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Evening Star, Issue 3246, 16 July 1873, Page 2

Although somewhat tardy, the Chamber of Commerce has at length roused itself to a consideration of the postal arrangements for bringing the European Mail, via Suez, to New Zealand. It is surprising that they have not met earlier, as the terras of the contract have been before the public some time. No doubt the Government have felt themselves in some difficulty, through the seat of Government not being the centre of commerce. The question was whether the Government should receive their despatches a few hours earlier, or the large mercantile interests of Dunedin and Christchurch should be first served. ; There were only two courses open to them, and, as usual, the wrong one has been taken. Dunedin, with interests superior in amount to the aggregate of all the other ports on the postal route, is placed at the disadvantage of being the last to receive its mails, and the first of departure, instead of, as should have been, the first to receive and the last to transmit New Zealand mails. We should have drawn attention to this earlier, had We not been led to believe that the Dunedin mails would be transmitted direct, instead of being taken round by Hokitika. It seems we were misinformed; or at least, if such* a course be taken, it will be an*act of grace on the part of the contractors on which our merchants and population should not be dependent. Dunedin has before experienced the inconvenience of the course adopted by the Government, and should not, therefore, allow such a gross folly to be again, perpetrated. It might be excusable if railway communication were established with Hokitika, so that the mails could be landed there, and received as soon as they could have reached us via the Bluff. But the present overland arrangement cannot meet the difficulty, and it would be much to the advantage of the Colony if the Dunedin mails were brought direct, even at an extra expense, rather than that they should be dragged round the coast—giving all the petty ports of the North the benefit of prior information, keeping our merchants in the dark as to transactions at Home, and filling up the measure of neglect by compelling them to reply: almost before they have had time to read their correspondence, and certainly before many arrangements requiring prompt answers can be made. The, exigencies of Government should not. be overlooked; but when they are placed in antagonism to those of com- ■ raerce, they ought to give way; for commerce does not exist for Government, but Government for commerce. If both can be met by the outlay of a small extra sum, the Wellington mail via Hokitika and the Dunedin mail coming direct, it ought to be done, ; md the people of Otago ought to insist | upon it.

There is not a single civil case set down for trial at this session of the Supreme Court, From a private telegram, we learn that Mr J. M’Neil was this day re elected Mayor of Balclutha, for the fourth time, without opposition. We were led into an error in our hasty notice yesterday of the Estimates. stated that it was proposed to increase the salaries of the Speake” and Chairman of Committees, whereas the additional sum merely represents what is due to the holders of those offices last session, they having only claimed half salary because the session was a short one. Mr Thoneman addressed a large meeting of the ratepayers of Bell Ward at the Oddfellows’ Hall, George street, last night. Mr James Brown in the chair. The candidate spoke at considerable length, and to the evident satisfaction of the meeting. After having answered several questions satisfactorily, Mr J. U. Russell proposed, and Mr J. Sherwin seconded an unanimous vote of confidence in the candidate.

We were pleased to notice a greatly improved attendance at the Princess’s Theatre last evening, when the sensational drama of “Man and Wife” was repeated. The piece went much more smoothly than on its first representation, and all engaged in it seemed to vie with each other in endeavoring to make it a decided success. The scenery painted for this play by Mr Willis has contributed greatly to its attractiveness. The same performance will be repeated this evening. The three rival journals in Hokitika delight in catching each other napping. The Register of a recent date says :—“ Our morning contemporary yesterday announced the discovery of some human remains in the South Spit, and particularised them as ribs and other bones. From inquiries made by us, we learn beyond a doubt that the bones are those of a deceased cow. Had they been human, the ribs could only have belonged to a man weighing about half a ton,” “Nell G wynne,” under the title of “ Court and Stage,” was played at the Queen’s Theatre last evening. Miss Colville’s Nell is a character this lady has made her own ; and Miss Anstead’s Frances Stuart was a ladylike impersonation. Mr Steele looked every inch a king, and his representation of the “ merrie monarch ” evinced a thorough appreciation of the part he undertook. Mr Hoskins’s Duke of Richmond was a finished piece of acting throughout. Mr Hydes, as Samuel Pepys, had a congenial part, and he played exceedingly well. To-night, the comedy of “ London Assurance ” will be produced, concluding with the farce of “Nothing to Wear.” The usual fortnightly meeting of the Mutual Improvement Society was held in the hall below the Athenamna last evening, there being a good attendance of members and others interested in the welfare of the Society. The chief business was a reading by Mr John Barron, entitled “An evening with the Poet Burns,” the various portions given shewing that they had bi-en carefully and judiciously selected. A novelty was introduced in the shape of a reading by a lady member—“ The Cotter’s Saturday Night”—and, judging by the applause that followed, the committee will endeavor to induce the lady members to lend assistance at their future meetings. The next meeting takes place on the 29 tb, when Mr Bolt will give a reading. The North Otago Times opposes the proposal of the Government to continue the “ block sales,” and ask who is to determine what “land cannot be used for other than pastora 1 purposes ?” It says the Maerewhenua blouk waa sold as “pastoral land,” and unless the Council at once determinedly set its face against such sales as the new Executive contemplates, half the waste land of the Province may before the end of the year have been purchased by the pastoral tenants of the Crown, and the Maerewheuua blunder repeated iu every district in the Province. This is a question of great public import, and it is to be hoped that the Council will definitely and positively condemn the policy of allowing Government the power to sell apy laud otherwise than by public competition.

