The Evening Star MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4201, 14 August 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, AUGUST 14, 1876.

Mr Fish is growing a strong Conservative, not to say Tory in his notions. He is evi dcntly about to abjure the errors of demo- : cracy, with its slime and dirt of popular elections, and general putting of the square men into the round holes, and purposes henceforth to live clfianly in the pure light of nomiueeism. We make this deduction from his having given notice of his intention to move a resolution in the City Council, affirming the desirability of changing the present mode of electing the Mayor of Dunedin, so that the appointment of that offieial may vest in the Council; and secondly, from his advocating that the City Auditors, instead of being elected by the citizens, should be appointed by the General Government. Mr Fish urges the latter change on the ground that if the Auditors were nominated by the General Government, “they would be appointed f w special professional knowledge,’ Mr Fishes confidence in the General Government, and his belief that the sole end kept in view by that body when making an appointment is to choose the fittest man for the post to be filled is extremely flattering to the Ministry, although, in these suspicious days, he is not likely to find many persons of the same opinion. Nor will the citizens give up, without long consideration, the valuable privilege—if, indeed, we may not call it a right—of appointing their own inspectors of accounts. Possibly, popular election is not the most certain test of professional merit; but after all, it does not require the skill of an actuary to audit bho municipal books, A fair knowledge of an accountant’s work and thorough probity are the two essential qualifications for the post of City Auditor. The duties of the auditors are to see that the accounts are properly kept; that there is no jobbery or misappropriation of funff-i going on ; and that the balance sheets laid by the Council before the ratepayers truly represent the state of the Corporation finances. Election by the whole body of ratepayers is well adapted to secure the appointment of men who will discharge such duties faithfully, because the ordeal of au annual election is a safeguard against collusion between the auditors and the permanentofficers of the Corporation; while it serves to create a healthy confidence on the part of the public in the purity of the administration of Municipal affairs The proposal to change the mode of electing the Mayor comes from Mr Fish prop> io motu. Nobody else has asked for it. On the. contrary, the citizens of Dunedin have exhibited complete satisfaction with the present system; while Dunedin has been frequently cited in other parts of the Colony as an example of the excellence of the system of popular election. Two years ago, the city of Wellington, which, bemg incorporated under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1867, had been accustomed to choose its Mayor through the medium of the Council, requested the Assembly to amend the Act, so that henceforth the citizens might elect their own Mayor, and the Assembly did so. The Wellingtonians flattered themselves at having thereby obtained a boon ; and no doubt they had. A most objectionable state of things had grown up under the old regime. The government of the City had practically fallen into the hands of a small clique, who managed the affairs of the Corporation as it pleased, and elected whomsoever it thought fit as Mayor. To get rid of this sore an agitation was started in favor of changing the mode of electing the Mayor; and the alteration having been made, it has produced the beat results. Other towns have suffered in like manner, and have sought similar relief. The system advocated by Mr Fish almost invariably gives rise to petty intrigues, and the formation of a kind of inner Corporation eminently fitted in a large town to promote .corruption and jobbery. The only town oi any size in New Zealand where the sys’em has worked fairly is Christchurch. There the Conned elects its own Mayor, and chooses its members for the office by rotation, thus avoiding invidious preferences. There has been no marked expression of dissatisfaction with the .present practice ; but we bel-eve public opinion in Christchurch is decidedly tending in favor of popular electron, as it is in other incorporated towns where the nominee system prevails. The latter plan, indeed, has little to recommend it beyond its being an old English practice. It would take too. long to review ihe complicated municipal organisation of England, but it could easily be proved that the circumstances of in cor unrated boroughs at Home are bo very different from those iu the Colony that they cannot be taken as a guide in this matter ; nor is it certain that if the municipalities at Home were reconstructed, the appointment of mayors would not be relegated to the popular vote. It cannot be asserted, with any approach to truth, that popular election has given to Dunedin an inferior set of mayors to what it would have got had the choice of the chief municipal functionary been left to the decision of the. Council. In the latter case, one of two courses must have been followed--either the Councillors must have succeeded to the Mayoral chair by seniority, in which event the City might have been represented by a clever man one year and by a muff the next; or the Council have undertaken to select the best of its number as Mayor, a process that would have given rise to all sorts of heartburnings and jealousies. We do not contemplate a third course whkh might present itself for notice, namely, the selection by the Council of some person outside its own limits, because that is a proceeding which the public could never tolerate. Altogether, so far as the men are concerned, the. present system is not open to censure. Mistakes may have been made sometimes. Elections are frequently determined by popular feeling instead of by the reasons which ought to decide such contests. The citizens, teo, are not always able to judge of a man’s worth iu the Council, where work and not eloquence is the real criterion of value; and one can imagine cases of gentlemen of ambitious aspirations, “ cribbed, cabined, and confined’’ within the narrow bounds of a Councillor’s duties, but who, while able to secure the suffrages of the ratepayers in a particular ward, feel that it is hopeless to ask for those of the whole body of citizens. Such men, under the nominee system, would probably find their way into the Mayoral chair at some time or another, and the City would then reap the benefit of their talents in an appropriate sphere; but defects like these are incident to the electoral system in all its ramifications. It is not that the plan of electing the Mayor by the popular vote is a perfect one; but it is superior to the plan of leaving the .office to be filled up by the Council; and that is the point to be considered. There is one immense .advantage attached to the former which seems to outweigh all the arguments that can be used on the other side. The Mayoral election brings about a periodical and effective investigation of the affairs of the municipality, and keeps public attention alive to the doings of the Mayor and Council. In the course of a canvass of the City by two 8r three rival candidates the citizens are pretty sure to

