THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “Verite sans peur.” Wanganui, June 12,. 1862.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 6, Issue 296, 19 June 1862, Page 2

THE WANGANUI CHRONICLE AND RANGITIKEI MESSENGER. “Verite sans peur.” Wanganui, June 12,. 1862 .

By telegram fiom London of April 5, we learn that the Federal army has returned from Manassas, disorganised, and that the Confederates continued to fall back upon Richmond. Is another part of to-day’s issue will be found two articles from the Otago papers on the subject of separation —the all-ab-sorbing subject at present in that part of

the islar.d. In these two articles will be found all the arguments yet brought forward in support of the change at which the Dunedin press is at present aiming,... and it may therefore be worth while mining them. The substratum of the whole is the anticipation that the prosperity of the Middle Island will be greatly promoted by separation from the northern. To prove the cases of various colonies that have been separated from each other are bi-ought forward, and it is endeavoured to be shewn that the separation furthered the advancement of these colonies in all their material interests. Because there was progress after separation, therefore sepaiation was the cause of the progress. The post hoc , propter hoc argument is indeed a very weak one. The principal case brought forward is that of Victoria,, which is shewn to have made great strides in the development of its resources since its separation from Hew South Wales, and the start given by the gold discoveries in that colony is ouly mentioned as. a slight side wind whose effect was very inconsiderably to quicken the growth which would otherwise have taken place. Every one knows the contrary. Every one knows that previous to the gold discoveries in the new colony, it was in a state of utter prostration, with its flocks a drug, and all its interests in an extremely languishing condition, Melbourne being at that time merely a small village. From that prostration it would no doubt have in time recovered, and its wool exports would have made it a very important place ; but to ignore or x-epre-sent as of secondary importance among the caxises of the extraoi-dinarily rapid growth ofVictori >, its gold diggings,is simply such an absurdity as does not need exposure. But even supposing that separation did what it did not do, or at least vdnit our contemporary has not shewn that it did, caxise the nuxshreom-like but solid progress of Victoria ; is there any parallel between the two cases which renders the one a precedent for the other ] Befoi*e its dismemberment New South Wales had an area of 500,000 to 600,000 square miles ; the area of the islands of New Zealand is 120,000 squax-e lxiiles. The population of Sydney and of the countiy within an area of 100 miles around it amounted to 250,000, and the population of the Port Phillip district to 77,000. New Zealand at present contains 90,000 Eui-opeaiis and 40,000 maories, the greater half or about 50,000 of the former beixxg in the middle island. New South Wales had a coast line of 1500 miles, with settlexxients 200 miles inland. The extreme length of New Zealand is about one-third, less, and there is no above 100 miles from the coast. Thus it will be seen that the circumstances of. isolation from the seat of govei-nment, number of population, and extent of territory, which may have made it proper that NeAV Soxith Wales should be split up into various independent provinces, present such a contrast to the same conditions in New Zealand, that if the separations in Axxstralia were occasioned by these circumstances they afford no precedent for a similar change in this country. But the contrast will be seen to be gi-eater if the modes of government of the two places are looked to. At the time of the sepa • ration of Port Phillip, Melboxxrne had a municipal corpoi-ation, but there vvas no similar local authority for the countiy disti'icts; at present notonlyhasDunedin a town board, but Otago and ev r eiy one of the other four provinces in tlxe middle island have provincial governments, which, v?itlx some few exceptions legislate in all matters aftectiug their peculiar intei-ests, and carry into- effect the laws they have-made. Thus it will be seen that Victox-ia in the circumstances which were supposed to justify separation fonns as complete a contrast to any patt of New Zealand as coidd well be imagined. These precedents however ai-e admitted to be but doubtful reasons for following the same course. The principal argument is the difference between the two islands .arising from the natux-e of their populations. In the north ei : n. island lialf the population consists of maox-ies, while in the middle island these form but an insignificant fraction of the inhabitants. It is alleged that the territory of the northern island is-held natives, that all legislation for the country is governed by a regard to their interests, and that they virtually rule this island. Now there can be no doubt that with regard to the first of these averments there is the substance, and with l-egard to the others the shadow of truth. The natives do hold the greater part of the island, and they must be paid for every yard on which European settles. This is no doubt a disadvaixtage, bixt it is one which does not affect the middle islaixd injuriously in the smallest degx-ee ; and the settlers in this have in many respects been benefited by the native population. The statements regarding the peculiar natui*e of the legislation necessary for the maoi-ies and their great influence over our governinent, if true, ai-e in themselves no reasons for separation. They may have been true to a certain extent hitherto, but not nearly to such an extent as the Dunedin agitators would make believe. We have-be-fore referred to the chai’ge-as-to :the-ex-traordinary amount of legislation needed for the inaori, and shewn that it has no foundation in fact. The lawlessness of the natives is principally owing to the supineness of our gov ernment vvliich left them to themselves. In those ‘ places where they were within reach of law execution was done on them as on Europeans. To take the last year for which we have statistics, a very unfavourable year, for the Taranaki contests had broken out, and to take that in respect to Which, the maori, like the the Victor

rian inhabitants of Otago, like least to be called to account the money cases in dispute, we find that in the inferior courts of this island cases were tried between EflSfrpeans and natives, in which maories were defendants to the amount of <£1,282, of which £3BO was recovered, in which Europeans were defendants to the amount of £1,217, of which £509 was recovered, and between maories to the amount of £576, of which £214 was recovered. Excluding Auckland city, in which the maories seem to get oft’ most easily, the per centage of debts recovered by maories from Europeans is, 39, by Europeans from maories 55, and by maories,. from their own kindred, 40 ; thus the maories are shewn to be more amenable to law in debt cases, even at the worst period of their recent history than Europeans ; and during the same year a respectable number of the natives were tried and convicted on criminal charges. But .now any possible reason for separation arising from such causes is done away with, for a system is being introduced effectually to bring both maoi’i and European under one government, and one code of laws. Jf it shall be found that this is impossible, then the agitation for separation may go on with some show of reason; but meanwhile let not an argument be used which might have had some little propriety a year ago, but which now has lost all its force

by the alteration of the "circumstances. After all the arguments adduced it is evident that it is the argument to the pocket which is the principal cause of this agitation, and that argument has weighed most in Otago with the new comei’S from Victoria, who, greedy of gold, are averse to' any of their gains being diverted to the accomplishment of an object which they have hitherto looked upon with strange and uninterested eyes. That they should be called on for any part of the expense incurred in bringing the maories to order is out of the question. They will rather cry out for separation and independence. How far a regard to justice justifies this cry is not thought of. A narrow regard to self-, interest is the first motive with such would-be polit’eians. Nor do they look on the question with any enlightened eye as to the various changes which success in their agitation must bring along with it. These changes might be of a very extensive and radical character, but we have seen no allusion whatever to them by those who have begun this agi tatipn, although they are by. far the most important considerations connected with it. But indeed some of the chief speakers at the Dunedin meeting confessed to an entire ignorance of the machinery by which the country is governed, and therefore no such allusion could be expected from r them. Any real grievances they have to complain of may be rectified with the greatest ease in the approaching session of the General Assembly. No doubt the Otago representatives will broach the subject there, and probably they may have then something more to say in its favour*.

