The Daily Telegraph WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 1881.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3103, 8 June 1881, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 1881.

Mr Levestam, the working man's candidate for the representation of Nelson in the House of Representatives, belongs to that class of politicians that is the curse of party government. He claims to be independent of party. He would go into the House, if elected, with the intention of voting upon the measures introduced without regard to the political side from which they emanated. In other words, as the Nelson Mail saye, be would recognise no leader, be bound by no party ties, and would at his own sweet will flit about from the Opposition to the Government, and from the Government back to the Opposition eide of the House, according to his individual views of the merits of the subject under discussion. Now, this is just the type of representative who is tbe least useful to his constituents. Neither side cares to conciliate him because his support is never to be reckoned upon for twelve hours together, and whether they offend him or not is a matter of indifference alike to tbe Government and Opposition whips. With a majority of members of this description in the House a representative form of Government would become an impossibility, for the whole session would be devoted to discussing no-confidence motions. But there is another view of the qaestion which wo cannot afford to lose sight of. It is true that Mr Levestam tells us that he should support good measures and oppose bad ones, but is he a reliable judge as to the merits of such measures? On his own showing, clearly not. The beer tax, which he now considers an obnoxious class tax, and therefore a bad measure, would have been classed by him among the flood ones when it was introduced, and have received his support accordinelv Thus his claim to be the supreme iudce on such matters is admitted by himself to be based upon a very shaky and shifting foundation. The Nelson Mail, summarising the points iv his speech, jays, we find Mr Levestam advocating a

sweeping change in the national system of education upon very slight grounda; we find him to be a protectionist; we have his declaration that he is careless of the j future,and considers theinterestsof to-day quite enough to look after without bothering about those of to-morrow ; and finally we are assured that when a party division takes place it will be as unsafe to speculate upon which side he is likely to vote as it would be to bet upon the particular thimble under which the pea is to be found after being exposed to the dextrous manipulation of the thimble-rigger. God help the country if it should ever be weak enough to hand over its destinies to tbe keeping of a majority of politicians holding such views as those referred to above. But those are the views that apparently commend themselves to a majority of the electors of Nelson. Since the above was written Mr Levestam has been placed at the head of the poll. It was sufficient for the Liberal Association of Nelson that Mr Levestam was its chairman; no other consideration was needed besides the fact that he was an artisan. An artisan and a member of a Liberal Association are now, under manhood suffrage, qualifications against which legislative experience and education rank as nothing. Mr Richmond, whose presence in the House would have been of the greatest value to the colony, has been relegated to private life, in order that one in whom no statesman can place any confidence i may sit in Parliament as an emblem of the triumph of bastard Liberalism.

Mr Justice Gillie 3 will sit ' i Chambers on Friday at 11 a.m. Mr Justice Gillies arrived iv town from Wellington by trail last night. The result of the Nelson election is as follows :—Levestam, 438; Richmond, 407 ; majority for Mr Levestam, 01. Captain Hume, Inspector of Prisons, has been in Napier during the last day or two. He left for We r \ngton overland this morning. Mr Seffcon Moorhouse, who has been lying dangerously ill at Taupo, we are glad to hear, is reported to be out of danger. Dr. de Lisle, who was sent for, retu-ned last night to town. We have beea asked to acknowledge the following additional subscriptions towards the building fund of St. John's Parish Church :—Mr J. S. Welsman, £3 3s; Messrs Price and Innee, £1 Is ; two friendß, £1 10s; Mr Provis, £1 Is. The two well- mown race horses Morning Star and My Dream, arrived in town yesterday afternoon, having been brought overland from Auckland, the journey occupying eight days. The horses are now at Palmers's stables, and Hawke's Bay will be made their head-quarters. The first meeting of the new committee of the H.B. Poultry and Canary Association was held last evening. Mr G. E. Sainsbury was elected chairman. The catalogue for the next show was gone into, and it was arranged that the prizes to be offered by the association should be double the value of those given at the last show. A champion medal is to be given for the befai pen of birds in the show irrespective of class, instead of the cup as given previonsly. Several special piizes were notified, including one of the value of five guineas for the best pen of provincial-bred poultiy presented by Mr Allen McLean, and one of the value of two guineas for the best provincial capon presented by Mr Sturm. It was also arranged that the programme should be issued in a few days.

