LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Southland Times, Issue 1300, 29 August 1870, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The usual weekly meeting of the Mutual Improvement Society was held on the 22nd inst., Mr W. P. Porter in the chair. The members displayed an unusual amount of interest in, and appreciation of, the subject under discussion, viz., " The Franchise." The leader detailed minutely his belief, and illustrated his position by reference to Southland government. He opposed manhood suffrage, and the enfranchisement of women, advocating the adoption of the ballot, and restricting the qualification of electors to those who pay £5 rental. In the home country, under that rental, they were unworthy of it, and it was imprudent to allow them to have a rote, because they would sell their right. The majority were in favor of circumscribing the operations of women to the homestead ; and the ballot was the approved system of voting. Some very cogent reasoning was adduced to rebutt the " limited immunity" arguments. New Zealand was repre- j sented by very little over a half of its number of inhabitants. In the formation of a new colony, say by 50 or 60 persons, would one man be excluded because he had only ss, with equal intelligence to the others, though they had 15s ? If it was the right of every man to have a voice in the government of his country, why deprive him of it, on the bare supposition that he will Bell bis privilege ? This non-enjoyment of _the.. franchise by the one, because he might sell, should als) cause the disenfranchisement of the other, who would buy. Might not the very bulwarks of Great Britain and our own country be contained in the proscribed ? The subject for next Monday evening will be " Lord Byron." The entertainment provided by the Lancashire Bellringers has been well patronised since the opening night. The programme has been varied each successive evening, and, if we are to judge | by the applause accorded, the audiences have been highly pleased with the performance. Indeed, it appears wonderful how so much excellent music can be discoursed by such apparently simple means. To a keen observer, it becomes obvious that a long course of training must have been undergone, added to the possession on the part of each performer of a natural taste for music, before manipulation of the bells could be made to produce such results. The correctness with which difficult pieces of music are rendered is something to be really admired. The singing of Mr Daniels is far above the average. His fine rich voice and distinct articulation are well worth hearing, and his action in some familiar songs fairly carries his audience with him, the result being that nothing short of another appearance allays the storm of applause at the finish of eacb song. The second annual report of the Inspector in Bankruptcy has been published. The number of adjudications made during the year ending 30th November, 1869, has been 520, showing an increase in number over the previous year of about 75 per cent. Of these 360 did not exceed £300 in liabilities. Canterbury stands highest in the list, and Otago next. Three-eighths of the bankrupts are drawn from four classes of the community — hotelkeepers, 6t; farmers, 49 ; storekeepers, 46 ; and miners, 35, the remainder belonging to 112 callings. It appears from a statement in the report that a larger number of bankrupties takes place in New Zealand with a population of 250,000 than in Scotland, with a population of over 3,000,000. A small case of meat, cured on Professor (Jamgee's principle, but which had been four months on the voyage from London, waa opened at the stores of Messrs H. J. Gibbs & Co. on Thursday last. The meat turned out in better condition than a previous sample had done, Bhowing ap parently that some improvement had been made in the process of preservation, but still it was unfit for human food, being bad in color and offensive in flavor, and had to be thrown out as soon as possible.