New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4847, 4 October 1876, Page 2

New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4.

“I claim, sir, the sole origination of the ideas contained in the Polynesian scheme, and do not acknowledge myself indebted to any source whatever.” So Mr. Colrman Phillips wrote, in the letter we published on 'Wednesday last. Admit the statement to be exactly truth. What must be thought of Mr. Phillips’s information as to the history of the matter, for his brilliant original conceptions respecting which he wants compensation from the colony? A printed prospectus, dated “ Melbourne, 82, Collins-street West, 2nd November, 1868,” commences thus ;—“Polynesia Company, Limited. —The object of the Polynesia Company is to utilise the vast and hitherto undeveloped resources of the islands of the South Pacific, by forming an institution upon principles somewhat similar to those so successfully adopted by the old East India Company. The operations contemplated comprise banking, trading, and the cultivation of cotton, sugar, coffee, and other tropical productions; and it is intended to make a commencement in the Fiji group, where extraordinary facilities are presented for European settlement, and where a limited thriving white population already exists.” This was, as we have said, put before the Australasian public in 1868, three years and a half before Mr. Phillips saw any island of the Fiji group, and at least a year before (accepting his own account) he thought about Polynesian, trading. Was Mr. Phillips really ignorant of this 1868 company ?—for a company was then actually formed. It is conceivable that he was. It is also conceivable that a young man of genius might start up (sayin Auckland), and claim the “sole origination of the idea” of causing an apparatus constructed of metal to move upon plates of wood, or of metal fixed on or into the ground, the motive power being derived from the vaporisation of water within the apparatus. Supposing such a genius should appear, he might well claim reward, it he made public his idea as one that had not been “preconceived.” But would anybody, anywhere, recommend that such a reward should be paid out of public funds 1

The hon. member for Geraldine, Mr. Wakefield, is a man who will not learn wisdom, or profit by the experience of others. Last night he attempted to get an amendment introduced into the Education Act, and spoke over and over again in the most tiresome manner. He appealed to the Canterbury members for aupport and countenance; but they one and all turned a deaf ear to his solicitations, and ho displayed, the worst possi-

ble taste in persisting in the way he did when he found the feeling of the House against him. Ho set up his opinion and judgment in opposition to that of the member for Avon, Mr. Rollesxon, and the member for Akaroa, Mr. Montgomery; used strong words such as maladministration; and these gentlemen were forced into the position of having to defend themselves, and in doing this they had to expose the fallacy of all Mr. Wakefield’s arguments, and dispute the accuracy of his statements. Mr. Wakefield was, after delaying the proceedings of the House, obliged to ask leave to withdraw two amendments, and the feeling of the House, we regret to say, was manifested when it was proposed that the name of Mr. Belfield should be added to the list of members of the Board of Education for the district of Canterbury. We understand, and it was stated repeatedly, that this gentleman would be in every respect a desirable person to add to the Board, but a large proportion of the members would not listen to the proposition. Unfortunately for Mr. Belfield, his connection with the Timaru Herald and his acquaintance with Mr. Wakefield seemed to have an effect upon the House, and Mr. Belfield became a victim, and was sacrificed in consequence. A proposal was made, towards the close of the debate, that the Bill should be recommitted, in order that Mr. Belfield’s name might still be inserted in the list of members of the Canterbury Board of Education, and we hope this course will be adopted. ‘

Mb. W. T. L. Travers has friends who tell untruths. On Wednesday last the New Zealand Times contained a leader making some statements in reference to the local insurance agents and the repeal of a provision in the Wellington Waterworks Act, requiring the insurance companies to contribute to the expense of the waterworks. On Monday evening a letter on the subject from Mr. Travers was received by us, and put in type, .but was crowded out of yesterday’s paper, an intimation appearing in our local column that several letters to the editor were held over. Since it took Mr. Travers four clear days to forward us the letter, the delay of twenty-four hours in publishing it did not seem to us a hardship. But as Mr. Travers has now sent a copy of his letter to the Evening Post, and some blackguard, acting apparently on his behalf, has alleged that we have suppressed his letter, he can go to Hongkong so far as we are concerned, and Will certainly not see his effusion in this morning’s issue. He can contribute to some charitable institution the useless expense we have been at in “ setting up ” his letter. Mr. Travers’ letter, we may say, bore date September 28, but was not received by us until Monday. Mr. Travers can perhaps explain this matter ; we are compelled to go by facts.

An Australian telegram mentions that the crew and passengers of one of the Torres Strait mail steamers saw the great sea serpent. There are a tew people who do not believe in the existence of the great sea serpent, but an eminent amateur naturalist in this city, Mr. Travers, is, we believe, a firm believer in its existence, and holds it to be identical with the kraken—a monster supposed to inhabit the northern seas, and more especially nearthe coasts of Norway and Sweden. In a somewhat antique and not altogether reliable work—Rees’s Encyclopaedia—a description of the kraken is given, from Bishop Pontoppidan's “Natural History of Norway.” Rees mentions that the Bishop’s accounts of the kraken are corroborated by several northern writers. When Rees wrote (in 1819) the general conclusion was that if the kraken existed it was in some form of gigantic mollusc, such as the sepia cuttle fish or devil fish, of which small specimens have been caught in Wellington harbor. It is to be hoped that Mr. Travers or some dilettante naturalist will settle this sea serpent or kraken question definitely.