The Grain Market is in a somewhat unusual position here at present. Our readers would observe the other week an extraordinary large importation of wheat by one vessel from Canterbury. We are not aware that so large a quantity lias ever be brought into this place at one time ; ■we believe not. This unfortunately is but a sample of what has being going on -on a less considerable scale for some time. On looking over our imports for the last 2 mouths we find that no less than 16 -tons of flour have been imported. This is not a feature of our trade so likely to attract attention. It might be. inferred by any one not inquiring particularly, that our mills were not able to supply the ■wants of the district; and a late notice in ■our columns of a new mill in course of erection might have confirmed this inference. .But tills is not the case ; the mills here cannot obtain wheat to keep them going ; hence the importation the other week from Canterbury. It is not difficult to discover Avhat is the quantity of wheat, necessary to| supply this district. It is considered that a healthy man should eat §lb of bread a day. Taking into account the nature of the occupations of our population—almost universally out of doors, and involving a considerable amount of bodily exertion, this is certainly not too high an estimate of the probable average consumption -over head. Considering further that the natives occasionally buy considerable quantities of breac from our bakers, it may be allowed, that at least 12,000 to 15,000 bushels of wheat are made into bread and eaten in this district. Of this about 2000 bushels are bought from the Maories, and 2000 bushels may he furnished by Rangitikei and Turalciua, leaving 8000 to 11,000 bushels to be grown between the Wangaeliu and the Kai Iwi. Taking 25 bushels an acre as the average yield, this will involve the sowing of 400 to 500 acres in the district

named. It is not to understand the reason for so little wheat having been raised here last year. There is a general impression that sheep or even dairy cows are a much more profitable, because a more certainly profitable, investment. There was the recollection of he former year’s blighting wind, which destroyed the hopes of the husbandman, just when they were near fruition. There was, beside, the knowledge of the low rates ruling for grain in the Australian colonies, which made it likely that wheat would not sell here at a paying price. This year, there is in addition to all this, the sad experience of last harvest, when so much grain was destroyed in the stook by the wet weather.

Looking forward to next year, it may ' be considered sertain that the price will not he lower Here, unless a great deal more is sown than the wants of the district just-

ify. In the Australian colonies the lowes point in the | rice of wheat has been reached, because they find that they can. export to Great Britain without loss at the present rate ; so t long then, as there is no extraordinary fall ; in the price of grain in Europe our agriculturists need not have much fear of Australian imports lowering prices further. The flour, beside, which has cometo this from Adelaide, lias not met with general acceptance ; it is not equal to our home-grown flour, and so cannot enter into competition at the same price. If the late gold disooveries in Columbia attract such a population thither as may be expected, California will find a market for all her surplus produce without crossing the Pacific. Canterbury is the nearest, if not the only place, from which wheat can be brought tq, compete with ours. The cargo per “Rifleman” cost, we believe, 45.6 d. there, and with freight and other charges added, stood the importer Gs.6d. per bushel here. The grower here has thus an advantage of 2s. a bushel over the Canterbury farmers, and it is not likely that they will care for growing wheat under 4s. the bushel. The inference, thei’efore, is justifiable, that at least Gs. the bushel will be got for wheat next year, and with a fair yield this should v ii y- . .

The next question for consideration is the risk of growing. Of this, farmers should be much the best judges ; but if we may hazard an opinion, we should strongly recomend early sowing. The risk from weathei and caterpillars has certainly of late years been very much less for grain cut near the er.d of the year. "YVe have considered it proper to lay these remarks before our agricultural readers, thinking it a pity that any money should go out of the district for an article which can be produced in it of such excellent quality, and generally atagood pi’ofit. But the growers are undoubtedly the best judges of what pays them best ; and these remaiks are offered merely with the view of enabling them the more inte ligently to form an opinion as to what they should do in the coming season. It may be added, that there lias been of late a considerable demand in Wellington for common horse beans, a mixture of the meal with the flour being found greatly to improve the latter for baking, and Bs. 6d. has been freely given for them. Eor anything we know, this may be an exceptional demand, occasioned by the inferior quality of the flour made from last season’s wheat - ; but we believe it is intended to grow them here this season in expectation of the demand continuing.

PROCLAMATION. /Jf pointing General Assembly to meet at Wellington, on the 30th June, 1862. B y His Excellency Sir George Grey Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over Her Majesty’s Colony of New Zealand and its Dependencies, and Vice Admiral of the same, <fcc., etc., etc. Whereas the General Assembly of New Zealand now stands prorogued to the twenty-sixth day of June instant, and it is expedient further to prorogue the same: Now, therefore, I, the Governor, in pursuance of the authority in me vested in that behalf, do hereby further prorogue the said General Assembly to Monday, the thirtieth day of June current; and Ido hereby furtberannounce and proclaim that tlie said General Assembly shall assemble for the despatch of business on the thirtieth day of June, at two o’clock, at Wei-, lington, and the Honorable Members of the Legislative Council and the Members of the House of Representatives respectively are hereby required to give their attendance at the said time and jflace accordingly.

Given under my hand and issued under the Public Seal of the Colony of New Zealand, at Government House at Auckland, this seventh day of June, in the year <sf out Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two. G. GREY. New Zealand Gazette , June 7, 18G2. LOCAL INTELLIGENCE. , Natural Curiosity, A very beautiful specimen of the seed-bearing branch of the Nikau [areca sapida) is to be seen at. present at Mr. Dunleavy’s Hotel. It was brought from abush a bout 6 miles up the river, and is the most perfect sjiecimen of the kind that has beeii seen here. It is not unlike a small shrub with lizard-like branches thickly set with red berries. The tree from which it was cut was about 30 feet, high, and it hung down from the top like a hunch of feathers. Mr. Duuleavy will he glad to let any one see it. Lunar Ecr.irsE. An eclipse of the moon t< ok place last Thursday evening. Al sp. m only a small part of the tippei limb of the moon was discernible. Thereafter, it was lnd by a heavy bank of clouds; hut the thick darkness, which lasted above two hours, shewed what was going oil. Some New Zealand almanacs mention this eclipse as to take place on the 11th, and not to be visible here. The Wonga Wonga w T as seen off Manulcau Heads, going in, on the lltli Inst. l»y the Lord Worsley on her way southward. . The Queen of India has sailed from Wellington for London with a cargo valued at <£32000. We observe Mr. Gotty is one of the passengers. May lie have a pleasant trip to the “fatherland!”

OUR VOLUNTEER FORCE. Rifle Volunteers. —The two town companies now number above 60 each ; & so are each entitled to the Government allowance.

Oo Friday the 13ih inst. a meeting was heid in the Matarawa valley of the i*esidents in that district.to form a company of Rifle Volunteers, when 31 ' were enrolled and attested. The election of officers was proceeded with, and the following gentlemen were chosen. Captain Mr. Wm. Kells. Lieutenant „ Thos. Moser. Ensign „ John'Jones - ' Sergeant John Wallace „ » Tlio.s Taylor ' Corporal „ John Old „ Wm. Mc/Filliam,

Secretary' „ C. M. Harkness Cavalry Volunteers.—Oft Thursday the 12th inst. a meeting was held of members of the /fanganui Troop, Major Rookes in the Chair. The following gentlemen were elected officers. Captain Mr. Jolin Cameron of Marangai Lieutei.ant „ John F. Kells Cornet „ John Bryce Surgeon „ Philip Mussen Sergeunt-Major Mr. Geo. Roberts SeTgeant „ W. T. Owen „ „ Henry Harper Corporal „ W. Pawson „ „ John Handley

Secretary „ Geo. Roberts It was then moved by Trooper Lewis seconded by Lieut. Kells and unanimously carried :— t That the following articles be obtained by each member of the troop, and that any trooper failing to provide himself by the 31st of August with such articles, ceases to be a member jof the Wanganui Cavalry Corps, viz : —blue cloth tunic, Napoleon boots, brown *cord breeches, a cap to be approved of by the troop, carbine strap, blanket and strap, collar chain, and tether rope. It was moved by Cornet Bryce, seconded by Trooper Lewis and unanimously agreed to : That the Secretary be requested to supply each trooper with the above outfit, pattern being submitted to the next meeting of members and approved of by them, •and each trooper, having first given an undertaking for the estimated cost.

