POSTAL RATES.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1508, 4 June 1873, Page 2

POSTAL RATES.

The postage rates on correspondence posted in New Zealand for the undermentioned places, to be forwarded by the Pacific MaiJ Route, will be as follows : —

to be raised with reference to the working of the Electoral Act in this district, will be the means of arousing public attention generally to the condition of our Electoral Laws. Living, as this community does, in an all-absorbing and never ending effort to attain commercial and material success, there is very little time left to devote to purely political affairs. This is how it happens that there is such an extraordinary amount of indifference evinced by the general public in matters relating to the 'franchise,' and it is also th© reason why the few individuals who do interest I themselves in these matters have such an ( influence for good or evil. In our present case the evil influence has been exercised in such a manner that it will require a strong counter- irritent in the shape of an organised legal opposition to neutralise its bad effects. The Otago Vaily Times, in trying to find a cause for the carelessness of a large section of tlie population in qualifying themselves for the franchise, makes the following remarks :-— " From the first the franchise has in this Colony been less liberal than with our neighbors on the Australian Continent, with whom manhood suffrage, or something closely approaching to it, has everywhere been in vogue since the privilege of dictating their own laws was conferred upon them. "New Zealand remains, in this respect, the most Conservative of all the Colonies of this group. Wo apprehend that tlie real reason why nothing in the way of alteration of the Electoral Law has ever been attempted is one which is notably operative in many other matters. The absence of any large concentrated population like that which is to be found in the capitals of the sister Colonies is not an unmixed evil, but its effect as hindering the rapid formation of a strong popular opinion on various subjects, has undoubtedly been prejudicial to the interests of the Colony on many occasions. Had there existed in New Zealand one really large town, there can be little doubt that amongst other reforms our Electoral Law would long ago have been assimilated to those of the neighboring Colonies. We do not suppose that many years will pass before such achange is accomplished. The only important hindrance is the difficulty of starting the subject effectively in Parliament. From year to year important measures ape talked of arid not carried, because the time of the Assembly is so much occupied with party.and personal questions." Our "contemporary "goes'"" on to surmise that until some prominent man in public life devotes his almost undivided attention to the subject of electoral reform, as! Mr Reynolds did year after year in the General Assembly with reference to the ballot, and consent as that gentleman did to struggle against continued and disheartening opposition, it is hardly probable any reform will be immediately made. Until the advent of this coming man, we must endeavor to make the most of the law as we find it. A movement is now on foot at Wellington to legalise a lodger franchise, and, if successful, the voting power will be conferred upon a large number who are in every respect qualified to exercise it. There is another class who are also welljqualificd, by education and otherwise, to exercise the franchise with benefit to the country, but who are now shut out from that privilege by the operation of the law as it stands. This class includes a number of young men born in the Colony, or residing in it from an early age ; members of families, of "whom the head only is entitled to claim the franchise as a householder. This class, although numerous in other parts ' of the Colony^ . does not exist ;to any appreciable extent on the West Coast, but there is another section of: the inhabitants on whose behalf the present electoral agitation has been brought about, and in whose hands it is desirable, notwithstanding what may be said to the contrary in certain quarters, that ; some portion of political power should be placed. We mean the miners arid other residents on the gold fields, and if any further argument were needed to confirm us iii our belief that it is necessary, the franchise should bo extended on as wide a basis as possible, it is a consideration, of the manner in which the attempt has recently been made with official authority to curtail it. In a recent issue we pointed out in plain and unmistakable terms where this attempt originated, and the manner in which it came to pass that the Registration Officer for the district, allowed himself to be made the vehicle for objecting to claims to be placed upon the Electoral Roll, of which claims, or of those who made them, he could not, in the majority of instances have the slightest personal knowledge. Here again an urgent reform in the Electoral law is needed. If the Revising Officer, or any other person can, on frivolous technical grounds, make indiscriminate objections to claims made in good faith, and thus compel claimants to incur trouble and expense in upholding their claims, provision should be made that if rejections are not held good, substantial damages could be recovered by an easy process of law from the objectors. The question is likely to be argued to-day at the Revision Court, as to whether the qualification on which a number of the claims are based is sufficient to "entitle .the claimants to be placed upon the roll. We have more than once before expressed the opinion that every miner whpis possessed of a habitation worth to him, for the purposes of occupation, £5 a year is qualified to have his name enrolled as an elector. This is the liberal interpretation of the law, and we again quote from piir contemporary in support of the proposition :— "The qualifications fixed upon when the present Electoral law was framed accomplish no discernible purpose, whilst, the insistence upon them is vexatious in the extreme to those persons whom it excludes from political rights. The £5 household suffrage might as well be a household suffrage pure and simple, because no cabin that will shelter a family fails to come up to the standard of value. The £10 leasehold and £50 freehold qualifications are almost in the- same category. The Electoral Rolls would hardly be extended if the various values were eliminated from the qualifications. But these rolls would receive very useful additions if the qualifications themselves were abrogated, and a suffrage like that in vogue in Victoria were adopted in their stead. There every man of full age, of sound mind, who is not tainted by conviction of crime, and who can read and write, has the franchise. Why should it be different in New Zealand ?" This, we regret to be compelled to admit, is not the spirit in which the electoral law is aoughtito be administered

