The Dunstan Times FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1880.

Dunstan Times, Issue 973, 10 December 1880, Page 2

The Dunstan Times

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1880.

Beneath the rule of men kntikklv jtst th pen is mightier than Mtswotin

Lc red esf, mart 1 Tire le. roi ! KinoHercules has been tramdatsd to Kaffirland, and King Arthur reigns in his stead. We do not know that the people are greatly, interested in this matter. There has not been any change of climate in consequence, and she alternation of day and night continuea as usual. There has been much throwing up of greasy caps, and expenditure of bail breath, in greeting the now Governor at Auckland and Wellington, but the centre of gnvity has ! not been perceptibly affected thereby. I Of Governor Robinson- there is not much to be said. He was with us I too short a time for his a' ilities to be ■ made known, or lis defects disco- 1 vered lie was very popular in Chri t-1 church, and markedly unpopular in ' Wellington, lint we do not admit that it is the business or the duty of a Governor to seek popularity. After nil, what is a Governor? He is the Queen’s representative, and as such he is sure to be loyally welcomed, bo he whom or what he may. At the same time he is simply an automatic factor. Under constitutional government, such as the Colonies possess, his powers are limited to reserving any Bill of which he disapproves for the Royal assent. He cannot veto any measure of his own mere motion. Further than this, he cannot do anything without the advice and consent of Ministers for the time being. liven the Royal prerogative of mercy entrusted to him is never rxcicisvd with- ; out the. sanction of (he Kxieutivo Council. Why then all this fuss and ostentatious worry when a new Governor arrives 1 It is well in public j as in private life to "Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest;” But the farcical processions, with I brass bands, laudatory addre ses, and tbe rest of the tc in foolery indulged in on such occasions is the veriest flunkeyism. Of S ; r Arthur Gordon, what little is known is rather favourable, though the-Fijian planters accuse him of unduly favouring the native race. This has given rise to a number of articles in the Northern papers, as to what his procliviti s will lead him to do, or not to do, in New Zealand. The problem will only bear one elucidation. however. He must do as he is advised by Ministers, and can at the most only record his protest, as it is alleged was done by Sir Hercules Robinson, when ho unwillingly as sonted to the iniquitous measures affecting the Maoris which were forced through Parliament last session. If he attempts to do more lie will fail. Fiji is a Crown Colony, where the Governor wields despotic powers. New Zealand is a free country, where the people govern themselves, through their representative, and the Qu°en’s nominee is only a lay figure—“ the shadow of the shade of royalty” as someone said in the House The most valuable quality any governor can possess is impartia ity, and Ids greatest possible merit is the exercise of strict political neutrality. If he takes nn active part in the political business of the country which provides him with a handsome salary in consideration of his residence therein, he comini's a public crime. And if he favours any party in the State, to the prejudice of any other, he does worse—he perpetrates a blunder. Complaints of undue interference have been rife of late years. Governors, like other men, take their cue from their superiors. And under the regime of Loud BeaCONSFIELd—who in contradistinction to the spirit of the age, had the surprising audacity to declare that no man should hold the office i f Governor who had not been “ born in the purple ” these gentlemen on many and several i occasions did undoubtedly assume a position altogether unwarranted arid unwarrantable. Whether they will lie suffered to do the name under the mongrel administration which now rules over Britain, is extremely problematical

One thing is however, very certain. The people are beginning to find out that imported Governors are very ex.-* pensive and useless incumbrances on the State. Every infringement of popular rights, . by the coercion of Ministers or otherwise, helps on the feeling that they can be dispensed with, without weakening the ties tli t bind us to the Empire. The fiction that they are links in the chain of loyalty is fast being dissipated. And the day may not be so far off as some people suppose, when it will be demanded and conceded that the Colonies shall be allowed to elect their own Governors. Our space is too limited to allow of our arguing this point further at present, hut in a future issue we will show that it is now the practice in many Colonies, and was formerly the practice in this and other Australasian Colonies.

