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Southland Times, Issue 867, 18 December 1867, Page 2

We learn that an Amateur Concert of sacred and secular music will be given on Christmas Eve, the proceeds to be applied to the fencing in of the section attached to St. John's Church. It is scarcely creditable to the congregation that the English place of worship should be the only one' in town standing unfenced and neglected looking, and it is therefore to be hoped that a strenuous effort will now be made to enclose and lay out the property. It will not only greatly enhance its value, but will fill up an ugly vacancy in Tay-street. The performance at the Theatre Eoyal, in aid ofthe funds of the Ladies' Benevolent Society, will take place to-morroy (Thursday) evening. The programme is varied aud attractive. "Retained for the Defence," " Tour Likeness for a Shilling/' and, by special desire, the laughable farce of the "Virginian Mummy" comprise the evening's entertainment. It is to be hoped a full house will reward the efforts of the amateurs. The first load of wool for the season arrived in town, on Monday morning, from the Mve Elvers, and yesterday we .observed a number of teams come in, heavily laden with the staple export, giving at once a cheerful aspect of business to the streets, and an augury of increased trade and activity to our merchants. The first ship for this year is also on her berth at the Bluff, advertised to sail in time to meet the May sales, and with the facilities afforded by the railway, will, no j doubt, quickly fill up. It is to be hoped that the business of loading the " Ethels," and her successors, may be so despatched as to maintain for the Bluff Harbor, the character so freely accorded to it by more than one captain last season, of being one of the best ports in New Zealand, for expeditiously discharging or embarking cargo.

The 1.6. Geelong arrived at the Bluff, on Sunday, on her return trip from Martin's Bay, and sailed again for Dunedin the same afternoon. Mr Coates, geological surveyor, was a passenger by her from Preservation Inlet, having been obliged to return to Dunedin through an accident he met with. Whilst in the prosecution of his duties in that locality, -Mr Coates had the misfortune to fall down a precipice. Providentially 'tHe'injuries he sustained are not of so serious a nature as might have been expected, or as will deter him for more than a few days from resuming his labors. The cutter Lapwing was at the Inlet, laden with coal for Dunedin, and may be expected to call in at the Bluff in passing. She experienced very rough weather on her passage round, and had to take shelter at Port William for nine days, whence she was seven more days in making Coal Island. The G7eelong took on board, at the Bluff, a supply of coals to carry her to her destination ; she might have been supplied at Coal Island, but, owing to the absence of appliances, it 'would have occasioned longer delay than was desired. The settlement Martin's Bay seems to be, for the present, a failure; the entire party taken round by Mr Macandrew having returned with him. Like most river, harbors, there appears to be a somewhat dangerous bar atthe entrance, on which one of the boats engaged in landing the party, got swamped, its passengers having a very narrow escape from drowning. It will be observed elsewhere that the Government Offices aud the Banks are to be closed to-morrow, in honor of the Grand Agricultural Show. In the Resident Magistrate's Court, on Monday, Alexander Cameron was charged with obtaining goods under false pretences from Messrs Mair and Garven and from Messrs Mitchell and Co. It appeared from the evidence of the prosecutors that the accused ordered; goods for which he was tb call another time, and gave cheques in payment. He had no account at the Bank of New Zealand, where the cheques were made payable, and never called for the goods. The cases were dismissed. A civil action was brought by Daniel Fale against Duncan Ross for £9 12s for eight cords of firewood. The firewood in question was cut for plaintiff on the Government Reserve at Waikivi, and the defence was that the man who cut the wood had no license from the Waste Land Board and that therefore the wood was the property of the Crown. The evidence adduced was in the opinion of the Magistrate sufficient to support the defence, and plaintiff was nonsuited. In another case, Hart v. Robio, for the recovery of 10s for the hire of a boat, the defendent was ordered to pay the amount with costs. A meeting of the Committee ofthe Agricultural and Horticultural Association will be held at the offices, Dee.sfereet, this evening, at 8 o'clock. Full attendance requested. His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh -s expected to arrive in Sydney early in January. By late Sydney papers we learn that a Mint is about to be established in Victoria, the nece3- " sary authorisation from the Imperial authorities having been received by tiie Government of that Colony. The machinery has been ordered, and a large sum — £18,000 — for the maintenance of the Mint, has been voted by the Victorian Legislative Assembly. The following description of the state of Auckland is given by the Auckland correspondent of the Hawkes Bay Times : — The financial condition of the Province of Auckland is both critical and extraordinary. An immense amount of undeveloped wealth exists within her territory ; her natural maritime advantages are almost unequalled, certainly not surpassed, in the Australasian group. If the population of the gold-fields were left out, Auckland would probably yet number the largest population ; yet her Provincial Government will find its very existence threatened, owing to scarcity of cash. How is this? Firstly: Previous to the war something like 90 per cent, of her lands were locked up in the hands of the Maori. Even after the confiscations, probably 75 to 80 per cent, remained aboriginal. Out of this large proportion no revenue could be obtained. The small portion had to provide the means to improve the whole. Secondly : For Beveral years her politicians of both parties have been striving, by two opposite methods, to accomplish one end ; and it is scarcely surprising that they have succeeded, and annihilated her territorial revenue. One party agitated for the removal of the restrictions on dealing with native land ; in other words, direct purchase. Under direct purchase a large territorial revenue was out of the question. The other party insisted on giving land away, urging that by attracting population we should increase our customs revenue (whichis partly true), and gain more indirectly than the value of the land. This appears plausible, and might be a correct view, provided we had the land to give, and furthrr if the customs revenue belonged to the Province. But to buy land to give away appears as good policy for the Province, as to destroy the territorial revenue, which is Provincial, for the sake of increasing the customs, only half of which falls to the Province ; however, both parties have had their day ; direct purchase on one hand, free grants on the other, coupled with a severe commercial pressure, have made territorial revenue a thing of the past. The confiscated lauds have been so managed, or Mismanaged, that they have been eaten up by officials ; in short, have hitherto involved a loss to the Colony, and our Superintendent has declined to accept the land with the charges on it. While our territorial revenue is gone, our Customs have also decreased considerably, and when the interest on our debts is paid, the portion remaining to the province out of the "provincial half" is not sufficient to maintain our provincial establishments. Hence local taxation is unavoidable, and most of the settled districts have been divided into highway districts,; and rates levied for roadmaking, bridgebuilding, : &c. ; but here again the irrepressible Maori rises in view, for Maori land is exempt from high: way rates. Our unfinished railway is a standing monument to the incapacity of those entrusted with its management. What with the rapacity of land owners, the blundering of commissioners, and the stupidity of engineers and contractors, an amount of money has been muddled away, sufficient to have completed a great proportion of the line, if judiciously expended. It appears a Bill has passed the Assembly to provide funds for completing the Onehunga branch of the line, but the money will have to be borrowed on security of the works.

