THE Otago Daily Times. MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1872.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3281, 12 August 1872, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. MONDAY, AUGUST 12, 1872.

All honour to Mr Cubtis for the boldness with which he has plunged into the stormy sea of legal reform. Though he has not chosen an easy subject for his first essay, his proposed Larceny Act is a creditable one, and exhibits a power and grasp of treatment which augurs well for his success in the career

c has chosen. As was to be expected, hjs attempt was met by a storm of ridl cule from the lawyers of the House, TJiis is the inevitable course of such reforms. They are first laughed at, then obstinately opposed, and at last win a grudging approval. Those who know the lamentation and mourning which the Land Transfer Act has carried into miost lawyers' offices, will readily understand that a still more stubborn resistance will be offered to each new assault upon the citadel of legal complexity than was given to that most useful piece of legislation. Yet we suppose that it would be hardly possible to, imagine any branch of the science of law-making which would commend itself more to the average layman than an earnest, painstaking eSbrt to simplify and explain the technicalities of the Statute Book. It is not too much to'say that most intellig<nt laymen are deeply impressed with the notion that an'immense amount of the obscure terminology which defaces even the plainest Acts, might be swept away without loss, and would be so deleted very quickly, were it not for the vested interests which the legal profession has in iretaining it. This being the state of bpijnion, whether rightly or wrongly, we, cannot but be glad that Mr Curtis had come to the front to see whether he Icannot, in some degree, realise what we* may call the dream of business men. We shall be prepared to hear a great deal about possible evasions of the criminal law, and the consequent defeat of justice, if such a

* KBill wet-fl to pass. 'We shall wiiglf th< l~js<H>d dtkd evil together, and^jrecaU,/oi ; Fole^ consolation, the incalculable seriei ErforclefeaU which justice has previously -I sustained owiog to the cumbersome ant ' x operate working of former Statuses. fcl. We hail .'Mr Cfcjmg Was coming dd - Hverer, and would invite him to b< > kind enough to givet, V** -attention tc • { the Otago Lund Xaws and the Fencing And Impounding Ordinances, since we L should have Urn pleasing satisfaction ol » knowing that if he did not make them 1 any better, he could not make them , any worse.', But, * joking . apart,. Ib in i satisfactory to see the light of a little ; unprofessional common sense let in ' upon what seeniH to. an outsider dark- ! nms that might be felt. Lord llot millv's weighty words encourage us to hope that law und common, sense may yet prove coterminous. He said, 1 ' he believed it to, be tv great evil that they were too much in the habit 01 leaving all legal matters to lawyers, whereas, if they took thorn in hand themselves they might reduce them to the rules of common sunst;, and get rid of unnecessary technicalities.' We do not wonder that Mr Cuktjs quoted so eminent an authority upon liis side. There is a sterling ring about such "words, which suggests the happiest {possibilities, and which must greatly, encourage the author of this I3ill in his audacious crusade. ■ While, however, we quite endorse the principle of the Bill, even the short discussion .which took place in the House was suflicient to show that in committee there would be much remodelling to be done, ami it is in this direction that professional assistance is requisite.