SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

Hioa WATER : Tbls evening 10 45 ; to morrow morning, 118 SUN SET: This evening, 5.1 ; SUN RISE: to morrow tnornlni? 653 MOON'S AGE : Ist Quarter, 12lh, 7.16 p.m.

ARRIVALS.

Ladybird, s a, Andrew, from the Sonth

DEPARTURES.

Southern Cross, ss, for Kait>ara (from the Manukau) Flirt, bripantine, for Lyttelton Eb^nezer, schooner, for Wangaroa Euby, schooner, for Wangaroa

IMPORTS.

Per Ladybird, from the South: 2 bales, A. Clark and Sons; 1 case, District En gineer ; 1 parcel, National Bank; 1 case drugs, Kempt'oorne, Prosserand Co. ; 1 bale, E. Lusk; I parcel, Dalgleish and. Reid; 1 do, I. Alexander ; 50 sacks malt, Suitor and Co. ; 50 do do, Bedell and Watson ; 1 box, Qnick.; 2 hat-boxes, 2 portmanteaus, S. Johnson; l< case, Major Tisdall; 1 parcel, Uilfillan ; 15 cases, order ; 15 kegs, Nathan and Co. ; 3 do. W. Farcy; 7 do, John Solomon; 1 case, Archdeacon Pritt; 1 pkg. Close Bros ; 1 trunk, McArthur. Shera and 00. ; 5 cases butter, Hoskins; 4 do, T. Vaile ; 150 sheep, Pennington and Rundle.— W. F. Wheeler, agent N.Z.S.S. Company.

The s.s. Ladybird, Capt.fH. J. Andrews, arrived in the Manukau yesterday, at noon. She left Port Chalmersfon Sunday, the 2nd insfc. Experienced strong S.W. gale, with heavy sea, till arrival at Lyttelton at 7 a.m. on Monday. At Wellington discharged 7 tons of cargo and 27 passengers. Between Nelson and Taranoki experienced rouah ■wenther.' The La^yb rd brings a general cirgo and the follow ing passengers :—Mr and Mrs Salmond, Capt.' Petherbrid.ee, Capt. Skeet, Messrs. Bannerman, McKenzie Heale, Elliott, Eundle, and 20 in the steerage, in cluding 5 boys for the training ship from Dunedin.

The ketch Pearl was hauled alongside the outer eastern T this morning. She will here discbarge her cargo of Is'aad produce. The ship W. W. Smith has been dis charging her Auckland cargo during the day The b>i« Sy^en arrved at Adelaide on the 18 h pril. She was loading with wheat for Auckland according to last advices, and was expected to sail wiihin a week of the above date . She may therefore be looked for at an early date.

The barque Island City cleared out to-day for Newcastle in ballast. She takes the following passengers :—Mr and Mrs Trum field and child, Mrs Bates, and Mr John Hindman. The date of sailing is fixed for to-morrow.

We much regret to hear that Captain Lloyd of the as. Taranaki has been left behind at Wellington suffering from fever. The departure of the s.s. lona for the North is unavoidably postponed till Wednes day next.

Thes.s. Phoebe, which left the Manukau for the South last Saturday, took away the following passengers :—Mr and Mrs Nazer and family, Mrs White, Messrs Mabin, Owen, Nancarrow, Binks, Mackay, junr., and 14 in the steerage.

Thes.s. Tona arrived in harbour from the Bay of Islands aiid Wangarei at half p*st e'ght on Saturday night. fhe was detained under Bed Bead at the en trance of the T!ay by th 9 ST. SB. gale blowing on Friday night. She brought a cargo of gum, &c, and the following passengers:—Mr and Mrs H. Carletrm, Messrs Brissenden, Preece, Captain Marvin. St-phen son, Butler, Stevens, Stubbing?, Smith, Holrtship, Fairburn, Dickenson, Nelson. Rack^trsw, and Harkla. From Waagarei: Captain Mc3regor, Sir R. Doughs, Me«srs "Whitelaw, J. Keatley, and McKenzle ; steer age, 8. The brigantine Flirt sailed fnr Lyttelton yesterday. "While driftiug down the harbonr the tide carrried ter broadside on to one of the coal hulks which was borne down some distance The Flirt was not damaged, and after a short time got clear and pro ceeded out through tli^ TCastern passage

The s honner Peerl°ss has been tafcen into Me chanics' Bay intake, and laid alongside Messrs Fra?er and Tinne's allotment, where she will put out her kerosine

The French corvette Infcmet is to leave fcr the .Kawau to-morrow. She wtll convey his Honor the Superintendent. Prom the TCawau the Internet will proceed on her voyage to. the Islands.

