Untitled

Southland Times, Issue 1569, 26 April 1872, Page 2

Mr Brogden arrived in Invercargill on Tuesday, and spent the greater part of Wednesday on the Bluff and Inveroargill line. In the evening he was waited upon at the Club Hotel by a large number of citizens, including the members of the ' Railway Committee. Mr Brogden made a statement of considerable length, in explanation of the arrangements which the Government had made with- him in England, and since his arrival in New Zealand, for the construction of railways. He detailed fully tho provisions of Contract No. 1, providing for railway works and immigration to the extent of £4,000,000. With these our readers are already familiar, and we need not repeat them here. This, Mr Brogden said, wub the inducement which had led him to come to New Zealand, and he was not a little surprised when he found that the Government declined to recommend it to the House. No. 3 ..Contract, for works to the extent of £1,000,000, was in fact an enlargement of No. 2, which provided for work to cost £300,000, and it was this No. 3 Contract which had been adopted. He was now ready to commences work at any moment,

I and hft-J brvn for soin-3 ti.ne. The djl-\>\ tht-re-i fore, which ti;id " n coraplai'io-.l of wus not >>n his part. The ti % n per cent, sy.-tem, which h.15 attracted it eorisi lorabic amount of attention, Mr Broiilen explained very fully,' shewing that it was an airtngmiL'nt oxprt ssly d-vis>f! t-> savo time, by which lie \v--is b iu'id to prnce-l wi !i j the const rurtio'i of any lines which the Government mi^ht desiro, receiving a? profit ten per I cont. over the amount actually expanded on the I work, as shown by his vouchers. To guuril against un !hh expense on constructions carried out undrr t''is arrangement, there was a stipulation by whii'h he was also bound to tender for the Un. s, and in the event of his tender being accepted, to take any work d^ne under the ten per cent, system as part of the work done under his tender. He wia'<ed to bear very express testimony to the care displayed by Mr Yogel to protect the interests of the Colony in all the details of his negotiations, both in England and in New \ Zealand. The proceedings throughout were of ' an informal character, by Mr Brogien's desire. The gentlemen present expressed their gratificai t : on at the fulness of the information afforded, and the Mayor, who was present, proposed a vote of thanks to Mr Brogden for his courtesy. This was carried by acclamation, anJ Mr Brogden's health was subsequently pledged in champagne. Railway accidents of any kind are fortunat ly j of very rare occurrence on our Southland lines. This is no doubt attributable in a great measure to the carefulness displayed in working them. To show how easily a serious mishap might occur, however, we may state that the special train which yesterday conveyed Mr Brogden and a party of gentlemen to Winton, ran off the line, through tho points being partly open, opposite the Meat Preserving Works. Hid the points been open altogether, tho fact would have been observed, and the train would have gone on to the siding,' but being only slightly open, the result was as wo have stated. Beyond getting a bumping, the passengers were not inconvenienced, and no injury whatever was done to the engine or carriage. Mr Conyers, who was in charge of the engine, immediately got a lot of the surfacemen together, and after some time succeeded in replacing the engine and carriage on the line. The passengers meanwhile had walked on to Winton. We would take this opportunity of impressing on the Government the necessity that exists for erecting a telegraph line as far as Winton, as we hold that the telegraph is a necessary accompaniment of every railway. Where such a provision exists, relief, in case of accident, can be speedily afforded Mr Brogden, accompanied by Mr Henderson, his managing engineer, procee led by special train yesterday morning to Winton, intending to inspect the course of tho railway to Kingston. He will return to Dunedin by the interior of the province. At the meeting of the Town Council last night, letters were read from Mr Stephen Hutchison, offering to supply the town with gas, at a maximum price of 20s per 1000 ft. Mr Hutchison was personally in attendance, and gave sorre verbal explanation of the details of his proposal. The subject was referred to the Public Works Committee. A letter was also read from the Provincial Government, intimating that the amount of £250, as subsidy, was available on application at the Treasury. A. Marshall was the successful tenderer for 503 fascines, at the price of £9 7s 6d for the lot. At the meeting of the District Land Board on Tuesday, 23r 1 inst., 350 acres in the Jacob's River Hundred were granted under tho Oreti Railway contract to Mr J. H. Baker. At the previous meeting it was resolved to continue to sanction the Superintendent's^certificates under this contract up to the full amount of 25,000 acres, the block of 8000 acres reserved in the Waiau district being held back until the Council decides whether the additional 7059 acres awarded by the arbitrators shall be authorised to be devoted to this purpose. Late intelligence from Fiji states that the deputation sent to Cakobau to ask for a reconstruction of the Government and a general election had been referred by Cakobau to his responsible advisers. In consequence of this the British Subjects Protection Society issued a manifesto repudiating the authority of the Government, and pledging mutual support in resistance to it. A settler came to Levuka to report his having shot a Fiji chief in self-defence. The Government ordered his arrest, but being a British subject, 73 armed men belonging to the Protection Society turned out and defied the Government. They handed over the settler to the British Consul for trial. The papers say that there is no chance of quiet until the Government is reconstructed, and tho expenditure and taxation reduced. From a private telegram received in town yesterday, and which has been courteously placed at. our disposal, vte learn that the half-yearly meeting of the shareholders of the" Bank of New Zealand took place in Auckland on Wednesday, and a dividen 1 at the same rate as last half year was declared — ten per cent, per annum, with a bonus of 5s per share, equivalent to five per cent, per annum, making a total of fifteen per cent. A telegram was received yesterday by Capt. Dalgliesh, from Major Atkinson, District Adjutant, intimating that the services of the Invercargill Volunteer Artillery corps have been accepted from the 19th January, 1872. A Flint's Bush correspondent informs us that thrashing is now general in that district. Wo rogret to learn that the yield of grain is very poor. In some oases (says our correspondent) the crop when delive ed will not pay the actual cost of harvesting, thrashing, and driving into town. We note by advertisement that Mr Hislop, Inspector of Schools, has consented to deliver anotßer lecture on behalf of the Athen».im, on Monday evening next, the subject being " James Watt and tho Steam Engine." In these days of steam, to trace up the accident which led to the discovery of its powers, and review some of its subsequent mighty achievements, cannot fail to be interesting and instructive. We hope Mr Hislop will be greeted by a full house. A new kind of trial by jury has been tried in Saxony for petty crimes, and has worked ao well that its extension is advocated. It is composed of three lawyers and four laymen. A majority verdict must have the vote of at least one lawyer, as it must have the vote of five of the i seven.

