The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 1871.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2555, 26 April 1871, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 1871.

Ouk yesterday's number contains an interesting account of a farewell ioir6e at Innerleithen, Scotland, to a party of manufacturers, who propose introducing the woollen manfacture into Otago. They may be expected to arrive here in the course of a few days, and their landing will be an epoch in the history of the Province. So accustomed are we to associate the idea of a factory system with the congregation of large numbers of men, women, 'and children, in,. D&9 vast building, that we are scarcely prepared to imagine it possible

that,-in a Bpirsoly populated countrylike New Zealand, woollen cloths can be manufactured so cheaply as to compete with holne-made fabrics. We are told it is otherwise ; and we trust that Mr. A. J. Burns and his partner will realise such a return as will amply remunerate them for the risk, labor, and capital they have invested. There are many circumstances in their favor. If they are put to some expenses in higher wages that have not to be incurred at Home, they have not to spend so much money in-the purchase of a site for their mill; they will not be subjected to such severe local competition ; they have raw material of the best description on the spot at first hand, free from heavy charges for land carriage, freight, shipping charges, insurance, &c., and, as the cost of the usual materials used at Home for adulteration of woollen goods, if we may use the term, is greater here than the best class of wools, the public have the beat guarantees in the world that they will be supplied with a genuine article. But wo must not look merely at the immediate products of the loom as the sole advantage to be derived from the establishment of manufactures amongst us. There are many other collateral developments that must take place as consequences of successful enterprise of that description. Hitherto our notions of social progress have been mainly limited to the idea of the cultivation of soil and the growth of wool. Even gold mining, which has proved so potent an instrument of progress, has been allowed to slip from the hands of Europeans into those of the more patient, plodding, and more completely organised Chinese. The advantages of collective effort have been overlooked in our traditional love of individual freedom, and we are slow to learn the advantages derivable from trained and disciplined energy. These are no where so manifest as in manufacturing processes, where the livelihood of one class of workers depends upon the industry and efficiency of others. Theirs is not a mere fitful effort, such as is seen in military combinations, but persistent application of mind and body, trained to constant practice to the performance of operations requiring the precision and accuracy of machinery. It is this that gives civilised man superiority over savages. We see occa»ionnlly in our journals a vaunting of savage skill above that of educated man, as if there were something in untaught humanity that renders the barbarian superior to him. It is not long since that Maori skill in flax-dressing was pointed to by a contemporary as unttainable by Europeans. The nonsense of the matter is that the point was not fairly stated. Any European with a little practice would scrape flax with a shell as well as a Maori woman. But he can employ his time to better advantage ; and what is needed is, that the flax shall be dressed by machinery as well as a Maori woman can do it by hand. By adapting machinery to various processes, the mere drudgery j of physical effort is got rid of ; and a well-to-do manufacturing people are, from the nature of the case, educated in consciousness of responsibility and subordination to law, which to a greater or less extent must pervade the whole round of life’s duties. The Arcadias of Goldsmith and Thomson, in which rural purity was supposed ’to dwell, are found to be mere ideals ; and the nymphs and swains that form such pleasing pictures in them, turn out on close acquaintance to be scarcely better taught than the clods they break, or more moral than the herds and flocks they tend. Both intellectually and morally the inhabitants of the large manufacturing towns arc immeasurably in advance of the rural districts. Side by side with manufacturing processes, our coal and iron mines will be developed. The real wealth of a country consists in its capability of employing variety of labor. A nation of farmers would be assuredly poor : a' nation of squatters would bo little better than a wilderness. The one would know few wants outside his own fences, and would vegetate like his cereals, grow up, work, wither and die unnoticed and unknown—the world neither better nor worse for his existence. The others might, like the patriarchs of old, drive their flocks from place to place; the only variety in their lives being a shindy with some other tribe about the best grass or watering place. But New Zealand, by nature, is fitted for a higher position. It is capable of sustaining a large population of varied pursuits, who in order to live must utilise the mineral riches in which it abounds; and this can only bo done with advantage to themselves and the world by intelligent application of skill and science. These Scotch manufacturers are amortgst the pioneers in this work, and we are anxious for their success in order that new products may open up new markets, and extended trade bring increased prosperity.

