THE Evening Star. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1869.

Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 1995, 27 September 1869, Page 2

THE Evening Star. MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1869.

It seems somewhat strange that the New Zealand Government, professedly so anxious to cleveloji the resources, trade, and commerce of the country, should in the most bungling manner take measures tending in many ways to hamper it. Not long since, Mr Voc:re, when in Otago, was found advocating and offering premiums for the development of new industries in the Colony, and eloquently discoursing and writing upon the manufacture of b;et-root sugar and woollen cloths. Next we find him opposing an Intercolonial tariff on the ground that the trade would be thrown into the hands of the Melbourne merchants. Then he proposed a duty on grain, with the professed object of punishing those audacious Melbournites for punishing themselves by taxing their own people for the sake of a few farmers. But, lo ! the change —we now find him framing regulations which tend to throw a great amount of trade into the hands of Melbourne merchants. We have so much sympathy with the colonists of New Zealand that we not wish to s?e them burdened with dear goods or dear provisions through the mistaken legislation of our rulers. In many instances, through the absence of a full appreciation of the operations of a fiscal regu 1 ation, the people hail as a boon that which more extended knowledge would lead them to reject as a curse ; and so superficial is the knowledge of commercial transactions of many who are placed in the high places of the earth, that large interests are played with as children play with their toys, or as doctors make use of dogs and cats. They are experimented upon—tortured to see how much they are able to bear, or what will be the effect of some principle that has been found beneficial in other climates or under other circumstances, Just in this way has Mr Vogel ordained some new Customs regulations respecting clearing goods in bond, or transmitting them from one bond warehouse to another. We are quite willing to believe that in adopting them he was guided by some vague view of advantage to be derived from them. Possibly there may have grown up a sort of peddling payment of duties in some places, that threw too much labor upon the Customs department, and tended to the injury of the revenue ; but when the Colonial Treasurer learns that those regulations lately published in the New Zealand Gazette have been unwisely framed, and are likely to act detrimentally to one of the most important mercantile interests in the Colony, we do not doubt that lie will see reason so to alter them as to foster that Inter provincial trade which they have a tendency to destroy. We now allude principally to the wholesale drapery trade, which, above all others, is subjected to the keenest and most determined competition with the Melbourne importers. The magnitude of this interest is shewn by the statistics published by the Registrar-General, from which we learn that the declared value of draperies imported in 18 6 8 was £557,75 4, and this exclusive of haberdashery, which amounted to L 34,511, and hosiery, L 21,461. But even yet the enumeration of goods that may be fairly classed under this head is not complete, for to those amounts should be added silks, L 8,888; millinery, L 7,166 ; hats and caps, L 38,976 ; cottons, L 49,557 ; ■woollens, L 71,558 ; and there are other articles of a similar character, which need not be enumerated. The amount of imports of soft goods was therefore L 786,705, A comparison with other trades will shew that the capital thus employed in the importation of goods sold by drapers, is equal to that invested in any other three trades in the colony. It is needless to say that every article is taxed in one shape or other, and thus the contributions to the revenue from duties on imported soft goods are most important. Regarded simply as revenue, it would not matter whether they were obtained for distribution through Melbourne, or Sydney, or direct, from the countries where they were manufactured ; but regarded as a branch of Colonial enterprise, it is important that no impediment should be placed in the way of our merchants commanding the Inter-proviroial trade. Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Dunedin, have every reason to complain that the late regulations do tend to hamper their trade with smaller ports, by restricting the measurement of goods on which duties can be paid or which can be exported under bond to a given number of cubic feet, which unfortunately is in excess of the size of the ordinary packages. Thus a bale of blankets, an original package, which does not measure twenty-five cubic feet, is not allowed to be cleared because the smallest quantity of measurement goods paying that duty is by the now I

regulations limited to twenty-five cubic feet. The same may be said of moleskin trowsers in cases. These are merely taken at random for example, for the inconvenience is not confined to them. If, therefore, in the course of business, a New Zealand merchant sold a bale of blankets or a case of moleskins, he must either pay duty on something more that he did not immediately require, or export that article in addition under bond, or lie could not execute his order. The folly and inconvenience of such a system cm-y their own condemnation. We will pursue this subject further; for, although at first sight it seems an unimportant Customs regulation, where so large interests are concerned, it cannot be permitted that they should be tampered with without protest.

