The Southland Times. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1870.

Southland Times, Issue 1335, 15 November 1870, Page 2

The S outhland Times. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1870.

Professions of devotion to the public cause are sure precursors of an approaching election. To a certain extent'" they are privileged as electioneeringschemes, sfcill they are not beyond the reach of comment, more especially when they partake of that mawkish pandering to popular fallacy which induces hypochondriacism rather than political reform. ; From what we can learn, the candidature of Mr T. L. Shepherd for a seat in the General Assembly for the Wakatipu district, is based upon a model of this kind. A contemporary states that, in the course of a long speech to the electors at Arrowtown, Mr Shepherd pointed out the injury that would accrue to the province unless stringent measures were taken to prevent the further influx of Chinese on the goldfields of Otago ; and to check it he proposed that a poll tax of £50 be imposed upon Chinamen, as well as a heavy duty on rice. - Practi- | cally speaking, the suggestion amounts to a prohibition against Chinamen remaining in or coming to New Zealand." Such a proposal could only be given effect to in contravention of the Constitution Act of the colony, which prohibits any law being made repugnant to the laws of Great Britain. The International law on the other hand, to which Great Britain was amongst the first to subscribe, expressly provides all foreigners free access, excepting such as may for the time being belong to a belligerent power. Even that reservation is only operated upon under very exceptional circumstances. All the law framing for which New Zealand is justly celebrated never couldoverride such an enactment as long as we remain under allegiance to the Britishcrown. The question was discussed years ago upon the Otago goldfieldg. Violent agitations were got up against the then threatened j invasion of the place by Chinamen, an& tbe Government was importuned to take action in the matter. The reply was substantially what we have stated, and there the matter must remain. But that does not dispose of the question on its own merits. Put in that light, we are perfectly content to deal with it as one of expediency, viz., Is Chinese immigration to New Zealand desirable? Mongolians have been amongst us for the past five or six years, and what is the sins of which they have been guilty that their transportation has now become requisite? They have proved themselves able and willing to work ground to good advantage pronounced by Europeans unproductive. Their patient perseverance has been a theme of general commendation. They came to the place at a time when the European miner, practically speaking, ! Jiad forsaken his post, and, havin^wrought steadily ever since, the latter finds it convenient to return, and raises a cry for their expulsion. Government is ! asked to sanction a step which in ordin- ! ary practice means "claim jumping." The Chinaman, at great trouble and congider- !. able expense, has brought his ground into proper working order, and now he is wanted to stand aside that others may i reap the benefit of his labors. The" demand is an extraordinary one. They are to be made tenants at will, allowed to effect improvements, and the moment it suits the objects of the European, they are to be deprived of possession. That is a new species of commercial morality, which only finds the full measure of I its audacity in the demand that a government whose head has been constituted Victoria, by the grace of God, Queen, Defender of the Faith, should a^d and abet in it. Taken even aa a member of the social system, the Mongolian I has no right to be regarded in the light of an outcast. Of the hundreds who have wandered about Otago, not more than a dozen have come within the meshes of the law. They are addicted to gambling and opium-smoking, it is true, but it ia no leaa true that Europeans are guilty of many practices equally pernicious. Spurious gold makes its appearance amongst them, but the European pastime of uttering valueless cheques is a practice they never indulge in. Personal outrages are rare, very rare, considering the extent to which they are isolated from the domesticated ties of social communion ; and this is saying more for the almond-eyed immigrant than can be said of some of the boldest of his detractors. On the plea of expediency, still higher ground may be maintained. The introduction of Chinamen may frankly be admitted as an urgent necessity. Their presence in the United States of America is fast solving one of the social problems of the day — a problem which we as a colony are equally desirous of settling, viz., the question of a cheap and efficient -supply of labor. In the Pacific, Central, and Atlantic States, they are filling up every avenue of the lower grades of employment. They are acceptable as cooks, gardeners, carpenters, shoemakers, railway laborers, tailors, and domestic servants. They do the work of the wash-house and laundry well ; they make good waiters, and they are effective miners. They can even turn their hands to the employment of compositors and printers. In a word, there is scarcely any branch of ordinary labor, skilled or unskilled, to which the. Chinaman is not found equal, in the United States of America. They are persevering, and not to be diverted from their purpose of earning their bread on terms of remuneration which would bring starvation to the European or white laborer. A leading New York journal thus decisively deals with the subject. It saVB : _" After all, can we afford to discourage them ? These men are most patient, faithful, and valuable laborers. We have an enormous demand for labor throughout a continent not yet half subdued to the uses of man. Our recuperation from the" depletion of the

