OUR DUNEDIN LETTER.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1217, 27 January 1886, Page 3

OUR DUNEDIN LETTER.

(From our own Correspondent.) Mr Henry Driver's appointment as local manager of the Government Insurance office, at a salary of about £1,300 ayear, has been anything but favorably received by the Dunedin policy-holders. That Mr Driver is a competent business man and thoroughly fit for the billet no one disputes ; but it is the large salary that exception is taken to. If, as is reported, the Government Insurance Association intend building big offices, and trying to compete with other large moneyed companies in the matter of lending money on freehold security, it appears to ma that Mr Driver is a good man for the post, and should be worth the salary ; but, on the other hand, it is well-known that Mr Driver ifl mixed up along with a number of influential gentlemen in a thousand and one different concerns, such as runs, companies, soap-boiling works, &c. So even if Mr Driver has the best intentions in the world, he can hardly devote his whole time to the Government insurance work, without neglecting bis private business. The probability, therefore, is that Mr Driver will receive the salary, whilst a £200 or £300 a-year man will haye to do the work. Mr Driver's appointment appears to be creating quite as great a sensation as Mr D. M. Luokie'a did, and probably for the same cause, as on the face of it both appear to be political appointments given either as a reward or as a " quietener." Professor Salmond is now safe as Professor of Mental Science, and can afford to laugh at both tbe Press and the public. But as I>r Salmond has the reputation of being, and in fact is, a thoroughly conscientious man, I fancy that if he was to overhear the hundredth part of the remarks that are being let fall re his appointment be would throw it up in disgust.

Very few even pretend to question Dr Salmond's qualification for the post, while very few pretend to admire the action of the Synod. It is generally supposed that henceforth the Otago University Professorship will be a sort of Chelßea Hospital for broken-down Presbyterian clergymen, and naturally people of other denominations who have to help to support this institution are wild about it. If the Church trustees' recommendation about advertising for a competent man to fill Professor Macgregor's post had been adopted, the probability is that Dr Salmond would still have had the post, and everyone would have been gratified. But when he is shoved into it by the Synod, and more when he uses his position as Moderator of the Synod to sit upon his opponents, then there is no wonder that there is an outcry. The Rev. Dr Stuart, Chancellor of the University, has been shamefully used during this discussion, and one would have thought that bis grey hairs and the respect which 18 borne towards him by all Dunedinites (no matter what denomination they belong to), would have saved him from the unkind treatment he has received during the last ten days.

In educational circles there is quite a flutter over the forthcoming elections for ihe vacancies on the Education Board, and party spirit is very bitter in certain quarters. No doubt the majority of your readers have either heard of or seen the pamphlet dedicated to School Committees by an anonymous admirer of Mr M'Kenzie, M.H.R. Without divulging any State secrets, it may be stated that the author has been tracked, and when it is considered that the writer is quite as much a shining light in the kirk as Burns' *• Holy Willie " (who was afterwards found dead in a ditch through the effects of an overdose of whisky) was, can it be wondered at that the people cry, " What next ?" However, the pamphlet is likely to do Mr M'Kenzie mon? good than harm, and I venture to prophesy that he will be returned at the head of the poll. Mr Clark is likewise tolerably safe for reelection, as a large number of country committees are bound to vote for him. Of the remaining candidates, the Hon. Mr Dick is my favorite for the third seat. He is old and has been tried, and his religious opinions are bound to secure for him a strong following. Mr W. Hutchison, with all his faults, and they are none too few, would be an excellent man, as he is thoroughly well up in educational matters, so much so that had he been returntd at the last Parliamentary election there is no doubt but that he would have been Minister of Education. The Rev. Mr Bannerman would like to be on the Board, and if there would cause some fun if he tried to rule the roost as he does at the Synod ; but I think the rev. gentleman had better adopt the suggestion of the Mission Committee and go to New Hebrides at the first convenient opportunity. Mr Green is not out of the running, but Mr T. Cheyne Farnie certainly is. The circular issued by the last-named gentleman is one of those things you must read to fully appreciate. To begin with, his firm's business address is set forth in full, with the name of each partner in the corners (I do not repeat it, because its proper place is in another column and headed "a card") occupies a prominent position. Then Mr Farnie sets forth that from being a pupil in a primary school he has worked his way up to be a M.A. and a barrister and solicitor, and (at the risk of being censured for inserting a cheap advertisement) concludes as follows :—": — " I think that an infusion of new blood into the Education Board is highly necessary, and I hope that you will deem it advisable to give your support to those candidates who have a practical knowledge of education, and have thoroughly mastered the details of educational administration. As well as having been a teaoher for eight years, I have also passed through all grades as a pupil In Otago from the primary schools to the University, and should I have the honor of being elected to fill a seat on the Education Board, I am sure that neither town nor country School Committees will have cause to regret the support they must necessarily give me to place me in that position,"

To all appearances we are as far off having rain as ever, but as the CJouncil has resolved to connect the mains with the Leitb, there is very little probabiliiy of a water famine. But the connection with the Leith is likely to prove slightly expensive to the ratepayers, as already there are rumors of compensation. It is stated that Mr Anderson, of Anderson's mill, will require £200 a- week (or a month, I forget which) to shut up their muM, whilst Royse, Stead and Co. who, I am informed, have a steam engine, and, therefore, are not dependent on the Leith, are opening their mouths to the extent of £225 for the same period. Messrs Fergusson and Mitchell will also be entitled to some small compensation, so that before ihere ia another dry season, the Council might seriously think of some less expensive method of supplying more water, and at the same time the quality except as regards thickness might as well be attended to.