hear if anything is going wrong; while each candidate is a check upon mis-statements by the other. Schemes for fresh improvements are propounded, and their feasibility is discussed ; and a general impetus is given to Corporation affairs. There is the accompanying danger of-ope candidate outbidding the other for popular support by promises of hiv.sh expenditure ; but, between the warn- - of the Press and the burthen o' heavy rat es, the citizens will learn in time to distrust such promises ; and, at all events, the mischief is not of sufficient magnitude to counterbalance the public benefits derived from the election. We cannot pretend to predict what view the City Council will take of Mr Fish’s motion, if it be pressed to a conclu -ion; but the Council must remember that, while it may legally be within its powers to pass such a resolution, the question at issue is essentially one for the ratepayers at large to decide.

It would be a great pity, if the future maintenance of the Otago Museum were to be made a political question, as seems to be tfi ,! desire of certain persons. The position oi ; i-e institution is this; On the 30th September the appropriations, made by the Prov>i;cal Council for its support will be exhausted, and since it is without endowments, landed or otherwise, its doors will have to be ciosed, unless in the meantime the Geaeral Assembly provides for its maintenance. That the Museum should cease to exist would be a grave misfortune. 'lhe services of an excellent Director have been secured ; large and valuable collections have been got together, and will be available for public use as soou as room for their exhibition is furnished ; and a suitable building is now iu course of erection, which has been specially designed for the purposes of a Museum, and would require a considerable additional outlay upon it to render it fit f v any other purpose. Much has been said and written about the necessity of making the teaching of physical i/.-ivnee a prominent feature in the University curriculum; but,that cannot possibly be done without the aid of a Museum; while, so far as the general public is concerned, it is quite too late in the day to proffer arguments to show the educational utility of Museums. That is now universally accepted as a fact in Great Britain. 'V hen the General Assembly has the circumstances of the case fairly laid before it, it will hardly refuse to continue the Museum on the same footing as that on which it has stood during the Provincial regime. The incautious answer given by the Premier -to Mr Stout’s question cannot reasonably be taken as au announcement of the final determination of the Ministry on the subject; and to make political capital out of it is just the way to defeat the end in view. The cost of the Museum is about L 1,200 a year, and a further sum. of L 2,000 will shortly be required in order to complete the fittings of the new building, so that the amount which the Assembly is asked to vote is L 3,200. But the future has likewise to be considered, and the simplest and fairest means of providing for the wants of the Museum in after years is a landed endowment, for which the grant of 100,000 acres to the Canterbury Museum forms a precedent that the Assembly will find it difficult to ignore. ' Nevertheless there are always conflicting interests at vrork in these matters which have to be dealt with, and a gentleman of ex-Judge Chapman’s influence will prove a valuable ally to the Otago members in their efforts to present the position of the Museum in its. true light to the Assembly, anti so preserve the life of the institution.