It was next moved by Lieutenant Kells, seconded by Corporal Pawson and unanimously carried : That it is the wish of the members of this troop, that the amount of money due by the Geneial Government to the late troop, and now daily expected to be received fro n Auckland, amounting to about £97, be handed overby the Paymaster to the Secretary, Sergeant Major Roberts, and that the Major be requested to see this carried into effect ; also that the share of this money belonging to any member of tlie old troop shall be retained by Sergeant Major Roberts, until such trooper shall apply for, or relinquish all claim to such share.

Tlie meeting adjourned till lsc July. We understand that 22 members have been enrolled and attested.

TURAKINA.

Mutual Improvement Society. —On the evening of Thursday the 12th inst. the Rev. J. Watkin of Wanganui, delivered a lecture to the members- of this society on “ The World we live in” In the course of his lecture he called attention to the Physical Features of the Earth, its mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms—tbe various articles used for food by man—the dress be wears, calling special attention to the changes and improvements effected therein, since our first parents were clad in fig-leaves down to the present fashionable crinoline, the various habitations constructed by him ike., &c. The lecture, which was full of information, was listened to very attentively and warmly applauded. The attendance was very good ; in fact the interest excited by these monthly lectures is greatly increasing. RANGITIKEI. Tiie Militia, —Considerable dissatisfaction has been occasioned here by the apparently neglectful manner in which this force was treated on Monday last week, on which day, agi-eeably to the notice given by Major Rookes, about 80 men assembled at Bull’s Hotel,- some of them coming from a distance of 15 miles, to be attested as Militia men. They ex peeted Major Rookes ta be there to enrol them ; but neither lie nor any substitute made his appearance, in consequence of which a day and all the trouble and expence of assembling was lost to the settlers Not-only so, having nothing to engage their attention, a few of them drank rather more than was good for them, and one man had his arm broken, while one or two others received Avounds less severe, in a quarrel which arose. The inclemency of the Aveather, Ave belieA’e, pre\ r ented the gallant Major from lea\’ing Wanganui ; but in order 1 that no similar disappointment should again happen, he has appointed Mr. John Jordan of Koreromanvalio, Captain of the Rangitikei Militia, and that gentleman Avill attest men in Major Rookes’ absence. As con--. siderable incorn’cnience must have been occasioned gy having only one place for drill, Major Rookes, as will be seen by an advertisement in our columns, lias appointed four places in all, for this purpose.

COROMANDEL. We have received a private letter from Coromandel, dated June 5, from Avliich we extract the following:— “Beeson’s leef is right beyond all con-

troversy. Six additional claims have been taken up and men set to.’work. It is easily.worked. It may, and I think will, be a fortune for every one of tlie fortunate claimants.” ‘ . .

The following is aa extract from Mr. Keven’s letter to his wife in town: —“The reef is wonderfully rich./- The last .crushing we had staggered us—from 150 to 200 ozs. to the ton. Claims on both sides taker;, up.” Mr. vVoodin writes to us thus,:—* .

•‘This morning, the 6th, we crushed about 1 lb. of -quartz before Mr. Turton and gsome diggers—in fact the diggers brought it down from the tunnel, and I could not describe the excitement, both of Mr. Turton .and all hands at the result. I bolieve Mr. Turton ps writing the Govei’nment about it.”

Messrs. Keven and Woodin have lodged a claim for the re .vard for discovering a payable gold-field.-AW/iem Cross, June 0.

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

On Wednesday May 28 the sum of £4O was voted for a Public'Pound at Te Aro., Air. Watt theu moved, —That a respectful Address be presented to His Honor the Superintendent requesting him to place upon the Estimates the sum of £3CO as a special Grant fur the Brunswick roauj&Wangativi.’j lie jaid the settlers, in the district

had taxed themselves so high as 15.,3d. per acre for making the road in question, and that they had never received any special grant from the Government as had been the ca-e at other places. The Bonnie Glen for example which had raised £IOO by local taxation and received £2OO from the Government, as well as a special grant for £3OO more, making a total of £SOO received from the Treasury to £IOO paid by the district. The Commissioner of Crown Lards said that if they had raised a rate they would lmve received £2 from the Government, for every £1 they contributed themselves.

After some further discussion in which several hon. members took part, and which covered an extent of country from the Brunswick road to the Wairarapa, the motion was agreed to. On the sum of £3OO being proposed as a special grant for the Metarawa Board, Dr. Allison explained the reason why the grant was asked for. The Provincial Treasurer said that at present the road was to all inteuts and purposes a district road, and had received the same amount of consideration from the Government as other district roads had done.

Mr. Carter objected to the grant, and thought that other districts that could make out as good a case would be equally entitled to special grants. The Government had not an unlimited supply of money at its disposal. Motion agreed to without a division. The sum of £l5O was proposed fur the Wellington Mechanics’ Institute when the Crown Land Commissioner said that he could not sanction the grant in its present shape. He would supplement the local efforts made to establish public libraries with a view to education by grants in aid, but then it must he in accordance with some defined rule and under certain defined conditions. He would amend the motion thus —“ Mechanic’s Institute £IOO in contemplation of the approaching session of the General Assembly.”

Mr. McEwen moved —“ That the ‘item be struck out. After some discussion the motion was carried by 17 to 7, our three members voting with the minority. Oil a similar sum being proposed for the Mechanic's Institute Wanganui, a long and. animated discussion took place, Mr. Watt accusing the members of the Executive of having treated the country members unfairly ; and of obtaining a grant to the /Te Ilingtonjlnstiiute by a side wind. Mr. Fitzherbert .challenged the lion, gentleman in the presence of the Council to say that he liad led him or any other hon. member to pursue a course and then betrayed them. Mr. Watt said that with regard to Mx. Fitzherbert personally his remarks did not apply, but to other members of the Executive, and lie would take care in future that all business he had tc do with the Executive, should be done in the House and in the presence of its members. It was eventually proposed that the items for Wanganui, Grcytown, Porirua and Karofi, be withdrawn, upon which the Committee divided, Hyea In, Noes 7 consisting of Messrs. Watt, Buck, Allison, Whitewood, McEwen, Bryce and Duncan. The motion was consequently h st. The sum placed on the Estimates for Ferry hells, sc., was increased from £2OO to £400; and the item for miscellaneous contingencies from £4OO to £IOOO, when the Committee reported progress and asked leave to sit again to-morrow. On Thursday May 29, Mr. Wright asked the Provincial Treasurer— “ What steps the Government propose taking for the collection of Immigrants’ Promissory Notes and guaranteed passages now overdue, agreeable to previous resolution, and on what ground the Government anticipate receiving £2OOO for the current year, which during the past twelve months has only amounted to £613 17s. 3d. from the same source.”

The Provincial Treasurer said his reply should be brief but satisfactory. It was the intention of the Government to press the payment of the promissory notes in every case to press for the completion of the contract entered into when these promissory notes "were given—except in such cases in which it was known that it was utterly impossible for parties to meet their engagements. Under these circumstances the Government .felt they were justified in believing that at any rate £2OOO would be collected during the current year. (Hear, hear.) The Education Reserves, the Wanganui Streets and the Wanganui Race Course Bills were each read a third time and passed.

