THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2523, 6 February 1877, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1877.

The recent, events ■which have occurred in Prince'Edward'svlsland, Canada'!-con-cerning the land for settlement in that Island are, though so far distant from us, matters both of interest and moment, especially .as recent events and; present action combine to bring the settlement of lands Thome to ourselves. Whetbej? or not the compulsory transfer of land in that Island will, after; the manner of the acquittal 'of ( the^ merchant.. of Venice, i wnicli Bassanio VFisne^' rprßcure, "be recorded for a precedent," we clinribt, oo? course, say.; r there is,.however, no doubt | but th^rit' will frequently' be;; quo'ted-as one,' and/erideavbrsmade "to; apt -upon it as though it had all ; the force of established custom,. if A not of ? law "itself. It seems that for more tlian a hundred years a large portion of Prince Edward's Island —some 130,000 acres —has been held by lAnltJownersimost of whom,'if- not nearly all, never saw their property at all, but lived }in England; and lelsewhjere; on the income. !(;,/produce^, , jgnoranjfc^iji fprixe cases whether.; their ; land ; , was'situate in the north, the j Island. Lord CRrnarvon, 'in speaking on i this : ; subject^Jrofprnieft [the^cjlousel of: Lords that many of these estates had; been acquired' -in' the instance by j lotteries. There are many who remem-j ijeritheknstrian "State lotteries, whicli wereisß j and which were conducted at .Frankfdfti by tfce; -sa^tilbn %f jthb 18ttteaaiii£'under j f the supemsfdW'vpf, By• these'lotteries'any one who/chose. to) purchase a- ticket ; -fpr ;; a pound, jor six tickets; for five pounds* had a chance of the? large prize amounting .*; generally to florins, or any of the smaller'ones which,; on a descending; scale, rfen j'as low as; fifteen florins eacn'...^jrn the same manner was. land disposed of, in Prince Edward's' Isle,'.!,ther'fort.unate J; ,4rawjer offth^;prize; ifinding; himself in of 20 x OOO acres of; land. The :winners of;!these! estates for 1 the most-part did not intend; -to settle oh' themi'and'^Q 1 tßejr wjer,e sub-f let to tenants, between' wh fbm'anji their: landlords—neither of -whom had seen the other— there existed no tie such: as ought to exist between proprietor and occupier,; save that' 6i ! receiving;!a yearly'retlt-By. one; party- ancl. .the . pacing \eT ij; 'by /the; other..^ jThaf^ jwould lead toia most unsatisfactory state of things was easily to be foreseen. AThe.;>jlandlords regarded the tenants but 'as> those by whose labor they increased their income's; the tenants looked on their landlords'but &9 those to whose .eaj&p- and comfort they, w.§r&aj|jpjgs£er|Bg* while they: kflew> or. thought tliej knew fdlf W& M^itnfe la^r^Serf^nou^ht for them provided the rent was well and duly p^dj A ilslusUo||sieje^' b|eap^Kl3 ig^er will be, when through incompatibility of temper or ■other; rcauses the.interests of the tenant are not. made the care and study of the landlord^and the of the land disregarded or looked at with /indifferefice^ byl}the tenant. It-f-ris -hard ,rj to ;; conceive. ;■ a : much fflp*#!u^ satisfactory^ s^^ cerniiig tbele^ting and subUe^ting of land than; thaty'hiiqh'.exis^^e.t^r^a.the'p'ilbprietors andr occupiers;of land in Prince Edward's Island-."-' A return to the old feudal system, which had in it much of good, were better far than that we have been describing. There at least the welfare of his vassals was a matter of consequence to the; Lord, if for no better; motive at least for thisi that it; was to his interest jto look after them. „ Can it be wondered at, then,: t considering these things, —imagining what the Settlers must themselves have fe*U\'ai?,.pe]ing'-'. ievidently'.' Ire-. garded. as -more than mere machines to produce certain monetary results for 'their iandlords-i-if on their. part the utmost endeaVour was used to overturn- ajsystem which they felt to be unfair. It was not as'if they werepaying I rent to resident landed proprietors/ who would in their turn buy from them the produce which their industry had raised, land thus the money paid away in rent would revert to them again; but they felt that all they paid away was, so to: speak, lost to them for ever by being sent out of the .country, to be expended elsewhere, and thus money itself became; dearer, and the tenants more and more dissatisfied. And so the breach between the two pai'ties.was gradually widened, but as the landlords were non-resident., the tenants retMpi|4s iP $c legislature just whom they chose, these being of course men of: their .own way of thinking, and so, as might have been foreseen, bill after bill was passed to enable the Government to buy out the landed proprietors. The terms, however, on which they were to be bought out were, we are told-—we do.not know the precise terms—so obviously un ?! fait that the authorities refused -to assent to them, aiid so aflairsi continued until in 1875 an Act Was passed by which a commission was constituted to assess the amount to be paid to the land owners as ■ compensation for, their expropriation. That Act received the assent of Lord Carnarvon nnd Lord Dufferin, and the three commissioners, amongst whom was Mr Childers, nominal ed by Lord Duflerin probably on account of his colonial ex-1

