The Taranaki Herald.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XL, Issue 8973, 5 January 1891, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald.

PUBLISHED DAILY.

MONDAY, JANUARY 5, 1891.

The report that. Sir Harry .Atkinson will, after next session, go Home to take the position of Agent-General is being widely circulated,"for we notice that the papers, both MinisteriaPahd Opposition are commenting on the. emipyp appointment in a way that would leajrtne public to suppose, that the matter was- next to being settled. For a long timeTpast it has been .known that Sir F. Dillon Belfand Lady Bell were not in good health,- and both were desirous to return to New Zealand. As the AgentGeneral's wishes may now take the form of a request to be relieved from his duties, the Government will at once have to find a successor to the post If Sir Dillon Bell has not filled the office so " brilliantly" as his predecessor, we have no reason to be dissatisfied -with his conduct during the time he has' represented this t colony in London. , His successor, it is said, will be Sir Harry Albert Atkinson, and it must b? j generally acknowledged- that the Premier stands pre-eminent amongst New Zealand public men for such a position, always provided that 'his physical strength permits him to carry out the dutieß. Sir Harry Atkinson's acquaintance with the finances of the coloto^hia many years connection with the pbstal Department, and his general knowledge of the position of the colony, commercially, politically, and socially, fit him in an unusual degree for the office. It would be a great mistake to make the appointment to the post of Agent-General merely a reward for past political services. We should send our best man home ; for the Agent-General has to meet the greatest intellects of the world. It requires one who can grasp tho affairs of the colony he represents, both past and present, and able to make him self as much at home in the, Westminster Chambers ate h.e is in the " big building" in Wellington/ In selecting Sir Harry Atkinson for the post we should be sending our best man Home ;' for the fact of his having held the position of Premier and a seat amongst the rulers of the colony for so many years, is a proof of his ability. The, Opposition could offer' no objection, we should think ; for his agoing will decidedly weakeii'' the party of which Sir Harry -is suchA tower of strength. But putting all parity, considerations aside, if Sir F. Dillon Bell retires from the AgentGeneralship, Sir Harry Atkinson is the next best man < we have to fill the post, and we hope he will accept the position.

A report, which is, as amusing as improbable, comes from Auckland, and is to the effect that the? Union S.B. Company are going to practically close three of the ports in New Zealand. The Auckland Star, it would appear, is the' paper which has started this extraordinary rumour; but the paragraph as published has evidently been written without a knowledge of the cir- i cumstances referred to. Our Auckland contemporary, it is said, writes " that the Union Company intends to divert the traffic to the East Coast," by taking off the boats which call at New Plymouth. The Union Company has a manager at its head who, we feel sure, would never think of attempting to do such a foolish thing. If the traffic on the West Coast was such as to require it, Mr -Mills would put extra boats on to meet the demand, but to talk about " diverting, .the traffic" is simply ridiculous. .Peojjle. wiil, travel by the -shortest and tuqf£ comfortable way, and if tne Union Company took off their boats to-morrow there would immediately be a fleet of steamers here all eager to Becuro , the trade they had thrown up. The facts of the case are these : For some time past the Union Company, in order, to save time at the Sydney and Melbourne ports, have contemplated running their intercolonial steamers between Wellington and Auckland .and vice versa without calling at Napier and Gisborne. Thia change will soon be given effect to, and, in order to fill up - the gap on the East < Coast, a local service will be started, the Penguin and Rotorua, or Takapuna, running, from Lyttelton to Auckland, calling at the ports of Wellington, Napier, and Gisborne en route. These changes will affect this coast very -little indeed. The Takapuna will.be- taken off at the termination of the, tourist season — about the end of March next — and another boat (the. Mahinapua or Grafton) will be put on in her place to work the West Coast in conjunction with the Wanaka. It will thus be Been that there will be little or no change made in the service on this coast, and that two steamers per week will still call here.

