AUCKKAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9337, 30 January 1892, Page 5 (Supplement)

AUCKKAND

(l''ito.M Our Own CoiiiiKspoxnKx-j-.)

'lanuary 22.

The Native Minister (the Hon. A.I. Cadman) addressed tin; Thames electors last week, and received a vote of thanks and confidence. lie entered into a lengthy defence of the acts of the Government, but bis speech contained little that was new. In the course of it he defended the administration of the Hon. John M'Ken/.ie as Minister of Lands. He concluded liy staling that the whole wealth of the olony

and the principal newspapers were against the Government, and were continually misrepresenting what the Ministers did and said. They had therefore determined to spare no expense in putting their views before the people from the public platform. Mr W. K. Buckland, the member for Mamikau, has also been addressing his constituents, but his meetings were very poorly attended, and he only received the usual formal vote of' thanks. His speeches consisted of impassioned attacks upon the Government, and a defence of the old state of things. In fact, he was so disgusted at the altered relations of political parties, that ho was half inclined to resign and leave the colony to its fate. If, however, he did stand at the next general election, he would contest his old electorate. There are signs in the air that the electors of Manukau will not dance to his piping.

Mr Cadman has received. a letter from AVahanui and Taonui, the great Ngatimaniopotu, in which they practically accent his proposals for opening up the King country— namely, the surrender of certain blocks at a stipulated price, when the restrictions upon the remaining lands of the Kingites would he withdrawn. It' this scheme is carried into eff.uct, it will lead to the settlement of the territory lying between the Pnnini and the Porotorau tunnel in it comparatively short space of time, and at a cost well within the resources of the colony. One advantage of the scheme would bo settlement along 10 miles of the North Island Trunk railway, at present a desert and uuremunerative. Major Gudgeon, Judge of the Native Lands Court, has gone up to AYaikato to investigate the titles to certain blocks, and it is to be hoped that he will push on the work with an energy and vigour which has not characterised the AVaikato Native Lands Court in the past. Mr Cadman is not particularly complimentary to the Native Lauds Court judges as a body, inasmue'n as ho states that he expects the seven judges at present appointed to do as much work as the 12 formerly in commission ; which leads one to imagine that " how not to do it" had b :en reduced to a iine art.

Tawhiao has been no unobservant spectator of events, and after some months of quietude has come out of his shell, and condescended to open up negotiations with the Native Minister through Henare Kaihau. As usual on the day appointed for a meeting Tawhiao had been seized with a diplomatic cold, and desired Mr Oadman, who had arranged to go with the Stratford expedition on the following day, to postpone his arrangements: This Mr (.'adman declined to do, and the interview is held over till a future date. Tawhiao, through Henare Kaihau, put forward a "feeler" as to whether he would be permitted to retain the title of King, to which Mr Cadmau somewhat cynically retorted that " Tawhiao might call himself what he pleased so long as he obeyed the lav.-." The poor old dusky monarch evidently feels that the substance of kingly power has passed away from him with the break up of the Kopua and AVhatihoehoe meetings, and only the shadow remains, and that if he does not interpose now AVahanui and Taonui will came t) terms with the Government without him, leaving him high and dry. Tawhiao has no intention,°if he can help it, of being stranded in that fashion, and a few of his devoted adherents will stand by him to the last, come weal or CDme woe.

Energetic preparations are being made, to give Lord and Lady Onslow a hearty send off. A strong and representative committee has been appointed, and a picnic, a public luncheon, a race meeting, and a concert are features in the programme. The latter is to be given at the Opera House by the Orchestral Union, under the leadership of Mr Towsey, and will be the first opportunity that gentleman will have of giving the Auckland public :\ taste of his quality as a musician. He has already' made_ many friends in musical circles here. The functions in honour of the departing Governor are expected to be the best that have yet taken place in Auckland.