in this district. It is apparently a foregone conclusion that the roll must be kept as diminutive as possible, and it is juat possible that during the proceedings at the Revision Court facts may be disclosed which will account for the "dead set" which has been made to set aside the disinterested efforts made to increase the voting power. Again we must urge upon the people the necessity of making a stand against the attempt which will be finally made at the Revision Court to disfranchise such a large proportion of the community, and we must confess that if this stand is riot made the electorate will deserve the reproach cast upon it by the Provincial Secretary of the Nelson Government, when he had the hardihood to assert in his place in the Provincial Council recently, on behalf of his Governmenta — Government which is the bye word and laughing stock of the Colony — that even allowing all other circumstances to be equal, Gold Fields communities were not entitled to the same amount of electoral representation, as the communities of "the more settled districts."

An alarm of fire was given last night by the bells, owing to ilames having beau seen in Maekay street, in tlie rear of the new buildings belonging to Thompson, Smith, and Barkley's drapery establishment. Befoie many strokes liad been given on the bell the engines, hose reels, and hook and ladder carriage were on their way to the scene of the fire, indeed, we have not seen any Five Brigade make a smarter turn out thau was done upon this occasion. Fortunately, their services were not required, as the cause of the danger had been removed by the exertions a few of the neighbors. We learn by telegram that the funeral of Mrs Mould, whose death at Nelson Creek, under distressing circumstances, we announced in our issue of Tuesday, took place at Ahaura yesterday, and that it was the largest of the kind which has yet taken place in. that town. Up to Thursday evening ksb more than 40 salmon had been hatched out in Christchurch, and the Curator of the Acclimatisation Society expected that the number would be increased by 20 or 30 more. A somewhat remarkable case of sudden death occurred last Saturday at Woodstock. | The report published by the Times states ] that .the deceased, who was named Thomas .] Edmund Hughes, had been chopping some wood, and was observed by a miner named James Irwin to be leaning against the garden fence. Irwin went on, and finding on returning that Hughes was still in the same position, called to him, exclaiming, "\'ou are taking a long look at your cibbages !" Getting no answer, Irwin went over to deceased and found that his head was between two of the palings of the fence. On lifting the head deceased fell down, and then Irwin perceived that he was dead, of which be was unaware previously. The Alhambra's Melbourne mails, which were sent ashore at Hokitika on Friday, have not yet reached here. They are expected to arrive this afternoon by the s.s. Murray, from Hokitika, as it is still doubt- . ful whether the ordinary mail will be able to get through. We were informed yesterday that Kelly and party have struck a payable prospect about half a mile up Maori Creek, New River, which id supposed to be a continuation of the old Maori Creek lead. Yesterday, a packer named John Grimes, in the employ of Messrs Hamilton and Co. had a narrow escape while crossing Maori Creek, New Klvcx aintricb. The creek was much flooded, and Grimes svas washed from his seat. The horse floated down stream, till it came to Mollison's, where it got out, The rider swam to a shallow bar, where some men, who had observed the accident, rendered assistance, and got him. safely ashore. A meeting of the committee appointed at the late public meeting for arranging the proceedings on the occasion of the turning of the first sod of the Brunner Railway, takeß place to-niglit, at Gilmer's Hall, at 8 o'clock. The officers of the various Friendly Societies are requested to be present. ! Cambridge, on the Lower Waikato River, is to be the military head-quarters and the depot of the Armed Constabulary Corps during the present Native difficulty. ■ A miner named William Glass Avas killed, at ten o'clock on Saturday, on Slnel's line of reef. Inangahua, while assisting to fall a tree. The inquest was to take place on Monday. A very important motion was proposed by Mr Ivess, in the Nelson Provincial Council, on tlie 22ud May. It was as follows : — " That, in the opinion of this Council, it is . desirable that the name of every person whose tender has