THE SUPERINTENDENT AT CHARLESTON.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 74, 23 February 1872, Page 2

THE SUPERINTENDENT AT CHARLESTON.

Mr. Curtis, we learn from the Herald y recently addressed a full meeting of the electors at Charleston. After referring to certain matters of local interest, he went on to say : — " The next question was that relative to the Public Works and Immigration Act. The money set apart for expenditure on public works by this Act, so far as related to the Nelson and West Coast G-oldfields — a sum of £24,000 — it was determined to construct roads with; and, upon consultation, it had been determined that the most beneficial expenditure would be ensured in constructing a road to connect the loangahua district with the ports of Greymouth and Westport. At the same time he expressed a desire, thinking that the whole of the £24,000 would not be necessary for this road, that £6000 should be expended upon the Lyell and Hope district, and £1500 in completing the Coast road between Brighton and the Razorback, as the most desirable. By the report of a deputation which waited on Mr. Fox, in Westport, he had seen that it had been represented to that gentleman by Mr. O'Conor that he had endeavored to divert this sum of £6000 from expenditure on the goklfield3. A more complete misrepresi'ntation of facts never was made, and it was a subject of great regret that upon this the first visit of the Premier of the colony to the Coast, such misrepresentations should have been set forth. Mr. Fox, in referring to this subject before the deputation in Charlessaid, he (Mr. Curtis) saw by the Charleston Jlerald, assuming, as he was justified in doing, that what Mr. O'Conor said was true — "The sum of £6000 which it was said Mr. Curtis was desirous of withdrawing and expending on the Waimeas, after discussion it was found it was not the intention of the Government so to have expended. It was contrary to intention that any of the money appropriated to the Nelson South-west Goldfields should be expended north of the northern boundary of the Buller district." Now, the money For remainder of news see fourth, page.

he (Mr. Curtis) had represented as deBirable to be expended, so far from being north of the northern boundary, was actually fifty miles south of it, and the ground of his representation at the time was that by this expenditure the Inangahua would be facilitated in receiving its supplies. • He merely mentioned this as one of a large number" of misrepresentations which had been made to the Premier. One speaker had said that there had been gross mismanagement of the revenue, and that there was not a single work of importance to show for the money anywhere — that there Were no roads, and no permanent works. But, as showing the meaning of the whole story, the speaker concluded with the woids " certainly not in Westport." The fact was" that some gentlemen thought that the whole of the revenue should be expended in river and sea protections at Westport. Whilst, however, they were willing to assist Westport in this particular as far as possible, they had lately had substantial evidence that any such large sum as would be necessary to make effective works, the Provincial Government was not able to supply. It was a great pity that the Premier and the people of the goldfields should so have been attempted to be misled, for it would do an infinite amount of mischief. * * He had heard a desire expressed that the General Government should take over the management of the goldfields, and much regarding the mismanagement of them under the Provincial rule. No system of government which the wit of man could devise could possibly give general satisfaction ; and, whilst he would not say that there had been nothing to complain of under Provincial rule, he felt there would be ten times as much to complain of if placed under the General Government management — ten times as much " red tape " and reference here and there as at present. In the matter of defail in administration it would be impossible for the General Government to deal, whilst iv the Provincial Council every item of detail and expenditure was thoroughly gone into and decided upon, whether wisely or not — there each member had his say (and your representative, Mr. Donne, bad not only had his say but a great deal of his way), and discussion ensued which would be impossible in the House. It was all very well, now that the General Government was expending a little money on the goldfiels to say — Oh ! these are the people for us ; but he would remind them that this expenditure was not to last for long. The £24,000 voted for the Nelson West Coast Goldfields was its portion for four years, and was all to be spent in one, so that next year there would be nothing. Further, the goldfields under General Government management would necessarily be more expensive than under that of. Provincial Governments. He would therefore ask the goldfields residents to pause before seeking for any change ; for whatever were the shortcomings of Provincial Governments, those, and a great many more would be found to exist under the General Government. Another experiment had been tried in the formation of the County of Westland, but it had not been so successful as to encourage, repetition. He did not believe in special government for goldfields, but rather in a mixed system. He did not think the goldfiels would gain by taking the management into their own hands. It was no doubt a very nice idea, but the example of Westland should make the ineabitants of other fields pause before accepting such responsibility. * # # * * He would now go to the question of protective duties as important to all. It was very well for Mr. Fox to say the amount so raised ■would only be small; though the tax was small, by thß increase in price effected, a large amount must necessarily come out of the pockets of consumers. ,He was opposed to a protective duty, and he was afraid this would only be the thin end of the wedge. If we protected one interest, all classes would want protection alike. It was very well to say that when all became protected alike it would not matter. There was one class, however, that must suffer, that was those who were consumers and not producers. The mining community must suffer considerably from such a duty, for they were entirely consumers ; therefore this was a matter that miners should seriously consider. He was always opposed to a protection policy on the ground that it was not for the general good. Mr. Curtis having replied to a number of questions put to him, Mr. H. Jones moved that a unanimous vote of thanks be accorded Mr. Curtis for his able address, and for his kindness in answering all questions put to him ; and in doing so referred to the fact of this being the Superintendent's third visit to this district, and, that the Provincial Government appeared to be considering the Nelson South West Goldfields in a more favorable light than was once the case. This was duly seconded and carried unanimously.