The Stratford railway rout;: expedition lias left to accomplish its mission of satisfying the Northern Railways League as to the character of iho country lying between Ongaruhe. (the point of division of the central and Stratford routes) and .Stratford. Mr Cadinan does not anticipate any great results from tho "expedition, inasmuch as simply travei-sin-; an old Maori track through bush can give little or no opportunity of ascertaining .-.nil judging the character of th:j couiit-y oi! either liquid of the track. It is stated that it w:iuld take two months to properly explore the e.-nnrry by branching out 10 miles on either side of the liiie'iind accurately examining the configuration of the country anil the resources of the roil. Aucklauders who have recently returned from the west state that there is a delightful conflict of local interests as to communication with Auckland. Stratford wants the road rather than the railway, as the latter strikes Ngaire, and would practically pass Stratford township. Eltham, on the other hand, desires the railroad, not the road, as the line wi'l be Ki-.fTi'-lentlv close to it to be available; whi!" X-.-.v i'l-.-.nourh regards both road and railway with indifference, believing that " whatever is is right,:! and that Provide:iee intended all t!ie traffic should pass through that township r.s heretofore, and passengers come and go by sea as herei .fore. Mr Cadmnn views the '■■iw-oodings of [he expedition very phil--.;-j;)hio.iiy, apparently on the principle that it pleases the Railway League and d-je< not iunUer much to the O .vernment. The point that impresses him most of all is that the prosecution of either the central or the Stratford route means another loan, and that the southern parts of the colony will never submit to sj.-i'cia] borrowing simply to construct these northern lines without having some corresponding advantage. That is th'> situation,

and ho sees no solution of it b.ifc simply letting well alone, er fn-sh burdens and the possibility of another pav".i •.-.sientary scramble for the loaves and (ishes.

The Liberal Association has taken up fresh quarters, in order to }>:> mare central, over the offices of the Charitable Aid Board, but this is believed to be the onty connection between Liberalism and State pauperism. Mr Cadman, in hisaddnss to thj Thames electors, informed them that delegates of the association would shortly vi.-.it the Thames, and place !he pint form of the organisation before them. Whatever disetif sions m-'iy arise in the ranks of the Liberal Association they wash their family linen in private. Tho National Associaticn'are not so prudent in that respect, and some of the members seem disposer! to ride their hobbies even if tli? result woru to wreck the society. Mr Withy is lvtiring from the council. How he ever came to be in it, as mi ardent advocate of lan.l nationalisation, is a mystery ; while other men, who are in favour of the graduated tax and " bursting \v< " lar:Tf estates, but averse to the socialistic pi.iicy d: the (.Tovenmicnt in other respects, are dissatisfied with the back-bone-loss platform adopted, and colourless resolutions passed, which they declare might consistently be accepted by the Liberal Association. Auckland's need at present is a popular leader, with force of character, high social status, and a clean record, who lias the tact and desire to lead his fellows on the path of politic;'. 1 find social reform. As it is, judging from the epitaphs on the cemetery tombstones, all our good m?n are buried, whi!e the c/itc were sent kite-high by the land boom and

