The Southland Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 1872.
The advice of one of England's greatest departed statesmen to the British nation , wa8 — "Register ! Register ! Eegister ! It will be admitted that it is the duty of every member of the body politic to exercise himself in a greater or less degree in the settlement of all questions affecting the body. The positions of different individuals will furnish different degrees of capability for effecting this end, but it will be found that some line of action is common to all, and that none who wish to discharge the functions of citizens need debar themselves the privilege. There is a right which every Briton is supposed to possess, which is largelyavailed of — the right to grumble — and it cannot be denied that in reference to the disposal of much of the public business, legitimate occasions of grumbling arise. The value of the privilege is however somewhat questionable, as its application is ordinarily too late, coming after the mischief is done, and seldom taking any definite direction' or leading to any practical result. Here and there an inveterate grumbler may be met with, who, thoroughly impressed with a sense of the value of his weapon, continues its use long after the general force of the storm is spent, but as a rule the action is spasmodic, and leads to little if any good. It does not appear to occur to the grumblers that a remedy for existing evils is to a very large extent in their own power, and that if their duty were properly performed, occasions for grumbling would much more seldom arise. In countries in which the electoral franchise is so limited as to place the power of the gtate in the hands of a few individuals, a legitimate occasion for grumbling arises jn this direction. In districts however in which there is virtually no limitation to the franchise, excepting the mere will of the individual to obtain it, no right for grumbling exists unless the franchise shall have been obtained and exercised. In .New Zealand the suffrage is to all intents and purposes that of manhood suffrage, the right to vote is of so easy attainment as that except in extreme cases no resident of twenty-one years of age need be without the qualification, or having obtained, it, need have much difficulty in its retention. Tet it is certain that every election finds a comparatively large number of the people without the right to vote, not in the majority of instances because they are not qualified to vote, but because they have not taken the trouble to register their qualification. This .is very often the case with regard to a number of persons whom it is most important to have upon the register, being persons accustomed calmly and critically to weigh the probable influence of measures submitted for the public government. A number of reasons operate to occasion this. In some cases the omission is the result of mere thoughtlessness or carelessness. In others a feeling of apathy or indifference is the cause, while in many the neglect to register arises from the culpable unwillingness to attain a position in which political collision with others is possible. In dealing with political questions it is no less the case in New Zealand than elsewhere, that party feeling runs high, and political feeling is ofttimes imported into -private life and business. Much as this is to be regretted, it is none the less true, and there are many who intentionally omit to register their qualifications, believing that thereby all cause of offence and strife between themselves and some of their neighbors will be avoided. It can scarcely be said that this is a pardonable weakness, and it is perhaps the less so in new countries in which so much of the prosperity of the future depends upon present wise legislation. No individual has a right to ignore his share of the public responsibility, and however widely extended the franchise may be, it must be remembered that there will be in the aggregate a large mass of unrepresented, and the care of these should be equally (as far as practicable) divided over the community. It is frequently found that the non-voting portion of society is equally loud, if not more loud, in demonstrating disapproval of bad. government, or what they term such, and it may in a mild way be asserted that the man is a traitor to the community in which he resides who, having the qualification for voting, neglects to j register it, or having registered it, neglects to exercise it. The Acts of Provincial Councils and General Assemblies are freely canvassed ; the most disastrous results are predicted from the legislation to which we are bound to submit, and in many instances the objector fails to ask himself the question, whether his own part of the business of the State has been performed — whether if he had done his duty, matters might not have been different ? Until the whole body of the community entitled to the franchise shall be fairly rou9ed to a sense of duty in reference to this matter, it may be taken for granted that we shall not obtain as representatives the class of men best I fitted for the work, and as a necessary result legislation will be defective. Without reference to political creed or party we say Eegister ! Register ! Kegieter ! Personal interest demands it ; the present well-being and future prosperity of the community alike de- : mandit. The trouble is but small, the expense is nil, and the registration for the present year may be effected afc any time during the current ihouth, but not after--1 wards.