We arc glad tn learn that in answer to a very able letter respecting the subsidy due to the County and the repayment of the Florid Loan, addressed to the Government by the County Chairman, which was read at the last meeting of the Council, tho following telegram has' been received : “ Government has decided not to withhold subsidy to repay A ind advance. The-snb-sidy has been remitted to credit of Comity Fund Account at Bank of New Zealand, Cromwell.”—(Signed) 11. A. Atkinson-, Colonial Treasurer. In this matter the Government have certainly behaved justly in conceding tho points raised by MrFyke. Mr Fache will hold an auction of household furniture to-morrow, at 2 o’clock, in the cottage at back of the N.S.W. Bank, Clyde. Mr Simpson, R.M., decided an important point during the hearing of tho case of "Watson v. Alves at tho Resident Magistrate’s Court, Dunedin, on Friday. Ilii Worship held that an order of discharge is not a bar to an action for a dfebt contracted by fraud, and that in a case where judgment had been obtained against a bankrupt before ho became insolvent, it was competent to proceed against the defendant on a sudgrae”t summons. The Rev. Mr Clinton will conduct services at St. Michael’s Church,.Clyde,, both morning and evening on Sunday next, and in tho afternoon be will address the school children. We have received from Professor Stanich the celebrated car doctor, a copy of a Melbourne paper, which contains most fl atering testimonials of the professor’s skill in treating diseases of tho ear. Those who are suffering most decidedly should plaen themselves in communication with the professor. There is also in the same paper a letter tn the editor from Professor Stanich in which he complains of an offer ho made to treat the deaf inmates of the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum free of charge, living refused through tho professional jealousy of the Asylum doctors. In tho course oi the Ict’er he a »ys; —My qualifications am the result of the experience of generations, my forefathers having unde it their study.' as I have done, for a lifetime ; and mv success is so aMcste I i„ all parts of tho world.- as in this colony, that it is bevor.d question. We have received from Mr R W. Cary, manager for Professor and Mabime Haselrnaycr, a circular intimating that he purposes arranging for a visit of the Professor, i Accompanying the circular are a nnralar | of clippings from the leading papers of the world on the astonndingly mysterious rt.-- , formanceof this wonderful prestidi'dtatcur. j We cannot do better than refer our readers ! ho these, which am to be found at Mrs i George’s hotel, Clyde. A large fire occurred in Dunedin on Sunday morning last, whereby nearly all the tramway plant was destroyed. The program me for the Malakanui Race Meeting appears in another column. It is as liberal as ever, and with fine weather should he the nmaus of attracting largo numbers of both horses and -spectators. The races come off on tho 31st December, and Blacks races are conveniently fixed January 4-h. Attention is drawn to a largo sale at Alexandra on Tuesday, 21st December. The following is dated from Noumea, New Caledonia, Noucmbcr 14th '’This is no longer the quiet, peaceful Country you know Hundreds of runaway convicts are constantly prowling at committing all sorts of depredations, so that tho poor Country settlers scarcely dare leave their homes, whithout being armed.” (Rxtracted from a letter received by Mr Begs, of this town. " rv " Onhlsborough’s wool report for November, now before us, savs : -Since our last monthly summary. 41,412 bales have been sold, making a total of 60,517 since the opening of the season. Faces for all good wools have been maintained ; greasy (Woe ranged up to 15J I, scoured fleece up to 2s 141. There are large orders on hand .for America, but operations up to date have been but moderate, prices being above the limits of buyers. Tho total bought to date for America is about 20011 hales. Since October Ist, 183(1, 139,096 bales have been cleared from Melbourne for London. The prices current are creasy inferior, 61 to 8.1 ; superior, lid to Is3}d ; fleece, scoured and washed, Is to Is 31 ; superior, Is lOd to 2j 2d. Messrs Cargills, Gibbs, and Co.’s London house has sent them a circular on tho preparation of rabbit skins for tho home market, which is of interest“ The skins should be picked open—that is, cut open along the belly and not turned inside out. fur should bo against fur, and pelt against pelt. They should bo treated with the usual arscn’ca! preparation, and a little carbolic acid powder should bo sprinkled over them before packing, and they should be sorted according to seasons and colour, 1 Summer skins are of least value, because l not only is the fur not so good, hut the hair, which has to be extracted before tho skins can be treated for felting purposes, is shorter, and therefore more difficult to pet at. The bales should on no account be dumped, as any grease thereby cores through the pelt to the fur,