DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE. Agricultural Society. 19" Dec.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 36, 23 December 1843, Page 3

DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE. Agricultural Society. 19" Dec.

This Society held its first show on Tuesday la&t. in the presence of a numerous and respectable assemblage of the people. Prizes were awarded in two departments, animal and vegetable. The exhibition of Floral, Horticultural, and Farm Produce, was held in the large room of Hart's Hotel, and was in every respect highly creditable to the colony, and to this Bettlement in particular. Considering the very early itage of the agriculture of this settlement, the exhibition may be said to have exceeded the expectations of the most sanguine. The flowers from the garden of Lieutenant Bennet were exceedingly beautifnl, and «how how much the lovers of Flora may expect in sucb a delightful climate as this. The roots and vegetables, considering the season of the year, were generally speaking, very fine. The European fruits exhibited by Mr. Clarke and Mr. Rough, put it beyond a doubt that the most edmired of the fruits of our native country will thrive in this colony. Messrs. Graham, Cretnay, Church, Young, Berry, Mason and Plummer, exhibited very fine samples of kitchen* garden produce. The prizes were awarded by Messrs. Bettß, Cleghorn and Edgerly, in the following manner : \ Cabbage, (table) Government Gardener, j Ditto, (cattle) Mr. Cretnay, i Cauliflower, Mr. Rough, Potatoes, (Derwent red). . . . Mr. Berry, Do (white native, improved) Mr. Church, Turnips, Mr. Graham, German Greens, Mr. Graham, Onion, (potato) Mr. Church, Pease Mr. Mason, Windsor Beans, Mr. Plummer, Kidney ditto, Mr. Mason, Cucumber, Mr. Graham, Vegetable Marrow, Mr. Young, Carror r, Mr. Rough, Lettuces, Mr. Rough, # fl J»Si Government Gardener, Strawberries, Mr. Clarke, Cherries and Apples, Mr. Rough, flower Bouquet, Mr. Bennett, Greatest variety of Flowers. . Government Gardener Clove Carnation Mrs. Connell, ' Most Rose and Holy hoc Mr. Clarke, Ranunculus Marigold, Mrs. Mathew, Gladiolus, % other Cape bulbs, Mr. Rough, ™ r °ni»m Mr. Scott, Epsom. Heart's Eate, Government Gardener, The show of cattle was upon the whole, rather p ° or ' and the judges must have laboured under confa t I difficalt 3r3 r m awarding the prizes from the 1 that f ew or no animals from the same breed were competitors for prizes. An Ayrshire and a Durham . mi ght be found contending for one and the Bame ?"**• In other cases the merits would have to be mi h u hetween a Merino and Leicester lamb ; each to if v Very good Of its kind ' but ' lt waB rather hard «et the merits of one breed against another. This wever, was not the fault of the judges, but of the Bhn ' Who P roduced 80 few animals. The cattle Bm took P^ce in the Government Domain. Megßrt. for & Cle Bhorn»8 horn » M'Elwain awarded tho prises

of Colonial Storekeeper. It was supposed that Mr. Tucker had been removed by Mr. Shortland because this department -was being abolished. But if it b( really the case that another person has been appointed to the office, we scarcely know how to account for his Excellency's conduct. From all that we can ascertain, Mr. Tucker has been very unjustly treated by Mr. Shorrland. Mr. Tucker is perhaps, tbe only one of the Government Officers who has really made a sacrifice in accepting office under this Government. He was induced, if not seduced to leave Her Majesty's service by the late Governor ; he has gone to the expence of bringing liis family from England to this country, and he is now treated by Mr. Shortland as if he had been a worthless adventurer. Had Mr. Tucker been a cringing, time serving, slavish person, like others of Mr. Shortlands friends, the matter would have been different. But because he is possessed of independence and self-respect, and perhaps because he is esteemed by all the people, he is dismissed by this petty despot without a moments warning, and just at the time when the new Governor is expected to arrive. We shall notice this subject again when Captain Fitzroy is fairly setthd in his Government. 