THE Otago Daily Times "Inveniam viam ant faciam." MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24th, 1862.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 86, 24 February 1862, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times " Inveniam viam ant faciam." MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24th, 1862.

We understand that the Committee of the Chamber of Commerce intend really to have a meeting on Tuesday, and that the members I have signified their intention coute gui cnnle, of attending. We arc so pleased to learn this, that we forbear suggesting that tills attention j to their duties on the part of the members of jthe Committee, is by no means'premature. It is to be hoped that the first subject that will engage their attention, will be tlmt of |Mail Communication. Although we have treated on this matter until many of our readers must be quite weary of it, its immense importance to the interests of the province, justifies us in again alluding to it. When we referred some time back to the contract entered into between the Provincial Government and the Melbourne contractors, we dwelt upon the uselcßsnesa of any contract that did not provide for penalties for nonfulfillment. Our remarks were almost immediately realised. In this, the second or third month of the contract, the contractors have virtually ignored it, none of their vessels being in Melbourne to bring on the English mails on arrival. Perhaps there never was a mail more anxiously expected, anil yet its coming on will be a mere matter of chance. When the "Aldinga" left, there was no steamer announced to follow her. The " City of llohart was put on to llobart Town. The new vessel of the Messrs. Ilenty, the " Western." which we believe is to be placed in the Ota'go trade, was not advertised ; and so far as we know, there was not any means of sending the mails. If they are forwarded to Sydney they will reach there after the steamer for New Zealand has left, and will be delayed a whole month. The contractors are not deserving of blame, on the contrary their conduct this very month entitles them to warm thanks. They told the Government honestly enough,—The subsidy you offer, £1,800 per annum, will not justify us in undertaking a contract with penalties for non-performance, we will only engage to perform it to the best of our ability. On this occasion they have subjected themselves to serious losses in their desire to carry it out. The "Omeo." waited two days for the mail, and the " Aldinga," we believe, double that time. The detention of a steamer is not , slight matter of expense. _ Besides'the compensation in the shape of subsistence money -which has to he paid the |passengers, ihero are all the expenses of scajmen's wages and officers' salaries, and lastly loss of interest on capital. The contractors probably, by the detention* this month, have lost more than the subsidy for two mails will repay them. llt is the nature of the contract, not the I contractors, that has to be blamed. These '.have already been heavy losers by the mail service which they have performed for the Province. Till within the last one or two months, we believe we are correct in saying that they have received no gratuity for all the thousands of letters and newspapers which they have carried to and from the Province by their excellent line of steam vessels. The payment now of £150 a month, is so utterly inadequate to the service, that it only surprises us they have accepted it. It would"have been far better for everyone if they had stipulated for a fair subsidy," and undertaken, on pain of penalties, to carry out their contract, than to have consented to a paltry gratuity, on the condition that they need only convey the mails.wben it suited them —which is, in fact, the meaning of their present agreement. Even now it is not too late to amend. Tenders are being called for a steamer to carry back ths mails in time to catch the English steamer from Melbourne, with penalties for non-fulfillment. Why not at once call for the double service to bring down the mails, as well as return them, and secure mail communication with Melbourne and with England, that will be independent of the contingencies that now interfere to disturb it? ThcPostmaster-General, Mr. Croshie Ward, will be here in a day or two, by the first steamer from Canterbury, and he will ask to meet the Chamber of Commerce of Otago, as he has just done those of the neighbouring Provinces. The Chamber should be ready to treat with him : the Committee should make up their mind as to the terms on which they would recommend the Provincial Government to arrange with him. A twice-a-month communication with Melbourne; a weekly one with the Northern Provinces, and with Southland ; and Dunedin being made the Southern Port of arrival and. departure; are stipulations which,

jalionld 'be insisted on, on pain of rejection ofj nil Mr, Ward's overtures. It should be remem-! bered that 'Mr. Ward is powerles*to act without the separate consent of the Provinces. The General Government cannot enter into expensive contracts without the consent or rather guarantee of the Provinces, asj no money, has beon placed on thej estimates for the purpose. Suppose it to come then to a matter of bargain, Otago should not be illiberal in its dealing. The 'arrangement we would suggest, after lengthened consideration, is this,—that the Province undertake | the expense of a service to bring on the EngIglish mails from Melbourne at the earliest, and return them sit the latest date, on condition that the other provinces or the genera"! government provide a weekly Provincial mail service to and from Otago and the other New Zealand provinces. It should be borne in mind that it ia very much for the advantage of Otago to make the contract on its own behalf, as then the General Government will have no power to annul it, whilst if the contract were made by the General Government, it could.alter it' at its pleasure. A hostile vote by the members representing Otago might be retaliated by a change in the mail service, based on any excuse that might present itself". For instance, "a rush" inoneof the neighboring Provinces might be made the pretext for substituting another port for Dunedinas the point of arrival and departure. But with the Melbourne contract in its own hands, Otago could defy all that active or overt hostility could concentrate against it. A hand-book or guide to the Province ol Otago is being prepared, of which some hundred thousand copies are to be distributed gratuitously at the Great Exhibition. If in it the simple "feet couldbe announced, that immigrants desirous of- proceeding to any part of New Zealand would find steamers leaving once a week for all the ports of the colony,' the whole stream of New Zealand immigration I would ilow through the Province, immigrants would argue—we may as well make the shorter voyage, and touch at the Province which will, perhaps, offer superior attractions to that which we contemplated visiting, and if we do not like it we can still pursue our original intention, and go to our 1 destination by iirst steamer. We look upon this question of Mail Communication as nothing short of deciding whether Otago is to be the high road to the whole colony, or whether it is always to content itself with its subordinate Provincial position. We trust the Chamber ol Commerce will unite with the Provincial Government and give a practical answer to the question by undertaking the responsibility of the Melbourne Mail Service, providing always, as we have said, that the General Government engage to provide a weekly provincial service. ■■.<•■

