NOTES AND COMMENTS. (From the Daily Times, Jan. 13 to 20.)

Otago Witness, Issue 1156, 24 January 1874, Page 2

NOTES AND COMMENTS. (From the Daily Times, Jan. 13 to 20 .)

As Victoria is the bast customer for New Zealand oats, it will be of great interest to Otago farmers to learn the prospects of the oat crop in that Colony. Reports from all the principal grain growing districts have been received by the Argus, and extracts from these have recently been published. In Gipps Land the crop is said to be above the average, but from every other district it is reported to be a failure. To use the words employed in the Agricultural Keport of the Argus :— •' The good crops are few, and some that promiaed rather better than average have been cut for hay, in order to avoid threatened losses from locusts." Yictonan farmers will probably find in time that their climate is not suited to the growth of oats, and will turn their attention to Borne other cereal. They may occasionally reap a good crop, but one favourable season now and then will not recompense them for their trouble and outlay. In Otago, on the other hand, a fair yield of oats may be expected each harvest, whatever kind of season there may have been, and this continued regularity of supply will no doubt result in some of the Australian Colonies becoming to a laro-e extent dependent upon Otago for oats. W e are glad to no tice that free trade principles are in greater favour with our Victorian neighbours than they have for some time been. Not that the Victorians have become less selfish, but the wise policy of New South Wales in adopting those principles, has made the weak points of protection more apparent, and shown them that a continuance of their present shortsighted policy may lead before long to their Colony playing second fiddle to their neighbour. A revisal of the Victorian tariff before many months pass over may now be regarded as certain, and we may see amongst other changes which will be brought about, the removal of the import tax upon grain. This will mean sixpence a bushel for oats more into the pocket of the Otago farmer, and upon that ground we shall be glad to see the tax removed. At all events, the failure of the oat crop in Victoria this season, cannot but have the effect of giving our farmers one more year of good prices for that description of grain, a circumstance for which the whole community will have much reason to be thankful.

Now that the city has partially recovered from its state of social excitement over the arrival of the Governor, the Premier, and Captain Jacqubmart and his confrere*, seems to be the time to ask the question, why and how the scene of our hospitalities has been always the Hall ot the University of Otago. We have refrained from touching upon this topic until now, because it would not have been gracious to seem to grudge our visitors the best entertainment that we could offer to them. Now that they are at least partially dispersed, seems to be the time to ask whether a banquet and two balls should have been held in the principal room of the principal educational establishment of the Colony. We put the three festivities upon the same footing. If the use of the Hall was given in order to eat much good food in honour of Mr Voobl, it could hardly have been refused to the entertainers ot Her Majesty's representative, or the kindly-souled officers of the Vire. Not many weeks ago, it will be remembered, a deputation waited upon the Superintendent to ask for additional aid for the purpose of setting up a boarding establishm jut. No doubt, a most proper request, but if there is so much room within the present building that it can readily spare its large hall to banquets and balls, there is an inconsistency amounting to impudence in asking, like Oliver Twist, for more. Either there is or is not sufficient space in the University Building for every legitimate purpose —if there is not, why entertain strangers i if there is, why ask for more accommodation \ After the last few weeks of aco(iemical 4iß«iP»tion> we shall w*tch with jaSW 5> »<* wMp, if at «U, the Cfouncfl

proposes to draw the line. That the Carandinis have been badly used, all must admit. Madame Cora, we suppose, it will be impossible to refuse. When Professor Haselmayer travels hitherwards, he must be permitted to extract his magic rabbits from his exorcist's drum, pull yards of ribbon from his jaws, and startle the world by his feats of legerdemain. Bachelder's is distinctly an entertainment suited to the genius loci, and why should hot the daring equestrienne of some travelling circus witch the Otago public in the hall of the Otago University 1 We may suppose that Punch and Judy, when it comes, would be considered low, and a humble street tumbler would be kept out. But possibly even then, if the manager of the troupe were to use his powers of persuasion skilfully, he might plead that .a greater conjuror than he had had the use of the same place, and a more successful wizard had been entertained there. We shall cease to be surprised if, growing more confident, the Council were to make use of the "plant" that they possess themselves. Give entertainments suited to the general public, get the Professor of Chemistry to perform at the low price of sixpence a peep at some of those pretty little chemical comoinations and transformations that would draw. Let us see a glimpse of the Professor of Classics engaged in the toil of inspection with Argus eyes, discovering the weak spots. There is really no end to the uses to which the room might be put, no limit to the purposes which afacile Council might deem it advisable to sanction. But the pity of it, oh the pity of it ! We Hincerely hope we have seen the last of such very objectionable treatment of our University.

In an article headed " An Unprincipled Government," the Wanganui Herald relates certain facts which have come to its knowledga, and which, it contends, are not creditable to our rulers. The following is the substance of the story told by the Herald, and over which it makes its moan. The Superintendent of Otago, with the concurrence of the Native Minister, ha 3 been telegraphing to Mr Woon, the Native Magistrate at Wanganui, requesting him to induce as many Maori shearers and labourers as he can to leave for Otago, where six months' work will be provided for them. Mr Woox has opened negotiations on the subject with some of the chiefs, but, according to the Herald, Wirihana and Kemp have rejected the proposal, stating that there is plenty of employment for the Natives in their own district. Whether Mr Woon has been more successful in other quarters, it is not said, but the Herald suggests that a protest should be sent to the Superintendent of Wellington, "whose duty it is to take the initiative in stopping what we believe is the illegal action of the Government in trying to induce the population of one Province to migrate to another." If what the Herald says be true, it makes out a very good case on behalf of the residents of Wanganui, as against the Provincial Government of Otago and the Native Office. The Herald says that the Wanganui fanners " are crying out for labour, which is already scarce and dear beyond all precedent in former years. " We feel satisfied that our Provincial authorities could not have been aware that such was the state of things iii Wanganui when they sought through the medium of the Native Office to induce the Maori labourers of that district to migrate to Otago for six months' work ; and we have no doubt that if they find that the Herald's statement is correct, they will abandon all idea of procuring labour from that quarter. The Provincial Government would only have been doing their duty had they taken steps to bring into the Province, at the present time, a number of the comparatively unemployed from other parts of the Colony, and such, no doubt, was their object when they sought the good offices of Mr Donald M'Lkan. What seems to have made the good people of Wanganui feel particularly aggrieved was the manner in which thispiece of business was gone about. It is complained that the Native Minister, in order to help his political friend, Mr Macani)KE\v, has been endeavouring in an underhand way to entice labourers from Wanganui, to the great injury of the district ; and we certainly do think that the object which Mr Macandkbw had in view would have stood a much butter chance of being attained had the negotiations beon divested of that air of secrecy which has done so much towards raising the ire of the Wanganui people.

The names of the candidates who have passed the recent Civil Service Examination have been published. The number of thoae who oassed the Junior Examination is 27, and of those who passed the Senior Examination, 12. The following are the names of the successful Otago candidates: — Junior Examination— T. H. Rawson, Oamaru } and H. Maitiand, Punedin. Senior Ejcam&ra»tion