NEWS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 124, 10 September 1875, Page 11

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

Notwithstanding- all that has been written- by the ' Star,' * Guardian,' and Co., as to the unanimous voice of the country being in favor of immediate abolition, it is somewhat singular to record that j the majority of meetings held throughout the colony have been in favor of an appeal to the country. Facts are stubborn things, and it cannot be denied that up to the 2nd inst. there were 74 meetings held to test public opinion, of which 32 were with abolition, and 42 for an appeal to the country. No doubt, the abolition journals will not admit that those meetings or the majority against the measure have expressed the voice of the country, but we imagine that were the , inunberß reversed, and the abolitionists in the ascendant, the opinions as to their weight would xmdergo a change. Hxs Honor Mr. Justice Johnston seems determined that everything in connection with the Court over which he presides shall be i -correct to the letter. In the Supreme Court, Christchurch, last week, J he called attejition to the fuct that the motto over the judgment seat } "had been incorrectly spelt. Instead of Dieu et mon droit, it had been painted Deiu mon droit, the "c" in the wovd "Dieu" being transposed and^the et omitted. His Honor expressed a hope that the error would be corrected without delay. "^ We have been requested to call the attention of those gentlemen who have not as yet forwarded the money received for sale of tickets for the O'Connell Celebration, to the advisability of their doing so without delay. A month has elapsed since the commemoration, and it is necessary the accounts and expenses incurred should be settled without further delay, a course which cannot be taken until all monies for tickets have, been sent in. The University Hall was crowded on Saturday evening, on the occasion of. the Choral Society's first concert of the season. Although we were forwarded the usual complimentary tickets, it was at such a late stage that they never came to hand until Monday morning, when, of course, too late to be of use. As a consequence, we are unable to speak with any degree of authority as to the success or otherwise of the concert. We are, however, pleased to see from the morning journals that it was one of the best hitherto given by the Society. Me. and Mrs. Bates after a successful season in Southland hav c returned to Dunedin, and enter upon another engagement with th c management of the Queen's, on the departure of JVIr. and Mrs. Darrell. "We understand they will open in a highly sensational drama, never before presented to a Dunedin audienco, after which they will appear in a piece written specially for the power of the company by a local author. We notice the Perth, Angus, and Mearns Association has a social gathering of their members and friends this evening in the Oddfellows' Hall. A most attractive programme has been prepared, including choice national songs, readings, and recitations. The President of the Society — Mr. Keith Eamsay — will occupy the chair, and Mr. Sykes preside at the piano. At a meeting oflthe City Council, held on "Wednesday night, the following claims were forwarded to that "body for damages sustained by reason of its neglect in not having kept the Rattray street culvert in proper order on the occasion of the recent floods : — Mr. A. Mercer, .£26 9s 6d; Mr. Peter Adair, .£3O; Mr. R. K. >"Murray, .£lOl 15s ; Mr. William Couston, .£SO ; Mr. C. Flexman, 2s-2d; Mr. A. Solomon, .£ls ss; Messrs. North and Scoullar, JE80 ; Messrs. Isaacs and Marks, .£ls ; Mr. Walter Wright, .£2O 10 ; Mr. M'Liskey, .£IOO. Mr. George Munro also claimed .£3O, in consequence of his property in Cargill street having been flooded. They were all referred to the Finance Committee. The Carisbrook Castle, having on board 350 immigrants for Mr. Vesey Stewart's special settlement, has arrived at Auckland. The selection made by Mr. Stewart appears to have been an admirable one, for they have been* characterised as the finest ship's load that has been landed for years. ' 'Special attention must have- been paid to their cleanliness and comfort "pn the voyage, the vessel arriving in the most creditable condition. The Melbourne correspondent of the ' Bruce Herald ' furnishes the f ollow.ng amusing simile against Protection :—": — " There used to be a good story told illustrative of the (peculiar folly of proloction to native industry. A certain Judge in America wanted to have a cord of firewood split up. He was just concluding a bargain with a Chinaman to do it for half-a-dollar, when a Yankee came up and offered to do it for two dollars. At first the Judge conldn't see it, but the Yankee made use of his own protectionist arguments, and pointed out that he would spend the money in the country for tho universal Sood, whereas the Chinaman would take it out of tho country. The udge thought he would be consistent for once, and so gave the job to Mb countryman. His disgust may be imagined when, on returning

