The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 1873.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 196, 15 August 1873, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 1873.

The Nelson public have been not a little surprised and annoyed at finding that when the question of the Suez mail route was under discussion, the proposition for a Cook's Straits service was opposed by Mr Luckie, one of our City representatives. At first there was but a rumor to this effect, upon which little reliance was placed, as it was scarcely thought possible that a member, representing a town that would have been so largely benefitted by the proposed service, would ever have dreamt of pursuing a course so directly antagonistic to the interests of his constituents, but all doubts were set at rest by a telegram from Wellington, in which it was stated that Mr Luckie was the only Nelson member who actually voted against it, and that Mr Parker did not vote at all. On the fact becoming known, a few gentlemen met yesterday morning and, taking advantage of Mr Luckie's presence in town, invited him to attend and give such reasons as he had to offer for his conduct. His explanation, so far as we have been able to learn, was to the effect that he knew success was altogether out of tbe question, and that under the circumstances he thought it better to Becure tbe double service, namely, by Auckland and the Bluff, so, in consequence of this decision, it appears upon the Parliamentary records that a member representing the City of Nelßon voted against a measure which would have resulted in this port being made the beadquarters in New Zealand of the M'Meckan and Blackwood fleet. We make use of the term "head-quarters" advisedly, for we are informed on what we believe to be perfectly good authority, that the firm owning the steamers that trade between Melbourne and the Middle Island either had made, or were about to make, arrangements for this being their principal coaling station in these waters, where they intended ;always keeping on hand a large supply of Ngakawhao coal. From the division that took place on this question, it would appear that there was little chance of its being carried, as tbe majority against it was a large one, and not merely one vote as we reported some few days ago, the mistake not being ours but that of one of the Wellington papers from which we gathered our information. This, however, is not a sufficient excuse for the opposition offered by Mr Luckie, nor do we think it will be accepted as such by tbe electors, as, in the event of the same question cropping up again, it will form a dangerous argument against the scheme, that on a previous occasion even Nelson's own representative had voted against it. Neither do we consider that Mr Luckie's attempted justification of his conduct is by any means satisfactory. It simply amounts to this; that it is utterly useless to hope that the interests of Nelson are ever to receive proper consideration; that she is to lie on her back and quietly submit to be cuffed and kicked, snubbed and neglected, whenever it may suit the other provinces so to treat her, without offering either remonstrance or resistance. Under such conditions we may be permitted to ask Mr Luckie what on earth is the use of our sending representatives to Parliament at all ? If all our members are of tho same temperament as the one who has fought against us; if they are all prepared to crouch down and submit to defeat as inevitable; if they all determine io every matter in which Nelson is specially interested not only not to make a manful stand in her defence, but to join the ranks of the hostile army, and assist in crushing her, there can be no manner of doubt whatever as to the portion or description of worldly goods she will receive from the Assembly. They will be exactly what she will deserve, and may be summed up in two or three forcible words, " more kicks than half-pence." Mr Luckie voted against the interests of his constituents because he considered it would be useless to make a stand in their favor, with the intention of afterwards doing that which be thought might be the next best thing for them, that was, to obtain two services, one by way of Auckland, the other by Dunedin, but which would have been better for his constituents, one direct service that they do want, or two indirect services for neither of which do they care one jot? If Nelson was sure to be defeated, why vote against her? If there was any doubt about it, why do all in his power to remove that doubt? That number of Hansard which contains the report of the debate and the division list has not yet reached us, and we look forward with no little interest to its arrival, anxious as we are to ascertain the reasons that Mr Luckie gave to the House for opposing the motion, as, of course, he did not fly directly in the face of his constituents without affording some explanation of conduct that is not altogether usual with the representatives of the people. It is very much to be regretted that the electors were not aware of this extraordinary vote of Mr Luckie's on Tuesday night, as he might then have had an opportunity of explaining the why and the wherefore. As it is, there is an uneasy feeling abroad that, at her own expense, . Nelson has given to Auckland one additional member,

