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Southland Times, Issue 2482, 22 July 1876, Page 2

The San Francisco Mail. — The Southland portion of the Sau Francisco mail, forvrarded from Dunedin by the overland route, arrived in Invercargill last night. The Borough Council Election.— Nominations fur the vacant seats in the borough council must be sent in not later than Monday. It is reported that some good men are coming forward. Mr W. R. Hall, an active business man, has agreed to stand an a candidate for Second Ward, and it is said that Mr Hatch will be a candidate for Third Ward, and Mr Froggatt for the South. It would be as well, however, to have a cootest, to test the question of who are the men in whom the ratepayers have the greatest confidence. A notice appears in this day's paper announcing an extraordinary election to fill four vacancies caused by resignation. R.M'd. (Jourt.— In the Resident Ma giatrate's Court yesterday morning there were only three caseß, Smith v. Cumming, Curtis v. Bell, and Ekensteen and Hall v. Goodsir and Musaen, all of which were adjourned to the 25th inst. Chess. —We are glad to see that a meeting of those subscribers to the Athenecum. who are interested in the formation of a Chess Club, will be held this evening. It is generally admitted that of all indoor games, chess is the finest and most thoroughly scientific, and those who once learn a little of the game, prefer it to any other. We are told also that there are several good players in Inrercargill, and if so, we should like to see them go into practice, and then challenge either the Dunedin or the Christchurch Club, and see if they can carry off the laurels for the chief town of Southland. The New Zealand Magazine. — We have to acknowledge the receipt yesterday evening, from the publishers, of the New Zealand Magazine for July. As Boon as we hare opportunity we shall comment on the contents, which appear to be both interesting and instructive. Riyerton Mayoralty.— The result of the polling yesterday was as follow? ;— J*. R, Mills, 93 ; F, A. Moncjrton, 29,

The News on the Mayohal Election. — Our evening contemporary has judiciously abstained from making any comment on the result of the Mayoral election yesterday. We cannot wonder at this after the attempt made in the News' issue of the 20th inst. to attach a political importance to this electiou which Mr Outhberfcson's; supporters were quite willing to set aside!' What, however, does our contemporary think of the election now ? The statement that "the town was profusely billed with "Vote for Cuthbertsoo," was, we are informed on good authority, utterly untrue) not one single poster of his being placed at any part of the town, and the only two bills of his out being on his own office door, and on the one vehicle he had engaged. Hospital Committee.— The Hospital Committee held a meeting in the Secretary's room on ij'riday night. Present — Mr J. H Kerr (in the chair) and Messrs Willoughby and Roche, It was resolved to communicate with Mr W. Garth waite, stating that a son of his at present in the Hospital had not paid for previous attendance there, and that he being under age, the Committee expect tho father to pay forthwith, otherwise proceedings will be taken to enforce the same. The question of the relations subsisting between the Resident Surgeon and the Committee was brought forward, and correspondence read showing that the Committee had requested their medical officer to choose between private practice and his Hospital engagement, and that the medical officer replied at first offering to come to a compromise, and, subsequently, urging that a special meeting of the subscribers should j be called to consider the question, otherwise he wiahed his first letter to be considered a tender of his resignation. It was resolved to hold over the matter for consideration at % special meeting on Tuesday next, at half -past 4 ©'clock. The meeting then ended. Dismal Jbmm:t. — The New Zealand Mail says :— The Lyttelton Times is pretty well known as the Dismal Jemmy of the New Zealand Press— it is perpetually in a state of despondency, and when there is a chance for a wail the Times makes the most of it ; so that its remarks yesterday in reference to the labor market may be taken cum grano sails. Tho fact is, it is but reasonable to expect an overplus of labor in Canterbury unless means are taken to relieve the market during the winter months. Being an agricultural province, agricultural labor concentrates there during the I spring, summer, and autumn months, for shearing, harvesting, and planting. During the dead of printer many hands are discharged ; and, as a consequence, the more prolific the harvest tho greater will be the number of unemployed during winter. This is one of the drawbacks of agriculture. In Wellington we can take Canterbury's present gurpluß labor, but she will be calling out for assistance iv a month or two. An Accurate Correspondent. — A Timaru contemporary says : — "The Otago Guardian has a special correspondent at Wellington who seems to tell as nearly the exact opposite of the truth as possible. The other day this vivacious creature gave an account of a speech delivered by Mr Teschemaker on the Piako Swamp question, and cut him up severely—implyin" that his meutal capacity was in an inverse proportion to his enormous bodily height. As the member for Gladstoue never spoke in the debate at all, and stands about five feet nine, the description given of him is certainly very graphic. It is, however, quite in keeping with all this lively writer's imaginative communications." As an example worthy of imitation, we would recommend to the Guardian the following very candid declaration of the San Francisco News Letter :— Next week our Itineraut Liar will visit Cloverdale, Ukiah, Mendocino, and Point Arenas. The Credit of New Zealand. — It baa become lately the fashion amongst some who know little abjut the matter, to make out that the credit of New Zealand in the Home money market is just about as bad as can be (says the New Zealand Times). They base these statements on the fact that recently a difficulty was experienced in placing the balances of the authorised but unguaranteed loan. If the gentlemen who write so easily would only read a little they would find that the difficulty as regarded New Zealand loans arose, not from any discredit attaching to the colony, but simply from the existence of a most abnormal condition of things in the London money market. There it is not too much to say that money is absolutely cheaper than it ever was ; indeed, there are merchants in Wellington whoso last advices from Home informed them of their being only charged 2 per cent, on bills which a year ago would have to pay a much higher rate. But it is a fact nevertheless that there ig a general reluctance on the part of those investors who usually purchased debentures of English colonies or of foreign countries to purchase them now. That reluctance is owing to circumstances that have produced a purely evanescent state of feeling, and which arose in the following manner. The investors iv colonial or foreign securities have always come from amongst the class which, with a certain fixed and limited capital, have endeavored to obtain for it the highest possible rate of interest on what was thought a secure investment. Ladies and gentlemen possessing £5000, we will say, in cash, in order to live on the interest of the same, have sought investments other than in the English funds, whore though, as some character in a novel says, " the security is undoubted," the rate of interest is very low. Accordingly, for some years they sought after colonial and foreign stocks, and until a crash which came recently certain foreign stocks became more and more the most fancied form of investment. This arose from the very great increase in the cost of living which has of late grown up in England, and which made it necessary for the possessor of such a capital as we have mentioned to obtain seven, or even ten per cent, on his money, where he had previously been contented with five or sit. As a result he invested in the worst kinds of foreign securities, those of South or Central American Republics, or in Turkish or Egyptian bonds. The results of the investigations of the Committee on Foreign Loans exploded the former. Turkey and Egypt have of their own accord commenced a system tantamount to repudiation. The result is a perfect scare on the part of the smaller investors, from the effects of which, at the moment,