The House then went into Committee on this lload Bill and after considerable discussion, eighteen clauses jvere read, amended, and agreed to. The Committee then reported to sit again.- to-uiorrow.

A long discussion ensued on the Wellington Town Board Bill which ended in its being read a second time after a motion had been passed by 18 to 2, that it should- not. be put in >u until, the inhabitants desired it.

On Friday May 30., the Provincial Solicitor obtained leave to .bring in a Bill to make further provisions relative to slaughtering cattle within the city of Wellington, which was read a first time. The Council then, resolved itself into Committee on Die. Highways Bill when its remaining clauses were read, amended and agreed to. On the Schedule being read which gives to land owners a plurality'of votes, long discussions ensued and various amendments were proposed, it •eventiiMly assumed the following shape, under 100 acres I vote; above 100 acres, and under 250 acres 2 votes; above 250 and under 500 ftcres 3 votes; and above 500 acres 4 votes. The Committee then reported progress and asked leave to sit again on Tuesday'.

The Provincial Treasurer asked leave for the Loan Bill to be recommitted to enable him tointroduee new clauses which , would render' the sinking fund Bill unnecessary ~ have granted, and Bill, recommitted. The Provincial Treasurer said that it was intended to provide in a Loan Bill before them for a Sinking Fund, and in the next sessionto bring in a .sinking fund Bill for the former 7/oans. It was proposed only to set aside £IOOO per annum for a Sinking Fund for the present Loan and to make its repayment cover a period of 15 instead of ten years. The sum proposed to be set apart will be rather more than sufficient in that time to repay the whole amount. Instead of fixing the debentures at the sum of £IOO each it was proposed to make the debentures vary in amount from £SO to £SOO. , It was pn - posed that the three commissioners who should be in charge of the Sinking Fund should be. appointed by the /Superintendent, but beremovable onlyupon an address caused by the votes of two-thirds of the members of the whole Council. The hon. gentleman regretted that he did not ssg Mr. Johnston in his place as however much the cause might lose by having so inefficient an advocate lie was not afraid to enter the lists with him, nor did lie,doubt that he should be able to prove that his statement that Pitt’s scheme had failed was in opposition to .all authorities who had written upon the subject. David Ricardo, in his article on the subject in the Supplement to the Fncy'cbpsedia Britanica did not say that the scheme had failed, but said that there was no possibility of keeping the fund safe, and as he could not see any mode by which this could be accomplished he bad come to the conclusion that the scheme must be given up. They had been told by the hon. gentleman to whom he had before alluded that a Sinking Fund must be formed out of surplus revenue, —why this was a self evident proposition as easy of-demonstration as any problem in Euclid ! But the hon. gentleman lost sight of the fact that while in England there is very rarely any surplus revenue, one half of the revenues of this Province were surplus revenues. Pitt’s scheme had not failed from any defects inherent in it, l>nt owing to the capital set aside under it, having been abstracted, and devoted to other objects.

The various clauses of the Bill were then read and after some discussion agreed to. On the amendment of Mr. Borlase the a; p liutment of the Commissioners was vested in the Governor and his Executive Council instead of in the Superintendent.

The Bill as amended was ordered to be printed, and to be read a third time on Tuesday next. The House then resolved itself into committee on the Scab Amendment Bill when the remaining clauses were read, amended and agreed to. An assessment of £d. instead £.l. was imposed on sheep on the motion of Mr. Carter; the amendment of Mr. Borlase that it he Id. was rejected.

On Tuesday, June 3, Dr. Allison rose to ask the Crown Lands Commissioner“lf it is customary to sell Government laud in this Province, to which no road is laid off and to which no road exists?”

The Crown Land Commissioner replied —“ That land was sold before survey, and consequently before any was laid off; but if land at the hack of purchased hut unsurveyed land were sold, there always existed a right of way to it, though by the nature of the purchase it could not he determined where, until the laud was surveyed.

The rest of the evening was passed in discussing' various hills in Committee. On Wednesday Juno 4, the Crown Lands Commissioner moved the adoption of the following resolutions in Committee of Supply, viz : “ That this Council hereby authorises the Superintendent :

1. To cause advances to be made from time to time by the Provincial Treasurer out of any available balance in his hands to the Land Purchase Commissioner’, for the purpose of enabling him lo make payments for any blocks of land that may be purchased within the Province. 2. Further, in the event of their being no available funds for such purpose in the Treasury, this' Council authorises the Superintendent to make the necessary arrangements for obtaining temporary advances from either or any of the local banks, to an extent not exceeding, in the whole the sum of twenty thousand pounds (£20.00))': —on the condition, that such advances shall be repaid out of the first proceeds arising from the sale of such blocks of land, and shall be regarded as a first charge on the same.”

He said that negociations were pending for the purchase of blocks of land at the Manawatu and Waitotara of the probable value respectively of £12,000 and £SOOO and that it was necessary ■ therefore that some provision should be made to meet any demands for this purpose. In reply to Mr. Watt, the Commissioner said that out of the money set apart for

land purchases in' tnis Province out of the half million loan but very little was left; it had all been frittered away-in the expenses of the Land Purchase Department.

• After some discussion the motion was carrie tl.

Mr. limiter moved—That this Council is of opinion that the rent payable by the occupiers of Crown -Lands under Depasturing Licenses, should be raised as soon as practicable ” •-

Mr." Allison moved an amendment to the effect' that in the opinion of this Council the occupiers of'Crown Lands ought to pay a high rent, and that until the nest session when the whole question should be' brought forward, effect should be given as far as practicable by the Commissioner 'of Crown Lands to this resolution. ,

. Mr;;Watt’ thought that it was a pity the motion did not come at'an. earlier period of the'session... They.could not raise the rent of the runs without giving a more secure ■tenure, and he thought that while they wera borrowing money we should not lock up the lands. There was in fact" now very little land, nor are we likely|to acquire any that .the Government ought to lease for runs. To his certain knowledge one of the best blocks of land in the province was. now held on lease from the natives by four or five persons who paid a much higher rental than that charged by the Government. If leased at all a much higher rate should be charged. After some discussion the matter was allowed to drop.

The motion of Mr. Hunter, |“Thatftbis Council agrees* to vote any sum that may be required to’ enable the Government of this province to secure the services of a •thoroughly, competent engineer,” was after some discussion.agreed to. £3OO was voted for Brunswick Road, Wanganui.

A .woman’s eyelashes - are. her triumphal arches, tinder which she enters the citadel, of. a man’s heart. Punch. ■: SEPARATION. The Meeting on Saturday was a*greats' success. The attendance was large and* influential, and the felling of the meeting in' favor of the* movement was unmistakableexpressed. The speakers did not perhaps - individually open up much ground’that has not been gene over before, but each treated the subject in his own way, and it wasf cer- - tainly highly satisfactory to those who had - the cause at heart, to find the same result * arrived at from so many points of view. The ~ first resolution affirmed the impossibility of properly governing the Middle Island from / a seat of government in the North Island. It ■ was shown that however the’ requirements - of past days might s have been suitably .'. served at so long a distance from the seat of ' government, matters were so altered now,. . that it was absolutely necessary there should be a representative of the imperial authority stationed in the Middle Island.

