Talk of the Week.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 232, 19 February 1876, Page 13

Talk of the Week.

When Mr. Charles Rowley applied to the Superintendent of Wellington in regard to the unemployed at the Thames he received an answer, we believe, neither dignified nor doing justice to the resources of the province, as affording means for employing labor. The Superintendent of Otago was more mindful, under similar circumstances, of the labor-em-ploying resources of his province, and telegraphed back as follows :—"Dunedin, February 10.—Mr. Charles Rowley, Grahamstown.— Provincial Government works are at present all under contract, so that I could not undertake to find employment for the miners referred to. If however, they are able-bodied, genuine, hard-working sober men, willino- to turn their hands to anything, there is plenty of employment in the province at fair wages They should drop in imperceptibly— say fifty a week. I would not recommend married couples to come at present.—J. Macandrew Superintendent of Otago."

The Otago Daily Times in a recent issue makes a most naive admission. It says : " We have all been paying so much attention to the question of the land fund, that the other and more important question of the administration of the lands has been a good deal kept in the background." Now, that is precisely what we have been dinning into our contemporary's ears for some time past. The Daily Times and a few other rabid Otago journals have kept working the people there up to a

fever-heat about a contemplated spoliation of a land fund which did not exist. We pointed out frequently that the Times would have done better service by directing attention to the utterly improvident administration of the public lands by provincial authorities. The Daily Times is convinced apparently, and has come round to our way of thinking. Its conversion is rather late in the day, but " better late than never." :

In our present issue a report of the proceedings at the last meeting of the Wellington Teachers' Association appears. In that report allusion is made to a resolution passed at the Canterbury Conference of Teachers, on the Bth January, 1876. The following is the resolution referred to :—" That, in the opinion of this meeting, all the public educational institutions in New Zealand should be placed under one controlling body, and that collegiate, as well as all other scholastic appointments, should be open to all certificated Government teachers." It must be remembered that the Canterbury Conference was attended by teachers from all parts of the colony, and that, therefore, the ab:>ve resolution may be taken as an expression of opinion from the schoolmasters of ISTew Zealand. It is one of which everyone will approve. It affirms a principle which we have frequently enunciated, and it is pretty certain before long to become an accomplished fact.

Some time ago there appeared in the Melbourne Argus an article entitled " The Black Death in Melbourne." The article, as anyone might have seen at a glance, was what is termed in newspaper language a skit, and purported at its conclusion to be an extract from an Argus mouthy summary of 1878. It was intended to draw attention to the want of sanitary precautions in Melbourne which might in a year or two entail a fearful plague. But it was taken by many as a record of actual facts that had occurred, notably by the editor of the Dunedin Evening News and by some one nearer Wellington, who wrote it out with a scissors for bis own paper. And it received its latest interest last night, when an intinerant preacher on the Queen's Wharf, Wellington, drew the attention of his hearers to it, and warned them to prepare before the visit of the black death here, so that they should not die " unhouseled,disappointed, unanel'd; no reckoning made, but sent to their accounts with all their imperfections on their heads."

The fifth annual report of the Commissioner of Education for the United States, was issued at the beginning of November last ; and a summary of its contents is published by the Melbourne Argus. There had been an increase of 164,000 children attending the public schools during the year, and an augmentation of the school income to the extent of 1,232,000d015. According to the last census there were 10,500,000 children in the United States who were between the school ages, that is to say, from 6 to 16 years of age. Of these 8,000,000 were on the rolls, while the daily average attendance was 4,500,000. The total income of all the public schools in 1874 was 82,000,000d015., the total expenditure being . 74,000,000d015. Great disparities exist in the salaries paid to teachers. In the Cherokee nation, where the maximum is obtained, those of male teachers are £540, and of females £4OO sterling per annum ; but in Massachusetts they are as low as £220 for the former and £BO for the latter ; which would certainly not go so far as two-thirds of the amounts named would in Victoria. The cost of education per capita for the children in average attendance at the public schools is highest in the Cherokee nation, where it is £4 16s. per head ; and lowest in Virginia, where it is only 16s. per head per annum. In New York it is four guineas, in Massachusetts

£4, and in. Nebraska, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, where the social conditions are so dissimilar, it is £3 12s. per head. There are 1031 institutions of secondary instruction in the United States, but while there was an increase of 408 in the number of teachers during the year 1874, there was a falling-off of 20,391 in the number of students, a circumstance attributable to the financial depression and commercial disasters of the year. The effect of these is described as having been especially observable in the preparatory schools for the superior instruction of women. Nevertheless, there were 503 degrees conferred on women during the year 1874, and,there are now no less than 29,000 girls studying in colleges and scientific schools, and 25,000 in the preparatory schools. The Commissioner of Education stated that, for the time to come, it is intended to take an annual census of the school population, so as to ascertain the exact proportion of the children receiving instruction.