The quarterly licensing meeting, under the I Ordinance of 1865, will be held at the Courthouse at noon this day. It was stated at the meeting of the Town Council last evening that there were no appeals against the valuation of the town. It is said that Mr Walker, of the Thames, has accepted Mr Christie's offar to contest another rifle match in Otago for £1000. The American Government has an Agricultural Commiasion en route for Japan, to learn what there is to be known about the capabilities of the soil. We observe from the Provincial Gazette of the 28th ult. that tenders are invited for effecting certain repairs to the .Riverton to Otautau and Wallacetown to Riverton roads. The Gothenburg may be expected to arrive at the Bluff to-day. She was advertised in the Melbourne papers to sail on the 28th ult., two days after the Albion. The Waikiwi school committee, at a meeting held last evening, accepted the tender of Messrs ! Brownlie and Co. for the erection of a school and dwelling house in that district, the amount being £302. The* meeting advertised to be held in Tuapeka on the 21st ult., to take into consideration the position of railway matters as affecting that district, had to be postponed owing to the unavoidable absence of the Mayor (Mr Bastings). At a meeting of the Otago Waste Land Board ( held in Dunedin on the 28th ult., Mr R. W. Aitkin applied for a re-consideration of the Board on his application for a pre-emptive rigkt on run Wo. 172, Waiau. The Board resolved to adhere to its former decision. j We have been requested to correct i typogrphical error which appeared in tht letter signed " Wet Dock," published in las issue, namely, instead of providing accommodstion for vessels of " 150 tons," it should hare read ( " 1500 tons." ] 1 The Christchurch Press mentions as an , instance of the interest taken in nunicipal ] affairs in the Borough of Kaiapoi, ;hat the j advertisement calling on ratepayers to lominate l candidates to fill the vacancy in the Comcil, will ] be issued for the fifth time in a few daps. ] The Dunedin [Evening Star of the 28th ult. says : — The cry is " still they com j." The Whirl- f wind, which arrived from Hong Kong to-day, < added 350 to our Chinese. population ; and it is- < reported that another vessel was loading at Hong ( Kong for Otago when she left. Mr Joseph 1 Small, the well- known comic singer, ?ras a passen- < ger by the Whirlwind. ' The Waste Lands Board held its usual meeting ' on Friday. Present — Messrs Baker (in the chair) ' Dundas, M' Arthur, and Blacklock. The business ' transacted related wholly to the disposal of applications standing over, and no fresh applica- i tions were received. A suggestion from the Board in Dunedin to consider the propriety of : assimilating the district survey fees to those of Otago, was referred to, and its further consideration deferred. Cyrus Haley, the Auckland incendiary, has > been committed for trial on ten charges of arsonThere is not a word of truth in the story that his i hair had become grey. It has been intimated \ that his defence in the higher court will be — (1) i That the case ia merely one of very strong suspicion. (2) That at the time he was arrested he was under some hallucination. (3) Ttie insufficiency of the identity of the letter received by Mr Russell. : The tenth exhibition of the Horticultural Socitty is announced to come off on Thursday and Friday next. According to authorities, this month should present " the downy peach, the ' shining plum, and the ruddy, fragrant nectarine," ; but we are afraid the weather has not been favorable to the ripening of fruit. We believe, however, that no effort will be spared to make > the show as attractive as possible, and, as was ' the case with the January exhibition, we expect the result will prove an agreeable surprise. The following telegram appears in the " Otago Times "of the 29th ult : — A complaint was heard " yesterday in the Resident Magistrate's Court on an information laid by Mr Richardson, of Queens-' town, correspondent for the "Cromwell Argus," against Mr T. L. Shepherd, M.P.C., for using abusive language towards him by calling him a lying blackguard and scoundrel. The defendant ptaaded justification and provocation, by reason of the complainant reading a letter he (the complainant) had written to the " Cromwell Argus," containing a personal attack upon Mr James Maeassey, Dr Moran, and the defendant, in connection with the forthcoming election. Upon the conclusion of the case, it was dismissed with costs. The