Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1871.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 18, Issue 1120, 14 September 1871, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1871.

Mails for Wellington and Southern Provinces, per p.s. Luna, will close at the Port Post Office, at eight Q'clock this evening. A single of drunkenness came before the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning. By the overland mail from Welling ton, kst night, we received some late papers, a frw extracts from which will be found elsewhere. We have to thank Capt Bell, of the Crest of the Wave, for later Dunedin files. Lieut -Colonel Gorton, it appears, has presented a petition to the House of Representatives, setting forth his services as an officer of militia and military settlers, and praying for a grant of land. The Evening Post thus refers to the matter ;** We really cannot help thinking that this kind of thing is he coming rather too much of a joke. Ijieut,-Colonel Gorton has, we presume, received such a salary for his services | as the successive governments that have availed themselves of them considered them worth. He has not, so far as we have ever heard, performed any peculiarly meritorious acts beyond what it was his duty to do, and therefore what claim he can have for special remuneration we fail to see. When he was commanding volunteers, he contrived to make himself—with possibly the best intentions - so obnoxious to those under him that it was found expedient to give him another appointment; even for his services in that capacity we be lieve he was remunerated. Certainly on occasions when his Excellency the Governor, or other persons of importance, have been landing or embarking at our wharf, Lieut.-Colonel Gorton has made himself conspicuous on Custom House boxes, endeavoring to lead cheers ; but surely for such and similar generous ebullitions he does not no* seek payment in the shape of a grant of land. Seriously, if every gentleman who happens to possess militia rank, and who has sufficient sense to perform routine office work veil enough to escape censure, is to be given grants of land, let all know it, and all start fair. The House would speedily have enough petitions before it, and also speedily have but little land left to devote for railways, bridges, and other public works. The Evening Post says that some of the inhabitants of Westland must be singular people, and their ideas as to the duties and responsibilities of their representatives must be hazy in the extreme. A maintrunk road is about to be made through the County, that has been duly sui veyed, and the route approved of by Mr Blackett. As this did not go in a direct line, a portion of those resident in that line have been petitioning and protesting, and Mr White, their member in the Assembly, presented their case to the proper authorities. A little township that Mr White also represents, and which would be cut out if the direct line had been adhered to, immediately got up a storm in a teapot, as to Mr White's and on a motion of confidence in that gentleman's conduct, carried an amendment by 54 to 38, to the effect that the hon. gentleman had neglected his duty, and had injured himself in the opinion of his constituents. Surely the political schoolmaster must be abroad as far as Westland is concerned, The Cromwell Argus is not very nattering in its remarks upon the hon. member for the Puns tan in the Assembly. Our contemporary says : ** As to our local representative in Parliament, we scarcely know what to say, what to hope, or what to fear, If Mr Shepherd is industrious and honest, that is all we can expect from him—he will never be brilliant, nor do we anticipate that he will ever exert much personal influence. He has no power as a, debater, 0 tempora ! 0 mores / "

The English Mail via California should arrive here to-morrow morning, per Luna, The Otago Daily Time?, Sept, 6, informs its readers that no ladies have as yet made application to be admitted as students to the Otago University. The Evening Post of the Bth inst. says :—Tt was proposed by the Legislative Council that the proceedings of the two house* .should be published daily in some newspaper in this town, and in consequence some communications have been passing between the Council and the Reporting Debates Committee of the Assembly on the subject. It has been resolved to make no material change from the past, and to publish them as heretofore in book form twice a week. Instead, however, of allowing hon. members to correct printed proofs, the suggestion that they should correct the reporters' manuscript has been adopted, and by it a vast amount of expense and labor will be saved. It will not in future be in the power of raembei s to correct, revise, re-correct, re-revise, &c., as has hitherto been the case, and they will take a final view of what they said, or intended to say, when the manuscript once passes out of their hands. The time that will be saved by this course only those ac quainted with printing matters can form any opinion of. The Evening Post, Bth September, sa y S -—The Chinese Immigration Committee are already actively at work, and are taking steps to obtain the full est information on this somewhat ticklish subject from all quarters. They have already communicated with the goldfields wardens of Otago, where the Celestials most do congregate, and also with other authorities in various parts of the Colony, and asked for information in reply to a variety of questions. They have also addressed the Government of Victoria on the same subject, and will call the evidence of some wellknown Chinese traders resident in this city. They have evidently gone to work with a will, and their report promises to be both valuable and exhaustive. In reply to Mr J. White, member for the Hokitika district, on Wednesday last, the Premier stated though the Government had not intended to take any steps for the introduction of the ballot system in Municipal elections till the hon. member (Mr White) had mentioned the subject a few days before, they had since that time resolved to bring in a shoit bill to amend the act, with a view to the introduction of the ballot, which there would be no difficulty in passing. Probably the time might be too short for such an amendment to be made befoie the forthcoming City Council elections. If it were possible, however, to make Wellington the first to derive the advantages of the system, it would be in the highest degree desirable for more reasons than one. Possibly the thing could be done. —Evening Post, Sept. 8. Among the French officers who surrendered at Sedan, there was a young Major by the name of Victor de Massard, who had the reputation of being the handsomest man of his regiment. Major was sent to Munich, where his fine looks and his amiable social qualities made him quite a lion for some time. After the preliminaries of peace were signed at Versailles, he was released, but instead of returning to "la belle France," he started on a bridal tour to Italy, taking along with him a young Bavarian countess, who is immensely wealthy and beautiful. Major Massard must, however, adopt the name of his wife, her father having left a will which stipulated that his son-in-law must adopt the family name of his house before assuming possession of the family estate. The proud Frenchman, who claims direct descent from the Chevalier Bayaid, is however, not willing to submit to this demand of his late father4n-law, which he considers unjust and unlawful. Some of the first Bavarian jurists have expressed the same opinion, and the interesting case will be brought before the Supreme Court for decision. The young countess i-» said to be entirely indifferent as to the result, she having declared that she was as fond of the name of her husband as pf the name of her father,