perience, proceeded to make their awards. After making a-wards on ten of the principal claims, J^|j|shild^rj had to return home, But the b^iness^Wi^proceeded with, and ■$$£. freefe|l;goj||poo acre? valued at i£i^,ooo^pt;i*^w^t r-9s an acre, an award, wHich#||fs|*bngJy disapproved of by ||| lahdown<irs them«elres as being altpflelher^^uj^li^ljul in making' JJft* laward the commissioners had to consii|& amongst other thih'gt the price at which*; other landlords had sold their land, and ?alsp^that-«'OTi^ land settlers had taken up their abode on the principle that p6ssession,is nine -points'orHhe^aw^-but^whomifcwouldfcbfiii found very dijEcuJt, Reject, they being "backed up by the legislature who, as we have said, were men of their own class, and naturally had for them that fellowfeeling' which we are told " makes us wondrons kind." Thus then the affair stands, the landowners will be compelled to resign their holdings, and the principle of having,nothing but freehold tenures will be e istaiilsHed'tb'lougn 7ofit Tlh?e island. Whether those who were leaseholders but are now or will shortly be freeholders, will look upon leasehblds with the same eye as formerly, especially if they happen to hive saved a little imoney;and(wish to return home leaving their lands in charge of another remains to be seen. ■ ..•Circumstances ' alter iffses, and what to a leaseholder seems an unmitigated evil, 1 mliyifito the: jaiae manrwh^li he has blossomed into a freeholder, appear but an advantagepus^ arrangement, productive of good to 'himsfelf and his tenant. Look- j ing, however, at the queaition in its broad ; light—we mean the broad question of ex- , propriation, or the compulsory sale of | land—itHsMrged|th rat alllmeasuVes which | confer the greatest possible good on the; greatest possible number are in them-1 sjlv.es good, and the^principle,has ; been; i dcogniled eve*n 4n BngiarM, 4rherl> tiie \ compulsory sale tof dwelling houses | wherever they interfered with a proposed] lineiofl railV^iyp wa'at'fteT nsturiDfeonse- i quence of the passing of a Bill authoris- ■ ing suck railway to be made.. To those j who look with- alarm-^and there are, many such—on any- attempt made to; interfere with the rights of private pro-| perty, it may be welt 'to say that though! this compulsory sale of land may be often! brought up in s support of? measures^ of a| similar kind,, yet the peculiar position in which Prince Edward's Island was placed renders } it i extremely'unlikely' 'th!ai itj will be acted on, and in Prince Ed-| ward's Island land was, as Wie;haye s sho,wn,; acquired in many iristarices by very pecu-r liar means. Those who had the land did: nothing for it directly) to; benefit it, while on the. other hand they drew, when they could, get .them, con-j siderable sums but "of the island! The; immediate effect of this expropriation; scheme willsrpbablj[ be" bejieficial. Many; of the proprietors owned large tracts ofi uncultivated land, which, the island being; thinly populated, no one cared to cultivate,^ 'seeing that when Ke (haHj'begun: tb^ make the land pay and spent time and money on it, his lease mi^ht?bave run put, and, he would simply have been like the hus-i bandman in the exercise books, planting trees," the fruit of vrtiich he himself Wbuld; never behold." .But with the land his own, all.-is different. , He. has something then to work for, conscious that' 'his* * labor is bestowed upon himself or his belongings] Ihere is no doubt that non-resident;landf lords are a great bar to the progress of a country, that is, if.,they, T are a^sent^froni it for any length of* timk Not only dq' they take much out of the country and bring nothing in, but it is impossible that that feeling of mutual interest should be maintairie*, wtiibti. bujjn4 exisj; between the landlord and tenant. i

