The Clutha Leader. BALCLUTHA: FRIDAY, FEB. 15, 1878.

Clutha Leader, Volume IV, Issue 188, 15 February 1878, Page 5

The Clutha Leader. BALCLUTHA : FRIDAY, FEB. 15, 1878.

The approval by the Imperial Government of the part acted by the Governor of Victoria in the matter of the dismissal of the Civil servants, and the success that has attended the energetic policy of Mr Berry and his colleagues, are not at all unlikely to exert an infinence throughout the whole of the Australian colonies. Notwithstanding the ott-repeated assertions of interested and party journals to the contrary, it has now been abundantly proved that in his retrenchment of the public expenditure by dismissing* Civil servants whose influence was exerted on behalf of a monopoly of the land by speculators and absentee companies, Mr Berry has the enthusiastic support of the great body ofthe people. With such support he can force the " Lords " of the Legislative Council to agree to his terms, however unpalatable these may be to themselves and the class they more especially represent. t( Vox populi vox Dei " is a proverb frequently misapplied, but in the present case its potentiality is likely to be fully demonstrated. JSo one can help remarking the wondeilnl simi.lari.'v existing between the struggle; that has for several years past been carr'ed on in this country with that that has culminated so fatally to the cause of the monopolist in Victoria. The foundation of the contention has been very much the same. On the one hand are the. capitalists grasping for a monopoly of land, patronage, and power, and on the other the people seeking* to preserve j their patrimony for t hems-elves and | their families, to administer justice equally to all, and to secure the progressive settlement of the country. In each case the contention both in the - Legislature and throughout the country J has been keen, and has given rise to bitter feeling and unadvised words, and in both cases the victory for the present is on the side of the people and those who have honestly and fearlessly espoused their cause. In Victoria the advantages of the favourable position have been pushed further than here, but retrenchment is one of the cardinal points of the policy of the Grey Government, and those who have watched the direction in which the wind has been blowing will not be surprised should a large reduction of expenditure in salaries and a radical • change in the personnel of the Civil Service be shortly mnde. It is un- [ necessar3'.now to r,efe'r to the more than rumoured obstructions placed by public servants in the way of Ministers during \ last session of Assembly. We believe the same obstructions, although in a more covert form, are still continued. Indeed it would appear that some are so bitterly opposed to the policy of the present Government that they are at no trouble to conceal their hostility. Thus we have the extraordinary spectacle at Taranaki. the other day of a brother ot the leader of the Opposition, a member of Parliament, a public officer in receipt of LoOG a year together with their iriends w discovered in a dastardly at- | tempt to .demolish a triumphal* arch , erected by the people, in honour of the Premier. This we believe may be regarded as an indication .of the atitude at present assumed by a large, section ofthe Civil Service towards the present Government. Manifestly the .public business of the country cannot be conducted efficiently while such ,a|state ,of matters 'is. allowed to exist. As to the remedy, - Victoria has set an example and one which it is to be hoped Ministers .will not longer hesitate to follow. We believe a wholesale retrenchment can be effected without impairing the

efficiency of the Service, and the state of the finances of the country demand immediate action in the matter. -Let the Government boldly carry put their own policy in this respect, and they will earn and receive the hearty snpport of the greaS body of the people of the Colony.

