LOCAL NEWS OF THE MONTH.

Timaru Herald, Volume XV, Issue 669, 25 October 1871, Page 4

LOCAL NEWS OF THE MONTH.

•: TiiiAHU Gaol. — it baa been officially noti* ijfied that. Mr Moßne's tehH.-r for £1,890 15s jilias been accepted for building theTiimmi jjgitol ; but it being higher Minn the vole I; granted hy thejProviiieinl Council (CI ,S(K)). the ■ plan of the hiuldiug will he reduced to brins the cost of tho building to the limit of the rvote. Ki.kctomat. — Tn consequence of Mm contemplated resignation of Mr Lancelot Wulki-r, liia brother, Mr hherbrook Walki'r, »eeks tho *ufirage of the elector* for the gent m the. Provincial Council. Mr Mi'iulelmni, of Te.uiiika. is also mentioned a* a wmilitlnte. A Useful Gift. — Mr Jacobs, watch and clock maker, Timaru, hue just presented the Titnaru School with a handsome fight day clock. Waimats Road Bo.vm> ELKcrrnss. —A meeting of the ratepayers was held iit the Court-house, Waimate. mi last, the 14th instant, to elect a member for the above Board, vice Mr G. Buckley, resigned. The Cliairman (Mr M. Stiulholmc) having stated the object of the meeting, called on the electors to propose a candidate. Proposed by MrT. J. Pain, and seconded by Mr J. .Manchester- •" That Mr .Mm Ad.liuell be a member of the B-iard." Tli re beiny no other candidate. Mr Johu Adiliuell was declared duly elected. Waimate School. — Tho Govommen'; Inspector, Mr Kcstell, held his hall-yearly jxuuiiiiation of the Waimate School on the afternoon of Thursday, mid morning of Friday, the 18th aud 19th instant. There were present— Mr Bruce (the chairman), Messrs Dow, Guilt, and other members of the Committee. The examiniitiou being without notice, not more than 37 children were present.. The attainments of the head scholar* of eneh class were very creditable ; uffording a fair sample of tho degree of proficiency to be expected m time from a greater number of scholars. The following is a list of the best scholar* m each class, m order of .merit : — Class I — Minnie Bowie*, 86 ; Harry Finn, 73 : Bennett J. Tregoniug, 62. Class ll— Jn, Wiu. Bowles, 81 ; Jn. T. Rogers, 7S. Class 111— Agnes Allen. 65; Fredk. Koster,---61; Edith Clark. 62. Class IV— Sielina Forlest, 56; Wm. Fitch, 52. Tim/iku Ahtillray Voluntbbbs. — On the 2ud Uct , on the occasion of the marriage of their Captain (Mr Henry Green) the Timaru Artillery tnrneil out, and while the ceremony was proceeding tired a salute of three guns: A guard of honor was stationed at the door of the Church, under the command of Lieutenant Beldy. On the wedding party leaving the church. Senior Seigeant A. 3. Smith, on heha/f of the Company, read and presented a congratulatory address, and presented the bride with a handsome bracelet, which had beeu sul>scril<ed 'for by members of the Battery. Captain Green returned a suitable reply to the address. In tile eveuiug, a dinner aud ball, iti honor of the event, took place at the Government Landing Shed, at which all the members of the Battery and the einploy&i at the Landing Service were present. Point Farmkbs' Club. — A meeting of tho members of this Club took place on Oct. 9, ul which Mr .Meek was chairman. 'The foUowiug resolutions were passed : — " That the rules of the Ellesmere Farmers' Club on adopted with the exception of cluut>e 14 and 15, referring to election by ballot. "That subscriptions to the Club be raised to £1 Is ; any member objecting to have his ss returned, mid name struck off." " That Messrs Hassell, Pearee, Cole, and Meek form a cub-committee to collect statistics and information useful to the Club." "That Mr McLean be nuked to be President of the Club." "That » Fair for stock and general produce be held at the Point m December, when uu auctioneer will be m attendance." Some general conversation then took place as to the propriety of procuring steam machines to be used by members of the Club for threshing, but nothing d<-6nite was arrived at, ns it depended .on information to be collected by the sub-committee appointed. The subject of protection was also mooted, but the feeling of the meeting on this subject was not decidedly expressed, Mr Meek