The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, JUNE 7.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 197, 7 June 1878, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, JUNE 7.

Before our next issue, the Burgesses of Akaroa will have been called upon to decide upon the question of raising a loan for public works within the Borough. On Monday next, a poll is to be taken, as announced in our advertising columns, " for the purpose of deciding a proposal to borrow a special loan of £8000 for the purpose of erecting Bridges, Regrading and Metalling Streets, Sewage Works, and Erecting Public Baths," It is scarcely necessary for us to observe that such a proposal merits the calm and unbiassed consideration of every burgess in the place, and we hope that, however the question is decided, the number of votes recorded on Monday will show that the burgesses have deemed it worthy of such consideration. It is also self-evident to every thinking mind that such a question should be settled on its intrinsic merits, and not by any means in any party spirit. If any dissensions unhappily exist in the Council, and if any partisan feeling has spread thence outside, this should form no reason for the votes to be given for or against the proposal now before us. We must apologise to our readers for venturing to insist on this point, but there is unhappily a too common frame of mind which refuses to allow, say, Jones, to see anything worthy of consideration in any scheme supported by' Brown, who, on totally different grounds, may be considered objectionable ; or, on the other hand,- Brown will support a proposal simply because it is opposed by Jones, and it is considered desirable to spite him in any manner. An illustration of what we refer to occurs to us, which came under our own observation. In a small municipality in a neighboring colony two questions came under consideration at the same sitting —one was a proposal to give a grant in aid to the local Athenajum, and the other to erect a pump. It happened that the proposer of the latter resolution was opposed to the former. Partly through his influence the proposed grant was defeated, and in narrating its being rejected, one of its supporters stated, with a meaning smile—" However, we put a stopper on his pump ! "

Besides dismissing all personal considerations from their minds in voting on this question, we think the burgosses may also safely discard all questions as to its legality. The polling booth is certainly not the tribunal by which any such question can be decided. As we endeavored to show in a former article, we believe the 145 th section of the Municipal Corporations Act throws the whole onus as to the legality of any loan on the Government, who, by publishing the requisite notice in the Gazette, thereby give the proceedings the stamp of legality, and proclaim that the loan has been " duly authorised under this Act." Those who believe that a loan cannot legally be raised without a special rate will have an opportunity of testing its legality in a formal manner, but certainly the burgesses are not the judges on a point of law of this kind. '

Yet another point should be clearly understood by the burgesses before recording their votes. They are called upon to vote for or against the proposal to raise a loan, to be expended on the purposes named in the advertisement, and which will be printed on the'ballot papers. In the event of, the proposal being carried, that is what the Borough will be bound to. To arrive at a certain sum estimated to be required, the proposers were obliged to specify certain works which they deemed necessary, and to affix certain estimate? to those works, but the Council is by no means bound afterwards to expend the money on the particular streets named in that proposal, still less to adhere to the estimates therein laid down. For instance,, they would certainly not be bolmd as our correspondent " Civis " remarks, to spend £200 on a bridge, if they could get. a satisfactory one erected for £K)o.' All these are matters of detail. The broad question is, do we need to have certain improvements carried out in- the town ? and if so, is it expedient to get the money to execute them at once, and pay it off by degrees, or to wait and do the works by degrees, as we have funds at our disposal?

Whatever the verdict, we hope that it will be accepted loyally by the defeated party, and that all will unite in either case, in carrying out such works and improvements as appear most pressingly accessary, according to the means at the disposal of the Council.

We have to remind the Burgesses of the Borough of Akaroa that the poll on the proposal to borrow £3000 as a special loan will take place on Monday next at the Borough Council Offices between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. The voting is by plurality of votes, in the same manner a3 in Elections of Couucillors.

The. contractor for the additions to the Hospital, Mr Recce, together with Mr March Immigration Officer for Canterbury, arrived per tho Hawea on Wednesday morning last, for the purpose of taking the necessary work in hand at once. We understand that the alterations will be completed in about a month, when the Hospital will be handed over.to the supervision of the local bodies.