Supreme Court. —At the sitting in banco (his morning, his Honor Mr Justice Ward delivered judgment in the case Regina v. Macandrew. In this c,.s ■, the natives claim the land on whicli the Provincial Government Buildings stand. Mr Justice Ward’s judgment being adverse to the claimants, the case is to he earned to the Appeal Court; and if a decision in their favor is not arrived at there, it will be taken to the Privy Council. Burton’s Art Union. Saturday’s issue, in consequence of want of time, wo necessarily gave a very imperfect account of the drawing The following list of prizes will be found correct:—Mr J. Lanseigne SO guinea prize; Mr W. M, Hodgkins—2s guinea prize ; Mr J. S. Parry—-20 guinea prize; Messrs.!. Smith, G. Greenfield, and E. De Carle—l 6 guinea prizes ;Mr G. W. Geddes—B guinea prize. The other prizes varied in value iroin 1 to 2 guineas. Princess Theatre. Massinger’s celebrated play of “A New Way to Pay Old Debts ” was produced on Satnr.lay evening to a moderately attended house. Mr Talbot teok the part of Sir Giles Overreach, which he played in a very effective manner. He was very ably supported by Mr Bayner as Wei born, Mr Woolfo as Allworth, and Mrs Jackson as Marga. et. The part of Marall was admirably played by Mr Joyce, who received a well-deserved call before the curtain. The after piece was “As Cool as a Cucumber,” in which Mr Bartlett sustained the part of Plumper, and, we need hardly add, he played it capitally". It is in this class of pieces that Mr Bartlett exce s—he seems to be thoroughly at home in them. To-night Bulwer’s beautiful and popular play of “The Lady of Lyons” will be produced, and to-morrow Mr Ta’hot will repeat his great impersonation of Richelieu. The Steam Dredge.—A very important labor saving addition has been made to the steam-dredge by Mr Douglass, which was tried to-day, and found to answer admirably. It consists of a large iron spout, about To feet long, which by very simple means can be raised or depressed so as to pass beyond the training wall. The sludge raised by the buckets, instead of beiii! passed on by the endless rolling platform into light- rs, is thus placed at once in the exact position where it is wanted. Some little difficulty had to he overcome in securing the attachment < f the dredge to the punt containing the rolling platform, hut by a strong arrangement of booms, at the most trifling cost, this has been aff.-cted, and every part of the new apparatus worked suecessfully. It seems very probable that, had this simple contrivance been adopted earlier, a good deal of the expense that has been gone into in pTing and planking the proposed face of the training wall would have lean saved. The channel is being cl -ared to a width of 120 feet, and to a depth of 15 feet at high water. To-day we had an opportunity of inspecting the machinery, which is in admirable working order, and which seems, in simplicity and effective of arrangement, scarcely likely to be surpassed. Deaths by Drowning. —We have received further particulars with reference to the cases of drownhur reported in our Dm stan corra.'-nondt nt telegram of the 21st List. With reference to Mr Alex. Kennedy, it appears that for some days previous to the clay on -which he committed suicide, it was observed that he labored under mental depression. On the 18(h inst. he took up his residence at the Dunstan Hospital. On the morning of the 20th, in company with the Besident Surgeon of the hopital, he visited Clyde, where his conduct having caused suspicion as to his state of mind, he was taken back to the hospital. By some means or other he got back to the township, and at about five o’clock in the afternoon he was observed to go to the river side and cast a stone into the water, appa rently with a view of ascertaining its depth. Almost immediately afterwards he jumped into the liver. The act was observed by two men, named Foot and Mackay. who sprang in after him. They tried all means in their power to save Mr Kennedy, but through his determined opposition, and from the fact that he was a skilful and powerful swimmer, their efforts were of no avail In a short time Mr Kennedy was observed to sink ; and up to Friday his body had not been recovered. At at earlier hour on the same day, two men named Charles Archer and Charles Stewart, who were employed on board the Alhambra dredge, were engaged in removing their tents some distance down the river. When opposite the Garibaldi dredge, the boat in which the men were, came in contact with a rope attached t > the dredge. The rope slipping, struck Stewart, and lifted him out of the boat. Archer was unable to render him any assistance, and iu a few minutes he sank. The body has not yet been recovered.

Important Invention. —The Melbourne An/us gives the following account of a most important gold saving arrangement;— A new invention has just been patented, which promises to greatlv influence future sluicing operations in saving gold, tin ore, and precious stones, in the shape of a false bottom to sluices. The extreme simplicity of the new plan inades it easy to describe. A board, the width of the sluice used, and two inches thick, is obliquely perforated with an augur at an angle of forty-five degress against or under the stream. The distance between the holes is equal to the diameter of the hole. The rows of holes are four or five inches apart from centre ro centre. A saw cut is then made about a quarter of an inch from the upper part across each row of boles an inch deep, at exactly the same angle as the perforations. A ripple in addition to the

holes is then formed between each row by adzing about one inch from the next row, slopin'! the same to the bottom of the sowcur.. The secret of the invention is here disclosed. Naturally, the heavy metal finds its way to the bottom of the material operated upon ; this falls over the ripples into the holes, which, by their peculiar construe ion, cause a “boiling” backwards in Dm ho es out of the power of the stream, whilst the lighter dirt flows off with it. The efficiency of these Use bottoms has been testified to by Mr Witt, M. L A , chairman of directors o f the Kne bone Company’s mine, Eldorado, where the invention was brought to perfection, and where the saving effected by the apparatus ab >ve described is stated to amount to considerably < v-r 1/2000 a year. The merit of these ripples lies in their extreme .-duplicity, cheapness, and effective sdf-actimr retmit on of the valuable portion of that which pas es over them. it is said that gold, tin ore, or gems once caught can never be \\ ashed away. The inventor is Mr S. Milligan, late manager of the Knechone Company, and a model of his patent may be seen at the office of Messrs Baillie and Butters, C-llins street.

The annual meeting of the Dunedin Cricket Club will ho held at the Shamrock Hotel to-morrow evening, at S o’clock, when a good attendance is requested. Persons wishing to join the Club are invited to attend.