The Hon. Mr. Waterhouse has given notice that he will ask to-day in the Legislative Council—l. From what date the Hon. Sir Julius Vogel will commence to draw salary as Agent-General ? 2. Whether or not the Government are to pay the cost of passage to England of Sir Julius Vogel and his family ? 3. Whether or not travelling allowances will be paid duri g such voyage ; and, if so, at what rate per diem ? 4. Whether or not the Agent-General will be required to devote the whole of his time to the duties of his office ? 5. Whether or not he will be called upon to find security for the discharge of his duties ? The Hon. Mr. Waterhouse has not gone far enough in this matter. He should have further given notice that he would ask whether Sir Julius Vogel eats brown bread or white for breakfast, and whether the same gentleman will make a statutory declaration that on the whole he considers gout an unpleasant infliction, worse even, perhaps, than that of having the Hon. Mr. Waterhouse for a colleague.

During the discussion in committee of the Education Boards Bill, in the House of Representatives last night, the Hon. Mr. Bowen made an intimation from which it appeared that the snpplementary financial statement would be delivered by the Hon. Major Atkinson to-night.

In committee of the Legislative Council yesterday the 133rd clause of the Municipal Corporations Bill was struck out. The clause was intended to confer borrowing powers on councils, and read as follows;—“ The council may from time to time by special order raise moneys by way of ordinary loan, and may issue debentures as security for moneys so lent, subject, however, to the following conditions.” The three following clauses contained the conditions, and were of course also struck out with the 133rd. It will be seen that the excision is a very important one. It was stated during a discussion in the Legislative Council yesterday, speaking of Brooklyn, that the indebtedness of that city was £20,000,000. Mr. Waterhouse read a paragraph from the New York Sun, to the effect that lately 19,000 tenements and allotments were offered for sale in that favored municipality bn account of non-payment of rates. Dr. Grace mentioned that the rates usually amounted to about as much as the rent. Brooklyn would appear to be blessed in other ways besides being favored with the presence of Henry Ward Beecher. The Synod of the Church of England was opened yesterday, and after the President’s address had been delivered, the ordinary routine business of the first day of the session was gone through. Amongst notices of motion was one by Mr. Didsbury, affirming the desirableness of publishing a Church newspaper in the diocese, and appointing a committee to consider and report upon the question of cost; and another by the Rev. Mr. Harvey, for a committee to consider the advisableness of establishing a Church of England Temperance Society in the diocese. In the Supreme Court yesterday Mr. Barton incurred the displeasure of the Chief Justice by not attending at ten o’clock, when the Court opened, and his Honor made some remarks thereon, which it is presumed so much affected Mr. Barton that on the conclusion of the evidence he declined to address the jury, saying that to do so properly it was necessary that his mind should be thoroughly occupied with the evidence which had been taken, and that unfortunately he was not in that position.

The specimens of the result of the late smelting at the Titanic Steel Works have been inspected by a large number of persons. The iron is exceedingly bright and clean, but we understand doubts have been expressed by practical men as to whether it is not of too ; brittle, a character to be valuable for casting purposes. It is generally conceded that it will make splendid malleable iron. ; A meeting of the Boat’d of College Governors will bo held to-day.

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday William Dangerfield was brought up on remand charged with suspicion of lunacy, and discharged. Our legislators are not only cricketers, for during yesterday morning a number of M.H.B.’s indulged in a friendly game of lawn tennis, 1 a suitable ground having being formed adjacent to the Government buildings. Yesterday morning Detective Farrell arrested a young woman named Louisa Smith, on suspicion of concealing the birth of a child. She was brought up at the court in the afternoon, and remanded until Monday. The child referred to is that which was found in a basket on the Karori-road on Friday.

The Wanganui Rowing Club launched their two new four-oared boats on Saturday evening for a trial spin up the river and back. The Herald says:—The boats, however, are too short and dip too much at the bow, but notwithstanding this they are a decided acquisition to' the small fleet of the rowing club, and with good crews should make the pace hot for boats of a superior build.