All Saints' CHURCH.--The monthly Cathedral Service will be held at All Saints' Church this evening. Government Debentures. — It will be seen by advertisement that the General Government are offering for sale ±50,000 worth of four por cent, debentures at . £90 10s. , j The Ladybird which arrived at Wellington on Tuesday afternoon from Jackson's Head reported that the only effect of Sunday's storms on the Rangitoto's wreck was to shift her slightly from her former place into a safer position on an even keel. Our Wairarapa contemporary states that a chief named Karauria Ngawhrra, of Longbusb, made a present to the feast which recently took place at the native pah, near Greytown, of l*ton flour, 7 cwt sugar, 6 lbs tobacco, 10 twenty shilling blankets, &c; but he was too proud a rangatira to attend the feast himself. This Karaoria, on account of his strong common sense and economic habits, is oue of the wealthiest chiefs in the Wairarapa; but some thirty years ago he was only too happy to work as a shepherd, having labored in that capacity for three years at the Huangaroa station, then in the; occupation of Mr Weld, where he acquired a smattering of the English language. — ' Post.' Emulating the example of the Colonial Treasurer, King Tawhaio has enunciated his financial policy. He believes neither in protection nor free trade, he does not like ad valorem duties, nor is he attached to the principle of measurement, aud he has no desire to try and make people believe that extra taxation does not mean increased revenue. The Maori monarchy has to a large extent been hitherto selfsupporting. Now, however, the Treasury needs replenishing, and the Maori monarch has hit on a method of raising the needful which has hitherto escaped the astute eye of pakeha Treasurers. An import duty being impracticable, Tawhaio has resorted to an export duty, which takes the shape of a capitation charge on pigs. Every porker of Hauhau descent which now crosses the Aukati line for the purposes of trade, is, according to the Raglan correspondent of the Southern 'doss now assessed at the sum of one shilling for the benefit of the Royal Treasury. We do not know whether Tawhaio's subjects have made so much noise about this new tariff as the pakehas have about Mr Vbgel's. If ao, Tawhaio and Mr Yogel can condole with each other. — Post. The following important letter with reference to the submarine cable from Australia to New Zealand was laid on the table by Mr Yogel on Friday last. It is dated, it will be observed, about two months back, and in view of this fact, and of the fact that our most recent advices from Great Britain are of a fall in the price of iron, we are justified in laying some stress on the importance of the notice it contains, that as the estimated cost of laying the cable has increased largely, owing to the rise in value of thai material, it will be correspondingly reduced with its fall: — "7, Burton street, W., London, 13th June, 1873. Sir, — Since Sir James Carmicbael wrote to your Agent-General on the 11th November, 1872, on the subject of a telegraph from Sydney to Cape Farewell, New Zealand, our engineer, Sir F. Canning, has increased his estimate for the cable and laying by 20 per cent., and iv Sir James's absence I wrote to say that the capital required for that line will now be £470,000, including a repairing ship. This increase has been occasioned by the late rise in the price of coal, iron, and labor. The capital, will, of course, be correspondingly reduced should a reduction occur in tbe price of materials, &c. The line from Cape Howe (New South Wales) to Cascade Point (New Zealand), will cost £410,000. I may state that the promoters will accept a guarantee of 5 per cent upon the required capital for 35 years, upon the conditions accompanying the above letter. I would suggest that New Zealand should guarantee its own line at once, and not leave its success to depend upon the realisation of the proposed duplicate line between India and Queensland, as the terms at present offered for its execution are altogether inadequate. — -I am, &c, D. F. Gisborne. — Independent. The hon. member for the Buller Mr E. J. O'Conor, in his speech upon the question of the durability of readjusting the representation of the colony, quoted the following statistics, showing the discrepancies which obtain under the present system of representation. It should be explained that the figures represent the number of registered electors to each member (exclusive of native members), made up from official returns: — Thames 3,100, Dunedin 1,6254, ditto 1,625}, Buller 1,751, Rodney 1,565, Christchurch 1,287, Newton 1,250, Tuapeka 1,204, Christchurch East 1,200, Waikato 1,110, Waitemata 1,050, Hokitika 1,032, Mataura 1,017, Auckland City East 1,000, Auckland City West 1,000, Marsden 990. . Heathcpte 870, Tiraaru 764, Grey 766, Waikato 760, Roslyn 760, Bruce 755, Franklyn 750, ditto 750, Eden 740, Wellington 739|, ditto739i Napier69s, Selwyn 677, Ashley 660, Waitaki 656, Riverton 652, Parnell 650, Wanganui 631, Wellington Country Districts 620, Taieri 617, Caversham, 602, Kaiapoi 589, Waikouaiti 574, Collingwood 560, Motueka 558, Grey and Bell 521, Bay of Islands 520, Coleridge 513, Invercargill 503, Port Chalmers #05, Wairoa 502, Dunstan 756, Picton 487, Clutha 483, Hutt 459, Avon 448, Wakaiu 434, Onehunga 420, Egmont 409, New Plymouth 396, Rangitikei 394, Nelßon 37% ditto 379}, Clive 356, Akaroa 354, Mount Ida 344, Gladstone 333, Wairarapa 326, ditto 326, Manawatu 297, Suburbs of Nelson 297, Lyttelton 262, Wallace 259, Cheviot 229, Totara 142, East Coast 50.— Pes*.

