The Evening Star. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1874.

Evening Star, Issue 3655, 9 November 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star. MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1874.

The narrative we published on Saturday of the cession of Fiji to Great Britain is full of interest on several accounts. It is the concluding paragraph of the history of the failure of a number of Englishmen to engraft British laws and institutions upon a barbarous stock. When first Fiji was systematically colonised from Melbourne, sanguine hopes were entertained that King Cakobau would be so influenced as to adopt the laws and customs of England, and he appears to have done his best to raise his savage realm into a respectable civilised kingdom. We do not imagine that at first the monarch entertained more extended notions than being able, through the help of white men, to achieve absolute dominion over the whole of the Fijian group. To expect a man educated in habits of cannibalism to have higher aspirations for his subjects than that they should abandon practices condemned by the superior race, and learn so much of art as to be able to live in greater material comfort than they had hitherto enjoyed, would be to credit him with ability to form conceptions of a phase of social life beyond his experience. If he has ever had those hopes they must h.ivo been afterthoughts, the consequence of what he witnessed when he became associated with the Colonists. To the first settlers the task of Government apparently appeared easy, and had they possessed the necessary ability, integrity, and unity of purpose for good Government Fiji might have risen to the dignity of a Native kingdom, equal if not superior to that of Hawaii. The constitutions drawn up by those who officiated as Ministers to the King, though by no means perfect, were in the main adapted to the circumstances of the country ; and, had there been no unscrupulous settlers, the end would in all probability have been different. King Cakobau realised the real state of the case when he said “ the whites that have come to Fiji are a bad lot. They are mere stalkers on the beach.” Whether or not he spoke the truth when he added “ the wars have been far more the result of the iuterfence of intruders than the fault of the proper inhabitants” may be considered doubtful. Tribes in a state of nature are not generally amiably disposed one towards another. The causes that lead to tribal wars may differ from these induced by the grasping greed of settleis; but most commonly hostility of races is the normal condition of uncivilised man : war is the most difficult of all barbarisms to uproot. No one who reads the account of the conference between Sir Hercules Robin son and King Cakobau can arrive.at any other conclusion than that his Fijian Majesty felt his throne in a ricketty position, because of the inability of the white population to rule themselves. The cession was made opportunely. Great Britain’s power is required to keep her own children in check, and to protect the natives against their oppressions. The management of the new Colony will be an interesting experiment. How it will be conducted is a study for statesmen. Great Britain has had a variety of experience in colonisation, and has had to deal with almost every form of social institution. Perhaps experience gained in New Zealand is more immediately applicable t® the condition of Fiji than any other. If we may judge by what is reported to have been said by Sir Hercules Robinson, the land question will he dealt with on more enlightened principles than have been adopted in any British Colony up to this time. Without interfering with estates already “ fairly and honestlyacquired ” by whites, or land in actual occupation by natives, Sir Herculls proposes to create the residue of the land, Crown property ; and, as far as we can understand his scheme, intends that the rental of it shall become public revenue, and stand, as far as it goes, in lien of taxation. Possibly the rental may not yield very ample revenue for a while: very certainly land sharks will be discontented with so simple an arrangement. But if it be persevered in, ultimately the advantage pointed out by Sir Hercules will be realised, and the only true theory of the terms on which land should be occupied, demonstrated., Fiji under British dominion without protective duties, lightly taxed, and justly ruled by the strong arm of Great Britain, must rapidly progress. The cost of living will be low compared with the results of labor, and though New Zealand’s mineral wealth and temperate climate must ever give an advantage over countries where European constitutions cannot sustain continuous muscular efforts, if trade remains unfettered, Fiji will take a high position among Britain’s dependencies.

The Artillery Company fired a salute of nineteen guns from the southern portion of the reclaimed around early this morning. r fcll * er y Bind then played “God bless the Prince of Wales ” and “ tiule Britannia.” alter which they marched back, to town. No parade was held.