stating that they had no -funds m hand necessary for sending round a petition for signature. New Scuohl Building. — The following are the dimensions <if the additioua to the Bthii.il buildings just completed : —Length 41 feet 0 inches, width 21 feet, height to eaves 1 lft, do to ridge 21 feet. The liuildin^ is weather-boarded outside, and the roof, which has a very high pitch with open timber work inside, is covered m with corrugated iron. The inside is lined with a dado wainscottiug 4 feet higli, aud above that to the roof it is plastered : the waiuscotting, together with the lining uf the roof and the principals l>eing varnished. The new portion of the building is divided into two class rooms of equal size by a partition of lath aud plaster, m which is a double chimney, one of the rooms communicating with the old schoolroom by means of a pair of sliding-doora B ft by Bft. thus making a large and coiniuodi.ms room if required for any special purpose. Thorough ventilation is secured by means of Louvre ventilators. Tnkeu as a whole, the new building is very substantial m appearance, and well adapted to the purpose for which it was constructed. The school, with its additions, could now comfortably accommodate two hundred children, and need not necessarily be conducted on the ' mixed ' principle as heretofoia To make all complete the old building requires plastering, but that we understand the Committee will put m hand immediately. Mr P. D. Me line was the contractor for the additions, and has carried out his contract to the entire satisfaction of the School Committee. TisiAitu School Committee. —An adjourned meeting of the Committee was held on the evening of Oct. 21, at the Town Clerk* Office. Present — The Chnirmnn nnd all tho members. The minutes of the previous meet* ing were read And approved.' A letter whb received from Mr Jaggar, requesting that die whole of the grant received from the Board of Education be handed over to him. A fresh application for the mastership wan received from a gentleman m New South Wales, but was not entertained, it having arrived after the specified time for receiving applications. Tho Committee then proceeded to the election of a mnster from the seven names submitted by the sub-committee at the. previous meeting. A discutston took place as to the mode of election, some of the members being m favor of balloting; to this the others objected, contending that if the object of the Committee was that of selecting the be*t man, that object could be best attained by a full discussion of the merits of each candidate and open voting. This was ultimately agreed to, and the Rev. Geo. Barclay, a member of the subcommittee which had examined the testimonials, by request, then went through the seven names, taking them m alphabetical order, and touching upon what, m hit opinion, were the special merits of each candidate. On tho suggestion of Mr H. J. LisCren, the meeting, through the Chairman, requested the reporters to abstain from report-inn any private opinions that might be expressed by members of the Committee. Mr TurnbuU then proposed (Mr LeCren seconded) one of the gentlemen, urging his merits m a speech of «>ine length. After tome discussion, ns an amendment, another name wo* proposed by the Rev R. Bavin, seconded by the Rev G. Barclay ; this was rejected, Mr Chiaholm then propo»cjd, and the Rev G. Barclay seconded, a third name. The discussion at this point became rather warm, but at length the [ seconder of the first motion, by leave of the Committee, withdrew his name as seconder, and the motion fell through. The amendment, " ,Th«t Mr J. H. Hunt bo recommended to the Board of Education an a fit and proper person to take charge of the Timaru Public School," was then put as a »ul»t>ttitivc motion, and carried unanimously. [We have studiously avoided giving the previous motion and amendment, as we couriac.r it unfiiiv to publish the names of the rejected candidates.] Owiug to tho length of time taken over the eleution of the master, consideration of further business before the Committee wu deferred till its next ordinary meeting.

