THE Otago Daily Times.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 240, 26 September 1862, Page 4

THE Otago Daily Times.

** Jnoeniam viam out faciom."

DUNEDIN, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 05.

Thk commercial community of Otago must bail with much pleasure the active symptoms of vitality which the newly-elected committee of the Chamber of Commerce is displaying. The meeting reported in yesterday's issue, was singularly important, and is likely to be followed by good results. Its purpose was the consideration of the offer to establish a monthly line of steamers between Panama and Fort Chalmers, the particulars of which were detailed io this journal on- Monday. Prelimi* nary to the consideration of the main question, Sir. Martin very properly brought forward two subjects, which, though only indirectly bearing on it, are still likely to exercise a prominent influence on. its consideration. • tf Otago is to be the terminus of a line of ocean steamers, its harbor must be improved, and the means afforded for repairing steamers. For this purpose it was that Mr. Martin introduced the two questions of a~ patent slip, and the deepening of the harbor by dredging. Apart from the consideration that, for ; ts ordinary shipping, there is an imperative heed to deepen the'"harbor, and to provide a patent slip suitable for large vessels, the questions affect the choice of a .port for the Panama route in the utmost degree. It may be said that there is not a port in New Zealand at present fitted for the terminus of large j ocean steamers. So far then all the Provinces start alike. The question then; comes, should Otago, with its "wealth, andi with its trade, that point it out as the natural j terminus, allow any other port to take this! advantage from it? Mr. Cargill st&ted that he believed it was contemplated to erect a patent slip at Wellington; and it is not to be I doubted that Province would do so merely for the sake of securing the terminus of the Panama Service, which, in the number of steamers it would bring to the port, arii the passenger traffic that would' result, would amply repay the outlay.

• But should Otago calmly submit to see that taken from it which, in every respect, it has the right to claim ? For the ordinary shipping at the Port, the harbor requires deepening, and a patent slip is wanted. Owing to the want of these, as we have before stated, first class clipper ships of large size cannot be chartered at home to proceed to this Province, and it is rarely a vessel comes out in less than 100 days. But let the harbor be deepened and the means afforded for refitting vessels, and we may see aa fine a merchant fleet in the Otagb^BayTas in Hobson\ Bay, Victoria. Apart from the Panama service, then, the necessity exists—the latter merely adds force to an already very strong case. It also prompts a more hurried action than, might otherwise be necessary. A line of steamers between. America and New: Zealand is likely to be a^act in a few months, and the choice of the terminal port on this side will '* shortly be ixiade» If it ;) could be said ;—in addition to its large trade, and to i its near proMmity to Melbourne, Otago pos-;! sessed the advantages, or would shortly do so,: ■of a patent slip and a good harbor, there could! not be much doubt as to which port the con-' tractors would select. Mr^ EeynoldssaidVif Wellington % - was made s the!,' port^ a: larger! subsidy would be required, whilst: with equal;' truth, Mr. Moss said that-if Otago did'not bestir itself, but left tht matter to. the Gene-1 ; ral Government, 'Wellington would have the preference. ■■■"■':-::- -'■- '■'''■■■-.- ;---^ ■:^-.,^- .;>.;_j .The consideration of the Panama scheme was postponed till Tuesday aext, but *iri'fthel meanwhile, the Chamber determined to use its best t efforts tp pr6cure s the slip, and the steam tfredge.'; Accordingly a ;depuiatioaffrpm|t^e Committee of the Chamber, waited upon -the Supennt«dent- yesterday, Jand1 -W2l are ?gl^|o learn their recbmjneadatioawaiiavo^ ceived, and an early reference of it to the

"Frovindal'Couffdr prombedT-lVV^cerelj trust then will be no, unnecessary delay* Both the steam-dreftgefand^the materials for the slip are tojbe procured ia. Australia. *

