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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4435, 7 June 1875, Page 4

We find the following appreciatory remarks, on Captain Edwin’s weather reports, in the Otago Guardian. We may remark parenthetically, that this branch of the Marine Department has become so important to the interests of the colony, not to speak of^ its scientific bearings, that we think Captain Edwin should be enabled by the Government to perfect and extend his system by having adequate assistance afforded to him. _ As it is, the work may be said to be done single-handed, and should Captain Edwin be prostrated by illness through overwork, (by. no means an unlikely occurrence,) or from other causes, the whole of this important branch of the public service would come to a standstill. is not fair to the public service, nor is it fair to the accomplished sailor who is in charge of the “weather department,” and who, by the way, is rewarded for his services, which doubtless result in the saving of tens of thousands of pounds in the year to insurance offices and shipowners, by the salary of a thirdrate Government clerk, who is not expected to possess special knowledge, and who has no responsibility. We make these remarks from a knowledge of the work done, and its importance, and from a conviction that “patient merit ” is apt to be overlooked when the Estimates are being framed. If we except the United States weather signal system, that of New Zealand appears to be the most certain in its forecasts of weather. We depend upon the Hon. Mr. Reynolds, who has taken such deep interest in this matter, to see justice done to the individual, and at the same time, to place the “weather branch” of the Marine Department on a permanently efficient footing. The Guardian writes ;—“ On several occasions we have directed attention to the very useful work that is being performed in a quiet, unostentatious manner by the ‘ Weather Office,’ and it affords us much pleasure to give publicity to some recent instances of the benefits conferred on the maritime public by the action of this most valuable and interesting department. For the particulars we are indebted to the reports now periodically published in the New Zealand Times. It may be ns well, perhaps, again to explain that the Head-office at XVel.lington, which is ably presided over by Commander Edwin, R.N., is in constant receipt of barometrical and weather reports from, and sends out ‘warnings’ of coming storms to, all the coastal telegraph stations in the colony. Thus we read that on 6th May ‘it became apparent that a change was near, and on the 7th warnings to expect an easterly gale were sent to most of the eastern stations, and also to the West Coast of the Middle Island. _On the Bth the gale was experienced with considerable severity at a good many places, and was accompanied by a heavy rainfall in nearly all parts of the colony,* On the 11th and 12th warnings were again sent out, and on the 12 th and 13th very strong gales prevailed along the south-eastern coast of this island. On the 14th a marked change had taken place, and during the day warnings were sent out to expect a heavy gale from the westward. The same night a sharp westerly gale was felt on the West Coast, and especially at Opunake and Westport. The warnings were repeated on the 15th, and on the following day heavy gales ‘ from the westward were felt from Hokianga to the West Coast -ports. Oh the 17th again, forecasts of the heavy southerly and southeasterly (gales. which prevailed at The Bluff and along this coast were despatched some hours in - advance of their occurrence ; and as a final instance, we may mention that warnings of a coming gale, which set in at Hokianga and other parts of the North Island at 3 p.m. on the 19th instant, were, sent to all weather-reporting stations to the northward of East Cape by 1 p.m. on that day. These instances could be multiplied indefinitely, but they are sufficient to demonstrate the practical value and utility of the scientific department under consideration. Whether or not there is A sweet little cherub that sits up aloft. To look after the life of poor Jack. we do not venture to assert; but there is evidently a very efficient clerk of the weather who ‘sits up aloft’ in the Wellington Cus-tom-house, to look after the safety of- ‘poor Jack’s ’ body. No vessel need now leave port in the teeth of a coming gale, and we understand that for the small sum of sixpence information can be obtained at any of the weather-reporting telegraph stations—at Port Chalmers or The Bluff, for instance—as to the existing state of the-weather at, any other port. We fear that this is not generally understood, or, that if so, it is not so fully appreciated and taken advantage of by our mariners as it ought to be; and we shall be very pleased indeed if our giving publicity to the doings of the Weather Office should bring it more prominently under the notice of those whom it most immediately concerns.”

The Otago Daily Times agrees with us on the illegality of the Gold Duty Repayment Ordinance, as will he seen by the following article which we take from its issue of the 28th ultimo :—“ The very interesting memorandum upon the subject of the refunding of the gold duty by Mr, Stout, which we published yesterday, deserves careful consideration. Wo do not hesitate to say that whatever may be the advisability of refunding that duty, Mr. Stout’s opinion of its illegality seems to us,*beyoud all question, a sound .one. The 19th section which he quotes from the Constitution Act, defining the powers of Provincial Councils, seems to us sufficient to settle the point. ‘lt shall not be lawful to make or ordain any Ordinance for the imposition ob regulation of duties of Customs to be imposed, on the importation or exportation of any goods at any port or place in the Province.’ Under the Gold Duty Act, the duties on gold are to be collected under the provisions of Customs Regulation Act. Consequently, it‘Appears plain that a proposal to use the public moneys to refund duties imposed upon certain goods would be a direct interference of ft most important character with the ‘ regulations . of duties of Customs.’ The wisdom of such refund we are not now questioning; the legality, notwithstanding the Colonial Secretary’s dictum—and we suppose he took the highest legal advice—seems to us most questionable. In fact, as suggested by Mr. Stout, it comes to this—that to all intents and purposes the province might declare all its ports free, in defiance of the Constitution Act, by a simple process of making a series of debtor and creditor entries, noting the amount of duties for which they would have to account to the Colonial Government, but not exacting them from merchants, or, at any rate, which would amount to the same thing, taking them with one hand and giving them back with the other. The Colonial Secretary cannot have read his Darwin, or ho would be more alive to the doctrine of development. Has he calculated that importers of spirits and soft goods, tobacco, and pickles, might, by proper pressure, persuade the Council to refund the ad valorem.; duties they had paid upon the commodities they had introduced. The dreams of those who think that this should be a free port of entry must seem much nearer a realisation than they had ever probably supposed. ‘ They have the Provincial Council, it appears, only to deal with. If they can persuade the Council to give them a refund, the benefits of a free port are all secured, in so far as the lowering of prices, &c,, are concerned. It is true transhipments would necessitate passing entries on goods sent to Canterbury or Wellington, and those provinces would set to work so to manipulate then’ tariff

under the refund opening as to reduce things to their former proportion. We cannot wonder that the late Provincial Solicitor adheres to his opinion even in the face of the supposed highest legal authority; There are some matters of law which the lay mind cannot but understand, and this is one. How the SolicitorGeneral, with the plain letter of the law, could have given so foolish an opinion, is one of those things it is difficult to understand.”

In our comments on Sir James Fergusson’s lecture on New Zealand, we quoted his opinion on provincial institutions from the condensed report before us. We find, however, from the verbatim report, that he was most explicit in condemning those institutions. Sir James Fergusson said ;—“ He could not help alluding, before closing, to the system of dividing the country into provinces. Now that his lips were no longer sealed by office, he was free to confess that Provincialism had had its day, and that the greatest-measure of economy and consequently improvement of the Government of New Zealand would be the abolition of all those petty Parliaments.” The experience of the colony since Sir James left it for England has been such as to convince every disinterested person that those “ petty Parliaments” are a bar to all real progress, and render the economical administration of colonial affairs next to impossible.