The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVII, Issue 4379, 28 August 1871, Page 2

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUCEO, NON UiiO. If I have been extinguished, yet there rise A thousand beacons from the spark I bore.

MONDAY, AUGUST 28, 1871. In another column will be found a telegraphic synops's of the latest proceedings in Parliament. Short as the time has been since the opening of the session, it will be noticed that a considerable amount of business of importance and of general interest has already been brought under the notice of the Legislature ; and though the real business of the session can scarcely be regarded as commenced until the Financial Statement is submitted, there does not appear to be any lack of energy on the part of honourable members. This energy is exercised mainly in preparation for the work of the sessioa, and questions and notices of motion appear to have already crowded the business paper. Among the information elicited, it will afford satisfaction to observe that the long* delayed light for the Manukau Heads is about to be placed in position, the plans being in c»urse of preparation. The motion of which notice is given for the relief of the burdens on the producers of gold will, we have no doubt, elicit considerable controversy. Nor is the object contemplated likely to be attained, at least till an estimate can be formed of the financial position of the colony, and the possibilities of closing up any source of revenue. Whatever may be the decision with reference to the lowering of the duty on the gold of the colony, a serious difficulty must be raised, at least so far as regards the Auckland province, in any lowering of the cost of miners' rights. The deficit in the revenue of the native owners of the auriferous lands at the Thames could of course be made up, as an indemnity ; or steps might be taken for otherwise altering the conditions under which mining is at present prosecuted. But, however desirable it may appear to the members of Legislature to forego fifty per cent, of the revenue which, is derivable from miners' rights, it must be admitted that the existing conditions under which Europeans prosecute the search for gold on the lands of natives in this province will raise a serious complication in limine. Tfee granting of £150,000 as a tern porary supply was a necessity, and it is floV"wDrjs^g^&*fc "tin pronosM dicl

not elicit much ' controrersy or any demonstration of hostile feeling. It was uot to be expected that in the circumstances the Financial Statement should have been submitted at the beginning of the session. The delay in the meeting of Parliament, and the delay in entering on the consideration of " ways and means," both arose from the same cause ; and we can scarcely think that even the members of the Opposition would have wished either to to have undertaken seiious legislation before the return of the Colonial Treasurer, and before learning the result of his financial operations, or to have the Budget submitted before a sufficient time had been afforded to the Treasurer for balancing the books of the colony. It would appear that an experiment is about to be tried in native affairs, in the appointment of a Council of Native Chiefs, for the purpose of regulatiug matters in "connection with native lands in the Middle Island. Had such a scheme been proposed for the North Island its importance would have arrested attention %}% } but as applied to the ! Middle Island, with the small number of its natives and their unimportance politically, the proposal must have reference mainly to financial matters, and questions of their much-disputed boundaries. The extension of the franchise, as intended in a bill to be brought down hj the Grorernment, will meet a popular demand, and the conceding of a voting right to lodgers may be regarded as another step towards manhood suffrage, in which direction the popular feeling in the colonies is so manifestly tending, That the policy of the Government should incline to the encouragerneut of fisheries on the coasts of Now Zealand, in common with all other home industries, might be anticipated. What form that encouragement is to take does not yet appear to be clearly defined ; but we cannot doubt that, considering the extent of the available field, the large number of persons likely to be employed, and the general importance of the establishment of such an industry, that encouragement will take such a form as may give a powerful impetus to the interest that is now awakening for our whale and other fisheries A new and stringent Vaccination Act will be generally regarded with satisfaction. Tho terrible ravages and bhe rapid spread of small-pox in England and the East afford a warning which we dare not ignore. "With compulsory vaccination there will probably be an effort made, by supplying original vaccine lymph, to meet the scruples so painfully experienced by somo with respect to artn-to-arm vaccination. But experience has told, and the recent ravages of the disease confirm the belief, that the gi.'edt prophylactic is too valuable and too efficacious to be neglected by a community. Altogether the subjects already introduced foreshadow a busy session. And though his Excellency's speech gave comparatively few details, it is probable that the session of 1871 will not be the least important in practical and efficient legislation.

