The Timaru Herald. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1886.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 3551, 15 February 1886, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1886.

A forcible letter on the proposed borrowing and taxation policy of the Government Las been addressed to the Christchurch Press by Mr Alfred Saunders, who has resided m the colony ever since its foundation, and who for many years sat m the House of Representatives. Mr Saunders is a conspicuous example of the " plain living and high thinking school." On various occasions he has come before the public as a vegetarian, a teetotaller, and a total disbeliever m doctors' drugs. Whatever may be the truth as to the general applicability of these principles, there is no doubt that as i - egards Mr Saunders himself they aye no bar to vigorous literary effort of a high order. Mr Saunders has not only distinguished himself as an author on subjects connected with a country life, but t\s a keen, bard-hitting and clear-headed writer on political subjects he has few superiors m the colony, although of course everybody will not be able to agree with all tho views which he advocates. The particular subject which has drawn out the veteran ex-politician on this occasion is a letter, or rather a series of letters, written by Mr A. G. Howland, a coach-builder, of Christchurch, an enthusiastic admirer of Sir Julius Yogel and of his protection and borrowing policy. Aimost at the commencement of his letter Mr Saunders administers to this gentleman an awkward thrust which he will probably find it difficult to parry. Week after week, and year after year, Mr Howland bas declared that duties on foreign manufactures are paid by the foreign manufacturer, and that their ultimate effect is to lower the price to the consumer Mr Saunders says that this statement startles him, but it does not puzzle him any more than it does when be hears now and then a man declare that the world ia flat and not round. He continues : — What does puzzle mo ia this : why, with such knowledgo, did Mr Howland and his fellow tradesmen advise tho Government to oxempt entirely from all taxation, " carriago, baggy, and cart shafts, spokes, felloes, axles, and naves, carriage transfer ornaments, carriage lamps, American cloth, tacks, carrinuo springs, mounting and trimmiug, boltß and nnts, shackle holders, and other iron fittings for carriages f" And yet, when these things have been put together, to chargo 15 per cent duty on tho carriage, cart or waggon 'so completed. Aro wo to suppose that carriago-bnilders aro not made of the same stuff as othor men, and wore really anxious that everything they bought should bo made dear by beiiifj admitted duty froo, and that the article they sold should be mado cheap by having a heavy duty put on it? ' This puts the matter m a clear, comruon- ' sense light. It is an argumentum ad hominem which we fear Mr Howland will find awkward to answer. Turning from the protection question, however, Mr Saunder3 next proceeds to deal with the contention that the pros- ' perity of this country would be ensured by getting ten millions further into debt. He asks What would Mr Howland think of tho wisdom of Amorican statesmen if, iv time of peace, they were to incur a dobt of three 1 thousand millions, and spond two-thirds of it ia raising salaries all round, employing a great army of Civil servants, and building great showy wooden buildings, that will be rotten m a few years ? And yot that anm would bo less, m proportion to their population, than wo have already incurred for such purposes m Now Zealand. Where would tbo i credit even of England go if she allowed Bomo mad gambler to add a hundred millions a year to her National Dobt? And yet she is far better ablo to stand that than wo aro a million and a half, with our half million of popula- , tion, or with less than ono hundred thousand breadwinners. Mr Saunders contends, and to our minds with great truth, that debt is the most fatal repeller to immigrants — a danger, a drawback and a depressor to any country, just as certainly as it is to any individual, to any business or to any partnership. As to the statement that our population are going away from ns every day, and that " they will, if we do not carry out a progressive policy," Mr Saunders replies that we may be quite snre that, wherever they are going, they are not going to any country that is borrowing, or that is spending borrowed money more recklessly than we are, nor to one m which unremunerative public works, and railways, with nothing to carry, have been so largely undertaken. He himself, he

tells us, watched by tbe cradle of civilised New Zealand. He saw her slowly, but steadily progress, and her population grow m number and contentedness and prosperity for over twenty years. "During that twenty years every new an-ival, natural or artificial, was heartily welcomed and rightly regarded as an addition to our strength, as every steady laborer soon became an employer and a freehold." Then he refers to tbe " flash m tbe pan " caused by tbe gold diggings, and to tbe subsequent inauguration of a polioy of borrowing on a large nnd never-ending scale. Surely all this, he says, ought to be " progressive policy," enough even for Mr Howland and those who swear by him. How is it then, that after all this " progression " we are not now the most prosperous country m tbe world P "Why is Mr Howland weeping over our " unemployed," and lecturing us as to " what to do with our boys ? " Why, a quarter of a century ago, Mr Saunders triumphantly adds, " when no progressive policy bad been adopted, and no protection thought of, the unemployed were never beard of, and happy waa he who only bad plenty of boys to employ." The cause of this sad change, tbe writer of course finds principally m the terrific debt with which we are burdened. " Three or four millions of money sent away to a foreign creditor, and a million spent on ten thousand drones," be says, " includes nearly all tbe profits of our farms, our sheep and cattle stations, and coal mines, leaving nothing to be paid to the industrial classes, and through them fiud its way back after a beneficial circulation." To this all-sufficient and 6teadily increasing cause another, Mr Saunders thinks, has been added to those who have long been laboring to destroy every particle of independence and selfreliance m this community, and to teach everybody to seek protection from everybody else ; " according to whom a wheelbarrow, or a boot, or a reaper and binder, or a hank of twine, cannot now be made without protection." The letter, as we have said, is written with a good deal of force, and may be read with both interest and profit at the present juncture. We do not agree with Mr Saunders m thinking that protection and our heavy debt are the solo causes of the present depression. We are principally suffering from tbe great fall m the price of our commodities, and we have sufficient confidence m the colony to believe that when prices improve, as they must do, she will again float pretty buoyantly, m spite o1 the twin mill-stones which tbe folly of our legislators have hung round her neck. These will always be serious clogs on tbe springs of industry, however, until they are removed ; and certainly the present time, when New Zealand is laboring heavily m deep water, is not the time when we can profitably, or even safely, add to tbe burdens which she has to bear.

