The Evening Star. PUBLISHID DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1881.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3847, 28 April 1881, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHID DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1881.

Despite the pacific "assurance of France to the Powers regarding its policy with respect to Tunis, there, can now be not tu6!" Jslignt'est doubi lhat M. Gambetta •has ulterior designs on the tt rritory of the Beyv Airecent cablegram j indeed^ shows that France has' already commenced hostilities, the island of' Tabacea having been bombarded and troops landed. As yet, no communicfltiori has reached us concerning the effect on the Powers of this , action, but there is every reason to believe-that it-will seriously compromise the diplomatic relations between Great' Britain and Italy and the French Republic. Both the states, referred to have reason to view with alarm any acquisition of territory in (he north and north east of Africa by European Powers —Britain, because it borders the> very pathway to India ; and Italy, from the Standing menace it places at her very dooi. Apart from other considerations, Tunis will be to Franca a valuable acquisition. The climate is fine and the soil exceedingly fertile, producing in spite of indifferent tillage, wheat, and other cereals, olives, oranges, pomegranates, and dates. Pastoral pursuits are also attended to, Tunisian sheep being famous for their wool while large, herds of cattle feed on the, plains. Neither is she destitute of minjeral products, saltpetre, lead, and mercury being; largely exported. Five years ago, the pross exports exceeded £1,000,000, ■so this highly; 1 ; favoured country will, to France,' be ' some* thing more than a, mej;e >' scientific frontier." We (rustjiowever, that Great Britain will do all in her power to preserve the autonomy of the.Dey's dominions. " '' -

Notwithstanding the Coercion Ac 6, the leaders of the Land League appear to be as defiant in their, attitude as ever. In a cablegram received to day, it is mentioned .that Mr Dillon, M.P. for Tipperary, has publicly stated; that all future evictions in Ireland will be met with an armed resistance on the part ; of the tenants. This is a bold statement to make, especially coming from a representative of the people, the holder of a seat in the House of Comruons. It would lead to the impression that the Home Eule leaders have given up all hope;of getting their demands listened to at St. Stephen's. If the statement is any thing ifraccord with .the general feeling in Ireland, open rebellion may not be yer^-far distant. ; The day appears .to be past when anything less than a radical change in the system of land tenure will satisfy,- the people of Ireland, and this the English Parliament do not seem prepared to grant. The new Land 'Bill; while it is a step in the right direction, appears to be accepted by the Land Leaguers as only a blind, in order to allay, if, possible, the popular feeling, and: they probably anticipate that when peace is restored, the old state of things will be reverted to.

THOMASMAciiBIANE, Esq.,-is at present on the.Thames making enquiries about the land .required for railway purposes. Tlw Government.have appointed Mr Macfarlane to enquire into compensation claims, an«J it i 8 likely on this occasion the Government will be met with in a fair spirit. ■ Me L. Ehrekeiikid this; morning received the following telegram from Sir Goorge Grey : —" Will arrive to-morrow per Kotomahana. Propose to meet constituents Saturday evening.—G. Gbey." By telegram from Sir George Grey we learn that he intends to visit the Thames this week, sfnd will arrive by the Eotomahana to morrow afternoon. The address to the electors will take place on Saturday evening. Ho has wired to the local representatives—the Mayor and County Chairman —to make such arrangeinonts as they consider best to meet the wishes of his constituents. The HauraM Engineers will parade at the ball' to-mnrrow, Friday, at" 7.30 p.m. for monthly inspection. A CAiT, of three pence per Bharo has bean made in the Morning Star Company, payable on t t he 11th of Mny. The statutory 'special meeting of the Borough Council, for the purpose of hearing abjections to the Burgess 8011, was held this afternoon. There being no objections, the.roll was signed in accordance with the Act.

Thjj schooner Zior is now ready for sea at Bagnall's mill, and will leave with the morning tide.

On Saturday night a grand oxy-hydrogen ! lime ligbt exhibition will be given in the Academy^ of Music. Over 1000 views of English, Irish,.and American scenery, couuo and character shetches. Mr H. H. Smith, the'proprietbr,- has.given his entertainment iff several townßMii this colony, and the public pfintS'hav'e always spoken well of it. A 1 matinee will be given for children on Saturday afternoon, commencing at 3 o'clock. Mr Smith may be consulted in reference to Ins famous stoves and ovens, and we understand that one of his ovens will be given away each evening of the entertaintnont. " I~N the last case against Mr Wickham, Mr Rees gave the following evidence ;,—-He > never had any quarrel with defendant. He desired that^efeadant-should be bound over to keep Jthe peace. The. articles had an harassing effect upon"h'is^mirid, and were injurious to Jhitfirifi-DWnesii:- He"wished that the articles j should be Btoppedi to prevent him from taningthekwintfi bis own hands and being provoked i-to'commit hiovself. He did not know Mr iWickham intimately, nordid he wish to know him. iDefendattriaid to Mr Reed, in Witness s hearing "I intend to go on until I ye cured Reesand Hurst.",.,Defendaot did not threaten to kill. .-^C-klv; 'n.-.'t: '''■-.■ The repeatsd ariJQUvnments of the District Courtis causing so, much inconvenience to Mr Brassey's clients that yesterday that gentleman telegraphed (o the Minister of JUBtice upon the mat er. ACCOBDINQ- to the Times' correspondent at Cape Town, Sir Hercules R3binson has made a favourable impression at the Cape, and there is a pretty generel feeling'of satisfaction that an administrator "of such large experience and sound judgment is at the heud of affairs at a critical time.

