The Taranaki Herald PUBLISHED ON WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS. SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1876.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 2414, 27 May 1876, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald PUBLISHED ON WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS. SATURDAY, MAY 27, 1876.

When most people bad taken for granted that the harbour question was settled, it is not pleasant to find at the last moment, jnst when action is about to be taken by tbe General Governraent, based on the agreement with the Harbour Board, to ask for tenders for building the central gaol, that the whole question bad agaiu to be discussed ab initio by the action of one disappointed member of the Harbour Board calling a public meeting, having failed to induce the Superintendent to do so. Mr. Standish is, no doubt, animated with the most sincere apprehension of tbe dangers which be so gloomily depicts of the probable results of the Colonial prisoners being utilised in the building of a harbour at this place j but we think there was ample time to summons a public meeting before now, since the question has been before the public for some twelve months at least ; and not to have left it nntil the last moment, and until the Harbour Board and the Government had come to terms on the matter. But it is only, after all, the usual fate of proposals to benefit the Province. There is sure to be some individual who will look the gift horse in the mouth, and deprecate the value of the animal. Whether it is the construction of railways, the boring for petroleum, or the initiation of any other speculative industry that is proposed to be developed with the aid of outside capital, a kind of chronic jealousy arises iv some people's minds, and a determination is manifested to overthrow the enterprise, unless the development process is attempted by our own cash, abstracted from onr ordinary business, much to its detriment. Now the feeling is attempted to be raised to reject the offer of the Government to employ the Colonial prisoners on the work on the grounds that much social deterioration and inconvenience will be the result of tbe location of the prisoners here, and that the Board could itself build a harbour out of the means placed at its disposal, much quicker than the Governmeut could do, and thus reap the benefit earlier, and keep Taranaki pure from contamination by tho presence of convicted humanity. If Taranaki is to progress, and its towns to become populous, we fear that it will be impos. Bible to preserve that Arcadian simp-

licity aud that assumed parity of morals which Arcadia was said to have possessed. Wo cannot have the social condition of an agricultural village which satisfies the squire and the rector, and at the same time have our metropolis the crowded, stirring, noisy, business-trans-acting maritime town that we. hope to see it. Only Arcadians of tho most verdant type can hope for both centring nt New Plymouth. Pictures of escaped prisoners of a desperate typo ravaging- country houses are painted in unscrupulous colours, terrifying timid women, and making simple men uneasy. All this we are told is to bo indured for generations, and the harbonr for centuries is to drag its slow length along ; while the process Of building under the hands of a contractor, aided by the ample debenture issuing powers of the Harbour Board, is so sanjjuiuely stated that it reminds us of nothiug less than that expeditious contractor, Aladdin, who by tbe means of his old lamp, built in one night that matchless palace for his not very deserving father-in-law. We think tha,t Mr. Standish had been re-perusing that delightful romance when he put the finishing touches to his description of the rapidity of the growth of the harbour under the Board and by the debentures ; and be must have dipped deep iuto Ali Baba when the horror of the escaped prisoners were gloated over to alarm the nervous of both sexes. Those tactics were all very well when brought to bear on detached iudividuals, but public meetings require some sound reasons in order to convince them that they are in error, and induce them to retract from a settled opinion. Mr. Standish and his supporters failed to do so ; although assertion of tho most positive character was not wanting in order to influence tbe meeting to assent to a view, averse to the action of the Board. We were glad to see that the supporters of the Board took a practical business view of the case, and carefully avoided all false sentiment. They kept steadily in view the main object, the desirability of obtaining shelter for vessels here, without the risk of a disastrous failure, through running short of funds, in consequence of debentures not moving off at a reasonable price. This, and the certainty that a tax on land will be avoided by the course the Board has taken, no donbt influenced the meeting in carrying Mr. Kelly's amendment by an overwhelming majority Even supposing that the completion of the harbonr will take a few years more it is certain to go on from year to year without any break. The resolution that the meeting came to endorses the action of the Board, and we now hope that the concurrent action of the Government and the Board will not again be interrupted by auy unwiao interference.

Special Sunday Evening Service.— An advertisement iv auother column announces that a special service will be held to-morrow evening in the tent at the back of Tattersall's, used as a circus, when the Revs. Breach, Dumbell, Isitt, and Hammond " will deliver addresses.

Taranaki Rifle Volunteers.— We desiro to draw attention to an advertisement that a first parade of the Taranaki llifle Volunteer company is summoned for Monday evening, wheu members not already sworn in can be duly sworn. Wo would recommend all those, who wish to take part in the next prize firing to attend on Monday evening, as all who wcro sworn in on Saturday last, and the men who will be sworn in on Monday, who hold certificates of efficiency as volunteers, and who can in a reasonable time attain a proficiency iv drill that shall satisfy Major Stapp, will be eligible for the next Government shooting matches.

The Queen's Birthday. — Although observed as a holiday, the incessant downfall of rain during the day prevented pleasure seekers from onjoyiug themselves. The ceremony of planting the first tree in the Ilecrcation Grounds had to be postponed, and the Circus tent had to be lowered, so there was no performance even there to pass away tho evening. The ploughing match, of course, took place, and all interested in it sacrificed their comfort, and were of course wet through before they returned to town. A dinner was held in the evening, which made up for uncomfortable experiences during the day. The railway authorities ran special excursion trains during the day, but eren the reduced fares were uo temptations for persons to venture out. About noou the white ensign was ran up to the mast head of the flagstaff, and tho New Zealand flag and British ensign to tho yard arms, but they were not allowed to remain long, having to bo lowered to signal a steamer from the North. The s.s. llawea, with the English mail, arrived about midday, and amused the officials during the afternoon in sorting it. With the exception, perhaps, of those who were engaged at the ploughing match and spent their evening in a convivial mauner, the day was one of tho dullest holidays that we have had in Now Plymouth for some time.

Mr. Disraeli and his Lqbgekehper. — Tho writer of " London Town Talk " in the Mclbourno Argus Bays— "Among tho laudr owners Mr. Benjamin Disraeli now figures, of course, which was not always tho case. It is said that few things gave more pleasure to his unaccustomed ears fchau when he was n'rat saluted by the tenants of Hughenden Manor as ' squire.' There is a pleasant story of how his rise from ' high to higher' in'tho political world puzzled these good folks as to how to address him. The old lady at his lodge-gate, in particular, afforded him much amusement. ' When her Majesty did me the honor to mako me Chancellor of the Exchequer'— you know his pompous way — ' Mrs. Jones altered my style to that of ' Your Honor.' but when I became the first Minister of the Crown the good woman knew not what to call me, so itbstained from addressing mo at all. She only curtsied very low. However, I waß determined to make her speak, and put a question to her that demanded a direct ' Yes' or ' No,' Then the poor soul Btamineiod out, ' Yob-— yes— Mr. Prime Minister.' "