late war, our success in peopling and , cultivating the va-st tracts partially opened by the continental railroads, the development of the country, the growth of its agriculture and manufactures— all depend on an abundant supply of an intelligent labor. This is all the South needs to double its present cotton crop. *It is all the "West needs to carry the frontier line across boundless plainß now untouched. No nation, so situated, has ever yet prospered by the rejection of such labor when it was offered." We are perfectly alive to the nationality of the question. We quite admit the claims of that charity which begins at home, and the justice of a prior provision r for those of the same national household. But then comes the question, is the whole household to starve simply because one branch either cannot or will not adapt itself to the domestic economy ? Moreover, filling up the lower ranks of labor, higher branches will spring up. Then, and not till then, will the vaunted superiority of European extraction find proper scope for itself in New Zealand. Ik the police department of the district certain changes have lately been made wbich cannot be allowed to pass unnoticed. Me /heeetTief are moves lii Uitr direction of retrenchment — a very commendable proceeding indeed, so long as the public interest is not injured. In this instance there cannot be two questions respecting the effect upon the public welfare, consequently any objections we may state are made without prejudice to the question of retrench* ment on its own merits. The Bluff Harbor, one would imagine, is pre-eminently a place for police supervision. It is the last chance the public get for protecting themselves against absconders to the neighboring colonies, and from the intimate relations that have existed between New Zealand and Australia for many years back, the chances are strongly in favor of parties in quest of a safe retreat prosecuting the search in that direction. And yet, strange to say, the resident policeman at the Bluff has been removed, so that any sudden emergency will have to be provided for by the police at Invercargill. The objections to that arrangement are palpable. The discovery that a defaulter is in transits from the colony, will necessitate an officer proceeding from Invercargill to the Bluff, and supposing that discovery to be made — which is not by any means an" improbability — -at the last moment, the officer arrives there in time to find that his bird has escaped. With all deference to Mr Commissioner Weldon's superior knowledge in the matter of police supervision, we cannot designate the change otherwise than as an illadvised one. Had the resident force at Invercargill been strong enough that a man or two could on every occasion be spared, the arrangement would have been more excusable, but when we add that the whole force amounts to not more than three men, who have got to do outside duty as far as the Mitaura, it is plain their services cannot be depended upon for any sudden emergency. The approaching season is far the busiest of the whole year. The wool-ships will be in port shortly, and it is not unusual for a few unruly spirits to form part of the crews of such vessels. Indeed, it has happened more than once that at this particular season of the year the constable at the Bluff has had quite enough to do. We trust sufficient has been said to induce a reconsideration of the step. Mr Weldoji's local knowledge, together with his own good sense, ought to teach him that the change is an extremely injudicious one.

The Mutual. Improvement Society's annual soiree came off successfully last evening. We are compelled to hold over our report till next issue. The extent to which the Lakes trade from Southland has increased of late may be gathered from the fact that a mercantile firm in Biverton is experiencing considerable difficulty in obtaining teamsters on the following seemingly favorable terms : — A guarantee of twelve months' constant work at the rate of 10s per ton in advance of current rates from InvercargftL Seports to hand from Switzersare encouraging. To all appearance the miners are one and all getting a fair share of gold. The last escort was only a few ounces short of a thousand, and the opinion is that the next return will exceed that amount. From the Waikaka diggings, a small rush is reported, with results not stated. The Nokomai is also reported to be improving. A school, the absence of which had long been felt, was lately established in the place. A few weeks ago a young man na-ned M'Ewan was remitted from the R.ftL's Court, Swifczera, for trial at the Supreme Court on a charge of horse-stealing. The theft took place at the Mataura Bridge. The New Zealand Gazette of October 27th contains the names of the Commission of. the Peace. The following are the names for this district : — H. Armstrong, Winton ; G-. M. Bell, Waimea Plains j _J. Blacklock, Invercargill ; W. Brunton, Toia Tois, Mataura ; W. H. Calder, Invercargill ; J. Campbell, Mataura ; C. Cowan, Hokanui ; J. E. Cuthbertson, Waiau ; T. Daniel, Biverton ; A. Douglas, Mataura ; J. F. Dundas, Invercargill ; A. J. Elles, Invercargill ; E. G-illow, Westwood, near Biverton ; D. Hankinson, Te Anau j E. M. Hankinson, Te Anau ; W. C # Hill, Croydon ; S. Hodgkinson, Otautau j J. S. Holmes, Castle Bock ; D. 3. Lawlor, Biverton ; H. Lyon, Biverton ; A. A. Macdonald, jllelay Station j W. Marten, Ryal Bush ; D. M c Arthur, Invercargill j J. M. M'Clure, Byal Bush j H. M'Culloch, Invercargill ; L. M'GilUVray, Biverton j P. M'Kellar, Mataura ; A. M c Nab,*,Mataura ; A. M'Neil, Mataura ; J. A. B. Menzies, Mataura ; J. H. Menzies, Spar Bush; W. H. Nurse, Blackwater ; W. H. Pearson, Invercargill j J. Petchell, Biverton j H. Bogers, Orepuki; J. Rogers, GHenquoieh } C. C. Sproull, Winton ; E. Steuart, Mataura; J. P. Taylor, Invercargill; Gk Webster, Benmore. The committee of the Acclimatisation Society held a meeting in the Government buildings on Friday last, 11th inst., W. Wood, Esq., V.P., in | the chair. The other members present were

