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Evening Star, Issue 3203, 27 May 1873, Page 2

The Hon. W, H. Reynolds and the Ufon. J. Bathgate were passengers to the North to-day by the Lady Bird, Messrs Geddea apd Willis’s company, which now includes Mr Joseph Raynor and Mr and Mrs Lachlan M'Qowan, left Lyttelton for Dunedin last nigbt, and intend, we believe, to at once resume the occupation of the Princess Theatre.

Mr De Maus’s concert, held last evening in the Royal Assembly Rooms, Port Chalmers, prayed to bp an immense success ; the room, which is the largpsf in Port Chalmers, being crarpmed. Tjbp various performers acquitted themselv.es creditably,' and wpvo repeatedly encored. After the concert .the room w - as cleared, and dancing kept np till midnight.

Other bodies besides the Otago Provincial Council do not believe in having the honorariums received by the members altered. In the Wellington Provincial Council, when the estimates wore being considered, on the item “ten members, at 1.30 each,” Mr Andrew jnoved as an amendment, that the item bo rcduceij one-half. On a division, the original iteip carriecj by eleven against nine, On

the item “four members at L 20,” Mr Ludlam moved that it be reduced one-half. Negatived on the voices. “ Six members at I.lo”—Mr Ludlam-moved that the item be struck out. The item was carried. |

Yesterday (Queen’s Birthday) the passengers conveyed by the Dunedin and Port ' halmers Railway Company amounted to a otal of 7,273. Of that number, 6.800 wore return passengers, the remaining 473 being singles. In a l ten trains were despatched, each conveying fourteen carriages. This is by far the largest number of passengers conveyed along the line in any one day since it was opened. Despite the extra press of business, the arrangements were admirably carried out, both as regards safety and despatch, a circumstance which reflects no small credit on the station-master and his subordinates.

The following Native letter, published in the Southern Cross is from Mr < harles Baron De Thierry, and tells its own tale without any comment:—“ Horohoro, —To Charles Baron De Thierry, Auckland.—Friend De Thierry,—Bring your surveyors up as soon as possible, and let them commence the survey—Upper Patetera—thence running on to Ngautuku ; thence toWhangapoua ; then back again, round to Horohoro. These boundaries take in upwards of 300,000 acres of land. Sufficient, friend. Here is another word to you. Purukutu is hiding with his epe (meaning regiment or numbering about 100 men, to kill the Maoris who are allowing their lands to bo surveyed. This Native is a strict King Native. Sufficient to tell you that we have all risen fully armed to protect our surveyors against this fellow. Sufficient from your friends, Pare Motunau, na Te HoiNlana, and from all our tribe.” Commenting upon the motion tabled during the late session by Mr Barton—that in future no Goldfields Warden or Resident Magistrate should be appointed who is not legally trained—the Mount Ida Chronicle observes ?—“ This is virtually au opinion of censure on our Wardens which is thoroughly uncalled-for. But we are inclined to think that it is better that these officers should not be lawyers. If they were, a few of the appeal cases might probably not occur ; but, on the other hand, much law would be encouraged by the knowledge of all the legal possibilities, depths, and cavernous places pertaining to the law, that it would be presumed the Bench would be acquainted with. Any case of importance, where the law is doubtful, is sure to be argued by skilled counsel. We think justice will be quite as well met by such arguments being heard and decided before men of ability, such as the Warden in our own district, as before an average-brained passed lawyer. Certainly no lawyer of any ability would submit to the insufficient salary tho Wardens receive for arduous, responsible work most efficiently performed. ”

Mr C. E. Button, the well-known barrister of Hokitika, together with his clerk, Mr W. Blake, performed an unusual feat in the shape of walking in one day from Greymouth to Charleston, a distance of fifty-five miles, over a track which in some cases is hardly passable. They had also to cross Fox’s River some seventeen or eighteen times, as for three or four miles the track follows the river bed, which has to be crossed and ro-crossed many times to avoid the deep pools and impenetrable bush, Mr Button is known as one of the best swimmers in New Zealand, having saved several lives during his residence in Hokitika, and this is the more extraordinary as he has but one arm and hand (the left), wherewith to keep himself afloat. The Charleston Herald , referring to his late walking exploit, says ho returns by the same conveyance to-day. Mr Button and his clerk are both natives of Tasmania, and as boys were famous for swimming and pulling respectively, Ti ose who affect to believe that Colonial youths have no endurance, will, we think, a f imit the rule they lay down has some exceptions, as the walk taken by Messrs Button and Blake would take a strong horse all bis time to go over the same ground in the same time.