Pebsokal. — Sir George Whitmore, who arrived m Tiiuaru from the South on Saturday, left for the North m the evening by the Union Company's s.s. Wakntipu. To Housb-ownbbs.— Mr Jabez Lukey, of the Stone Stables, publishes an important notice m our advertising columns this morning, which notice hor=e-owner3 would do well to peruse. MagistehiAL. — At the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, a number of boys aro to bo brought up for unlawfully bulhing on the beach. John Riddle, for maliciously wounding a cow, is also to bo dealt with Lioensing Committees. — Nominations of persons to serve on the Levels, Temuka, and Raubapuka Licensing Committees must be m the hands of the respective returning officers at or before noon to-day. SroBTING. — Horse owners and others interested are reminded that nominations for the principal events to be run off nt the S.C. Jockey Club's meeting on the sth and 7th Hay close with the Secretary, Mr F. W. Cook, at nine o'clock this evening. Dcnedin Sporting. — We publish m another column this morning a number of the entries and acceptances for the Dunedin Jockey Club's Autumn Meeting. The list is a satisfactory one and some good sport should result. » I Hibernian Band. — We learn that Mr Bodgers having resigned the leadership of the Hibernian Bond, Mr Wood was last week appointed to fill the vacant post. The lato loader is to be complimented on the excellent way ho has worked up the band, which should continue to prosper and advance under its new leader. Obihtaby. — We notice among the announcements m a rocent number of tho John o' Qroal Journal that Mr David H. Kennedy, eldest son of Air Dnvid Kennedy, the famous Scottish vocalist, died at Pietermarilzburg, Natal, on December sth. The deceased gentleman was well known m tho Australasian colonies, and hia death will be regretted by a large number of people. School Committee. — A special meeting of fiib Tiuiaru School Committee was held on Saturday to record votes for members to fill tho vacancies on the Board of Education. For the ordinary vacancy the Committee decided to support Messrs J. Jackson and S. W. Goldsmith, and for tho extraordinary vacancy, Mr William Jones. The meeting then terminated. Hosiewabd Bound. — The members of the Wilson-Mnjeroni opera company passed through Timaru on Saturday, being passpn-' gers by tho s.a. Wakatipu. Wo are sure lovers of opera m Timarn were much disappointed at the troupe not Btaying here and performing for a couple of nights. We understand the members of tho company aro on their way to Sydney, where they will once more delight audiences with their choice operas. Inquest. — J. Besnick, Esq., Coroner, and a jury of six held an inquest on Saturday afternoon touching tho death, of an infant, the son of Mr M. O'Keefe, of Albury. The inquest was merely a formal one, as the child had beon prematurely born, and died when four days old. After Dr Macintyre had stated that death resulted from natural causes, the jury returned a verdict m accordance with the medical testimony. Distinguished Visitohs. — His Emincnco Cardinal Moran, Archbishop of Sydney, and their Lordships the Bishops of Adelaide, Maitland, Dunedin, AVellington and Auckland will arrive m Timaru to morrow afternoon by the Express train from tho South, and will be driven to the residence of Mr M.' de H. Duval, where they will stay for tho night. On Wodnesday morning they go to Temuka by drag, and after inspecting the Temuka Catholic Church and School will go on to Christchurch by the North Express train. Accident.— Regarding tho accident to Mr Prince, electrician, tho Own Correspondent at Arrow of tho Otago Daily Times telegraphed as follows to tho paper named on Friday night:-" Mr Walter Princo, electrician at tho Phu-nix mine, met with a very serious accident at Queenslown to-day. It appears he had jutt bought a horse, which he intended to rie'e, leading another ono. In trying to mount, tho horso started off, dragging Mr Prince, who had only ono foot m the stirrup, for eomo distance beforo the horso could bo stopped. Tho Bufferer lies now m a very precarious condition m the Franklin Hospital, and grave doubts are entertained of his recovery." Added is a telegram rereived by Messrs B. Wilson and Co. from Mr Robert Wilson, which gives the following account of the accident : — " Mr B alien (owner of the Phccnix mine, Skippers), Mr Evans (the manager), Mr Prince (electric engineer), and Mr Robert Wilson, started for Skippers this morning. Mr Prince's horse bolted and threw him, fracturing his skull. No hope is entertained of bis recoverr-,"