* It would be unwise to exclude such help. Experience has shewn thai", reform in all those bodies in their ■nature and interests corporate, conies best from within, and that all that laymen can do in such instances is to afford that propulsion, from, the outside which may render such bodies active instead of dormant. University and Ecclesias tical reform athomchasal ways proceeded upon this system, and not the leasft valuable effect of Mr Cdbtis's essay is the probability that it will induce some rising lawyer to betake himself to the task of legal reform. The pre-eminent advantage which the author claimed for his Bill, in moving the second reading; was its succinctness': as compared with the former Statute upon the same subject. To have reduced the length to a little less than half was no slight triumph. Since, by the confession of most lawyers, it is impossible to find words incapable of a double meaning, and which will provide for every contingency, it seems pretty clear that it is mere waste of time to attempt the enumeration of all the particulars which might be included . under one or two general terms. Such enumeration only suggests to an ingenious mind the possibilities of evasion by some unstopped earth. To drive a coach and four through any Act of Parliament will become leas easy when the roads are less numerous, and "die turnings and twistings less -deceptive $To illustrate our meaning, we may quote one change made by Mr Curtis in this direction. The Larceny Act of 1807 provides certain penalties for stealing ' any gold or the ore of any metal <ir any lapis calaminaris manganese or mundick or any wad black cawke,' «fee, «fee. Mr CuuTis's Act provides certain penalties for i stealing '• any gold, or any ore of gold or of any other metal.' It is ob-1 vious that the proposed clause is both simpler and more all-embi"acing than, the old' one, -which provides a punish-"" ment for stealing substances; which are :dofc known' to;' exist in New Zealand, and which provides no penalty for steo'.ing ores, such as ore-of- zinc, which are known to exist. This one instance may serve to show the 'general"direction of Mr Co utisV useful reform. The Attomey-Genewil's, comment upon ,the I&V quoted by Mr GiSBOitKK in the course of debate, exhibits both : the strength, and weakness of the position •which lawyers occupy in the matter of legal, reform. ' While making criticisms which show'that it is almost impossible to draft a good Bill; without j legal aid, he makes frivolous commentariea on certain words and phrases', i which could hardly occur to any man whose mind had hot got into something of a gropve through constant devotion to one branch of knowledge. 1 Query, what is a document % ' is hardly a sensible question. ' What business ?' i as a comment upon the phrase ' used ] in the ordinary course of business,* is exactly tne sort of nieiiiriingleßS legal quibble which unprofessional onlookers utterly contemu. On the other hand, the AJfctdrney-GenerhF HAb defected soihtytl^ing liket f). fftOMnmylmxa^Blmmt vital, J defects in the proposed measure which naturally catch the atferitioii of a legal mjnd, but which are almost sure to ' es|xij)e the amat^url We trust, how- ' ever, tMtihU revision arid correction of | a Committee commanding, tlie services of\some eminent lawyers will, produce a Bill containing the ad vantages, and avoiding the defects, wliich at present characterise it At any rate,.we trust that the idea will not,he ,lost sight of^ but tliat Mr Cuktis or some other meml>er will again and again endeavour to .introduce simplicity and order iiito' some of those,numerous Statutes which even acute lawyers regard as a chaos. Thep.s. Nevada, with tbe inwa-nl English mails, via Saa-Francisco,:-on board, is due at AucklaMd - tordky. As, however, she was^ five days late in leaving Auckland on her; outward trip, she need not be looked for ia New Zealand for some daye yet. Her dates from London will be:—By post, to June 27tli; by telegraph to San Francisco, to July l7th,- .i",'.-tVh-.i'. -.■{,.: t:/.;. :?<■ We regret to state that Mr R. S- Cantrell, the late member for Caversliam in. the Provincial Council and House of Representatives, died yesterday. ~. - ..-■,.•;.:.. " Plamm'ef!na3;ye't to be captiired- 'Tlio police have received information of him, or of soraeoneresenibliiuj him, caUimco^tetUeni^ parti of the country; tntorwkixon^ni came of his being seen over 30 miles from Duncdin, but that ins somewhat weakened by the -report that he was seen near town. The most atreaaous efforts are being made to