The Press’ states that Mr and Mrs Hoskins have left New York en route for New -iealand, and may be expected in the Colony m a.iout two months. From the Sydney papers we learn that Miss Fosa d owers has made a decided hit there, and was playing to large houses, J

The Canterbury Horticultural and Arboricultnral Society have recommended the introduction of the walnut, hickory, and chesnut, as nut-bearing trees of great value, and also producing timber. They also advocate ihe introduction of the various species of magnolia, the teak tn-e. the mastic, the caper plant, and the turpentine tree, pointing out Jihat all would grow well and luxuriantly in New Zealand, and would also show up far better than in England.

The rule as to the mode of dealing with unpaid letters and book packets for de-ivery within the Colony has ba-m relaxed, and in future such letters will be forwarded, but a fine of double the deficiency in postage will be 1 vied ; on hook pa kets a fine of 4d will bo charged. Ihe rule st-11 holds good, however, as regards newspapers and letters out of the Ooiouy. In fu ue, half-penny sea ins will be reco/nised when used for letters as well as newspapers.

The efficiency of the means of locomotion pi-.ced at the disposal of the World is iTuatnted oy the ‘ Marlborough Express,’ which mentions that Mr Symons of the firm of N. Edwards and Co., of Nelson, who left Blenheim on the 29tb of April last, -‘put a girdle round the world,” go-ng by way of -an o ranc sco to England and returning by way of the Su<a Canal, having been a'paiseng.jr b/ the first steamer which passe 1 through the canal carrying the Australian mails. Mr Symons was {exactly six months away !rom Blenheim, a <1 only five mouths from New Zetland from the date of his Jast departure to date of his arrival at the Bluff, and sp nt eight weiks in England.

On Friday last Mr do Laiuour, M. P C. .for Mount Ida, met bis constituents at St. 1 -athans. Referring to the rumor of a posable vacancy for the district, he s lid that there was no certainty yet. He still hope i Mr idiver would see his way to retain his seat in the Council; but, if'not, he would implore the pe >ple to bo true to themselves, and send down their own man—one of th on solves, with their interests. and who would not be liable to be coerced into a position antagonistic to the dislrmt. The 1 Chrouicie’ says the mee'ing cordially agreed with the sentiment expro-sed by Mo de Lam our ‘ thu the sooner O ago . rovmcijftism \va.. lead and burn d the bettor.”

; hj Shag Vail, y Block appears to be a constant bone of dsc intent. Some we. k’e go vve (■ Mount.lda Chrou cle’) drew at,tention ‘o the extraordinary action of the Was;e Laud Bard in overn ing the applications for land before it, and declaring that all ap pi>cants alike must compete from < ctobsr 27tb. Apparently the bulk of the applicants considered that their applu-a ions would bold good, and neglected, on the 27th, to renew shorn. Mr Frincis 1 lil on Bell, howeve l- , applied for himself and others for about 1,(501) acres, which, it is said, embrace land ;vready settled upon. W e understand that the Warden has been applied to to report on the auriferous portions of the ground, and 00 doubt any mining interest or property wdl be carefully conserved. Why notice was not given of there-opening of the block for application, must remain one of Miose inscrutable acts of wisdom for which the Board is now to famous.

