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Evening Star, Issue 4111, 1 May 1876, Page 2

The Harbor Board meets to-morrow, and we trust in a more amiable spirit towards their Engineer than has been displayed for some time past, as well as with more clearly defined ideas of their relative position to that gentleman. Nothing seems so absurd as to find a member of the Board who advocates the cutting of a shallow channel fifty feet wide taking upon himself to pronounce dogmatically upon the comparative qualifications of different engineers. Such a channel would not allow two vessels to pass, and if dredged to the depth he proposed, no vessel of heavy draught could come up to Dunedin. Shallow as the channel his judgment must be, yet he assumes to pronounce Mr Gordon a competent engineer, and Mr M ‘Gregor superior to Mr Simpson. No doubt each has his specialty. Mr Gordon, however, is said not to have shown any superiority in Victoria, even for water supply ; so why should he be lauded to the skies for studying Mr Simpson’s data during his voyage, looking over the surface of the Bay, drawing conclusions which the Board are incompetent to accept or reject as sound, and receiving nearly L2OO for opinions not worth the paper they are written upon? for he candidly acknowledges he does not understand the main things on which his opinion was asked. Mr M ‘Greg or has practically proved himself competent to construct concrete walls, for the Oamaru breakwater is a work that does him great credit—that is his specialty; but we cannot forget that in his evidence regarding the Anderson’s Bay affair he displayed no very great aptitude for marine engineering. It may be unfair to judge him by that specimen of his talent, as his particular attention was not turned to it. But Mr Simpson has had his mind directed to the Harbor Works without anything to distract his attention for some two years. He has always shown himself an able man, and we are inclined to think if the Board place the confidence in him that ought to be reposed in a talented employd, they will find that his plans are very superior to the crude and flimsy notions of the Provincial Secretary who seems to have adopted the position of Marplot, so far as Provincial progress is concerned—or of a gentleman, who, however aide as a merchant, should never open his mouth on engineering subjects until he has had experience. We regard the’treatment of the engineer by the Board as unmitigated snobbery. They seem to look upon it that he is their servant, and to expect from him the obsequiousness of a domestic drudge, while in reality both he and they are servants of the public. We have no doubt if, instead of assuming dictatorial airs over the engineer, he was treated with that respect he has a right to claim, the Harbor Board would find that they would have in him a gentleman quite willing to carry out concrete walls or wharves or any other form of construction that private or public interest or friendship may suggest, provided it is the cheapest and best plan that could he adopted.

At the Press Club’s quarterly meeting on Saturday night, Mr Wathen was elected secretary and treasurer ; the balance-sheet and report were adopted, and it was decided to ask the proprietors of the leading newspapers i i the other Provinces to forward free copies of their papers to the Club, which now musters sixty members.

We understand that Madlle. Be Muraka •pens i.he new Princess's Theatre on Tuesday week, the 9th inst.

the vital statistics for the Duacdni disuiuiith of April are :—Births, 1-7 : deaths, 44; marriages, 43.

Eleven persona entered for the University Matriculation Examination which commenced to-day. The examination will last tnree days.

Mi Sj xcs s popular concerts at the Temperance Hall continue to be well patronised, and on Saturday night the house was crowded in all parts. An attractive programme was presented, and the various performers were well received.

Drama and burlesque constituted the programme at the Queen’s Theatre on Saturday night. ‘ Little Giselle ” was not the success which might have been expected, there being a total want of “go,” and an absence of new songs and jokes. The troupe appear again to-morrow night.

-pke general meeting of cricketers on Saturday night adopted the following resolution : “ That Mr John Eva be requested to communicate with the secretaries of the Christchurch and Auckland Cricket Clubs to ascertain what arrangements they are making re the proposed visit of the English professional team, and also to ask Mr Bennett, the English team’s agent in Melbourne, upon what terms the team will visit New Zealand.”

The proposed block sales of laud is even too much for the ‘ Mt. Ida Chronicle,’ which, since Abolition was decreed, has given the Jrrovmcial authorities an unwavering support. On Saturday our contemporary was forced to admit that “the action of the ProV^ Cia Ti. GoVermnent is most impolitic,” and adds that “ many a staunch Provincialist has since Wednesday week determined to abandon the cause and court the ills he knows not of.”