The Waikato Times has learned on good authority that his Excellency the Governor, accompanied by Sir Donald McLean, intends paying the Waikato a visit. The Times considers that the occasion " will be one that, if availed of, may tend largely towards bringing to a happy solution such feelings of suspicion as still linger in the minds of the King natives, and may do much towards lifting the cloud of isolation which, as the result of such feeling, hides the better qualities of either people from the other, and perpetuates the barrier of race which, in the interests of both, ought long since to have been thrown down. That there is a decided wish on the part of the more intelligent of the natives to come to a more cordial relationship with their white neighbors there is good reason to believe. They are settling down permanently to peaceful pursuits, are cultivating large tracts of land, and it is no insignificant fact that the Kihikihi storekeepers are continually receiving orders from natives for the supply of agricultural implements. They are, too, more and more adopting our habits and fashions, becoming consumers of luxuries, such as potted meats, preserves, tinned fish and other delicacies, and it is no uncommon occurrence in tke nearest European settlement, Kihikihi, to see on the

Sunday a number of well-dressed Maori men and women walking about and amusing themselves. They mix freely with the settlers, take part in our public sports, and, in fact, give practical evidence that the aukati of a boundary line is not altogether so congenial to their feelings as some would have it believed to be. The coming occasion will be one on which much misunderstanding and misconception may be cleared up. It is not for the Governor, the representative of Royalty, to visit the King at Te Kuiti, neither will the latter risk the loss of caste or mana which such an act would entail in coming down to one of the Waikato settlements to _ meet his Excellency and the Native Minister. There is no reason, however, why a course should not be decided upon which will meet the wishes of the representatives of either race without compromising the dignity of the one or the other. A meeting might be arranged upon the border line, and, if such could be done, with we believe the happiest results for both Maoris and Europeans, and the general progress of the North. It was no uncommon occurrence in the early history of the American colonies for the then Governors, representatives, as those of the present day here, of British Majesty, to meet in some forest glade the great Indian chiefs with whom they had been at issue, and there in solemn conclave smoke the pipe of peace, and ratify new treaties of friendship and alliance. And. why with a more intelligent race, with one which, with as favoring circumstances, might run side by side with our own in arts, war, and science, in mental culture and moral and social development, we should hesitate to take the same course it is hard to see. Our own position is such that we could well afford, if we were sure of being as generously met, to take the first step forward with out-held hand. Be this, however, as it may, it is to be hoped that out of the projected visit to Waikato of the Governor and Defence Minister, some such meeting as we have referred to may be arranged which will lead to more mutually cordial relations between the two races than at present prevail."