On Tuesday evening the Vestry of St,. Peter's met at the Parsonage. Present —Rev. P. C. Anderson (Chairman), Messrs Wagstaff, Westenra, McGregor, and Henning. The only correspondence laid on the table was two letters to the Chairman from Christ's College, one from the-" Clergy' Pension Board which elicited a resolution to the effect that, in accordance with synodical recommendation, the offertories . of one Sunday in the yean should be devoted to the Clergy Widows and Orphans Fund. The other letter was a very important one from Canon Cotterill, the consideration of which occupied the greater part of the evening. It was to the following effect:—That a portion of the parish having applied for severance from the mother parish of Akaroa, and having guaranteed a clergyman's stipend for the proposed parish, were the Vestry prepared to acquiesce in the proposal ? After considering the matter in its various bearings, the Vestry resolved to offer no I opposition to the scheme. The proposed j new parish will extend from Robinson's Bay to Island Bay, both inclusive. At present, however, the division will be but temporary, as no permanent boundaries can be decided on until the annual meeting of the Synod in November or A clergyman for the Bays will probably commence his duties in July. A full report appears elsewhere.

A meeting of the subscribers of the Le Bon's Bay Library took place on Saturday evening in the -schoolroom. There was a very scanty attendance, showing an evident want of interest on the part of some of the settlers. It is a great pity that those who ought to encourage such a useful institution do not do so. Mr Foster, the Chairman of the Committee, in laying before the public the statement of the past year's proceedings, remarked that the receipts from all sources had amounted to £34 18s 7d, the expenditure had been £27 ss, leaving a balance of £7 13s 7dDuring the year, 85 volumes had been added to 'the collection, making in all 357. He regretted extremely that many of the settlers who professed to be interested in the placo and its institutions, seemed to ignore the library—either from an inability to appreciate literature of any kind, the range of books being as extensive as any library in Canterbury, or from being unable to afford the small sum of half-a-crpwn. The nuitfber of subscribers during the year reached 29, but at present there were only 24, some of these being strangers to the Bay. He was surprised that those who had complained of the class of books were not present, either to make some suggestions as to improving it, or to endeavor to remove the present Committee The thanks of the public were due to the librarian for his efforts and success in increasing the number of subscribers and his willingness to oblige them at any time. *A vote of thanks was accorded to the Chairman for the energetic manner in which he had done his duty during the past year. The new Committee elected weie Messrs Foster, Macniillan, T.Oldridge, Hall, and Jas. Oldridge, and Mr. Foster was re-elected Chairman.

It appears that the late fatal accident at Wellington through the explosion of kerosene, has led the police to institute enquiries into the quality of the kerosene generally supplied and used in that city. The result is far from re-assuring, and is thus described in a telegram dated Wellington, June 4 :—" It seems that if all the dangerous kerosene were destroyed, in accordance with the terms of the Dangerous Goods Act, there would be none left in the city. " Dr Hector has been kept hard at work during the last week testing samples taken by the police from the stores in town, and in no one case was the flashing point above the minimum fixed by the Act. The " scare "has benefited the Gas Company." This is a cheerfu Hook-out for us who have no gas company to derive benefit from any "scare." It would appear from the rarity of accidents, that the " minimum fixed by the Act " must be too high, but if this bo the case, and the Act be thereby rendered unworkable, it leaves no check on the sale of the most dangerous class of oils. We do not suppose that Wellington is exceptionally badly supplied, or that what we have in Canterbury *s above the average quality. To be forewarned is to be foreaimed, however, and knowing that we probably have a dangerous article to deal with, should tend to cause greater care in handling and using kerosene lamps and all their belongings.

By a telegram from New Plymouth (Taranaki), we learn that fourteen thousand pounds' worth of grass seed has been exported from that place during tho past season.

It is notified in the Gazette of the 30th ult., that the Resident Magistrate's Courti Akaroa, ia appointed as the Resident Magistrate's Court for the Ridings of Port Victoria, Port Levy, Pigeon Bay, Berard, Le Bon's Bay, Raupo, Okain's Bay, and Little River, in tlie County of Akaroa.

The dockyard at Chatham just now presents a spectacle . never before witnessed in its history as a naval establishment, there being no fewor than five large armorplated ships, all of the most powerful character, for both offensive and defensive purposes, now in the dockyard 'basins, being prepared for sea, in addition to which a sixth equally formidable ironclad ship is on the building slip, being rapidly constructed.— Home News.