The second resolution dwelt upon the absorbing nature of the legislation ‘ required for the d/aori race, ami affirmed the iujus- - tice of subordinating the wants of the latge - population in the Middle Island to interests to wliich'its inhabitants are wholly alien. ~

This part of the subject is well illustrated by the immunity which the Maories enjoy irom the action not only of Anglish laws, but from the laws of civilisation. The Maories are more, than bn an equality, they are above European laws. It is a common fact, that the authorities do not dare to deal with the offences committed by Maories, and the scandal was even lately perpetrated of an advertiseruent’being issued, stating that certain Maories who had murdered six Englishmen, would, if caught, be tried for murder. No reward was offered for their apprehension, and no one could read the document without feeling that it was meant to warn these same Maories to keep, rut of the way, and that it was an outrage on morality, to deem it necessary to notify that murderesswould be prosecuted. The third resolution, which was to the meeting what the character of Hamlet is to the play, propounded that the only remedy for the evils complained of was the separation of the two Islands, and the location of a government and Governor on the Middle Island. It was also added to this resolution that the terms on which it was desirable to grant separation should he consistent with the honorable discharge by the Middle Island of all liabilities to which it was a party. The last addendum was a contradiction by anticipation of any attempt that might be made to refer the movement in favor of separation to the desire to evade the liabilities incurred in relation to the late war, including compensation to the sufferers at Taranaki. In the course of the meeting one circumstance was very observable, especially amongst the older inhabitants—the reluctance with which they had come to the decision that seperation was inevitable. The love which always grows up in the mmdrfof an EnglishIlian for the existing order of things ; the impulse which always makes him prefer the ills he knows than fly to others that he knows not of, was illustrated by the regret which the speakers expressed at the necessity for sepraat ion. T here was no doubt expressed as to that necessity having arisen ; and, indeed, no stronger test could have been found of the sincerity of the speakers than that their convictions, thoroughly assured as they were, had been arrived at with rehic-. tance and pain. ' That reluctance we certainly ascribe more to tlio involuutary desire to cherish the past than to a sound -principle, /fe go so far as to say, that instead of the desire for separation being unnatural, the unnatural part was rather that the Islands should ever have been joined under one gor vernment. It seems to us that it is iu the \ery essence of a colonial, or in other words

a delegated government, that the territory

governed should be within easy reach. But here we fiud a decided division of nature, and without reckoning other circumstances we say that it was. decidedly .anomalous to have ever considered the Northern Island as eligible for the seat from which to govern the Middle Island, //part from their physical divi'ion, there was every reason why they should have been separated, and no reason supplied by nature why they should have been joined. In population, in resources, in climate, in the conditions on which the land is held, they are divided and distinct. The Northern Island has to provide for a native race ; its land depends on precarious native bargains. The south, on the other hand, has its own peculiar characteristics ; characteristics which lmve made it to be considered the Great Britain of the sdi'hern hemisphere. In the very moment of the union of the two islands, the necessity for their ultimate separation should have been apparent, nay, more, was apparent to not a few far-sighted politicians. Those, then, who are reluctant to see that the necessity fur the separation has arisen, are only lamenting an inevitable necessity. Their reluctance and regret do them no discredit; England and Englishmen owe much to the conservative spirit that cherishes old institutions, and consents to their change with reluctance. Bat that spirit is valuable, not so much for itself, as that it supplies the guarantee that changes are not lightly or inconsiderately made. All honor then to the prejudices that have succumbed to the necessity for separation, all hail to- the converts that have allowed their prejudices to yield to conviction. We cannot doubt that the movers of the agitation for separation will feel their efforts stimulated by the success of (Saturday's meeting, and that their efforts, perseveringly pursued, will succeed in securing the object they have in view. As a matter of justice the people of the Middle Island are entitled to separation from uncongenial association with a perfectly distinct country, peopled in the majority by a distinct race. ‘Precedent lias already established the principle of permitting the dismemberment of colonies and allowing portions that desire to do so, and have the means to establish themselves into distinct colonies. In the present instance there are many favorable circumstances, and none unfavorable. In regard to past liabilities the Middle Island is ready to make itself responsible for all that it is found should be assigned to it. In regard to the seat of Government—that question the movers in the present agitation are content to leave to the Imperial Government and to the development of time. For the rest the Middle Island 13 already well tried—it 3 resources well approved, and it will start into existence as a separate colony, with means at its command larger, we believe, than any newlyfledged colony ever had before. The North has no right to oppose the separation, perhaps it will not do so, but still it is better to be ready for the worst, and the movers in the present agitation may realise an often before realised fact —that inarming for war frequently lies the surest safe-guard of i eace. —Otago Daily Times, Slay 13.

The Separation movement is ‘now a great fact. Tbo action of the crowded and enthusiastic public fmefeting! of Saturday last has elevated what’ was previously the idea of a few into the settled object of a .people. The people of the Province of Otago are now committed to the struggle and under no conceivable circumstances can they draw back. They have sounded the war note, and it will be for them to prosecute the contest. Nor is it to be feared, that they will be, called upon to do so single handed. The meeting of Saturday was but the first public and overt act for a| struggle of independence in wh ; ch not - Otago aloue, but all the provinces of the Middle Island will take part—will be banded together to achieve their release from the pressure of a thraldom which has so long checked their progress and hindered their development, to obtain the solution of those bonds, which have hitherto held them in close, but uncongenial association with]} the North, sapping their strength, and almost threatening their very life. The struggle may bo long and severe ; but, of its ultimate success, it is barely possible to entertain a doubt. Otago has nobly taken the lead ; and all that remains is for the other provinces to take up the subject in the same earnest spirit. With every consideration alike of justice and expediency on their side, they have only to be truo to| themselves to ensure a complete and most triumphant victory. It is a gi-eat point in favor of tbe success of the provinces'of the Middle Island in the contest upon which they are now entering, that what they seek is nothing new or strange; but that on the contrary they are able to point to precedents, in which the separation of colonies has been attended with the most surprising results. They can point to Victoria, which, since its separation from New South Wales in 1851, has made the most astonishing strides in the march of progress, and which now far exceeds in wealth and population, the old colony, of which it was so long a dependent province. • They can point to the more lately separated ; colony of Queensland, which since it has had the advantage of goveernment of its own, has sprung into an importance never dreamt of while it was only counted us a part of New South Wales. They can show that the colony of New Zealand, which was till 1841, a dependency of the New South Wales government, has [since its separate existence was recognised, been developed into a colony of almost, if not quite equal importance with its parent, and with prospects for the future infinitely more promising. They may point also to the colony of Natal, which only since its separation from the Cape colony has come to be generally recognised eligible field for settlement and for the investment of capital. Referring to all these precedents 'they will, at the same time,