To the courtesy of the Hon. W. Reynolds we are indebted for the following account from the Marine department of the gale which occurred on Friday : —"During'the past few days the weather has been generally fine, with hot weather, and winds mostly from the westward, but there have been almost constant indications of approaching gales, and warning telegrams have been frequently sent, especially to the southern stations, and with fair result in a good many instances. The weather expected was not general, and yet seemed likely to become so at any hour, being apparently delayed by some cause not readily ascertainable. On Thursday night the change commenced with a very rapid fall of the glass at the Bluff and places near there. The wind became strong from the eastward, but did not amount to gale, the appearance of the weather being threatening. By 9 a.m. of yesterday the barometer had fallen nearly half an inch in the extreme south, and continued to fall up to about 5 p.m.. By noon it was blowing a gale from the north at Westport, barometer 29'50 ; and at Oamaru, 29'10, fresh N.E.; at 2 p.m. 29"94 at Port Chalmers, wind N.N.E., fresh ; at Castle Point, 29'62, N.E., fresh ; at Bluff 28-95, calm, but threatening to westward; and at Timaru 29'06, blowing a gale from N.E.; at Wellington barometer falling steadily, strong gale from N.N.W., with heavy squalls and rain ; at 3 p.m. the glass at Hokitika was 29"23, with very heavy sea from north-west; and at the same hour 28"90 at Balclutha, wind south-west, fresh. "Very high tides are reported from Hokitika at 11 p.m. on Thursday, Eyttelton 5 a.m. yesterday, Port Chalmers 4.30 p.m., and Bluff at 2 p-m. Captain Thomson, harbor-master at the latter place, states that it was the highest tide he has ever known to occur there: The sea was unusually heavy at Hokitika, so much so as to endanger the beacons on the North Spit. The tide was also very high here yesterday about 5.30 p.m. Warning telegrams were sent to Southern stations by mid-day yesterday, and were fortunately received in advance of bad weather, although the rapidity with which the glass had fallen rendered it a matter of considerable difficulty to effect this. So far as can yet be ascertained, the area of lowest barometer has been travelling in a direction apparently between north-east and east. The bai-ometers above quoted are only corrected for height, above sea.

Again we have to refer to the Wellington Resident Magistrate's Court as an institution in connection with which there are many things of an undesirable character. On this occasion, however, no allusion is made to to its architectural infirmities, which time and the pleasure of Ministers can alone remedy. What we now have to complain of is the want of system and order in all the business arrangements of the Court, a fact which, though ignored for a long time, is quite notorious. There is a general looseness about the conduct of police cases, and the civil business in particular is conducted in a style so peculiar to the place that to say a word in favor of it would be to do other places a monstrous injustice. It is essentially an old-fashioned style, and therein is no doubt admirably suited to the building in which it is practised, and may be congenial to those who practise it; but there is just a possibility that, in this particular case, the oldfashioned style is not the best. This, of course, is said with all due deference to the wisdom of those to whom we are indebted for its introduction. It may be suggested that the officials of the Court, from our worthy Resident Magistrate down to the assistant clerks, would find less difficulty in the execution of their duties, to say nothing of imparting a trifle of dignity to their efforts, were they to be a little more punctual, to have some regard for order in the arrangement of cases, and to exercise some common judgment in the disposition of summonses. Possibly these gentlemen find a t

greater pleasure ingoing in a roundabout direction, albeit they could achieve their ends by a straight and shorter route ; but by doing so they do themselves little credit, to speak mildly ; and, what is a matter of far greater importance, they put the public and the Press to an amount of inconvenience which cannot be_ let pass unnoticed. Thus, cases are appointed for different hours in the day, according to the taste and fancy of the person whose department it is to make out the summonses, and the consequence often is that business which could be got through in one hour and a half, is scattered over more than half the day. This again leads to another abuse. The magistrate and officials, having disposed of a case at 11 o'clock, may leave the court, and not be hi attendance for a case appointed for 12 o'clock—a chance circumstance or forgetfulness overcoming their virtuous intentions to be punctual. Something similar to this was experienced on Saturday last, when the parties to a summons case were kept waiting for considerably over an hour ; and when the case was heard, its settlement involved the attention of his Worship for just ten minutes, and then the business of the day was over. Another novel feature in the Court machinery is the unaffected indifference as to the value of time displayed in making out informations. If not as a rule, it frequently happens that the charge against a man is the last thing thought of. The offender having been placed in the box, it will occur to the mind of the magistrate that he has not been placed there for nothing, and having communicated this idea to the clerk, it is found necessary to produce an information, which eventually is produced. Sometimes the Court will wait in solemn silence while this operation is in progress, or perhaps it will occur to somebody that a petty civil case may be wedged in to fill up the gap which has occurred in the criminal business. Meantime the unfortunate prisoner has been taken from the dock and brought up again. In courts of justice where twice or three times the amount of business is transacted none of these difficulties occur, simply because they are conducted on a proper system properly carried out. Reform is absolutely necessary, and the sooner it is effected the better.

