The Southland Times. TUESDAY, August 2,1870.

Southland Times, Issue 1288, 2 August 1870, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, August 2,1870.

The last mail from the North brought us a copy of the Otago and Southland Union Bill, as introduced to the House of by Mr~ JFox, and we propose on this occasion simply to place its provisions before our readeraV divested as far as possible of the legal phraseology by which they are surrounded. Itoe second clause provides that the Act shall come into operation on such day as the G-overnor shall by proclamation in the New Zealand Ganefte appoint. Clause 4 reads as follows :— " On and after the day when this Act shall come into operation, the Province of Southland shall cease to be a separate Province, and the said Province, and the Province of Otago as existing immediately before the coming into operation of this Act, shall together be one Province by the name of 'the Province of Otago. " By clause 5 it is provided that the laws in force in Southland, except so far as they are altered by the f Union "Act^ are to continue in operation until altered or repealed by the General Assembly, " or as to such of the said laws or ordinances as are for purposes for which Provincial Councils may make laws, until altered either by the Q-eneral Assembly for by the Provincial Legislature of the new Province, or by other lawful authority." Clause 6 makes the same provision with regard to the laws in force in what is now the Province of Otago. The next clause stipulates that the Superintendent of i Otago is to be the Superintendent of the new Province, and that the powers and property vested in the Superintendents of Otago and Southland are to be vested in the-Baperintendent~ofthe~nßw~ Province. Clause 8, provides that these powers are, however, to be altered or revoked in like manner as if the Act in question had notr been passed. All powers exerciseable by the Superintendents of the two Provinces are to be continued to the Superintendent of the new Province, with the advice and consent of the Executive or Provincial Councils. By clause 10 it is enacted that the Provincial Council of Southland shall be dissolved on the coming into operation of the Act, and the Council of the present Province of Otago is to be the Council for the new Province. The next clause, however, provides that, notwithstanding the dissolution, the persons who immediately before the coming into operation of the Act, were members _ of. the Provincial Council of Southland, " shall, on a day, and at a time and place to be fixed by the G-overnor, by proclamation in the New Zealand- Gazette? assemble, and by lot or ballot, as and to be taken in such manner as shall be prescribed in and by such proclamation, select eight of their number to represent in the Provincial Council of the new Province " that part which was included in the Province of Southland; failing this,, the Governor is empowered to 'appoint eight persons being electors registered on any electoral roll of the Province of Southland. By reference to another column it will be seen that this clause has been altered to the effect ■that the Superintendent of the Province \oi Southland is to be one of the members of the new Provincial Council eon officio, and that seven others have to be appointed as aforesaid. Clause 12 enacts that the Superintendent of the .new Province cannot be a member of the Council. In the next clause it is provided that, until otherwise arranged, the Council of the new Province Bhall consist of the same number of members as at present constitute the Provincial Council of Otago, with the eight members to be sent by the district of Southland. The electoral, rolls and districts in force in Otago are to continue till altered, and the sitting members, are to act for such districts in the Provincial Council of the new Province. Clause 15 provides that the Provincial Council of the new Province shall, as soon as possible after the Act comes' into operation, provide for the constitution of electoral districts in Southland, for the election of members of the Provincial Council, and shall fix the number of such members, and when members are so elected, those appointed under clause 11 shall cease to be members of the nevr Council, but every vacancy occurring among those appointed under the clause last referred to, is to be filled up by the Governor's nomination. Clause 16 is important to Government officials, and we therefore give it in full. It says : — " If ; within "one- year »after the" coming into operation of the Act, the services of any officer in th£ employment of the Government of the colony, and of the Provincial Government of the Province of Southland, are dispensed with in consequence of the union of the late Province of Ofcago and the Province of Southland, he shall be paid out of the revenue of the new Province for each year of service one month's salary,

according to the rate payable to him at the time of the coining into operation of the Act, and also a further sum equal to three mouths' salary according to the said rate if such services be dispensed with without three months' notice." Contracts, proceedings, &c-, begun before the Act conies into operation are to attach to the Superintendent of the new Prorince, and the debta and liabilities of the respective provinces are to be charged on the new ,, Province; Clause 20 provides that thero shall be two "Waste Landa B jarda, and two commissioners to administer the " Otago Waste Lands Act, 1866," and the "Southland Waste Lands Act, 1885,", and that the two gentlemen holding office aa commissioners shall retain their appointments. The last clause, ! 21, reads as " follows •— " The parts of . the colony respectively included in the Province of Southland, and the late Province of Otago, shall, until the Governor shall under the powers conferred upon him of proclaiming Eegistration Districts under "'the Deeds Registration Act, 1868," otherwise declare, be respectively, separate Deeds Registration Districts under the said Act, and the said parts shall for the purpose of delivery of pleadings and other proceedings in the Supreme Court, and for the purpose of filing bills of sale, mortgages,' and 'leases pf stock, wool and oil securities, and other instruments which by law are required to be filed in the Supreme Court Office of a Province, be deemed to be respectively separate Provinces, arid not part of : the new Province."