and canoe work. It will thus be seen lint moneygrubbing is not absorbing' all the energies of the Aucldanders. In the midst of so much which lias been said ni and out of the colony in depreciation of the financial position and resources of (h1: harbour hoards of the colony, it is gratifying to lind from the report- presented at the annual meetin- of the Auckland Harbour Hoard tlr.it it is i'n a sound and satisfactory position, and ready and willing to inert erery claim of its English creditors. It u nut only meeting all em-rent engagements, but providing a sinking fund for S.he extinguishment of if;; indebtedness, which is being steadily enlarged. The general items of revenue in al! branches miow a satisfactory increase, anil the nvi. inc-.vaso on the year is close on 1,2000. The policy pursued is an eminently cousin-alive one. The board is declining to avail itself of its full powers of borrowing ; it is ear-marking money for renewal of wharves and writing oh" 5 per cent, for depreciation during the year. It is estimated that the value of the wharves is now 1,84,000. L-1400 is transferred from general to special act-cunt this year for renewals, and the chairman in his address stated that "the item was a liability just as imperatively m.-eossary to be provided as the interest and sinking fund. He was convinced that this could bo done without any addition to the duos, and they would be thus enabled not only to review and improve the wharves out of ordinary revenue, but also to create the nucleus of a fund to be hereafter applied to the purpose of making permanent harbour works instead of the present perishable wooden structures. Great credit is due to the chairman of the board (Mr Malcolm Niecol) for the administration of the harbour affairs, and to the secretary (Mr J. M. Brigham), whose accounts, for clearness, simplicity, and completeness, obtain the commendation of successive auditors. The mode of remitting moneys to London to meet interest on loans is particularly good, and might, says tin; audit inspector, be adopted with considerable advantage by other local bodies of a similar class.

Our orchardists are making a fresh departure in te.-itingtho London market with early apples. As our season is about, a month ahead of that of Tasmania, they hope to get the start of the fruitgrowers of that colony. The varieties shipped have been selected with care, but only experiment and practice can obtain for the fruitgrowers the requisite data on which to build up a satisfactory trade. Some difficulty has been experienced, owing to the uncertainty ol steamers' dates, in saving the fruit from storage charges and unnecessary handling; but, having regard to the vexatious trials to which shippers are subjected and the bills of lading they are expected to sign, the wonder is that there is any fruit exported at all. Of late the Cost-ley Boys' Training Institute has seemed to have got into a bad way, without any apparent cause, though there must be one, if the truth is sought out. Nearly a fourth of the lads have absconded. They have made no complaints to the management, or against t.ie management, but all they have alleged is that some of the masters to whom thoy have been apprenticed are harsh, or that they do not lh<e the occupations to which they have been apprenticed. There is no reason to believe that these statements are true, as if true thoy had their remedy without absconding. The real reason is a disinclination to submit to restraint and discipline, which is characteristic of oth-r lads than thy Costley boys. One bad feature of the affair is that the lads have gone away just after getting n-y.v c-lo;.'.iing, and in some cases made a systematic provision for the future in leaving which war, not very creditable. Th:: illness and death, of the late manager in:iy have impaired discipline, and this may account for the state of affairs. According to the act-the trustees are compelled to draw the boys from the Kohimaraina Industrial School, and defective parental training may account for a good deal, that has happened. There is no reason to believe that the lads are other than kindly treated and well cared for, and the trustees have taken the absconding of the lads ve;-y nuu-h to hcji-t, as much was hoped from this social experiment.

•Ju;lgi:i!j from the report of the Presbyterian City Mission there are not so many "lapsed" Presbyterians as had been estimated. It has been stated that one in four of the citizens do not attend a place of worship, but the Presbyterian City Missionary says that this statement will not apply to the iVesbyteriaus. Curiously enough h;,found that during the commercial depression the attendance at church increased, but during prosperous limes it fell off. Some of the excuses for neglect of public worship givea were more ingenious than truthful— namely, that '-the church was h. rich man's institution, and unless they paid for sittings, put money in the plate every service, and took tickets for bazaars and Christmas trees they were not wanted.1' This is not true of Auckland Presbyterianism.

Tho newly-elected Thames Drainage Board has entered upon its duties and framed its estimates of the assessment of the mines and expenditure for the coming year. It is anticipated that a little over 1,5090 will lie required to keep the pumps going, apart from any expenditure entailed in the way of sinking, i'rom what I can learn little hope is entertained of the Government coining to the rescue, and assisting in prospecting to the proposed 1000ft deep level. The Thames mines arc likely, however, to benefit through cheap coal, as the coal seams now being developed across the Frith at Yi'aitakururu (Miranda) will lead to coal being delivered at the Thames at 8s per ton at the outside.