DUNEDIN.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 266, 10 April 1874, Page 2

DUNEDIN.

""- ':"*.''.• (From;our;own correspondent.-) '** ?•.**-" -* , April sth. Ab the present moment Dunedin is *suffering.a- recovery. ™.-JEhe ,„of,, infatuation, consequent on the Dunedin Races, has lett_ behind a feeling which can only be fitly described as stale and unprofitable.' Without seeking to dip too deeply into the mural 'law of our nature, the question may'be asked I :' What is the tendency of the aunual-race meetings P Do they tend to good or to-evil? The answer, I am afraid, must be in confirmation'of the latter. That it brings- a great many people together from different parts of the Province and Colony cannot be denied, but that their coming together-is for the better,' and not for'tlie worse, may well be doubted. The scenes of gambling, swindling, and ( betting""to which they give rise are deplorable, and when we.fmd'all classes of society, fast youhg 'men, middle aged matrons, and hoafy-headed sinners of various denominations/freely mingling -in these scenes, the fact becomes painfully suggestive. The great betting establishment of i the City, was ;the Empire Hotel, and, when I say that night after night it was literally "Besieged by eager crowds,-.I say nothing but iwh'at,is"!strictly true. ..,..',.',. ... ,; ,;.,, ,: ■ The forced of. immigration, to which I 'New' - Zealand has'cbmmitted itself is : bearing its own fruit. That the inbrought, population is .being selected.from the lowest grades of Home society is only too evident. One batch after ir ario'ther is plauted'in quarantine; "suffering" from disorders generated chiefly by low pursuits - and filthy habits; and, on being released, they are found, for the .most .part, to be_ utterly -uimli for the- 'common''pursuits* of , daily life. Whole- herds-' of. them make their appearance periodically in 1 the Resi.deiit Magistrates/Court,. charged'"-with offences of a more or less aggravated nature; and it /is to-be regretted that the. maudling sentimentvsbewn-: to them has actually been extended-to their delinquencies;-- It 'is ijusti possible ;New Zealand is nursing a pauper population, and "it" is'to- be'; hoped; the' Golonywill stop short before it goes the whole length of 1 training up • a 'criminal - population. The only place clamorous for" labor just now is Southland, and a few of the late arrivals, .have been.sent, down south, for-the .pur-J jppse-of stopping up'its mouth.' *' All'the i talk about the demand I 'for' 5 labor is only | true to a limited extent:- During harvest ' time a demand'really did exist, but afTth'e , present moment the supply is quite equal to the demand." 1 "Nay';/more than that, at .present tnings are' very dull in Dunedin, and the prospect for the ensuing win- ' ter is far from being cheering. Landlords' j and house-agents would make you-be- i lieve we are in.the very height of mate- | rial prosperity;'but the fact is their aim is to sell out.tq. the best advantage. To •show you the rottenness of the cry. for more labor, persisted in by Southland, I . haye before "me just" now communications from the employ'esof one-'of- the : two Irivercargill newspapers-,- -loudest in the demand. * These, communications state that the writers, who have been, eight/years at i the trade, are reduced _to a state of semi-,-starvation, making not more than, from 30s. 'to 355. per 'week,,,oW a, tri-weekly publication, and soliciting .employment ,at 'something like a remunerative figure. I can .also state,, from;ifurther- inquiries, made, that the same journal is paying its editor, a member of- the House of Representatives, ; at the rate of £3 per week; a'ncl its reporter, such as he is, 255. to 30s. And yet this. j>aper is continually 'crying out for direct'iihmigration to the Bluff. ~ .it.there, really was a demand for haivrestmen and day laborers'; "would 'not the! editor,.reporter, andje : mployes of this .precious newspaper'print-'be the first" to'take; advantage of it.... It • is-nonsense to tell us that unskilled labor- is worth 10s. ,and ".L2s.-a day,*and in demand,.,wher.6 we; find skilled labor and professional attainment, ■or rather, I ,should say, legislative ability, getting not more than the onehaif J of.it. There, may be : doubts, .-whether "the pen is mightier "than the sword," but if the. representations,of ' Southland-'are correct; "there 'can f be'n6, 'doubt but that the long-handled.'slidyel ,'is ' , much more profitable as a' pursuit in In- ' vercargilJLthan^the,pep.,..,,.. No sooner is" the Scotch clergy quieted, down about their Sabbathobservance than the Roman Catholic clergy are.upinarms about their educational'abuses. /Che ridiculous exhibition they themselves at the Tokqmairiro School Committee quiry shut them ! up'for a time, and 1 it "was generally thought we,had,beard the last of the Bishop Moran pulpit declamations. Last Sunday, however, this eminent divine was at his old work. : ■ The grievance, as stated by the Bishop himself, was absurd; £53, on comingito be'explained, it proved fc» be without foundation. Surely the day is M 4 very far away when it will be beyond fce power of the clergy of this, as well aft the clergy of other denominations, to disturb the peace, order, and good G-o----.vernment of the realm.

The criminal sessioriifof the Supreme Court coaimence this week The calendar, which extends over a period of three months, is• rather a■ heavy one, and the cases are, for the most part, of a serious nature. The most serious-is that of Patk. Long, who sfanrN charged with the murSbrLat fcrreen Island

On the civil side, Mr. George Bell, the editor and proprietor „of „the ' Evening Star,' will be called upon to answer an action for libel Mr. Bell, who.is one of the most experienced newspaper conductors in Dunedin, "has of late been rather an fortunate" as regards actions for libel. A few months ago lie- was mulcted to the tune of £SO for having published a letter reflecting upon the .conduct, of ouivassis-LauL-liarborui'isier. The verdict was de-noniiisi-d on every hirnd as an iniquitous one, but aiter ali Dunedin juries are only celeoruied. for iiieir bJunderitig propensities. If Mr. !?cll gets iu'for iL this time, proprietors and conductors uf newspapers io Ota wo would better take time by the forelock and clear out while they can, otherwise they -nay wnt»n up-some morning to ;(jp disagreeable reality of" finding themselves hopelessly ruined by urder of law.