The schooner Tawera cleared on Saturday for Kai para with 2 toss flour, 8 bags sugar, and 4 cases beer. She sailed to-day. She loads for the Manukau at Hokianga, and thence proceeds to Lyttelton.

The schooner Christina has been discharging her cargo of coals at.the North Shore.

Word reaches us from Eu?sell that one day last week six of the cew of the whaler Coral now lying at Bay took one of the ship's boats and cleared out Search parties have been after them, but they have not yet been found.

The whaling barque Napoleon arrived at the Bay E-tst Monday with 260 barrels of sperm oil taken since leaving home this cruise.

TELEGRAPHIC SHIPPING.

Nelson", this day. The s.s. Phoebe arrived at 10 o'clock last night from New Plymouth.

COMMERCIAL.

At Messrs Cochrane and Sons sale-rooms to-day the following transactions took place : house and land in ParneH with 66 feet fron tage to Alma Place, sold for £305; house and allotment in Edwardes-street, with 30 feet frontage, sold for £152 10s. Parcel of for feited shares in the Union Beach, G.M.C.. (Limited) fetched 103 per share; parcel of forfeited, Bendigo Independent, G.M.C., shares sold at Is Id each. Nineteen cases of clocks, ex Macgregor, realised good prices.

CHIEF POST-OFFICE, AUCKLAND.

Mails "will Close as follows. — For Thim«s, this day, at 6.30 p.m., and to-morrow, at 9 30 a m For Cor< mnudel. on Fridiynext. at 11.80' am For Kawau and Matakana, per Lady Bowen, to-mor row, at 9 a m. For Great Barrier, per Three Brothers, to-morrow, at 9 a.m. For Oootiki, per Echo, to-morrow, at 5 p.m. For "Waniarei, Eussell. Wangaroa, and Mongonui, per lona, on Wednesday next, at 4 d m For Taranaki, Southern Provinces, and Australian Colonies, per Ladybird, on Wednesday next, at 1 p.m. For Opotiki, per Coralie, on Wednesday next, at 5 p.m. Per City of Melbourne, on Friday, the 14th inst,, as under:— For Sandwich lalands, United States of America, Canada. British Columbia, Central and South Ameics, and British and Foreign West Indies, at 10.30 a.m. Kor the United Kingdom and Continent of Europe, at 10.30 am. For money orders, registered letters, and news paper*, at 9 30 am Late letters bearing a Tate fee of 6d in addition to tha postage, will be received on board by the M»il Agent up to time of sailing. (Signed) J. E. Conkv, Acting Chief Postmaster.

MARRIAGE.

DHNDASS—LYLE.— At Onehunga, on the 21&t June 1874, by the Rev T. Hanier, Mr Charles Winslow Dundass to Fannie L. Lyle, late of Sydney, N.S.W. McOAKC-KENISrii!VLLY.-On April 14th. at St. John the Baptist's Church, Parnell, by the Bey H J. Fynes, "V.tjr , Daniel McCait, of Couiitv .Antrim, Ireland, to Mary Catherine Kenneally, of Onehuoga.

DEATHS

SHANNON—At <he Provincial Hospital, on the sth inst Edward Shannon, of Puhlia, Ireland, late of H.M Royal Arlillerp ; a«ed 38 years. He leives a wire at the Old AVomen's iiefuge (who is totally blind) to lament his los?. HkLLaBY-On May 9 at the residerce of Mr E. Richard, Kyber Pass Road, Edward Hellaby ; aged 26 years. The funeral will leave at 2 p.m., on Tuesday, May 11. Friends please atcept this invitation.

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News and the Morning News.

MONDAY, MAY 10, 1875

•For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong tmt needs reslatttacs, U«r the fature in the distance. As 4 the good that we eta do.