The firs£ tenders' for wbrks let.by the recently County Council were opened Jthis'/inbrnitig'! by^the County Chairman in presence of the various tenderers. The,tenders had been called for the erection of a bridge at Tapu; The lowest tender was that of Mr O'Brien, £25 7s; the'next lowest that of Mr Macfarlane, of Tapu, £28. There were also several other tenders, ranging from the last named sum up to £36. The tender of M"r O'Briien was accepted. ;

As will be seen, by reference to but advertising columns, Mr Severn will deliver a farewell lecture at the Academy of Music on Thursday evening nfext, the subject being u:The Solar System." The lecture wfillbe pa|tr»ted. i^y mechanical diagramsi;an^nv^|ctitibnito that there, will be an } exhibitibhYpriso views of Paris, London, and Egypt,~chfbraotrbpes, oxy.hydrogen microscope, .Brewster's r Kaleidoscope, and the radiometer in the spectrum. The lectUrei will be iunder; thie patronage of His ;^Vprship ihe M^ycwr, and in addition to the fact that' this" will be Mr. Severn's farewell lecture, his, ability as a lectureT ought to attract a large audience.,, f/;V/-,.i. •■-,• )■'■ "- ; i • At the usual weekly meeting of .'the Northern Pioneer Lodge, 1.0. G.T., held last night in the Templar Hall, Eolleston street,- the quarterly installation of officers took place. Bro. Si Scott, L.D., assisted byi Bros. Lee and. Nicbolls;: representar tiyes of the Grand "Lodge, installed the following officers into -'their respective; positions:—P.W.C.T., B.ro.- Hammond; ■ W.C.T.,; Bro. IW.! J: Spfeightr; W;V.T.^ Bro.' D: iScPtt- '■', W"-Sm Br^.^>EJ^Dpidge (re-elected); W:T., Bro. J.'Nodder (reelected); W.C., Bro. E. Stevens (reelected) ; W.M.,8r0.C. Wood ; W.I.G.V Bro. J. Wood ; WiOG.^Bro. W. Keen ; W.A.S , Bro. J. Danby; WD.M., Sisler Stevens ; W.B.HiS:/ Sister Cbwell v W.L.H.S., Sister Nicholls. 'Bro^3bhn^ Scott,, who had been /.elected to ( the bffice of W^F/S., into;the s'am'e'by BroV'LVei^.:''■;■'"' : : r --':;.''.';"';_;. _ :'^-". ': r

Ws notice that f :iMr. Tom Burton has arrived at the Thames as avant courier for. the Bijou Cpmedy,^ make their first appearance on Saturday next 'at the Academy; of -Music; The troupe consists of Mr and Mrs F. Wilton; H. Mayriard, and others'. Mrs Wiltonjis said to possess an excellent soprano voice, Mr Wilton, to be a comique of ability, and Mr Mayuard to make almost instantaneous changes of dress.