| This Kan&Wstx Bkli>&i£-i-T*e -iiukimj of the fifth pair of cylinders was expected to be finished to-day, and towards the end of the week the sixth pair*— niakiug oue-third of the bridge — will be begun. This fifth pair is on dry ground, and the eiukiug has been pretty stiif throughout, and altogether the ground wit* not found so good for excavating as on the kite of tint piers m the stream now crossed over. Tim girder work over two spans is now completed, nnd the erection of iron work over the third spnn commenced. On Monday ciirpen'er* were to luive commenced putting down the roadwny. &c., on the completed girder work. At tin- end of lust week a heavy fresh occurred, which ob'iged the eontwetor? to suspend operations for about a tluv, hut no damage was done to staving, Sin., j by the unusual ri^e m the river. The fresh washed away portions of (ho dam erected a quarter of a mile up the river to shunt, oil' the water from the main stream, over which the piers are now down. But this only aided tho work which must b<? done when the works reach the northern stream. The whole dam will then b» removed, nud ths water allowed to (low buck into 1 1 ■<- southern, or mnin stream of the river — Tinuint JJf.rald, Oct. 18. A Chapter of Accidknts. — Recently quite a number of accidents have occurred. On the ltth instnnt, nn emp!oy£ at tho Hanyituta Bridge named John A. Jones while working on the top boom of a girder slipped from the plunk on which ho was sitting nnd Ml on some ironwork below, a distance of between seven and ei^ht feet. He was picked up and removed to his home m Timaru where he imw lies under the care of Dr Fisher. His head and the upper part of hia back are very seriously bruised, ami besides that he has leaser bruises m every part of his body, lie lies m v very weak Htnte, aud it is difficult at present to say what will be the result. . The following day an accident occurred to man named John Keating, at the .Pai-cora Station. It apoeaia that Hume men were iiniusing themselves with a slin<! slinging stones, mid that one of the stones flew out of the alinu backwards, striking the unfortunate man ill the left eye, Imrstini; it vi^ht out of his head. He was removed to the Timaru hospital. On the 16th. as Mr Woollcomue, R M.. was driving h.a buggy nnd imir il.un the hill leading from Mr A. Maedonald's residence, Waitui. Geraldine. the cross-bar nt the etui of the pole br<tke, aud the horses bolted capsizing the trap. M r Woollcouibe, we are sorry to say, was thrown heavily to the ground, and broke his collar-tame. Mrs Mocdonald and two children who were also m the trap escaped any serious injury, hut Mrs Maciouald was bruised by one of the wheels passing over her. Nrw ZBAtAND Meat Pkbserving CflMpant. — The following particulars with regard to the working of the above Company at its three establishments — at Woodlands, Southland ; at Kiiknnui, near Oamnrii ; and at the Wushdyke, near Timaru —has been furnished us by the manager of the company. He says :—•' During the past season the New Zealand Meat Preserving Company have, at their three establishments, manufactured 452LUHH) lbs preserved beef and mutton, 62il tons Ullow, and 1,100 bales wool fellmougered on the premises. This was the produce from 105,001) sheep and 3,500 head cattle. The averages of run sheep were fully superior m Southland to those m Canterbury. The wethers se.ut to Southland works averaged .40 lbs, while those m Canterbury weighed only 44 lbs. The sheep from Otago were principally grass feed, aud too few run sheep were reed veil to found any conclusion as regards the respective merits "f the sheep m the three provinces. The highest average of sheep from runs was m Southland, wethers weighing 50 lbs. The heaviest sheep from Knglish gniss were fattened iv the Oa:n;tm district, one draft of uieri no wethers wei^li- , in rt upwards of 70 lbs. It is not unlikely' that operations will be but partial, or miispeiided altogether next sea-win, unless a<lv:ce.-< of a more encouraging nature are received soon. If tho present depression iv preserved meats continues iv London, it will In- a matter of serious regret, for besides the beueMt arising to the stucknwners, upwards of a!)ll men were employe.l ac the llneo establishments, whofe wages amounted to £4.