The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1883.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 2801, 14 September 1883, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1883.

Lord Diebt's despatch to the Officer Administrating the Government of Queensland, m which he sets forth the views of the Imperial Government on the annexation question, is a remarkable paper m many respects. It shows unmistakeably that Lord Derby has some very queer ideas about the colonies, and that he altogether misunderstands both their motives m agitating for annexation and also the methods by which they propose to achieve it. He is evidently quite unable to disassociate colonization from conquest, for m his remarks on New Guinea be alludes to the certainty of the natives resisting " subjugation," and to the " grave responsibility to be incurred by establishing the Queen's jurisdiction over a large colored population." In another passage he reminds the Queensland Government that New Guinea contains " Beveral millions of savage inhabitants, who have given no sign of a desire that their land should be occupied by white men." He assumes, m short, that annexation, as contemplated by the colonies, wonld consist of a process very similar to the Norman conquest of England. Later on, however, the Secretary of State contradicts himself m an extraordinary fashion by suggesting a plan which really differs very little m principle from that proposed by the colonies. "In the case of New " Guinea " he says " there is already " m existence a jurisdiction which may "be made to Buffice for immediate " exigencies. The powers of the High " Commissioner for the Western Paci- " fie extend to that island, and if the " colony of Queensland, with or with- " out assistance from other colonies, is " prepared to provide a. reasonable " annual sum to meet the cost of " placing one or more deputies of the " High Commissioner on the coast, Her " Majesty's Government will be willing " to take steps for strengthening the " naval force on the Australian station, " so as to enable Her Majesty's ships to "be more constantly present than " hitherto m that part of the Pacific. " A protectorate thus gradually esta- " blished over the coast tribes would be " capable of meeting the principal re- " quirements of the case for some " time to come, and would be free from 11 the grave objections to which, aB I have " shown, the course now urged upon Her " Majesty's Government is open." Here, it will be observed, his Lordship appears to have forgotten all about the " grave responsibility to be incurred by establishing the Queen's jurisdiction over a large colored population." He sees no objection to that jurisdiction being exercised by the High Commissioner or his deputies. He goes farther. He declares that it is already m existence. Yet he views with the utmost alarm the proposal to place it m the hands of a regularly constituted Government. He offers not a word of explanation as to why he eupposes this jurisdiction would be more wisely and humanely administered by tbe understrappers of an irresponsible and distant official, entrusted with despotic and undefined powers, than by an experienced officer specially appointed for the purpose, resident on the spot, and guided by explicit instructions. But the strangest feature of the whole despatch is the proposal that the colonies shall bear the expense of the extension of the High Commissioner's authority, and the establishment of his deputies m New Guinea. Lord Derby must surely have very vague notions as to the principles of colonial government, and as to public feeling m the colonies, if he imagines that the colonies will tax themselves to maintain an administration m which they have no voice and which they are accustomed to consider rather inimical to 4£eir iaterots th.&o othsrwiio.'

Who is the High Commissioner of tho Western Pacific ? Where ib he located P What are his duties P Sir Arthur Gordon, we know, was High Commissioner, and he lived for some time m Fiji and afterwards m New Zealand. Hiß duties, as far as we are aware consisted m persecuting Europeans, putting them m prison without trial, and generally discouraging the spread of civilization. Certainly the colonies are not going to contribute towards the cost of maintaining or extending a tyranny like that. The very name of the High Commissioner is hateful m the colonies ; and at the last Intercolonial Conference, very strong representations were made to the Imperial Government against the continuance of that office. But Sir Arthur Gordon has now been finally appointed Governor of Ceylon, and it is to be hoped that the Western Pacific is rid of him. Much will depend, no doubt, on the choice of his successor. We are not prepared to say that if Sir Hercules Robinson were made High Commissioner, with power to act as he should see fit