For the information of “W. B.” and others who may feel an interest in the question, we beg to state that the hymnal specially referred to in the second paragraph of the Hymnal Committee’s report “as in certain respects most desirable,” &c., was the new and revised edition of “ Hymns Ancient and Modern.” It is understood that arrangements can bo made with the, publishers of the hymn to issue a special edition. ’ The postponed entertainment by the choir of St. Paul's Church, in aid of St. Mark's, was held in the Sydney-street schoolroom last evening, and as usual obtained a large number of supporters. Mr. Clapoott gave two of his excellent readings, one being a scene from Sheridan’s “ Rivals,” and the other a poem entitled “ Beautiful Snow.” We missed several of our old friends who formerly assisted to make these entertainments so enjoyable, but their places appeared to be excel'ently filled up, and it was pleasant to see that the great want sf gentlemen's songs hitherto felt has at last been remedied, several songs being excellently given, especially “ The Will of the Wisp” and the “ Englishman,” by one of our well-known baritones, both being rapturously redemanded. “ The Goodbye at the Door” and “ She Wore a Wreath of Roses” were also rendered in a very natural and pleasing manner by a young lady who has not hitherto been heard here. “Flowers of the Forest,” “Vashti,” and “The Vagabond,” were also respectively well sung by three well-known amateur musicians. A pianoforte solo entitled “ Britannia,” which required considerable execution, was played in a very dashing manner by a young lady, who also accompanied most of the part songs, &0., among which we may mention “The Cloud Capped Towers,” “ Daughter of Error,” and “ Hail Smiling Morn.” The choruses as usual were rendered in a very creditable manner, but there is still considerable want of confidence to be overcome. The entertainment as a whole was, we think, a decided improvement on former ones, the programme being' much more varied. Financially the result of the entertainment will prove a sensible addition to the funds of St. Mark’s Church.

The Choral Society's band had a good practice last night. They really accomplished a great deal by dint of hard work, and so far as they are. concerned will do their share towards the success of the forthcoming concert. Mr. Edwards, the conductor, stated that the concert would in all probability take place on Thusday week, and the whole of the band were requested to meet for special practice on Thursday next at 7.30 sharp. A heavy landslip occurred at the reclamation works yesterday at the place from which a mass of earth and rock fell some time ago. Three of the men working there were almost covered with the earth, and sustained some bruises, while a third, who was completely buried, got severely crashed, and was taken to the hospital. Several trucks were smashed. As we have repeatedly said, these landslips are excessively dangerous, and yesterday’s experience should be more than necessary to show that something ought to be done to lessen the danger to the men engaged on the reclamation works.

At the new schoolroom, Courtenay-place, last evening, the Rev. S. Macfarlane delivered a lecture on “ The Art of Opening and Shutting the Mouth ” There was a very good attendance, the Mayor occupying the chair, and the Rev. Mr. Redstone was also on the platform. The chairman having made some humorous remarks by way of introduction, the lecturer proceeded with his subject, which he handled well, and succeeded admirably in amusing the audience by introducing funny anecdotes and amusing remarks. He first treated of the formation of the mouth, and then went on to show that unless proper care were taken in the use of it, consequences more or less disastrous must necessarily follow—men and women being oftentimes unpleasantly affected physically by reason of not studying the matter, and morally, too, from a similar neglect. The lecture appeared to give great satisfaction to those present.

The new sheep disease in Australia—dropsy, braxy, fluke, rot—or whatever it is, has arrived at a very alarming stage 1 during this month, and threatens to exterminate the sheep on the seaboard of Victoria. On one 20,000 sheep run all the sheep have died. The Border Watch says:—On a smaller station they die at the rate of 300 per diem ; and it is painful to travel over a third station, from the number of sheep lying dead on it. Several stations have been cleaned out by this disease, and on one a number of pet sheep have succumbed to it. Young fat sheep die sooner .than old crawlers ; and in no two cases are the internal appearances of the dead sheep similar. If the disease reaches the larger districts, the result will be dreadful. ....

Mr. Lee, the Inspector of Schools, has recently been examining the schools in the Rangitikei district, making the annual classification in the standards, and we have much pleasure in reprinting the remarks of our local contemporary, the Advocate, as showing the results of the present educational system in that district : —lt will be seen from,the information we have been able to gather that our public schools in this neighborhood are in a satisfactory state, as not one of them appears to have produced unsatisfactory results in this last examination. We hope that this improvement will continue, and that the parents will assist the present staff of competent and energetic teachers by sending their children regularly to school. By the system now in operation, the schools are kept in a healthy state of emulation, both as regards individual pupils and the comparative results of the several schools. The comparative merits of the different schools will probably be set forth in the Inspector’s annual report. We may, however, say this much, that there are very few children in the different schools who have not advanced a standard since the first passes made, when the children were first definitely classed, two years ago. The few failures were mostly caused by very irregular and broken attendance. This proves that if children will only attend regularly they are bound to make very satisfactory progress. We cannot conclude our notice without congratulating the settlers in having as an Inspector of Schools a gentleman like Mr. Lee, whose heart is in his work, and who never wearies in his endeavors to advance the cause of education. We believe that to Mr. Lee’s exertions the encouraging success of our various schools is mainly due. It is to this gentleman we are indebted for the initiation of a system which has worked so well, and to the development of which Mr. Lee has so energetically devoted himself. We observe by an advertisement in another column, that Mr. Robert Oleland, of the Lower Hutt, has removed from his former place of business to those new and commodious premises recently erected at the corner of the Waiwetu and Hutt roads. The new building has a frontage of 74 feet, with an elevation of 32 ;feet; is a two-storey building, and has a most imposing appearance from the road. The shop is fitted up with every convenience for carrying on an extensive business. A bakehouse has been attached to the premises, 32 x 27 feet, with a large storeroom above. We wish Mr. Oleland every success in his new building, and that he will be amply rewarded for his spirited enterprise.