OTAGO INSTITUTE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2051, 15 June 1893, Page 23

OTAGO INSTITUTE.

(Fbom Oub Own Cobbespondbnt.) Melbourne, June 8. THE MERCANTILE BANK CASE. The Patter Eon Government have had the worst of the deal all through in the Mercantile Bank matter. If they had only in the first instance prevented Sir Bryan O'Loghlen from deciding on his now famous nolle prosequi, all would have been well. The case would have gone on to the Supreme Court in the ordinary way. Sir Matthew Davies and Mr Millidge would have had a fair trial, and if they had been acquitted the public would have accepted the verdict. But Sir Bryan O'Loghlen's # mistake was Mr Isaacs's opportunity. He achieved a complete triumph over the Government, for whether his law were right or wrong he carried the public opinion of the entire colony with him. The Government has had only one advocate in the prefs— the Herald, evening paper, namely — but its advocacy is discounted by the fact that it is now owned by the former Daily Telegraph proprietary, of which Sir Matthew Davies was a leading member ; and it is edited by the Daily Telegraph editor, the Rev. W. H. Fitchett. When the grand jury application was granted by the Full Court, the Government made a brave attempt to recover some of their lost popularity. Sir Bryan O'Loghlen is an obstinate man, and would have possibly been prepared to enter another nolle proseqici, even if the grand jury found a true bill. Mr Patterson therefore took the matter completely out of the hands of Sir Bryan, announced in the press that if the grand jury found a true bill the case would certainly be gone on with, and actually issued a warrant to stop Sir Matthew at Adelaide en route for Colombo. This last step was certainly a singular one. No charge exists against Sir Matthew at present, and Sir Bryan O'Loghlen at least held that the issue was illegal. But as I have said, the matter was taken out of his hands ; and it is not creditable to his sense of personal honour that, being superseded as he was, he still remains in the Ministry. However, the haste and resolution of the Government were in vain. The warrant did not reach Adelaide in time to stop Sir Matthew at; Adelaide, and he is now on his way to Colombo. It would really be the happiest solution of the whole difficulty if he never came .tack. But a detective has already gone after him. ANOTHER BANKRUPT DAVIES COMPANY. There is a possibility, eyen if the Mercantile Bank case cornea to nothing, that Sir Matthew may be prosecuted for his conduct of the affairs of the Australian Deposit and Mortgage Bank (formerly Henry Arnold and Co., Limited). This company is in process of liquidation, which is not proceeding very satisfactorily. In the last 12 months only two properties have been sold, realising under £4000. A call of £1 per share was made in November last, with the following result :— 189 shareholders, holding 11,028 shares, paid £8706 11s 8d; eight shareholders, holding 1207 shares, compromised for £206 7b ; 52 shareholders, representing 4-843 shares, had declared their inability to pay ; and 244, representing 32,922 shares, had taken no notice of the call. Acting under the instructions of the English creditors, the liquidators have placed the transactions of the company before counsel, with the view of determining whether grounds exist for a criminal prosecution. Sir Matthew Davies was the principal director of the company, and Mr Bell, M.L.C., was one of his colleagues. THE ALISON SMITH INQUIRY BOARD. The Age is in a condition of extravagant . delight over the report of the Board of Inquiry into the management of the locomotive branch of the Railway department. This board was appointed by the Shiels Government at the dictation of the Age to get rid of Mr Alison Smith. It was composed of two Government servants — Mr Akehurst and Mr Howitt — who knew nothing whatever of railway management or working, and Professor Kecnob, the head of the engineering school at the university — an amiable faddist. To "assist the board by presenting the evidence iv proper form," tho Government sent Mr Smyth, the Crown prosecutor, to conduct the case against Mr Alison Smith, and he fulfilled his mission with as much vigour and spirit as he would have exhibited in sending a criminal to Pentridge. Poor Alicon Smith was foredoomed, and he and all his friends knsw it. He made so good a defence, nevertheless, that the Age was nervous over the result. A report by the board in Mr Smith's favour would have lost Mr Symo the libel action brought against him by Mr Speight. The action was delayed until the nature of the report should be known. The announcement that it was as desired brought the action into court, and by a very remarkable coincidence the board's report saw the light next day. That it was hurried into being is shown by the fact that two important appendices remain still to be published. If David Syme had written the report himself it could not have suited him better. The board had eight separate questions to answer, every one of which they have answered unfavourably to Mr Smith, and consequently of course (which is the important point) unfavourably to Mr Speight, who was the head of the department. It would be of little interest to go through the charges (for each question was a charge) in detail. Among the most important of these was No. 7 : " Whether expensive experiments have been conducted, some of which have caused loss by damage to permanent way and rolling stock." Perhaps it will be well to give the full reply to this question. It reads :—: — " The only occurrences known to the board that can be reasonably included under this

