suffering from tuberculosis. Mr John Gee, inspector of the city abattoirs, says that about 10 per cent, of the cattle sold in the yards show unmistakable signs of the disease. Among the cattle i slaughtered about 7 per cent, are markedly affected, and 15 per cent, are more or leas diseased.

This is the French view of the European situation : —" And the storm is gathering; it will break in the East, as men have now made up their minds only a good bleeding and an augmentation to their load of debts can sober the rivals in the Balkan Peninsula. The Powers while playing at negotiations for peace, are working overtime preparing for war. Russia, aware that you cannot make an omelette without breaking the eggs, intends not to be bored out of court by the Bulgarians; she will try with the latter to join hands with the Prince of Montenegro and squeeze the Sultan with Asia Minor. The idea is spreading that the further advance of Russia westwards is a matter for Germany and Austria. The Danube is one of the life arteries of the latter Powers, and the Dardanelles iv the possession of Russia means to hold the key of the commerce of the Danube. France and England will this time let them fight it out between tliei\isclves. Perhaps France will drop on St. Jean d'Acre, and England occupy a few ports in Candia to better watch the Russian fleet in that quarter of the Mediterranean. This implies, naturally, her making Egypt a vast depot for her military and commercial necessities. Ability to block the mouth of the Dardanelles will be tantamount to commanding the passage."

Concerning an episode of the late riots in London, a metropolitan writer says:—" Evidence accumulates of the fact that the only part the genuine working men took in the riot last week was creditable to them. A lady residing at Belsi/.e Park states that she was driving down Park lane in her Victoria when the roughs set m>on her. They leaped into her carriage and, having stolen a number of parcels, proceeded to tear her clothes off her back. Her screams for help attracted the attention of two working men, who rushed to the rescue and quickly sent the ruffians spinning. Then the working men stood by the eartiage until she was out of the reach of danger. My correspondent wishes to know the names of her brave defenders."

We notico with pleasure that Ilerr Beimo Scherek purposes organising a scries of Saturday afternoon concerts. There should be no difficulty, we imagine, in securing the necessary amount of support to justify bis undertaking the series, and it is to be hoped that tho proposal to provide such an entertainment for tho winter months will not fall through from want of the small amount of preliminary support

required. A sacred cantata entitled " Joseph " is to be produced for the first time hi Dunedin on Tuesday night at St. Andrew's Church. A good deal of preparation has been made to render tho cantata effectively; and us some of our most popular amateurs' services arc to be brought into requisition for that purpose, in addition to a well-trained choir of 50 voices, there is a prospect of the Dunedin public being afforded a musical treat.

Paris has now five circuses, and a sixth building. The, last built has the peculiarity of having the bottom of the arena mobile, like the roof. It can be drawn aside, and then appears a lake, 10ft deep, full of ladies going through a series of gymnasto-aquatic exorcises. " Naval battles" are promised, and other " marine" novelties.

A concert iv aid of the public library was given by the Sawyers' Bay Choral Society on Friday, 16th. The Society, under the conductorship of Professor Sale, gave a very creditable rendition of Locke's masie from " Macbeth," the solos being given by Miss Davidson, Messrs Olegliorn and Glanville. Mrs Sale officiated at the pianoforte. The second part was of a miscellaneous character, consisting of vocal and instrumental selections, among the most noticeable being a pianoforte solo by Miss Broughtou, which received a most enthusiastic encore. A tria (violins and piauo) by Miss Johnstone and Messrs Davidson and Glanville was also well received. Bliss Hooper received a.

recall for her song "Caller ou." The other lady vocalists were Blisses AVelcb, Kelly, Harrison, Johnstone, Thomson, and Hooper. The gentlemen performers were Messrs Cleghorn, Glanville, White, and Burk. The firstnamed

gentleman gave a capital rendering of the song " The happiest land." The entertainment was brought to a close by the glee " From Oberon."