Messrs M'Cullocb, M' Arthur, Basstian, Fielder, Crouch, '*<<jvers, Hume, Gilmour, and Butts (bon. aec. and treasurer). The proposition to affiliate the Society with that of Dunedin, mooted at the late half-yearly general meeting, was the ohief subject of discussion, and it was resolved to exchange ideas with the Dunedin committee. It was also decided to transmit to his Honor the Superintendent copies of the several documents which passed between the Society here and the late Government relative to the' formation of a public garden, in the hope that the new regvnii may see itjs way to furthering the object in view. A telegram from the town clerk of Queenßtown, requesting that Mr Howard (who proceeds there with some young trout this week) ahould be allowed to remain for a week or so, was considered, but the meeting thought Mr Howard's absence from the ponds at the present season should be as short as possible, and had therefore to decline the request. Messrs Wood, M'Pherson, and Basstian were appointed trustees of the Society's property, and the meeting separated with the customary thanks to the chairman. Mr M. A. Mouatt, who dates from Wallacetown, near Invercargill, October 24th, 1870, forwarded the following communication to the Canterbury Flax Association, which was duly considered, and a resolution recorded that- the writer should be requested to forward drawings of the proposed machine. The letter read :— " Sir, — I hope you will excuse tne~ntferty l »ur cswng— in -writing u>; you, but having been lately employed in flax dressing, I have what I think are improvements. The machine I have seen has two rollers'; were the upper roller made of steel washers, say onesixteenth of an inch, and the centre loaded with an elastic substance, the fine edge of the flax would have nearly as much pressure as the thicker parts and the tails as well ; and were the teeth or cro3s bars on the large wheel working on another roller — its movement being regulated by a small cog, and made a slow movement— -instead of the usual cross bar, I believe it would be an improvement. A roller might be made out here by cutting good steel-bladed shovels into washers with a screw nut at each end. This would be a simple experiment. I trust you will take this into consideration, and if it is an invention or improvement, I hope to be rewarded." From what we can learn, Mr Mouatt is a man of an original turn of mind. Some few months ago he inserted an advertisement in the Wakatipu journal to the effect that he would apply to the district warden for certain enlarged powers under the Cattle Trespass Ordinance. The power sought waß to kill, destroy, or poison all cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, or poultry that happened to stray within a given radius of his hut. The application was ignored, and on the. recommendation of the Warden, Mr Mouatt removed from the hut and took up his residence in the Frankton hospital. He is a well-meaning yonng man, with not a few pretensions to mechanical ingenuity, and we trust his negotiations with the Flax Association will be attended with more success than his negotiations with the Queenstown Warden. A smart, -and nearly successful, attempt at escape was made by a prisoner at the Bluff on Saturday last. The man in question, who had been apprehended at Hokitika on a charge of bigamy, committed twelve years ago, was on his way to Melbourne by the Rangitoto. While the steamer lay at the wharf he persuaded the constable in whose charge he wa9 to permit of hia going ashore without being handcuffed. Very shortly afterwards he gave his too-confiding guardian the slip, and took to the hills. Making the cover of some friendly scrub, ho lay concealed, and defied the efforts of his pursuers to make him " break" by the ordinary process of beating. ! The strategy of smoking-out was next resorted to, and with effact, the fugitive being forced to take the open once more. He was ultimately | caught on the Bluff Road, but the steamer had by that time sailed, and he had to be brought on to Invercargill to await the next opportunity of continuing his voyage.