been accepted by the Provincial Government for Supplies or Public Works, with the amount set opposite to the particular work tendered for, should be published in the Gazelle immediately after the acceptance of every such tender," After some discussion, the motion was negatived. It was hardly to be expected such a motion would be allowed to pass by the Council, constituted as it is at present. The publicity desired by the motion wcnld lead to the exposure of too many nice little jobs, which are so regulated as to be "kept in the family." The Sporting reporter of the Christchurch Press undertook to chronicle tlie " Hippodroinedarian " sports at the Hippodrome, on the Queen's birthday. He thus describes the course and a portion of the audience : — "An oval course had been marked out and fenced in, and in the centre of the arena was erected the gymnastic apparatus on which the athletes would execute their seveial feats of strength and agility. Small stands called 'grand,' were erected at intervals along one portion of the outer ring, and these were taken ppssession of at an early period of the day by the more aristocratic section of the ( larrikin ' element, the primary formation, geologically speaking, qf the future swell-mobdom of New Zealand. A little variety combined with temporary excitement was infused into the proceedings, by the coUapse of one of ihe grand stands, to the wholesome discomfiture of a band of of larrikin brothers, who came to grief amid the ruins. As your reporter had but a few minutes before listened to the unseasonable guffaws of these youths over the downfall of a stout elderly dame who had come to grief, and an involuntary recumbent posture on the grass, through sitting on an insecure plank that tipped up, he rather rejoiced than otherwise at the discomfiture of the larrikins." The chronicler waxes classical over the Cheviot race:— "The next event was the race of the day between Juno and Minerva, which was a very closely-contested and game affair ; although in the first time round Minerva's traces broke, and the Goddess of Wisdom was heard to 'drat' something or somebody in her divine indignation at her rival passing her. The excellence of Minerva's team placed beyond doubt her chances of winning, but Juno, the • oxeyed,' rode a thoroughly game though losing race, tooling her prads in a manner that would not have disgraced a daughter of Old Poseidon or George M'Kircher. Both ladies displayed great pluck, and thoroughly merited the applause they received." The following items of interest to all who have the cause of acclimatisation at heart are from the Worth Otago Times :— " As people

often wonler what has become of the starlings and partridges liberated in or near Oamaru sonc years since, it may be of some interest tathem to learn that a few days ago a flock of l hundred or more of the former was seen ii Waiareka Valley, and no doubt we shall hear of similar flocks elsewhere, this being the season at which those birds are gregarious. Of partridges several coveys have been seen, one numbering seventeen birds. It ,is to be hoped that they will be allowed to> increase unmolested for another two or th:ee years, as then there should be some very ;ood sport obtainable. It will be rememberel that some years ago, seven red deer, two itags and five hinds, were landed here, beinj sent up by the Acclimatisation Society, iinedin, and were turned out oh the ranges at Mr M 'Lean's station, Morven Hills. Wi are glad to learn that they have thriven anl multiplied, the herd being now increased b twelve, each of the hinds having a fawn at ler side." The Wa'kato limes laments the existence of professbnal drunkards, avlio, under the garb of "medical men," -with diplomas to " kill or eire, lay themselves out to minister to the waits of country districts, and are a disgrace t> the fraternity." It says :— " We are of opiiion that Parliament, at its very next sittiig, should pass an act by which it shall bo possible to clip the wings of evil birds whj habitually brin<j; disgrace upon every menber of tlieir profession, and who have sunl beneath the level above which a man's seli-respect to some extent influences his actions. Power must be vested in somebody to. : suspend the certificates of mutliciil men fdtr' gross misconduct As. the law at present stands, a doctor, on whom the lives of many men may depend at any moment, can drink, or otherwise render himself unfit for his mission, and there aie no means of puuishing him."

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