London papers contain an announcement tbat Mr Alexander Kennedy, at one time General Manager of the Bank of New Zealand, is about to publish a book on the colony. The Independent says :— The forest country between Nelson and Greymouth is covered with some of the finest timber in New Zealand, the value of which, however, the Government assessor, Mr Calcutt, fails to recognise. The Melbourne Herald refers to Sir George Bowen as follows : — " Since Sir George Bowen arrived here he has failed to perform the duties appertaining to the vice-regal position in any manner at all satisfactory. He has van d c pretty speeches, but that is all. He has been received with acclamation by the colonists, but has failed to reciprocate the kindly feeling exhibited towards him, save by the empty words he has uttered. It is at least expected of a Governor that be shall do tbe duties of a host graciously and with no sparing hand, and yet last evening, the great annual occasion when her Majesty's representative is expected to appear in the character of the bountiful host, he certainly did appear as host, but not as the bountiful host." With tbe cry for labor from one end of the colony to the other, and with the un- j satisfactory number of new hands sent us from the emigration department in England, it is with feelings of pleasure that we regard a scheme now before us, which j has for its object the formation of an immigration society on a scale large enough to augment very appreciably our present scanty additions from the mother country. For obvious reasons, we give not at present the name of the originator. At starting, we may premise that the society is to be a strictly co-operative one, and to be open to farm laborers, shepherds, miners, and mechanics of certain of the English counties, its maximum members limited to 50,000 and its minimum — under which the society by previous arrangement is not to be launched — is placed at 5,000. Each member would have to pay sixpence per week at home, and five shilr lings per month in the colony till the sum of£7los was reached. Children under seven years of age, and daughters of members, to be free. This weekly payment would entitle the members— should the society reach the minimum of 5,000 — to draw in the quarterly drawings for a passage to the colony, and those on whom a lucky ticket falls, the manager of the society provides railway fares, &c, to the port of embarkation. In the prospectus, all emigrants must be approved of by the Agent-General of the colony conjointly with the manager of the society, and on embarkation Ihe manager pays the colony through the Agent-General the sum of £0 cash for each adult, and proportionately for children. The colony, on its part gives the manager a promissory note for the balance of subscription owing by the emigrant. Thus say (tbe rules provide that' four weeks subscription beyond the quarter being paid on embarkation) those who draw an embarkation ticket at tbe close of the first quarter would owe the society £7 Is 6d, for which the colony makes itself responsible, and each succeeding quarter the balance due becomes proportionately diminished till supposing there was a twentieth embarkation, the sum then due by the emigrant would be but 18s. Of course all the amounts for which the colony makes itself liable to the society are recoverable from the emigrant by successive monthly payments at the rate stated above after arrival in the colony. As a personal security the Agent-General takes from each emigrant on embarkation & promissory note of the same value as he himself gives to the manager of the society. The work of the society ceases when the emigrant and his belongings are placed on shipboard. The colony then takes charge,and finds the cost of passage &c. The above is the merest sketch of a scheme which we believe could be worked out successfully. The proposer, whilstj seeking the aid of a large co-operation to carry out his plan, desires, it would appear from the draft of the rules in our possession, tbe assistance and concurrence of the Government at every step. 1 To start the society Government help is sought, the manager on his part giving sureties of bona fides by cash guarantees, and then after the society is floated the Agent-General has a voice in the selection, etc., of the emmigrants. Briefly stated, the society is to undertake just that part of emigration work which Government officers apparently make such a mess of, the dissemination of information to the colonies, and the selection and getting together of bodies of emigrants at stated periods. The society is to provide all the machinery necessary to make the scheme a permanent success and to bear what may be termed all inland charges— railway travelling of emigrants to the port of embarkation, &c— Timaru Herald.