Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 1891.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6026, 25 March 1891, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald. P UBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 1891.

FEDERATION PROSPECTS.

More agreement hits been displayed at the Federation Convention than was expected. The new Australian Dominion ia in a fair way of being formed. The constitution is certain to be laid on a thoroughly democratic basis. Nothing else would be acceptable in these days in this part of the world. The whole structure will rest upon manhood suffrage, and a property qualification will not be required of a member of either House. Sir George Grey proposed that the Governor* General should be elected by the people, but he Btood alone in the matter. If the Imperial connection is to be maintained, ; there must be some political link between ; Australia and the Mother Country. As- ' suredly if the united colonies insisted upon an elective Governor-General, England would tell them to cut the painter at once. Only a very n'mkll fraction of tho people of Australia desirff to sever tht> Im- I perial connection. It will be remembered thatsome time ago the action of the Queen- 1 land Government over the announcement 1 that Sir Henry Blake had been appointed 1 Governor raised the question as to whether I the colonies should be consulted in matters of the kind. Owing to the violent opposition, the Home Government gave Queensland a Governor to whom the Irish t party in that colony had no particular < objection ; but at the same time Lord I Knutsford refused to recognise the right a of any oniony ta be consulted in the seleo- l tion of a reoresentative of the Queen, | ! Flowever, it was understood that in making future appointments, the Home 1 Oovernfl^nt; would endeavor not tP, plash c

with the feelings of colonists. Agent* Gtenerals and leading colonists in London ivould be consulted in an informal way. Fhe Constitutional Committee of the DonvenHon has fixed the Governor's salary it LIO,OOO per annum, the amount paid :t> Her Majesty's representative in Canada. The Governor of Victoria also 'oceives LIO.OOO, and the Viceregal salary n New South Waits is L7OOO. It should it once be admitted that the Committee's recommendation is by no means extravagant. The Governor of the Australian Dominion will have to keep higher state han he of Canada owing to the more uxurious habits of the people. The nembera of both the Senate and the Elouse of Representatives are to be paid LSOO a year. It has been proposed that ■here should be one member of the Lower Chamber to every 30,000 of the population. This would give a Chamber of ibout one hundred members. The numerical strength of the Senate will be more difficult to fix. [fc is proposed that thsvt body shall be elected by the various State Legislatures. If the United States system were followed in its entirety, each colony would send an equal number of representatives to the Senate, but. Viotoria and New South Wales, which each contain a population of over a million, are opposed to Western Australia, with a population of only forty thousand, having an equal voice in the Upper House. On the other hand, the smaller colonies are afraid of being swamped. If population were the basis of representation for both Houses, Victoria and New South Wales would command a majority in both Chambers. Doubtless, the difficulty will be compromised by fixing a minimum number of representatives for each colony.

A report of list evening's concert at Patutahi, and notes on the forthcoming regatta, are published on page four. Acceptances for the Toroa Steeplechase Meeting close to-night. The members of the Fire Brigade meet for steam practice to-night. Mr M. Hall holds a sale at J. S. Cooper's farm, Waerenga-s-hika, to-morriw at noon. There is in Gisborne for a short time Mrs Borreson, a celebrated lady physiognomist and phrenologist. The last opportanity this season for excursions under the cheap rates is afforded by the Union Company's steamers leaving here for South and North on Saturday and Monday. In connection with the Freemantle Harbor I works, the Government of Western Australia propose to adopt a scheme of Sir i John Coode's, involving an expenditure of ! L 448,000. Our Wairoa correspondent telegraphs : — A flock of 2400 sheep from the stations of Messrs Chambers, Welhered, and McLean crossed the bridge this morning. An old lady who can ill afford the loss had the misfortune to loe a purse containing money and papers at the corner of Gladstone road and Peel street this morning. Tht» finder should communicate with the police. Messrs Pict and Davies will sell at Mr T Harris's residence, Whataupoko, to-morrow ; morning at 11 o'clock, horses, harness, farm- ■ ing implements, and other articles. I At the last meeting of the Napier Harbor j Board, the harbor-master reported that the , ship Oamaru had had her cables parted no | less than three times, and the ship Pleiades once. The Bo^rd had also under consideration the matter of two lo?t anchors of the ship Rangitikei. The Press Association wired as follows this afsoraoon : — Captuin Edwin forecasts very unsettled weather during the next week and heavy gales from the north, changing by west to south-west, between ! noon on the 27th and noon on the 31st. Some of the residents of Makaraka and Matawhero are bestirring themselves in promoting a movement towards che erection of a public hall, Such an institution has long been wanted, and can be used for many purposes. A public meeting will be called shortly, notice of which will appear in our columns. We trust that the object aimed at wi I be attained, as the movement is a good one and deserves success. The Napier Telegraph of Friday says : — The story told by our Waipawa correspoudent in connection with the inquest on j the body of William Cole affords another I illustration of the evils of drink. The deceased was quite a young man ; well educated and connected, and had jusb as good a chance of making an honorable career in New Zealand as any one of his con- j temporaries. It did not come out in evidence whether Cole was addicted to drink before he came to the colony, but if he had exhibited any such weakness it was a cruel thing for his relatives to cast him adrift. Away front friends and home influences, which exeroise so powerful a control, too many young men* finding themselves free agents in a strange country, give way to temptation. A descending road is easy to travel, and poor Cole took ifc. Not long ago he was a book-keeper ; at the time of his death he was cooking for ploughmen. That in itself would be sad enough as showing how far he had sunk in the social scale ; but the manner of his death was sadder still. Fn a state of intoxication he slipped from his horse on a lonely country road, and there he was found dead. The coroner's jury gave their verdict in accordance with the evidence, which went to show that deceased died from excessive drinking and exposure. How many men have died under almost similar circumstances'? Some get drowned, others are thrown off their horses and are killed, others commit suicide ; while others again, stupefied by drink, with a system lowered by alcoholio poisoning, lie down on the open ground and die sleeping. The waste of human energy, of intelligence, of life itself from drink is shocking to contemplate ; everybody acknowledges it ; no sermon that can be preached can be more powerful in its effect on the human brain than the miserable self-accusations of a besotted individual temporary repentant, and temporary resolved to lead a new life. All honor to institutions that are devoted to the reclamation of the drunkard ; but experience goes a long way to show that only those are saved who could have saved themselves, for the man who will not respectan oath made to himself, will neither respeot that which he has taken in the presence of others. Hence it is that there are so many backsliders from temperance, so many instances of men taking the pledge again and again, and then dying as William Cole died, alone on the road-side, uncared for, unwept.