Dunedin, Saturday, June 19, 1852.

Otago Witness, Issue 57, 19 June 1852, Page 2

Dunedin, Saturday, June 19, 1852.

In a late number we had much pleasure in noticing the efforts which had been made towards the erection of a Schoolhouse in the East Taieri district. We have now to call the attention of our readers to the advertisement in another column, soliciting subscriptions towards this object. It is gratifying to find that the settlers in the district in question have themselves come forward so liberally : we trust that their efforts will be responded to with equal liberality by their fellow settlers in Dunedin. We would also take the opportunity of noticing the correspondence, which has been handed to us for publication, between Mr. R. Thomson and Mr "W. Jeffrey the convener of the local Committee appointed to carry out the project; which letter will be found in another column. We have made it our business to enquire into the facts connected with this matter, and shall briefly lay them before our readers, leaving them to judge for themselves as to the inference to be deduced from these facts. And in the first place, we cannot but condemn the proceedings of Mr. Thomson and his friends, calculated as they are — if not intended — to create dispeace, and throw the apple of discord into a movement which is being carried on with the utmost harmony.

The circumstances under which the modest proposal of this young man and his friends is made are as follows : The inhabitants of the East Taieri are engaged in the important movement of establishing a school for that district for the education of their children, — this is the primary object. They also cherish the hope, that in process of time there will be added a church and a permanent minister in the same connection ; but at present, and until this latter object shall be attained, the inhabitants of the district will no doubt be desirous that the school should supply them, as far as circumstances will admit, with the Sabbath privilege of a preaching station. Efforts will be made to obtain some stated and regular supply through the labours of a missionary ; till then the privilege must be limited to such occasional services as they themselves can from time to time secure. In the meantime we understand that application has been made to the Colonial Committee of the Free Church in Edinburgh to send out a suitable minister or missionary. Such is the object proposed : itttmniences most auspiciously — the heads of families in the district mcct — a committee is appointed — in a few days the subscriptions in the district amount to upwards of £30 — the Church Trustees agree to grant a site, and a piece of land towards the support of the schoolmaster — the most complete harmony prevails ; — indeed there is no room for disagreement. The inhabitants of the district are Presbyterians, excepting two, one of whom is Mr. Thomson himself, an Episcopalian ; the other is Mr. M'Grigor, who is a Roman Catholic, and one of the most active originators and most liberal supporters of the school.

So far all is well, -when suddenly this young man and his friends step in for the purpose of knocking the affair on the head. Mark the way in which Mr. Thomson goes to work. Instead of asking subscriptions among the people who are to be benefitted, and who are ultimately to" have the whole management in their own hands, he goes to parties who are every one of them living at a distance remote from the East Taieri, some of them 30 to 40 miles beyond the boundary of the Otago Block, and a great majority of whom have dis-

tinguished themselves by a partisan ltd most dishonourable warfare against Otago as a Class Settlement. And the proposition which he makes is, that the. entire body of the people of East Taieri should withdraw their own proposal and adopt his ; that they should disconnect themselves with the Church of Otago and the Church Trustees, and go a-begging to the Governor for what the Governor has no power lo grant. Abandon, says he, your connection with the Church of Otago ; decline the offer of a site for the building, and of land for the support of the schoolmaster, made by the Church Trustees, and then we will aid you with our subscriptions, and apply to the Governor for a site ; all the time appearing to forget that His Excellency has no land in that quarter to dispose of. Taking a common sense view of the whole matter, it is obvious that the movement of these parties must be regarded as another of the unscrupulous and dishonest attempts which they have been so assiduously making to upset the principles of the Class Settlement. We say dishonest, inasmuch as most of the parties gave their assent to these principles on becoming land purchasers; and although, from lack of steadiness of purpose, or otherwise, they may have changed their minds since then, they are not acting the part of honourable men in attempting to thwart those who have been more consistent, in their efforts to carry out the principles on which the settlement was founded, and but for which they would never have been here. We trust the promoters of the school will carry out the project as they have began, and that they will submit to no such condition as Mr. Thomson and his friends seek to impose. We have no doubt but they have laid the foundation of the first rural parish in Otago, and (hat they have secured for themselves I and families all the privileges of the educational and ecclesiastical arrangements which this implies.