Tuß\etoppage;of the Provident. Institute of Victoria, adds another to the already lons Ust of .'events "which have from* tune to' time startled ihe r public mind,-and aimed at the destruction of public confidence. An Institution which" only a! few weeks ago f was represented as being in a flourishing condition,?has suddenly, and without warning, collapsed, involving in its own wreck the ruin *. of its confidjng* victims. The circumstances under whictCtfi^i^s^tutfon failed, appear to be precisely similar* to those which have attended the^crash of other undertakings of a kindred character. There have been the same amount j 'of. blind confidence 1 on* one' hand, and nn- j 1 blushing misrepresentation, and mismanage- | 4nent on% other. "tChere have been" the | same sham audits, sham balance'sheets, sham | assets. It would seem that "hrtSaxra of this kind there Was "a recognised lfohnauWiii the manner of proceedings so^exactly have the , officials of the Provident Institute lbllowedin die steps of thosa whb bave^preceded them in the road to ruin. Have notflirectori of (ihe.varions deposit institution?, which haredorie sj much latterly to entirely destroy pnbjjc trust — hay cnot they, we say, all declared bouncing dividends, at the very time when subsequent ] events proved that their respective companies! were rotten to the core ?"'■ Were "not:, the shareholders brought to an enviable state of good humour by the high dividends aforesaii, and did not they vote unlimited confidence in their Chairmen and Directors ? The Provident Institute is no exception to the- rule-: In June last, at the annual meeting of the shareholders of the institution, a most delightful report was presented, setting'iprth how much the interests of the Institute had been" protected, how perfectly * satisfactory. ' everything was, and stating that v the profits' " for the last half-year enabled the directors *' to propose a dividend of 12 j,. per cent, to " the shareholders." It is exceedingly edifyj ing to see how perfectly en regie everything was. There was so much carried to thereserve fund—so much to wipe off certain expenses—the total reserve fund wa3 so and so. The balance-sheet was balanced to a'fraction, and the word v loss" does not occur in the items. All vr&acouleurde rose. The transactions of the concern were evidently conducted with the utmost exactness, and the books admirably kept, at least, such was clearly the- opinion- of Messrs ;Mackillop and White, the auditors, who, as well

as y Mr. John Porter, managing -. director, and William Cooper, accountant, signed, doubtless, in the firmest of commercial handwriting, the following document:—"We cer- *.* tify !that We have examined the r" above *.\ vouchers^ and find them correct. We have ' also counted the cash in hand, and inspected v the Bank pass-books and securities held by 11 the Institute." Six or seven weeks after tliis solemn farce and sham, the whole structure which waa supparted by so much cunning, and propped up by deceit, baa come tumbling down, burying in its luins, alas, the hopes, and who knows but the lives of widows, orphans, and the thrifty poor, alike old andyoung ? What are the causes which have produced such sad results remains to be proved, but we may expect .to find them preserve the resemblance to which we have referred. The Melbonrne papers speak of " advances made* to the shareholderswith " the Institute's money, upon theTsecurity of " the shares of the institute itself"—of "rot- " ten securities and bad debts studiously con*4 cealed,"—of reckless'speculations and losses •year after year, which were never allowed to appear on the balance-sheets. There is nothing new—the same catalogue of transactions will apply to the Provident Institute as appears in the stereotyped hiitory of parallel cases. Let us step now for a moment from the richly furnished, softly .carpeted, Board Room, and leave Messrs. the Auditors, Chairman of Directors, and William Cooper, Accountant, to enjoy their cigar perhaps, or glass of -wine, after their elaborate labors upon* the flourishing balance-sheet - they have certified to be correct, and make the acquaintance of some of the poor confiding depositors. Here.we find "a pior woman who •'.had deposited £ 100 on Monday last, and "that <was all the money she vfiosaessed/ 1 Working men and women who have lost .the! hard-earned sayings of yearsi;. widows^or-1 phans, sick, aged—all have been deprived of their savings ! 'Who can estimate the amount of suffering entailed on the unfortunate victims? Probably over a quarter of'a million; sterling had been entrusted in,the handsf*if the institute: ; .; :

It is to be hoped that a most searching' inquiry will be made; ddubllesa such will be i the case, and we trust ] that the guilty will not! be allowed ,to ; escapeT^ It is a matter* in! which ihe colonistsVof 25rew^2J0ai^L w«4nte4i rested.-i Events, of this characteri tend to un- ! dermine all confidence, and injure ibona file iostitutions. To quote the words of the Mel-? bourne, :_,.« The evil of Provident;| J&jlare^will notvenir wMx ifeelf.; "its shareholders, and depositors - !It will' in"jure "other hbn^tly-c6hducl^weU-n^ "agedinstitutions^ It^iU^etomany from ' ■ P^fng themselves forward to initiate reallyj "benevolent institutions^ l«st such should pos-. usibly shipwreck fonder other-guidance upon! 41 the same shoals-—it will' breed, distrust '^am^st^^^humWer^cla^s, and -it will "^^e^^^§s&a^extravagan^ Why they be irugal, for the benefit of " another Provident Institute f- t * These are: "a-fewof"thedisastrous consequences,;inde- " pendent of positive pecuniary distress,' "which will follow in the wake of this most "jdi^rajKmJifaUure^ ; *