Drunkenness. — Two men arrested for drunkenness will make their appearance at tlio Resident Magistrate's Court this morning. C Batteby, N.Z.A. — The first of a series of three competitions for the cup presented by Mr Charles Green will take placo to morrow (Tuesday). We understand that a goodly number of membors have signified their intention of competing, and that m order to suit the convenience of all competitors one squad will fire m the early morning (5 a.m.) and another m the evening (6 p.m.) Cricket. — A match will be commenced this evening on the Timaru Cricket Club's grounds between members of the old Crusader and National and Standard Clubs. The game will begin at half-past five o'clock sharp. In another column will be found a report of the cricket match played on Saturday afternoon between sides chosen by Messrs Godby and Perry. Primitive Methodist Sunday School. — Anniversary services m connection with this school were held at the Primitive Methodist Church yesterday. Appropriate sermons were preached morning and evening by tho Bey. W. J. Dean, the pastor, and m the afternoon a children's service was held at which an address was delivered by the Hey. W. Morley. The children also gave some recitations, and their singing waa a very pleasing " feature of each, of the services, special hymns being Used for the occasion. The singing was led by Mr Beswiek, and Miss Dean presided at the harmonium. The church was tastefully decorated with flowers, evergreens, &c. Next Tuesday evening, the anniversary soiree is to be held and promises to be of a vory interesting character. The Industrial Exhibition. — Tho Wellington Eveniny Post has also taken up tho question of the management of the Industrial Exhibition, regarding which we. had to make some comments recently. In the course of an article on the subject it says : — " When the complete history of the Exhi« bition comes to be known, and the balancesheet is published, the public will, wo expect, be absolutely astounded at the way things were managed, and will have no difficulty m fixing tho blame on the right parties. The complaints now made from Timaru and other p irts of the colony about tho manner m which the exhibits were returned, or not returned nt all, are serious enough, but carelessness or neglect m this respect is by no means the worst feature of the whole affair. We believe that it will be found that there waa reckless extravagance m tho administration throughout, although this was considerably reduced when the control of affairs was handed over to the Executive Committee." Tho Evening Press also refers to our complaints, but defers comment, pending the return of Mr Callis to Wellington. Entertainment at Woodbpry. — The Geraldino Dramatic Club and Christy Minstrel Company held an entertainment at Woodbury on Friday evening last for their own benefit, and we are Borry that there was not a fuller house to receive them. No pains or expense have been spared by tho Company m their endeavor to pleaso the audiences before whom they have appeared, and on several occasions they have given their services m various parts of the district to enable School Committees to raise funds for different objects, and we aro Bure they are deserving of support. The audience at Woodbury though small was very appreciative, and demonstrated it by f ;e;juent bursts of applause. The Company were again wanting their accompany ist, who has been laid up now for several weeks. Tho programme consisted of the laughable farce " Leave it to me." The characters were sustained by the same persons who appeared for the first time at the Oddfellows' Hall, Geraldiue, some short time since. The second port consisted of songs, conundrums, etc., by the Christy Minstrels, each member of the Company taking his part well. A number stayed to the dance, which was kept up with vigor for several hours. Opening of the Dunedin Cathedeai. — His Eminence Cardinal Moran opoued St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Cathedral at Dunedin yesterday morning. The ceremony was very imposing, and the procession and the Binging of the church's song of welcome, Ecce Saardos Magnus (Behold the High Priest), will long be remembered by the thousands of persons who assembled to witness the opening. Cardinal Moran was assisted by Bishops Moran (of Dunedin), Redwood (of Wellington), Murray (of Maitland), and Reynolds (of Adelaide). The Otago Daily Times of Saturday, writing of the ceremony, states: — "The Mass to bo rendered by the choir will be Gounod's ' Messe Salennelle,' and afterwards the ' Te Deum ' will be sung. The offertory wiil bo ' Largo ' (by Handel), and the voluntary will be Meyerbeer's ' Festive March.' In the evening immediately after vespers, a sermon will bo delivered by the Most Bey. Dr Redwood, Bishop of Wellington. The voluntary will be Mendelssohn's ' Lauda Sion,' and afterwards there wi!l be the