The principle of cumulative voting has been adopted under the -new Education Act, in the election of the members of the several educational Committees. According to -this -.principle, as our readers generally may be aware, any voter may give to one candidate as many votes as there are members to be elected, instead of giving separate votes in favour ol the number of which the Committee consists. In other words, instead of voting for seven, he may give seven votes in favour of one individual. Ostensibly, this plan of voting has been originated and brought into operation in connection with our new educational arrange--ments, with the view of securing that the views of minorities may have a representative place in bodies intended to act -for the general r co mm unity. In certain circumstances we can see this to be both advisable and practicable, but we question whether the method of cumulative voting* is the right way to secure this object, especially as carried out in the recent election of school committees. Some other method than that of having a public meeting, at which only a limited portion of the voters can be present, and where, therefore, any general voting on their part is impossible, must be adopted to secure the election of true representtives either of the majority or° of the minority, in country districts where the population is small, and where there is less likelihood of parties beingformed to any great extent, or of diversity of opinion to any considerable degree being found -to exist, the method now in force might suffice to secure a true representation of the community. \ But in large centres of population such as Dunedin, Oamaru, Milton, and like places, an election whether for school or other purposes -of management every one must see that this method is altogether faulty, and is calculated to secure the election of men who may be the nominees of small coteries, men who wish to be in places of influence or power, and who co gain ttieir object use what influence they may have with others to put them in such places by being present at the eleciiou aud voting for them alone. iNo one can read the reports of the Dunedin election without seeing that those who stood at the top of the poll held their place there not as representing souie peculiar views on educational matters that only a portion, whether great or small, considered desirable to have effect given to them, but simply as having received plumpers from a certaiu class with which they stand connected, as having personal or other relation towards each 011-nr. They represent notminorities, but clicj ies or coterios ; and tbough standing at" he top ofr-he poll, they were placed there by a far smaller constituency th m tkat which elected the other members whose votes counted fewer. If cumulative voting is to. be tho order of the day, then a plan of nomination similar to what is the case in the matter of muni- • cipal elections must be adopted, and a similar method of voting followed. In this way the public at large would have the opportunity of recording their votes, minorities could take advantage of the privilege of cumulative voting without endangering the rights of the majority to be in the ascendency, while it would be impossible for small coteries snch as that which seems to have elected Messrs Fish, Sherwin, and Nathan, placing them at the top of the poll, to play such a nice littie game. Considering* the way in which these men have found themselves where they are in Dunedin educational matters, as disclosed in the analyses of the voting published, we cannot regard them as repsesentatives other than of those who gave them their cumulative votes. They represent neither a majority nor a minority of educational views prevailing in Dunedin — no great position to be proud of, though Mr Fish at a recent meeting of the Committee declared himself to be proud ofit. Certainly his position is a queer one. Before the election, by his own efforts or those of otheis, an understanding must have been arrived at that the parties that usually snpport Mr Fish in political and municipal elections should plump for him, or as many of tbein as could conveniently attend. Knowing, as he must have done, that such an understanding was .come to, he had the hardihood to declaim at the public meeting at which the election took place, against the principle of cumulative voting, and. urged that the Act be improved in this respect. Elected in the face of this avowed disclaimer of the principle of cumulative voting on the very gcoimd of thut principle being acttd upon by his friends, he declares ing himself proud of the election that has been accorded him— rproud, that is to say, of being in a position secured in a way obnoxious to him. If a man -can be so inconsistent as this, is he fit to be entrusted -?vith the educational concerns of such a. city as Dunedin? We. .think .the Committee ,. has sufficiently judged him by refusing to appoint him their. Chairman. That is their condemnation of the way by which; he has. won his way into the Committee and of the principle of cumulative voting,