'■ By telegram yesterday, Ist. inst., .the postmaste r . here was informed of a change in tlio postage rate.ori interprovincials letters. Instead' of being charged 31 per half ounce, after this all letters for places within the colony will be charged a uniform rate of 2d./ Town delivery Id as here- [ tofore. I ; For several days past we have been burning a sample of lignite obtained by Mr T. J. Thompson from his own .property on -the beach, -near the jetty. After "drying a little, the material burns quietly with a steady heat, and males an" excellent fire in conjunction with wood. ; We believe a considerable quantity"has been taken out by Mr Thompson, and that probably a large bed of it exists in the neighborhood. ""'"*}'' We would remind, owners . -of dogs that the yearly tax on those animals is again due. Dogs unregistered after the Ist instant are liable to be destroyed. ' At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Monday, Ist inst., Mr James Eeed was charged by Inspector Chapman with a breach of the " Sale of Poisons Act, 1866," in neglecting to record the sale of a certain quantity of arsenic some time since. The facts of the case came out at the recent trial for attempted poisoning. Mr Eeed ihad no defence to offer. ' He keptia bqokfor the purpose of entering such sales, but had in Borne way omitted the one in question." His "Worship , pointed out that, the penalty for such an ofibnce iwas very heavy. He fully concurred in the spirit of the Act, and thought chemists as well as others should acquaint themselves with enactments bearing upon their trade. As the present was the first case of the kind which, had come before Mm, and as it was clearly the result : pf a mere accidental neglect, he should mitigate the fine to I 10s, with costs, 53 61. Judgment was given for plaintiff in a suit, Mitchell and Co. v. Aitken, for £4 10s, dishonored order. . : ' Search is being made^ for suryivors;. from, the Matoaka in another direction besides the Auckland and Bounty Islands. We learn from a private letter from London, quoted by the Press, that, "as some fires have been seen on the South Q-eorgias, by the William Duthie, the Government, at the instigation of Messrs Shaw, Savill, and Co., have sent a steamer out, thinking that some of the Matoaka's crew might be there. The South Gebrgias are situated iti 58 degrees S. lat., and 38 degrees W. long, and are, nearly due east from Cape Horn." Tho Wellington Independent of the 19th ult. siys : — About "2oo— -men, womea^and children: — . of the Ngatiporou friendlies arrive I from Wanganui in the Luna* on Saturday, and their ' . presence has given a little more than the usual : animation to the town generally,' besides proving a windfall to various storekeepers. Though seemingly flush of cash, they are most orderly in I demeanor, and with few exceptions have avoided the snares of waipero in the most exemplary manner. Nor would a casual observer recognise in the well-dressed crowdsTof" Maoris" that now saunter about the streetsthe half-naked fellows that passed through a short time ago. The Ngatiporou coming from the East Coast is not tho same outward man as the Ngatiporou going back. The shawis have been replaced by most fashionable turnouts in many instances, making due allowance of course for" the eccentricities of barbaric taste.- Whatever -may have been their frolicsome humor at Wanganui, as reported by the journals of that'town, they wear here a very sober and business-like air. They are, however, not insensible to the blandishments of the drapers, as there seems to be rather a run on puggarrees and paper collars — they don't appear to have reached to the appreciation of " dickeys." A number— notables among them no doubt — - sport a naval blue uniform with flaring white Btripes, while- not, a\ few have donned the orthodox hat. But the drapers and victuallers did not pocket all the loose cash, of our allies, for we heard of no less than forty* saddles being purchased in one shop on Saturday, with a view, we suppose, to astonish tho natives left at home. It seems to us that after all the money received by these natives will be found to have been productive of some benefit lo the country^ And the return of these men to the East Coast, alter the experience and means of observation they have ] had during their term of service will be productive of an influence for the better in the I native mind on the East Coast. .; ! The New Zealand Gazette of tho 15th nit. contains tho appointment of L. M'Q-illivray, Esq., and John Petchell, Esq., to be Justices of the Peace for the Colony. It will scarcely be credited that, in the London \ X)aily News of March 23rd, telegraphic news from New South Wales is placed under the, head of "South America," while all Australia is , devoted to " Melbourne." \ The Bank of New Zealand has been for • some time past preparing a new issue of notes of the following description : — On the left hand side are two engravings within circular borders, the one , representing. Mount Egmont in the distance .with two Maoris clothed in mats in the foreground, the other being the seal of the bank, namely^ a* thoroughly New Zealand scene with a volcano in ; eruption in the back grouud. In the centre of ! the £1 notes are the words One Pound on a green I ground, the colors being different in eacli description of note, the fives being buff, the tens light < brown, and the twenties lavender. ,