On Tuesday evening next, an entertainment will be given in the Town Hall, Akaroa, by the members of the Akaroa Hope Lodge of Good Templars, assisted by other local talent, in aid of the Lodge Piano Fund. No trouble has been spared, we understand, in drawing up the programme, which presents many varied and attractive features. Considering the repeated occasions on which the Good Templars have provided free entertainments for the public here, we venture to anticipate a bumper house for them, in response to this their first, and moderate request for pecuniary aid toward a good object, viz., the paying off, of the debt on the Lodge Piano, to which instrument, most of those, who are now asked to give their mite are indebted for much pleasant music in the past. Should the present whether change for the better, we hope that everyone who is able to do so will put in an appearance, and thus show the Good Templars that their gratuitous efforts to provide some entertainment for the general community have been fully appreciated, and are not forgotten, should, however, the weather be as unpropitious as at present we would strongly advise a timely and judicious postponement to a more suitable evening.

.Mr C. W. Bridge notifies that he will resume to-morrow his series of Weekly Saturday Sales, consisting of carcasses of sheep, useful furniture, pictures, &c. The sale which was advertised in our last issue to take place yesterday at the Head of the Bay was postponed to the 13th inst., owing to the inclemency of the weather.

Owing to the dense fog and the darkness of the rfight, the Hawea, which left Lyttelton at half-past three o'clock on Tuesday afternoon, did not arrive here, till close upon ten o'clock the next morning. The steamer was simply dodging about just off the Heads all night, the weather being by no means to say nothing of the delay and consequent loss to the company, the unnecessarily prolonged anxiety of those on shore who expected the arrival of friends or relations. A passenger informs us that had the steamer sailed according to advertised time, Akaroa would havo been reached the same evening, and that instead of her being off these Heads the next morning, she would have been safely berthed at Dunedin. Here, then, lies the root of the evil, and it is a fault thai all those who travel will heartily condemn. Unpunotuality on the part of the officers of the company, besides being excessively tantalising to those whose chief object is to arrive at their destination by some special time,' or as speedily as possible, breeds a ■■-like. ■ unpunctuality among shippers, intending . passengers, messengers', and, in' short, the' whole list of human beings connected, no matter in how small a degree/withthe, steamer's despatch. passengers will say

—" Oh 1 she never starts to her time," and on arrival find the bp.a{ has- left; or they are most particular to'be alongside to the minute, and then find themselves doomed to wait, it may be, in dirty weather and in an uninteresting town, two Or three hours before departure. All this is redolent of bad management. There should be a fixed time for departure, and, wind and 'tide permitting, nothing but accident, or the strongest reasons for so doing, should delay it beyond the hour fixed. . In the present instance, the immediate cause of delay, we are informed, was in obtaining some empty casks from the railway officials, the men' having knocked off work for dinner, and here, too, we think that it would be better management if matters were so arranged that when one set of men left off work for dinner another relay should be at band to take their places, this especially at an important station like Lyttelton, where vessels are actually dependent upon the railway authorities for their prompt despatch. One thing is certain, that punctuality-would in the .end be most advantageous for both passengers and shippers, and a: saving of money to the company itself. ■ .' •

Regarding the despatch of troops from India to Malta, the Times of India of April 22, says—" The Government of India have received orders to despatch troops from this country to Malta. The following regiments have been selected :—-9th Bengal Cavalry, Ist Bengal Light Cavalry, 2nd Ghoorkas, 13th and 31st Regiments Bengal Native Infantry, 25th Madras Native Infantry, two regiments of Bombay Native Infantry, two field batteries of Artillery from Bombay, two companies of Sappers and Minery from Bombay, and' two from Madras. The Native Infantry will be brigaded with tho British Infantry on arrival at Malta. Major Adams, assistant quarter-master-general, and Major' Keays assistant commissary-general, have been sent to Malta to make arrangements for the reception of the troops. The force will consist of about 6000 troops of all arms. With the exception of the artillery, the regiments selected aro from the native army." Tho same paper states :—' v ' Great activity prevails at the Bombay dockyard, where the employers are working day and night to fit up the transports for Malta. Ten large steamers and. fourteen sailing vessels have already been taken up, and are being supplied with the necessary fittings for the cavalry, &c. His Excellency Sir Richard Temple, Governor of Bombay, visits the dockyard daily, and on Saturday spent several hours in inspecting the transports lying off the dockyard and Apollo Bunder. The vessels have been secured for four months." Tho force will be under the command of J. Ross, C.B.