be able to poimt out to tbe Imperial authorities in England, that immediately following, and consequent upon the sepation of these provinces arid their«*-leva-tion into distinct colonies, there has in each instance been a remarkable increase of the trade with the home country. Let us take for example the case of Victoria. We have no returns before us to quote from, but we have sufficient at hand to illustrate our meaning. We find that in the year 1851 the declared value of the exports from Great Britain to all the British colonies of Australia, including not only New South Wales, Victoria, &c., but also Tasmania and New Zealand, was 2,807,356/. In 1856, only five years afterwards, we find that tbe total imports into New South Wales alone amounted to 3,475,3591, and into Victoria, 7,691,995, while the exports of the two colonies for 1856 were— New South Wales, 1,660,187/, and Victoria 12,825,354.1 Of course, in the total imports to the colonies there will be included much besides what was received from tlie United Kingdom, but making allowances, the increase is very remarkable ; while the comparison of Victoria and New South Wales in 1856 is sufficient proof of the fact that the new colony had far outstripped the older sister ; importing more than twice as much, and exporting nearly ten times as much as New South Wales. In the case of the other colonies, results equally striking in proportion could be shown, although the amounts would not’be so magnificent. It is true that, in the case of Victoria, the opportune discovery of the wonderful gold deposits of that auriferous land gave Ji sudden impetus to the development of the resources and trade of tha country, immediatelyfafter the separation from New South Wales was accomplished ; but it must not be forgotten that the separation movement was agit ited years before, and that it was brought to a triumphant conclusion before it was ever supposed that gold would be found in Port Philip. These precedents will, we believe, furnish the foundation on which to build’up a strong a ■priori case, and to ensure a favourable consideration on the part the home authorities. But the advocates for the erection of the middle island of New Zealand into a separate colony, have no occasion to rely to any considerable extent upon precedent. They have a case which is so strong in itself, and which presents such peculiar features, that they can well allow it to rest upon its own meri L s, and to be decided upon accordingly. All the arguments which were adduced in favor of the separation of Port Phillip from New South Wales may be applied with still greater force to the middle island of New Zealand. The complaint of the distance of the seat of government; of the unfair appropriation of the revenue ; of the subordination of the interests of the more distant settlement to that which had the advantage of the presence of the Governor and of the governing staff ; of the delay of all useful legislation affecting the best interests of the province ; all these we say apply in the present instance with two fold force. But there are other arguments which are available for Otago and the’ other provinces of the Middle Island, and which are altogether peculiar. Victoria we have seen, obtained separation before the gold discoveries had given her importance : the Middle Island of New Zealand has in the gold fields of Otago a source of wealth and importance which has already raised it, in a c -mmercial point of view, to an immense superiority over its northern sister. Again the European population of the Middle Island already exceeds that of the northern by fully,fifty per cent, and its revenue is nearly three times as large. But the crowning argument, and that which alone should suffice to satisfy the home authorities, is that founded on the fact I 'of the totally different relations of tlie European colonists to the native race in the two islands. In the Northern Island the Maories are in excess of the Europeans j they! sGll hold the bulk of the territory ; they are disaffected, ancl may at any moment again become openly hostile ; to keep them in check requires a large J military force ; and the fact of the anomalous nature of the connection between them and the European settlers necessitates a peculiar and special legislation, which, however well adapted to the particular case it is designed to meet, is totally .unsuitted*to an ordinaryJßritish community. Indeed, as was pointed out by one of the speaker’s at the meeting, it may be said that the maories virtually dominate over the Noi’thern Island, and through it over the rest of New Zealand. Let us now look at the contrast. In the Middle Island, far from tlie maoi’ies being tlie majority of the population, they form a most insignificant minority, and their influence and importance in the state is positively nothing. The various provinces undisturbed by what is too well known as the “ Native Question,” which in plain English means the chance of being robbed and massacred, are rapidly advancing in everything that constitutes the a new country. Instead of being! a burthen upon the Imperial Government they have revenues far in excess of their immediate wants, and all they ask is that they be allowed to freely develope their resources, and to extend their trade without the repressing influence of a distant and unsympathetic government, and the positive loss inflicted by an oppressive and most injurious tariff. Who can say that their demand is unreasonable 1

In entering upon this agitation the people of Otago have taken especial care to avoid the possibility of the imputation of attempting to repudiate liabilities, or to desert the Northern. Island in its hour of need. It was made a prominent point in the resolutions of Saturday’s meeting

that the Middle Island should honourably undertake its share of all existing obligations; and the public agitation of tbe question has been deferred until a period when, if we may believe the northen journals, there is a fair prospect of the adjustment of the native difficulties.The agitation commenced in this fair’and honorable spirit, has, we are convinced,' only to be maintained in the same style to ensure its success. 'But there must be no lukewarmness. The other provinces must heartily co-operate with Otago in the movement, and with “a long pull and a strong pull, and a pull altogether,” they will find no insuperable difficulty in achieving what will be to them as a new birth—the independence of the Middle Island.—Otago Witness, May 17.

SHEEP.—LAMBING,

A great many squatters may be frequently heard talking about their wool, and enlarging on its merits as regards weight and quality, whilo they praise up their runs as capital “wool-growing country,” and are quite delighted if, on comparing notes with friends from other districts, they find that their clip has attained a higher price by a penny or twopence per lb. Cceteris paribus, they certainly have cause for congratulation, but it is not always that a station that produces a high priced clip, possesses equal advantages in other respects. The phrase “ a good wool-growing country” applied to a run, merely means that that is all that can be said in its favour, that it won’t fatten, but that it consists of perhaps sandy and rather barren ridges, where the fleeces will not contract much mud or dust. As a general rule not mucli is heard from the owners of such runs about their lambings.

Of course, on old-established stations, in first-class country, which are fully stocked, and. from which large numbers of ewes have to be culled and sold periodically, and on which great attention has been paid to breeding,, a heavy and-high-priced clip will, be combined with a good constitution, size, ‘and good annual increase. In such cases the extra value of the fleece forms a very handsome adjunct to the profits of the concern, and is not to be despised ; but in too many instances I fancy the wool is treated as a primary consideration, instead of a secondary one, I maintain that it is the increase that tells, and Gi* is to this that a young beginner especially must pay attention. His wool will pay expenses and a certain amount of interest, but it is to liis lambings that ho must look for profit. The differences between fifty and eighty, per cent, will make a wonderful alteration in bis agent’s estimation of him and he will find that after two or three years, if he wants to sell, numbers will pay him far better than qualityFollowing out the same line of argument, I consider that lambing is a far more important operation than shearing, and needs the watchful eye of'the owner or superintendent much more : but how often is not the reverse plan followed l How frequently the lambing is left to the overseer, while the master gives his whole attention to the woolshed !

To lay Sown certain rules for lambing would be impossible, as so much depends on tbe site elected, tlie quantity of feed, ifrc. ; while, too, almost every man lias his own - pet way of working out ibe details. All I can do is to express an opinion that the grand secret of success lies in two conditions —one of immense importance, the other of lesser, but still of great importance. The first is that the ewes should have as much green nutritious food as possible, and the other; that the ewes that lamb each day should be kept by themselves as long as possible —each day’s lambing by itself for four' or five days. To secure the first desideratum —plenty of young feed—it is scarcely necessary for me to point out, that the lambing must be arranged to take place at such a season of (the year (varying according to the di trict), that there is usually a growth of young grass. When this is not done, but tlie lambing is made subservient to the shearing, and arranged so as nob to interfere with it, the annual increase will generally be found to Tie below the proper average. I have seen myself on two neighbouring runs, one of which was much inferior to the other, a better increase obtained on tbe worse run, merely because this adaptation of the lambing to tlie season was attended to there, and was neglected on the adjoining but, in all natural respects, superior station.