The address of His Honor the Superinten dent in opening the Provincial Council to-day is not in the category of ordinary Superin tendental speeches. As was expected of Sir George Grey, his thoughts are nob confined within the narrow limits that. are ordinarily regarded as shutting in provincial questions ; but taking a sharp and comprehensive view of the external relations of the province, he lays bare the causes of that deplorable con dition in which confessedly the province is found. Referring our readers to the speech itself, as published in our other columns, we shall make cursory reference to some of the more prominent of its interesting and strik ing details. As was natural, his Honor makes feeling reference to the death of his lamented predecessor. The waim personal friendship which existed between the present and the late Superintendent, and the genuine respect in which Mr Williamson was held by Sir George Grey, on account of his single minded zeal for the public welfare, make this no mere passing reference due only to the necessities of the occasion, and we sincerely hope that the suggested idea of "jointly making some public recognition of the worth and services of the late Superintendent will be cordially accepted by the Council. In the former portion of his address, His Honor enters at length into the financial question as between the province and the Colonial Government, and in doing so brings into clear relief some features in the position that must have a startling effect. It must be admitted that with fearless hand he tears the veil aside, and shows the skeleton n the closet. Stripped of all. adjuncts that cannot be regarded as other than " Make shifts,"' the legitimate Provincial revenue is but £15,000, to which may be added the Gold-fields revenue which is absorbed in local , Goldfialds' purposes. The past history of the capitation allowance, and the doubtful tenure on which it is held and the antagonistic spirit exhibited by the General Government in relation to the hand rng over of land for provincial administration make the Superintendent place small store on these two sources of income, and, he exhibits the position in all its nakedness. In contrast he places the actual payments of the people in revenue under all heads, the vast bulk of which goes to the General Government and to many a man it will be an pleasant thought that a labouring man with hia wife and four children pays £27 12s in taxation. His Honor refers to the £40,000 advanced to the Province last session of Parliament ; to the £50,000 voted as advance in aid of the Pumping Association at the Thames, on both of which subjects he invites the opinion of the Council. The i miserable remits of the land purchasing proceedings of th« General Government, aa shewn, in the ,

acquisition of 2,699 acres of agricultural land and an indefinite quantity of worthless land encumbered with leases to Europeans for forty-five and ninety-nine years, are forcibly brought out ; and His Honor dilates with an earnestness and depth of feeling not usually found in such addresses on the wrongs under which this Province suffers in respect of the public land. The claim on this land-fund, he says, is a subsisting and living right. No wrongdoing of one set of repre sentatives can lastingly deprive of rights secured by law. Another set of representa tives can rectify wrongful acts and give reparation for wrongs suffered, and at such reparation and compensation a3 a right, his Honor more than hints. Having laid bare the nakedness of the land, the Super intendent comes to the interesting question what remedy may be applied. The problem is carefully worked out, and the result arrived at is the necessity for largely decreas ing the pressure of customs' taxation, and throwing the burden on property and income. His reasoning and sentiments on this subject are deeply interesting, and we commend their careful perusal to our readers. To immigration, agricultural progress, the diffi culty in the goldfields delegation, the pro posed constitutional changes, and education, His Honor also refers, on all of which his state ments are exceedingly valuable and sugges tive. As might be expected from the prece ding,HisHonor propose sbutlimitedlegisation in the present session, and the voting of a temporary supply until the results of the coming session of Parliament are known. This is quite in accordance with the course which we lately asserted to be the only pos sible one in the peculiar circumstances, and is the course that will commend itself, we believe to the good sense of the whole people. The address is one of great value, and will be of the deepest interest not only to the people of Auckland, but throughout the colony.

The Court and offices of the District Court will be closed on Whit-Monday and Tuesday, the 17th and 18th instant, and on the Queen's Birthday. Causes set down for hearing on these days will be postponed until the 31st instant.

There were no creditors present at the meeting re Webb, a bankrupt, in the office of the Provisional Trustee. The meeting therefore was adjourned for a week.

Through the courtesy of }Mr. Mitchell, Clerk of the Executive, we are able to publish the Superintendent's speech a few minutes after its delivery.

The Good Templars of the Good Intent and of other lodges spent a pleasant evening on SaUirday, under the presidency of Mr Browne. Readings, songs, and music, formed the programme of a good Saturday'a night entertainment.

To-morrow evening Mr Dennes will give the first of his lime-light exhibitions in Ponfonby, in aid of the harmonium fund of the All Saints' Sunday-school. The subject, we understand, will be the cathedrals of England, with a descriptive lecture. The instrumental and vocal music will be undor tha direction of Mr W. J. Reca.

The annual general meeting of the Wo'th Shore Football Club will be held in the VTasonic Hotel this evening at half-past seven o'clock sharp, for the purpose of electing officers for the ensuing year ; also for the distribution of uniforms. A scratch match took place at the North Shore on Satur day, in which the North Shore. Parnell, and Auckland clubs took part. Sides were picked by Messrs Eees and Henderson, and a most enjoyable game was played. No gaol was obtained. A match, North Shore v. All-comers is talked of for next Saturday at the North Shore. Mr. Samuel Worms announces that ths members of the Star of Newton Good TempL'ir Lodge will meet in future on Tuesday even ings instead of Thursdays as heretofore. At the Pitt-street Discussion Class to-night a debate will take place on the theme which now engrosses the attention of all thinking men in this part of the colony. The subject i s : _" Ought the present system of Pro vincial Governments to be abolished," and the debate will be opened in the affir mative by Mr Theo. Cooper and in the negative by Mr Mitchell. As this is a sul.» ject in which everyone feels some interest, the members of the class hope that a good number, both of visitors and friends, will be present. The class meets in the school-room, beneath the Pitt-street Church, and the business commences at eight o'clock. "A Ratepayer" writes with reference to the weeding of streets and picking up of stones by city employes ; also to the charges of tippling raised by "Bourgeois" against certain of the same clasß. Our correspondent gives the initials of two men she takes to be indicated by "Bourgeois," and adds: "I was a personal observer of the weeding of streets on the knees, which occurred in Eden Crescent, and I don't blame the man for weeding on his knees, for he visited the stand-pipe too often to stand upright." We refrain from publishing the initials furnished, as we have no doubt the City Surveyor will take any steps he considers necessary to secure the efficient performance of the duties required from the city labourers, who are, we believe, generally, although it may be with one or two exceptions, a respectable and industrious class of men.