(10!) monthly. These wm-ks could preserve 2 200 sheep daily, if there was a prospect of stocks diminishing m London, hut it may be f"r a season that boiling down aloue must Mittice to relieve the surplus stock. Upwards of \ 3.000 per day can be multed, anil should this be the dernier retort, the system which has wrought so satisfactorily m Cauterliiiry will be adopted— buying the sheep at value aud boiling dowu on hire." Tbmcka Railway Petition. — Tn reply to the memorial forwarded to the Government mid member for the district, by tho Committee appointed at the late public meeting:, the following letters hove been received by Mr Onnsby, Chatrmnn of the Meeting nnd of the Committee:— Wellington, 2nd October, 1871. Dear Sir, — I am m receipt of ypur letter of the 29th September, forwarding a statement of facts relative to the line of railway communication between Christchurch and Timaru. The reasons m favor of adhering to the original line appear to be so conclusive that it will give me much pleasure to be instrumental m procuring that line to be adopted. With that object I have had an interview with the Minister for Public Works, and left him favorably disposed towards the original line. -I have, &0., E. W. Stafford. Public Works Office, Wellington, October 8, 1871. Sir, — I have the honor, by direction of Mr Gisborne, to acknowledge, the receipt of your letter of the 29th ultimo, m which you set forth reasons which, m the opinion of a public meeting held at Toniuku, are deemed conclusive why the Beach line of railway northward should not be adopted, and to state m reply that these reasons shall receive the consideration of the Government. — I have, &U;.. John Knowles, Under Secretary. Milford.— Tlie tea meeting and soiree, as announced, took place on the 19th instant m the Boiling-down Establishment of Mr Hayhurnt, and was more uurne'-ougly attended than any former meeting m the neighborhood for any purpose whatever. The number present was estimated ut 300. The room was admirably adapted for the purpose ; and no expense or labor had been spared to fit it up for the purpose, and to render it worthy of the occasion. The decorations consisted of evergreens, flags, etc., very gracefully arranged, and the whole had n most, pleasing appearance. Tables were provided by the Mesdames Hayhurftt, Wood, Gosling, Heap, Selby, Medlicott, White, Bill, Breakwell, and La very; and the Misses Dnnn, Gosling, and Forward. Mr Wood officiated as chairman, and, after reading the report, which was satisfac-. Tory, said the subscriptions amounted to £60, Mr ilayhurut had generously given £20 aud an acre of land, but there (till remained a deficiency of £20, which he believed would be made np before the following night. If so, they should then be m funds. From the Volunteer entertainment, £6 5s lOd had beeu received. The contraot for the building with Mr Smith was £254. They hoped to open the school at the beginning of the New Year. Mr Hay hurst said he could kiudly express his feelings at seeing so many people present It was an occn&iou of .great benefit t > the neighbourhood, which wub the oldest settled, although it was last with regard to th" school They hod to thank their Temuka fiiends He was proud to do so; it Bpoke well for their g n»l feeliug that so mauy were present. Mr Gosling said he wa? pleaßcd to bave t le opportunity of addressing the ni eting. It was a credit to the whole. of Canterbury chat all entertainments for school puriioses were so well attended The ladies of the neighbourhood were making wonderful efforts for bazaars, entertainments, da., and with their assistance no one could doubt the result The Rev Mr Preston' did not expeot to be called on, but he wished the school the greatest success. The meeting was afterwards addressed by \)r Rayner aud Mr Meudelsou, who congratulated the neighbourhood on so imiKtrtaut a meeting, and the excellenoy of the ol'jyet. The evening was greatly enlivened by songs from the Misses Bnyner, Messrs ltutlnnd, Wilcox, Thompson, Newbury, Marshall, and Dunn. Dancing then commenced, and brought to a close an ex* treuiuly pleasant evening. ■ •

f The American Wool Trade. — M^m ii • the Austiulaaiun says: — "I urn told— but I ' confess that 1 can scarcely credit the statoi nieut — that so resolved are the Americana to i opoaujia wool trade with Australia, that they have made arrangements to carry a I bale from San Francisco to New -York — 3.200 miles -for 4t H>l The railway carriage ' of a wool-bale from Fchnca to Melhoiirne , —156 miles -is, I think, Ht-i o\l. Is not this a oujigestive contrast T Fully two million ! dollars will be devoted by American buyers | to the pmchaae ol Australian wool m grease , th.d deiwjuu. The Amurican tariff favors the introduction of greasy rather than washed , W(Hil, and it is conttiderod pro'iable that the tmi'uur, as a raw material, will soon be a>l- | iiiitted duty free. The owning U|i nf this new market wilt l>e of incalculable advantage to the |>astnral interests of Australia ■ There' is not only the direct gain of iiew cihtomers for a portion of the clip, but the indirect a.) vantage of aa euhtuictd value for ' the remainder. Nkw Zealand Whkat and Flocbiji MclBouiiNK. — A