THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 1887.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7890, 4 June 1887, Page 2

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 1887.

Midst the turmoil of affairs in Wellington, we are inclined to think that the real question with which the politicians will be brought face to face at the elections .is likely to escape the attention of members. It is an unfortunate fact that during the past history of the Colony the cry of economy has been raised so often, and with so little real meaning, that its significance may be misunderstood now. ■ "We hardly remember an election during the past quarter of a century at which the profession of the necessity of economy in administration has not been made. But it has been made generally for the purpose of staving off an inconvenient questioner, and without any stern purpose to give it effect. We shall not blame members for this, since after all they have | been truly representative. The mere profession of economy without any idea of really giving up a single convenience was so obviously a sham as to deceive nobody. Sir Robert Stout, feebly; enough, pleaded this as an excuse last year. "He was very "willing to practise economy," he said, "but the House wouldn't let him." If our reading is correct of the temper of the House itself during the past two years, this plea was no longer available, and members would have supported _ him in any stalwart, honest action in the direction of saving. They had not enough initiative force to originate retrenchment, but they would have gladly followed any lead given them by the Goveimment, who alone were in a position to organise a thoroughly effective scheme of reform. Be this as it may about the present House, we have no doubt whatever about the temper of the next one. The sentiment which has deprived the Government of support in the House, viz., the unwillingness to trust the Stout-Vogel coalition with large sums of money, will be found after the elections to have increased in strength, and to be applicable to whatever Ministry may be in office. For once "we believe the country to be in earnest in its' desire for economy, and we do not believe that any retrenchment will be deemed acceptable which does not provide for a diminution in the annual expenditure of the Colony sufficient to meet the situation without any addition to the Customs duties. We hear a great deal of talk about the need of reducing the expenditure on the education system, which keeps growing so rapidly and has now reached the amount of L 371,000, without counting what is spent through endowments. So far as thismeans that the Education department must share in the general scheme of retrenchment, we entirely agree with this demand. We believe that the department has been considered too much in the light of a fetish, and needs a thorough overhauling for the reduction of expends ture. This is no time to introduce

new improvements into the system, and the teachers under the department should not be exempted from any scheme of reduction of salaries which affects the rest of the Civil Service. Again, it should be carefully considered whether the minimum school age cannot be raised from five to six, whereby a saving of some L 20,000 would be effected. But the vital principles of the system must be left intact, and there ..can be no doubt of the fate of the party which lays a sacrilegious hand upon them. There was cever any necessity for making the system entirely free: indeed we believe it would have been more appreciated if a small school fee—say 4d a child, and no parent paying more than Is—had been retained, as in South Australia and ISfew South Wales. But the thinker will admit that there is no form of socialism open to so few objections as free education; the practical politician must recognise that the step is of those which i when taken is irrevocable; and the taxpayer may console himself with the reflection that any saving by the reintroduction of school fees would be merely putting money in one pocket to take it out of the other. The greater part of the saving effected would be used needlessly on other objects, or obviate the necessity for retrenchment in other directions. But without affecting the integrity of the education system, we believe that there is room for reduction on the education vote, and it is imperative that the expenditure upon school buildings erected with borrowed money should be reductd.

The real truth of the situation remains, however, untouched by such considerations as the foregoing. We are not in the position of the country landlord in England who wrung his hands with bitter regret at the hardness of the times which compelled him to do without a second hunter and an undergardener. We have got past this. The besom of retrenchment has got to sweep into the deepest recesses of all the departments. Each institution, each office, each officer, each clerk, each messenger, each charwoman has got to show a pressing reason for his, her, or its retention. Prom the Governor down to the chimney sweep, every man or woman in the pay of the Colony must prove that their employment is indispensable, and those who remain will have to submit to as large a reduction in their salaries as can be effected without manifest injustice or the disturbance of the efficiency of the Service. ISTor must the country at large fail to take its share in the general scheme of retrenchment. There are too many conveniences and luxuries, such as postal deliveries, post and telegraph offices, and daily railway trains, which must be reduced or dispensed with. Retrenchment must spread wide as well as deep. Whether Sir John Hall or Major Atkinson or anyone else wields the broom is of minor importance. It is out of the bitterness of" his own personal economies that each individual in the commonwealth has stubbornly determined that, let who will administer the public finances, they shall no longer have the same large sums to squander which have been annually frittered away during the past 10 years. This is the real question before the community at the coming elections. We trust to see a large reduction in the expenditure and the avoidance of all taxation to the bulk of the country, if the electors will refuse to be blinded by equivocal utterances or. extorted pledges, and will carefully consider the trustworthiness of the men whom they elect.

Passing Notes, by "Civis,' reports of the Police and R.M. Courts, and creditors' meetings appear on our fourth page.

