The Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY,JULY 11, 1870.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 161, 11 July 1870, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail MONDAY, JULY 1 1 , 1870.

The question of the defence of the colonies^ .has recently givett: rise to. an animated debate in the Victoriau Parliament, and, in a late Austfalasig?i we find an excellent article on the subject, iv which many hints are thrown out that may prove valuable to our own colony as well as to. those of Australia. The article commences by questioning .the expediency . of -providing a military force out of the ordinary populuiion at a' time when efforts are being made to increase the laboring ranks from, without, and argues that it' would be impolitic., in the, extreme to, transfer. any number of the/ operative classes, from their accustomed ;occupations ■to the par dcV ground and the barracks... At' the, ?ame time it is shoWiTjth'at" to accept the services of .an Imperial. regimen,t .upon .the terms, .offered, by , j,h'e .Home, \ authorities,! namely, that it should remain in the, colon ies>: during .a- :time of -peace, but be liable tobe withdrawn on the outbreak of| war, would be an act_of folly; "as its real' value wpuld^liup- be .practically, nullified.. The question then if, on the one hand, 1 it is^inexpedient ;-to";draft ;into the; rauks inehLfraTO-Uhe -laboring of; •the colony, aß,d~ifi[on,the otheryitr imperfectly useless to pay. for Tr a : force., of whose services we are .'Hkely ; ,$q .. be deprived, at the very time wheujhey are most required, ho w. are.axj-angemen ts 4p n be made .wh ere bjyj .the yer r y- inejaiicie^t . provision's^ at . present! -existing-'for defence agaftast a : forei£ti L foe may •' be remedied. '-The suggestion;^ thrown out in theiarticle bef6r,e dsare^hat 1 a c.ommon agreeoieu't' should at the Australasian iicoionieisi: :afid Hhat as no one ofthenamber'^ould "afford : to[kebp, or be dfspo^dd" J 'to_;^as : sl^e. i 'th.ei burden of maintaining, an entire regTirient, the Wat; -Office .aflth.ovi-tfes .shouldvbe^ekejd to.; chargeotshen^efeesKTOthiahevLduiy. of ; enrolling driilingiDPOiJ accounting such a! body of men 5S mighfr-be deemed necessary,.; .outside] of,.:;of:na r ddi:tioHal: rto, f.t.ha'-'fiilll umnplemjent r of the regular r array,,. .a,nd that these' meli (jtioul'd "be' distributed; am ong -th.^ .c.plp njie^rin, ,p i ?]c^r.|,i.ofltB to " be ', regulated by theip 7 se*erA} .-contributions toi the total expendyiu^e^^ being an under-: stood, thj.qg^hat, t,fie InAperial, G^ove^p^mejji 1 1 •should bV'pii^t^h^jßip^nse'iU'the^m^tteJ, ; but that J iVtrSh^ouldTb%bpEne'.en:t L i.r^ly r by ftei colonies "benefittingllby the arrangement.! It 3haB. : bßeuf fojaftd] ) jnA.tliirtgl is so (Ednducbeiitobftke) difeici^iinJep-health.j and efiiciett'ey Ji 6f [ tfee ; 'Tarjk i -a ( n'a ri file of the 1 army as the furnisTfiug them with active! .:occ.upajip.n., and it is lher.e i for.e r ,argu-fiA thatj jth^ cbsVeiitailed uppn the," colOaies^by the! up of,our.milita r rycdefedfees might! be- materiallydimimsD'ed^-by; Mi)6ztn;g' f beUaUorof the tidier;.' T^'^^M^^Si :th§ miKtary may b'^ turned '"to. good 'n£isA jcount Jjas ali;eady;., been.. shown id-'f-'Newrj ;Zealaiid^ fof #c find by a-Paper;)aia on the; ;ta|ile ofrtiepouse, that the%'rme«l'tsonsta-| h a.yf „ feside'^rgerf.or^jiQgjth.ej^Wdji-i nary dutbs 'been emplqyed irai, and>havedone| -a Ijargea^rnojunt of, rbad-making-,- construct-! an^ . r^4^|. brid g^' ;i^W|p,g,;^ra.>e.^ !