with regard to New Guinea, Borue such plan as that proposed by Lord Derby might not be carried out. But after all, it would amount to very much the same thing as annexation ; and if it were to succeed, the High Commissioner would be neither more nor less than Governor-in-Chief of a scattered group of British colonies. » We hope the Government will make an effort to place the Acts passed during the late session m the hands of the public within a reasonable time. Last year, it will be remembered, there was such a rush of legislation just before the prorogation, that the Government Printing Office was completely blocked, and it looked as if the Acts of 1882 would never bo published at all. At length it was decided to ißsue thera m loose sheets, m order to save the delay of binding, and accordingly they came out m batches or bundles from time to time, each batch containing not so many Acts, but so many sheets, and Btopping, perhaps, m the middle of an Act, " to be continued m our next." Even then it was fully three months after the close of the session before the whole of the Acts were published ; so that during all that time the Magistrates were called on to administer, and tho public to obey, a huge mass of new laws which they had never seen, and did not know the contents of. It was a shameful piece of bungling, and loud was the outcry that it aroused. This year the bulk of the Statutes is much less, and they have not been passed m shoals at the last moment. Still, the greater number of them were passed very late m the session, and we have no doubt the resourcesof the PrintingOiEce are again severely strained. After the experience of last year, however, we trust bettei arrangements have been made, so that we may not havo to remain m darkness for three months as to the nature of the laws under which we live. Consideriu;,' that many of the Acts oi each session consist of amendments ol those of the preceding session, it ie astonishing how the people ever know what is lawful and what is unlawful because, before they have bad time U acquaint themselves with the provisions of a new law, Parliament meets again and many of those provisions arealtered Out of 48 " public and general Acts ' passed m the lute session, no fewer thar 21 are avowedly amendment Acts, and of the remainder about one half are really only alterations or extensions ol existing laws. Some of these amendments, moreover, are of such acharactei that it is perfectly imposeible to make head or tail of them without closelj comparing the Act amended with th« Act amending it. Instead of repealing the old Act, or such clauses of it as are objected to, and setting forth the new law m full, it is too much the practice to repeal only certain words m a particular clause, or clauses, and to enact that certain other words •hall be " substituted therefor," and that " the said clause, — or sub-section, as the case may be — shall be read and construed as though such substituted words had been inserted therein, instead of the words hereinbefore repealed." This is the form invariably adopted m Mr Wbitaker's amending Acts, and a moßt exasperating form it is. Read by themselves, these Acts do not convey the smallest inkling of their purpose or effect ; and m many instances it is very difficult, even with the old Acts before tis, to make out precisely what the intended amendments are. A great deal of confusion is calculated to arise from this cause, and the least the Government can do is to bring out the new Acts m a complete form as quickly as possible, so that the newspapers may settle down to their thankless, but eminently useful task, of explaining to the people the laws which their Representatives have seen fit to inflict upon them. It used to be, and we suppose it still is, the custom for the Government, when forwarding copies of the Acts of the year, to the Governor for transmission to the Secretary of State, to accompany them by a synopsis, or short statement, of the contents and purposes of each. This, we believe, is required to be done by tbe Colonial Office Regulations, or Royal Instructions, or whatever they may be ; and its object, no doubt, is to save the officials m Downing Street the labor of wading through the text of each Statute, m order to make sure that it contains nothing repugnant to the law of England or inadmissible on other grounds. Now, it has often occurred to us that it would be a great convenience to the public m the colony, and an advantage to the Government as well, if at the close of each session a synopsis of this sort, but perhaps a little fuller and less technical, were iasued m the Gazette or m any suitable form. It would not take the law officers, or even a smart Parliamentary clerk, many hours to compile it ; and it would be a most valuable supplement to the work of the session. We commend the suggestion to the Ministers.