The meeting of the City Council which was held last evening to take evidence regarding the charges made by Messrs Taylor and Griffen against the gas engineer, lasted from 7 o'clock till 20 minutes to 12. Duriog the proceedings a good deal of acrimonious discussioii was indulged in, Crs Fish and Lee Smith falling foul of one another to such an extent that one councillor suggested that they should " have it out" between themselves privately. Eventually it was resolved that the charges were frivolous and'not sustained, and further it was decided that the town clerk be instructed to intimate to Messrs Taylor, GiahaEn, Griffen, 'and Whittington that in the event of any further disagreement the council wilt deem it their duty to dispense with the services of the whole or any of them.

A meeting of the Macandrew Memorial Fund Committee was held yesterday afternoon, and at. tended by the Rev. Dr Stuart (in the chair), Dr Drysdale, Messrs J. E. Denniston, A. Oairns, J. R. Sinclair, J. F. M. Fraser, J. L. Gillies, H. Driver, J. Davie, A. Bartleman, and W. Hutchison. Mr T. Bracken, M.H.R., wrote stating that it was impossible to induce members to subscribe to a statue or scholarship in Dunedin, but that a number expressed themselves ns willing to subscribe to a fund for the late Mr Macandrew's daughters or for a picture of Mr Macandrew to be placed in the corridor of the House. Several of the committee expressed themselves in strong terms regarding the indifference displayed by the members. The treasurer reported that £517 11s M had been collected up to date. It was decided to close the accounts next week, and to call a meeting of subscribers a fortnight hence. Dr Drysdale handed in a cheque for £23 19s, making a total of over £100 that had been subscribed by Port Chalmers. He also mentioned that every subscriber had paid up. The committee expressed an opinion that it was the handsomest subscription that had yet been received.

The session of the Otago University Debating Society was opened last evening, when the inaugural address was delivered by Professor Gibbons, M.A. The subject of the address was " The educational aspects of debating societies," and it was treated in an interesting and instructive manner. There was a large audience present. Owing to pressure on our space, we are compelled to hold over Professor Gibbons' address.

A public meeting was held at Caversham last night to discuss the present financial positiou of the colony aucl its influence on the borough. There was a good attendance, and three resolutions bearing on the subject were all adopted unanimously. Ihe first of these stated that owing to the financial condition of the colony, it was the opinion of the meeting that in order to remedy the depression immediate steps should be taken to initiate a more simple form of government, which should embrace a graduated income tax and give judicious encouragement to local industries as a basis of true fiscal policy. The second resolution was to the effect that it was necessary, to carry out the previous resolution, that a direct representative of labour should be returned from the constituency, so that the necessities of the people might be promptly dealt with. The third resolution provided for the appointment of a provisional committee for selecting a suitable candidate for submission to a subsequent meeting.

There is only one hotel in Ravensbourne, and at the annual licensing meeting, held yesterday, the committee refused to renew the license. There was a rather animated discussion about the matter, and petitions were presented ou each side. Mr Hosking appeared to support the application and Mr Adams to oppose. The application was argued at considerable length, but the committee disousye.] their decision in private, and finally announced that they Lad decided to refuse the renewal, the reason being that a majority of the committee thought the license whs unnecessary. One member, Mr Ross, protested again&t the decision.

Five hundred and fifty-eight Auckland shopkeepers, being throe-fourths of the total in the city and suburbs, have, signed a petition iv favour of the Early Closing Bill drafted by the association there.

The Tasmanian Government is going to acVrise his Excellency to release 25 light-senteuce prisoners from Launceston gaol and 22 from Hobart gaol in honour of the jubilee.

An inquest was held before Mr E. H. Carew, districb coroner, at the hospital yesterday afternoon on the body of Rachel Merritt, who died on Wednesday. From the evidence it appeared that the deceased had been badly burnt by the upsetting of a kerosene lamp at South Dunedin on the 14th of last month. She was attended to by Dr Colquhoun, and subsequently removed to the hospital, where she expired as before stated. There was evidence that both the deceased and her husband had been drinking. The latter said on reaching home on the evening iv question he heard a scream when near the door, and saw a crowd about the house. He thought he smelt smoke, and rushed |into tht house, where he found a number of people, and saw his wife sitting on a small stool. He rushed to her, and saw sparks of fire on her apron. She replied to his questions at the time that she was not hurt, and said she did not know how she upset the lamp. He saw no other fire in the room. The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental death."

The fire at Akatore on May 21, by which a settler named John Bibby had a stack of oats and a cowshed destroyed, seems to have been an undoubted case of incendiarism. ,At the inquiry Mr Bibby deposed that he was awakened oetween 12 and 1 o'clock by hearing his dogs barking, and on going out to the burning stack he heard the footsteps of a man in a patch of scrub near by. The man ran off, and witness gave chase for about half a mile, when he lost him. Was sometimes within 20ft of him, but the night being cloudy he could not identify him. He called out to him, " You may as well stop; I know who you are." The man did not reply. He was of medium size, wore clothes of dark colour, and, witness believed, a dark felt hat. After