Discipline in the volunteer forces of the neighboring Colonies seems to be honored more in the breach than in the observance, and the number of Court-martials and Boards of Enquiry held from time to time, leads to belief that the body is all but useless as a defence force, until a thorough re-organisation takes plaee. The latest breach of discipline is reported as follows in a Melbourne paper : Two officers of the Artillery Corps were in the field in charge of that body—a lieutenant and a sub-lieutenant. The former at least had been a member of the force from the beginning, was, in fact, one of the first members, as well as an officer of the corps in which he held rank as lieutenant at Brighton. On the principal day of the encampment, the sub-lieutenant became bilious, or, for some other reason, out of humor. He obeyed orders grudgingly ; at last he fell into flat mutiny, and declined altogether to take orders from his superior officer. A scuffle ensued, with high words on both sides, when the sub drew his sword upon his lieutenant, and the latter incontinently knocked hjm down in the most approved P, B. style. For this unrailitary conduct both officers have been tried, convicted, and dismissed the force; snd the senior and superior officer has in addition been fined L2Q, while both have been ordered to return their uniforms, swords, and other accoutrements to the Government.”

A meeting, to take into consideration the resignation of the Seamen’s Missionary *t Port Chalmers, was held in the First Church yesterday evening. The Bev. Mr Johnstone, of Port Chalmers, occupied the chair, and stated that Mr Gilbert had been compelled to hand in his resignation, on account of the labor involved in the collection of subscriptions to the mission that gentleman being put to great trouble, inconvenience, and expense through having to apply himself for the subscriptions in order to obtain his salary. After Captain Thomson had read a statement of receipts and expenditure, and stated there was a balance of Ll3 due to Mr Gilbert, a discussion took place as to the advisability of continuing the mission. Eventually, Mr C. IJ. Str.eet femarkpd that as most of the vessels visiting the P,oft now came alongide the pier, the necessity f.or the missionary's going the round of them could be, to a great extent, dispensed with > and he considered the most advisable means for improving the condition of the seamen would be to provide a room in which they could meet, supply it with newspapers, periodicals, and books, and arrange for holding service on Sundays, Mr Street recommended this proposition strongly to the meeting, and promised to give LSO in furtherance of it. The following resolution was then passed : “ That this meeting receive the resignation of Mr Gilbert, missionary to the seamen at Port Chalmers ; and that a commitee, consisting of Messrs Street, Bennie, Stephens, and Captain Thomson, be formed for the purpose of maturing a plan for providing means for the benefit of the seamen visiting the Port.” The meeting then separated. Judge Johnston could not have been in a vciy amiable mood while at Napier a few days ago, when he opened the circuit of the Supreme Court there. First he lectured the Colonial Government on its parsimony in not advertising fn the local papers tbedate of the Court sittings, thexi he charged the Press with mendacity, m*t his puspeakable horror and dismay were excited by the “state of things he had found at Napier, a condition of affairs quite unprecedented there or elsewhere, and demanding the most vigorous inquiry. During the number of years he had presided over the Court he had never experienced such a series of failures of justice through neglect of the proper preliminaries.” The most signal failure appears to have been occasioned ny the absence of a material witness, Mr Kirton, manager of the Bank of New Zealand at Poverty Bay, which resulted in the breaking down of a charge of forgery.' ’ It was shown Ihat Mr JCjrton, could not, without gross of

duty, have attended earlier than he did, and that the irregular communication between Napier and Poverty Bay was mainly the cause of his absence. Nevertheless the forfeiture of LSO was imposed, bis Honor refusing to hear a statement Mr Kirton wishedto make. This appears to have been naturally regarded as a hardship by Mr Kirton, who remarked to the Registrar that he should pay the money “under protest.” This unlucky remark involved the unhappy manager in another difficulty. He was at once brought into Court, and subjected to a terrific reprimand, coupled with the warning that he was liable to instant imprisonment for an indefinite period for such scandalous contempt of Court. The additional punish meat was, however, not enforced.