fOflfecfc hit capture. Escapes of prisoners like -nuiy^ottfiKr occurrences, apparentl' do., not" come %itmc. Chriatic, celebrated for "Ttm «ridfr*Uirough this Province ant through, part of Canterbury to escape th police, is now at largo, having escaped fron • legal on Saturday morning, by get ting over the wall of Invercargill Gaol, ii which he was doing nix years' penal servitude ■It would be exceedingly interesting U know the nature of tho steps which hay< been: taken by the Government to estimati th.o Jraffic. upon the variouit iinea of railwaj wliich have been surveyed, or which are h course of formation The engineer who wai employed to furnish an estimate of the traffic which would arise in connection with tin first Bcetion of the Wellington and Mastertor Kail way seems to have inaile hia calcnlatioui with great care and nicety. Carriage of fire wood occupies a promineat position in hii estimate of revenue, and we are only su'r prised that he did not have recourse fee baskets of eggs and bunches of cabbages ir order to increase the prospective return* from that pet undertaking, Tho same engv nccr has trappHed an estimate of traffic ove the Duncxlin and Clutha Railway, and w< take leavo to doubt whether he has exercised similar care in p cparing his calculations for that line. The late Mr Paterson, who was intimately acquainted with the re^ sources, of the district which that line will drain, in 1865 estimated - the gross revenue • from the line at JC113,750. The Government .Railway Engineer, however, who has only travelled once over the route, now puts if down at £52,500. In the on© case the balance of profit, after paying working expenses, was estimated at £45,000; in the other at £16,500. As we know that within the last seven years there has been, throughout the, area which lies between Bunedin and tho Clutha, a vast increase in the production of those commodities; which will form the most important artielea of traffic on' the line, we should be glad to know whether the late Mr Pateraon's estimate was an absurdly high one^ or whether that x>repared by Mr Carruthers is.considerably lower than tho amount which should be realized. Until we have Mr Carruthers's data before us, we shall prefer to be guided by the opinion formed by one who had a thorough knowledge of the district, to thab arrived at by a comparative stranger after a hasty visit through the country. The skins of 17 Norwegian birds and two animals were received at the Museum lasts week, being in exchange for a number of similar specimens of New Zealand birds aent to the Museum at Christiania, through Mr Graff, late of Dunedin. Some of the birds are of rare beauty, and will, when staffed and mounted, form an additional attraction to our local exhibits. The animals arc the Lynx and Lemur. Mr Wilson, of the Otago Foundry, is no rr refitting the engines for the Samson steamer. They are receiving a thorough overhaul. Mr Sparrow is now engaged in manufacturing » large boiler for the same steamer. Constable Shirley, while on duty on the Stuart street jetty, at 1.30 yesterday morning, discovered the lighter Lizzie to bo on ike. The iron pipe of a small stove placed in the cabin becoming overheated, must have caused one of the combings to smoulder until it burst into a blaze. Constable Shirley, on observing the blaze, called up the man in charge, and, with his assistance, extinguished-!; the fire before any serious damage woa done. The lighter and her cargo of coal were not insured. ,■ ~. , i An overshot wheel is now being made at ' Mr Wilson's foundry to work an eight-inch pump at Mr Holt's coal pit at the Dunstan. The wheel is 24 feet in diameter, 2 ft. 8 in. wide, and has wooden shrouding, and buckets and sole of iron. The arms are of wood and fit into a cast iron centre, and the shaft is of malleable iron. The wheel is to work by gearing and a " bob," or walking beam. At the Mayor's Court on Saturday, Charles Stuart Guy was fined sa, with tho option of being sent to prison for 24 hours. His Worship ( the Mayor and Dr Harding, J,l\, presided. The Scott Scholarship Committee announce by advertisement in another column that a conversazione to celebrate Sir Walter, Scott* birth, and in aid of the Scott Scholarship Fund, will be held on Thursday evening next. The announcement that His Honour Mr Justice Chapman will preside on the occasion, and address the meeting, furnishes in itself a guarantee that the eutertainuK-nt will prove an attractive one. We understand, also, that Professors Black and Macgregor are expected to speak. We shall probably be in a position, however, to-morrow lo give'fuller particulars regarding the programme. ; A quartz battery of five heads, with engine and plant complete, is now being made at Mr Wilson's foundry for the Nil Desperandum Company, Carrick Range. The weight of the stampers ia sJcwt. each, and the battery is constructed on the triangular frame principle. A five-head battery, with stampers s|cwt each/constructed on the upright frame principle, and similar to the Government battery, was made for Mr George Duncan's reef, I Shag Valley, and has, we are informed, giVpu much satisfaction. The football jfflfttoh played on Saturday between fifteen of the JDUftodin Club and • twenty of the North Dunedin; proved a most one-sided aflair. The fifteen carried all before them, winning five consecutive goals—the Denniston brothers contributing one each, Tait two, and .Allen one. The Northerners made »■ very poor show. During tue, greater part of the afternoon they played twenty-sir men, .inclusive of half-a-dozen of the, Dunetlin dub members, who happened to be on the ground, and who willingly enlisted on the weaker side. The victorious red' cape played * dashing and lively game throughout, .and ' worked well together. Their ? were nearly all light weight*, and mpstly '( young and inexperienced players. Many of them, however, shape well, and in time will Drove no mean opponents. The ground was r "wet and heavy, and tM chilliness of. the I afternoon prevented a good attendance of c spectators. ? An.engine intended fora saw-mill for Mr 1! Austin, at Sawyer's Bay, is now being made * at Mr Joseph HarableWs, .Moray Place. ■The engine ia on the horizontal principle, ti The cylinder is 15 inches^n <Kiuineter, and the U lengthJof atroktf'is 30 inches.' The frame- Jf work has a very substantial appearance, and. & jio, .in fact,,, has tho, : whole engine. •>» The tl » 20-horic ;pWer/' w .The « is about JQ r f^/in^dum^etj and weighs A I *^4 fc 30 cwfc- T«e *h*sm&m arejJfio being "J madeatMrHambleton's. The twiler has been ?, made at Mesare Kincaid and M'Quecn's. It is ra constrnctedon the Cornish principle, with the BC exception thatit is supplied with Field's tubes. c l It ia sixteen feet long by fire teei six inches JM