We have* to call attention to an announcement by Mr J. Kelly, of Dunedin, re-. :garding the formation of a class for dancing here. It is not generally known by the travel-•ling-community that. through ; return tickets between Dunedin and Invorcargill by train and coach are available fbr six days. In the Waikaka district the crops are looking well but will bo somewhat late. The .wheat is good and the turnips have made rapid . progress during the past few weeks. We notice that the Hillend annual soiree is fixed fbr Thursday evening next. This entertainment has hitherto proved v crowded one, and is always attended by large numbers from -Balclutha. We believe the forthcoming, "soiree will prove equally popular. A telegram from Wellington dated "Wednesday says *• It is expected that the Hon. "W. J. M. Larnach will shortly resign his portfolio and seat-in the House of Representatives, but will be called to Legislative Council. He will probably be absent next session, Mr Stout is 'considered his probable successor in the Ministry. We have to call attention to the public meeting to be held in the Waitepeka schoolhouse j this evening, to consider aa to the best route for the proposed railway to Catlins river. Judging from tho groat interest formerly taken in railway matters in the district, we have no doubt the attendance to-night will be large, and the prooeedings vigorous and definite. It will be observed from our advertising columns that a grand musical, dramatic, Terpsichbrean festival will be given in the Newmarket hall on Thursday evening. It is now sometime since we had an entertainment in Balclutha, and -considering the varied character of that on ThUTsday night, and the high character then to be forthcoming, there will no doubt be a crowded house. A serious accident occurred at Messrs ■Jaskman and Co.'s Saw mills Glenomaru, at 10 o'clock on Monday forenoon, "While six men were at work at the mill and everything apparently going on smoothly the engine suddenly burst at both ends. The crash and consternation were considerable, and the esoapes quite narrow enough to be , pleasant, bnt strange enough ho one was hurt and besidrs the boiler but little j damage was occasioned. We have to call the attention of the inhabitants of the Otaria Road District, to the nomination of members of the Board to tako place on "Wednesday the 20th inst. The poll if necessary will be taken on the 27th. From one cause or another considerable delay has unavoidably occurred in bringing about this election, We trust good and energetic men will now be chosen so that the district may reap to the fullest extent those benefits the road board system is calculated to afford. At the ""Resident Magistrate's Court, Balclutha, on Wednesday, Messrs J. M'JSTeill and J. S. Fleming, J. P. s, presided. Tiie following cases were dealt with ; — Hislop Brothers v. Dobbie ; claim, L2O ss. Adjourned for a week. — Hislop Brothers v. .Rowley ; claim, Lo lis 6d. Judgment by default for amount claimed and costs.— J. G. Smith v. Mrs Robbie ; claim, L 7 17s 6d. Mr Taylor.for plaintiff, aud Mr D. Ileal for defendant. J udgment for LO 6s and costs Ll 10s. — Mitchell Brothers v. Mrs Robbie ; claim, 14s 3d. Mr "Reid for defendant. Plaintiff nonsuited. The first meeting. of the recently appointed A then*eu*m Committee at Tapanui, was held ou .Friday evening last. There was a good attendance of members, and the affairs of the Ins ibulion wci v discussed at considerable length. A donation of five pounds was received from Mr Hor tee Bastings, and a unanimous vote of thanks was passed to that gentleman for his liberality. A Cormnil-fcee was appointed to select plans for an A tuemeum Building tobe erected shortly. The estimated cost is about one hundred pounds, and the ten members present un- ' animously agreed, if uecessary to become re- . sponsible to tne extent of ten pounds each, for the payment of same. After such an offer as this there can* be but one opinion as to the prosperity of ihe institution. A very clear case of attempted incendiarism occurred hero about one o'clock on the morning of Tuesday last. At that hour two gentlemen who happened to be in the street noticed a bright flame below the corner of the shop cf Mr A. Cowie, saddler, Clyde-street. 'They immediately rushed to the spot and got the fire extinguished, only the corner-pile and tho lower weatherboards being charred. Mr Cowie and his household being asleep, entrance was obtained by a window, when it was found the fire had not penetrated to the interior of the building. After the fire had been extinguished some rags saturated with kerosene oil were found partially consume J. There can be no doubt the fire had only been ignited a few seconds before I being discovered, and had it been left alone for some minutes not only would Mr -Uowie's premises have been consumed, but also the whole of the buildings in the block. No one was seen about at the time. The matter is being investigated by bhe police,- and it will be obobserved Mr Cowie offers a liberal reward for* information as to the perpetrator of the dastardly crime. It is to be hoped suck information will be forthcoming. It is evident there are ono or more individuals in Balclutha who want removing badly. A fortnight ago we called attention to the necessity for unanimity of action on the part of the country School Committees in the matter of the election of members of the Education Board in order to prevent the Board being composed exclusively of Dunedin men. We then suggested that a conference of delegates from the vaiious School Committees within the County should be held to as>ree upon a member or members. ' From all quart ers we learn that the proposal is heartily acquiesced inj and steps have been taken to givo effect to the same. It would "have been well*, we think, had the conference been held previous to the nominations, so. as to avoid complications, but as there was not time for this the best time in the * present circumstances to hold the conference will be after the, Secretary to the Education Board shall have forwarded a list of the whole nominations to the several School Committees." The Balclutha Committee has taken the initiative in the matter, aud the Secretary, Mr R.; Hogg, has" been instructed to call the meeting so soon as'the nominations referred to aie received. 'The' subject is one of very great -importance an'the cause of education throughout .the' couriti-y^a&d we trus-t ; the proposed -conference will .be-largely attended andresiiitin the district being well represented at the Eduoation Board.

