CURRENT TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2258, 10 June 1897, Page 3

CURRENT TOPICS.

On January 17, 1856, his Excellency the Governor of New Zealand, a minor Colonel Thomas Gore-Browne, pjrofhet. C.8., was entertained at a " dejeuner " at the Royal Hotel, Dunedin. Nerve had jusfc previously been received of the fall In the previous September of Sebastopol, and the loyalty of British subjects everywhere was a<; white heat. When, therefore, at the "dejeuner" aforesaid the chairman proposed " The Queen," it is recorded that "the toast was received most heartily with three times three, 'God save the Queen, beiDg sung by the company with startling energy ! " The worthy chronicler waa writing more than 4-1 jcart ago, and Queeu Victoria still reigns to evoke even greater enthusiasm when her name is mentioned. A number of smooth things were said by speakers at the banquet. Some of them were to particularly good that the reporter modestly aays he ahould spoil them if he attempted lo report them. The Rev. J. A. Fenton, in replying to the toast of "The Clergy,' somewhat wickedly hoped that "the time would soou avire when the clergy of the various denominations of Christians, whether belonging to the Presbyterian Church, or the Wesleyan, or the Church of Eugland , , „ wouid yet maintain "tho

mo3t friendly relations, and meet together . . . without needlessly obtruding pointß of difference and distinctions of country and denomination." The Governor wai in fcvein of prophecy. He said : " Will not the streets *nd squares of Dunediu 50 years hence bear some comparison fco those of that time-honoured city whose graud and picturesque outline doubtless rife 3 often in the mind's eye of many who now hear me ? Will nob the church bell summon many a devout congregation to thank God for the blessings thay enjoy in plains where nothing more civilised than the bark of the sheep dog is now heard P Will not the mail coach, rattling over well-metalled roads, carry glad tidings to borough towns between this and the Bluff whera a new town waits for the baptism I hose to give it before we part thia evening ?" And much more to the same effect. Those who now live in Otago know how much more than realised have been hia Excellency's anticipations. A few months ago about a hundred youog men, " chiefly fools," as Carlyle would the u.s, probably have said, jointly charsouth sea tored and provisioned a ship, and brother- set out from America to fiad an hood. unclaimed island in the Pacific, where they might settle and found a community on a fraternal basis. The extent of their geographical knowledge may bo surmised from the tact that they evidently expected to find room for exhaustive choice among a number of islands glowing with troricil baauty, among whose leafy bowers they might be lulled to slumber by the soft murmur of the Pacific upon the coral strand. To their chagrin they discovered that the boys' book of adventure is no longer true. All the islands in the Pacific that are worth seizing have been appropriated by some Power — or, at all events, placed in that preliminary stage of annexation known as being "protected." There are a fow atolls, it is trae, bat ou them the process of vegetation has nob yet begun, and they have no value except to furnish materials for a romance in which the chief ingredient ia a fabulous treasure hidden by buccaneers. The adventurers are now in Fiji, very much in the position of the New Australia sotfclevfl in Paraguay, though no doubt much better equipped and not burdened with families, so that they will probably soon merge into the general population. Six of them, however ; have abandoned the .quest for an "Adamless Eden," and are now in Auckland prosaically looking for a "job," and congr&to* la ting themselves upon having awakened from a delubion. Their idea of an Adamless Eden was particularly seductive. No doubt they hoped to fiad an island where they would be welcomed by a bevy of unattached dusky maidens who would weave garlands of flowers and soothe the weary travellers with songs. A great delusion truly ! By the victory of Sir George Goldie in Nigeria a track of country greater in kigeria. area than Great Britain has been brought directly under British control, while a much larger area has been brought under British influence. The terms of the treaty drawn up after the decisive battle of Bida are as follow .—. — 1. Abu Bekri, the Emir of Nup6, has fled from the country, and is declared to be no longer King. No Sheaba or Potum has yet been appointed, f-o that the Markum is the next successor to the throne. 2. The new Emir, Mohammed, recognises that all Nupfe is under the power of the company. All previous treaties are abrogated. 3. The company will govern direct all that part of Nupe to the south- west of the Niger, and such parts of the north-east bank as the company may direct from time to time. 4. The Emir will govern the rest of Nup6, but will follow the directions of the represent *tives of the company in respect of such government. Stable and just government will now succeed misrule and confusion, and the change of rulers has been brought home to the inhabitants by | the announcement that the legal stfctus of ' slavery will be abolished in all "territories | directly administered by the company from the [ day of the celebration of her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee. This is of course an experiment, and its issue will bs watched with some interest. Slaves form a large portion of the currency in Nupe. Though under almost similar circumstances the legal status of slavery was abolished in India with perfect succe3B, great difficulties delayed a similar step in Zanzibar for many years until early in the present year. Mr Cadman ie nob usually considered a tyrannical person, but in the dispute depart- with the New Ply mouth Harbour mkntali Board he is proving a veritable sraußortN- Czar. We referred to this disNJ3SS. jmfce some little time ago, and it has raged ever since with mifliminisbed fury. La&t week a deputation from TurAnaki waited upon tha hon. gentleman and endeavoured to persuade him to consent to a reduction of tho haulage charge from 3a 6d to 3* a tou, but even this slight concession tho Minister would not yield. As the distance is only two and a -half miles the rate is certainly oxueamva, and it is little vronder that the Harbour Board, fairly exasperated, has invited tenders for cartage for five years to replace tho railway service. The teudere received trace £m lower