/ r.e-| inpving. a,m. reconsfructingtelg'griph -Upep,! _brrck r inak'ing,. fencin|r,v;raTsaoncult£tatingj paddocks, &o { - In-ord^r-tcf^ivie.some ideai of the amount/pf work dtffi^ w^isrill_qqotei a few items a's'ffe ported" by^thei^lnspe'ctor; Cpf the.jWavkai.o distatictrrr^AbouOOO.toßs; of stone, t quaFriei ; -at % Mongonui^ and cdnV; *$i G A , ,*°. -.Taur^nga^for :Jm& [ purp; p^re ;,, o;fi building. .j^BeaV.wajl l ' jjo^d^jt^- ■cemetery Vi erecting. rnje'w^ftltigraphiiine.lS miles in'j leigth.; t^pairicg '6^ mile'^ ; of : telegraphj in which:; ;'mady-^of the ; >! poles '.",;faatl; been shattered by : |ightnlto's; ; i 'build-! ing a bi'iVk' sh^d at' Ngaruawahia,cdn ! -: atfucting tiie whole plant, and making aod burnjng 25,000 UrkEs of firit'class'q'dalilty}; constructina; lime kilns^ and burning ' To* bushels of* siipeVfor lime; clearing, ploijghing" and ~ f euqiDg," aT^racre- ; paddock t at AlexandFa, "apd .QQQsi&r' ?of 6 acres /at Cabbpidge.; \.%i 'pwill thus be seen that the

argument that the cost of miliiary defences I may be considerably diminished by utilising the labour of the soldiers has already been practically illustrated in New Zealand. The article in the Australasian to which we.haye referred concludes as follows : — "We may fairly assume that all the colonies are of one- mind with respect to the obligation they are under of making some sort of provision for military defences,: and that they would be equally unanimous; in their desire to' combine economy; with efficiency. If so, they- may be expected to ! coincide cheerfully in a proposition of this kind, since there can be no disputing: the fact that England is the cheapest and best market to go to for the particular purpose we have in view, while we have; a right to conjecture 5 that- the mother country would cheerfully second and ! assist us in carrying out our object. It; would be a proof of our self-reliance, as! well as of our ability and determination to' defray. the expenses -of our own military! establishments. Instead of weaken ing. the: British army, we should be increasing the aggregate fighting power of the whole; Brtish empire, and this would be done; without eutailing the expenditure of so much : as an additional shilling on the! British nation."

Want of space prevents our publishing i to-day Mr. Augarde's weekly report. FooTBALL.-^Tlie. match, between , the old collegians and the Town Club was brought to a termination on Saturday In j favor of the former, the goal being ob- 1 tamed from a fine drop-kick by Cross who; also made the first goal at the commencement of the match three weeks ago. Escape.— A ; little 'bpy (W. Flower) of Wakapuaka had a, .narrow escape of ; bein£; short last Saturday,! owing: to the unskilful practice! "of •-•"& ; Nelson; sportsman in search~t)f"securing bipeds of ■the feitherecT tribej b*ufc :( wBo fronFwanlPof precision vo his aim lodged asniall shot 1 rather mor.e.tban skia-^deftp T in the , top of; the boy's 'head. It isio be hoped that a| little more r; -eatftibri' : will- fee exercised for; the ixxt\xv&^^C^GomniiiMcated)^ '■•■'- j Winter Evening Lectures.— A course; of lectures is being delivered in Welling-; ton in aid of the fund for obtaining an j organ for Sfc/Peter-'s dhur^.- From what! we can gather from' the local papers,'; these lectu res- Tare an immense! Lsttccessy thfi-Hallih whrch^lh^laye^ivetij being crowd^-fp^x^e'ss' Ott^e^r^oeca^on, j ■a* : liap r^^^ij {^a^'fljfti9JdVthtU^' ; _^^^ vP*** 1 ® t0 ! I^hß\;pfgaQ r ,fuQd,<'wbUe J pleasa.i>t!ajGi'(];ios((riic-! tive entertainments are provided lf -for tbej r T3?HE.i6H^iSTY;'-3MiNBTREi,Si; hnf-Bl published for jo-m^k^^yX^K^^r I^ oB^ attraolji'fce ,pi.% 7 ir^ m^.