The Oamaru Herald unlerstands that it is contemplated to fo:'m a b"Vimrs' So.-rioty for the purpose of securing united actiou throughout the district in tbo regulation of wa;es and other matters in which the agriculturists arc, as a class, interested. A Provincial Gazette, issued on July 12, contains the following return of the quantity and value of grain, &0., erportel from the province of Canterbury during the month of Juno : — Flour, 831 tons, £3010 ; wheit, 107,513 bushels, £18,014 ; oats, 63,Gi3 biw'iels, £(3362 ; b-irley, 15,406 bushols, £3 181 ; malt, 9G3 bushels, £331 ; total value, £30,332.- --. To "meet the times," an enterprising restaurateur in Auckland advartises sixpon-iy dinners, consisting of soup, meat, vegetables, and pudding. Grey granite of very superior quality has been found near Otepopo. A quarry has ,been opened up, and the stone can be obtained in blocks up to 4D tons weight. The Wellington correspondent of the Odmaru Times writes : — " The present session is' not expected to last a fortnight longer, when the dissolution will take place, followed as early as possible by the general elections, and the new j Parliament will be called together in about six j months. • I | We see by the Marlborough Express that an I (ingenious resident of Blenheim, named Mr James G-orrie, has constructed a spring wheel and loom, with the intention of manufacturing matting, bagging, and other fabrics of a like description ■from native flax. A Nelson paper has been informed by a gentlejman resident in that city that brown-wrapping •paper, manufactured in Melbourne from New Zealand flax, is of the stoutest texture he has ever seen, being twice a3 strong as ordinary, brown paper. - • - . • • The Press states that ifc has been shown a sample of New Zealand flax which has just arrived, and been manufactured in the south of France. . The seed was '■ got from New Zealand twenty jears ago, and it has been cultivated ever since. It is stated in the letter that they are weaving ,it for linen, "and: have sent out some .'pocket-handkerchiefs made from New Zealand flax, which has caused a great deal of attention to be given to this. new industry. The sample is well dressed, and seems as if it was manufactured from young leaves. The following is the extract from Dr Featherston's letter J read by' Mr Yogel in the course of his closing speech on the G-overnmeut financial policy .—r" The ' city' is jubilant. ■ Our credit stands higher— far higher— than it has ever done. !I shall be deceived if our securities do not leap :up to an extraordinary extent. Now you may raise any amount you please at alow rate. Capitalists feel that the Imperial guarantee fora fresh million is ample security for them for any loan put upon the market on the colony's own' credit. There is no longer any occasion to hawk our treasury bills through the Australian colonies. You have simply to ask and receive; but you tmus have no change of Ministry. Capitalists tell me that they are now ready to assist the colony in any enterprise at all feasible. All believe now. in New Zealand's future." /''. . • The Public Petitions Committee has reported jon, the petition of Mr E. T; Gillion^ The 'petition, after narrating the circumstances under ' which the petitioner's Volunteer Commission had been cancelled, and a court of enquiry refused him, prayed that the House would take such i steps as might appear to it best calculated to meet the case, and to Becure to Volunteers generally the right of being heard in their own .defence before being publicly disgraced and ; punished for alleged offences entirely unconnected with their duty or position as Volunteers. The Committee reported that, as the Volunteer Act gives the Governor the power of cancelling any commission at pleasure, they cannot recommend the prayer of the petition to the consideration of the House. A return, laid before Parliament, shows the strength of the Armed Constabulary, on the 15th June, to have been 776 of all ranks. A contributor who supplies the - Wellington Independent with ." Parliamentary Notes," thus refers to the position taken by Mr Webster on the question of the union of the provinces of Otago and Southland : — The great Napoleon is reported to have inveighed against the folly of performing the necessary family ablutions of soiled linen in public, and I think it would have been very much better if the representatives of Otago and Southland had borne the. words of " the uncle of his nephew " in mind on a recent occasion when the Premier moved the second reading of the bill for the re-uniting of the two severed provinces. The hon. member for Wallace, Mr Webster, made an ad misericordiarn appeal to the House, not ruthlessly to absorb that unfortunate and impecunious province of Southland, but his pathetic appeals to a flintyhearted Ministry not to let a paltry debt of £25,000 stand in the way were remorselessly ignored. : The description by the