than the railway rates, but consideration of them was postponed until the 25bh inst., probably in order that the Minister might have an opportunity* coming to his senses. Mr Cadman Eeen^Hß) have planted his feat down firmly. He disregarded the advica of the general manager of railways, ignored the remonstrances of the Harbour Board, and openly defied the settlers. He is now likely to see horses and carts drawing goods alongside a disused railway, which will furnish a splendid illustration of the unwisdom of allowing feoliu'" to usurp the functions of common sense. The letters which appeared in our last issue, and which have been handed to canabian us by Mr James Allen, M.H.R., zoYALTr. who is corresponding secretary for Dunodin of tha Royal Colonial Institute, cod tain a novel and acceptable suggestion for the celebration of Sunday, June 20, all over the English-speaking world. In a circular accompanying tho letteri it is iutimated that " the services of the day will coaimenco in the calonies of New Zealand and Australia, where services have baa arranged, afterwards with fcne lodges in South Africa, and so on will follow the suu westward. Upon the sun having crossed the _ocean and reached the Continent of America^ the brethren in St. John's, Newfoundland, will recommence the anthem, which will then be taken up in succession by lodge after lodge across the Continent through Canada, aa the precise time roaches eiah, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The brethreu at Victoria (British Columbia) will send ifc acro^a the Pacific back to ths place of beginning, having kept company with the hours and traversed the world in one unbroken line through the colonies* of tho Empire of the Union Jack. An astronomical time-lable, prepared by the Meteorological department of Canada, will be furnished, so, that tha precise hour may be followed." A programme of the service is also supplied, and the National Anthatn in to bs sung at \ o'clock sun time precisely. At 4 o'clock p.m. local time at Dunedin it will be 4 38 a m. at Windsor Castle, tha "heart of the Empire." The plaintiffs in a mining case it Lawrence on the 25th were neatly hoist with A their own petard by Mr Warden \TATEE-niGHT Hawkins under the following case. circumstances : — The Bakery I " Fiat Sluicing Company sought to restrain O'Brien and others frqra taking water oub of Rocky Creek. The plaintiff company in October, 1896, obtained a license for 20 heads of ntter, Defendants lieid licenses for tVo races obtained by their predecessors some .time prior to 1871. Between 1878 and 1883 the predecessors diverted one race into the other — one out ot Rocky Creek and one oub of Long Creek, — and some time afterwards, finding that a renewal for one of them had not been obtained, made ».n application to the warden, as is alleged, for the purpose of obtaining sanction for the divergence of the water into another race. This application was granted, therefore defendants' rights were assured. When tho present plaintiff company made application for their race in 1896, they did not comply wibh the act by giving notice to all persons affected, nor did they inform tho cours that any such persons existed. The warden said he would nob have granted the application if he had known all the facts, and in pursuance of the jurisdiction of the court to defeat & concealment which he characterised as a fraud upon the court, he ordered that plaintiffs' license be cancelled, that a license be issued to defendants for the two races, carrying seven heads, and that plaintiffs be granted a license to take water subject to defendants' rights and the reserved rights of objectors on the hearing of plaintiffs' application in October, 1896. The warden alio adjudged the plaintiffs to be liable for all defendants' costs, amounting to £11 5s Id. Ifc is commonly held fchab in the event of Britain being engaged in a great Britain's naval war the inhabitants would food be in danger of starving, since supply, the bulk of tho national food supply is drawn from abroad. A writer in the Economist, however, shows with considerable success that thia is a fallacy. He assumes that Britain has partly lost command of tho sea, and that it is extremely difficult for merchant ships to proceed on their voyages. In that event, would corn: cease to come ? The writer thinks nob. In the first placa tbe enemy would have to make corn contraband of war, and other nationr desirous of profiting by the rise in price which would follow war would resent this. America, for instance, would not relish having her vessels seizdd by French or Russian cruisers while engaged in carrying wheat. Even if the Powers at war with Britain were strong enough to blockade the whole of the coasts of the kingdom, the writer thinks any blockade could and would be evaded ; and he cites recent expsriI encc in Crete as an illustration. The article it | an interesting and fairly convincing one.

Cooo&nut Oil Cake hai an annual sale ol ' thousands of ton* on the Continent for feeding covtb. Every farmer should use it where quan« tity aa<> quality cf milk are required. — Nimio 1 ajkd Bialb. DanodlQ,