The Taranaki Herald

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8246, 20 August 1888, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald

PQSI SHED DAILY.

MONDAY, AUGUST 20, 1888.

The Statement of the Pablio Works Minister cannot be said to be disappointing, because, knowing that the Government had no money to spend, no one could have expected that Mr. Mitchelson had anything very sen- j sational to produce. The only thing ' the public might feel astonished at is that the Government should have made such a fuss about its delivery; postponing it week after week, and then suddenly having a special sitting of the House on an awkward day at an awkward hour, for the reading of fe Statement, whioh really contained little or nothing, and might have been produced on the first day of meeting. In faot, if Mr Mitohelson had laid the Pablio Works Statement on the table like any other Parliamentary paper it would have been quite sufficient. Any one who has been able to take the slightest interest in publio affairs this session will be aware that there are only a few hundred thousand pounds to appropriate, and it is therefore hardly worth bothering about where the money is to be spent. We have nothing to say against the manner the Minister of Public Works proposes to distribute the small remains of the borrowed money, but we think the way the Government proposes to work the railways will be seriously disappointing to tho publio. Mr Mitohelson's eulogy of the General Manager will not be appreciated by ' those who have had any dealing with the railways, and if they continue to be managed as they have been in the past, the authorities will be then causing persons not to use th« lines at all. The Publio Works Statement gives no intimation that an effort will be made to change" the management, or reorganise the railway system, but the convenience of the publio is to be sacrificed, and consequently, thongh the expenditure may be reduced, the receipts will in proportion fall likewise. In one respect, perhaps, the Statement may be of some value. It may be useful in showing how a grand scheme of railway communication can be ruined through its mismanagement by those who have had oharge of these lines ia the past. If they -were conducted on business principles, and the public convenience attended to, the lines would be more used than thoy now are, but Mr. Miohelson is evidently under the delubion that '» the lines are excellently managed, and could not be improved; > the result is the settlers are going back to their old habits, and conveyance by horses and carts, in preference to the railway is coming into vogue. The Statement informs us too, that Wellington has been dipping largely into the publio purse lately — their post office has been re-built, a large building for a printing office has been ereoted, the prison works have been continued, and there have been additions made . to the. lunatic asylum. Thus the oolony is being nioely bled to fill the Wellington contractors' and tradespeople' pookets. Mr. Mitohelson informs the publio that the North Island Main Line is to be slowly proceeded with, and that some roads will be made through Grown lands to open them up for settlement. The purchase of native land is to go on quietly as far as the funds will permit. Large sums, it appears, have been wasted in harbour defences, and more is wanted to remedy, ,wt> take it, the mistakes that have already been made. In summing up Mr. Mitohelson intimated that the Government proposed to .spend this year the Bum of £862,807 ; but thought it' was probable to keep tbe amount down to £750,000, or about £280,000 in excess of the liabilities existing at the end of March last. As in the latter amount £100,000 has been set aside for floating the loan, the publio works expenditure this year will dwindle down to £180,000. When such a paltry sum as that is all that has to be spent, we are not surprised at the intimation that the Government propose to abolish the Publio Works Department.. The quioker that is done, the better, perhaps, it will be for the colony, for it seems to be a useless waste of money keeping on a staff of officers with nothing for them to do. As a useful statistical reoord of the publio works of the oolony the Statement may be valuable, but beyond that we can say very little for it.

The New Zealand Schoolmaster enters upon ita oixth yeur with every appearance of assured success. Special attention is being given td the praotical ■mbjeot of manual training, the editor having secured original contributions from London and America. _ The.se are speoially interesting at this juncture when public attention is being draWn to this important matter. In other respects, too, the paper is valuable, and should be eagerly looked for by the teachers. Wanganui College this month carries oil the prize for the Latin prose composition. The proprietors of the Ideal Rink as yet have had no cause to regret their venture, the business done for the fortnight being fully up to expectation. Their room has always a good of the devotees to rinking. To-morrow (Tuesday) they open at loglewood in the Town Hall. A telogram .from Palmereton North states that Henry S. Palmerson, surveyor, of that place, cut his throat on Saturday night,and died an Sunday from the wound. To-morrow (Tuesday) night the first Fancy Dresg Curnival will be held at the Alexandra Hall rink, for which tbsre has been a great demand for ticketfl, boUi for skaters and for onlookers. The number of skaters has been limited to one hundred, that being the utmost capacity of the fljor, if comfort is to bo studied, and numbers of applications have hnd to be refused. Jn order to make tho spectao'o ns £ny and varied as possible no one will he ulluwed to skate except they appear in fuuey or evening dresf, so that o ..lookers may rely upon having plenty of amusement. At nine o'clock the Gratid March, which has been ia aotive rehearsal for t ie past week or two, will take plaoe, aud wherever it has been performed it l.us always been spoken of as most interesting. Altogether, despite the hurd times and retrenchment, the Carnivel promises to be a huue Bucoees. The full band will be in attendance and the rink will be kept open until eleven o'clock, i^r*^

Mr Douglas, who is looking after Mr P. C. Morton's business,, has received word from the latter of his safe arrival at Rio, but no word as to the commercial result of the five tons of tinned butter he took with him as a venture in the Brazilian market.

The sum of 235. has been received by M'ssßlacklejaa a donation to the Hospital from Mrs Needham, Captain of the Balvation Army.

The Elite rink was crowded at the aftornoon session on Saturday, and the supply of skates was unequal to the demand. Tho manager requests us to state on Tuesday night half of the supper room will beset aside as a ladies' dressing room, and half as a refreshment room, whilst the gentlemen's dressing room will be at the back of tha stage.

A Boys' Race will be run at tbe Alexandra Hall Rink on Saturday nteht. The prize is a silver watch, and entries close on Friday.