correspondent from a wellknown Melbourne house, writing to a (Inn. m Tiiiumi, speaks thus of a cargo recently , arrived ex Fawn from Tinniru : — " It has not i come to a good market, grain of every kind has been pressed m »o fa-»t (hat the price has i fairly given way, and notwithstanding the . increased duties, New Zealand wheat, duly ; paid, cannot, be sold over Is for good sain pies ; soiir- indifferent lots will not letch 3s 6d ; and the very best oats nre not worth mow , than 3d. The arrivals have been enormous." Speaking on further of the probability of , there being a good Australian harvest, and the prospects of Ne w Zealand wheat bci ng sold m the Victorian market he says : — " It (the harvest) might be prolilio. and there would not then be any room for New Zealand produce. This is what our protectionist Government is arriving at, viz, to shut New Zealand produce oat of this market altogether. This i week at auction New Zealand silk-dressed Hour cold, duty paid, at £10 — the duty is 455. It would alnvkit pay to ship it back" (the italics are our own); again, the same writer speaking of a well-known buyer m Cunteri bury says: — "Mr is here and seems quite disgusted with the state of affairs. New Zealand bran, after paying 4Jd per bushel duty has been sold at Is Id, bags given m." Bukglaut. — Some time m the night of Wednesday, Oct. 1 1 ,a daring burglary was committed on the premises occupied by Mr J. W. White, solicitor, Timaru, the Permanent Building Society, and Mr W. C. Beswick. The thief ofFcctcd an entrance by bursting m the back door of the house, lie then proceeded upstairs, prizod open the door of the Building Society's office, and then burst open Air King's secretaire, the ensh-box, and every other box and drawer i'j the place, m search of plunder. The scoundrel* visit was evidently timed with a view of laying his hands on the monthly receipts of the Building Society, the regular monthly meeting for payment of subscription, &n., having been held the same .evening. In this the rascal whs disappointed, the money, above £200, being locked up m an iron safe m the strongroom on the lower storey. All he got for his pains being the modest sum of 12s 6d, which was lying loose among some pens m a box. The thief also visited Mr liestvick's office, smashing the door and prizing open a tin deed box. He also inserted some instrument into Mr Berwick's desk with a view of forcing it open, but. seem*, from some cause or other, to have abandoned tho idea. From the marks on the doors it would seem that the instrument, used was a curved jrnu one, most likely a pick- axe without- a hriudlc. The back door oi the building was opened by forcing off the hasp into whirl) the boll, shoot*. The door of the liiulding Society's olliee is little damaged, as the do.)i- did not. lit well, mid the bolts had not mtU'li cat el i. and inu-r |]:ivu opened very e:u<ily. Mr Heswiek's i'o ir. on tho Other hand, is much damaged, the lock being forced right, out. and the wood work shuttered all roini I it, the door bearing the marks of a lever ami the foot, of the thief. The whole nlliiir shows the insecurity of property m 'J'iinmu m the night, time, owing to the police being uuiuericilly too weak to allow of a man being kept on duly nil nij>ht: between the hours i>fiwi> and nix the town being entirely unprotected. It m evident that some steps should ul. once be taken to obtain an augmentation of the forue. In the meantime We should suggest, to the public the desirability of their looking to their doors, locks, and safes, as it is well known that several' bad characters are at tho present time knocking about the neighbourhood, owing to the influx of strangers seeking work on the railway. Fikk Pkkvk.ntion.— At the meeting of the Borough Council on the 17th Oct. a rather interesting discussion ensued, on the question of providing w.iter tanks m various parts of town, from which m the event of a fire the engine could derive a good supply of water ; and it was ultimately resolved, that, by way of experiment, a tank should be put down under the footpath m George street near the Rank of New Zealand. The mover of the resolution explained that his idea was, to supply the cisteru by means of au earthen pipe draiu from the well near the Council Chamber, on which the Council intend placing a force pump. The proposed cistern will be simply an excavation m the earth, the cement being attached to the clay sides, except just at the top where a course or two of brick x will be laid. These reservoirs are very simple and cheap m construction, and several m the town made on that principle are m every way satisfactory, but we do not think that the earthen supply pipes will be found to succeed, as, owing to the waut of watertight joints, a large amount of water will, through leakage from the pipe, be absorbed into the ground on its way to the tank ; if indeed any will reach the tauk at all until the earth round the pipes is completely satturated and refuses to absorb any more. This would cause a great waste of labor m filling the cistern, and the saving of labor would soon cover the extra cost of iron piping. 