Harvest thanksgiving services were held yesterday at >t. Matthew’s, the Rev. Mr Stanford preaching in the morning and the Rev. Mr Penny in the evening; at the Moray street Congregational Church Dr Roseby preached on “Making Friends with Mammon; ” at the Theatre services addresses were delivered by the Rev. J. Ward and by Mr Torrance ; and at St, Paul’s, after evening service, Mr John Hill gave an organ recital, which attracted a very large number of listeners.

The Fire Brigade are determined to send over a team to the Ballarat demonstration on the 23rd or 24th inst. Over Ll5O has been subscribed, and it has been decided that six men, who will be balloted for tonight, shall be sent. The Insurance Co.’s donation of LSO is given on the understanding that at least five men go over. The Wellington contingent join the Arawata at Wellington on Friday. Their names are H Woods, J. M'Grath, J. Crowder, E. Tolley, T. Macauley, W. Jones, and W. Brodie. Superintendent Whiteford commands them.

The Post Office authorities are hurrying the movements of the steamer that is bringing the inward San Francisco mail down the coast. The department has made arrangements with the New Zealand Steam Company by which it was expected that the Taranaki would receive such prompt despatch from Nelson as would enable her to reach Wellington at 5 p.m. to-day; there she would only remain long enough to coal, proceed South this evening, and it is antieipated she will thus be able to deliver her mails at Dunedin before the outward mail by the Colima closes here. The following is relative to the unexplained detention of the City of San Francisco, and it appears in a ’Frisco paper of April . Ist:— ‘ The steamer City of San Francisco is I, still lying in the bay, steam up. She was to sail for Australia at six o’clock, and that, too, after several postponements. It was reported that the steamer was detained in accordance with instructions from New York. The agent professed to know nothing as to the cause, though it is very well understood outside that the Australian Colonies have failed to pay the subsidy in consequence of some violation of contract. The rumor that the sheriffs officer was on board with an attachment is denied.” Last week we stated that Vol. Treseder and Lieut. Pell, two of the three Dunedin competitors who took part in the Canterbury Rifle Association’s recent meeting were third and fourth on the list of aggregate scorers. The Christchurch papers now mention in justice to these gentlemen that at the last range at which they fired they were prevented from firing off the full complement of rounds, owing to the lateness of the hour. The former fired two shots and the latter* three shots short. The probability is, therefore, that if they fired off the full number of shots they would have occupied the second and third posi tions on the list, seeing that they were only one and two points (respectively behind the competitor credited with second honors Forty-two men took part in the competitio and the position taken by the Dunedin representatives is certainly a most creditable one. We may say in conclusion that the champion of the meeting (Mr Cameron) and several of the Canterbury shots have signified their intention of visiting Dunedin at the next Association’s meeting.

The ‘ Oamaru Mail’ refuses to endorse Mr Reid’s dictum that labor is becoming scarce, and mentions two facts that support it;— “We know, of course, that there are men who go about apparently looking for work, but who, at the same time, fervently pray that they may not find any. These men belong to the class known out here as the real Colonial loafer, frightened lest they should be offered a job, and ever ready to sponge on the genuine hard-working man. It was only the other day a case came under our own notice. We were in want of two men to assit in unloading some machinery. On asking two strong fellows if they wanted work, they replied in the affirmative, and both were engaged at their own terms— Is per hour. To our surprise one of them, after helping to unload a ten pound case, put his coat on again, and informed us that he could not slave at a job like that for L2 8s a week, and retired, while his mate labored on, and with overtime reduced our exchequer by L 4 5s at the end of the week. We know for a fact that the man who refused to work for L2 8s a week, or 8s a day for eight hours, had not earned a penny for months, and yet this fellow will hang round public-houses and sponge on his friends. . . It was only the other day that a large railway contractor informed us that he knew a lot of men who, rather than work for him at L'l a week, took a job under some Chinamen for L2 10s.”

The Ladder of Hope Juvenile Lodge of Good Templars held its usual weekly meeting in the Congregational Hall ou Friday, 28th. when the following officers were elected for the ensuing term: -Bro. G. Stewart C.T.; Bro. C. Beadle. V.T. ; Bro. T. Holgate, C.; Bro. J. Selby, S,; Bro. Carr (adult), T.; Bro. Bentley, F.S. ; Bro, H. Jewitt, M.: Bio. J. Coats, 1.G.; Bro. W. 1 ee, O.G.