Dr. Fcuilipvston, t!u> Home News o' K-br.iin | •J'tir.l o' '. •, " is "I" pveJcnt in llolLuil, entj'i,^ 1 iv s.-curin.j s'up.j suitable for the convey mm o' • emigrants irom the Continent to th.? (Jo!o ij A mulch, ax.) v. saw, carao off ut O.i:naru ln-*t weok. and results! in an easy victory for Uuswvy.M.s wiio cut their half ccrJ of woo! in 3'i minutes. Mutheson, who was thi champion ibr the use, gave it up lor a bid jib, ater chopping for about one-third of the time. The employe* of 'hi Canterbury meat factory have taken, practical step* for the establishment of a reading room on the premises, the directors giving every encouragement to the proj ct by erecting a suitable building. The Sydney Morning Heral 1 says that the San Fr.mcisco vessels will proceed to Melbourne and Sydney by alternate trips, the mails being transhipped to the colonial steamor. There are twelve teats of Keehabite3 in New \ Zjaland, with 400 membor3. From the Wellington Independent we learn that communications have been recei7ed by the < Government from the Agent-General, the only item of general interest being that he is satisfied that from about May or Juno next a stea ly stream of immigration on the scale contemplated by the Government wouUl flow. He had issued a set of uniform regulations to supersede .the contradictory provincial rules previously in existence ; and from a perusal of them we think they are likely to harmonise very well with those recently issued by the Government here. Some slight .modifications will no doubt be necessary to adjust them finally ; hut apparently they need very trifling amendment. Dr Featherston was intending to visit Christiana for the purpose of arranging, if possible, for the shipment direct to this Colony of the Scandinavian emigrants, some difficulty having arisen through the conflicting conditions of the Norwegian and the British regulations on the subject of immigration ships. The Agenfc-Gent-r.il was expecting to be able to procure shipping to come direct from Scandinavian ports, thus saving expense arid being much more convenient for the emigrants themselves. Mr Donald Reid was to address his constituents of the Taieri last evening as their representative in the Assembly. Judge Skinner has decided at Sandhurst that the doctor of a benefit society is only called upon to attend a tnembor gratuitously when the illness has resulted from natural causes. Governor Weld is getting into disfavor in Western Australia. The Freeinantle Herald accu3e3 the Governor of capriciously setting aside the results of the labors and deliberations of the elected branch of the Legislature. There is now a breach between the Executive and the elected members, which, according to appearances, is not likely to be healod. The papers say that the colony must either go back to the nominee and irresponsible system of Government, or that representative institutions to their full extent must be granted. The position taken by England on the Alabama question is thus defined by the Examiner : — " The language of the eighth protocol and the preamble to the treaty, as Mr Gladstone pointed out, are conclusive. Ths protocol provides for a renunciation of the claim to indirect or consequential damages in the event of an amicable settlement ; and tho preamble of the treaty declares it to be an amicablo settlement. There cannot remain a doubt that according to the obvious agreement between the parties, the claim to consequential damages was withdrawn, and therefore does not fall withia the jurisdiction of the arbitrators. But, says the American press, if the English case ba so strong, why not go before the arbitrators, and allow them to cut out o the irrelevant demands ? The argument is plausible, because it misses -tho whole point' of the English case. Supposa — an 1 we purposely take an extreme example — part of th c American case had been a demand for a slice of Canada, would the more fact of this inordinate claim having been mule give the arbitrators jurisdiction over it ? It would be absurd ; and no more can the English Government consent to allow the arbitrators to adjudicate upon a point that had been expressly withheld from their cognisance. If such a point wore submitted without the consent of the English "Government, it would not allow itself ti be bound by the decision that might be given. If two persons quarrel, and submit the matter in dispute to arbitration, they do not constitute the arbitrators a court to inquire into other controverted subjects. The Court ,of Arbitrators appointed under the Alabama Treaty wus not invested with a roving power to examine all questions that might be brought before them, or with a general power to hear all complaints made by one State against another. That might not have been a bad thing to do, at least not if we could get a competent and trustworthy tribunal, but that was not what was done. Tho Washington Treaty gave them authority to decide certain specified questions and nothing more; and if any dispute arise as to what these questions are, it is for the principals in the case, not for the arbitrators, to decide." An Austrian Polar Expedition is thus noticed in the Eastern Budget : — " The success of the preliminary expedition sent by Austria to the sea of Nova Zembla has decided the Geographical Society at. Vienna to make preparations for a new expedition to the North Pole on a larger scale. The expedition is to be under the command of Lieutenants Weyprecht and Payer, and the Emperor has granted the amount required for the preliminary expenses. The chief result of the preliminary expedition was the discovery that, owing to the warm water of the Gulf Stream, ths sea to the north of Nova Zjinbla is open in the autumn as far as the 79th degre-j of north latitude, aud that there is very little ice in this region as compared with others in the vicinity of the Pole. The new expedition will proceed eastward from the above sea into the hitherto unexplored district north of Siberia, which it is believed will be found as navigable as the sea north of Nova Zjinbla. It is proposed to reach the islands of New Siberia in the first year, to winter there, and in the following summer to go northward, and pass the winter on the land east of the islands of New Siberia. The third year would be occupied in an attempt to reach America through the Behring's Straits. The expenses of the expedition (which will proceed in a single ship, manned by an Austrian crew) are estimated at 175,00011. (£17,003), of which about 45,000 a. have already been subscribed. Tho ship is to be called the Tege tthoff, after the hero of Lissa."