To speak plainly, we hav«e a strong suspicion that some of the parties at j least have been perpetrating a small piece of cheap philanthropy, having subscribed their names, knowing well that the condition on which they did so would not be acceded to, and with the sole view of getting themselves a handle as to the bigotry and sectarian party spirit of the Free Church, and such like clap-trap. They may rest assured, however, although by such maneuvering they may impose upon the simplicity and credulity of a few, that the mass of the community will see through their real object. The community is sound to the core, and they might as well attempt to stay the sun in his coarse as to prevail upon an intelligent people to turn its back upon the principles which form so prominent a feature in the scheme of colonisation, in which it has embarked. Of course, in speaking thus plainly as to the motives of Mr. Thorn- ' son and his friends, we do not include all whose names are at his subscription paper, as we believe that several of them have signed without knowing or considering the real state of the case. The following is the letter referred to in the above article : — Owhiro, June 6th 1852. Mr. William Jeffrey. Convener of the Taieri School Committee. Sik, — I beg to hand you enclosed a list of a fewSubscriptions towards the building of the School- ■ house and Chapel. You will observe that they are conditional — on the building being secured free to" the ministrations of all evangelical clergymen. Now it is obvious that this most desirable end will be defeated in the long run by placing the building on Church land, as when the Plain becomes sufficiently peopled to call for a stated Free Church minister, it will of course be only available to him. I have therefore prepared a Memorial to the Governor, praying for a grant of land for the purpose, and which, as the Resident Magistrate has promised to forward, with a private letter recommending it, I have no doubt will be successful, if pretty fully signed, at all events. Would it-not be well to call a meeting and advertise the subscription list in the " Witness" as a means of getting a larger amount ? It would be desirable, too, to know the general feeling of the settlers with regard to the prayer of the Memorial prior to its being despatched, so that any future obstacles might be prevented to the success of the School. — I am your obedient Servant, Robert Thompson. P.S.— With regard to the Memorial to Sir George Grey, it will perhaps be as well to woit> before gett-

H*i< ■ irWP signed, till a copy of the Deed of Gift by" the Church Trustees is made out, and laid before the Subscribers ; and if it is worded in the liberal manner that is so desirable, of course there would be no occasion for the Memorial going any further. I hope you will be able to get this, and then call a meeting as soon as possible, and have it published in the " Witness" for the perusal of all parties interested. I may also mention that I have got some promises of assistance towards the Schoolmaster's stipend, if the scheme of education, &c., be on a like unsectarian footing with the proposed building. Subscriptions towards the Building of a SchoolHouse and Chapel in the East Taieri— given on condition " that the Building is alike open to clergymen of all evangelical denominations.''

Since our last we have received files of the " Lyttelton Times" and the Wellington and Auckland papers by the " Twins" and GovernBrig, together with a few English newspapers by the " Stag" via Canterbury, coming down to the 14th February. The most prominent feature of English news by these arrivals is that of a rumoured war by France upon England, and which is so far countenanced by Government that the coasts of the English Channel were being fortified and heavily armed, and an increase of the army decided upon to the extent of 10,000 infantry and 2400 artillery. In connection with this it turns out that the ' coup d' etat,' for the cleverness of which Louis Napoleon got so much credit, was actually planned by the Jesuits in Rome, and presided over in France by aid of the llomish clergy with consummate skill : that whilst statesmen in France and England were looking forward to a struggle for the Presidential Chair in May 1852, it was well known in the Vatican, and made no secret of in the beginning of November, that the affair was to come off within a few days, and which proved to be correct. Louis Napoleon having been thus raised to the Presidential Chair of France for 10 years upon the shoulders of the Priesthood, and lauded by the Pope in the strongest terms, has manifestly linked his fortunes with the Continental despots, who, having crushed every vestige of the mushroom Constitutions arising from the struggles of 1848, have agreed to the elevation of the Pope to a higher place than he held over them in the darkest ages. But the election of Louis Napoleon being only a step towards the purple, he has clearly and substantially hound himself to the despots and their ghostly head ; so that, if French arms are to be employed at all, it must be against England, as the object of their common hate and common fear. On the other hand there are strong indications of an alliance among Protestants for their common defence ; and above all, the reception given to Kossuth in the United States, and the effect of his appeals throughout the whole Union has given rise to an expressed determination to make common cause with England, not only for the defence of their parent race, but to the extent of saying to the despots — Do as you please within the boundaries of your several States, but you shall not pass these boundaries to deprive any State whatever of the right to regulate its internal affairs. The procession in honour of Kossuth's arrival in New York was enthusiastic, and amounted to 400,000 people ; ■whilst his speech at the Civic dinner, attended by statesmen and men of mark, was telling beyond all precedent, calling out the response of Mr. Walker and others to the extent of being ready to find money, arms, and men in so righteous a cause, and to make war if necessary ; to which it was replied by ICossuth — " Let England and America unite in declaring their purpose — it will avert war and preserve the peace of the world."" It is to be observed that on this occasion Kossuth at once grappled with the dogma of the great Washington, viz. — " Non-intewention, especially in European affairs" — admitting its wisdom and policy in the then state of the Union, but proving to the conviction of his audience its inapplicability to a nation of the first order and power, to which the Union has since grown, and whose duties as such it behoves it to discharge. The speech was immediately circulated in hundreds of thousands through all parts of the Union ; and ELossuth wa9 invited to the Halls of the Senate and Representatives in Washington by a vote I

in the Senate with only 6 nays, and in the House of Representatives by 181 to 16.