'J? St. Thomas' Church, Tamaki. — Tbe foundation stone of this Church was laid by his Excellency the Officer administering the Government, on Thursday last, in the presence of a very numerous and respectable assemblage of the town and country inhabitants. We regret tbat the limits of our paper do not admit of our giving a report of tbe speech delivered by his Excellency on this occasion, or of the reply made by Major Bunbury. After the solemn and interesting ceremony was performed, the respectable part of the spectators adjourned to a tent where refreshments of every description were provided for them by the Tamaki gentlemen, who deserve very great credit, not only for tbe very handsome manner in which the proceedings were conducted, but more especially for the extraordinary zeal which they have exhibited in this early stage of the colony in supplying their district with the means of religious worship. Mr. Shepherd, the Colonial Treasurer, haß vet y liberally given the necessary grounds for the site of the Church, and Major Bunbury, Messrs. Spain, Church, Newman, and the other settlerß of the district have contributed in labour and money the funds for erecting the build ; ng, which is called St. Thomas, we believe in honor of the Bishop of New Zealand. Firk. — We regret to hear that Mr.Brown's dwelling house at the Mauranghi saw mill, was burnt the other day, and property to the amount of thirty pounds destroyed. Mr. Brown has sent another cargo of Sawn timber to Auckland, and has chartered the Sisters to carry a cargo to Hobart Town. 1 Mechanics' Institute. — We must again repeat the appeal to the Mechanics on account of the erection of the buidling of this institute. The timber is for the last fortnight on the ground ; the available funds have been expended on its purchase. One day's labour from half the Mechanics iri^Auckland, would set up the building. We sincerely' trust they will make a simultaneous effort to prevent the institute from falling to the ground like all the other public undertakings in this place. House-breaking.— The stores of W. S. Crahame, E-q., were entered by thieves on the evening of Sunday last, when about thirty pair of blankets were stolen We hear that a native has been seen by Mr. Elliott with some of the stolen blankets in his possession. Mr. Elliott attempted to lay hold of him, but be escaped, leaving the blankets and his jacket. The latter of which has been identified by some otber natives. We trust he will be caught and well punished. There cannot be a doubt that the natives are set up to every sort of mischief by some of the Parkburst importation.

Beet Bull, (Ayrshire breed) . . Mr. Fairburn, Evil Calf, Ditto, Cow, • Mr. Scott, Epsom, Cow and Calf, Mr> Mason, Entire Horte Mr. Scott, Auckland, Mare and Foal Mr. Kennedy, Earn, Mr. Kempthorne, Ewe Mr. Williams, Ewe and Lamb, Ditto. An exceedingly ingenious and beautiful model of a machine for dressing Flax was exhibited by Mr. Low?, which reflects the highest credit upon his mechanical genius. We were better pleased with this machine than with any thing exhibited on the occasion. Aftf r we have tested its fitness for the purposes intended, we shall speak more particularly of its merits. A plough was also exhibited by Mr. Thomas Fmlay of Epsom, which is highly creditable to the maker. It is made of New Zealand timber, after the plan of Wilkie, whose ploughs are allowed to be the best in Scotland. 4 The Committee of the Society deserve a certain amount of blame for the badness of their arrangement. It cannot be said of them that they endeavoured to make the best possible appearance, on the contrary, with very good materials they made the worst possible. The show room was extremely badly laid out, and the vegetables wer|»almoBt immediately swept away after the prizes were awarded. Perhaps they were requiied for the dinner which took place in the evening at Mr. Hart's. We would recommend the Committee on the next occasion to procure either the market, or the large room in W^)d's Hotel, and to lay it out properly before hand.* They ought also to engage a band of music, and td make a small charge for tickets to the exhibition. It is a pity to allow'a useful institution to fall through, from want of proper management. We understand several persons dined in the evening at Hart's Hotel. The Government Land Sale. — Notwithstanding the strong efforts made by Government to induce, if not to compel, the Land Claimants to exchange their own lands for those offered by Government tor sale on Monday and Tuesday last, we are happy to perceive that very few of the claimants have taken the bait ; not more than ICOO acres have been selected by them, and not another single acre has been bought by the public. We were all along opposed to the forced concentration system, knowing well that it is not in human nature to submit to such .a scheme. This Government might certainly have gained some