A new friend y safety, entitled “The Independent ' Tiler of Free Gardener-*,” has be-Mi es’-ab’ished in ' uckland. * t has beeu ei’r -llriid under the Pri ndly Societies ,-\ct of Sew Zealand. The m-w soc'ety offers a moat libera! sea e of benefits to its members 5 the sick all iwanccs bong 21s v.eckly, and the sum payable at d;ath being ; 21 i hmv r special allowances provided in • s > wh re th weekly paym nt s a 1 be found iosnfiicie; t There will also be a loan fund, from vvhh hj sums not ix.-eeuing L2O can be borrowed, payable by instalments, at curr-m. Pink rat sof merest. Surplus funds will bedis ir.outed in maimer provided fo by the rule;-. I’here are rules by which the widow aud family of deceased members can by small payments retain the services of the surce n >.)f the society, and the widows o; deceased memoers can contribute with the u j ct of securing a pay me it for the benefit nf their respective families at their owu deadi. The e appears to be a de.rth of news at P’-ftseufc, and as *• f.ve and her apples ” seem to have done duty, we notice that another subject has been starred. v*z : “t’aprain M‘i can and his magpies ’ It is as follows: -“Captaiu M Lean, of the steamship Otago, has lib rated ten pairs of magpies in the Dunedin district ; and in • reference thereto, the ’ '■ew Zealand Herald 1 says “ These birds would thrive much better in Auckland than in Otago 1 ‘ Kut, 1 says the ‘Taranaki Herald. 1 ‘ vve say they would do better in Taranaki than in either place. 1 ‘ Mav we venture to a id another rider ?’ exclaims the * Tribune. ‘ They would do best in Wellington. 1 ‘ Vow we 1 remarks the ‘ Marlborough Times, ‘ should certainly s*v that Wellington has magpies enough during the sesdou of the General .Assembly to weary the people of that City of the sound of the chattering creatures ; and we therefore propose that the feathered bipeds be brought to Blenheim. L erhaps a few more papers will oblige by putting in a claim for these chatterers.

The examination of an insolvent at the Bankruptcy Court in Wellington the other day disclosed rather a 1 >ose way of doing business, which, if practised in more exten sive dedings, would probably lead to s’b'ht complicatioas. The insolven.. was described as a publican, but his real occupation seems to have been that of wood carter, with very little control of the public-house bimnes.-. To give his own explanation, he was away from home every other night • and all day, cutting wood and carting in in; the “missus” looked after the public-house business in general With reference to book keep'ng, the drinks obtained on credit were put down on a slate, but not transferred to a book, and when the slate was full the items were rubbed off, and proceedings commenced afresh iie said they did not put drinks down, but trusted to the generosity of those owing to pay. His Honor suggested that although he did not put them down he perhaps “chalked them up” a custemary process, he understood. It appeared, however, that after the slate get full, no record remained of the items, and the payment of |he scores was left to the consciences of these incurring the debt—rather doubtful generally with the class who habitually incur the liability in question. The witness said it was astonishing the profits publicans made when the custom is brisk ; for instance, to a cask containing four buckets of spirits it was the eastern to put a bucket of water ! An up-country correspondent, sends to the ‘ News ’ the following account of a rather perilous adventure in which two well known residents of Invercargill were the actors He says :—“ It appears they were era route for the Manipori Lake, on a tour combining business and pleasure, travelling by easy stages in a ‘one horse shay.’ They got ea all right until arriving at Daniel’s Crossing, 1 when the river was found too high to ford*