On the whole, therefore, we ax*e not inclined to be apprehensive of a French war. It was one thing for the great Napoleon to lead his Legions against the despots, to be maintained at their expense, and to send the plunder of the Continent into the French exchequer ; and quite another thing for his nephew to enter upon a fruitless war at the expense of France, whose trade, moreover, and means of covering that expense, would instantly be ruined. He has cheated the nation by the clap-lrap of Universal Suffrage : but what will the people do when they find it has only been to place them under an expensive military despotism ?

The talented and popular Lord Palmerston had been expelled from the Foreign Office, but without explanation till Parliament should meet. Earl Granville had succeeded to the office, whose lady is an Italian Princess, and subject of the Pope. But we must' wait the promised explanations.

Parliament had met on the 10th February, when Lord John Russell introduced his Reform Bill, the main features of which are a reduction of the £10 qualification to £5, and enabling the power of returning members, in place of forfeitures by small boroughs in which corruption has been proved, to be transferred to new populations, such as Birkenhead, &c.

The Government Brig, which arrived on the loth inst., brings important Despatches and Government Gazettes, to the effect of creating and registering a body of Electors for the Town of Dunedin, and also for the country District, comprising all that portion of the Middle Island not comprised in the site of the Town of Dunedin, which lies to the south of a due east and west line drawn from the centre of the Waitangi River at its point of junction with the sea until it meets the west coast of the said island; so as to be ready for such Constitution and Elections as may be authorised by the next Despatches from England. The qualification for Electors is that of the Provincial Councils' Ordinance of 1851, as noted underneath. But it would appear that no elections are to be held until the Despatches referred to shall have been received.

Qualification of Electors.

" Pursuant to the provisions of the said recited Ordinance every man of the age of twenty-one yeais or upwards, and having a Freehold Estate in possession situate within the District for which the vote is to be given of the clear value of Fifty Pounds above all charges and encumbrances, and of or to which he has been seized or entitled at Law or in Equity for at least Six Calendar Months next before the last Registration of Electors. Or being a Householder within such district occupying a Tenement within the limits of a Town (to be Proclaimed as such by the Governor-in-Chief for the purposes of the Ordinance) of the clear annual value of Ten Pounds, or without the limits of a Town of the clear annual value of Five Pounds, and having resided therein Six Calendar Months next before such Registration as aforesaid, — Or having a Leasehold Estate in possession situate within the District for which the Vote is to be given of the value of Ten Pounds per Annum held upon a Lease which at the date of such Registration shall have not less than Three Years to run, or having a Leasehold Estate situate and of the value as aforesaid, of which, at the date of such Registration, he shall have been in possession for Three Years or upwards previous to the date of such Registration : Provided he is not an Alien, and that he has not at any time been attainted or convicted of any Treason, Felony, or Infamous Offence within any part of Her Majesty's Dominions shall, if Registered as hereafter provided, be entitled to Vote at the Election of a Member or Members for the District." — Government Gazette, June 7.

The Supreme Court. — We observe in the " Government Gazette" of the 12th ultimo that a Proclamation has been issued by His Excellency the Governor-in-chief, revoking a former proclamation (15th March, 1851) establishing a Circuit Court of the Supreme Court of New Zealand at Dunedin, Otago. There will, therefore, be now no sittings of the Supreme Court at Otago.

We are indebted to Mr. Stewart, the charterer of the " Louisa," for the following intelligence, and also for important and valuable statistics of the " diggings," which we are compelled toleave over till next week : —

The " Louisa" left Sydney on the 21st May, and when about 250 miles off the land, experienced one of the heaviest gales that have occurred there for a long time. She unfortunately lost a large portion of her cargo, amongst which wef c a number of stout mares just adapted for the present wants of our settlement. She was obliged to put back to Sydney with loss of sails, &c, and sailed thence again on the 29th May. During her whole voyage she has experienced a succession of heavy south-westerly gales.

News from England had been received to 15th February, when all was quiet. Louis Napoleon continued to rule France with a rod of iron. England was quietly but busily preparing herself lest there should be any outbreak,

by increasing her army and raising fortifications, &c.

Great excitement prevailed on receipt of the news of the Victoria diggings. Many ships were laid on for Geelong and Melbourne, and a score of gold-washing and amalgamating companies had been formed. The managers' engineers of two of the companies had arrived in Sydney before the " Louisa" left, and were to be followed in about a month by the working staff and machinery.

ohn Jones, Esq. L. Chetham Strode, Esq. lev. J. A. Fenton . lenry Jeffreys, Esq. Lobt. "Williams, Esq. V. H. Valpy, Esq. . !. Suisted, Esq. !has. Kettle, Esq. . )r. Richardson !has. Hopkinson dcx. Todd, Esq. It. James Brown )r. "William Purdie ames Mayo dcx. M'Donald V. D. Love tobt. Thomson £5 5 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 2 2 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 5 0 0 10 6 0 10 6 0 10 6 0 10 0 5 0 0 £30 1 6