head are those connected with the balancing of certain engines dming the latter part of 1887 and the commencement of 1888. With reference to these occurrences, we would point out — firstly, that the proper balancing of a locomotive is a matter of the highest importance and utility, tending to smooth running, economy of fuel, reduction of maintenance expenses, and minimisation of injury to the road._ A locomotive having balance weights either too large or too small injures itself as well as the road over which it travels. Secondly, that an inspection of the locomotives belonging to the Victorian railways reveals glaring errors and inconsistencies in connection with this question. Engines of similar character, used for similar work, are in some cases heavily balanced and in others not balanced at all, while in those that are balanced there are inexplicable variations in the position of the balance weights. This anomalous state of things, which must tend seriously to increase the expense of maintaining and working the railways, was at the outset noticed by the present locomotive superintendent, who proceeded to make calculations and experiments with a view to the proper balancing of all engines. Unfortunately, in his calculations he overlooked a very important factor, upon which depended the maximum pressure of the engine wheels upon the rails. The engines so balanced ran smoothly and freely, but at high speeds had a mof-t injurious effect, which would have been foreseen had the calculation been properly made. One of these engines, No. 365 X, being driven at an excessive speed down a long gradient, destroyed about three miles of rails, and led to the abandonment of what, if properly carried out, would have been a most useful reform." The very opening sentence of this extract is indicative of the spirit which animates the board throughout. The "only occurrence known to the board,"— insinuating that there may be others unknown to the board; and, " which can be reasonably included," as if the board were quite sorry they could not include others. But surely the whole answer is rather favourable than otherwise to Mr Smith. He found a very unsatisfactory state of things existing, and set about finding a remedy. Unfortunately he overlooked some important point in his experiments, and the result was a failure. The abandonment of his experiments followed— not (though the board do not explain this) because he was at his wits' end, but because the commissioners ordered them to cease. Yet he was on the right track, and might have been successful next time. As the answer stands it cannot be taken as otherwise than complimentary to the locomotive superintendent. But the venom is made apparent in a subsequent paragraph of the report, which reads as follows : — "It must, however, be stated for the locomotive branch that there is ample proof of energy and a desire for improvement in methods and of the stock with which the work of the railways must be carried on. This is apparent even in such an instance of conspicuous failure as the attempt to balance engines." In the first place, it should be observed that for the "locomotive branch" should be read "locomotive superintendent." Even here the board cannot give Mr Smith his due. And the phrase "conspicuous failure" is one so evidently interlarded with a purpose that comment is unnecessary. The fact is apparent that the answer to the question is Jirom the pen of Professor Kernot, but the comment upon it is by Mr Akehurst. The whole report is flavoured with gall. The result will, of course, be either the resignation or discharge of Mr Alison Smith— probably the latter ; for he has an undisguised enemy in Mr Kibble, one of the commissioners (formerly clerk in the Traffic department), and if he delays to resign, he will find himself treated with scant courtesy. Another result will be the victory of Mr David Syme in the Speight libel action. This action is now proceeding, and the papers are occupied with columns of it, Mr Purves, for the Age, has opened with a speech which has lasted most of one day, and is expected to last all another and half of a third. Poor Mr Speight (who lost all he had in the land boom) is handicapped in the matter of counsel, having to trust to two juniors, while Mr Syme has Mr Purves and Mr Deakin. They cost him a pretty penny, for Mr Purves's brief alone is marked 750 guineas, and his daily refresher is 50 guineas, while Mr Deakin is content with about half that amount. The expenses will thus run Mr Syme into an outlay of £10,000 or £15,000 at least. There was a rumour that he had proposed to settle the case, but the Alison Smith report has put him up in the stirrups, and yesterday's Age contained a stirring denial of the rumour. Mr Speight has the sympathy of the public, and will have that of the jury, without doubt, but their verdict is another matter. Mr J. P. Maxwell, one of the Railway Commissioners for New Zealand, who was in Melbourne during a part of the sitting of the board which has reported