Sir William Jervois'(tho European Mail states) is now in London, and looking very well after his trip to Australia. He believes there is a great future for the Colonies if the democrats; can be brought to understand that their interest lies, not in offering a factious opposition to progress, but in doing- their best to promote useful and necessary works, and in supporting the introduction of a useful class of immigrants. . His plans for the naval and military defences of the Colonies, having been explained, have been gener ally endorsed by the authorities, and it is hoped that the Colonies will lose no time in carrying them out. ' '

Mr N. Chevalier has two pictures in the Royal Academy this year, which will add not a little to his reputation. Before they were despatched to the Academy the pictures were on view at his studio for a couple of days, and hundreds flocked to see them. They were very much admired,- and could have been sold half a dozen times over. The gentleman who has secured them is very proud of his purchase. One of the subjects is very bold, both in design and execution, and may be pronounced almost unique. Three Chinese priests are depicted playing at go-bang—a game somewhat similar to that of chess — while a fourth, -evidently a neophyte, is sitting by with a cat on his lap watching the game. The merit of the work lies in the expression of the players and the lookers-on, which it is impossible to transmit to paper. The shaven heads, the priestly robes, and the general surroundings are all true to the originals, and the yellow tinge peculiar to Chinkies is well preserved. Kuo Sung Tao, the Chinese ambassador, who inspected this picture, pronounced the details to be perfect. The other picture is also a happy conception. The scene is laid at St. Leonards, and there is a young flower girl, about 14 years of age, asleep upon a seat in one of the rain shelters which may be seen down near the beach. She seems to be very poor and very beautiful. Every point in this pretty little sketch is well defined, and the coloring is as bright and genial as well-attuned skill can make it.— Age.

When Mr Gladstone was in Ireland laßt year, he travelled on one occasion incog, to the County Wicklow, in a third-class carriage, to see what the peasant classes were like. He got into chat with a friezecoated fellow-passenger, and the conversation turned on Irish landlords. The exPremier's companion denounced in unmeasured language nearly all tho landlords in the country. Lord Leitrim's name was mentioned. "Be jabers, your honor," said Mr Gladstone's informant, " he's the worst landlord in all Oireland." " Then how is it," said the author of the Irish Land Act, "that he has not been shot?" "Begadl dun know, your worship" said Paddy, " except, sor,it is bekaße what's every man's business is nobody's business." — Age. - - -

The New Zealand Jurist says:— Instead of amending our consoidating the Act relating to Resident Magistrates' Courts, the better plan would be to repeal tbem. There is no reason why the District Court should, not dispose of-all the civil business now done by the R.M. Courts, instead of exercising a merely concurrent jurisdiction. The summary jurisdiction in criminal cases should be exercised by Courts of Petty Sessions, which should have a well-defined jurisdiction in civil cases up to £20. This system -Would involved the appointment of a few more District Judges ; but the expenditure could be well afforded if the salaries of the Resident Magistrates were saved. There are fully sixty of these magistrates in receipt of-salaries averaging at least £400, making a total of M4fiW If six more District JudgesSvere added to the six now in office, tlie-total ecstj allowing *£10.00 foT salaries .'■■ and • travelling •expenses, would bo £12,000. By-this means the Treasury would be so far relieved while the country would benefit by a far more satisfactory administration of justice. As matters stand? it seems necessary that District Courts* should be established at Christchurch, Wellington, and Napier—the business in those towns having grown beyond the dimension of a Magistrate's Court, The opportunity therefore presents itself for extending the system. The Acts relating to District Courts should be consolidated, and the •rules carefully revised. It is high time that the farce of administering law by laymen should be done away with. It has nothing to recommend it; it has created general dissatisfaction fit involves extravagance in expenditure, injury to suitors, and injustice to the profession.