following despatch from the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the Governor of Western Australia, has been handed to the " Perth Enquirer " for publication : — " Downing-streer, 2 1st November, 1871. Sir, — I have received your despatch No. 114, of the 10th September last, reporting that you had disallowed a .bill passed by the Legislative Council, imposing a duty on the importation of flour, and enclosing a memorandum embodying your views on the subject. It is scarcely necessary for me to inform you, that in fchj opinion of Her Majesty's Government, you will be doing good service to the colony by availing yourself of any suitable opportunity of impressing on the colonists the advantage of adhering to free trale principles. — I have, &c, Kimbebley. Governor Weld, &c." The following information as to the constitution and objects of the Japanese embassy to the United States and Europe is given by the "Japan Herald": — "The ambassadors are Iwakura, Okubo, Ito, and Yamagoochi, assisted by three officials as first secretaries, and four officers as secretaries and interpreters. The instructions given to the mission are to confer with the various Governments on the subject of the revision of the treaties, in order to know as far as can be learnt what they actually require, and to obtain such information on other subjects as will enable the native Government to better comprehend what requests they ought to entertain. The treaties, therefore, will not be revised until the mission returns, which is expected to be about the end of next year. Besides this, a great number of officers of good standing have been selected from the various departments to gather information connected with their duties. The .whole mission, it is said, will cost at least 2U0,000d015., or upwards."
I Among the passengers for other ports by the steamer Albion, which arrived at the Bluff on Saturday last, there were five Sisters of Mercy, who are proceeding, we understand, to Lyttelton. Ihe Hon. Treasurer to the Provincial Hospital requests us to acknowledge his receipt of three pounds from Mr John EJliott of Bushy Park, collected by that gentleman at shearing. i A tender has .been accepted by the Resident Minister for the Middle Island (Mr Beeves) for the construction of the Selwynand Rakaia (Canterbury) railway, the amount being £1870 4s 6d. It is said that the construction of the line is to be commenced at once. A Tokomairiro paper says that all the pelts o sheep preserved this season at Woodlands are to be cured and sent home, whilo the pelts of those killed at Kakanui are to bo converted into glue, which is also to bo shipped. The experiment will decide which is the most profitable way of disposing of them. • The Sons of Temperance intend holding their annual soiree to-morrow evening, at the drill shed. In catering for the amusement of visitors, the promoters of the reunion have arranged for the presence and performance of the Brasß Band, and have enlisted the services of Mr R. B. Wotton as humorist. In the prosecution of the objects of the Society several gentlemen will deliver addresses. Messrs Walter Miller, Teviot j Henry Campbell, Wanaka ; Alexander M'Nab, Knapdale ; W. P. Gordon, Strath Taieri ; Jas. Hassel, Oamaru ; G. M. Bell, Waimea Plains ; A. M. Clark, Mararoa Downs ; D. M'Kellar, Waikaka Plains ; C. Cowan, Okaiteru ; John M'Gregor, Burwood ; and R. W. Aitkin, Waiau, have been appointed honorary sheep inspectors for the Province. A scene of adventure (says the Taapeka Times) took place in Sheepshead Gully a fortnight ago, occasioned by a report which gained j currency that a large number of moa bones and Maori spears had been discovered in a cave in a precipitous rock in the above-named gully. Many of the miners started in quest of tho se memorials of antiquity, and after hazarding their lives in their descent to the cave by means of ropes, found to their sorrow they had been hoaxed. About a week ago our ageDt at the Bluff sent us a sample of the sprats (or " garvies" as they are called in some parts of Scotland), which are occasionally cast upon the beach there. When cooked in the ordinary way, they were found to be most excellent eating. On Saturday last, j Oapt. Thomson forwarded U3 a sample of the game description of fish which 4iad undergone a smoking process. Prepared in thil^way they are exceedingly palatable, and would no doubt command a ready sale if offered in the market. The Cromwell Argus learns from a correspondent at the Arrow, that Mr Hdllenstein — one of the