The success of the Wellington Provincial Government in passing through its Council a loan bill, has induced a member of the Nelson Provincial Council to table the following resolution (— *■ That, with the v;ew of promoting and securing the prosperity of th'S Province, and giving Kelson its proper place among the Provinces of Kew Zealand, it is desirable to effect a loan of L 300,000, for the following purposes, viz. : —(1 ) The sum of L 150.000 to go towards the construction of the railway connecting the Fox Hill and Greyraouth lines, the remainder of the coat of such railway (estimated at L 450,000 in all) being paid in land. (2.) The remainder towards the construction of such roads as may, with the advice of the Provincial Engineer, he recommended by the Executive Council, and sanctioned by the Provincial Council. (3. ) Towards the formation of waterraces and reservoirs in the Goldfields. That his Honor the Superintendent be respectfully requested immediately to coranpinicate with the General Government on this subject, to obtain its sanction and co operation. ” Larrikiuism must be very rampant at Bathurst, N.S.W., to have called forth the following observations from the Chief-Justice of that Colony in the course of a recent criminal trial:-“ This larrikinism must be put down ; and, I must say, there is a great amount of rudeness in Bathurst. Ido not speak from hearsay merely, but I have seen enough myself to compel me to say that there is very great rudeness among the young men of Bathurst, Other places may be as bad, but I speak of Bathurst. I suppose that everyope here knows me when he sees me, and it may not be too much for the chief magistrate to expect that anyone should make way for him ; but these young men not only do not make way for me, they will turn their backs on me, block up the pavement so that I cannot pass, or poke a cigar in my face. They pay no respect to any one, because they think that such rudeness shows their independence. Any one coming from England would be struck with their conduct ; and, indeed, I am not the only person who has been pained by it —two other judges besides me have been equally struck with the rudeness of the young men of Bathurst.” The following story is told by “ /Egles in a recent number of the Australasian ; —“Some crack-bra : ned person at Stawell with money (not unusual there), and without wit (quite customary) despatched a message per fipprland and submarine wire to Lord Kimberley. Tljie telegram was quite incomprehensible. Tjhe copibined intelligences of the Colonial ('fijee couldn’t rnajjo head or tail of it. Knowing hpw genaitiye Colonial cousins are, sud hpw ready tp resent the affront of apparent neglect, his Lordship telegraphed to the Victorian Go* vernment, ‘ Can’t understand message from Stawell. Repeat.’ Here was another conundrum. What on earth could Kimberley mean. At last it was surmised that his Honor the Chief Justice, Sir Win. Stawell, might have been in telegraphic communication with the Colonial Office (possibly to ask an explanation of the rumor about a certain appointment to the contemplated Appellate Court), Whatever the topic, it was deemed to be courteous and desirable to repeat Sir William’s latest message. When that yeaciietl Xjord. Kimberley “tilings V/QVQ UIOTG mixed than ever. The second message from “ Statvell” boro no kind of resemblance to the first. The entanglement was puly cleared up after the exchange of from L6O to L7O worth of messages per cable. Unfortunately the original idiot can’t be made legally responsible for the expenditure on all this purposeless telegraphy.”

Referring to the crisis in this Province, the Independent says ;-V'The unusual but justifiable course adoptcej by tfie Ministry in granting a dissolution under the stances, suggests the idea whether it would not bo well so to amend the constitutional law as to give a Superintendent the power of dissolving his Council once during his term of office, without necessarily losing or having again to contest his seat. This is a question which has engaged the attention of sonic ot the moat thoughtful observers of our Previn-

cial machinery, and wo believe that if such power were conferred, its possession would effectually chock those exhibitions of party warfare and struggles for place of which an example has just been afforded in Otago ” And this is what the New Zealand llera'd has to say: —“The Superintendent appears to have carried with him the popular sympathy. Looked at as an Otago question, it is not difficult to read the signs < f the times Mr Macandrcw will obtain a dissolution: the Government could not refuse it to him ; he will carry the I'rovince with him, and Mr Donald Reid and his party will be stranded. They did not know when to hold their hand By a fluke they obtained a vote of censure on the Superintendent: if they had been wise, they would have rested their victory there. It would have been sufficiently galling to Mr Macandrew, and might have been quoted against with effect ; but it has now lost its venom, and the Superintendent has it all his own way.”