A scratch match was played at Montecillo by the Dunedin Hockey Club on Saturday, sides being chosen by Messrs Macfarlane (captain), and W. R. Johnston. The game proved an easy victory for Macfarlane’s side, who secured four goals to their opponents’ one.

The Awamoko railway, a branch line connecting Oamaru with the township of Maerewhenua, was inspected and passed by the engineer (Mr Lowe) on Thursday, and the opening ceremony will take place on VV ednesday next, arrangements for that purpose having been completed by Mr Grant, Acting-Railway Manager. * At an adjourned meeting of the Press Club held at Wain’s Hotel on Saturday ■afternoon, the - ecretary reported that five new members had been elected during the past quarter, and that several others were to be nominated for election this week. Considerable satisfaction was expressed at the establishment of a similar club iu Christchurch.

The only business- at the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Port Chalmers, this morning, was a charge preferred against two seamen, named Jean Marrion and Hous Aberscher, who pleaded guilty to deserting from the French barque Madeline, and were each sentenced to be imprisoned with hard labor for twelve weeks, the captain to have the option of taking them out of gaol when ready for Sia

Tii ere was a capital attendance at the Princess’s on Saturday night, when Mr Lingard repeated his character sketches. Some of his impersonations were exceedingly lifeH kc, and M r Lingard was heartily applauded. The comedy of “ Sir Simon Simple ” terminated the performance, Mr Hoskins fairly revelling in the ebaraster of Mould. Tonight “La Tentation,” a drama in which Miss • Eleanor Carey attained considerable success iu Melbourne recently, will be produced ,

The Dunedin Naval Brigade held their first shot and shell practice of this season at the new range, Lawyer’s Head, on Saturday. Th rty-one members turned out. Lieutenant Grant in command. The guns were mounted, r,nd two detachments—one in charge of P. O. M *Naughton and the other of P. O. Lyons—told off. The men fired to Tomahawk Bay, about 2,000 yards off, and the shooting was very good, We can congratulate the company on having secured a range where the public can view their operations without the slightest danger.

At the City Police Court this morning, before Messrs C. S. Reeves and E. M ‘Glashan, J.P’s., the following were dealt with for drunkenness and disorderly conduct:—John Slaing, Bridget Martin, Andrew Hamann, Peter Chalmers, and Robert Ellison were each fined 10s, or fortyeight hours’imprisonment; Wm M‘Donald, ss, or twenty-four hours’; Jas, Campbell, Laving been locked up since Saturday night, was discharged; James Sh»w and Thomas M'Grath, on bail, discharged; and Mary O’Leary, who had just been released from gaol, was also discharged,

The Darrell’s made their second bow this season at the Queen’s Theatre on Saturday evening, under far more auspicious cirounastances than on the opening night, there being a good attendance in all parts of tbe house. Kotzebria’a bpe play “The Stranger” formed the chief attraction, Mrs Darrell was remarkably successful as Mrs Haller, depicting the trials of the repentant wife with considerable intensity of fooling, while -Mr Darrell did full justice to the part of the r5cluse. Tile audience were lavish hi their applause, and both Mr and Mrs Darrell were frequently called before the curtain. Miss Willis made a pleasing Countess Wintersea, and Mr Savilfe a gentlemanly count j Mr Love was sufficiently amusing as Peter. * f Slack-3yed Susan” terminated the performance. To-night a dramatised version of “Man and Wife,” pf which Mr Darrell is said to be tbe adaptor, will he produced,