•» ia diameter, -with a furnace six feet in length y anil threu feed three inches in width, a flue cl two feet nice inches in^ttfiujieter, and twentyd four Field's tubes. Mr vir«lablc£oir is now o constructing an engine for a saw mill at n Timaru, and as his business lias outgrown hi» ;- present premises, he purposes removing to a better and moro conveniently situated pro- !. mises. , - -, . 0 The Westland County Council has passed | c a resoJntion expressing its regret that the | 6 General Government do not intend to intro- j 7- dace au Education Bill for the Colony this 1 session. • . '"" ' a The news from Drybread and Blacks («ays the Dunstau Times) its of a most cheering character. The miners are ail busily eng ployed, having plenty of water. Complaints,' : however, are deep and loud about the 9 wretched state of the roads, which in places ,_ art all but impassable. Other could not be expected, as we are informed that, for the v paat twelve months, no mure'work has been g done over a distance of forty miles of road than what £5 would pay for.* The rails of the Dun Mountain Tr.iinway, B at Nelson, have been taken np and sent lo I Picton, to be laid down on the railway now j in course of construction between the latter place and Blenheim. The Mount Ida Chronicle of Friday states I that during tho previous week " the weather. > has ocen of the most unusual kind—snow I aud rain by dny and sever© frosts by night r having been its predominating charactcris- <■ istics. Water, ns a rule, has been abundant, $ though, the hard frosta at night have to a . great extent rendered that supply uncertain , j\nd irregular— at all events till late in the t morning, when the effect of the sun has r melted ice and snow, and allow3<l tho wafcer L to flow in the races. Tho state of the roads, . both up and down country, -is the worst that . has been known for years, the result being >■. that the mails have been to some extent I after time. Taking all things into constdcr- , ation, they have, howover, been more regular than might have been expected." The Olympic Theatre was fairly attended on Saturday night, when "Satanella" was produced for the last time. The first appearance of the Charles Osaka Troupe of Japanese performers at tho Princess Theatre had the effect of drawing an unusually large attendance on Saturday evening, notwithstanding the inclement weather. To the major portion, at least, of the audience, Japanese performances were not quite a novelty, and much speculation waa in. dulged in as to whether or not some of the members of the Troupe had Been Dunedm before. At any rate, their trick*, like their featurca, bear a strong family resemblance to those of our former visitors ; and in any case their performances display neither deterioration nor inferiority as compared with those previously exhibited in Dunedin. The entertainment was ushered in with the amusing little piece " Winning Hazard," in which the leading members of the regular Dramatic Company appeared to advantage. The rising of the curtain after tho interval revealed a very beautiful piece of appropriate scenery, painted expressly for the oc- ' canton by Mr Willis. In front of this stands a largc-Bized ordinary table; on which Sakutaroo sits cross-legged while he per" forms several clever sleight-of-hand tricks, ' Two small boxes, some paper, and a couple ' of fans constitute all bis visible mechanical * appliances, forming a marked contrast to the extensive display of accessories in which f t Caucasian jugglers delight to indulge. .Saku- { taroo also performs very nicely the feat of 1 making two paper butterflies flit all about t the stage by the use of fans. The " pedal * balancing" of .Mate Noski was simply aatoniahing. His head, body, and arms resting on tho table, he tossed a large barrel in the air in every direction with his monkey-liko feet, and then supported a high inverted } pyramid of tubs with the utmost steadiness, i i His crowning display of skill and strength < was the sustaining of this pyramid with his | a feet whilst the girl Yoshi Mat/, climbed to s the summit, and actually stood there for ' BOine time. The slack rope performance of | Yoshi Mate-—who fills the place of Cuts- ! who-Oero of the former Japanese troupe— i was also; a wonderful acrobatic display. The < real marvel of tho troupe is a little fellow < -styled Chicazo, or "AU Right." The amaz- < ing contortions of his body, and his daring < gymnastic^ would bo almost painful to i * witnees, -were it not for tho appa- | * rent ease with which he performs them, C and the evident pleasure.' he derives from the exhibition of his skilL Mr T. J Marietta agreeably diversified the perform- t nncea by singing a number of comic songs, y He possesses a good voice and a good style ; v and met with a highly flattering reception, ( We must not omit to m^ptjon the laughable ! tricks of three monkeys who Uike a part in thid motley entertainment, and whose performauces reflect credit npou the jiatient 8 ] skill of tlieir trainer, Signor Ferrari. The 0 same programme i« announced for this h. evening. v

Mr Macafisey'a inceting at the Kaikorai \l)rill Shed, announced to be held this evening, has been postponed for a week, in order to enable the candidates for the C'avcrsham representation to address the electors at the Drill Shed. '

The usual monthly meeting of the Union Peniuncnt Building Society will be held this evening at the office, Friocta street, at from 7 to 8 o'clock.

Mr Stout will address, fch« paveisham .electors at the Koalyn Hail, this evening Sit 7.30. Mr Leary will also address the electors at the Kaikorai iJrill Shed, this evening at 7.30.'. • ■ '