on the railway locomotive branch, wrote to Mr Alison Smith as follows, in anticipation of the close of the proceedings : — "I hope ere this reaches you that you will have had a favourable report from the board. I have read the papers you sent with much interest, the more so from having recently visited Melbourne. The prosecution seems to have been both vindictive and childish in many respects. I cannot see that you can come out of this otherwise than I expected— with a clean sheet — and I shall hope to congratulate you. I could not help thinking as I read the evidence that you must have some precious rascals about I somewhere, and that the barrister who conducted the case against you showed more than professional zeal. I suppose that there has never been a dirtier business in the colonies than this practical prosecution, at any rate I have never heard of any." REDUCTION IN SEAMEN'S WAGES. An important movement in the shipping trade has been made by Messrs M ( II wraith, M'Eacharn, and Co. in the direction of a reduction of wages. The attention of intercolonial steamship owners has for some time past been given to the advisability of revising the scale of wages iv consequence of the falling off in trade and the reduction of freight. They were also influenced by the fact that they have been paying for maritime labour 50 per cent, more than is paid by the Atlantic liners and other vessels in the oversea trade. The reductions now proposed by Messrs M'llwraifeb, M'Eacharn, and Co. are— for seamen, from £7 to £5 ; firemen, from £9 to £7 ; trimmers, from £7 to £6; and cooks, from £10 to' £B. The firm have announcsd that unless the reductions are accepted they will have to lay up vf ssels. In their action they are receiving the fullest sympathy from the other steamship owners, who state that there must be reductions. It is estimated that if the proposed red acl ions are unanimously adopted it will mean a saving to intercolonial steamship owners of nearly £30,000 per annum. IMPORTANT POINT IN CRIMINAL LAW. The unusual circumstance that all the I Supreme Court judges, to tha number of seven, were to sit in Banco excited a gocd deal of public interest in Sydney the other day, and \ the court was crowded with spectators, including a number of ladies. The question for

the determination of the court arose out of the conviction in March last, before Judge Docker, at Cowra, of a man named Joseph Kops for attempted arson. The prisoner did not avail himself of the privilege given by section 6 of the Criminal Law and Evidence Amendment Act to go into the witness box on his own behalf, and the judge, in summing up to the jury, commented upon tha fact, and told them that they were at liberty to draw an inference from it. An appeal was now made on behalf of Kops, on the ground that the judge was in error in calling the attention of the jury to the fact that the accused had not given evidence upon matters which must have been within his knowledge. The court, after hearing lengthy and learned argument, reserved it 3 decision. RAILWAY RETRENCHMENT IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA. The Railway Commissioners in South Australia have been earnestly considering ways and means, with the result that they have made a recommendation to the Government which will involve a considerable saving. The alternatives were whether they should temporarily reduce the number of employes, or retain all on short time. The latter course has been chosen. The proposal is that the men in the workshops shall been put on short time, which means that some will be let off work on Mondays and Fridays. The only other railway servants concerned in the recommendation are the drivers and firemen. The application of the recommendation to them will be by only paying them for the actual time occupied in their work. SIR ROBERT DUFF IN NEW SOUTH WALES. The first public act of Sir Robert Duff in New South Wales was to open the railway extension from Kiama to Nowra. The new line is 22 miles long and the cost to date has been £315,908. A special train conveyed his Excellency the Governor and a large party of members of both Houses of Parliament and officiate to the terminus, 92 miles from Sydney, on the banks of the Shoalhaven river. All along the line Sir Robert Duff was enthusiastically received. Rain fell heavily during the whole of the day. The vice-regal party and the other visitors were entertained at a lunch at Kiama. At Bomaderry, the terminal station, the mayor and aldermen of several municipalities and some hundreds of residents of the district had assembled to welcome the Governor. An address was presented, and later in the day the Governor, having started the first departmentally recognised through train to Sydney, declared the extension open. SUNDAY PERFORMANCES IN MELBOURNE. At the autumnal session of the Baptist Union of Victoria the new departure in Melbourne of opening theatres on Sunday nights was discussed. Mr John Turner, who is a member of the Prahran Council, said that he had no idea of the extent of these Sunday performances till he read the Argus on Saturday. Then he saw that there were to be enterbamments at the Opera House, Theatre Royal, and Rotunda Hall. Amongst those giving the performances were Mr Snazelle, Professor Miiller, Mr Cathcart, and other actors and actresses. He moved —"That this union enters its protest against these Sunday performances." The motion was carried, but it is very doubtful whether any action can be taken to prevent the performances. No money is charged for admission (technically), and a religious turn is given to the entertainments by sacred music being sung and played. At come of the entertainments the attendance is very large. j j