* Thb Auckland Star (of last night) says :— Sir George Grey will arrive from the Kawau this afternoon, at half-past four p'olook. No programme of addreeaes. has yet been drawn up, but it ii understood that he will address the Thames electors on Saturday evening next. V

Mb Nathan, who committed suicide by taking chloroform, left.-the following extraordinary letter :—" One person alone knows the reason of my voluntary death. I wish for what is impossible, yet without this impossibility I cannot be happy, therefore Idie.! So, ye wise men, bring in yourverdict of insanity. I can't feel huri at it. My puhe is at 75; I am quite cool, and feel in a hurry to/get off. I am, n regards religious belief, a believer neither in a personal Deity nor a futu.e Btate of existence.. ,

A MOST extraordinary Ci.ee of death from tetanus, or lock-jaw has come under cur notice. It appaars that decayed', Dav*d OHpbant,,a strong, healthy young man of eighteen, about; a fortnight ago ran a nail in«n the outer fleshy part of his foot. Ashertet with the.injury by jumping down from a height on to the floor,- if would seem that the wound was more thai a slight one. Howeve, 1, no serious eon sequences were apprehend. \. The decea-e.d went about his usual business, and medical aid was. not thought of. How little anxiety who felt may be judged from the fact that decee3ed, last Saturday, shut up shop a-Vusual, and himself drove honie^ some distance in a cart. On Sunday ho experienced a etiffnees in tbe back ard'muscles of the neck. He had, too, some difficulty in opening his jaws, hut was able to take food. "Paiufe iller" wa'3 the" only remedy appliei, and still it was not deemed necessary to send for a doctor. On Tuesday last he was left at homo nuder the care of a eater, wlio, in the course of the day, observed a change come over him, and BUfigeßted the advisability of Bending for a medical man. The deceased however 6aid he felt better; but he died within an hour, apparently without pain. One thing suggested by this very sad death is the necessity of attention to even ttnal! wouiids. It. is probable that tetanus is of more frequent occurrence in this country than in England, for liability to it increases in direct, ratio with the heafc of the climate.

Isr suggesting the direction of the legislation of the future, a wiitor in the Wurarapa Standard proceeds us follows: —Rave/so the present Native Lai?d policy and mate it a penal action for- any man to dec! with the natives for land. Eesume the pre-emption in fact of the Native estate. The Maori landowner can be dealt fairly with by fixing the priae he has to be paid for his laud by arbitration. The State is tho natuval landlord. Land is worth more money to the state than it is to private persons. ■ If wa do not mow what f j do with land our children wi'.l. Fix permanent and cmple endowmenta for the native race, restraiu dealing or trafficking in such endowments with an iron bund and let the condition of this resumption of pre-emp-'.tion be exemption from the Laud Tax, which is thu soundest and justest of all forms of taxation. Let us sell or lease our railways. It will be probably found more prudent to soil them. We wanted them made and. we have made them ourselves:' The main thing was their making. The tailff to be charged could be a condition of the purchase. We get rid of a horde of servant 3by so doing? The public would be better served by a company th_n by a Government. If trunk lines are to be extanded, which scams inevitable, we ehouid then be in a position to make the extensions We could then follow the New South Wales instead of the Queensland example. We could increcae the value of our lands before we disposed of them. Their enhanced value would alone pay for the construction of the extended lines. No mofe cogent example can arise for the recessity of getting rid of our railways than theadminis tration of Mr Oliver. It is more difficult for a Government to control than to creata end to establish. Let us inscribe our loans, and follow the American example. A saving of some £60,000 ppr annum which will result from this inscription will be an acceptable uddition. to the Consolidated Fund. It ia true that our descendants will.hvive to pay the main cost of the Inscriptioin, but the same thing happens to nations as to men. A .larger amount can bo more easily paid at one time than another. It is idle to talk or to think of legislation for the future, as the ballot box will ouablo the next generation to legislate for themselves. A fool's eyes are at the end of the earth, and seek to penetrata the vista of future ages ; the practical man looks how to provide for his daily bread. Let the County System go, and extend the power of the Road Boards. We shall by so doing dispense with a lot of useless machinery* a number of expensive officials, and avoid the, contingency of the County Councils incurring debts the colony will ha*e some day or other to become responsible for.