DUNEDIN

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 180, 20 July 1871, Page 5

DUNEDIN

(Ftom our own Correspondent.)

As anticipated, the introductory addresses of the different Professors of the University were attended by crowded audiences, listened to with marked attention, and cordially applauded. There oppeared to be only one listener who ex- , pressed or manifested any disapprobation, and that unit was J. G. S. Grant. On each occasion he essayed to speak, but would not be tolerated by the audience. He managed to get vent for one or two expressions, notably at one point where the Professor, having named two celebrated men in England of the present day holding high positions in the venerable colleges there, he loudly vociferated, "Two qnacks." Mr. Grant's inflated egotism and supercilious contempt for everybody else, is now so well known and appreciated, that beyond the annoyance and interruption it causes for a moment, no other effect follows. It would be difficult to give a condensed report of the lectures, so as to make them thoroughly understood, as they were so framed and compactly put together that an attempt to reduce them to much smaller compass might destroy them. However, as at the conclusion of Professor M'Gregor's lecture, Dr. Webster proposed and requested that they should be printed, and as this is being done, your readers who may be desirous will obtain them fresh and complete from the hands of the authors themselves. The success attending the establishment of the University in the number of students attending the lectures, is beyond the most sanguine expectations of its most sanguine promoters, Professor Sale having thirty-four attending his classes, aud the others nearly as many.

Apropos of educatiou, the numerous petitions presented by the Roman Catholic residents in the province, praying for special support for schools connected with and under the management of that denomination, have not had a favourable answer from the Council. This was, perhaps, to be expected, as a strong and growing feeling exists against denominational schools. Mr. Haughton is, however, not satisfied with ihe decision already come to, and has given notice of a motion, which is on the Order Paper for to-morrow, to the effect that a sufficient

sum be placed on the supplementary estimates to enable the petitions tobe.compli.ecUw.ith. Them is little .chance of. its being carried, because the' sum already voted for education is so great, and annually increasing, and the funds coming into the Treasury so small and annually decreasing, together with the feeling of satisfaction so generally f«lt with the system already in operation, and the aversion to anything of denomination in connection with the schools.

There is likely to be a keen contest for the chair of civic dignity in Dunedin this year. Three aspirants for the honour have been nominated, and there will be plenty of speechifying and questioning in all parts of the town every night until the election is over. Already the mud has begun to be raked up from the bottom of the pools which are supposed to have settled round each candidate ; epithets the opposite of polite and remarks the reverse of flattering are freely bandied, many of which, on reflection, will be repented of, but cannot be recalled. To outsiders it is a source of great amusement to hear honourable men, who were but yesterday "cheek by jowl," to-day without having had a quarrel or a grievance, trying who will hit the hardest, or say the most stinging things of the other. Bets are freely laid on the result, each better having his own favourite ; each until the result of a few meetings in the several wards is known, it is a hazardous guess. Each has strong partizans and energetic committees, who wilJ do their utmost to carry their man. An attempt has been made to lay down a rule that the election of Mayor should be restricted to members of the City Council, and that the office should only be held for one year ; but this will not go down with the community, so Messrs. Fish and Birch are both brought forward to oppose Mr. Thoneman, who is the oldest member of the City Council, and who is supported by all the other members of Council, save Mr. Fish , who has come forward to oppose him, although he publicly stated he would not do so. Mr. Birch is not so popular among the electors as he was a few years ago, but the votes being split by the other two, may thus command success for him, whether or not he so Reserve it in theopinion of the major "ty. Other towns throughout the province will also have contested elections, which is generally regarded as a healthy symptom, and a proof that municipal institutions and their honours have a just value set upon them.

The members of the Provincial Council have by their votes this week placed themselves in a position where they are fairly chargeable either with insincerity or inconsistency. One of the principal questions urged upon them at their election, and to which all of them were more or less committed, was retrenchment in departmental expenditure. One of the first acts of the Council was to reduce the honorarium payable to members from 20s. to 15s. per diem, or 25 per cent. Acting on this principle of reduction, the Speaker reduced his own and officers' salaries to the same extent. Then followed the salaries of the Ministers themselves and the different officials, which were pruned to the same extent ; and when the appropriations for each and all are past, a Bill is introduced to fix the honorarium payable to members during the present Council at 355., when, on the second reading, on the motion of Mr. J. C. Brown, the principle of retrenchment which pervaded all the estimates is abrogated by a majority of 17 to 11, and the honorarium payable to country members is not to exceed 205., and to city members 10s. a day. Mr. Brown's name appearing as proposer of the amendment, places him in an unenviable position, and has made him the subject of very severe criticism on the part of the city press. The members who supported him in the division were Messrs. G. F. C. Browne, Green, Henderson, Hickey, Hutchison, Mervyn, Macarthur, M'Glashan, M'Kenzie, Robertson, Shepherd, Smith, and Webster. Noes : Messrs. Allen, Cargill, Cutten, Daniel, Duncan, Galbraith, Holmes, and Lumsden. Pairs — For : Armstrong, Bastings, and Barton ; Against : Bathgate, Bradshaw, and Reynolds. The votes show that the Government members all voted against the proposal except Mr. Reid, the leader, and his absence requires explanation. The vote is considered as unfair, seeing a large number of members were absent, and among these some who wrought hard for reductions. It is doubtful, unless an additional sum is voted, if there be sufficient on the estimates to carry out the proposal ; and besides, the Speaker intimated that as the Bill did not fix the amount to be paid as 205., but that it shall not exceed" that amount, and as the House had already by resolution named 155., he considered that amount to be the limit. But query : how will this act in the case of city members who, by the same resolution, were also to receive 155., and by this amendment are not to exceed 10s. ? Tn all fairness, the Speaker and Chairman of Committees should be restored to their original figure, , as they do not participate in the honorarium. After passing such a motion, it. was quite to be expected that efforts' would be made to raise all to their former figure ; accordingly Mr. M'Glashan proposed the Police, which was negatived by 19 to 11. The Harbour Master, Gar-; dener, and others, had each their friend" to move in their behalf, but unsuccess-' fully ; and now Mr. Duncan has culminated the whole affair, and proposes "to increase to the rate voted last year the salaries of all officials." Mr. Duncan only acts consistently in this course, and it is hard to see how those who voted their own increase should refuse a similar measure of justice to others who are completely at their mercy.