£2)600 has been paid away in .Wolfe's 'Sohnk^r^ orders; ■ "*'; , f . , j .-Tlte'j£.iickland Star, says, "The Christ* mas number of the TaranakiHebald and . Budgetms an admirable compilation of seasonable, literary matter, nicely illustrated. It also contains a good picture of New Ply meuth -harbour,!, showing the steamers Wakatipu and Gairlooh alongside the .wharf." „ ? v ; " J . . " The local horse Vendor won the Bail way Handicap of 100 soys. at' Rangitikei on ;F.riday last.' ,The' dividend, waft £2, :lßs. In the Bangitikei Handicap run the first day, Vendor, who ran third, had , the mfflf ortune to loosen one of hii hind platoi, in wbiob hi^ie running, on #Qppußt Q* tht

The Government, it is understood, have notified the local Survey Office to discontinue making periodical surveys of the New Plymouth Harbor.- These surveys have.been made quarterly by the Survey Office for some years. _ At the Auckland Trotting Baces on Saturday, a horse called Larry won the Maiden Handicap, and paid dividends of £68 odd on the outside, and £35 odd on the inside machine. It is reported that his owner had the one ticket on the outside, and two on the inside machine on his horse. The Minister of Lands and Mr Samuel went to Waitara to-day. To-morrow (Tuesday) the Minister will visit Mimi, and afterwards the Ngatimaru country, and other parts of the,- district. It is expected that the Minister will spend four or five days in visiting the different parts of the district. ' ■ The London correspondent of the Auckland Star says :—": — " The discovery that the Now Zealand Government knew of the bankrupt condition of the New Plymouth Harbour. Board a year before it publicly transpired, and actually concealed . tile fact, and paid tho coupons in order that the conversion of the 1889 £2.700,000 loan might not be. prejudiced, has utterly astounded London financiers. "It is," says tho Standard, triumphantly recalling its rooted distrust of New Zealand Ministers, " in this manner that the Government of New Zealand and its agents treat the British investor. " The- least they can do under the circumstances to repair the mis • chief they have done, is to make the debt of the Harbbour Board a direct' obligation of the colony.- Its own credit will surely suffer else." . 'The mail steamer Alameda, from 'Frisco, arrived at Auckland at * 7 o'clock this morning. The vessel had a fairweather passage, but was delayed by losing one of her propeller blades on December 14th. She called off Apia to land s Von Chamberlain De Eldercrantz, the new Chief Justice of Samoa, from Sweden, with his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Dlf spar re. The Alameda's passengers for New Zealand arc : Misses Higgtnson, Beddome, Perry, 1 Messrs Baillon^ Cholmeley, Evans, Macpherson, Mead and wife, Noakes, Beddome and wife, Connor, Fowler and wife, Stephenson, and Edge, Bey Mr Watling and wifej Count Wachtmeister, and five steerage. When the Hon. John Bryce arrived ,at Marton before the Christmas holidays he was interrogated by the Wanganui UironicU?B reporter, who met him.truiging his way on foot home, as to his views of the political situation. With his native caution the Hon. John spoke of the splendid feed there was to be seen everywhere at present. On being questioned as [ to the mental calibre of the newly elected Parliament, however, he stated his opinion freely that the Parliament was a poor one. As regarded the chances of a dissolution of Parliament in the near future, on account of the apparent balance of parties in the House, ne waa of opinion that there was not the slightest probability of it, unless a radical change " in human nature took place. He thought it was extremely doubtful that those who had struggled so intensely for a seat would be found to be anxious to engage in another such battle until they are forced t& do so by the effluxion of time. The question as to which! party would .occupy the Government benches, he said could not bo definitely settled until the House met," and the members had ranged themselves'according to their political . bent. The Melbourne papers . announce the death of Mr James Esmond, who was the father of gold mining in Australia. As a. boy and all through manhood he displayed considerable interest in geology and quartz formations. He resided in Port Phillip prior to 1849, in June of which year he proceeded to California, where he observed a similarity between, the soil and surroundings of that country and those of Clunes in Victoria. He at once- resolved on . returning to Port Phillip to prospect for gold at Clunes, and his operations were crowned with success. The gold found by him at Clunes on the 29th June, 1851, was sent to Geelong, and a report. of the discovery and subsequent finds was published in the Geelong Advertiser of the Bth July, 1851. Subsequently followed the exciting-period, which was characterised by the gold discoveries at Ballarat and other places, and the influx of population from all quarters of the world: These matters now form pa^es of Victorian history, with which moßt residents of the colony are acquainted. .Esmond took part in the revolt at the Eureka stockade, and nothing pleased him better tham to be called onto decide matters in dispute relative to the memorable encounter between the British troops, and the diggers on 3rd December, 1854, onthe flat in Ballarat East. A good many years ago the Victorian Parliament voted Esmond £1,000, and latterly his necessities have been attended to by " old identities" of Ballarat.