L-j^ iafa matter of surprise that Cobb's Company ;do not start a line of coaches from the Molyneux Pehy tp the Nokomai. TKe GoTernment to enconrage-thera to do so might give a postal «abaAj. :■" -'-■■■' "' •."-"■ .'■•'■■-:'.■'■ -.■.."■" "■": i *-?. ire,?ih|pro«ai thatj ftj^oßppmg r :^ai| under thenewTegtUa^oniihita■-^B6n; / gra^»d-tol John Laakley and three motet, they bAying on tne banks of the Mol^eux, «ix. miiea *bote Gardiner's station. - " 4

r- Tne-D'uttstan atfd"the,Nokdmai anTpnSclaimed as gold &!<& , The proclamation, with the descriptUHToTtHe Boundaries of each^'tnll be found in another part of the paper. < > A short time since-Waiiahnna and the Woolshed were proclaimed to be a district of the gold fields for the purpose of forming a Mining Board.. By a fresh proclamation, which we publish in our issue of to-day, this proclamation « revoked by the Superintendent The provisions* of the Constabnlary Force Ordinance 1849, and of the Towns Cattle Trespass OrdinanceUßs6, havebeen extended to the town of Oamaru. • We understand that Mr.KeddeU is appointed Commissioner for the Donstan Gold Keld. There is said to. be a large quantity of gold already waiting for transit to town, and an escort is to be sent up immediately/ We believe also, that with as Uttfc delay as possible, a gold receivW«ffiee will be established at the Nokomai. - *• - We have been informed that about 500 signatures have already been obtained to the memorial for the repealing of the prohibitory law relative to the importation of cattle InufOtago. It xr&a the intention ot the Committee to have presented the memorial to-day t but finding the Superinten dent leaves town early this morning, they hare determined to await his return, which-will ie in, seven days, when the Committee feel satisfied they will have double the number of signatures. JFl]? 110.!^11 elsewhere a notice issued by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, to the effect that that officer is prepared to receive applications for leases of agricultural areas of not more than ten acres each', in' the raining districts of Gabriel's and Waitahuna. . In the Provincial Government Gazette of Wed nesdny, September 24, appears a proclamation notifying that his Excellency the Governor'has assented to the Otago Hariwur Loan Ordinance 1862 ; the Otago Public Bnildings Loan Ordinance, 18C2 ; and the, t)tig« -Harbor Trust Loan Ordinance, 1862. It is farther notified in another proclamation that Hu^Eicellency faas assented to the Otago Loan Ordinance. - At the sale by auction yesterday, of agricultural lands, in blocks I, 2, and 3, in Pomafcaka district, the total quantity of land disposed of was 13,340 acres, 2 roods; 13 perches, realising *18 730 15s, or an average of £18s per acre.? -^ Before the ;L%htaing:! JksffcMelbourne, fiVfel stowawayswere discovered,and-sent ashore • bat so great was the rush, that the agents, under thY belief that there were many still^ on board who had not paid, made, a memorandum on the'shipV manifest^ jequ^ting CaptaaiZjbhnson to proskcute all such as he mightdiscover^ - ' . There ■>«■ Pfenty of crowding and bustling ia tlie streets yesterday, consequent uponjthejaree -number ot new,arrivals. The Ruby steamir *rnved-very early in the morningi loaded-with passengers from the Lightning .or the City of Melbourne, which between them bronght-close upon 1,500. .As she could not be got up tbthe new jetty, the Euby was taken to the one in Pelichetßay, by .which means, avoiding detention from the lowness of fte tide, the steamer was ab'-e touretarn^at once[to^ P^rtVCnahSeM About four o'cloctm t«e afternoon the Simson came alongside the jetty, .completely packed with Passengers • and in a quarter of an. hour afterwards the Ruby rolled up, to the eld jett^, and ' poured a stream of gold-seekers upon it * The awag» of the men on board the; Samson had been sent below, and whetf >«,ey ' ■ were turned out upon the jettyll there !■ »«-* great scramble before each eouia be , secured by its owner. '■■ It was satis&ctor> to see ; that a large proportion of the arrivals were old and seasoned diggers. That such was; the case ,- was eviJent at a glance, not atone from theW ' pearance of the men, but from tie j naidneS & the swags, and the^aunty ease iwith which ihev , were shouldered and borne. But in the crowi thatswarmedalong the jetties andniingledat the foot of the street, crowding it from side to side there were not a few very green hands, who* dearly knew nothing of gold-getting, and who will never, stand the toH of the tramp to the Dunstan or the Nokomai, Wen should they screw their courage to the starting point. They may get to one-of the gold fields, bluader in^ effi>rts atyork, and then retiirn lamentiaeto Victoria, loudly; declaring Otago .fields; 'ati whole, to be nothing b^tjL* duffers." "