■We notice that the County Council have taken possession, to use as Council Offices, of those premises which were formerly the Bank of New^South Wales, in Pollen street, and moreffrecently were occupied by Mi 4 James Macky,. senior. The premises. bave;been#ainteid aod done, up, ajad iptherWiselipta|^adlit^to|tlg|t' P^l >|ent.u?e byjtheMoprj^io^j|Mril.^om^f gjipni i^iV^ii belie>e:-; ffieyt^will. l>ia||fofnd| pmi||blylWi^,toith^:!wantfii(if bounty Cd'unciir >' - ,V ..;.

The Otago Guardian of the 29th Jan. says : —The Key. James Hill, of the eloquent sermon frpm the 17th verse"of the>||gh4p^r of M Divitlityl of Christianity, at Kriox Church last

JSgles in the^litfsftrSf^Bian writes: — For a clerieHl~"aihnentrthere~''isnothing better than a_cup of coffee; _jOn that poiiit'th^ fier^Mr *£r-4"iays, he is absolutely certain^Upou^hamprning of the Town-haU re6eptidn&of thY liithop he felt Very unwell. And*~h« said as much to his^brotherr yhjftiwasjjpirißrj^isitf torjk[e|; bourne. The rest had better be told In ; Us~q#tt:^.dfd^r 4HMi^ti{taii^lthfit;l.«as' out of sorts, lier asked.. ,m^ to dine with Kirn. We had a nice little diriher~white a Hobart Town trumpeter, some roast ducks, tf little" Jgaflie;r-s^st '* c few glasses of cla¥et:and s'a'liqtfeur glass of brandy.^ ■j*f!Theii:-)i«>fhadi a j«a;pHakfcup7 of coffee, andj do you) know^ itiset me right at* once. -I- ?shali" alwaysl *belie>e»4ii coffee^ r^Mi-lu-i :;--<« :f lv.-"/!<fc£. ; An..ac^pf,.great presence^ofSmma^nd courage'on'tiVe uj)art;of 1 ih Je !engine;d"ri?e.r .Thomas Been, who lo_st his arin.on^Saturday rth'rough fit comfrig in :c6tftJtc't wfjbh' the aweep-rod comrected thei S)umptrigt! Hear- of f*honN^'<(^ufc.i*ttdff l^ll^Vue: ] KailM«y Sssj^ye/jCoinpajpy^ S^huMti is] described by the. ■•■ IriglewQod; cyrresporc- : dent ffi ofv the,.;Bendigo, ":.'sho \ accident happened m the'*Bigh|» wheiif.np ■ one. was,near, and the,fir'st Bren- thpuglit Bf was crushed'^pieces were the men down below, whose'liyeS would • probably**be—endangered -if^ he ; faifttedj or .weat.a^^ayand.lep: the machine: inmotion,»o»: notwithstanding:ih«hjgi!«at; agony he'was in* and the:«tream.;of - blood, pouring freim him, he walked rxound the; rdoin,-; carrying- 'his shattered > armiin his j other hand, and stopped^ the engine, aM; after ; rkWitfg 'thaifi%H iff* safe, 4 1 he weift' Wt,M&trtWe&hdme iibiJuV 2€(Q arriving at the door of which he called oiit | to his wife to let him~in as his a?m wasj smashed.j i f,e!bioTnjfrom weak-! ness caused By loss* of blood, "but ..still| remained sensible. The poor woman on j coming put found her husband lying down; at the door, apparently bleeding to death,! Ihe""w6unded-;.:_liihb ■•""iilyißj^nieranrtlA'i left shoulder. She hastily bound it up! with a sheet, but that having no effect 1 «he; > for assis tance^ andcsßme neighbors poming they tied a ligature! abover;the^wputndeil i»rfcrjandj^goSTthe \ sufferer conveyed jto the Hospital as; speedily asf'p^MbfeK-on4imving at -his; lodgings, after the- amputation 'had beenj : performed, a 7 te,lpgram from Inglewood; rwas placedTfitt; his,handf him| to the death-bed of lu^mother, „4 « , v -'tX j