T?ew that attend any of fche fires that occur in the city, and have seen the operations of firemen elsewhere, will doubt that there is something wrong in the constitution or management of our .Fire Brigade. Perhaps the fire that occurred yesterday morning in the NewZealand Insurance Company's Buildings may not be regarded as affording much of a contrast, in the operations for extinguishing it, to those that have taken place in other fires in the city ; bufc, as being the most recent, it may be naturally selected for comment. Twenty minutes elapsed from the first stroke of the firebell till the first fireman was on the ground, during which time the devouring element had made such way that little benefit could arise from the efforts of the Brigade. On the engines appearing one after another on the scene, great delay occurred m procuring water ; in fact only some of them got 1 to work, the rest continuing in idleness. Almost all the effective work was done by the admirable steam engine of Messrs. Thornton, Smith, and Firth ; while the leisurely manner in which the men worked the pumping apparatus of one of the fire-engines was the admiration of all beholders. The discipline observed in connection with the fire was evidenced in the demolition, by the mob, of the offices and contents in tha large ha 7 l of the Stock Exchange, the people having burst in and ruthlessly smashed doors and windows, and thrown out books and furniture, where there was no danger of burning ; thereby causing almost as much damage to the articles as if they had been burned. It is well known that the preserving of discipline, restraining the crowd,and the protection of property are among the first duties in connection with such a fire ; and altogether the scene of yesterday morning afforded a marked contrast to what is usually Been at the suppression of fires outside of Auckland. It is well known that in properly constituted brigades all over the colonies a minute from the first stroke of the firebell is considered ample time to find each firemen ia the street and on his way to the fire ; thai the very form of ringing the bell tells the quarter of the town in jwhich the fire is to be found ; that a very few minutes suffice to bring the men and engine to the scene ; that the first duty is to tell men off to keep back the excited crowd, and for the protection of propeity ; and that tke men work with an energy such, as if the property to be saved was their own, and every moment lost was irretrievable. What, it may be asked, is thereof difference in the constitution of other fire brigades that produces such a oomtrast to the lackadaisy style exhibited at the recent fire A Perhaps it may not be an answer to the question, but it is a noteworthy fact that, of about forty-five brigades in New Zealand, all consist o£-volunteers~all aave one, and tnaj^one is the :, brigade 'm^Auckland, Here alone the fireuieii ar© inerceqaries, and, are ;j>aid :'pn; 'st%sijem tmdmcßCtf wiiqkiw4ok mncwt-'ftl'

energy in the extinction of fires. We do not say that the system acts in this mauner in Auckland, but it will be appreciated at its true worth when it is known that the fireman is paid 2a. 6d. for the first hour during which he is engaged, and 2a. per hour for every subsequent hour durißg which the fire may be allowed to continue ; and that the men engaged in working the pumping apparatus are paid each at the rate of Is. 6d. per hour during the entire continuance of the fire. Ifr is therefore the direct interest of all concerned in the suppression of fires to let the fire get good way before the water is turned on, and it is the direct interest of all to work as leisurely as decency will allow, so as to be fairly remunerated for the unpleasantness of being turned out of their beds at an timely hour. Can anyone wonder that the proceedings at a fire in Auckland are simply farcical? The present system is unquestionably worse than useless, for it gives the suppression of fires into the hands of those to whom it offers a direct reward for delaying the suppression of fires. It may or it may not act in this way on the Auckland Tire Brigade, but we do not hesitate to say that the conduct of affairs at the fire in the Insurance Buildings yesterday morning should excite popular indignation. Valuable property was wantonly destroyed by the mob, who were masters of the situation ; while the firemen came no leisurely to duty that their efforts wore simply valueless. We trust that the affair will not be allowed to rest as it is ; and that we shall find that there is in Auckland enough of public .spirit to found an institution such as is in existeuce in almost every other town in the colony ; find that, the brigade of paid firemen being disbanded, we shall have a brigade of volunteers, every member animated with a noble and generous rivalry for the protection of life and property.