candidates for the coming election of M.H.R. for the Wakatip district — aldressed one of the largest meetings that has ever been held at Arrowtown on Saturday evening, 2-ith. The meeting was very orderly throughout- The miners and others present displayed great enthusiasm in Mr Hallensfcein's candi iature, and at the termination of the proceedings a unanimous vote of confidence in him as the most suitable candidate to represent the Wakatip district in the House of Representatives was passed. The Daily Southern Cross understands that by the last homeward mail word was forwarded to j the Agent-general in London, to send out two first-class engineers. Several names of engineers were furnished him by Mr Carruthers to be com- j municated with upon coming oat to New Zealand. The two obtained are to be placed under Mr Carruthers, one to each island, who will be responsible to Mr Carruthers for the manner in which every colonial work is being carried on. They will be termed district engineers, and will have the several resident engineers subordinate to them. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, on Friday, Ist instant, in action Hunter and Hawkshaw v. Munro, claim £26 8s lid, judgment was given for plaintiff for £25 2s 9 i, with costs, -£3 lla. In Cleave v. Howorth (undefended) judgment for plaintiff for £53 7s Bi, and costs, £1 17s. At the same Court on Saturday, a man named Patrick Hogan was convicted of an assault on Constable Beattie, and fined £5, or in default imprisonment. The fine was paid, but the singular part of the business is that Hogan' s wife, who had but recently applied for a protection order against her husband, and who is now carrying on business as a femmesole, furnishe.l the money. Whether this was done under the view of a probable reformation in Hogan does not appear, but the evidence of Saturday does not furnish much warrant for such an idea. At a meeting of the Education Board, held in Dunedin on the 29th ult., Mr John Hislop tendered his resignation of the office of Secretary I to the Board, which was accepted, Mr John Sperry, of the Provincial Treasury, being appointed to the vacant Secretaryship, the change to take effect from the Ist of April. Mr Hislop will hereafter give his sole attention to the inspection of schools and the examination of teachers. A draft of regulations for the examination and classification of district school teachers employed under the Board was submitted, and after some slight amendments had been made, approved of. Authority was given to the Riverton School Committee to accept an offer made to it for the ferrying of children across the river to the school. After the transaction of some other business, the meeting was adjourned until the 14th inst. An Auckland telegram in a Dunedin paper says that the Letitia has arrived from Fiji. She left Levuka with the Consul's clearance only, and was overhauled and fired into by the Government cutter, which compelled her to return for a Custom House clearance. She brings the following items of news : — The natives are paying the taxes, but the whites threaten to refuse to do ao. A British Subjects Protection Society has been organised ; also a rifle corps, of which the British Consul has been elected President. The Government have an armed guard at the Treasury and other public buildings. The " Fiji Times " says the officials are armed with revolvers. A large party ia supporting the Government. Lieutenant Woods has gone to Sydney on a public mission. Money is scarce, and the chief currency is Government notes ; gold is at 10 premium. The weather is wet, interrupting cotton picking. Mr Manning, the Attorney-General, has been drowned. Colonel Hamilton, formerly of Auckland, is his successor, _
At a special meeting of the Education Committee, held on Saturday last (all the members being present), it was resolved to recommend for acceptance by the Board, in Dunedin, Messrs M'Kay and Fredrio's tender for the erection of the Grammar School, the amount being £1,475, subject to a deduction in the event of a portion of the plan not being carried out. • • Quite a crowd gathered at the railway station on Saturday last, when the mid -day train arrived from the Bluff, bringing the passengers who bad come by the Albion from Melbourne. The cause of the assemblage was the expectation that the redoubtable Kee Chang, of apurious-gold-s windling notoriety, had been brought back to answer for his misdeeds. Aler eagerly scanning every compartment in the carriages, it was found, to the