The dispute among the natives at Omahu is at an end, Mrs Donnelly's authority having been sufficient to overcome any little influence that Renata may still endeavor to exert in order to lay claim to tribal lands. On hearing that Renata's people had slaughtered about three hundred sheep that were being driven on the high road on their way to the Pukehamoamoa block, Mrs Donnelly rode up to Omahu and ordered the remainder of the flock to be taken on to the run. Renata retired. Some forty of Mr Donnelly's people are now on the ground. It will be remembered that it was the Pukehamoamoa block that Renata tried to sell to Mr Lowry, but which the Native Lands Court made inalienable for twenty years, and apportioned it between Re.iata's and Tareha's hopi'.s. The late sheep dispute was owing to an attempt ly Renata to lease the land to Mr Lowry, to prevent which Mrs Donnelly's relatives have stocked the run with sheep.

A Tioton correspondent writes: —The find of coal at Picton is now proved to be of great value and far beyond the the expectations of the mo3t sanguine. The seam is running in a course N.E. by S.W., and underlying to the Eastward. The thickness of the seam thirty five feet from the surface is sixteen feet, and of the best description of coal. Some 50 tons aro here, waiting to go on board the Hawea for a test trial. Another lot goes away to-night for the Wellington gas works, and come for the Masterton and Wellington Railway. This mine is known as Fell's, the enterprising merchant of Blenheim, who has had experienced miners prospecting the district for some time. The freehold is the joint property of Mr Williams, the Wanganui brewer, and his father, who is an old resident at Picton, and it is leased to Mi Fell at a royalty of one shilling per ton on all coal brought to the surface.

According to the Lyttelton Times the croakers' occupation is gone in New Zealand. Our contempora:/ Says:—" We really pity our friends the croakers very sincerely. First they told us that the colony would have to repudiate its obligations, but the colony very perversely became prosperous. Then they told us that our progress was gone, but the census returns have, with the most reckless disregard of theories, placed New Zealand the first on the list of progressive colonies, the rate of increase of population being the best test of national progress. Lastly, they wailed about urban and suburban land values. The auctioneers are cramming sense down their throats every Saturday, and tho other colonies supply them with the knock down argument of comparative grain statistics. The croakers' occupation is gone. _ We are sorry for them, because they are an intensely respectable body of gentlemen. But we must, nevertheless, congratulate the colony on the downfall of their precious theories."

We quite agree as to the economy of using maize in preference to oats for carthorses ; but we think an estimate of 7s per cwt. as the cost of a horse's food throughout the year is too low. Well harvested oats of good quality, especially if kept eight or ten months, realise far more than their actual feeding value. Bran, which in many localities can be purchased at a moderate price—£s to £5 10s per ton—is a safe and good addition to other corn. The estimate of 10s per ton for mangels, and straw not charged at all, does not agree with values in this district, where mangels are worth double the price on the farm, and straw from £3 to £4 per ton. Many horses are kept in this district by carters who draw hire. These men, who do not occupy land, freely pay 7s per week for five months in the summer for each horse turned out at night in good pasture, the horses being at work except Sundays, and supplied with corn and other feed daily at the cost of the carter. We think it bad policy to let horses get low in condition in the winter months for lack of a fair allowance of corn, but it is not always easy to prevent carters from giving an excessive amount. The breeding of farm horses of good stamp pays well where mares can be got to breed regularly and safely, but there are many losses nnd disappointments. On many farms young horses may be profitably worked, and sold when in their pr'me at five years old for town work. By hav ; ug as much as possible good-sized horec3 of the right stamp, not only may the plougb : "ig be don. 1 , by two horses abreast even on strong soils, but a high price may be realised when sold out. Tbe best possible

preparation for town wcrk is moderate farm work up to i\ or 5 years old, and from £60 to £80 may commonly be obtained at that age for a sound horse, of suitable size, strength, and activity.—W. T. C, in Agricultural Gazette.

The remarkable electric light, manufactured to order by the Brush Company of Cleveland, 0., for use in tbe British Navy, is believed to be the largest and most powerful light ever made with human hands. It is designed to be used in night attacks, and to scrutunise the sea for torpedoes. A forty horse-power engine is required to produce the light, the carbons used are two inches and a-half thick. Tho intense heat generated between tbe carbon points is half-a-million degrees, one-nine-tieth the estimated heat of the sun. It is calculated that, with an ordinary reflector, a beam of light will be cast so powerful that a person fifteen miles away can see to read by it.