From : the various accounts which ikre lien j received from the Duustan digging '**, nor^oatodaabt that the first escort fco«»4l*a ne^fie^mll approximate Ter^doseljr to-®t exceed the amount upon which the «*&& to Hartley and Beilly is congo^j, formed that the gold-buyers for theyariotel^ have been unable to purchase nearlyall^^J ° P&red from pf notes, a frl^^^of has had to be dispatched, that from fifteen to! twenty thousaiidoi^^ r^dy to comedown, but of thi ß noanthorita^ ' aceoont has been received. We were informed by Mr. Cqramßsioner Fyke yesterday that he had received intelligence from the Commissioner ©a the Tuapeka field to the efiec^ that gr^t nmbers ot the miners who had come back from the Dnnatao, iad returned thither, aid Targe r bodiesofnrin S r* had left for the Nokomal.rTt the Tuapeka. gold field did not.«oeed; iao^ ofwhomaboat twelve hundred were a^uaUy enmining, three hundred, and. fifty beiog n^- M bBMIg abnOSt deserted, &ere not being over fifty miaers on the ground. . We glean from th^Glrie of^th.July, that ] 'T^^eetingof the«Club 0 f True H ighlana«» . began yesterday, afcSeaufort .House,-S*£ mmtm ! final fo««XwS Ie h" gt "* the MB

.The new Gold Eields Act although scented to by the Governor, will still have to wait th&Queen's assent, before coming into operation/ there Tieing a clause to that effect contained in it, Madaipe Duret "s just now strikingly showing her great versatility. She has this week played the rude country wench Meg, in " The Willow Copse," the Q«ccn, in " Hamlet," and tho young herd in " Romeo and Juliet;" and- this evening for her own benefit, she proposes to enact that prince of bouse and prison breakers, Jack Sheppard. "Borneo and Juliet" was: produced last evening; and the acting of fioeral members of the corps showed decided marks of absence of preparation, and a want of the happy faculty of being." quick at study." As we have said, Madame Duret assumed the part of the hero. When, some years ago, Miss Cushrnan created a sensation in London by the impersonation of Romeo, the critics found subject.matter, not for defence, for that wa9 not needed, but for positive commendation of a woman venturing upon such a coarse, in the fact that two women could with propriety and from temperament, indulge in an abandon of caresses and endearments, most true to Shakspere's intention, but not fairly to be indulged in between an actor and an actress. There was much force in the suggestion ; and certainly the Misses Cashman played admirably together, as the hero and heroine in that " ideal picture," which has been tersely described as being "at once the deification and the burial of love." Madame Duret dressed and looked the part exceedingly well, wanting nothing in those respects, perhaps, but the " altitude of a chopin" added to her stature. She also spoke many- of the-fervid passages and speeches with, a keen/ feeling of their poetic sweetness and power ; and in the balcony scene she fully did her share towards the complete success with which it was carried through, t But if successful" in the. expression, of the passion -of Jove,: Madame ? Duret was; hardly so in" 'ihe': ~ utterance and ■ delineation of the passion of grief j and on the wh^le we confess'that, her performance left a fteling closely akin to dissatisfaction. Mrs. Holt was the heroine, and of course did well. Her finest effects were decidedly produced in the scene where she cpases'the nurse for news of Romeo, learns that he lias been banished for killing Tybalt, blames his deed, and concludes-with the grand burst in his defence beginning " Blistered be thy .tongue for such a wish," Mr Ryan was ao excellent Mercutio '• that exquisite ebullience and overflow; of youthful ; life" who iv his nature reflects the nothingness ofi love and of aU earthly things. \ The trying speech -about "Queen; ; Mab " and; her tricksy powers was very nicely delivered, and the final .onej'.** A-.lPiague on both your Houses," was also most; appropriately spoken. Mr. Shiels was aiigood '* Friar Laurence ; but beyond him con> Biendation ; cannot be extended. The farce— concluded theentertainments. Madame Duret's benefit comes off to-night. The piece selected, "Jack Sheppard," had at one time a great run at the Adelphi Theatre, but was afterwards discouraged, on account of the meretricious attraction Which it throws round the priminal career of the hero, and which was consi-* tlcreii to have an immoral tendency, "ft c believe however, it was not absolutely suppressed. Apart fjom these considerations, and the fact that the play generally attracts a full house, Madame Dmet would, have paid a higher compliraent to the tasteof those friends, on whose support, at her benefit, she could have calculated, by selecting some other piece. r . At the Princess Theatre last night, theEhg-: lish opera troupe again played with their ; usual, artistic skill, and with.- the usual, satisfaction to the audience that attends their petfurmanccs.; The grand scena from " II Trovatore," sung by Madame Caraadini and Mr Jjherwin, was again the gem of the evening, but a variety of ballads arid concerted pieces were also performed with excellent effect. The capital farce of " Done on both Sides"; concluded the entertainment, and sent everybody away in vhe best humour. For to-night, the operatic drama of "Guy Mannering" is announced, with all the original music ; Madame Carandini to take the part of Julia Mannerim/, Mr Sherwin that of Henry Bertram, and. Mr Charles Young that of Dominie Sampson, the rest of the characters in the piece being sustained by the company.