^ii^^Q^(PrM e § te^i to the publicl The first partisHMtprisesthe Js 7 f r T^'H^f'GiJii^n*the beautifui sbng"ar)4rfiiipniiB' t ":E^ng the Bell, Watchman," -esacluding with " The tSJWg;h;i:BJdeV r^ A^o± r gilthe,i'tenia' i setl96teD/^fdi<)the^e^^ ■pwr t f f are : '^The: ;! Huteh i asobr;C|FfeniiJyv"| ■^'The 3 [| f l^aitf«{ :I WhJ6fi^as| !i 'The" krrival'oflhe" First San^ F^aii'cisco Mail," we may, therefore, expect by far! the best enter taiuiaent yet given by the! com pany P ' JJ. 3 -■'' '/'. \] 0 '1 1 . 1 1 PheaSaWo:; 1 •SfiO'OMN&ii-TThe*': first cfe*<v days of the month proved by no means' &v^rableJ.O-sporisme4[i_atJ\lotueka,4he-w€t! weather driving the birds to the hills,j besides^ eßjderiog'WaHtingOQitlje pljains dis-| agreeable in the extreme. A good many! hp^eYer;";- hat^e/' beefij "b&a^e'^ j Mr, L. M-brse havirig'shot 10^ brace, 'Mr.; Greenfield 7£ brace,i.«Mr. H." Williams 7| braco, Mr 6 b,Fa/>£, r and Mr. F. j Blujudell 3^brac^ ' These"are. all thatwej have yet ..heard of .Jwith t qpy.^egrge of; authenticity, but rumour says that there! are several other sportsmen J whb have met; with i qui r te as much, success, .as P those. we : have mentioned. li.vi,-' ' .: ' Meeting -at- • ■ WAKEipijEiix-^lii com-; pliance'with'.an invitaiibit froriijMr." Shep- [ hard a' 1 urge, niu'mber electors of Waimea Sou jjhr assembled ;at c l the Schoolroom, Lower Wakefield on (Friday evipning. Mr. Bird havings be£u. elected to the chair, when they were- addressed /by r. Mr. tSiiephard who spoke, ifctr au,,hour and thrpe quarters on the proceedings of the Provincial Cou'u,cil to a 1 most attentive audience. At thePconclusion of his address, a resolution px-presstye; pf w|ifeh; the manner in which he had, acted as their representative was^ on the motion of Mr.

Squires, adopied unanimously. A vote of thanks to Mr. Shephard for his address, and another to the chairman terminated the proceediugs. Australian Land Laws. — As our Provincial Council ; has of fate b,een engaged in considering the expediency of making certaiaimportantaltera.tions in our Waste JLands Regulations, the following summary of resolutions arrived at by the Legislative Assembly of South Australia as the basis of the next . laud law of that; colony , may prove interesting to our readers. We extract from the Australasian : — Certainuriurveyed portions of the colony Jare, to be surveyed in blocks not exceeding 640. acres. These are to be thrown open for free selection, under certain conditiousof resideuce-and-improve-ments, at 20s. per acre, payable by teayearly instalments of 2s; each. Lands npt selected within a specified period are to be sold by tender, or auction, at an .upset' price bf 205.," to be reduced after a time to 155., and eventually 10s. per acre',, at the expiration' of two years. Every male adult arriving in South Australia from Great Britain or Ireland at hisown cost, and settling on the land, is/ :; to.be allowed credit in the payment, of " such, land equal to the amount h,e;h!is expended .for the passage money I of himself and family, provided such .credit does not.ex■ceed£Bo. By this bill South Australia jWi|i ; sacrifice a -great- portion of its territorial revenue, but if it should succeed iv doubling- its population^ by the instrumeu.tality af such a. measure, it will gain, from other sources of taxation what'it proposes to surrender iuf this, particular item.; •■■ .-.'■ A LACONIC CONVERSATION : "What ails your eye, Joe ?" — " I told a man that he lied-.," .].';'- ..'■...' Gratitude^s always a.virtue, and it is a viriqe ..which: ennobles both the object and' the; subject. , The- -object, .by-, the acknowledgmdnt ofhis benevolence, and the subject : by:jmanife'sting "the amiableness of a-griteful h ear t_ through the, mediu^.o'F ,^ts^BeTfrabasemeat.. „r l t.is,a tokeu of.hutriility; "highly : . hono^bie^o ith^Kecipieu:! of a benefil;, T and a .^eljcate "of justiceh^ghjy : the- b.epefactor.; : -.

