ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 240, 26 September 1862, Page 5

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

LICENSING SESSION.—UNITED STATES. •■.. HOTEL. ; (To the Editor, of the DAILY TIMEB.) Sir,— In your report of the above case in your issue of/this day; it is stated that the renewal of my license* was opposed by Mr. Weldon on ihe following frrounds^ — i"irfst,~^liy house was badly kept. Second,—that lie had seen a drunken man thrown out. i la the first place I deny that my house is badly kej>t. I <sin proye that it is as well con"ucfed, and kept as cleoa, aaany oiher^hotel in the neigbboihood. If Mr. Weldon's pmce was as near to other hotels as it is to mine, that gentleman might perhaps change his mind on that po'nt. In the second place^ I should like to be informed what i should do with a man who comes into my house drunk, and wants to create a row, as was the case in the instance mentioned. The Constables' t«ll me that they will not take/a. ' man in charge until be is put out, and it is the only course kfr nee, to do w. v , . In eonclcsion, I think my case is one of very great hardship* I have been al a great expense lately in . new papering and renovating all my roo'tnß, and for--some ißontliS ihd street was in such a bad condition, that business was very dull, and now the street is improved, and trade gettiug brisker, I am deprived of my license, unjustly,—and to xny family it is "an act of cruelty. - . . ~ , lam, Yonr's, truly, Moses A. Lrb, (Jxuted States Hotel. Daaeto, Sept. 21,18^2. \