S.C. HABBißna.— The South Canterbury ; n Harriers meet at Mr Ashby's on Tuesday, the 18th inst. Masonic— The monthly meeting of St. John's Lodge, 8.C., will bo hold at 7.30 this evening. Rooibt Brigade. — We observe that the Volunteer Rocket Brigade aro about to obtain new uniforms. Tenders for supplying thorn arc invited this morning. Otaio Cricket Club. — Tho meeting of the Otaio Cricket Club called for to-morrow has been postponed till tho following Saturday, 22nd inst. N.Z. Railways. — The Traffic Manager of tho Chriatchureh section of the New Zealand Railways notifies that after tho present week trains will not run on Wednesdays and Fridays on tho Neapara branch. New Lawyirs. — On Wednesday, beforo His Honor Mr Justice Johnston, at Christchurch, Messieurs Jamos Hay, Helmore, and Kippenbergor wero enrolled as barristers" and solicitors. Pistbict Court. — Jurors summoned to attend the sitting of the District Court next wcok aro informed that their attendance is not required. There nro no criminal cases to be brought before the Court. Hian School. — Parents of pupils at the Timaru High School are informed that the Secretary to tho Board of Governors will attend at tho school noit Monday and Tuesday mornings to collect fees for tho current term. Dhownikg ik New Zealand Rivebs. — From n return furnished to tho House, the interesting but molancholy facts aro ascertained thnt (mice 1840 no fewer than two thousand and fifty-eight persons havo been drownod m New Zealand rivera ; while from tho Ist of July, 1882, to June 30th, 1883, seventy people mot their death m this way. LIBBATIT AT THE POLICE STATIOV.— The nucleus of what wo trust will eventually prove a large library for tho Polico Station at Timnru was received from tho Armed Constabulary Depot, Wellington, yesterday, m the shape of 100 volumes of standard works by tho best authors. Tho majority of thorn are etronglv bound, and tho collection, taken as a whole, is certainly one not to be despised. Entebtainmknt at Temcka.— A tea and concert orennised by tho members of the Temuka Wesleynn Church, wns held m the Volunteer nali, on Wednesday ovening last, The tables were loaded with pood things, and wero very tastefully decorated. Tho concert, iv which tho Timaru Wesleyan choir took the leading part, was pone through m a innnnor which gnve great pleasure to all present. Resident Magistrate's Court, Temcka. — At this Court yesterday, before 8. D. Barker, Esq., J. P., Duncan Scott, was brought up and charged with having been drunk on the previous dny. The accused admitted the offence, and was fined 20s, at the same time receiving a severe caution. A female inebriate wan also lined 20s, and advised to mend her ways. iNQrEST. — On Wednesday Mr Beswick, Coroner for the district, held nn inquest at the Silvcrstrrnm llotA touching tho death of William Henry Ellis, a child a year and nine months old, who was drowned m the creek there on Monday. The jury, of whom Mr Gall was chosen' foreman, after hearing the evidence, returned a verdict of accidentally drowned. Bobbish OS tiib Bkach.— Tho Harbor Board lmve determined to put a (top to the deposit of offensive rubbish on the beach within their control, if possible, and to this cud Imto decided to offer a reward of £5 for tho conviction of anyone offending m this way, and have instructed tho Secretary to prosecute m every caso brought to his notice. It is to bo hoped these steps will be luffirient to put a stop to a practice that renders what should be a favorite resort unapproachable. Tub Harbor Loan. — At tho Harbor Board meeting yesterday a question w.is linked rc^ftrtlinp tho present position of tho Board's loan. The Chairman replied that it was not floated yet, but ho had seen a letter from the Auckland office of the Bonk, stating that the agents m London were now only waiting for a favorable opportunity to float, it. " Why that," paid a member, "is just what they hare been doing all along." Local iNDrsTnv. — There would seem to bo a good opportunity for ironworkers m the colony to make a decent little business m the construction of buoys for harbor purposes. The freight on tho imported article is very high m proportion to it 3 value, and there mint be a considerable demand for buoys. Most of our larger ironworkers havo shearing, punching and riveting machines, and all they need to enable them to turn out such buoys as have been imported by the Timnru Harbor Board is a proper machine for bending tho plates. At the Board's meeting yesterday Mr Elworthy suggested that if buoys must be imported, freight need not bo paid on mero atmospheric air at full rates per shipping ton, — tho buoys might be filled with grass or other seeds iv email bags, and tho space thus economised. Ekolish Cablb Neks. — Tho following special telegrams appear m a contemporary : — " London, Sept, 11. The foot diseaso amongst cattle is alarmingly increasing. - Obituary — M. Henri Conscience, Flemish novelist, aged 71 ; and the Right Hon. Hugh Law, Lord Chancellor of Ireland. — The Agonts-Genornl have written to Lord Derby, alluding to the visits of French ships to the Ncvr Hebrides, and press him for an immediato answer to their memorandum. — Tho Orient Company's steamer Cuzco has arrived at Plymouth, and her cargo of frozen meat is eaid to be m good condition. — The disturbance m Croatia still continues, and the inhabitants of villages between Glina and Petrina have revolted. — Tho latest information from Hanoi is to the effect that bad weather is being experienced, which has impeded French operations. — The Times, reviewing tho Franco-Chinese question, advocates that the English fleet m China Seas should bo increased. Heavy In3orahcb Losses.