+3»n«j» on,^ thg curious, .behaviour, of tern-; Sjje fprjjusjied ■(^lre ! gas- i : burners with tempered glass globes^.,-puy-j .ebasedaa London, and'havings; the jyerit-f ablelabel of M.dci.la Bastie affiied^.to' each.; lOto-ithe night of the 6th of Q^ober; last, after the, gajßihadr,been extinguished! fo^ exactly an hour, one, of the globes burst wiffi a'rejjcirtiri^M in peices on; the floor, leaving the bottom ring still onj the burner. These pieces,.which were, of; course, found to be perfectly cold, were some two or thrtte inches long and an inch or jp wide. They continued for an hour! €o»-'M6it.pfflvmiqg-; upi !«ndi' subdividiitg themselves into smaller fragments, each' split beid^acciipipftniedb'y'aiilight report; until at length there was not a fragment larger than a haeelnutr and the greater! part of the glass was in pieces about the] Bi%dssMp&LJ aiujUbf a *fermi In the morning it was found that the rimj had fallen from the burner to; the floo^in atoms. The subject deserves carefuliinj !(W»tigati6lif^S:7i.7:;/v ;.•?«;;> mi 'hr-Bs<>■?& ;ru:;i ; «.{ : TH;B][Sp?j?^l jqQrreispp^dent of !f thft f^^ Zealand Mail, who has lately been travel* ling through the joutlYingcdwteictSrfthuf speaksof the tee'iotal.township of Orofton s —rUnder Mr Fox's guidance I next visited wtafis;popularly khdwii^'as'his "Teelotai Township, VQroftoil' X In selling his lands under^the Welter^a*playmen^sy^tem^ of r course^no restriction as to the cpnsumption of alcoholic stimulants could be made] But in leasing the, township sections.in Crofton Mr Fox ■inserted covenants ■■oy y^hich the lessees bound themselves not to permit the consumption or 'sale' of strong drink on t^heirf s^ctipipSi;^j Bwngj =^y nd means a teetotaller myself, Xcan write with - morfl freedom on this matter, v. Kot ar'fo'jff. took it upon themselves to blame or jgkb at Mr Fox for, this action, Ido not agree with Mir: Fo^'4'"tfn'e4 itfthe way of Ijqupr, :cant-ac^oM'; hiMValjL.- fjpfais6V )i^'': Haying:' [the^coinage o'for \ hbhestl^)si]ttei|[iptidg jtp.ido,;. a wqrt;^rhich jbe beUeyes/^ iind, \. And so far he seems hot,to be: uni £7:\lhe j -:B^ccessful> I ,^^Ue. l townsnip. n has an : = eminentiyi prosperousi; look ajbout it.',;■>(«!?) accommodation house and general store is * well ycipndueted, and contains T a very superior stock;of goods, and there is a lecture hall,-built 7 by. Mr Fox; which, by its' neatness inside and out, and its tasteful decoration in the interior, contrasts most favorably the somewhat tatterdemalion public halls prevalent in other antl neighboring townships. ! ;

, The Daily Times says there is' now in, Dunedin a gentleman named Stevens who disputes the claim of Sir Eowland Hill to be regarded as autho'lf of the: penny postage system of Great Britain; * Mr Stevens 'sets forth that* about; the? year -1834, or during thetiine: Lord»Althorp7.was Chancellor of the Exchequer, he submitted to that nobleman a proposition for the es« tablishment of a universal penny postage system, and also a penny stamp \foriparcels. At.tliat time,' Sir.' Rowland Tiill, who was :■ Private Secretarys to Lbrd Althorp, in the name /of his; Lordship, forwardedaletterof thanks to Mr,9te?ens. As everyone knows, < the penny postage system was afterwards successfully established, and Mr Stevens asserts that the' only difference between the penny, stamp in use and the one proposed by; him is the substitution ofj^er^MMesty s- head, f f6r Jjh§;Boy.al Arms. Mr Stevens says that, !lil&e"haTrecenjlylearned.that::Siirß6w--land Hill, jas Ihef, supposed >,or;ftiDal proposer ofithe/sysbm, received a reflfard of L 40.000 from the British House of Commons, he thinks he is fairly entitled to claim some recognition of his efforts as the real suggestor of a system which has p roved no beneficial in every respect.