The Auckland Chamber of Commerce has published, a ;. lengthy.,' _ report,; of; the postal route, drawing comparisons between Wellington and Auckland harbors, and the distance of each from-Honolulu, and concluding'that thelmXil can be delivered in Auckland and transhipped to Manukau, so as to arrive at Wellington as soon as if it proceeded direct. „ It proposes a branch steamer to proceed southwards from Wellington to Lyttelton, Port Chalfriers, and the Bluff; and that a ,-secoud - boat should take the mail, from Wellington to Picton, Nelson, and Hokitika, and mails for Napier should be taken by a bianch boat from Auckland or. Wellington.; The report speaks of Auckland's connection with Sydney, says tliat : the route to Auckland requires a smaller subsidy because it is of greater commercial ! importance, and recommends'a'monthly inst ad of atw utyeight days' service. " Statistics are appended. A deputation was to leave Auckland for Sydney, and the report -to be printed and extensively circulated iv Australia, America, ! and' Eognind. A San FRANCiSCQ-eorrespondeut gives the following sketch pf a. .Chinese .^hospital" : — "Very few : of the women brought here are wives,; arid I ' they live, for the lTios?. part, fri the 'most abject manner. When one of thesep'oor : unfortunates hecomes weak and sick^ and. a Chinese physician pronounces her case hopeless, she is notified that she Ll mu'st' die; : ' She knows very well that protestations and prayers are unavailing, arid : submits without a murmur to her fate. Led by night lo some misei able tenement that" goes 'by the name of un "hospifal'- (how it gained such a significunt antithetical name we.,dp not. know) r= Bl:e..is fo_i:ce_d : .-wjthj_n. the^door and made tpJie;down uponji shelf. A cup of water, und_another of boiled rice, and a little metaboil lamp are placed, by her side.; The gsss.a&jnsypass J; out -,,0f the death cell, the heavy door is> ldckedy and the miserable creature .is; left- to 'die alone. What agonies the "poor vfctim 'suffers' iri the lingeriug death, no one knows. The smothered shrieks of despair, tbe dreadful moans with -whicb-^-weakened-^natiir=e.^an-nounces UsrsufffringSji .nray^Jbej heard by those who jiye in. .that immediate, vicinity, but they either pay no attention; to them, or . siiriply' ' yent ' maledictions',': da t|ie suffering • cause of /their arihoyane^.y, 2?x> one thinks, of interfering; wirh the dopmed one ; all know;lhe law-Sj- arid; none .are brave enough t6;ipterfere.with -the dreadful edict. : After a' few daiys' 'tHW ; lanip burps oui; the light 1 fscjls 1 for IffckW ; oil ; the rice cup and wafer cup are empty and dry, ami the ; joss-sticks whielr Were lighted when the svpjrnan l was brpug^tytp the del! are nothing but' charred splintero of bamboo. Those who have injmenidte charge: of the 'establi^httient knowr, 1 , howJong the, oil sbb'uldilast^and. V when, the limit is; reached ithey return to. : the. "hospital, " bnbarther.door, audi eßter^J that tlfey may remove^' ihe unhappy- * -victim! -of such-; i barbar Iduß1 duB ; I ' , ;the woman is. dead eliKeir ijy ', dr \>£ her. own hand ; but life is ; not extinct^— the, spark remains;; when the •* doctoi's" enter— but/ ;ihis;yraal£e& [ ? litfefe difference with $& corpse^ and thfiyjwilbnpfcgqi^wayi^ijhcyit it. If the vidtim ; be not alrea;dyidead, the eireu mstane'e prily delays : the ; ¥emdy at '~gS the remains atew minutes'. y"V^en '^tbtsy enter the .woman , ;V is atilLaliy.e, but y they soon come forth beanng.ia^bap'y 1 7?rT6nly a body i the r -heart 1 has rceased triubeat ; the 'blr(BWih- ; c ; pmey ; ;abd !^ei-:'oo mote/ ; 4he soul has fledi- [. How'tlie deed [h djo^-T-whether blood is;drawn< the- victim .slaughtered, or smothered— none save those md the secret know. The result is past; dispute. ■'•: A poor err ing worn an, b^lplieSsj an d v nlov ed , is murdered, and tihsyin, thp heart of.,> Christian and: enlightened neity. Such Is-tt single chapter 1 in the book of crimes of a '. cosmopolitan; ci ty '. '"[ The .truthfulness ofUhe recital is vouched,; /or' hy,; police officers; who aided the reporters; in ferretirig'out ihe.facts." . ,:: '-' : :;, --| '■■ The Woman's Question. — Where did you buy your back hair ?. ,:. A"Sirius" Joke.— ls -the dog star a Skye iterrier, or only a tarrier in the sky ? The Best Thing 'Out.— A Fire. ; .:. '.ai::„ ■ -J, Ai.rr.V' :::,.-, .^ A Cynical bachelor suggests to, us that many of the girls of the period are less facts than figures. ; ; : ,-"- ' ; ' "^