After waiting a while some drays came up, and by their heavier metal, we.e enabled to cross. -Stimulated by their example, the touriots essayed the stream, bub when in the piidale, the horse, either fagged or illtempered, or both, jibbed—turned round, by a determined eff -rt cleared himself of tt e harness, and made for the shor , leaving his masters in a truly critical ‘fix. Picture to yourself the situation—perched in the centre of a dangerous river, the water rushing over the bo tom of the conveyance, and evid mly rising in a way that thre - teued to float them down at any moment. Fortunately they had two life-belts fully in fluted, of which they k pt Him hold I assure you. Their cries for help at last induced a waggoner to go in to their rescue, and at great risk to himself, he succeeded in hitching to the vehicle and drawing it to land—the young gentlemen none the worse except wet Ciothes and a flight, Tney have since resumed their journey well and jolly, but they say they dout want a repetition of then Ored experience, which satisfies them that even when journeying by laud a life-belt lino means the useless travelling companion some might suppose it to be.” A curious municipal muddle has occurred at Queenstown. The ‘ Mai; ’ states that on the tetir nv-nt of Or. Fully, Messrs Geiaow ami '.Mr. d came oiwaiM, but former was a reluctant candidate. and yielding ;<. earnest Solicitations, signed to u uai n mi nation paper. Upon tin-, polling .u y . before the polling - onamen. ed. Mr Ucis handed in a document, -igued hy him.c ■ his proposer and second r. contain eg a «;e claratiou that be lial reti ed iro-.n tne e-.n----test; and previous to this, ban tod i.« in Mayor, a letter signed by himself, coutainuu a similar notice oi retnemouc. Ihi io’.toi the Mayor rej cce sos inlorma!, <he utluresignation was recti-cd, but not acted up »*i. as the Mayor hold that no pure s u ngiven him to interfere with t ..e ballot pipers, ihe poll, taken dcs i’.e ib- kow li-.ige o> these circuraatan ;ca, r auit-.-M in a v.uin-. that gave for Goi ow. 47 ; Aldr- d, 7. MGe sow was declared elected, while MA hired claims the el.cti n, by virtue of \l< Geiso w’s resignation. Tim question natural! v arises—can Mr Gei-o.v b- oompcilei to take office as a candidate, sw ing that ho resiguebe or ■ the poll, and - ilia - anocuer Candida .- is willing to vendor his -ervi es ? \go d deal of doubt ex ats about ho matte . There is no redress for .nr ei.v.-w. Coua cillor he is, even if -Jon -cii or against his will. Mr Aldr :d’s lu.l >0 e ambiti a i-: a : « baikcd f r the none-!. Clause til of t i Municipal Ordi-»a c•, t-S Jo, ■ ea-is ;h,s:— “ Ev ry citiz u win. sli 1. be du y elected to an office, icc , ..hat. aoc pt aucii offi.-e taking, making, and ■ uo.-icnb-ng the d-.-clar.i----tiou aforesaid within we days’ notice at i u dice of his election, or -shall, io i<, thereof, p>y the Corpo ;fion the jiao of L 2-5 for ill-; non-acceptance of snob ollieo.” In the case o ihe iay«»r it is 1.50 Tha 1 .use seidles the question, and it has uit been revo- od o>- a.no eel by sub-. qiieut Icgisli 1 1' ■ <he Council may, howevjr, if ih-y de -m tit les en the -imount oi line, -t remi it u-iioge iier, a<t r acc-pt nee of office, aim re.-.;g ati-iu tuer upon.

“ Merman’s ”, letter can only be inserted as an advertisement.

The usual weekly meeting of the Gindin,!: Star Lodge, I.U. G.T., will be held to-morrow evening.

Theie is no lack of amusement for this evening. At the theatre a holiday programme ir nut forward; the Fire B:ig:i,ie his a social gathering at the Masonic Hall; the Albion •Ticket Club a bdl at the North Dunedin Drill-shed ; while there will be dancing at St. Georges Hall, and at Mrs Haraaau’s academy at the Friendly Societies’ H ill. We have received from Mr Wise, bookseller, Princes street, a pamphlet published in Auckland, entitled “The Coming Crisis,” which the author announces to be “ a sketch of the financial and political condition of New Zealand, with the causes and probable results of that condition.” It is written by Mr W. L. ile -s, who. not many years ago, was admitted to the bar during a short residence in Dunedin. Mr Rees writes what fifty years back would have been called well, but in smnehhat too florid a style for our matter-of-fact day; nor has he taken pains to make himself acquainted with facts, and, as a consequence, lie commits himself to many glaring mis-statements. Neither is he very particulac in his sketches of character. It is only necessary to be politically opposed to Mr Rees to incur his unfounded ridicule and caricature. His estimates of men remind one of the political portraits drawn by Abdul, as published in the ‘Daily Times’— they are equally one-sided, imaginative, and untruthful. His hasty generalisations lead him to rash and illogical conclusions, and his imperfect views of finance and political economy peep out on every page. We have read many pretentious works, but not one containing so many distortions of things past and present as are to be found in this flowery pamphlet. Its influence on New Zealand politics can be but small, if anything, as it is not calculated to convince opponents nor to confirm pre conceived opinions.