If the two requisites above-mentioned are obtained, and there Js no careless mixing of the different mobs, I cannot see how ‘that with the most ordinary men much less than 80 per cent, can be obtained. The result ot my experience is, that in good seasons on a good run, and with a sufficient number of hands, the management of a lambing is a delightful because suecesful task. But widely different are the teelings of the “ super” if the season is a very dry one ; then the most anxious care, the hardest work, the best men, are of no avail. I think the greatest enemy of the squatting interest would .cease his opposition, for ever, Were he to see, as 1 have donq, a hundred dead lambs thrown out of the yards of a morning at a lambing station. I know fof nothing more discouraging or disheartening than such a sight ; for to the immense personal loss is added commiseration for the poor victims of atrophy- The owner sees too, that nothing can be done, and that he is perfectly helpless; it is of no use shifting the sheep, because there is no better pasture anywhere. And it does not raise his spirits when some one proposes to him to save the extra expenses of the lambing, and knock the lambs on the head as

they are born. You so-called.. “Liberals,” I; wish you; would be more liberal and charitable in your ideas of others. One such season as that I have mentioned is sufficient to take the gilt off half a dozen prosperous years. , For information I would mention, that sheep are lambed in flocks of from 1000 to 3000 each, and from three to four men are employed to each flock du- . pngvrtlie few weeks the lambing lasts. These men are usually allotted .as follows : : —one man takes the part of the flock that has. not yet lambed ; another the ewes with the oldest lambs, say those over the age of four or five days, technically termed the “strong mob ;” a third, if there are four men employed, tlie ewes with lambs three and four years old ; while the fourth, who usually in a measure directs the whole, takes what is tenned “the hurdles,” that is, he attends to, and keeps from mixing the ewes with tlie one and two day old lambs. Of course separate yards and pens have been provided for these different mobs ; and it would be better, and there would be less danger of mixing, if those for the older lambs were situated three or four, hundred yards from the rest. If there are, and while there are, more thar. 1500 ewes that have not lambed, it would be advisable to send a second man with them to help to bring home the lambs born throughout the day. And it would be always advisable to remove the “strong mob” to another part of the run for fresh feed, and to lessen the danger of mixing, as soon as its* number amounts to six or seven hundred ewes.

As I said before, il ewes with lambs born each day are kept apart till the lambs are four or five days old, and the mothers get plenty of fresh feed, there need be no anxiety about the lambing ; but I repeat that if there is little or no feed, no amount of care, science, or labour,will make up for. the deficiency. —Sydney Morning Herald.

TIIF FMINCE OF WALE^. The Paris Correspondent of the Nelson Examiner Ims the following gossip regarding the Prince of Wales in his March letter: — It seems scarcely credible, and yet I have the best possible authority for the statement, that the Prince is never permitted, on any pretext, to be alone, much less to stir for a single yard, without Colonel Bruce being at his side. He is not permitted the slightest freedom of action, even in matters the most simple. Although, in a years time, he will be the uncontrolled master of an income of .£200,000 per annum, private property, out of which he cannot be kept, with which he will be able to do exactly whatever he pleases, he has never, up to the present time, enjoyed the cheap pleasure of laying out a tingle sixpence without the express permission of the Queen. If lie wishes to buy a penknife, an orange, a book, a ball of twine, a telegram reports the desire to her Majesty, and another telegram brings the royal assent, or refusal, as the case may be; and so on, in every detail and particular of his life. He is passionately fond of dancing, and likes ladies’ society, as both sexes will probably agree that a young man ought to do. Bat he is rarely allowed to dance in E igland, though the zeal with which, while in the States, he danced with the hundreds of pretty American girls who were dying for the honour of being bis partners, showed how fond he is of that amusement, and amused the Paterfamilias Jonathan not a little ; and lie is not permitted, on any plea, to make the acquaintance of any specimen of the feminine gender, high or low, young or old, pretty or ugly. It will be readily understood that such a system, under which no provision is made fur providing harmless and healthful derivative outlets for the uifectional and instinctive tendencies of his agp, must necessarily provoke a practical protest in any nature, not exclusively compounded of wood and stone, and few among his future lieges will be inclined to blame with any great severity, the few escapades of the young Prince, which, however wrong and regrettable in themselves have evidently been prompted by the excessive rigidity of the life he has been compelled to lead. The Queen, unfortunately, does not seem to take this view of her son’s derelictions from the rules laid down for him ; and even the lamented PrinceJ Consort appears, in this case, to have shewn something less than the admirable common-sense and practical tact which usually marked his conduct in so high a degree. Neither of his august parents seems to have felt that, in order to keep the Prince out of the mischiefs ,iuto which young men are so,apt to be betrayed, it was necessary to allow him the innocent pleasures of social life, and to enjoy the companionship of the young people of both sexes whose rank aud ‘character naturally fitted them for personal intercourse with their future sovereign ; on the contrary, with the first indications of approaching lebellion against a life of more than monkish surveillance and restriction, theisystem of watching and restraint, already close enough to drive the most gentle temper to desperation, was made yet more secure and uncompromising, and of course with a result that may be easily guessed. It was partly in consequence of various miner ac's of transgression, which had already greatly iritated the Queen, that Prince Albert determined to send his son.to America, although undoubtedly, in so doing, lie also lmd in view the many subsidiary educational advantages .whiclr are to be derived from travelling, and the utility of sucli u visit of‘the heir apparent fio the important colony to which lie was sent. The Queen appears to have been highly gratified both by the reception given to her son in the New Wo rid, and also by the satisfactory manner in which the young Prince deported himself under conditions so novel, and in some respects sufficiently trying to a young and inexperienced man ; and the relations of the royal mutlnr and her son appear to have regained, on his return to England, the affectionate cordiality which had been previously to some extent impaired. Unhappily, with his return to England, the

dulness and monotony of a life of perpetual study and restraint began again to weigh npon the Prince, and was felt to be all the more unbearable in contrast to the interest and excitement which he, had found in his American tour, and it was not long before an accident occurred which excited the displeasure of the Queen to such a point, that for several weeks her Majesty refused to speak with or even to see her offending son To render this unhappy estrangement still more distressing to all the parties more immediately concerned, the period at which this painful separation occurred between the Queen and the Prince was precisely the few last weeks of the life of the Prince Consort, whose grief at the domestic discord which had entered, for the first time, the hitherto happy home of E iglish royalty, appears to have embittered the close of his existence.

Seeing their father’s danger, Princess Alice, acting on tho dictates of her own good heart and judgment, despatched a telegram to her ostracised brother. The Prince hastened, with a bursting heart, jto obey a summons rendered infinitely painful by the existing estrangement; and the good father, who had hitherto pleaded in vain for the maternal pardon, just before the poor Queen, exhausted with the pain of the parting scene, was led, or rather carried, by her attendants from her husband’s pillow, witli his last remaining strength took the hands of the royal mother and her weeping son, and bringing them together, pressed them fondly and imploringly in his own. , The. reconciliation thus effe ;*ed by the Prince on his death-bed seemed, for some time, likely to continue. Unhappily, both fur mother and son, the coincidence of the painful estrangement which preceded it with the last days of the royal husband i nd father to whom it had caused so much distress, appears to have left, in the Queen’s mind, a feeling almost as though the Prince’s untimely death had been, in some way connected with the grief and distress brought into the royal home by their son’s misdemeanor. Hence the Queen’s continued estrangement from the latter ; her unwillingness to allow him to open the approaching Exhibition, as, for many reasons, it would have been so right ami natural for him to do; aud the sending off of the Prince on his Oriental tour, which, though forming part of the plan of travel sketched out for him by his father, would certainly not have been put into execution so soon after that father’s death, but for the necessity of removing from the presence of the Queen, in her present utter and overwhelming sorrow, the young Prince, who, by a lamentable, though perhaps not altogether unnatural association of ideas, is so painfully connected in her mind with the absorbing sense of her irreparable loss. Most earnestly, however, is it to be hoped, on the one hand, that the young Prince’s upright and affectionate nature will fortify him against temptations to which he cannot yield without the risk of incurring a lasting estrangement from Ids widowed mother; and, on the other, that the bereaved Queen, when the bitterness of her affliction shall have been soft med by the healing ministry of Time, may be able to find, in the affectionate devotion and union of all the members of her family the comfort and cousolatiou of her future years.