The Times, of March 25, says that on the previous evening Sir W. Lawson asked the Lord Advocate whether his attention had been called to a " whisky Wappenshaw " which the Lord-Provost of Elgin was alleged to be starting in aid of the new Elgin Town Hall, such Wappenshaw consisting in raffling whisky, hogsheads and casks of which had been promised by the neighboring distillers; and whether such a proceeding was in accordance with tho law of Scotland. The Lord Advocate said he had made every enquiry in the locality, and he had not been able to ascertain" what a "whisky Wappenshaw" was—(laughter) —nor was he able to say whether in that kind of competition the prizes were given to the producer of the best quality or the consumer of the greatest quantity. (Renewed laughter.) He had intimated that if any raffling of the kind was held its promoters would be liable to prosecution.

A friend suggests a very good idea as to asparagus :—" The old plan of sticking the plants in closa beds is all wrong. There are many bits of fine soil in gardens, even in the so-called pleasure-grounds, and hardy plant boarders, wh«re a strong clump of the common asparagras would be a great ornament, as well as of use. Many people —myself among the number—wanted to plant the red fruited asparagus 'enuifoUus. Vilmorin says it is the wild form or type of the cultivated asparagus. I shall plant a hundred or more good clumps of asparagus in our borders here, partly for its tender shoots in spring, partly for its Bpray for cutting the summer and autumn mouths, but mainly for its feathery grace as a beautiful hardy plant.'' In many a villa garden, even where good asparagus can never be seen raised in the ordinary way, a capital supply could be obtained by simply dotting a few plants here and there in borders and on the margins of shrubberies not only as single specimens, but as groups and masses—never, however, nearer to eaoh other than four feet.—The Garden.

No one can take even a cursory glance at the social and political movements in progress across the Atlantic without being impressed by the headway which prohibition is making in the Southern and Western States. We referred the other day to the Kansas Liquor Law which comes into force next month, which is the most stringent on record. Pennsylvania appears to be inclined to follow the lead of Kensas. On the last day cf March its House of Representatives read a second time by a majority of 98 to 38 a bill submitting to the people an amendment to the Constitution forbidding forever the manufacture and sale within the State of Pennsylvania of any description of intoxicating liquors except for scientific, medical, or mechanical purposes. A proposal to add sacramental wine to the list of specified exemptions was rejected. Petitions have been presented by 100,000 persons in favour of the bill, and % despatch f torn Harrisburg says that it is probable the amendment will be carried when submitted to the people by a decided majority. There is hope for Sir Wilfrid Lawson yet.

We take the following from the San. Francisco Journal of Commerce:—" It is a grand, feasibb, and commendable soheme —that of draining Lake Okeechobee, in South Florida. Therefore W6 hope it ia true, as reported, that a contract has been agreed upon between the State authorities and parties representing capitalists in Philadelphia and on the Pacific coast fot that purpose. If this scheme succeeds 12,000,000 acres of the best sugar land in the world will be reclaimed. The territory reclaimed will include the celebrated Everglades, and will be in extent twice as large as the State of New Jersey. This is the largest contract on the record, and when completed Florida can produce more sugar than the United States now consume. The reclaiming of this vast and inexhaustibly fertile tract is sure to be effected sooner or later, as we lave before pointed out. Tho fall from the lake to the ocean, and especially to the Gulf, is sufficient. The sooner the work is done the better. When it is done, if well done, the land of flowers and orange groves will proceed to the front rank of agricultural states, and become conspicuous for her products of cane, rice, and corn. The oultivator of corn on this land will not stop at 100 bushels an acre, and may reach 150 bushels.

There is a Bill now before Parliament to give London the benefit of the system of compressed air clocks which has been successfully and extensively established in Paris. The compressed air clocks consist of a new and very simple construction of the works of "the ordinary timepiece, by which all the clooks of any city or town, however much separated and distant from each other, can be governed and wound up and regulated by means of a pneumatic air current and connecting mechanism that ' secures their regular going and their constant synchronisation. The movement can be applied to all existing clocks or timepieces, wherever placed, and there may be either one central motor or several, according to the area of each municipality. If the system were adopted in London and the environs, as proposed by the Bill already referred to, which has the consent and sanction of the city authorities and the Metropolitan Board of Works, the result would be that every clock embraced within the system, no matter where situated, would always indicate precisely the same time of the day or night. The number of stations proposed for the metropolis by the promoters of the Bill now before Parliament is ten. The maximum charge for public clocks is not to exceed 12s 6d per annum.