1 n support of our view we may mention that the earthen pipes used for drainage m England, even when placed m the stiffest days, are always laid as close together as possible, and it .is found that the water gets into the drains easily enough. It follows then that if water will m wet soils leak into the pipes, m a dry soil like ours it will just as readily leak out. With the improvement m the mode of supply we have indicated, we tHink the tank likely to be advantageous, and hope the Counoil will see their way towards placing others m any those parts of the town, where, m the event of a tire, owing to the depth of the wells, the Brigade would have a difficulty m obtaining a water supply. The Fire Brigade is a volunteer body, giving their time freely for the benefit of their fellow townsmen, and, if only on the ground of rendering their labors as light as possible, every facility should be afforded them for obtaining a proper supply for their engine, m any place where its services are likely to eb needed. Change m the Constitution. — On Sept. 28, a publio meeting was held m Christchurch to consider the resolutions brought forward by Mr Macandrew, having for their object the abolishing of Provincial Councils, and the erection m this Island of a separate Government, but subservient to the General Government on matters of Federal concern. The meeting m Christchurch was attended by about 150 people, and the principal speaker* were Dr Turnbull, and Messrs Montgomery, Stevens, and Wynn Williams. The whole affair seems to .have turned out a miserable fiasco, if we can judge by the Press, whioh, m speaking of the meeting, says : — " Very little need be said about the meeting last night. The attendance was moderate — about half the number that would have been attracted by a penny reading. The meeting began to break up without waiting for the question to be put. And though the resolution was declared by the Chairman to be carried on the show of bandi, nearly if not quite as many hands were held up against aa for it, while the great majority of those present deolined to express .an opinion ut all. The gentlemen on the platform took oddly different views of their resolution. The chief object of each speaker appeared to be to contradict the one who

spoke before. The first was great on the necessity of a local Legislature which would take charge of loci! tufairs. A second thought that local control was only needed for the administration of public works. Oue accused the Geuerul Government of stealing away the liberties of the people ;. another denounced Mr Vogel's contract with Messrs Brogdeu ; while a third held that Mr Vugel was an nngel m disguise, but was tempted to despair of n. country which could produce such ill-conditioned oreatures . as Mr Stafford and Mr Gillies. One went m for the abolition of the provinces ; and auother contended that the management of the public works and immigration scheme should be left wholly to the Provincial Governments. This gentleman assisted the general entanglement of ideas that prevailed by suggesting, as an addition to his former proposal, that the powers of the Provincial Government should be considerably diminished. But the chief speaker of the evening, Dr Turnbull, outdid his colleagues. Not only did he contradict them, but he labored hard, and we must allow with eminent success, to contradict himself. His speech was a farrago of inconsistencies. His description of the degraded stale of the Provincial Government was only equalled by his glowing account, of the ability and energy with which they couduoted public business. Nothing could hivve surpassed his zeal for the local management of local affairs, except his iWire to hand over all such aff.iirs i.: each island to the care of a Central Government. Dr Turnbull's earnest advocacy of the cause he supports must command the respect of the public; but one could not but smile to see him take up one after auother the most irreconcilable positions, and how from identical premises he insisted, m defiance of Aldrich and Mill, on drawing exactly opposite conclusions. As we have said, the meeting ended by passing, by a majority of the few of those present who voted, the resolution which had been proposed. A very vaguely worded resolution it was — Macuudrew's watered down— to the effect that there should be a separate