A despatch has been received by his Excel** lonoy Sir D. Daly, Governor of South Australia, inlbrming him that a scholarship of £100 per annum at one of the English Universities is about to be established by the Home authorities for the benefit of 'distinguished students in Australian colleges. An Auckland contemporary remarks :— -This august political body, (Northern Separation and Reform League) which began its memorable career under the auspices of several local orators and Solons of distinction, and numbered among its most prominent members the representatives of variouse professions and callings — law, physic, literature, and painting — which commenced its operations with the extremely laudable and economical project of reforming degraded publicans and sinners for the small charge of a shilling a head, which discussed separation and the fate of Governments and provinces, has, it would seem, died and made no sign. The eloquent orationß of the reformers are no longer heard in the land, and the platform of the Mechanics' Institute knows them no more. They are gone, and many an evening's genuine amusement has gone with them. They have sought fresh fields and pastures new, and the cause of reform is abondoned to drift about as a ship without a pilot or crew. The erstwhile objects of reformation are abandoned as incorrigibles, but the close of the short and brilliant career of the illustrious league is marked with an act — a crime weshould say — that must cover it with unutterable and immeasureable shame and ignominy for all time to come — they have not paid the printer. At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, Mr Richard Matthews, ex hon. secretary to the defunct league, was summoned by Gilbert Carson, printer, for the sum of £2, cost of printing in English and Maori, the grandiloquent manifesto by which the league heralded its advent. The ingenious defence set up, by which the plaintiff was recommended to draw on the never- very-full and now quite empty treasury of the league, availed nothing, and judgment was given for plaintiff with costs. In his address to the Grand Jury on opening the criminal sitting at Nelson, his Hon. Mr Justice Richmond remarked : — Of course I should not be able to-day, neither do I propose to attempt to give a review of the voluminous additions and alterations that the Statute Book of New Zealand has undergone during the last session ; I shall merely refer to the more prominent points which affeot the administration of justice — the alterations which have been made in the criminal law. Last session of the Assembly was characterised by a series of enactments which materially altered the criminal law of the colony, by the adoption of the statutes of the Mother Country, consolidating the law relative to the large classes of crimes and offences to which the new acts refer. I consider this as a most importont step in the progress of our legislation, and I view it as an earnest ofthe full work ofthe codification of our laws, which I trust will end in making the law of England as consistent and intelligible in its details, as it already is just and noble in its fundamental principles. The first act to which I will allude is, that relating to the coinage, which is not of much importance in this Colony. The next consolidates undor onola-vr the wholo of the laws relating to the crime of larceny; another has reference to the crime of forgery ; the next to a very important act, and relates to offences against the person, enacting among other things that certain offences formerly inferring capital punishmen are not now capital. Another act is, the law having reference to malicious injury to property, and is also important, as are all those laws which refer to crime. Although looking to these acts, and the space they occupy in the year's legislation, one would be inclined at first to suppose that there had been a great increase made in our laws, yet such is not the case. These acts really diminish the amount of our statute law, by consolidating into two or three acts the principal offences known to our criminal jurisprudence, and a reference to the schedule in the new acts will shew that a long series of English acts have been consigned to oblivion, being repealed to make room for the one or two acts wliich are now in force in their place. This greatly simplifies the law of the country, and abolishes in a great measure that difficult labyrinth of statute law through which only lawyers could possibly find their way. The excitement in Brisbane respecting the gold field lately discovered near Rockhampton, is increasing. Great numbers of persons have left and are leaving, and hundreds are said to be on the road. Various private telegrams have been reoeived in Brisbane, all indicating the faith of the persons sending them in the success of the gold field. The field is extensive, and likely to be permanent.