The building trade in ChmtohuH|£> is more active at present than ii been for years past. The new and racy idea of a ploughing match having occurred the fei tile imagination of Mr Walker, of Aramoho (Wanganui), it9| to receive its embodiment on the 28*1 01 the present month, The Evening Post, Bth inst., says In the debate last evening upon Arms Act, Mr Gillies hit the ment very severely about the habit making presents of arms to the nativdjg a genei’osity, he said, which only could tully appreciate who had to gret the murder of dear friends, as had that of poor Todd. He himself from the charge of being to plunge the Colony into another a charge which, he said, had brought against him by the Govemmenßi and its organs, 9 The New York Times says :—Recet9 accounts of the discovery ot gigant* human remains embedded in the eart|B would appear to necessitate a chang9 in the theory by which modern scienc* attempts to account for the origin <9 man. Writers like the author of th 9 “ Yestiges of Creation ’’ have evident!* begun at the wrong end of the whose various links are supposed t* furnish such a plausible argument support of tbeir theory. Instead o* the human race having been gmduall* “ developed ” from the oyster, it woul9 appear that the primeval man was 9 colossus, and that he is slowly bu* surely dwindling dowm to. the oystei* This theory is certainly flattering to 9 man when contemplating hi& ancestrj* but less consoling when looking forwar* to his progeny. A human skeleton* just dug up on the banks of the Ken* River, in Calfornia, measured 7 fee* 5J inches in length; while anothei* found twelve feet below the surface u* Jeffersonville, Ind, measured 12 feeifl With regal’d to the Californian gianl9 we are told that “ the skull was muc9 larger than the ordinary-sized moving around at the pseseut day.jß and that “ a full grown pei'son place* his head inside the skull.” We comH mend the example of this “ full-growiß person ” to all people with ordinary* sized craniuras moving around at the* present day.” Let them hide theiiß diminished heads in the skulls of their* ancestors whenever they get a chance, fl In a recent speech, Robert Toombs* of Georgia, said :—“ When you caaß tear the live thunder from its home iafl the burning ether, and bind it a captive* at the footstool of tyranny, then, and* not till then, will I accept the situa* tion ! ” If at that time Mr Toombs* shall not chance to have got quite ready* to accept, we will grant him a reason* able delay. ■ The rigid observance of old English* rules in the South Carolina courts, and* a neglect of the same on the part of Mr* Petiigue, gave rise to the following* passage : “ Mr Petigrue,” said the* Judge, “you have on a light coat. You* can’t speak.” Mr Petrigue replied;* “May it please the Bench, I conform* strictly to the law. Let me illustrate.* The law says that the barrister shall* wear a black gown and coat, and your* Honor thinks that means a black coatf* “Yes,” said the Judge. “Well, the* law also says the Sheriff shall wear a* cocked hat and sword. Does your* Honor hold that the sword must befl cocked as well as the hat 1 ” He was* permitted to go on, ■ A warning to the fair ladies who* make the block brilliant by their preß sence, and who, like the daughters otß Dr Primrose, are perpetually seeking* to improve their complexions and cole* of tbeir hair by all sorts of lotions and* decoctions. 11 has been discovered that* boxwood may be utilised for promoting* the growth and changing the color of* the hair. A young woman in Lower* Silesia had heard of the new invention* and made use of it in order to renew * crop of chesnut hair which she had l° s ** through an attack of fever. But m ar *B the sequel:—“ Having neglected |* protect her face and neck from the a]* pUqation, they became covered with H* hair to such a degree that she seemed* little better than a monkey.” Such fact may be gratifying to Mr Darwin* hut should convey a warning to th.°3* who are seeking to restore lost charing*

