AUCKLAND.

Southland Times, Issue 993, 27 July 1868, Page 2

AUCKLAND.

i (*SO* »TJB OWN COBBESPOItDEXT.}> ! Auckland, 13th July, 1868; . Since tha public meetings upon which* -jrynm^iarTurlast, the people appear to-; have fallen into a state of listlessnessThe general feeling is that most of our/ members will resist the financial: alterations as Suggested by the Auckland I Financial League. There is a general! Jfeeliag here that it would be better to - have °tke two islands separated, as we would then be able to manage our - affairs much better, On the otherhand, however, there are many who •_ believe that by the establishment of • Chanty Councils, fairly supported, with power to tax themselves, the GeneralGovernment retaining the control of all the departments that caa be worked from one centr« ; it would tend" to unite New Zealand, «nd put an end. to , the strife--between the North and" South. It 1 jroiild be simple for me to write to you fa the language '"f some of the speakersat public meetings recently held, and state that the North Island would be^ benefited by a dissolution of partnershipwith Aafc of the South; but I findvery few who are believers in the Separa--tio* erf v and those few argue that theSouth has become too strong, and is gradually placing Auckland in an isolated^ position. There can be no doubt that the *e»oval of the seat of Government froio this to Wellington has done maeh damage to the business of this city ; ftat I do not see that even a separate Government for this ; Province ff^uld much benefit it. ,- T ln my laafc I gave you a' statement of the resolution of the Auckland Eeform. league, and the questions that were put to the present. That long speeches were made, and no important questions answered surprised no one,, aai our members have gone to Wellington as free as though the League never existed, with one exception, that they have acknowledged the. necessity for .financial reform, but not in the sense the League meant. The proposals of the lea^ud are censured as visionary, and demasding; from our representatives mere than it is possible for them to accomplish- The folio wring extract from a loxjal jdurnal thus speaks on the subject , — *< That the colony can be brought to any bq immediate a reduction of taxation us that proposed for consideration of met&bew by the League, on Thursday eveuiag .last, is more than questionable ; Tyksa reduced to plain figures the propoaal ie simply impracticable. The colony haft certain permanent charges which must fre mat. These include the civil seryic«, the Panama contract, the interest a&d Hinging fund on the loans, General . and Provincial, and some other minor iteas. Taese altogether amount to close npfttt ££00,000 a-year. The annual charg* <m the loans and Panama subsidy, whkfr we cannot at present get rid of, amwsfc to no less a sum, as we stated in ©ur i»au» of the 17th ulfc, than £&£6,4tf), And yet the League asked the Auckland members whether they had eoßsidarol the advisability and practicability •£ obtaining such a reform as the felloflfiag* namely : — ' The simplification oi fcl*e (Jeneral Government arrangemoftta* arid the reduction of the number of its paid officials to such an extent as to admit of the total taxation by the General Government being reduced to a sum not exceeding six hundred and fifty thoasaflHi pounds per annum.' _As the permanent charges must be provided for, or.shauld, out of the £650,000 thus proj>rc>sed to be raised, we have left a sum of some £50,000 only, wherewith to carry on thj» government of the colony. This is Bi*&pTy absurd, and such efforts at reform a* this tend only to bring ridicule 9p«s the movement. "We recommend tha ttwmfeefs of the League to give some furfckSi attention to the question of fiaagce. As the Superintendent remaidted in his speech on Thursday evening, fchar have been laboring in the Oar City Board, like most similar badio& in New Zealand, is in difficulties. It has frjeen compelled to apply to the ProTitt«i«l Government for assistance. Jk. T^tf scene occurred at the me»tin# of the Board, held on Monday the $fcb iist At a^previous meeting the SeewfcHT was requested, in order to ** raise J&« to write to the Provinel&\ (fowfrrnment, requesting that the moaey' received from the dog-tax should be handed over to the Board. The Govej*«e»t, being as hard up as the Boaw, declined to comply, and the Supfflfifftcadeut replied to the letter, stating' "that ao>ct ; had been passed by the Prqv'ikcial Council authorising thepaymeofe oftbese fees to the Board." Another latter came from His Honor requiring pay Mtots from the Board on account of the City Debt which will absorb the whole Of the rates for the year, but offeriiw lift aid it by giving prison lajjor V 0 J^blic works in the town. A

very animated debate ensued, during "which it was stated that all the rates "would not pay the amount demanded by the Government, and also office expenses. All seemed to confess that the Board was hopelessly insolvent, and many were the suggestions as to how it was to be kept afloat. It was proposed that the Chairman should give his salary as a present to the Board, but that gentleman could . not appreciate the idea, another suggested that the sooner the whole affair "was thrown up the better, in order to let it get " whitewashed." In fact everything here is out of joint. The City Board is insolvent, and consequently unpopular ; the Provincial Government is nearly insolvent, and, as a matter of course, . still more unpopular, and the people are crying out for a change, but they cannot tell what change they want. . I know they would like Auckland -to be the seat of Government, but they do not want the Provincial system to be continued. In mining there is nothing startling. At the Thames, Hastings, and other places the miners are working steadily, and some are doing well, but there are very many doing nothing. The following condensed account of their progress you may consider reliable : — Kelly's Claim, Moanotairi, crushed Vs6lbs of specimen stone taken out of their claim at the Kuranui Company's one-stamper machine, on Thursday, and the result w&s a yield of :v 4320z. sdwt. retorted gold. The shareholders of Port Eussell Claim believe they were successful in striking the Dawn of Hope leader in their ground on Thursday last. The Pretty Jane Claim, Karaka, crushed 201 b of specimens yesterday, at Spencer's berdan, which yielded 16oz. 18dwt. of retorted gold of a very superior quality. A sample of stone from a reef in the Golden Crown, Puriri, has been tested this week, with a yield equal to soz. to the ton. The Golden Age Claim crushed 2 cwt of stuff at the Kuranui Company's onestamper yesterday, which yielded about lOoz. retorted gold. The Harmonic Claim comprises two mpn's ground, on the top of the Moanataiari, near the Candle-light and Multum-in-Parvo Claims, taken up about four months ago. A fortnight ago a leader was opened, and since then some excellent specimens have teen got out. The Blazing Star, Karaka, adjoining the Star of Onehunga Claim, struck rich gold in their ground on Saturday last. The Sacramento Claim, Shellback Creek, is found in close proximity to the Siam, Shamrock Eose and Thistle, and Enterprise Claims. It consists of four men's ground, and was opened seven months ago. A drive was put in to a distance of 130 feet, and a leader passed after 33 feet had been excavated. A correspondent from" Madman's Gully writes as follows : — " It might be interesting to both you and your readers to know how we are getting on here. A great rush has taken place to this locality of late, and every inch of available ground is being taken up for miles beyond Madman's Gully. M'Cann's claim is turning out well ; their leader is a very handsome one, and bids 'fair to rival any on the goldfield. This rich leader has now been traced to the Eose and Shamrock Claim (Miller and party) This party, after the most praiseworthy perseverance, succeeded in putting in two drives, one of which is 100 feet, and the mother 90 feet ; they have cut several small leaders through, which are highly goldibearing."

AM. p.m. Monday 27 7.10 7.36 Tuesday 28 8.4 8.36 Wednesday 29 9.12 9.46 Thursday 30 10.20 10.56 Friday 31 11.83 -