* lii censequence of the firo in the New " Zealand Insurance Buildings, the annual l meeting of the shareholders of the Caledonian I Goldmining Company will be held to-day, at Jl o'clock, in the Mechanics' Institute, instead of Mr. Haley's room, as formerly ' advertised. Our Coromandel correspondent saya : — " Coromandel was honoured yesterday by a I visit from a large number of the loading , citizens of Auckland, who came down by the i ' Golden Crown 1 and returned in the evening. Amongst them I noticed Messrs. 1 Daldy, Aickin, Brissendeu, Murdoch, S. ; Cochrane, Robert Graham, &c. Most of the . excursionists visited the celebrated Tokatea mine, and were shown over the extensive workings by Mr. Kelly, the manager, who also let them see the specimens accumulated since Monday hist, which amount to about 3Ocwo. of a very rich kind, and will no doubt yield as good a return as those last crushed, which, ran an ounce to the pouud. The visitors expressed themselves much pleased, and in some instances surprised, at the undoubted evidences of permanent wealth which the mine presented. The tramway was at work at the time conveying the Harbour View quartz to the Whakaroa battery, and an opportunity 'vas thus given for the visitors to judge of the manner in which the line worked, and of the many difficulties which have had to be encountered for the last tw® years by all engaged in mining operations. The day was fortunately all that could be desired as regards the weather, which has been very unsettled for a long time past, and thus the excursionists were able fully to eujoy their walk to and from the beach and to return easily in time for the return-trip steamer. A very general wish was expressed that the ' Golden Crown ' would pay Coromandel a visit at least once a week for the future." We believe that a number of circulars have been issued by the Executive, inviting the attendance of the members of the Provincial Council, and other leading citizieus and Kaipara settlers, on Thursday next, when the first sod of the Kaipara railway will be turned at Eiverhead. We hope that amongst others the native owners of land through which the railway will pass will not be forgotten. The willingness shown by these natives in giving the necessary land for the railway is very creditable to them, and shows that they are not unenlightened regarding the advantages which the ironhorse will confer upon them. We would suggest a liberal supply of kaikai, and a free invitation to the natives residing in the district as a befitting recognition of the course they have followed. We have received from the Treasurer of the Borough Council a copy of tbe report of the proceedings of the City Board of Commissioners for the Ist July, 1870, to the 23rd May, 1871. There was a crowded attendance at the Police Court on Saturday morning last, which can only be accounted for by the fact that two young girls were to be brought up, one charged with being drunk and a prostitute and the other with following the same calling. These girls, both of whom were not more than fifteen years of age, were well known to the police aa having for some months past followed a career of vice, and who were constantly the associates of depraved men, thieves, and others who had no lawful occupation. His Worship said he scarcely knew how to deal with such cases. If he sent the girls to gaol, there was nothing but contamination for them ; if, on the other hand, he set them at liberty, it was allowing ' them to fall back on the streets. He feared ' that, until some reformatory institutions was in existence to receive such characters, the ( numbers of them would increase and become l so many social festering sores to society. ' One of these juvenile offenders was sentenced ' to one month's imprisonment, with hard ' labour ; the other was mulcted in a fine of twenty shillings or 48 hours' imprison- J ment. A butcher named, Sandalls ' was fined £15 and costs for slaughtering • three sheep within the precincts of the city. ! His Worship said that such an offence nmit ' be made a severe example of. The lower f parts of the town were in a most un whole- ' some condition. No one on entering it of a ' morning could help being annoyed by the ] disagreeable" odours which everywhere pre- { vailed. It was a duty due by him to the J public that these dangerous nuisances should 1 be checked. Perhaps the defendant might not think he had been guilty of any very J serious offence, but he should remember that he had been committing an act which might ( breed fever and disease alike fatal to both young and old. The offence ought not to ] be lightly treated, and he did not intend it s should be so by him. The defendant, apparently qnite surprised, was then adjudged to £ pay £15 and costs. His solicitor, Mr. Joy, j prayed the Court to allow his client a few \ days to enable him to pay the fine, but the r Magistrate refused to make any order to that j effect. i A fife and dram band has, within the last c two months, been formed at Onehunga, And * now numbers 16 members under Bandmaster t Higgs. On Saturday last the band came into Auckland, and, after marching through the city playing rtrious aira, proceeded to the r Newton Hotel, where they were entertained 1 as the guests of the Hobaon Rifle Volunteers. Various toasts were drunk, and the evening | was spent in a very pleasant-manner. J Thosa settlers in the Wiikato ancl «ther i district* who have been preparing, land for 1 I laying down a hop garden wfll be pleased to f | learn that Mr. Wren, of Bemnera^ is pre- 1 pared to supply ho£ set* during 4h« month of i