A presentation look place on Saturday at the factory of Messrs Sargoocl, Son, and Kwen, when Jtiss Gill, who if leaving to enter the matrimonial state,

was presented by the manager (lir A. V. Bone), on behalf of her fellow workers, with a handsome bronze iigurc lamp and silver cruet.

A testimonial as to the value of White's limestone filters appears in our advertising columns.

Messrs Wright. Stephenson, and Co. will sel bullocks and heifers at iiurnside on Wednesday.

The Key. T. Tonkinson is arranging new eveniu classes.

'Ihe lirst meeting of the proposed I.iedertafe! in connection with St. Matthew's Church Choir takes place to-morrow. J[r Lr. V. Shannon announces that having withdrawn from the position of a nominated member ol the Government Life Insurance Board, he seeks re election hy the polieylio'ders.

31 r Moiitagu J'ym' will sell quince!, and geneva today; on May 1 h« will seil freehold property in thf Scaciiff district.

Tiiu s.s. Coptic has just arrived with Cautun a.\i> Co.'.s Second Winter Shipment. Magnificent lot of Flannels, direct from tiieprenuerKoclidale mill, from (5s fd yard. Heavy stock of I'orksliire Blankets from Oi lid, Ss Ud, iOs lid up to gas pair. Try Cautkii and Co. for blankets—cheapest in the Colony. StocKs of Shirtings, f/iakiings, and all Winter Goods at the lowest possible prices. Novelties in Millinery, Mantles, Ulsters, Dress Materials opening up.to-day. New Gloves, new Umbrellas, new Hosiery, Lace, Sec. Vlease note oddress: Oahtku and Uo., the Cheapest Drapers and Clothiers in the Colony.—[Advt.] Having led my energetic friend into a better

mode of thought, I would advise working men. in every department of labour and productive enterprise to combine to maintain a fair

rate of pay, as the competition between capitalists tends to n reduction in wages. The employment of boys and girls in the piace of men should be discouraged and the number of apprentices limited. Hudsok's (Jocoa. has worked its way into favour because it is 50 per cent, better value than any im-

ported. When once used it is preferred to all others, iind numerous testimonials as to its excellence have already been received. —[AltVT.]

Thk Giu.ni> Hotel, Dimedin.—During the winter and spring months a few permanent guests will l>e accommodated at reduced rates. Terms according to location of rooms. 'The Hotel is delightfully comfortable in winter, being entirelyfrec from draughts, whilst the luxury of the hot spray and hot shower baths is not to be found in any other hotel in the Colony. Special arrangements "will be made with, any country family desirous to spend the winter in Duuedin.—[Advt.]

i'oK this Dull Tim us.-Wonderful Bargains: New Curl Cloth Jackets (perfect fitting), 12s (id, Us 6d ; Astrakhan Trimmings, Feather Trimmings, -1M ; rich quality, 10|d ; heavy American Calicoes, 3*jrl; Five-ply Fingering Wools; Ladies' Knitted Wool Skirls, Ms 6d; Black Quilted Skirts, 3s uu, 3s llu. Try our Kleutric Waterproofs, os sd, 6s lid; splendid Coitumo Tweeds, 9Jd; rich Plushes; lovely Silks, ]s 4|d. Best value in the city. Try the London Dressmaking, 12s fid.—Pmce and Buhiep, Managers.—[Advt.]

To meet the times, G. E. Dermkk has reduced the price of his popular Jiheumafcic Remedies to os.— [Advt.]

Doubtless many of our readers are unaware that in these times of depression and scarcity of ready money Scotch and Bradford manufactures are thrown <m the market at ruinous prices. For instance, Fyfe and Cuming are offering in dress goods a stock of Grandholra dress tweeds in a choice

assortment of colours, 4^d yard; also, 150 pieces heavy Melton tweeds at S|d—worth more money in London. Country orders carefully executed and sent on at once.—FiTE axd Cumixg, direct importers, 92 and 94 George street.—[Advt.]