hon. gentleman of his numerous but, alas, unsuccessful efforts on, the hustings was intensely amusing, as was also his admission that in a contest which took place in Southland, although the party to which he (Mr Webster) belonged could have prevented the electionof anoppositioncandidate,theyforebore, so ( that thoy might have an opponent in the Council with whom to discuss the matter. Truly, after this, who will say that the age of chivalry has departed. But, seriously, the hon. member for Wallace deserves great credit for the courageous manner in which he spoke up against the extinction of his province ; like the bold Fitzjames in Scott's exquisite poem of the Lady of the Lake, he might have exclaimed ".Come one, come all, this rock shall fly From its firm; base as soon as I." And I trust he will meet with that reward from liis constituents . which his bold and manly defence deserves ; .but I fear> me very much it will not avail him in the House. The old Romans had a custom, that when- two gladiators were engaged in combat in the' Urena, and one goL worsted, the victor looked to the multitude for the signal either to despatch his antagonist or to spare him ; in the former 'case the thumbs were turned down, and in the latter upwards. Speaking metaphorically therefore I say that in the case of the province of Southland, the thumbs of the House were unmistakeably turned down, Mr Webster's gallant, defence notwithstanding. He will, however, I hope, pardon me if I paraphrase a somewhat hackneyed quotation (in which by the bye I have Borne very illustrious examples), and say — " 'Tis not in mortals to command success ; you have done more, Webster, endeavored to deserve it." The Grey Valley Times says : — " An establishment^ has been started in the Ahaura'for the manufacture of cigars, and the firstfruit3 of this novel industry • have been placed in the local market for public, patronagj. The samples exhibited are, in appearance, fully equal to the finest Figaros, whilst for delicacy of flavor they are unsurpassed by the imported article." A correspondent of an Auckland journal asserts that certain persons in that city purpose making a trade of importing South Sea islanders to work at the flax-mills, and on the farms in the province, unless it is prohibited by legislative enactment: The Wanganui Herald has been informed that a gentleman in that town has received a letter from D. Masterton and Co. of Melbourne on the subject of tow for the manufacture of paper. A paper manufactory has "been established in Melbourne, and it is probable that New Zealand flax tow," which at the present time is of little value, will in a short time be in great demand. The Marlborough Express says that the Hera (which was partly burned and scuttled several months ago) has been raised and a large quantity of woolj &c, which could' not be got at before, is' now being brought up by the Osprey. When she has been pumped out, she is to be taken to Nelson^ for use as a coal hulk. 14 feet of the hull stands ' out of tlio water. ! <

The News of the World (San Francisco) sa y S . — lt is certain that ere long^wo shall have two more railroads across tbe American continent. Congress has adopted* bill to donate a large lana grant to a company which proposes to construct a railroad from the Atlantic to Pu^efc Sound, on the Pa-ific coast. This road will be proceeded with forthwith. Another line is to be made from San Francisco by a popular voto to donate bonds to the value of $1,000,030 fo a company to construct the " Southern Pacific Railroad." The Sydney paper 3 express it to be their belief that the shocks of earthquike recently felt in New Soutli Wales were connected with the simultaneous eruption at Tongariro. lhe Hon. Mr GKsborne, in a speech made by him in the Legislative Council a few days ago, on the subject of University endowments, after recapitulating what ha I been done by Otago in the way of founding a university, went on to say: — Under these circumstance", seeing tint the Q-ene- j ral Assembly has prorided endowments for a colonial university, but has not specified any particular university to come under that designation, and that the practical action of the province j of Otago has in reality established a provincial j university, and made very liberal endowments for it, I wish to have it submitted to the G-eneral Assembly, after careful investigation by a committee, whether it would not be proper to designate this university by Act as a colonial university, and to give it such assistance as may appear desirable. The object of this committee is, first to find out in what state the endowments of the colonial university stand at present, and then to examine into the state and condition of the Otago University, and to recommend to the Assembly such measures as they think necessary for increasing the status and efficiency of the Otago University. I think that by the establishment of a good colonial university we shall do efficient service to the general cause of education throughout the colony. If you establish a good standard of education, you elevate the whole level, and stimulate the general diffusion of education. .. _ ■■■■..-.. ' - _