— A telegram received from Brisbane, Queensland, last night contains intelligence of a disastrous fire at the Meat Prtserving Works at Rockhampton m that colony, by which Insurance Companies m New Zealand are answerable for no less a sum than £12,800. Tho Colonial Office had a risk of £1500 (three-fourths of which was reinsured), tho United Insurance Office £2100, tho South British Offico £2100, tho New Zealand Offico £2100 (of which £875 was reinsured), tho Union Office £'iOOO, and tho National Offico £500. The total insurance was £20,000. Our Companies must surely bo doing a big business m Australia, when, m a distant town like Rockhampton, they hold risks m tho proportion named m tho teleeram. Thbatbb Rotal. — Messrs D'Arcy Stanfield and Fred. Dark's Merry Thoughts and Happy Moments Company, ropeated their exceedingly clover drawing room entertainment m the Theatre Royal last evening. Tho attendance was very fair, the down staira part of the house being tho best patronised. The performance went smoothly throughout, and • although tho audience were rather sparing of applause during the first part, they nevertheless gavo it m an impartial manner. The i second part was very nuch enjoyed by the ' audienco, as was evinced by their frequent j and hearty applause and laughter. To-night they Bgain appear, and as it is the closing < night of the season, wo advise those who h»vo | not already been to hear this small but talented company not to let this oppor- ■ tunity pass of doing so. The programme for this evening is an ontirely new one, and com- ■ prisos the following comediettas "The Proverbial Brothers," " The Naggletons," " The . Pilver Wedding," and "The Little Hero." Resident Magistrate's Court, WaiKATE. — At this Court yesterday, beforo J. Beswick, Esq., R.M., and J. Manchester, / Esq., J.P., James Molloy was charged by the Police undor the Vagrant Act 1866, with endeavoring to impose on several persons bo as to obtain goods by means of a valueless cheque, at Wnitnate, on the 12th inst. Tho prisoner pleaded guilty, but said he had been Buffering from a heavy course of drinking for several days, and he felt sorry for tho position i ho was m, Sergeant Ramsay said accused s had made several attempts to fraudulently obtain goods by means of a cheque whion could be produced, land he had witnesses to j prove that prisoner had no account with the Bank mentioned on the cheque. He believed the prisoner had been on a drunken spre*. ' and there wai nothing proviouily against him. Tho Bench m passing sentence, remarked ' that the plea, of drunkenness could not ba wc*j>t«d v t rown far ttt&ay diioiifiJ or <

nitigation of penalty. Prisoner would bo entenced to one month's imprisonment, diaries Boyce was summoned by the Police 'or ringing a boll on Btudholme function railway platform on the 31st >f last month, which might endanger ;ho lives of persons travelling or employed >n the railway. The defendant pleaded guilty. He had been employed by Jlr Riekman to announce an auction to be held that :lay, and rang the boll at Studholme Junction as at other places. He did not know lie broke, any law by so doing, and as the Station Master had bean recently appointed to that station, defendant did not know who he was when he told defendant to " shut up." A fine of 10s was inflicted. Jas. Berry was summoned for neglecting to have the owner's name and residence painted on a dray he was driving m the Borough of Waimato. Defendant, who did not appear, was fined ss, His Worship stating that breaches of the Borough By-laws were frequent at Waim»te, and m future heavier fines would be inflicted m similar cases on conviction of the parties. Mr Manchester left tho Bench at tho conclusion of the criminal cases. The only civil cases heard were three, m each of which judgment was given by default, viz. : — Childs v. Damant, claim £32 4s 3d ; Manchester and others v. Ogilvie, claim £2 12s Id j and sirniev. Henry, claim £1 Is. Soveral other civil cases wero settled out of Court. Alt INTKBBSTIHG DISCOVBIIY. — The Pall Mall Gazette of July 27th has the following : — There is one cheering item of news from the East at the present moment which will do much to divort people's minds from dwelling on the subject of cholera, the Suez