to his woodpile, lie found the Chinamen buay at work, having been [ hired by the astute Yankee to do it for half-a-dollar. That story [ seems too good to be true, • but just such another can be told about our Sydney .neighbors. Some time ago, the protectionists made' * great outcry about importing railway engines from England when they could be made as cheap "and as good in the colony. The Government called for tenders, but found that the price was much above that of English locomotives. However, as a sop to the protectionists, tenders were accepted fov the colonial engines. The contractor* followed the example of the aforesaid Yankee. They Bent home to England, imported the engines in sections, and put them together in the colony, thereby putting a good sum of money in their pockeii which the Government might as well have saved. Dtjking the sitting in the House of Eepresentatives on Tuesday, before proceeding to the orders of the day, the member for Franklin raised a question as to -whether Superintendents could legally hold seats as representatives of the ]House. From the report in another column, which we take from the ' Guardian,' it will be seen that .the Government has been severely handled by a number of speakers. Coming from such a source it can be thoroughly relied on. The writer of the following, which we clip from the ' Mount Ida Chronicle,' had evidently been behind the scenes, and thus exposes the method in which the wires are pulled in the interests of Abolitionists :—": — " The latest dodge the managers of these newspapers have adopted to gain a' little artificial reputation outside the Province deserves to be recorded. Members pf their respective staffs are encouraged to hire themselves out as special correspondents, telegraph agents and the like. Added to the duty of collecting and forwarding news in general is the special duty of puffing their own respective papers, and furnishing epitomes of their leading articles and free criticism upon'thern. These are forwarded to Lyttelton, Wellington, and Auckland, to appear in the various Provincial papers. Of course the Dunediu papers reciprocate, and do the needful for their weak brethren in the North — to make things fair and equal, prepaying their own messages." It then mentions two Dunedin morning papers (which, however, shall be nameless), and gives extracts from each, bearing out the above statement, and winds up as follows :—": — " This, to us, is really disgraceful to journalism. We have merely picked from the papers immediately before us. The same thing is to be found in every issue of certain of these so-called leading papers. Even in this modified attempt at artificial importance it will be seen our Dunedin contemporaries are not very likely to reach practical benefits." The Waimea, with 322 immigrants for Otago, may shortly "be expected to arrive. She sailed on June 18, and is, consequently, now about 80 days out. The Invercargill sailed from Glasgow on July 1 for this port, with 450 immigrants. Information has also been received, says the ' Guardian,' by the Immigration Officer, of the Zealandia and Auckland having sailed during the month of July for Otago. The former has on board 210, and the latter 458 immigrants. The Wellington correspondent of our evening contemporary has evidently a taste for facts and figures, and has forwarded some highly-interesting statistics anent the speeches on the Abolition question. The debate on the second reading of the Abolition Bill extended over eleven nights, and fifty-four members addressed the House. The speeches occupy 665 columns of ' Hansard,' and, were they placed lengthwise, would measure 414-ft. 4in. The longest speech delivered was by Mr. Fitzherberfc, measuring 374 inches of ' Hansard/ or over 31ffc. The shortest was Mr._Dignan's, which, measured sin. Mr. Fitzherberfc' s speech equalled within 2in. the combined speeches of fourteen of the shortest speeches during the debate. ■ Mr. Sheehan conies next to Mr. Fitzherbert in order of length, with 203 in., being an inch short of 17ft. Mr. Reid contributed 16ffc 4£in. ; Mr. Stout, 12ft. Gin. ; Mr. J. C. Brown, lift. The longest speech on the Government side was Mr. Cuthberfcson's, who contribued 10ft. 6in. The greatest number, of speeches delivered at any one sitting was on the tenth day, when nine, members spoke. The ninth sitting, however, when seven members spoke, contributed the largest quantity of matter to "Hansard,' namely, 55ft. 6in. s "