The European residents m Fiji are again agitating for responsible government. The Fiji Times of a recent date reports>that in answer to certain questions or s^'gjgestioti^with respect to representative inslituiioa|*put to the Governor at jfche n(#etinsje||ii|ly held at Tun* Point, fj^ia Ex^ljE||c^irt^)lied " that seJM^feriii? pent waV&jjf|i^Jie best form oft govern-; ■i|ietlt foi all'pjfuftils where the peopj^Jsrere | bdypjgj anticipatiaiiicrchange m the constitution; of a country such as this was. It was* not likely that the power of governing the colony would be granted either to the to ; a-BmaU plicarchy of different races 'ttiid' interests i from, the mass of the |" 'xaiß Ararat Advertiser of the 23rd tilt, jrepbrts:—^Otf'Rftt Widay^fternoon a ; little girl named Ellen White, aged It f years, li^ingfj«t|^irgor|r-pi.^brojpht v to Mr Lawj'irafrgeoiifsuffering igreat? p4in in . her arm, which ,wa^ so swq|}en about the ;. elbow joint that'it vWHs^mipossible to ascertain what^iwury, 4C any,,-had been sustained; ■JtM laoef6t st t>btkined tbe f fellow.ing^tyflrj of^the ca^e, p whic^is father a curious one. On Wednesday the qtUd^w^atjU) scj^pol jas ,usual, and,,can^ej out at four o'clock' iii the afternoon,' mteoii^K tftjgp f^end^itgisaafefljeimej distance. On her road thither she came to *ltcee,i whiph-she clattf bersd'up fyr ithe purpose of having a swing, but in trying to get down again overbalintlidiliersel^ and her arm caugbtrin-a fork, where she remained suspended,- 9olyjtjhertoe\of one foSojt^pccasionaltyJlbarely touchinglon'Jth* grouhdluhtil'lnine o'clock on tpe next eveningj-;l|^iour| f , In- i thia r ,ppsi,t|€«i she was discovered by a youtficallea *Prank Holds worth,, who &t once procured tance,* ■and'tW snrfereir/wlasilberatea from her painful'Bu¥*tJva:VoSfioa/i Her arm •Wasctfi&ptetely pßr^rejaitlj: exhausted' frdM; cry ing.oooey ing, and her efforts to extricate-herself on the previous night, all of f which» w«re rtUnatailing f till •h'«r"deliy:erer.eaine^'':p ,;hiwl, ,>s:Bu>Q -"•<!' hood of a camera obscura,,(says *, Atticus,: .in- the P Ji^iT)^^heTfi ifbohe i of those pretty little shows on the „§|m-! dridge Bailway Pier, to which, during the holiday & i» large partyhßaid ar:tisit. (The ToontwiH'too;3melL)to hold them all, so a gentleman and a'yotrtgl«dy;remained| outsideT-and -went for-a-short stroll- along the beach. After &„ minute, ou twp they nobody about, naturally concluded that! they wer<l '^mri&tf&l^"iilStSm ' ; In this 1 but at least r sP (l t(ia»eß,-and;rin^ the most pronounced manner,:and the whole of that; performaneeiiintiOtfcnt eijoo j s ; ihv> tto doubt,; ,^hroxigh lnp^te.jjWf* f|ith^lly r^fe-| ,?f nt ,ißittf| thff»mfjßt ac^uracjFjiittni the,whifeeitable.round whichjtheir friends; and relatives»cwe«e^tgrwpedifr^orfitnej sake of human; naturej I regret to say thatj none of the: witn«sses: to this shockingi scene shut their ?*eyes,? or* :tarnitJflmw*yi their ■ faces,; for the fife: Or r ten ? minHtesl that the kissing wa»ikept up. I