DITNEDI^ HARBOUR AND CHURCH HILL (Pjer/owr of the Editor of theHmx Times.). 6ta.-^ln the discussion ofpublic schemes, of whatever Sdnd, it is not needful that we should descend into petty squabbling, and indulge in ill-natured, and nngentiemnnly remarks. Such a line of argument is generally.understood to-betoken a weak cause. In referring to the important matters of Harbour Im-, provem«-ntß, &c, as affecting the community, I neither i wish to impute incapacity, imbecility or any other qualities, good, bad, or indifferent, to any man or set | of men here or elsewhere—at a " fountain head" or away from it. It is a wise provision that inflated vanity cannot vend her own wares, afid co far fortunate that the public will not take a man at his own estimation. Self-complacency and .conceit ar« no evidence of wisdom; for do we not know, and is it not a universally established fact, that the wisest of men -are the least likely to exalt themselves and to condemn others. In ursing the fnrtherand speedy improvement rf our coasts and harbours, 1 take it that I am doing that which is right, and that which would promote our general prosperity. lam further of opinion that I the sooner such improvements are initiated, and the. more eamrstly prosecuted, the sooner we may expect j beneficial results, commercially and otherwise. In' the eyes of the outer world, wo are not likely to gain I ■ ranch, by neglect on this most important matter, and • fnom all that I have heard befo-e coming here, and ! all that I have seen since, I am firmly convinced that our caa«t and hirhour improvements ou^ht to be our • first great united effort, and that in this i lies the keystone .of our advancement. Much has already been done, and much is also doinp towards - these improvements, but much more remains to be • done. And it heconics every man's business, nay duty, to exert himself in the interest of the community of winch he forms a part. If I can only cause , the «Harhtest further advancement in the matters ref»rred to. I will not have troubled the editor of the 1 Dnily Times, or taxed the patience of bis readers in I vain. „ ; My opinion on the relative merits of levelling the 1 Church Hill to obtain material for the harbor ira- | nrovements, on the one hand, or of wlJeninsr and deepening the harbors anl their approaches by dredg- ; ing ; and of using tho material so obtained on the sime works, on the. other, are neither new nor singular, j Years a?o men of larurer experience, and of greatet | ability advocated the a lopfion of the latter system, ( and I claim no merit in the matter, ■ i lam assured by those whose everyday business makes it imperative that they should know thar, j . should the silting up of the harbor approaches coni Unue to advance at ijio'same ratio as it has donedur- | ing the past two years, in five years from this time no ? vessel drawing more than 11 or 12 feet of water, can come, beyond the Heads, fir less «roll in the open road-jfttad.?: Attaching to this the weight of which I f deem it worthy, what would be the u*e of the pw■j posed wharfage and dock accommodation of Dune* Idm? may well pfcture " the lamest ! snips lyjag alongside our. wharft, and close to our I warehouses/* but iraaarination, I am afraid, cannot | move a sandbank, or make the harbour approaches ' wider or deeper than they are. ' ~' ■ j lam glad to learn that I neither misunderstood ■'■. nor misrepresented the intentions of the Oovernment | !n the propose! reduction of .Church Hill, as stated , in my first communication. ' ; I One amiable eentleman, writing evidently in ; earnest, says:—" It is requisite that ma*eria> should ■ be obtained from some source to make the ombank- ; ments" forming porKon of the projected scheme of j town extension and .harbor improvements; further I Rffirminer that the offer of lowerin? the hill first oriS einated from the chiirch or the proprietors; they J being only too jrf*d to have "the unsightly barrier, removed." And so "the hill is doomed to fall"1 While this is told, I am yet *censed almost in the , same breath forhaving raid that the Government did ■; intend so to make use of the hill; of miwepresentinfj : and misunderstanding the subject; and am told f ■■■ am thoroughly ignorant upon th- mattoon which I : write. What I state is first condemned, and then 'in every particular thereafter substantiated !! • But siv. it is not so clenr that the proprietors of ) the hill wi'l be at all benefited by i*s reduction. I . j bod the opinion, and have good grounds for doing ; so, that they will not. And besides, lam also aware ' that tb ydid not offer their property to the Govern- I j ment, hut reluctantly consented to proportions made. j because they did not wish to stand iv the way of what was urged upon them as being for the public "good. ■, ■ > ■.....■-. •■-.•.• I Even if it did enhance the value of the chnrcti pro-' perty, it surely forms no part of Jbe duf,y of Government so to expend public funds { and on this ground I alone my former assertion w matte good by Este qunm, .; Videri— viz., that tho levellingo£U>« hlllis a work of; supererogation. And, should the Government or (•* j officials propose to themselves tba task of emulating I the "eminent surgeon^ in t)b operation so tas»efully (?) referred to, they should not by any means •! stop short at the Cbureb Hill; for, verily, it is not *j the only insufferable " pxcresence" which adorns onr i landscape. Although it may be shortly the only j open breathing-place afforded to the inhabitants of }, Dunedin in the midst of their hurtling; thoroughfare*, i and might hereafter occupy the place of a, j Calton Hill to this Edinburgh of the south. If it : were proposed to.cutoff at the level of Princes street the Calton Hill of Edinburgh were the object to be obtained, thereby quite as important as that now j order notice. Will any one be bold enough to say . that the proposition would be received with public | favor. No, Sir. JvTifle there fxisS fn man a spark of admiration .for Hhe works of nature, an inherent j loye of the beautiful, such a proposition would meet , with a determined and overwhelming; opposition. ' There are some men who can $cc no beauty nutafrle of the-narrow circle of pounds, shillings, and pence, ; bun fortunately, they are the exception, and. I am ' confident, that if a sufficient influence were brought ; to bear so at to elicit the mind of our citizens on this 1 matter, they would evince the prevailing liberality I and justness of their sentiments by voting for the J retention and adornment of the Church Hill of I Dunedin. r : :■■..';.. ! But, Sir, v/ere the Hill all that it« determined foen J assert, tbi3 by no means improves the position taken (up by the would-be levellers. ,•; • ■ Given, the Church. Hill on one side, and the accu--1 mulations in the Bay and its approaches on the other, i and let it it be acknowledged that the material In ', the Hill is only fit to be used in embankments and .filling up behind retaining walls, tec, the material ! from the Bay being also fit anJ equally good for such purposes, who can Contend, and assert, with any ( *how of reason, that it would be better to use the ! Hill and cast it down where there is already a superabundance of like material, ir-stead of clearing out what is already in the way. admitted by every one to be an cvil f and which is steadily, daily and hourly, extending its baneful influences, and so to j economise it as to change the acknowledged evil into a permanent good. The removal of thece barriers to '-progress no one can oppose with any show of reason, ! every spadeful of silt removed from our narrowing I channels and shallow harbors^ is a positive good work I enhance^; by so much, quite independent of what may be gained from it after removal. The cutting down of the Hill is a doubtful matter, admitting, as may be seen, of conscientious opposition on high and liberal grounds, and I am glad to learn on every hand that I am not alone in my appreciation of its beauties and capabilities. v It is not to be expected that all men can think! j alike on such an important matter as thJa, but it is • just possible that abler men, and men of more experience than myself on such matters, may be induced i to come forward and take a deeper and more lively interest in promoting the improvements so much required, and so urgently claiming public attention. It is already matter of history that the Provincial j Government ha» shewn a promptitude in meeting the various exigencies which have arisen through so sud- ! den an influx of population into this Province, de- ■{ serving of all praise. A numerous and unquestionably talented array of ofßcials fill the varions ofßcea. and much attention has.been, and is being, directed to all mattew affecting the public welfare. But all this is no sufficient reasoa,why the public themselvaa should be apathetic in the various tnattets so intimately blended with their own interests as those herein mooted.' • -■ * = And if |few Zealand is to become ere long the great emporium of commerce, and the " Great^ritain of the Southern Hemisphere," as you on very good premises affirm. Should not Otago bestir herself," tliat ; «he may so improve her great natural: advantages as to obtain also for her capital town the preeminence,^ and so in every sense legitimately-lead the van of the advancing civilisation of. the south.'! ) ;; ; : It may yet transpire that Macaulay'sNewZealandcr will be of Otagotiian extraction, claiming Dunedin! as his home—who knows! ' -" ■• ■■-■• --' | Apologising for the unexpected claim I have made on your good nature, and with many, thanks for your courtesy, I have the honour to subscribe myiselfj Your obedient servant. . B. A. Lawson.

