The Timaru Herald. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1885.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 3415, 7 September 1885, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1885.

Wellington, according to all accouuts, is having to itself all the good things that are going m this colony at the present time. It is one of the few places whero business is said to be really flourishing, it has a Colonial Exhibition, a sensational Hospital enquiry, and as if the latter luxury were not enough, it has taken nway from Timaru probably the best Hospital Steward m the colony, and tbe Government, m effect, say they would sooner resign than give him up until they bave done with him. Perhaps they did not go quite so far aB this, because nobody believes m their voluntarily resigning, whatever happens, but for the present they cling to Mr Jowsey, with as much tenacity as they do to tho Treasury Benches. It is not, however, only m things terrestrial that Wellington is just now particularly blessed. Even the heavens conspire m its favor, and on Wednesday next it is to have a total eclipse of the sun, which is to bo visible m no other large town m the colony, except, of course, only as a partial eclipse. What will Auckland, Dnnedin, and, above all, Ohristchurch say to this ? Coming so soon after the crowning injustice iv regard to the West Coast Railway, surely it will be almost too grievous to be borne, and the clamor for Separation will become greater than over, Of all the attractions m tho way of Right- seeing at Wellington just at present, we should decidedly give the preference to the eclipse. Although thero are never fewer than two eclipses every year, and there may be as many as seven, yet comparatively few people ever have seen or ever will see a total eclipse of tho sun, owing to the fact that it is visible only on a very limited extent of the earth's surfuco. Tho laßt seen m London was m 1715, and it is said that nearly 500 years must elapse from the present timo before tho metropolis of tho world will see another. Tho naturo of the attraction " thrown

m " so to spent, to visitors to "Wellington and its Exhibition just now, is per- ' , haps -more fully brought out by this ] statement than it could be m any other ' way. , Not only will the phenomenon be of great interest to the general public, but ( the Wellington astronomers will be , especially m luck's way. As far as we , can learn, the intention to send ob- i servers from the other colonies has 1 fallen through, so that the local ( scientists should have a grand oppor- ( tunity of distinguishing themselves. Although an immense advance has been i made m the study of solar physics : during the last few years, there are ' still many problems awaiting solution. , The nature of some of these was'indi- 1 cated m an article from a valued con- i tributor, which was published m the Timaru Herald of last Thursday. There ' are the 6olar " prominences " or red , flames issuing from the surface of the sun to be examined. These are now known to consist of huge clouds of incandescent hydrogen, m some cases intermixed with metallic vapors, shot up into space with incredible force. On one occasion, it is pretty generally known, Profesor Young saw one of these prominences hurled to a height of 200,000 miles m the course of an hour or two. Then there is the corona, or the silvery halo seen encircling the sun during a total eclipse. This is still to a large extent enwrapped m mystery. The observations taken by Dr Janssen, of the British Association, m Siam during the total eclipse of 1875 seemed to sho'.v that it consisted of a?i incandescent atmosphere surrounding the sun, but beyond this fact our knowledge has progressed but little. If the Sur-veyor-General, Mr McKerrow, who has recently been elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, or any of the other Wellington observers are able to educe any fresh facts m regard to these appearances during the coming eclipse, they will achieve credit not only for themselves but for the colony at large. We wish them, therefore, a fine day and every success m their observations. ♦ Some of the members of the Auckland Education Board have got themselves into a nice little difficulty, and the circnm stances convey a salutary warning to members of other local bodies to be cautious how they conduct their business. It appears that the Board had m their employ as Inspector a gentleman bearing the high-sounding name of Mr Ponsonby J. B. Peacocke, and, as sometimes happens with gentlemen of high-sounding names, Mr Peacocke got into pecuniary difficulties, and had to file his schedule. This was on the 17th January, and Mr Peacocke continued m his appointment until the Bth of May following, when the Board suddenly came to the conclusion that it was not desirable any longer to keep him m their employment. They then passed the following resolution : — " Having examined into Mr Peacocke's fitness for the position of inspector, the Committee is of opinion that though his educational qualifications, and his energy and ability as an examiner are not called into question, it is not m the interests of the education of the district that he should continue m office." They voted him six months' salary m lieu of notice, and Mi' Peacocke seems to have gone on bis way rejoicing with a couple of hundred pounds m his pocket. The Official Assignee took a different view of these proceedings. He distinctly expressed an opinion that the money ought to have been paid to him for the benefit of the creditors, and finally he brought an action against the Board to compel them to pay him the amount. When the case came before Mr Justice Gillies, it was evident that the Education Board were m rather an awkward position. First their counsel ingeniously endeavored to argue that the £200 was not " property " coming to the debtor within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Act, and when this plea had been promptly disposed of by the Judge as untenable, the learned gentleman was driven to the defence that Mr Peacocke's original appointment was invalid, not being made under the seal of the Board. His Honor enquired, with an air of surprise, whether the Board really meant to set up this defence, and being assured that they did, significantly replied — "Well then, I am' sorry for the Board." As it turned out even this defence did not avail, the Judge holding that the £200 must be paid over again — this time to theOfficial Assignee. More than that he held that the members of the Board were personally liable — that they must pay the amount out of their own pockets, and not out of the public fundß. The Board did not relish this exposition of the law, and m defiance of the Judge's order, passed a resolution to the effect that the £200 be paid out of public money. We refrain from saying what we think about this transaction because we observe that the legal right of the members to behave m this manner is very properly about to be tested by some of the Auckland ratepayers. We are glad to see that such conduct is at any rate not to be allowed to go unchallenged, and we shall await with interest the result of the fresh lawsuit into which the Board are now landed.