The Hey. J. Watera will preach at Ahuriri and Owake on Sunday next at the hours trieri-« ; tioned in an advertisement; ■ . ' ' " We -have to direct, attention to an - : alteration of the date of Mr Henry Driver's sale of stook, whioh has been postponed to Friday, March Bth. .'*..." The Hon. Mr Macandrew -is to 'make atour of the west coast of the Middle Island. He is expected to leave Wellington to-day. We observe -from a notice in the Gazette that Mr J. W. Thomson, M.H.R., has been appointed a member of the. Otago Waste Lands Board in the room ot Alr*J-.L. Butter worth, resigned, This is another of those wise appointments by the present Government tlnvt will meet with a hearty approval on the part of the public, A telegram from Tauranga says the telephone was tried there on Monday by Mr Floyd, the electrician, through resistance equal to 700 miles of perfectly insulated wire, with entire success. The sound reached the receiving instrument as distinctly, though a little fainter, than when it only travelled through a few yards of wire. The dwelling house of Donald M'Bain, a settler on the Otama block, ,was together with its contents totally' destroyed by fire on Sunday afternoon. The building was a new one, and the loss including furniture' and stores is estimated at L 650. G-reat -sympathy* is felt for the Owner aa the premises were uninsured. The origin of the fire is unknown. We know there are riot a few afHicted with deafness throughout this as well as other districts, and we would therefore call the attention of all such to the ' fact that a celebrated Aurist— Professor Stanich— ia at present oh a visit to Dunedin. Unless .we are to credit the hasty assertion of the Psalmist that all men are liars, it is impossible to doubt the overwhelming testimony adduc3d by Professor Stanich, that he has performed innumerable cures of deafness in cases where the disease or obstruction had been of '2o or 30 years or life-long duration, and that too, when the .patients had resorted to numerous eminent physicians and been pronounced by them incurable. He has affected many such cures throughout the Australian Colonies uj-ou respectable business men, whose long standing deafness was known to the community generally, and whose perfect cure is witnessed by all and sundry. His skill and success is indeed beyond question, and those who are suffering in the manner referred to, will no doubt be only too glad of an opportunity of consulting him. In a recent issue we called attention to the new regulations providing that the minimum of any Volunteer Company shall iv future be fifty, and rendering any Company not coming up to that standard liable to be discharged. To provide against such a catastropho the members of Nos. I and 2 Companies of Clutha Rifles met and agreed t& amalgamate into ono Company., With reference to the recently formed Yeomanry Troop, it was felt that if the regulations were made to apply to it the members had no alternative but to resign, for although it was fully anticipated tho number would eventually come up to that standard, it waa not expected it would be complete for some time. Under these circumstances Captain Pillans placed himself in communication with the proper authorities with reference to the matter, and has received ai reply that so long as the Troop does not receeive capitation allowance the new. regulations will not apply. Thus the difficulty is removed, and we cordially endoi-sethe hope of the Lieut. -Colonel commanding the district that the Clutha Cavalry will now become a first-class corps. We call attention to the meeting on the evening of Monday week. An occasional correspondent informs us that the settlers in the Waipahi Biding aie very angry at the valuation list of -property in the Hiding being only open for inspection at Balclutha instead of at some place within the Hiding, as they observe is the case in 'all other Counties, lt is evidently a dodge to prevent the owners of property lodging objections, as the expense of travelling such a distance and the losa of two or three days is quite sufficient to deter any settler going to see the list. If there was any man in the Ridinp; opposed to separation from the Clutha County, this actioh'with L'egar'd tb the list has convinced him that separation is the only chance of the district obtaining anything like justice, and the determination of the Council not to spend any money on the roads beyond the Waipahi river strengthens the wish for a new County ; so that notwithstanding the cavalier manner, in which the Government treated the petition of last session, it is the intention of tho settlers to sond another to the next session of the Assembly.. [Our correspondent woald observe from an advertisement in last issue that the matter complained of was at once rectified on the attention of the County Council being called to it. He would also see that there is no determination on the part of the Council not to expend any monsy beyond the Waipahi river. On the contrary, it has been determined to expend a considerable amount of the County funds beyond that river. — Ed. C.L.] ' '.- 'A .