THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M Resurrexi. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1875.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2089, 14 September 1875, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M Resurrexi. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1875.

It was not likely that the Auckland Evening Star would neglect so great opportunity of casting suspicion on the supporters of Abolition principles as that afforded them by those who convoued a handful of men to assemble in the Theatre Royal on Saturday cveuing last under the pseudonym of.a Public Meeting. Hence we have a leader written in the style usually favored by the Auckland Star, with just enough of truth in it to make it impossible to deny certain facts, painfully patent, from which the Star starts to draw conclusions as false as the father of lies can make them. As regards Tig meeting itself no defence can be made of even having called it in the fashion in which it was called, and but little can be urged in extenuation of the ill-judged venture. If ever there was a meeting to which the term " hole and corner " could be. fitly applied, that meeting was the miserable apology for one held last Saturday evening. We do not for one moment mean to imply that those who convened it wished it to be such—far from it. The character of our Mayor for honesty and integrity of purpose stands so high that tho~e who know him cannot, and those who do not must not believe him capable of favoring any course savoring of meanness or concealment. But in allowing himself to be identified with a meeting

such as: was Saturday's, and' in going through -.the. farce of taking the chair to preside over three score and odd people, hastily summoned together, he has given occasion to the enemies of the Thames in Auckland to speak evil, and attribute motives to himself and those who assembled with him which we feel sure he never for one moment entertained. To call a meeting, however, in the way that Saturday's meeting was called, was rash, ill-judged, and precipitate ; ifc • could but end in. bringing strong remarks, if not opprobrium, on the Thames| and though the conveners no doubt both thought as well as wished to do some if not much good, the result has been that they have done some if not much harm. This they ought to have foreknown, and therefore guarded against; and hence they and they only are responsible for the aspersions have been cast- upon the people of the Thames. Mr JRowe in the course of the few remarks he made said that the question was the most important a Thames assemblage had even been called to pass an opinion upon. If so—and in this we agree with Mr Eowe—was it proper, right or seemly, to call the Thames people together to consider such a question only half an hour or thereabouts before the meeting was to take place by employing a bellman to go round and endeavour to bring in all those from the streets and lanes of the Borough who might be able to understand what he said ? How were the dwellers in Shortland and the out- J skirts, to say nothing of those in Tararu and Parawai, to know anything about the proposed discussion of this important question? And yet they are as much interested in it, and have as much right to be heard, as those whom business, pleasure' or idleness may induce to parade Brown and Owen streets on Saturday evenings. Even had the Theatre Koyal been as full as could have- been desired, the meeting, called as it was,could never have. been considered a public meeting in the true sense of the word. To be that, as much publicity as possible must be given to it prior—aye and;a considerable time prior to the time at which it is purposed to be held. The why's and wherefore's of calling it should be distinctly laid down ; the subject to be discussed should be plainly set forth ; every opportunity should be afforded that all -who wish to be present should be able to do so-r-partizan and opponent, supporter and antagonist. This certainly was not done, and so the Thames will, we fear, be classed among those who put forth the opinions of the few, and'falsely represent them to be the opinions of the many. This is not pleasant, but as " the eyil that men do (though most unintentionally) lives j after " so we fear that the zeal of" those i who summoned the meeting of Saturday has, for a time at least, consumed the high character for openness j?.nd fairness which has hitherto characterised the Thames community in their proceedings in the matter of abolition. The Auckland Star, we said, made deductions, or rather strung together certain assertions ju j&p course of its leader, which we characterised as false—iw false tUey s*cst undoubtedly are. The former meeting held *t $c Thames to consider this question W»s public In every sense cf the word ; and it is utterly untrue to say, as says the Auckland Star, • tkafc before the people of the Thames had time to sep the bills or understood their bearing, a meeting jyas called and the Thames pronounced." If the Aupkland Star chooses to censure the ill-

advised proceedings of a few, it is right in doing so. They have laid Ihemselves open to it, and they, and through them the community of the Thames, must bear whatever blame attaches. But to deduce from this thnt all Thames meetings are similarly held, or to argue that Mr R<Jwe and Mr Eowe alone is responsible for the meeting, or assert that the question ia simply one between Mr Bowc iind Sir George Grey, is to put Mr Eowe in a false position, by thus comparing him, and is also unfair ia its obvious absurdity. The Auckland Star naturally is eager to grasp at any straw which may ,^nd weight to the cause —and goodness knows that cause needs weight—it so strenuously advocates. We regret that a portion of the Thames community has thrown one straw even for it to grasp. As it is done we cannot now help if;, but wo strongly object to that straw being made a peg on which to hang a weighty bundle of falsehoods, or at leasfc of utter perversions of things as they in reality exist.

In addition to the quotations published of the share transactions, Mr John Frater sold this afternoon just before we went to press, Caledonians at £6 ss.

We present our readers each day with two sharem'arket reports—one from tl» Thames Stock and Share Association, the other from Messrs. Frater, Hcnnefly and Salmon. The former represents quotations up to noon of each day, while the latter gives the latest fluctuations of the sharemarkel, thenieeting for report taking place at half-past two o'clock each day.

We have to acknowledge with thanks receipt of No. 12 New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Statement on Marine Matters, and a number of other Parliamentary Papers.

Some magnificent specimens from No. 5 reef (Cure) in the Caledonian, exhibited in a glass case on the counter of the Bank of New Zealand to-day, attracted considerable attention. They were certainly very rich, and were pronounced by some to be equal to the famous stone of bypone days.

A Provincial Government Gazette published yesterday contains " Regulations for the occupation of waste lands of the Crown under -tho Homestead System."