8 Mr. Thomas Macffarlane is to deliver a s lecture in explanation of the Government Bcheme of life assurance, annuities, and endowments, at Coromandel, on the evonin/j 3 of Friday, the Ist September, at half-past 7 . o'clock ; and at the Deronport Hall, on 3 Tuesday evening, the 29th in3tant, at T half -past 7 o'clock. 3 The monthly meeting of the Auckland i Institute is to be held this evening in the 1 Museum Buildings, at half-past 7 o'clock. » Three papers will be read upon different subi jects. f The anniversary services of St. Sepulchre's 3 Church were held yesterday, when there were, three full choral services. In the morning the sermon was preached by the ' Right Rev. the Bishop of Auckland, and the •' servicf s were read by the Rev. Dr. Kidd and . the Rev. B. T. Dudley. The text taken 5 2 Cor. iii., 4. In the afternoon the Litany was intoned by the Rev. (J. N. Nelson, " assisted by the members of the choir, without t accompaniment. The sermon was preached L by the Rev. B. T. Dudley, from Ezra iii.,-11 ; to 14. In the evening the itev. C. N. Nelson I preached, and the llev. B. T. Dudley read the services. The text was from 1 Exodus xx. , and part, of verse 24. Total col- , lections £11 13s. lid. J Between Saturday at mid-day and last i night twelve persons were confined in the . lock-up charged with drunkenness, and one , for assault. ! Yesterday Constable John Wallaco brought iv, from Tauranga, a Maori, under sentence 3 of six months' imprisonment with hard t labour, for stealing a saddle. The prisoner 3 had been brought before Mr. Hamlin, R.M., 1 and the charge against him was fully substantiated by ample evidence. s State of her Majesty's Gaol, Auckland, for the week ending August 26. 1871 :— On remand, 4 males ; awaiting trial, 14 males : > sentenced to penal servitude, 48 males 2 sentenced to hard labour, SI males, 25 i females ; default of bail. 1 male, 2 females ; "i dubtor, 2 males. Received during thu week, 13 male's, 10 females ; discharged s dm ing the week, 13 males, 6 females: ) total in gaol, 150 males, 27 males. " J. 8.5." writes to us as follows :— " What 3 shall we do with it? Must the nuisance oi i foul air and water bo endured as irremediable^ Dr. Hawkesly, of L/ondou (speaking on th( ■' subject), says, 'He believed, otherwise, thai i* they were not altogether powerless to grapple 3 with the evil. Foul as some of the gases j were, they contained the elements of the fooci of plants and of future bounties of nature, foi the natural sequence was from plant te animal, animal to man, and from man te earth a^ain.' China illustrated forcibly this r . truth, for though this country had beec highly cultivated for more than a thousand 1 years, it had not decreased in fertility ; and fc even now in that garden laud they could 1 gather two crops a year by properly using T the excreta and refuse of their habitations.' Mr. H. 11. Smith, of High-street, announced by advertisement on Saturday that 1 those who were desirous of seeing his » wrought-iron ranges would have an opportus nty for so doing on Saturday and Monday. Mr. Smith has just completed a range on a new pattern, to the order of Mr. Potter, ol Epsom, and it is to this range that ho calls ! attention. The range is si-yilxr in construe- ' tion to the ordinal y Leamington ranges, the smoke, when deshed, passing over the oven, which is thus heated from above as woU as ' from below. Ihe bars are movable, lo that they can readily be replaced when damaged by lire. Altogether the rango is a strong ' aud serviceable one, and is well worthy of inspection, an opportunity being afforded to- ) day to those desirous of seeing it. \Vo ate glad to see that Mr. Smith is extending his operations to suit his customers, and to learn that he is prepared to make almost any class of ranges and ovens to suit customers. The range mentioned above is fitted with an eight-gallon boiler, and a very large oven, and Mr. Smith is prenaied to construct them at prices from £8 10s. upwards. We are informed that a Leamington range of similar size would cost £15. It would not appear from this that colonial industries and workmanship have to compete with imported goods on unequal terms. When the goods can be sold cheaper they have a very decided advantage, and one which will soon be recognised by purchasers. To the Editor : Sir,— Will you or any of your many readers kindly tall mo if, after learning navigation, I am obliged to go to sea for five years before I can put it in practice?— A Seaman. The Advocate states that "a monster petition is being drafted by the Arrow Miners' Association, to be circulated throughout the province, against the further introduction of the Chinese, as a race that tend* most materially to injure the mining interest aud retard the progress of colonisation." The Duke of Edinburgh has no idea of idling, and expresses a hope that the Admiralty will give him command of another ship shortly. " If," says the Court Journal, " his Royal Highness has not infi lence sufficient, we hope Mr. Goschen will consider our recommendation and the Prince's past good service as of some weight. " When the ' Galatea' was paid off, a few weeks since, at the Devonport Dockyard, her Royal commander (the Duke of Edinburgh) was present at the pay-table. After all the men had received the amount due to them, a procession was formed, headed by the elephant, which was given to his Royal Highness in India, aud accompanied by the band of the ship. The crew walked through the principal streets of the town to the Mechanics' Institute, where, at the expense of the Prmce, the whole of the men, about 450 in number, were provided with dinner. The streets through which the procession passed were lined withpeople.who accorded the Duke aud his fine crew a very hearty farewell greeting. A ,Roman correspondent says that his Holiness the Pope is about to proceed to the Castle Gandolfo, as he does not wish to be in Rome at the Festa dello Statuto, the Italian National FSte. The illustrious I "prisoner of the Vatican," however, by way of expressing his contempt for the Italian Government, and to avoid the honours — or insults, as he terms them — which would otherwise be paid him by the Italian soldiery, contemplates leaving in the night, at a season and an hour known only to himself, and some of his most immediate attendants. The German Reichstag is represented as being eager to settle upon Prince Bismarck and Count Molke one million thalers caoh. Bismarck peremptorily declined at first, but afterwards consented, lest his refusal should entail upon Moltke the necessity of refusing also. Then Moltke peremptorily declined, but has now consented, lest his refusal should put Bismarck's acceptance in a bad light. We have at some time heard of craftier coquetting than this, but it must have been in some former state of existence. We are wholly unable to recall anything in this life which at all approaches it in sublimity of acuteness.