JACK BHEPPARD. {fo the Editor of the Daily Tixbs.) Sir,—.With your leave I will take the liberty of asking the Lessee and Manager of the Theatre Royal, through your open column, ifitbe not possible to sub-; stitute some other play, in which the acknowledged talent of Ma3ame Durefc may equally delight her nu-J me.ous admirers, who, for her sake, will support that lady's benefit po Friday nighty in lieu of the one. pub-* li<j|v ahnouncijd tocbroe'oflv '.' r * '■''<> v :-' -; '.'..''-' * i:- i'do not for one moment' doubt that* to shew the public estimation 0f s Afedw? - Duy§t# t atents, there will be gathered a host of spectators, numerous enough to fill two theatres of the size of the Royal, oa toe

occasnn of that lady's benefit. 1 lam »<ure, though.'l I speak the feelings of a lanye number of them,-when I; aay that howtver much Madame Duret roav shine in. brilliancy, of execution in the character of Jack Saeppard, it is a matter for surprise, if not of regret,1 thai she shouU have chosen this character on the occasi6a of her benefit, wherewith to enlighten the young manhood and rising youth'of this Anripodean far off city. Asa piece of /un, for children of larger growth,- and to wile away an idle hour, Jask Rheppard is as good a play es any that has bee,n produced, provided there is sufficient ballast in the mind of those who see U performed, to counteract its acknowledged downright evil tendency. But knowing as we do, that a large proportion of frequenters' of theatres, are net too, much gifted with tliis desirable quality, and knowing a* we do from statistical accounts, that the plays oft Jack Sheppard, Dick Turpin,' and the like, have been • * » wciUnsr oqw to results similar to the scenes they } v illne t», I think it 13 not too much to ask of that talen ' ted actress, to cause the withdrawal of the obnoxif v? \ piefte, (that is not allowed in OldEngland-that is' proscribed m Melbourne-and that the Press has ever been almost unanimous in condemning,) and substitu-' ting in its place, even at the eleventh hour, a- more : rational, winning, and harmless one, characteristic ■ hi h morSir maD'* BmCC' > "^ *he W(llllwin«n*» <>{,*\ I think remarks of this nature cannot fail to apply with much more force to a community like our own, in which the tendencies of the youth who surround us. are much more prone torccklesa and wHdromantfe J fol.y and crime, than in an old country; where the .opportunities, fur it* manifestation. are - much more trequeit and tangible, nnd, where the counteracting infliHucea have far less power than they have therel It may be uitfed. that In ovpr-crow<'ed cities, there are inducements to crime which; do not>exist" here. But I contend that instances will not be want Sna even here, of boya transformed into bad men, and girls into :baJ women, andif such is tbe nature of the influences of those phys on the youth of Britain, should they be I introduced into this eft/? - * J SirJ-1 believe that the proper way to get an evil removed, or a harmless pUy substitute I for un pUjee* i tionallo one, is not to load Its, sustainera-wMi Abuse " or to attempt to hurl thunders at them. 'The'iahnbi* I tints this city rapect both themselv«» nnd the theatrical companies now in it far too much for that. I have merely thrown out the foregoing sueeestiojis for the consideration of the company interested. Much a? I admire, tbe acting of Madame Duret,—«s who does not/i J should at the same time be present nt her benefit with ten times more pleasure, were I witnessing a play more in accordance with the sentiments contained m my letter, or were I convinced that it would be attended with as little ev'l results to every spectator as! trust it will to myself. Dunedin, September 24,1362. ivis.