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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 163, 11 July 1881, Page 3

The Secretary of State for the Colonies^ in a despatch to his Excellency the Governor, alluding to the anti-Cbinese representations of the late Sydney Conference, says : — " I should not, of course, desire to see a large Chinese population introduced into Western Australia, and I shall carefully twatch the results cf the small immigration rto which my attention has been called by the •Conference ; but, under the circumstance as at present known to m*, I am not prepared to interfere with the action of the West Australian Legislature." This would seem to imply that serious opposiiion need not he apprehended on the part of the Imperial authorities to the Chinese Bill just passed in the New Zealand Parliament. A resident in Wellington r^ye the N.Z. T.tnes) has received a le^er irom a friend— an ex -police constab^ in O tago who went io if £ d i amor -.«i fields a few months ago--who, after d-^ Cribing the TOyage from New /.ea^and gtateB tbat fae ig earniDg £l per day , or 'dight hours' work in a tunnel at a place adowo a3 Fryer's Fountain, in the ('range Free State. He goes on to say tbat the average rate of " wages was £5 a week and found, to supaeintend the natives at work," and, as he puts it, " to keep them from stealing the diamonds." At the Kimfcerley diamond field each claim is estimated to be worth £40,000, and the keeper they 6ink the more precious and better are the diamonds. The writer, with all his highly-colored accounts, fails .to recommend any one to go there, and remarka tbat, " should any New Zealanders come, they mast expect to meat with many hardships." The travelling into the interior baa to be done in waugons. Bread is Is per loaf The Dutch settlers are reported to be a snlky lot. A large proportion of the men on the diggings are from New Zealand, and (hey are r«ported to be making money fa.t. A return of the securities held on behalf of the Government was laid upon the table of the House on Tuesday afternoon. The total amount is set down at £2.488, 7C9. The securities belonging the Post Office in Feb. last amounted to £839,069, including Treasury Bills, £280,500; Immigration and Public Works Loan, £188,000; and General Purposes Loan, £147,800. The securities belonging to the Public Debt Sinking Fund in the same month amounted to £149,600, the De r ence Loan being £70,000, and Treasurr Bills £50,700. The securities belonging to the Government Insurance Department reached a sum of £431,000; those of the Public Trust Office, £96,400 ; of the Public Works Account, £969,700; of the Nelson P*ize Fund, £1000 ; and of the Armed Constabulary Reward Fund, £2000. The total amount of Treasury Bills, held under all the headings referred to was in Feb. last. £1.243,900, and Deficiency Bills. £505,000. The New York "Tribune's" Santa Fe special thus records how a brave French storekeeper served a Texan imitator of Ned Kelly :— " One Saturday afternoon, at a railroad camrt on the line of the Denver and R ; o Grande railroad, forty miles west of Chama. N.M., a desperado from Texas, named Baker, with two componions, «= ntered the place, rode up to each store and saloon, and robbed each proprietor of all his money and va'uables. At the last store, kept by a Frenchman, the roughs collect 1 d every man in the place, numbering forty, marshalled them into lie under cover of the six shooters, and compelled them alt to take a drink at th^ Frenchman's expense, Baker doing the honors. Finally, Baker mad * them all st on the floor, threatening to shoot any who moved. As he turned the Frenchman sprang upon him, took away both of his revolvers, and shot him dead. The other men then rose a»-.d fired a volley at the other two roughs, wounding one, but both escaped on their horses" The following is from the Post's " Essence of Parliament " : — The tone of the discussion on the Corrupt Practices Bill showed that the proposed " extra stringent " provisions would be favorably received by a considerable section of the House when they were brought down. Mr Reader Wood went so far as to say the bill would be utterly useless without them ; and Dr Wallis was prepared to go to almost any length to purge elections of all that ig improper. He wanted to make it impossible to bribe, uewppapers, bo great is his esteem for the journals of New Zealand. He even thought it wrong for Ministers to give balls and dinners, and specially set his face against that species of dishonesty which prompted members to devote their honorarium to libraries and charities. He expressed a hope that a clause would be inserted to prevent this form of " nursing " constituencies. The hon. member described various kinds of " undue influence," which he classed under two headings, Damply, physical and spiritual influence. One kind of "influence instance* was that of an employer threatening to close his doors against an employ^ if he did not Tote according to his (the employer's) dictates, but another — and a spiritual — kiad of influence quite as necessary to provide against was shutting the doors of heaven against persons who might not vote as they were desired to. Mr Bastings took quite another view of the bill. He thought the House tried to do too much legislation, and feared that some day a bill would be brought down to compel people to go to church three timas every Sunday. Mr George could'nt for the life of him see the use of the bill, and expressed his willingness to kill it outr ght by seconding any proposal to read It a second time that day six months if anyone would propose that course. Mr Bunny, among other things, inveighed against election expenses, and wanted to see committees abolished altogether Eventually the second reading waa agreed to in the evening by the thinnest house of the session. In an article on the much mangled Licening Bill and the doubtful position it now occupies the Pott stye :— We question whether any member of tbo Lower Home could explain to us the precise position in which the bill now stands after the cutting and backing and pruning and grafting and darning which it has aedergone in committee. It will not surprise us if, when the bill is reprinted with amendments and put into the hands of its father, Mr. Dick, that gentleman should declare it is not his bill at all, and utterly repudiate bis putative eff spring. Bot we shall be very much surprised if the bill as amended up to date do not turn out, when reprinted, to be a mass of incongruities and inconsistencies We hardly Bee how it can be otherwise after the ordeal through which it has passed. What its farther trials may be on recommittal we shudder to anticipate Present appearances all indicate the probability that the Eooie will, ere long, become thoroughly wearied and sickened of what Mr Reader Wood called"these unutterably dreary teetotal debates," and give up the whole thing as a "bad job." That would be & serious public misfortune. A Licensing Bill is one of the most pressing legislative needs of the day, and it is greatly to be regretted that useful legislation on this important qnestion should be rendered almost impossible through the crezy " fida." intemperate zeal, and obstiaate impracticability of a few enthtuiastg. Levy, the cornet player, has been arrested at New York on a charge of bigamy. The complaisant claims to have married Levy in England in 1860. Sbe a3ka for a divorce, ffliwmy, sad, ft§ ciiftody of two cWldren^ '