It is maintained in some quarters that the electric light which so brilliantly illuminates the city is apt to tan the skin and freckle the face. An anxious investigator, who has taken some trouble to ascertain the opinions of such authorities as Edison, Maxim, and others, which he has checked by the experience of those who have constantly used the electric light, comes to the conclusion that when it is very bright it unmistakably tans the skin. Mr Edison declares than an arc of 20,000 candle power took the skin off his face in two hours, and " tanned an assistant's hide in an hour as brown as a butternut." All electric lights except those of a low incandescence in Mr Edison's opinion will tan the skin. Mr Maxim says that on one occasion his light tanned the skin off his face in fifteen minuteß. The Brush light or any blue white light will tan, and the light of the voltaic aro will fade delicate fabrios. Girls in stores where the light is used are freckled and ruddy as if they had worked in the sun, and the electric light was so unpopular with the ladies in New York that it has been discontinued at establishments where it was formerly in use. If the gas companies can enlist women on their side the electric light will have a harder battle to fight than its advocates anticipate.

It is significant of the change which is passing over tbe European conceptions of life and of morality that at the present moment nearly every Legislature in Europe is more or less preoccupied with the marriage question. In Hungaiy they have just legalized tho marriage of Jews and Christians, and are discussing the introduction of obligatory oivil marriage. In Denmark the Folkelhing has been disousshig'- the remarriage of divorce 4

persons. In Spain the Sagasta Ministry is busied about the re-establishment of civil marriages. M. Naquet'sjbill for legalizing divorce was defeated a short time ago by tba French Chamber, which is now called upon to deal with proposals legalizing the marriage of brothers-in-law with their sisters-iu law and the marriage of priests. Jn Italy the divorce question has bren brought before the Legislature by a proposal to sanction divorce when either tbe husband or the wife has been condemned to penal servitude for life, and to convert a legal separation into a divorce when three years, in tbe case of childless marriages, or five years if there aro chile ren, have elapsed without a reconciliation after the judgment of separation was pronounced. By this proposal every " separation de corps" would ripen into a divorce by lapse of time. It will be interesting to see how so drastic a proposal will bo received by tbe Italian Chamber.—English paper. Sir Rutherford Alcock says that " we are apt to complain of the impassibility as well as the immobility of the Chinese as a nation, and to assume too certainly that they are making no progress, and are really stationary. It ia not so, however, as may be shown. They are moving, and in many directions, though not so fast, perhaps, as we could wish. The advance they have made in the matter that first and most forcibly impressed them with a sense of their inferiority and deficiencies —the art of war—is in every way remarkable. Extensive dockyards, arsenals, factories for arms, steam and iron ships, Armstrong and Krupp guns, have all been adopted, regardless either of their foreign origin or the cost. But it would be a great mistake to suppose that in all else they have been impervious to new ideas and adverse to adaptation of foreign novelties to their own use. So rapidly have they adopted ships of foreign build that junks are fast disappearing, and more than one great steamship company has been wholly established by the Chinese. Stoam launches are employed by the Government on the Grand Canal, and although they have torn up a short railroad, and stopped after commencing a telegraph line, these are but indications that some adverse influences intervened from special causes. In some directions they may have even advanced quicker and further than Europeans engaged in mercantile work would desire."

Messrs Banner aud Liddle will sell tomovi'ow the balance of the si;ock of Messrs Benjamin and Co., also a horse, carl, and harness, at 11 a.m. Mess: s Kennedy and Gillman will sell tomorrow in Sale-street household furniture and effects at 2 p.m. The third of the series of Pt. John's winter gatherings will take place on Friday evening. A grand concer l ; in aid of St. John's Church choir will be given on the 23rd instant. The TaraclpJePloughing Match Committee will meet at the Q-reenmeadows Hotel on Tuesday next. A quantity of new colonial garments have just been opened up at the New Zealand Clothing Factory. A meeting of the creditors of Walter Adair will be held on the 11th instant. Mr T. K. Newton will hold an important sale of town and country lands about the first week in August. He also has for private sale a number of eligible town aud country sections. Mr R. C. Sturm has a great variety of fruit, forest, and ornamental trees for sale at the Hastings nursery. A special meeting of the H.B. Licensed Victuallers' Association will be held on the 10th instant. Mr F. Algar has properties at Havelock for sale. Mr E. Lyndon will sell on Friday next tea, cheese, &c, at 11 a.m. A number of new advertisements will be found in our "Wanted" column.