I ic<;omiii£,' to tl.c Southern Gross, the Assembly will probaoly b-j sunr.uone I for the despatch of • l);;;:;>e-s ■ Ui-inu' t'.ie last week in Ju:ie. Tic fiulian pro^s is pretty unanimous in the ■■>:'iiil.">n t'rit tho 'v?s*s?inifion of the Earl of M-. to is ii-c.i'v.i'C 1 <1 with any naive conspiracy •or i.ti* »flw. tion. Tho pubic seri'irnonb 1 - in India jen-irj.lly is wyll ex jressel in the following rem irhs male by Mr Justice Phear, at the sitting of tho C-i'.cutta Hi^h Court, on the 15th February : — " A. ser-ond time, within the period of a verj few months, we m-'U'-n a national cal.uviity, brought upon us by the hand of an assa^in. Tlu deaths of our late officiating Chief Justice and the Vioerov are, in their principal circumstances, twin events of the saddest and most deplorable nature The mind almost instinctively *eeks a omraon cause for both. I a ill think that neither of these foul crimes was dictate I by tho controllers of any . political organisation, for I am as much as ever convinced . that no intelligent body of men throughout In- Ha imagine for a moment that the power of England could be weakened, the policy of the Administration afficted, or the course of judicial d.cision diverted by such acts as these. Tho spirit of fanaticism working within men whose pride it ia from chil lhaa.l to be unerring in the stealthy usa of the knife, and urging them personally to a ime deed of fancied retaliation or of religi>us merit, is, I believo, the sole prompter^*" " to these murders. It ia at least remarkable that the victims of thesa two attacks were of Englishmen in this country, perhaps the most liberalminded towards the native population, and the mo3t universally beloved. The monitors of all races and religions alike are shocked and dismayal at the fate which has befallen them. In Lord Mayo we have lost a Viceroy who on all occasions has proved himself equal to his high duties — a nobleman whose amiability, courtesy, and frankness of bearing made him a fitting lea ler of society. I feol sure that the members of the bar and all present will consider it only a proper tribute to his memory that tho Court should not ait for business to-day." Some interesting information respecting liquor legislation in the State of Maine is given in one of the New York papers. Nearly twenty years have elapsed since the firat absolute prohibitory Act was passed, and though repealed two or three years a terwards, it was re-enacted in the following year. The civil war introduced grave laxity in the administration of the law, which was for some time openly and fligrantly violated, hut in 1867 a different state of things was introduced by creating a State constabulary expressly to suppress the liquor selling. This procedure caused no less lhan two thirls of the 3000 liquor-sellers to abandon the business, and the rest have been lin ler discipline ever since. The sale of intoxicants is not, however, wh >lly suppre?B?d in the St tte any mire than other vice* against which the law is directe J ; but the change effected is said to be most remarkable. Th* monthly inspection parade of the Invercar^iil H\Q..t Volunteers takes place this evening at 8 o'clock. The Artiliery company meets for the same purpose on Monday- evening.