Scarlet Fever.—A second; fatal case resulting from scarlatina occurred at Port Chalmers yesterday. We also regret to have to state that two children of the same family are now seriously ill, and that a neighbor’s child is also suffering from the same cause. The deceased, John Robertson Whyte, aged nineteen months, resided in Currie street, in the house adjoining to that recently occupied hy Mrs William White, whose death from scarlatina it was our painful duty to record a few weeks a m. Sporting. —Australia will be a considerable gainer by the sale of the Count Lagrange’s two year-olds. Mr J. Moffat, of Victoria bought Etoil du Soir, a brown lilly by Gladiateur, out of Etoil du Word, for 320 guineas. Mr Moffat also bought Mobile for 370 and Patrie for 300 guineas, and throe others—Gironde, Orleans, and Etineelle—for .330, 100, and 50 guineas respectively. Mobile is hy Monarque out of Tol a. Patrie is by Gladiateur out of Chcvrette. Gironde is by Monarque out of Miss lon. Etiucello is hy Plutus out of Aricie. Orleans is by Plutus out of Jeanne d’Arc. The highest price of the sale was 660 guineas for Artilleur, hy Monarque out of Stradella, The number of horses sold was 42, and the sum realised was LB6Bs—an average of nearly 207 guineas.

Pepestrianism. —The following paragraph from the LytlUton Times is explanatory of our telegram from Christchurch yesday :—A match was made on Saturday night—Bird, the English pedestrian, • against time. Mr, Harris backs Bird to run 20 miles in two hours. Mr. Maxwell backs time. The match is for £IOO a side, £2O was staked by Mr. Bayleo of the Enter oh The match will come off on June 24, within five miles of Christchurch, on the return of the pedestrians from Dunedin. Mr. Harris offered to back Bird against any man in New Zeaiand, giving one mile start, out of 15, but there was no response. It is hardly necessary to say that 20 miles in two hours is an extraordinary feat in pedestrianised.

The Victorian Privilege Case.— The value of the decision of the Privy Council in the case of Messrs Gla s and Quarterman is very imperfectly understood. It is, however, of the greatest interest, for it defines the relative positions of the Supreme Court and the Legisl dure of a Colony ; and has set at rest a question that has afforded ground for long and warm controversy. By those who have taken an interest in questions that have agitated the public mind in the neighboring Colonies, the conflict between the Supreme Court and the Legislative Assembly of Victoria, respecting the incarceration and liberation of Mr Hugh Glass and Mr Quarterman, will long be remembered. These two gentlemen, for gross breach of privilege—if such a mild te m sufficiently expresses the offence—were committed to gaol on the warrant of the Speaker, and by resolution of the House. Application was immediately made to the Supreme Court, and, on the ground that the warrant was in excess of the powers of the House, the two delinquents were at once set at liberty by order of the Chief Justice, Sir William Stawell. The law officers of the Crown in Victoria held that the Supreme Court had no right, in such a case, to interfere with the warrant of the Speaker, as the executive officer of a Court higher than that known as the “ Supremo.” Whereupon the matter was submitted by appeal to the Lords of the Privy Council, and in a telegram by last mail the intelligence was received by the Government in Melbourne that the opinions of the then law officers of the Crown have been sustained by the committee on appeal of the Privy Council, and that the warrant of the Speaker is supreme. A Bombardment.—A resident of one of the suburbs of the Empire City, who, it is said, in conversing on war topics some days before, had expressed a wish to experience the effects of a bombardment, had his desire satisfied one morning in a most unexpected manner. On the morning of the 6th inst., a real live bombshell came whizzing through the air and fell to the ground close to the house of Mr. Astill, at Pipitea point, formerly the prop'ietor of the hotel at Kai--1 warra, and now a butcher. On reaching thr ground it rolled along in between the piles on which the hou*c is built, till it got the length of the kitchen, w; ere it burst up, doing considerable damage, and causing endless consternation to the inhabitants. It is said that they were so much astounded that they were actually afraid jto shriek till after the affair was over. The cause of the accident was that some of the sailors of the Virago were engaged in shell practice, in one of the boats of that vessel. By some carelessness, the shell was sent in the direction of the shore, and, as Capt, Saudys explained in a letter which he wrote to the papers next day, went further than was expected, owing to a sudden yaw of the boat at the monnnt of firing. The late action of the fuze he could not account for. In ordinary circumstances the shell might have been expected to bur-t long before reaching the shore. Some compensation will probably be given by the officers and men of the Virago to Mr. Astill for the damage done. The Value of a L-5 Note, —The Wanyamu Herald says: “The L 5 note offered at Mr Chadwick’s sale was sold, after spirited competition, for Lo 2s 6d. The enterprising individual who put the note in the auctioneer’s hands received his account sales for L 4 17s 4.} d, five per cent, being deducted as auctioneer’s commission.” The Telegraph to Taranaki.—The last surveyor’s peg of the telegraph fine between Stoney Liver and New Plymouth, was driven into the ground near the Post Office on Monday last. The line between Patea and Hawera, wc understand, is completed, the poles having been erected a id the wires stretched on them. The telegraph staff arc now engaged ii> fixing the p fes between the latter place and Oeo. It will, therefore, not be long, at this rate, before we are connected by the telegraph with other parts of the Colony. We are also glad to Lear that the Pariaka Natives have consented to allow the telegraph to cross their land, so now there will bo no difficulty in connecting the line right through.— Herald. Private Petitions. — An advertisement appears in our columns to-day, referring to private petitions being submitted to the Government prior to being presented to the Provincial Council, The plan suggested is calculated to save the time of the petitioners, the Government, and the Council, Accident. —As the boys were leaving the Grammar School at Port Chalmers yesterday, an accident occurred to William, sou of Sergeant Colder, who in running to the gate, fell and broke his left arm near the elbow. He was placed under the medical