The ordinary meeting of the Otago Institute was held in the lecture hall of the Museum Building on Tuesday evening and was largely attended, there being about 40 members present. Dr Hocken (the president) occupied the chair. NEW MEMBERS. Messrs F. N. Brown (Roslyn) and Alexander Thompson were elected members. THE PEESIDENT'S REMARKS. Dr Hocken said: Ladies and Gentlemen, — I should like to thank you most sincerely for the honour done me in electing me as your president for the third time. I need hardly assure you that I take an unabated interest in all that concerns the well-being of this institute. I may say that I am an old—indeed the oldest —member here connected with the Otngo Institute. I was its first secretary, and I can assure you that my strong interest in the institute continues. I beg to thank you for re-electing me. It is also my agreeable duty, if you do not think it too late, to express the sentiment of pleasure in whioh we all join in welcoming our coadjutor Dr Parker back again. (Applause.) He is one of the most valued and valuable members of this association, and I am sure he has brought back a very great deal of valuable information that will be of great use to us during the present session, so that we have reason for congratulation on Dr Parker's return amongst us.—(Applause.) > CRANIOLOGY OF THE MAOBI. Professor Scott submitted a technical paper on " The Craniology of the Maori." In explaining his paper Dr Scott said that in dealing with this subject during some years past he had been able to measure between 80 and 90 Maori skulls, and from 30 to 40 Moriori skulls. These skulls were unfortunately not in one museum, but a number were in the anatomical museum of the University of Otago, a number more were in the .Canterbury Museum, some in the Colonial Mweum at Wellington, while others were in various private museums, notably those of Dr Hocken aud Dr Cunninghame. He had also to thank various students who had kindly allowed him to measure skulls in their possession. From his observations and meaxurements he deemed it clearly made out that the Maori race was not a pure but a mixed race. This merely supported the conclusion arrived at by previous observers, and added nothing of interest to this view of the question. What he thought he was in a position to do, however, was to ascertain whether the variation which was undoubtedly present in the Maori race as a whole was present in the various tribes, and whether the various tribes differed from each other in any definite particulars. They knew there were differences in form and colour between the various Maori tribes, and he was anxious to see whether differences wore also noticeable in their brain cases. Unfortunately he had not been able to collect enough skulls. To give any opinion of value as to the differences between the tribe., one would require 40 or 50 skulls from each tribe, and that, of course, would mean a very large collection. But he thought he was able to add a little knowledge as to the variation in the tribes themselves, and he might say that thero was as much variation in the tribe he had particularly examined as there was in the race as a whole. Dr Scott then described the delicate scientific methods now employed in craniological studies, and mentioned that the observations made satisfactorily proved that the Maori was a mixed race and that the two races from which the Maori was made up were the black Melauesians, or Papuans, and the brown Polynesians, or Moriories. In the brief discussion which followed, the

_*l — t ■■■■■■. I II I - ' "* President referred to the progress made within recent years in the study of the convolutions of the brain ; Professor Parker remarked upon the extreme accuracy with which anthropological observations were now made and to the fact that the methods of numerical expression had filtered down to the other branches of zoology ; and Mr F. R. Chapman said that the conclusions arrived at were in accordance with Maori traditions, and that in the main the tribes iv« habiting the South Island were distinctly traco< able to the east coast of the North Island. THE RIBBON FISH. Professor Parker called attention to a specie men of an exceedingly rare fish — Lophotcs cepe-> diamis — which had been caught on the Ocean Beach, and generously presented to the museum by Mr Stark. The fish, which was closely allied to the extraordinary ribbon fish, a speci* men of which was to be seen in the museum, was the first that had found its way to theso shores. DEEP SEA DREDGING. Mr Hamilton exhibited some 24 specimens of shells picked out of material dredged by Captain Fairchild during his last southern trip, and obtained from a depth of 100 fathoms. Probably two of these specimens would, he said, turn out to be new species. He expressed the hope that a connected series of dredgings would be made on the New Zealand coast, as they would be certain to yield very interesting results. The proceedings closed at 10 p.m. ,