The Star. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1883.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4792, 8 September 1883, Page 2

The Star. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1883.

Jxxsb was a little pieoe of business trani* aoted at the last meeting of the Lytteltoa Borough Oounoil whith seems toreqpire some explanation. No doubt the explanation Kill come : no doubt the explanation will be f«U» complete, and satisfactory. It is chiefly for the sake of enabling the parties concerned to> make this explanation (which we know thej are burning with eagerness to do) (that we pen these remarks. Wben the Governors of thie Colony visit Canterbury, they usually oome here by way of Lyttelton. The Mhyor of Lyttelton receives their Excellencies |. the> Corporation of Lyttelton welcome them to th* boundaries of their anoient and loyal Bprough, then it appoars that after these oeremonials it has been usual to trot the Governor* round to all the ohief paints of interest in or about the Port. At a meeting of the Lyttelton Borough Council held not very long ago, Bir Andrew M'Donald presented an acoount for £21' for supplying horses on three of these delightful occasions, when the exuberant loyalty 0/ Lyttelton is so beautifuUy manifested, At that meeting a disoussion took plaoe, and some of the Councillors spoke of the oharge as " pre* posteroni " and " exorbitant." Butat lhe meeting held on the Srd inst. the same aooount for the'sam* amount was presented and passed unanijaously. Now there are ttti& things wo should like to know abont this aooount. The first is. why was it left for so long a period without being paid? Three Governors would take us baok to the last visit of Bir-*Heror'e» Bobinson, Why was not the horse hire or eaoh of these visits oharged for and paid at the time ? The next thing we should' like to know is, how it is that a oharge which wao "exorbitant" and "preposterous" at one* meeting of the Counoil, is passed unanimously at the- next meeting ? What£bai beoome of the Councillors who were so much opposed to the- payment of .the aooount f By whatftrgu* ments were they convinced that it'is now a> fair and just charge P Perhaps at'the forth* coming eleotions some of the burgesses may think, it worth while to examine the candidate* on the subjeot of Mr Andrew M'Donald's ac* count of £rA\ for horse hire. Thbbs is a very significant sentence in tho letter of our own correspondent at GisborcOj whioh we published in our issue of yesterday.. Speaking ol the rumour that oil bed been struok, he says, "it is unlikely that the ex* ottement has been got up in the plaoe iteelf,. for very few, indeed, of the shareholders ara in Gisborne or the distriot at all. Just- so f. they probably know too maoh abont it to risk thsir money on the enterprise. II ia not beoasse you 'get petroleum that it will pay to sink wells. Petroleum has ere now been scon ooring out of the surfaoe of the earth and' running out on tho top of neigh* touring streams, and yet it did nob pay to sink for it. If fche Southern Cross Oompanj wero to strike oil abundantly it by no meana follows- that they could lay down refined oil in Ohvistohurcl*. or Dunedin cheaper than tho Amemosn article. Xhe Americans hare per*footed the industry to suoh a degree, and baro so many labour-saving applianoes, besides having labour itself at abont half tho prioe it ia here, that probably 4hey would be able o undersell the New Zealand Company. Po&roleum is very queer stuff to have to deal with, and has swallowed up many fortunes* if it has -made many. Wo nted soaroely say that we shall be heartily glad to find tho enterprise— a most important one— prove m source of wealth to the shareholders : mnch good money would in that caso be kept in tho Oolony. At the same time we urge moderation in the ideas and utterances of those more nearly interested ; and we atrongly deprecate such unhealthy exoitement— a very fever of gambling — ac we know prevailed during yeßterday.