la Philadelphia fire was communicated from one house to another by a clothesline. A musical whisky bottle has been invented in Georgia. A panorama of the Chicago fire has already been painted. Yankee Anecdote. — Whitelaw Reid, in a new book on America, introduces the following true tale. Two prominent men were on trial before a military court for killing a negro ; and one of the wealthiest, most refined and respectable young ladies in all this section is under 20,000 dollar bonds to appear and answer for shooting a negro woman with her own hands. Miss Temple Nelly is considered one of the belles of the State. The family is very wealthy, aristocratic, and all that, and stands at the very top on this section. Her mother was flogging a little negro child, when the mother of the child interfered to protect it. Miss Nelly stepped up, and, drawing a revolver from her pocket, shot the negro woman dead — firing a second ball into the body. She was arrested, and will be tried by a military court. The papers are defending her, and trying to stir up the old feeling toward the slaves, and excusing her under the black laws of the State. Domestic Teaobd y. — A startHug domestic tragedy has occurred at the East end of London. The neighbors of a' mechanic named Jonathan Judge, residing at St. Leonard's Road, near the East India Docks, finding that the shutters remained closed at nearly ten o'clock in the forenoon, broke into the house. They found the whole family in the bedroom, suffocated by the fumes of charcoal. The wife and her two children lay on the bed, and the man across them. A tea-tray was on the floor, with a tin pan upon it, containing the expiriug embers of the deadly fire. The windows and every crevice were stopped by paper being pasted over them. On the table were two pieces of paper, bequeathing the furniture to relatives, and one of them was signed by both husband and wife — showing that the latter was a party to the crime. Although Judge had been out of work for three weeks, there was food in the house, every article of furniture in its place, and no signs of actual poverty. At the inquest, the jury found that Mr. and Mrs. Judge had committed wilful murder by suffocating their two children, and had destroyed their own lives whilst in an unsound state of mind. Advice to Young Men. — We take the following from the San Francisco JSfeics Letter : — We think we know something about labor, if eighteen hours a day of work means anything. True, this is mental work, as the saying goes;~ but, we are not strangers to what is commonly called hard work. We know what it is to follow the plough day after day, and whistle to the merry music of the birds, our only companions. In the sultry days of the long summer we have toiled in the harvest fields happy as a clam and healthy as a fish. We know something of " logrolling," not iv a political sense, but as one inured to using the woodman's axe and an adept at rafting. These, and other matters pertain ing to hard icork, we "know like a book." In the destiny of things we have risen above them, and the pen has superseded the plough. We bow to the dictates of Fate, and do our work now as we did then, without murmur or complaint, knowing that in the end all things come out right. There are hundreds of young men in California today searching for work, genteel or laborious, and perhaps unable to find it, or else, passing through the mill of experience, and mourniDg over their lot in life as a hard one. .Our younger bi others are men of education, many of whom no doubt, have been reared in the lap of luxury, and rebel against the destiny which consigns them (temporarily) to the vicissitudes of this life. But a growl against fate is unworthy the intelligence and dignity of, man. We must take the world as we find it, and make the most of it. As to those whom we are addressing, we would say quit the streets o San Francisco and strike out boldly for the country. If you cannot leave by railroad or steamboat, " foot it," as great, noble, and heroic souls have done before you. In the struggle humanity will bear you up, encourage you in your weary tramp, and succor you in your hour of need if you are true to yourselves. Take the first job you can get, no matter what that may be, work with a good and cheerful heart, be economical, temperate and industrious, and there is no power on earth which can hinder your slow but sure advancement to. wealth and distinction. Our sturdy farmers and business men of the interior are eager to employ good reliable men, and pay them excellent wages. Where' there is a will there is a way, and the true man will adapt himself to , circumstances, making himself useful in whatever avocation he is called upon to fill. California is a remarkable school of life.

and not one cf her eminent men but has been " through the mill," as we say in our ter3e vocabulary. Strike, then, for the country, you intelligent young men, resolve to do right, fight your way through with hopeful heart and aspiriDg soul, and we warrant your success in life. At times the News Letter may be a little cynical anl bitter towards its fellow creatures, but away down deep in its heart there's a warm cord that binds it in loving sympathy for the welfare and happiness of mankind, i