losing sight of him went down the road to a place where he expected he might intercept him; waited an hour, but did not again see him. He also found the footprints clear and distinct, and also the footprints of a horse shod only on the near hind foot. He was perfectly satisfied the stack bad been wilfully and maliciously set on fire by the same person who had some time ago poisoned his pigs, stolen harness, empty bags, &c. Was on the best of terms with his neighbours except cne, with whom he had had a quarrel, end who had recently been fined for i assaulting him. The Jury, after a biief consultation, returned a verdict "That the stack was wilfully and maliciously set on fire by some person or persons unknown." The first consignment of 50 tons of cement to j be used in commencing the construction of the Midland railway from the West Coast to Christchurch was forwarded by Mr J. H'Donald per s.s. Koranui to Greymouth yesterday. It forms part of a contract obtained by Mr M'Donald to supply 500 tons. At a meeting of the Balclutha Athenreum Committee it has been resolved, in view of the want of support by the general public, to recommend the subscribers at the annual meeeting to be held next month to close the athenaeum.

The Press theatrical contributor writes:— " From English papers to hand by the San Francisco mail I observe that a Mr Calthorpe is managing the Comedy Theatre, London, and producing a comedy entitled ' The Mormon,' by W. D. Calthorpe. Can this be same gentleman who, in conjunction with Miss Wade and Mr Alleyne, at the latter end of last year brought a company to New Zealand and disbanded them at Christchurch for want of funds ? If I remember rightly, he used to call himself W. D. Calthorpe Mallaby. The title of the comedy is also suggestive of' The Bigamist,' written by Mr F. Hume in Dunedin, and played in that city and Christchurch, first by the Marie de Grey company, and afterwards by the Mallaby company."

The prison gang working at Sticking Point, Lyttelton, had a very narrow escape from serious injury on Thursday morning. The men were proceeding to their work along the narrow zigzag path which leads from the high land to the reclamation works below, when just as the last man had passed a certain point a tremendous fall of earth took plice, which, had it occurred but a few seconds earlier, must have been fraught with serious consequences.

There will be another performance by the Jubilee Minstrels in the Lyceum this evening, wben there will be a change of programme, introducing the jarce " The Mulligan Guards."

The Otago Education Board invite tenders for various teachers' vacancies.

Messrs Wilkie and Co. have published the book of words and music to be used in the Anglican churches at the jubilee services.

Messrs J. A. Park and Co. sell the stock-in-trade, fittings, ic. of Mr T. Hall, confectioner, on the premises, Princes street, on Tuesday next. • Messrs A. M'Kenzie aud Co. sell a qunutlty of pansy roots at their rooms this afternoon.

Messrs Campbell and Co. have their usual miscellaneous sale in Moray place this evening. Messrs Ferguson and Mitchell hive issued a very handy map 01 the town of Reefton and the adjoining mining district, showing distinctly the position of the various claims, &c. A complete reference is attached

A musical night is announced afc the Lyceum Hall to-morrow night, and an address by Mr Hutherord.

The Southland County Council is about to sue for tlie recovery of unpaid rates. A conceit will be given in the Choral Hall on Wednesday, June 15, by Mr Ba'rth'a vocal quartette. Miss Mary Hume will also sing. The Naval Artillery hold their annual ball on Friday, 19th August. Jubilee at the London.—To be given away—The London are celebrating her Majesty's jubilee by presenting each customer wiih presents from 3rd to 25th June. Customers can select presents at the time of purcbase or keep their tickets until June 25, and then get something really good, equal value of all their tickets in accordance with the scale below : For purchisej 10s, a gift value Is; 15s, la 6d; 20s, 2s; 30s, 3s ; 40s', -Is; and so on up to £5. Kemember, at The J.oxdon, in George street. Save your vouchers.—[Advt.]

Compulsory sale. Dissolution of the firm of Carter and Co., the well-known drapers and clothiers. Mr Thomas Burnard retiring through ill-health. £7500 must be realised before July 31. To take this largf. sum in so short a space of "time can oi.ly be done by making great sacrifices. These we are compelled to make to attain our object. Carter and Co. hope to make this the most successful sale on record. Three weeks have been occupied in thoroughly going through the entire stock, and such all-round reductions bave been made as will astonish all buyers of drapery and clothing. In our clothing shop we have erected a plank the entire length, on whick we have placed a quantity of clothing and mercery that must be aold at what they will bring. Tremendous bargains all over the establishment. Now is the time to lay in your winter clothing. Note address, ana call at ouee at Cartkh's,6o aud 62, George street, Dunedin.—[Advt.] ■ Fwr comfort and economy try the Dunedin Coffee Palace.—[Advt.] What between Tweed'edum and Tweedledee, there is no wonder the country suffers. Let us have a fresh election, and elect membeta that will have the country as a whole at heart and not their petty little districts; aUo let us decide onco and for all that the majority want no Protection, which is only another word for finding employment, if not riches for ft very few at the expense of the many. let us have freedom foi everyone to buy in the cheapest market, which for meat is A. Dorxwkix.—[Advt.]