infinite disappointment of the onlookers, that the " heathen Chinee" in question was conspicuous by his absence. We understand that he was duly brought up before the magistrate in Sydney,' and remanded to Invercargill, so that he may be expected to arrive by the Gothenburg. Testimony as to the value of Australian wools has been given by the manager of the Mission and Pacific Woollen Mills, in San Fraucisco. Writing to a large sheep-farmer in South Australia, in reference to some samples of South Australian wool, forwarded for his inspection, he Ba y ß : — " We have inspected the samples, and from our own experience of wool received from Australia this past eight months, and the state of the wool market here, we think your samples would certainly realise at least, after paying duty, insurance, freight, and commiasion on the greasy sample, 30c. to 32c. gold (Is 4d sterling), and on the washed 65c. to 70c. gold (2a lid sterling) per lb. . - . I know these wools are' the most valuable in this country, and we might possibly go to a much higher figure than the above. . . . I congratulate you Australian woolgrowers on the good time in store for you." The London Spectator thinks our meat companies are aiming too low. In its issue of December 29th it says : — The Australian Meat Companies seem to us to be playing an unwise game, which we notice not for their sake, but for that of the public. They have got the ball at their foot. They can sell their meat at a cost which, allowing for cooking, bone, and household waste, is barely a third of the coat of uncooked butcher's meat — 7d a pound instead of 19i a pound — and if they can only get rid of the impression of over cooking which spoils some of their specimens, they will have the limitless market they desire. Ia Manchester they have seriously affected butchers' price lists, aDd as Englishmen like meat and cannot pay its present price, theie ultimate victory is quite secure. Under these circumstances, their managers are idiotic enough, to compete for workhouse and prison contracts, that is to seek for a dividend today at the cost of dividends in perpetuity. The precise prejudice they have to face is that their meat is wholesome, but only good enough for paupers and convicts, and they deliberately go and give that prejudice a seeming foundation. We are ashamed of their brains. Yankees would have tendered for the supply for Windsor Castle, the Guard's mess, and the Travellers', and whether accepted or rejected, have advertised the tender." Some few months ago, Capt. Thomson, Harbor Master at the Bluff, procae Jo i to M. )lb jurae, in order to take out a patent for his improvements in the construction of anchors. By the latest Melbourne paper 3to hand we observe that the necessary process has been completed, the f blowing description being given of the patent — " The improved anchor has a crown wirh a straight or very nearly straight back, and an arm at each end, pro ceeding therefrom at right angles, and pointing towards the stock, and with the crown in either one or two pieces, working freely on its centre, in bearings at the end of the shank. The crowns are also constructed with bevelled throats, and the arms with flanges. The arm 3 are also made converging so as to meet at a given point, and form a single fluke. Bolts or rests are used for connecting the two sides of the shank, and adjusting the angle of the flukes when taking the ground. Stocks are used with circular ends and grooves thereon to receive the ends of stft screws, so as to connect them to the double shank. For double-shanked anchors a fixed stock with a revolving shackle is ussd. Various combinations of these parts with common anchors may b 8 used." Wd may adJ that Capt. Thomson was offered a good round sum in Melbourne for his invention, but he has decidel to visit the old country (having obtained leave of absence for that purpose), in order to test its valuo there. He leaves by the Rangit >to, and we heartily hope that he will receive a substantij.l reward for his undoubted ingenuity and patient perseverance. (Japt. J. B. Greig, formerly Harbor Master under the Southland Government, is now acting as Capt. Thomson's locum tenens.
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Southland Times, Issue 1546, 5 March 1872, Page 2
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3,972The Southland Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 1872. Southland Times, Issue 1546, 5 March 1872, Page 2
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