benediction of the most Holy Saoronient. The outgoing voluntary will be 'The march of the priests,' 'Athalie' (Mendelssohn). The musical part of the service will be under the direction of Herr Benno Scherek. There will be over 60 vocalists m the choir, and m addition to the organ there will be an orchestra of 15 instruments." The portion of the Cathedral dedicated ycßterday is only a wing of the complete design, the foundation Btone of which was laid some seven years ago. The finished portion has a beautiful appearance, and is a credit to the designer and builder. Yasaries op thb Types. — "The most carefully edited journal is fallible," says tho London Literary World. In the Times office, it is said, proof-readers are fined for every blunder that eludes them. OntheiVeio York Herald they have been suspended for weeks. In spite of this severe discipline the Herald, once made the astonishing announcement that ' a long line of scorpion's feathers filed into the church,' instead of ' surpliced fathers.' A reporter on that paper had occasion to quote a verse from a familiar hymn m which tho word ' herald ' occurred. The proof-reader dutifully under-scored the word, and the verse appeared : — ' Harlr, the Herald angels sing.' It was m the World 's report of a political meeting that the word ' shouts * was so ludicrously misprinted as to make the blunder famous. ' The snouts of ten thousand Democrats rent the air,' read the report. A few years ago the journalist who is widely known as '. Gath,' wrote a Fourth of July article. With fervid eloquence ho told how the effete monarchies of the old world trembled m their boots when they read the immortal words penned by Thomas Jefferson. ' Thrones reeled,' wrote the impassioned Gath. Next morning he saw m type — ' Thomas reeled.' The story is told that Ernest Kenan once had occasion to telegraph across the British Channel tho subject of a proposed lecture of his m Westminster Abbey. Tho subject as written by him was "'-The Influence of Home on the Formation of Christianity.' It waß published m England as ' The Influence of Bum on tho Digestion cf Humanity. 1 " A Missionary Romance. — An interesting romance came back to Boston, Mass., lately from Constantinople concerning the littlo party of missionaries sent to Turkey from that vicinity by the American Board six months ago. Among them (says the P/iiladnlpliia Press) was a Dr Graham, an estimable young man,' a descendant of Robert Bruce, and a graduate of the University of Michigan. Early last summer he volunteered to go to Turkey as a missionary physician. Tho officers of the Board were very glad to gain bo valuable a recruit, but the young man waa unmarried. It is an inflexible rule of the Board not to send single young men to the mission fields. The services of unmarried young women are readily accepted. Dr Graham was urged to provide himself with a wifo before the time of sailing, Ootober 3rd. He l'adn't thought seriously of matrimony, and cortoinly had no specific plans made. Ho did, however, mako an earnest search for a wife during the few weeks' interim. The details of his search no one knows but himself. At all evonts the time for departure came and he was wifeless. Tbe Board declined to employ him, ur.d lie decided to go at his own expense. He selected Aintab, m Asiatic Turkey, as his field of labor, and sailed from New York with the rest of the party. Among his follow missionaries was Miss Ella Bray, 23 years of age, of great attractions of mind and person, who for somo time had been a teacher m Mount Holyoke Seminary. She was assigned to Adona, Turkey. Intelligence from Constantinople comes to tho effect that a mutual attachment sprang up between Dr Graham and Mies Bray m the course of the voyage. 'The romancp culminated.

m the marriage of tho couple at Constant nople on November Ist. Both Dr and Mi Graham will go to Aintab. An Emphatic Contradiction. — Tho othe week several of the newspapers gavo the new of Lord Winchileea's serious illness ; this hi lordship contradicted by means of the follow ing letter to tho editor of tho Globe: — "Sii — I wish you would take a little moro care t verify your intelligence. As far as I knoi lam not even ' dangerously ill ;' at least, i I am, I shall soon be worse, for I have jus eat down to a lunch of which I enclose yoi the items, to save the trouble and distress o interviewing : — Liver wing of chicken (live a little too much over-roasted) ; Cheshir cheese (m prime cut) ; glass of whisky am seltzer ; small glass of the best brandy t< finish with. N.B.— They servo it out ii small glasses at the Curlton. Under tbes< circumstances I havothe pleasure to wish you like mother Hubbard's dog, the compliment! of the season.— Wihchilska and Notting HAM."