Canal, and other pleasant subjects of that sort. A Constantinople contemporary announces the discovery of Noah's Ark. It appears that somo Turkish Commissioners appointod to investigate the question of avalanches on Mount Ararat siiddenly came upon a gigantic structure of very dark wood protruding from a glacier. They made inquiries of the inhabitants (Q. 1725 iv their report) . These had seen it for six years, but had been afraid to approach it because a spirit of fierco aspect had been «eon looking out of the upper window. Turkish Commissioners, however, are bold men, not deterred by such trifles, and they determined to reach it. Situated as it was among tho fastnesses of one of the glens of Mount Ararat, it was a work of enormous difficulty, and it was only after incredible hardships that they succeeded. Tho ark, one will be glad to hear, was m a good state of preservation, although the angles — observo not the bow or stern — had been a good deal broken m its descent. They recognised it at once. There was an Englishman among them who had presumably read his Bible, and ho saw it was made of the ancient gopher wood of Scripture, which, as evcryono knows, only grows on the plains of the Euphrates. S-ffecting on entrance into the structure, which was painted brown, they found that the Admiralty requirements for the conveyance of horsea hud been carried out, and the interior was divided into partitions 15 feet high. Into three of these only could they pet, the others being full of ice, and how far the ark extended into the glacier they could not tell. If, however, on being uncovered it turns out to be 300 cubits long it will go hard with disbelievers m the Book of Genesis. Needless to say an American was soon on the spot, and negotiations liavo been entered into with the local pasha for its speedy transfer to the United States. School Lifb ih CniNA. — According to a Home paper, ve'y much is thought of education m China, and if a poor boy take literary honors, he can fill as high a position as though ho wero a boy of rank. All boys especially m the south of China, are expected to go to school, but besides tho mission schools, there are not very many for girls. A tutor has not only to teach boys how to read and write, but politeness forms the basis of Chinese education, and the many ceremonies belonging both to public and private life have to bo learnt at school. Very much trouble is nl»o taken witli the writing lessons, " an elegant pencil" being thought of great consequence and all tho mistakes made m tho writing lesson the master corrects with red ink. Like boys of Japan, the Chinese learn their lessons out loud, and sometimes make a great clatter m the schoolroom while doing so. Hut boys may not talk together m school, and to prevent their doing this the desks are arranged «omo distance from one another. When a lesson is known the boy takes his book to the master, bows, turns his back and repeats it. This is called peychou, or " backing the book," and is to prevent the boy from rending tho lesson, which the Urge characters would make it very easy fer him to do. The wuy that the Chinese aro taught is on a very different system from ours. They learn by heart first, and then have explained to them what they have learnt. Their first lesson is on filial piety, and throughout life the Chinese boy, and girl, and man, and woman are noted for their love towards parents. They then learn the Sacred Trimetrical book, which treats of the nature of man, modes of education, social duties, and many other things. Next come the four classical books, and then the five sacred, so when Chinese boys go to school they are well set to work. Unlike the Japanese, however, they do not think that they have anything left to learn from other nations. TnBB Planting m Mexico. — The Mexican Government ha? concluded a contract with Mr Oscar A. Droege to plant two milliona of trees m the valley of Mexico within four years, commencing March 16th, 1884. Half a million trees a year aro to be planted m such places as tho Government shall decide. Tho contractor pledges himself to establish a number of nurseries and to have m them each year at least 80,000 ash, 35,000 willows, 120,000 poplars, 60,000 eucalyptus trees, 60,000 trcenos-japones, 60,000 mountain cypress cedars, 60,000 acacias, and 120,000 of miscellaneous varieties. The trees must bo m plantations of from 6< i.OOO to 100,000 each, and Mr Droege has to maintain them for two years aftar planting. He is not compelled to plant trees along tho highways, however. Thre« graduates of the School of Agriculture are to bo received into the nurseries each year, there to study the science of forestry. Ho is also to raise fruit and other useful plants for free distribution. Thcro is to be translated from tho German, every year a work on arboriculture of recognised merit. An inspector is to superintend, and Mr Droege is to receive annually 40/KK>dols till tho sum reaches a total of 200,000d019.