supervision of Dr O’Donoghue, and we are informed is progressing as favorably as can be expected. Princess Theatre. The “ Heart of Midlothian’ 1 was repeated last night to a fair audience, hy whom it was well received. This evening “Rob Roy” wi Ibe produced. The Dunedin Presbytery. - The Presbytery met in the First Church to-day at noon ; the Rev. Mr Alves, moderator, presiding. The Rev. Mr Baird’s trials were heard, and passed with iho induction of the Rev. Mr Clark was fixed to take place at Palmerston on the 30th May; the moderator to preach and preside ; the Rev. Mr Stuart to address the minister; and the Rev. Mr Sutherland the congregation. The ordination of Mr Baird was fixed to take place at Otepopo on May 31, the Rev. Mr Watt to preach and preside ; the Rev. Mr Jehnston to address the minister ; and the Rev. W. Will the congregation. The other business transacted was of an unimportant character. Accidents. —An unfortunate accident happened at the Koitangata flax mill on Monday last. It appears that a youth named Willis while emp'oyed feeding the sou'ching machine, tripped himself hy some means or other, and in endeavouring to savohimself, thrust the fingers of his right hand into the aperture of the scutcher "box through which the flax is passed. As the scutching drum within the box revolves at the rate of of 700 revolutions per minute, the poor fellow had not time to extricate his hand befor the finger ends were so severely battered as to necessitaco the amputation of two at the first joint. The operati m was skilfully performed hy Dr. J. G. .Smith, who left his patient in as hopeful <1 state as could he expected,—A serious acci ’ent occurred last Sunday week to a daughter, sixteen years old, of Mr. \Vhi. Christie, of Otokia It appears that while a horse wos being led past the house, the girl happened to pass close behind him, whereupon he kicked and struck her upon the chin, shattering the lower jaw in several pieces. Dr. Inglis was called in, but he recommended her removal to the hospital. Her state is quite uncertain as yet. Bruce Herald. Scarlatina. —We regret to learn scarlatina broken out at Moa Fiat. Two deaths arc reported —a child and an adult—and several {others are at present suffering from the disease. The Census. The results of the census in the town of Tim am have been published. i here are 729 males, and 689 being an increase of 186 females, and 205 females during three y cars. Political. —The Bruce Herald has it upon good authority that Mr Mollison, member for Waihola, has been urged to accept office in the new Executive, but has refused. On better authority we are able to say no such offer has been made. The sailing of the Maori for Tiinaru, Lyttelton, Ac., that was announced for tomorrow, has, in consequence of her detention in Invercargill, been postponed. The Beautiful Star, which is substituted for the Maori, is announced to leave on Friday next.