Owing to the sloppy state of the Oral on Saturday, the match between the Dunedin I ootball Club and the ex-High School was postponed, and a scratch match w : is played. Ihe m itch against the Oamaru players will be played at Oamaru on Saturday, the 26th inst. The following have been selected as the Dauedin player's, the Committee, however, reserving the power to alter the names if necessary J. k Thomson (captain), 1/ixon, Austin, A. Cargill, W. Gargill, F. Fulton, G. Fulton, Mills, Maitland, Morriton, Murray, M‘Lean, Holland, Rose, and A. K. Smith ; emergencies—Lambert, Reid, and Hope. The above team will practice every Tuesday, and Thursday pn the Oval at 4.30, and will play a match against all comers on Saturday next.

A meeting was held in the Drillshed, Green Island, on Saturday evening for the purpose of making final arrangements for opening a branch lodge of the Protestant Alliance Friendly Society of Australasia in Green Idand, The chairman congratulated the meeting on the success their efforts had gained, and stated that the necessary funds for opening the branch having been liberally subscribed, he had much reason to believe that the Green Island branch of the Protestant Alliance Friendly Society of Australasia would be a successful one. The chairman also intimated that the lodge would be opened on Thursday evening, 17th inst., of which due notice would be given by advertisement in the Evening Stab.

The Tuapeka railway works are giving evidence of speedy completion. The Round Hill Tunnel will soon be lined from eud to end, and there is every prospect of the offer of Messrs Morrison and Co. to lay the permanent way to Lawrence being accepted by the Government. At present the plates are laid through the Glenore tunnel up to within a few yards of the Manuka Creek Station, and by the time they are carried to the Round Hill, the tunnel will he open, so that in the event of Messrs Morrison and Co. getting the contract, the. work of platelaying may be carried on without intermission urn til the whole is completed to Lawrence. This might be easily accomplished in the space of four months at the very outside. Taking all things into consideration, we ( ‘ Tuapeka Times’) think that we may fully calculate upon having the iron horse performing his daily journeys between Lawrence and Lunedin before the end of 1876. Two members of the “buskin,” well known in Dunedin, recently figured in the Adelaide Police Court. On the 27th ult. Miss Clara Stephenson, the leading lady in the dramatic troupe now playing at the Adelaide Theatre, was summoned to the police court by Mr F. Towers, the theatrical manager of the company, on a charge of having failed to fulfil her agreement with him. It appeared from the evidence that on the evening of the 22nd ult. she was cast to play the part of Telie Doe in-the drama “ JNick of the Woods.” She was not perfect in her part, and omitted one whole scene,' and the play was consequently the reverse of successful. It was also complained that she refused to release the actor who played Koland Forester. His part required that he should be bound to a tree, and that Telie Doe should release him, but this she refused to do, and he had to run off the stage amidst the jeers of the audience. The Bench found Miss Stephenson guilty of wilful neglect in carrying out her duties, and fined her L2 and costs, L 6 10s in all.

A special summoned meeting of Conrt Pride of the I eith A.O.F. will be held at the Conrt Room, King street, on Wednesday, at 8 p.m. The railway who subscribed in aid of the widow and children ef the l«to John Young are invited to meet the committee at the Glasgow Arms Hotel on Wednesday, at-8 p.m,

It has been proposed to enlarge St Paul’s Church by an additional aisle, and for that purpose a meeting of all interested will place m St Paul’s schoolroom on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

The skating rink at the Drill shed is largely patronised, and o i Saturdays nearly 100 persons take advantage of this means of pissing away the afternoon, ladies and gentlemen alil-w patronising the rink So great is the rush on Saturdays that Mr Hamilton is unable to provide sufficient >kates for bis numerous patrons. The system of giving prizes has proved to be effective, the rivalry existing between the younger lads and their desire to become proficient causing them to attend tr.e rink almost daily.