the Melbourne Mail Service, providing always, as we have-said, that the General Government engage to provide a weekly provincial service. UJJJJrn '" - In consequence of the pressure on our spacej we are compelled'to hold over notice of ■Princess' Theatre, and other matter. AYe sire indebted to the Captain of the " Pet," from Hobari Town, for papers to Bth instant, and to the Captain of the "Martha Ellen," for dates to Fob. 3. but we find little to extract. The principal tonics of interest are the expected visit of the Ail England Eleven, and the Governor's tour. We have later dates via Melbourne. The " Omco," on her last trip, brought down three Victorian race horses, which have, we velieve, been imported by Sir. S. E. X, Jones, for the purpose of running at the ensuing races. "We already know of several horses that are at present in training for the same purpose, and it is said that Mr. .F. Richardson's " Speargrass" (the winner at Invercargiil during the last two seasons) is likely to contest the honors of the turf with both the Victorian and Otagonian horses. In reference to a letter that appeared in our columns a day or two ago, comj.-laininjt of the unrumctual delivery of newspapers at one of the country oilices, and blaming the Post Office for the same, we| should in fairness say that part of the fault may have j rested with ourselves, inasmuch as from ono cause ori another, sundry irregularities have occurred in thej posting of papers from this office, especially since the j altered tima;; of the mails closing. Such, however, a* | far as we arc concerned will not occur again, as wej I have made sosciul arrangements to prevent them. I j Port Chalmers was particularly guy on Saturjdav. In consequence of the day being the anni-| versary of the birth of Washington, the American | siiippi'ng r.t the port displayed all their bunting.] and as a compliment to our cousins, the British| vessels did the same. Colors were aiso hoisted at diitercnt prominent points ori shore, and till sunset Port Chalmers had quite a gala-day appearance. The nomination of candidates for the representation in the Provincial Council of the Western District, is to take place in the Wakari school-house to-day at noon. I A large number of the members of the Cricket Club met on the ground for play on Saturday. A well contested game took place, and we learn that the return match with the 70th Regiment is likely to take place on Saturday next. It is also rumoured that a challango may shortly bo expected from the Taieri District. A meeting of the club is to be held on Friday evening for the purpose of electing a committee. &c. The Victorian Government have put a sum of £5000 on the Estimates to pay the expenses of six gentlemen who are to he sent home to lecture on the advantage of Emigration to Victoria, There are ! already a host of candidates for the six appointments. The Aye says members of the Assembly will not be eligible, under the Officials in Parliament Bill. The same journal suggests that efforts should he made to secure the Great Eastern for the Victorian trade, to bring out emigrants and cargo. In reference to the manufacture of spurious gold, the Mount Alexander Mail has the following : — The manufacturers of spurious gold dust have evidently ' not abandoned their nefarious operations. Last week ' aTChinaman offered two ounces of counterfeit gold to I a Campbell's Creek storekeeper, but though the imi- . tatiou was almost perfect, the imposture was fortu- [ nately detected, and the dust impounded. The seller, ' finding his roguery discovered,'took to his heels, and no doubt will'not return to claim his property. Store-' keepers now generally prefer confiscating tb p. alloyed metal, to the uncertain results of prosecuting -.lie offender. The following is a sample of the veracious communications which the provincial journals of Victoria are sriad to insert concerning Otago. The present is an extract from what purports to be a letter from Otago, published in the Talbot Leader. " I may also inform you that the Otago settlers are the most disagreeable 1 ever met with. ' They are brimful of prejudice against strangers, particularly Australians, so much so that when the rush first set in they set apart a day for humiliation and prayer, calling upon the Ruler _of All Things to save their herds from pluuro-pueiunoma, and themselves from tho ungodly Victorians.^ When a new arrival goes shopping at Duuedin, ha is so well attended that while one is serving him three are watcliing him for fear of theft."