A contributor to the " American Exchange and Review" has undertaken the laborious task of analysing the census of England and Wales for 1871, and that of the United States for 1871, with a view to ascertain the proportions which the various classes of society bear 1 to each other in both countries, and what are the occupations pursued by the great bidk of the people in each. In so doing, he has brought out some curious facts, which are quoted by the Melbourne Argus. It is necessary to premise that at the date referred to the population of England and Wales was 22,712,266, while that of the United States was 38,555,083. In the former only 7'30 per cent, of the people are engaged in agriculture, while in the latter 15"36 per cent, are thus occupied. But on the other hand it must be borne in mind that the territorial area of England and Wales is only 58,32 S square miles, while that of the United States is 3,603,844. Only 2 - 83 per cent, of the American jjeople find employment in commerce, including transportation; and only 7"53 per cent, in manufactures, mining, and mechanical pursuits; so that, admitting that the whole of these are benefited by protection, it would follow that 92'47 per cent, of the population are pillaged for their advantage. In England, 3 '59 per cent, of the poj>ulation are sujjported by commerce, and 22"63 per cent, by manufactures, &c. The mother country, however, is unfortunate in having one lawyer to every 653 laymen, while in the United States the proportion is one to each 946, and in Prussia — happy land !—there is only one to each 12,000! On the other hand, there is one dentist to every 4919 people in America, while the proportion is one to every 9210 in England and Wales. Of innkeepers, the latter country maintains 82,505, as against 61,579 in the United States ; 175,128 seamen as against 56,663 ; 44,814 printers as against 39,860 ; and 301,109 milliners and dressmakers as against 92,084. England's love of the drama is shown by the fact that she supports 3592 members of the theatrical profession, of whom one-half are women; while there are only 2050 in the United States, two-thirds of these being men. There are, relatively to the population, fewer ministers of religion in America than in the mother country ; and we need not wonder at the wretched condition of Italy and Spain, after reading the following figures : People. United States, one clergyman to each .. .. 870 England and Wales, do .. .. .. 718 Russia, one priest to each.. .. .. .. 323 France, do .. .. .. .. 235 Italy, do .. 143 Spain, do .. .. .. .. .. .. 54 With such a terrible amount of "top-hamper, how is it possible for society to escape shipwreck on the Spanish Peninsula. The City of San Francisco was brought close to the wharf on Friday morning. It had been arranged that the Arawata should vacate her berth at the outer T for a few hours, and allow the big steamer to come alongside; but accidents will happen, and an accident to the donkey engine of the Arawata at the time the big steamer was nearing the wharf, prevented the arrangement being fully carried out. The Arawata being forced to remain at the wharf, doubts were expressed as to the advisability of mooring a vessel of over three thousand tons outside a much smaller one, as the slightest collision might induce serious results. However, under charge of Pilot Holmes, the City of San Francisco was brought alongside the Arawata without the slightest mishap. Captain Underwood, of the latter steamer, afforded every facility, and exerted himself in the safe mooring of the vessel. The City of San Francisco remained alongside till three in the afternoon, during which time she was visited by several thousand people, who examined every nook and corner of the vessel.

About mid-day his Excellency the Governor and suite went on board, and were courteously received by the captain, who showed them round and explained the working of all the new instruments and labor-saving appliances with which the ship is furnished. His Honor the Chief Justice with Mrs. Prendergast, and a large number of other prominent citizens were amongst the visitors. We have already described the City. Her saloon fittings are splendid, and the accommodation for first-class passengers and the officers is excellent. The steerage is undoubtedly the worst fitted xip part of the ship, men, women, a.nd children being all together in one room, without a partition or screen of any description. However, we were informed that this state of affairs is only temporary, and when the City of San Francisco returns to Wellington a great improvement may be looked for in the steerage. It is said she cost one million dollars, a fact which shows that our American cousins spared no expense in her construction. Our object in urging that the steamer should come alongside was not altogether for the purpose of gratifying mere sightseekex-s, although it is pleasant to afford several thousand people an opportunity of inspecting the grandest specimen of naval architecture that has ever been this side of the line, but for the purpose of showing that notwithstanding our meagre wharf accommodation —utterly insufficient for the port —the largest vessel that has ever sailed upon southern waters could be brought alongside, and that sufficient facilities could be afforded her to load or unload her cargo. We do not want strangers and others to carry away an impression other than that the harbor is a first-class one, and that Wellington possesses all the natural requirements of a great maritime centre.