HARD TIMES. [from the nelson examiner.l "Things were never so bad as they are ttow." This, with slight variations, is the burden of the dirge repeated, ten times a day, with wearisome iteration, alike by the merchant-prince (if niei"chant prince there be yet among lis) .enthroned on his stool, and the peasant trudging to his daily toil. .It shall be our thankless task to endeavor to ascertain, first, how far the complaint, that these are the darkest days our province has yet seen, is well-founded, and next, to what extent the remedy is within •our own reach. We know but too well in what estimation " the candid friend " is held, we know also that the surgeon who prol>es a green wound is usually not regarded by the patient with a friendly eye—at least during the operation. We are content, however, to .appeal from Nelson poor and cross, to Nelson thiiving and good-humored, and only hope that <"he day of re-hearing niay not be far distant. In trying to sound the depths of the present general depression, it is something to be conscious of the risks that we are running. It will be as well to admit, at the outset, that we recognize, with sorrow, the existence of much real hardship and distress, not only among the laboring .class, but in the ranks immediately above them. In many instances, we fear, it is found difficult to procure the bare necessaries of life. It is often { hard-- sometimes impossible—to obtain even the humblest kind of employment; while the charitable assistance of the few who are comparatively better off, has of late been taxed to the uttermost. Nor is the suffering confined to one or two classes. Seldom, indeed, does it happen (fortunately perhaps for the interests of society) that bad limes are not felt, somewhat at least however un equally, by all its component parts. ; The fable of the belly and the members is as applicable now as ever it was, and the straitened circumstances of hundreds who were formerly comparatively well-to do, also bear witness to the hardness of the times. But +o grant all this—and it is much —is by no means to admit that we have reached such an abyss of poverty as this province formerly sunk into on more than one occasion. The worst miseries of the present time seem very tolerable, when compared with the general bankruptcy, and the absolute destitution, that all but crushed the early settlers on the cessation of the New Zealand Company's expenditure. And scores of Nelson farmers still remember with a shudder, how, for years after that catastrophe, the potato-fed laboring man was fain to earn his nine shillings weekly, while the half-ruined landholder, his employer, fared scarcely better. For years, the transactions of the storekeeper were carried on almost entirely by barter, while the fees of the professional man were paid—when paid at all—in kind. Although all the necessaries of life are now cheap, abundan + , and of excellent quality, the wages of the mechanic and the laborer are at least twice as high as they were in the earlier days of this settlement. Let any one compare the well-clad, well-shod, and well-fed family of the Nelson artizan of to day with the half starved, ragged, and shoeless children of twenty years ago, and he niutft acknowledge that, bad as matters

are, they might well be worse. The question remains, however, Do we, as a community, get. as much as we are fairly entitled to expect ? As it would be impossible to do justice to so vide a subject within the compass of a single article, we shall on the present occasion limit our inquiry to the town. Here we are, then, some 5,000 of us, but how many out of that number can show a raison d\dtre ? The invariable remark of a stranger, translated from the language of politeness into plain English is, " I really cannot see how von all live," Towns are not expected to gtow ci ops within their boundaries, so that we have reason to be rather proud than otherwise of the few thousand bushels of capital hops that we produce. We manufacture a little soap. We weave some very serviceable cloth. We brew (and absorb) quite a *mprising quantity of palatable beer. But all this will hardly count for much, r hen it is remembered that v\e import

many hogsheads of ale annually, and that nine-tenths of us wash with the soap of London, and are clad in the cloth of Leeds. Surely, there is something wrong here, and we should spare no pains to extend such of our home industries as work up the raw materials of oar own growth. Until Nelson is supplied exclusively by its own cloth, candles, soap, leather, and ale, we shall continue to think that something remains to be done. Again, it can hardly be gainsayed that, as a community, and as individuals, we are wonderfully fond of comfort, not to say of luxury. We must have our well-scraped level roads, for our well-appointed cabs to glide over. We must have water —aye, and gas —brought into every citizen's house. We hare our electric telegraph—we expect to have our little railway. But these excellent things cost money, and involve pinching in some other direction. Already the tax-gatherer knocks at our door occasionally; by-and-bye he will knock frequently. We are also an aesthetic people—fond of music, fond of the drama. We should be afraid to say how many pianos discourse sweet music nightly in our little town ; and for every piano may we not reckon that there is at least one fair performer upon vvhose musical training more than the price of her instrument has been expended ? Then the amount annually spent upon wandering minstrels and strolling players, must be something prodigious. Poor as we are, he must be a bold man who would predict that, if an opera troupe were to visit us tomorrow, the performers would sing to empty benches. We delight in regattas, in horse racing, and, indeed, in sports ol every kind; nor, in the pursuit of these, can our bitterest foe accuse us of parsimony. In a word, without entering into details alike offensive and needless, it may be broadly stated that we are not sufficiently careful to practice the smnller economies in our eating and drinking, in our apparel and our auiMsements. We want more of the ant, less of the grasshopper. If we cultivated as we ought the virtue of self-denial, we should be better able to bear the pressure of hard times.