independent Legislature m each Island, with the solo power of- conducting the departments of lands, works, and immigration, and a Federal Government with control over all matters of federal concern. If those who-, got up the meetiug imagine that such a resolution will have the slightest effect,, they are much mistaken. Wo almost regret that tho motion for au adjournment wus not. carried. Perhaps further consideration and discussion of the subject might have produced something more satisfactory It might be quite possible, without entering on the large questions involved m the above proposal, to devise a plan which would secure a thoroughly effective local control over the administration of the colonization foheme As it was, the time and trouble that have been taken m the matter nre thrown away. A meeting has been held and a resolution p used, and there is an end of it. The result will be simply nil. For all practical purposes the meeting was a failure, and the evening waited." Constitution of tub Boabd op Wohkb. — Mr Gisborne m his Public Works statement, on the above subject, spoke ps follows : — '• Before I refer to the several great works referred to m " The Immigration and Public Works Act, 1870," and •' The Railways Act, 1870," 1 desire to advert to the nature of the Board of Works which we contemplate should be created as a Board to assist m the administration of Lhut Act. While we feel that the Government cannot divest themselves of their responsibility for that administration to Parliament, we also feel that, witniu constitutional limits, the practical administration of the Act should be placed m the charge of a Board of ollicei's who would not be exposed to pol : ticnl pressure, and whose position, independence., experience, and local knowledge would be a guarantee that such administration would be best directed to a successful issue and to the attainment of the greatest public advantage. We think that the Board should be appointed quite irrespectively of all parly considerations, and should consist of live members, besides the- President, und besides the Minister for Public Works, mid the First and Seeoud Engineers, who should be ex officio members. We also think tlint the Dihqualification Act should not ueersarily apply to the mcmbeis o the Board. The general duty of the Board 'would be to advise the Minister of Public Works oil all matters connected with the administration of the Act, to exercise supervision over the works m proprogress, and to recommend, m future, the construction of works. We shal make to the Assembly recotnmeudations concerning the works to be authorised this Sessiou ; but we hope that during future .Sessions it will be as much a matter of course for the House, before decidiug on any work, to require the report of the Board of Works, as it is the practioe, before deciding on any Bill uffectiug the waste lands of the Crown, to require the report of the Committee on Waste Lands. Besides acliug iv some manner as a Council of Advice we propose to entrust much real and substantial power to the Board. I reserve until the Bill is brought down further reference to this subject." The Bbogdbn Contracts. — It will be m the recollection of our readers that Mr Gisborne, the Minister for Publio Work*, m his Statement, announced the intention of the Government to accept the Brogden contract No. 2, with certain modifications. We extract from the authorised report of the Statement Mr Giaborne's own words on tho subject — " The Government will state the limits of the modifications whioh they propose to entertain. I may say that after careful consideration, wo have arrived at the conclusion not a* present to make payments for railways m land. It may m the future be desirable to make such payments, but m the meanwhile we desire to put to the uses of bonaf.de settlement the land that may be acquired. The Government, then, will propose to the House, that the smaller contract with Messrs Brogden shall be accepted : subject, however, to the Government being empowered, at their discretion, to substitute therefor, a contract for railways costing on the whole not more than £1,500,000 or £2,000,000 ; and subject also to the condition that, under such enlarged contract, no land shall be given except for the purpose of settling immigrants, and for that purpose only to such an extent as wil! permit of twenty acres being set apart for each able-bodied adult male immigrant introduced. The Government will propose that the railways to be constructed under the enlarged contract shall be only such as are from time to time by law authorised to be constructed ; and that the contract shall contain provisions for purchasing the lines with debentures, at some time after completion."