INTER-PROVINCIAL NEWS.

Westport Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1210, 11 September 1874, Page 4

INTER-PROVINCIAL NEWS.

The Dunedin station was the scene of ritbef an amusing incident last week, in which a donkey favorably known in conjunction with public carrying pursuits sustained rather a plucky part. An iron horse in the form of a j'airlie engine, approached one of the railway crossings just as the weaker brother in harness was in the act of getting over, the proximity of the two becoming so close that an awkward spiil seemed inevitable. At first neither side appeared disposed to retreat. On the contrary, the donkey undismayed by the superiority of the opposing force, clucked its head, and, rearing its hind quarters, prepared to contest the ground vigorous! v. Either through fear, or some other cause, the engine—which, it is but right to state, was going slowly along—quickly pulled up, leaving the donkey master of the situation. To the no small amusement of ail who witnessed the feat, the latter passed on triumphantly, leaving its buffer-built adversary to solace itself with the reflection that it had to make way for a donkey. The Wellington Tribune revives an old Hokitika yarn:—''There are many curiously addressed letters passing, through the post office, which however puzzling they might be to persons unskilled in such matters yet seem to present no difficulty to engaged in the work of sorting and delivering the mails! An amusing instance in point occurred in Hokitika a few years since, within the knowledge of the writer of this paragraph. A letter reached the post office of that town with no address upon it than could be gathered from the fact that it had a four-holo brace button sewed on it, and that letter was delivered, unhesitatingly and without question, to Mr 0. E. Button, a solicitor practising in Hokitika." It is hardly to bo wondered at that Mr Fitzhcrbcrt should object to the abolition of provinces when wo consider his salary and several other items amout together to about £ 1455. This is made up as follows • —Salary, =£SOO • entertainments, £IOO ; land purchaso agent, £150; General Government, £'3oo; honorarium, .£lO5.

Tho Wanganui Herald shows the progress mado in Marton by tho rise in tho valuo of property thero. At a first sale twelve months ago, four sections (not on the main road) were sold for £45. A few weeks after they wero sold privatoly for £OO. They \vere again sold by action for £IOO, and again they were sold privately for £135 cash. Other sections brought proportionately high prices'. The amiable weakness of the people of Auckland who favor the belief that whatever appertains to their own town or province, affects the wholo colony in an equal degree, and they are given to dignifying every little local matter there with the designation of " New Zealand," is noticed by the Timaru Herald. Recently they got up what they chose to designate " a New Zealand ploughing match,' and the prizes which were held out as a dazzling bait to competitors on that glittering occasion did not amount altogether to more than £26. Fancy that, says the Timaru Herald, in a New Zealand ploughing match! Strangers to the country, seeing such an announcement, would think us a very scrubby set we fear, taking us all round. Why, the prizes which were competed for on August 5 in " the obscure district of Timaru," as the Auckland Herald calls this neighborhood, amount to at least £LIS, and—"though we say it as hadn't ought"—we venture to believe that the ploughmen, the ploughs, the ploughing, and all the accessories of the match, will bo far more worthy of the highly respectable name of New Zealand, than tho mild effort which those happy-go-lucky Aucklanders tried to palm offon an unwary universe as the representative contest of the entire colony. The Wanganui Chronicle says : The degradation into which the House of Representatives has fallen was shown by the discussion on the question of the amount of honorarium to be given to its members, which took place the other evening. The House did not utter a word of criticism upon tho Treasurer's Budget; it passed the whole of the estimates for the year almost without a remark ; with the exception of Mr Fitzherfert and one or two others who still retain a spark of political independence, none of it 3 members had a word to say when the Government proposed a new loan of four millions sterling; but when the subject of the honorarium was brought up, it spent several hours in discussing it, and all sorts of amendments were moved to the original suggestion. The same contemptible spirit was manifested in the manner in which ic dealt with this trumpery question. A House of this kind, which is so lost to right feeling, is useless for its true purpose, mischievous as hiding the autocratic government now prevailing, and a discredit to ths Colony. Kef erring to the increase of 50 petcent on the honorarium voted to themselves by members of the House of Representatives, the Wellington Tribune says : —The laborer is worthy of his hire, and there should be no squeamishness in accepting money in acknowledgement of services rendered to the public. But an increase of the amount to £l5O either goes too far or it does not go far enough. A reasonable, even a liberal sum for expenses necessarily incurred in attending to legislative duties should be paid, but the moment you pass byoud this sum, it ceases to be a honorarium, and becomes a payment for work done or supposed to be done, which we cannot help saying is a mistake. Cajsar's wife .should be above suspicion, and there seems a tendency to make too much of the position. Bellamy's, we understand, is the best appointed club in the colony, and members are supplied with refreshments of all kinds at a remarkably low tariff. They arj waited upon by lackeys, both in the House and in the adjoining rooms, in a way that savours far more of a sort of pinchbeck aristocracy than of a healthy popular sentiment. We should like to see less of this. The more simply and unostentatiously the representation of our settlers is conducted the better, and we are sure the people throughout the country will not relish this addition to the honorarium It is a small amount, but public life and private life alike are judged largely by small things. Inspector Broham, of Auckland, in a very able report to the Commissioner of the Armed Constabulary Force, says : " The close competition amongst insurance offices is another source from which incendiarism arises. In the desire of increasing business, insurances are effected on premises without due inquiry. The large amount of insurance offers a strong temptation to the person insured ; and when to this is added a decline in business, the inducement becomes too great, and crime follows." The Christchurch correspondent to to the Daily Times says : —lt is a perfect mystery where tho grain comes from. Shipment after shipment are leaving for Home, Colonial, and Provincial markets, and yet the supply does not appear to cease. The meat factories also appear to be doing a fair stroke of business, and the export of bacon, cheese, and butter is still considerable.