experience from the past in this respect at least. They might well remember that it was because of this interference with free will, that the claimants had formerly so strenuously opposed their act. We cannot imagine why the officer administering the Government should have taken it into his head to endeavour to confine the claimants to a particular district. If the right of selection is given to the Port Nicholson Company, why should not the private Land Claimants have the same privilege ? Tne exchange is permitted to be made by both upon the same principle, and why should not bo h have it upon the same terms ? If the Port Nicholson Company are allowed to select town, subuiban,and country lands, why should not every private claimant be allowed to do the same ? In similar circumstances the same law should be applied to all ; and it is because this principle has been so little recognised, and so seldom acted upon by this Government, that they have met with such decided opposition from the people. We are glad in more respects than one, that so many of the Land Claimants have followed the adv;ce formerly given in this paper on this subject. We doubt not that His Excellency Captain Fitzroy, will place this matter on a fair and equitable footing. If the Land Claimants are to be allowed to exchange their land*, he will at once see the propriety of giving them land orders, by means of which they may purchase at any sale whatever lands they themselves may choose, whether town, suburban, or country. This will be the means of saving an immense amount of unnecessary trouble to the Government, and will be much morn gatiifactory to the claimants. We have every reason to expect that the subject of lands will receive his Excellency's earliest attention ; he will come to it without any pre* judice for, or against either party, and bis judiciouß settlement of this hitherto perplexing question, will be the means of ensuring to him, not only the gratitude and good wishes of this moat injured class of people, but will also most strongly and favourably recommend him to the Home Government. He may in a few weeks amicably settle a question which his predecessors have taken three or four years to weave into a net so intricately mischievous, that they themselves have at last been fairly caught in its meshes. The Times. — Our contemporary haß published an article on the treatment of the natives of this country, in the last number of bis paper, which we shall notice in our next, not because we hare any fear that, the petty Pizarro of the Times will frighten any of the people out of their right views on this subject, but 1 because the subject itself is of much importance to the welfare of the colony. The Editor of the Times manifests a spirit of reckless atrocity on this subject, which, compared with his pharisaical pretensions to religion, and devotional feeling in his notice of the Tamaki Church, fully entitles him to the name we have bestowed upon him. The barbarian Spaniard while he plunged his dagger in the bosom of the simple and inoffending native of America, could still talk about that religion, the very essential principles of which he was in the act of so outrageouily violating. In a similar spirit of Christian charity, the Editor of the Times would mock the missionary feeling of the land he lives in, by asserting the necessity of perpetrating a gross robbery in order to forward the " ordained propagation of the Christian religion." Strange means of conversion certainly, to rob a man of his lands, in order to make him love religion 1 This doctrine might suit the cupidity of the Editor himßelf, but we think few Christian people would approve of the plan. Perhaps petty Pizarro himself would expect a share of the spoil, but we warrant he would not exactly like to take a part in the necessary fight to obtain it. He would require something strong to screw up his courage. We fear the Editor of the Times in his attempt to cut " the Gordian knot," will effectually strangle any sort of pretensions he may hitherto have made to religion ; the cloven foot must come out. WJien questions involving principles are discussed, principles whether good or bad will be evolved. A man is known by the company be keeps. After the late article in the Times, we would recommend the Editor to talk no more about religion in his sober mood. Robbery and religion are incompatible. We shall treat of this subject more fully in our next. Colonial Stoke. — It is reported that Mr. Leech has been appointed, under a new name, to the office