INDIAN GOLD DIGGINGS. Abou r - ten years ago Capt. Ay ton of the Bombay artillery found gold in the southern districts of the Bombay Presidency, but nothing has been done in the way of further exploration until now. A letter from Bombay says:—

A few months ago an Australian gentleman, Mr. Le Souef, who had come to India oil other bus-ines, heard at the Artillery mess table of Capt. Ay ton’s discovery. Having been a gold-diger himself, he was not inclined to laugh at what he heard as the dream of a visionary, and he straightway went vigorously to work and ascertained all that was known on the subject. He then offered to go on an expedition to discover if the gold could be work'd at a profit, the only point still in doubt. A company of adventurers, or “promoters,” was soon.formed, and |Mr. Le Souef, being guarantee all expences, and assured that he would not be thwarted by Government, left Bombay for Dhawar about two months a»o. The result of his expedition 1 will give in the words of his own report, which I should add, was purposely drawn up so as not to excite too sanguine hopes. He says:— “I have found gold in payable quantities in the bed of a small river, close to the village of Soortoor, and bearing about west from it, This river extends for many miles, and at every place—say every 500 yards—for about eight miles in the bed of the creek, where 1 washed the drift, I found gold. 1 also sank two shafts, to make sure that gold existed in the bed-rock, and from a handful of dirt taken from one of these holes I obtained gold. The other pit filed with water so rapidly that I was unable to descend to the bottom. To work the bed of this river with advantage and profit, it will be necessary to have it drained. ... In one of my letters from Dhonee I stated that I had found a promising quartz reef, and that in a few days I should be able to report on its gold-bear-ing qualities ; but upon reflection, 1 thought it better to abandon the idea of opening up a reef until I had made sure of the existence of fluvial or alluvial gold. Now that I have ascertained this fact, 1 would advise that one reef he opened at Dohnee and the other at Huttee Kuttee. It is my firm opinion that the part of this territory I have surveyed for gold had not been ocean-submerged, and consequently, that these quartz reefs will give a more constant return of gold than these of Australia. I may mention that the majority of the reefs in the Kupputgood Hill run nearly north, und south ; all gold-bearing reefs in Australia run in this direction, Mr. Le Souef was compelled to return to Bombay for pumps a,nd other necessary tools for going on with the works alluded to in his report. It will be another month before we shall know certainly whether, he is right gin thinking that the deposits in Dhawar are as rich as those of Australia. Should , the gold be really as profitable as be believes, his discovery will work a greater revolution in this country than could bp effected by a dozen American wars.

Esquimaux Marksmen. While I was staying with tin m, one of the party, to prove his skill with the gun, performed the following feat:—As we were in tlife jjjjfil country, ft rid there was no tangible object to shoot at, he made a circle in the show of about two feet in diameter ; then stepping in the centre, raised his gun perpendicular froiii the shoulder, and fired in the air. Afttf firing he stepped out of the ring, and in it few seconds, to my astonishment, the bulfei came down within the circle he bad made. He coolly remarked, “We want no targets to fire atand if a man can hold his musket with such precision as to cause the ball to return to fall just where he stands, what need is there of a butt ? But the principal reason why they thus test their shooting is an economic one; not being always able to get bullets, they are chary of firing them away; and I have no doubt it is for the same reason that so many savage people have the “boomerang” or return missile. Boileus Labrador Life.

A Clever Trick. The Gironde of Bordeaux states that a respectable tradesman of that city was cheated recently by the following trick:—He had set a looking-glass.out-side the shop-door for sale, when a fashionably dressed man stopped to look at himself in it. Ashe stmd thus occupied, with his walking-stick under hrs arm, a person passing behind . came in contact with the stick, and drove it with such volence against,the glass as to shiver it to atpms." The apparently innocent cause of this accident immediately offered to pay the value of the glass, which was bOf. , and handed the tradesman a IOOOf. note. After receiving the change he took his departure, aud sooiTafterwards the tradesman made theunphasaut discovery that the note was a forged one. Story of a Zouave. They tell the story of a zouave having beeu ask d his opininon of the English soldiers after the Crimean campaign. ‘‘All,” said he, “set them down in an engagement ready prepared and well fed, and no men can light better ; but let them get into misery and distress, aud no men know less how to get themselves, out of it For instance, bur battalion was encamp-ed-beside an English Regiment which had a magnificent buck goat ; the cavalry horses of their army had no forage, and the poor beasts, getting no food, sickened and died. At this time the soldiers lie belonged to were without rations to eat, or fire to warm themselves with ; and what do you think tlu-y did ? \Vhy, they collected some boards, made a coffin, and buried the buck. My comrade and myself, shocked at such a waste of good things, took the poor ainmal up that same night; parole d' honneur, we had three good fires from his coffin, delicious messes from his flesh for seven days, and for the rest of the campaign we slept upon his skin, which kept us from damp, aud saved us from sickness. Now, what do you think of the English soldier after such a piece of. folly as this ? I have my cat, I carrj him on my sack, and he comes under fire with me, as yon may- perceive from his having lost a fore foot. 1 love and*nourish him, and he in return, will, should there be a- necessity, provide me with two days’ good living.’American paper. The Great Exhibition. Among the ; produce of Prince Edward’s Island received for exhibition,. is a pole 210 feet long—the longest ever seen. A party of riggers has beeu sent over to. hoist it.

Thb Stamp- of lApkxjdex cbt. The- imprudent man always carries postage- stamps in his pocket-book, the prudent man* never does—for ho knows well enough that he can always borrow of the man who has them. Punch.

Cheapest Advertisement. A profound secret confided to your wife. — Punch.

A Literal Corection. When Prince? Jerome was charged with putting; into the mouth of the people on the return: of Napoleon the First from Elba, the cry of “abes las pretres /” he declared that what he said, or meant to say. was “n beslas truitres /” Prince Jerome should really mind his p’s—his cues he is understood to take from dike Tuileries,. whatever apearances may say to the contra ry. Punch. ' MARKETS. Wanganui June 19, —Wheat 6s barley ss, oats ss, maize 6s per -bushel, flour (at Netlye mill) £l7, (in town) £lB per 2000 lbs, potatoes £3 per ton, bread—4lb. loaf lOd butter Is 6d per lb, eggs 2s 6d per doz.

Holloway's Pills and Ointment. —Faultless antidote. — Whatever may be the remote causes of fever, diarrhoea, dysentry, and similar ailments, it is well ascertained that these diseases are rampant in summer and autumn, and as well known that they can be safely and-suc-cessfully subdued by Holloway’s purifying., preparations. Holloways Oinoment, well rubbed upon the entire abdomen, his Pills taken internally and his dietary rules strictly observed, embrace the domestic and medical management of the diseases, which, when neglected, weaken if they prove not fatal: These remedies remove the causes of complaints, and no sufferer, whether his disease he chronic or acute, should despair till trial has' heen given to these medicines which always cure regardless of disorders, nature, or cause. " 39

Agents for theWanganui Chronicle “

Turakina —-Messrs. Franklin and Hurst, Rangitikei — Mr. Thos, Scott, Wellington- 1 — W. Lyon, Esq. • Auckl'dnd —Messrs. Wn.RiAifsofl and

Wilson , . d Nelson — Messrs. C. & J. Elliott. \ew Plymouth —F. U. GleiVhill, Esq London — Messrs. Smith, Elter. &.Cq

Moon CLast CALENDAR. Quarter June 19 2,51 a.m £New Moon June 27 0.33 a.m Juiiq. S. rises. S. sets. High water at Head 19 7 32 4 26 4 4 4 28 20 7 32 4 26 4 52 5 16 21 7 32 4 26 5 40 8 . 4 22 7 32 4 27 ,6 28 6 52 23 7 31 4 27 7 15 7 39 24 7 31 4 27 8 18 25 25 7 31 4 28 8 48 9 12 26 7 31 4 28 9 36 10 0