NEW ZEALAND AND ITS ITINERANT CRITICS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 228, 13 June 1872, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND AND ITS ITINERANT CRITICS.

late there have appeared in the Aus " ' effusions by gentlemen who have W the round of the Colony by " excursion tner," in which they have given the read\of that journal the benefit of their unions of New Zealand, its towns and its k These contributions have in many \ces been the reverse of flattering, and bristled with untruths. So gross have Mihe mis-statements which have appeared \ that they have called forth contra- \ from several gentlemen in the l-notably from Mr J. G. Firth of B, who has ably refuted many asservde by a contributor of Maori \ Not long since there appeared in klasian sketches, entitled "Bound W Zealand" by Olympus, whose to Dunedin were republished here. __ J editor of the Evening Post, in a _ ir^af letter to the same paper, shows the y inaccuracy, to use the mildest word, of Olympu«'s observations. "We give that por- -, tion of his letter which deals with Duuedin. Olympus " SHeers at New Zealand banks as follows : " New Zealand villages every where indulge *„ in banks, centuries, I should imagine, in adVance of the capabilities or resources of these fledgling places, and Outram was no exception. Why, the very fact of "fledgling places' presenting themselves to the visitor provided with banks, is surely a sign of rapid financial progress. He is probably not aware that the white population alone of New ZeaIland is already one-third that of Victoria. In IS7O, the expenditure of the General Government was L 1,649,919, besides that of the ten Provincial Governments added together, L 1,312,073 ; the imports amounting in^valoa to L 4,639,000, and the exports to IA, 822, 756 —of which upwards of two millions was gold. Outram, of which he speaks, is a rising township on the road between the busy city and port of Dunedin and very productive gold-mining districts, in connection with one of the most fertile and extensive agricultural tracts of land in New Zealand. ' Why is it premature to have a bank there? The only wonder is there are not two. " Olympus " complains that the manager had " comfortably lecked up " at 1 o'clock. Perhaps it was Saturday, or some other day agreed upon as the half-holiday of the week by the business men of the place. I view with more pity than contempt the sneers of ".Olympus" at Scotchmen generally, at "Dunedin in its glory, revelling in its saintly and Presbyterian glory on Sundays," and at " men on the ' Saaboth' day wearing the most melancholy of "Glasgow ' gudeness.'" lam neither a Presbyterian nor a Scotchman; but I deplore "the ignorance or vulgarity of the man who can ridicule the preservation of their old habits, whether social or religious, by the descendants of those conscientious seceders from the endowed Kirk of Scotland, who, led by that most worthy and respected Peninsular veteran the late Captain William Cargill, and fey their equally respected pastor the late Thomas Burns, a nephew of the poet Robert, founded Dunedin on the uninhabited shores of a harbor nearly at the antipodes of " Auld Reekie," twenty-five years ago. In the name of many well-informed and experienced colonists of my own personal acquaintance, I seriously beg yon not to allow yourself to be imposed upon by such vapid, meaningless, and above all, inaccurate scribbling. If you really wish for correct Information as to New Zealand, I can assure , you that there are dozens of educated gentle- '' men ia every part of the Colony who can observe correctly and to the point, confine their remarks on what they have observed to that which is really admirable, whether for beauty or utility, and clothe their thoughts in. language far more pleasing and readable \ than that of the superficial fizgig, who has \ inflicted upon you the dreary dribblings of 41 Olympus."

Acclimatisation. — The Hon. Mr Waterhouse stated the other day that he estimated there were at least 100 deer in the Wairarapa district. New Zealand University Scholarships. — We are authorised to state Otago furnished fourteen candidates for the New Zealand University Scholarships, including one from Wanganui. Of these six have been or are being educated at the High School, Dunedin. We trust they will prove successful in the competition. Akaroa Guano. — The guano found lately at Akaroa, it is said, is likely to be of some commercial v^alue as an article of export. A sample has been submitted for analysis to a competent person, and he reports that it is. ,not so good as Peruvian, but that it compares favorably with a good deal that is exported to England. Interesting to Ornithologists. — A new species of bird, or rather a specimen of a species, hitherto unknown here was captured by a dog near Otepopo a day or two ago. It resembles the English landrail or corncrake, it has plumage a little darker than that of a quail, a long green beak, and red eyes. It is to be sent to tne Donedin Museum. Justices op the Peace. — There is a nice controversy going on in Auckland as to the qualifications of many gentlemen in that Province who are in the Commission of the Peace. Some of the criticisms on the subject are very uncomplimentary j and we notice a humorous writer in the Star advocates the dividing of all J.P.s, and that when the local R.M. is absent, the duties of the Bench should be discharged by the newspaper reporter!.