colonial securities suffer, but the whole tone of the financial articles in the London<' 1 l J ress points out that shortly these securities will take their proper place and become the favorite stock for those who must obtain a certain annual income from the capital in their possession. Tills Building Societies Bill.— ln the House of .Representatives on the 18th inst., the lion. Mr Bo wen moved the second reading of the Building Societies Bill. He said its main principle had been endorsed by all the Building Societies of the Colony, though .various amendments in detail had been offered. The bill was read a second time, and was to be committed yesterday. " A. Stranger in the House."— The Wellington Post of the 14th inst. says — There was " a stranger" in the House in the afternoon, though no notice of the circumstance was taken by the Speaker. The " stranger" was — a cat, which took a prominent position between Sir Robert Douglas an l Mr Joyce, directly oonfronting the Speaker, and apparently in no degree dismayed. The Purchase of Native Lands.The Wellington Argus has the following : — That the present system of purchasing and dealing with Native lands is far from satisfactory is generally admitted, and an amendment of the law has long been promised. In the Governor's speech and in the Financial Statement the subject was alluded to. The bill has not yet been circulated, but we believe that its principle will be a very simple and commonseuse one. The Government will not press natives to sell their land, but when any of them wish to do so, the Government will undertake to survey and lay off the land, and dispose of it in the ordinary manner in which waste lands of the Crown are dealt with. Instead of a price being arranged for beforehand, and a complete purchase effected, the Native owners will retain a direct interest in the sale of the land to private persons, by receiving a fair share of the purchase money. As soon a3 the natives fully realise the enormous advantages offered by this new system, there is little doubt that plenty of land will be offered by them for sale, and that in this way the settlement of the country, by small occupiers will be materially promoted. Gas in Oaha.ru.— The people of Oamaru are beginning to find out that the luxury of gas may be purchased at too high a price. One of the candidates for the Mayoralty of that borough (Mr W. J. Steward) stated on nomination day that the Council should not charge a higher price for the use of gns than was sufficient to cover the expenses of its production ; in other words, that no profit should be derived t-ierefrom. The Tablrs turned on Sir George Grey.— The Tim.ru Herald says : -The other day Sir George Grey was ridiculing Sir Donald M'Lean's visit to the Maori King, especially on the ground that he was only welcomed by one old woman. This recalled to the minds of some honorable members the fact that many years ago Sir George wrote an enormously long despatch about the capture of a pah on the West Coast, which was only found to contain one old woman. The following epigram found next day in one of the lobbies is supposed to have been composed while this coincidence was being discussed sotto voce in the House : — When Cscjar victorie3 won and nations smote, Three words* described tho conquests of the Roman ; But who shall to ;nt the words our Cfesar wrote Of captured pahs held by one aged womxn ! * T'eni, vidi, vici. Some people attribute the verses to the member for Timaru, who is known to be, like Lord Lytton, both poet and statesman ; but others again regard them aa the fugitive offspring of Mr Rowe, member for the Thames, who has a very Byronic cast of features, and ought to be a poet whether he ia or not. Moss. Oriel's Educated Dogs. — List night at the Theatre Royal Mons. Oriel gave an opening entertainment with his trained dogs. There was a middling house, but those present were astonished at the extraordinary feats of animal intelligence performed. The entertainment is indeed far better worth patronising than somejof a more pretentious character. The spelling, calculating, and tricks of second sight of these little dogs are really extraordinary. There will be another performance to-night, and one for school children at reduced prices in the afternoon.