< The Presbytery of Clutha met at Lawrence on Wednesday, for the purpose of inducting the Rev. Hugh Cowie to the pastoral charge • of that congregation. There were present of the Clutha Presbytery the Revs. Allan, M'Ara, Telford, and Borrie, and Drs Stuart and Copland and the EeV. W. Will of :the Dunediu Presbytery being present were associated. The Bey. David Borrie preached an excellent sermon and inducted Mr Cowie, and the Rev. Dr Copland, at the request of Mr Chisholm, addressed the newly inducted. minister, and Dr Stuart, at the request, of Mr Skinner, acl^liessed . the people. . Therb was an exceedingly good attendance of both members and adherents, , and the. whole service was . very interesting, and enjoyable. "lii the evening a sohee was. held in the new Town Hall, and was a great success. There 'could not have been less than 350 people present, representing all denominations. After, an excellent tea the tables were cleared, and tlifv Hall arranged for the -after meeting, "Tlie-Rev; Mr Cowie took the 'chair,- -and made a few intro-' ductory remarks. Thereafter excellent speeches were delivered by the Revs: Copland, M'Ara, Will-/ Beaumont (English Church); Stuart, Baumber ( Wesleyap),iand -Allan;;,' <The addiesses, wore interspersed .-with- pieces of*. sJOcredmusicj. which were most beautifully,. rendered by, an 'efficient choir. ' Ample* testimony "was borne' hy' I all. the speakers ,to Mr' Co vyie's worth knd quail* i ficatipns.fpr the important ( sphei evio! which ho, i had been* called-, and the' best resul^'^ •patedt froni ; this liftppy; settlemi-nlr.'-'Onij'of . tho ' most sudrjessf jil abireW,ey ci 5 hell in-Lawrgnce^as. brought-'to a close at half-past teri, r all see&ing. hlghiy delighted with the wh«le uay'6 pt6\ : \ ceedingai '..--"' '.:'*'■', . ...*-: "'

„ , We understand.Mr Daniel, Clai'k intends to „<ome forward as a Candidate to represent Brugh riding* in ;t-he Clutha County Council. ' His -Excellency the Governor, the Marchioness of Normanby, and suite, arrived at Auckland on Wednesday, whero they will remao until Arpidl. Two sharp earthquakes wero felt at Taupo on Wednesday morning, but ho damage | was done. The springs were 'unusually active for a considerable time after the shocks. At the . Government • land sale at , Mataura on "Wednesday, the paper company purchased section 4-, block XVI, Mataura township, at the upset price of L*2s per acre. A correspondent writes -—-I have read, the report of Mr George Al 'Lean's speech at "Waikouaiti, and trust he has now vented his spleen at being driven from the honourable post of >' 'weakest member"* of the late Government. I am glad Mr Malfock only moved a vote of thanks 'instead of a "vote of confidence, for I have stronger 'faith in. the Waikouaiti politicians thau to believe for a moment that such a vote would ever have received support. His speech calls Tennyson's " Harold " strongly to ray mind. He certainly possesses " a twilight confcienCe iighted thro'- a chink I" and he seems to say with Stigand,' , ' "Is naked tratb actable in true life? : I've heard a saying of thy father, Godwin, i That; were a man of state nakedly true, Men would but take him for the craftier liar." Mr Cook, with his staff of surveyors, has commenced to lay off the* railway line from Waipahi junction to Tapanui. ■ It is proposed to leave the* main line a little on the. east of the present station and to move the station to the junction, and to have a double platform between the two lines as at Clarkesville. This will be an excellent arrangement, and will bringthe station nearer the, district road, which ought to have, been its original position. The post-office has been removed from Mr Eoss'. store to the railway station, which ia also the telegraph office. There is a chance that a dwelling-house for the stationmaster will soon bo built, as we notice that the tenders for it closed on the loth inst. Why it has been so long delayed seems unaccountable, aB the railway was opened on the 21st June last, and the necessary vote for it was we believe parsed by the Assembly in 1876. Now chat trains -are running at all hours of the day across several streets of the township, it is necessary that-great care should be exercised so as to avoid serious accidents. The novelty of trains crossing the streets naturally attracts large numbers of children, and not a few adults to such crossings, aud the leisure thoy not unfrequently manifest iv clearing the way on the 'approach ofthe engine is both provoking aud dangerous. The carelessness of parents regarding the safety of their children ih respect to the danger referred to is most'culpa'ole, aud perhaps i may ere long occasion to them life long regrets. But the danger, is not confined to the crossings alone. It would. seetn to be regarded that the line of railway has been made toaccommodate f oot-vpassengers as well as travellers by rail, and both adults and children may be seen walking along at all hours. As yet the railway officials have confined themselves to remonstrance, but we believe it is. intended to make a public example of some one to pub a stop to so dangerous a practice. We trudt . that after this warning such au example will be unnecessary, -