A case of sudden death occurred on Satur day last in Shortland. The deceased was the wife of Mr. Thomas Lowndes, owner of a cutter at the Thames. She had been in indifferent health for some time, and had shewn symptoms of insanity, and on Satur day was found dead by her little daughter. An inquest was held the same afternoon, and a verdict of " Death from.heart disease," was returned.

We learn that Mr De Lias's excellent com pany has met with such marked success at the Thames that they will remain there a week longer than intended. Mr De Lias has returned to the city to make arrangements for re-opening the Prince of Wales Theatre for a short engagement with Mr and-Mrs Darrell and the other members of the com pany, which had such a capital season here before. The new season will commence on Monday next. We notice ia the Melbourne journals commendatory notices of the stock company engaged by Mr De Lias.

They wind up bankrupt's estates pretty close in Napier. A gentleman in Auckland war astonished the other day on receiving the following letter from the trustee in the insolvent estate of Frederick Jones, boot and shoe maker, a brother of George Jones, a printer'of'this city. The note runs : —"Napier, April 28th, 1875. Sir,—l en close your account due to the estate of F. J ones, bootmaker of Napier, and , request that you will be so kind as to settle it without delay and obligefyour's, truly, W. K. Me Leak, trustee, per Jas. S. Master." Not being aware that he had any account due to the estate mentioned, our informant with some precipitancy tore open the account furnished and found the amount due set forth thus :—" Balance of account, one shilling. " The cost of postage and stationery involved in collection will absorb the greater part of the *urn claimed. If the same exactness ia observed in all the trustee's proceedings he should succeed in winding up the estate pretty close; although it must be admittedi that if air the accounts are of equal value and coat: the same proportion for collections, the creditor* have » poor look out.

The experience of Auckland fires points to the necessity of organising a Salvage Corps. A.t present the usual thing when a fire breaks out is for a dozen or more persons to enter the burning house, and, without method or reason, bundle out the furniture into the street. Hence it not unfrequently happens that a large proportion of it is so much damaged by unskilful removal that it is of little value afterwards. Who has not, in the excitement attendant upon a fire, seen, the most absurd things done ? Crockery thrown out of an upstairs window ; cabinets or wardrobes shivered to pieces by being allowed to come into hard contact with the metal of the street; glass and other fragile goods destroyed simply from want of ordi nary care. A good deal of this reckless blundering might be prevented by the forma tion of such a corps as that we now suggest. Any number of men might be enrolled, and their badge of membership could be some thing very simple, such as a scarlet wrist band, or a peculiar cap. A few practical men should be appointed officers. Tn several respects the existence of such a body would be advantageous. The officers would be able to direct the proceedings with some deg) cc of system and order, thereby preventing confusion and breakage. The owners of property would have full confidence that no pilferers were present on the pretext of working. There would be fewer disputes between the insurers and the offices as to what property was destroyed, for the head of the Salvage Corps would send in his report after each conflagration. More real work would be done, and there would be less interference with the action of the firemen. These latter would be especially gladof suchaninnovation. At present it is often very doubtful whether it is their more imperative duty to rescue what valuables they can from destruction, or to confine their efforts to endeavour to ex tinguish the flames. With a Salvage Corps there need be no occasion for such a dilem ma ; the work of the fire brigade would be confined to cutting off the fire, and their companions in arms would see to the other work. We commend the idea to the City Council and the Fire Insurance Offices. It has already found acceptance in most large centres of population, and the sooner it is adopted here the better.

The United Carpenters and Joiners of this city will hold their usual business meeting this evening at the Young Men's Christian Association rooms.

Mr. W. G. Carey, the well-known actor, has been playing Othello to Mr. Fairclough's lago, at Castlemaine, Victoria. Allen's Opera Company opened prosperously at Adelaide, where the Circus, with the Japanese, hrd been playing a successful season of five weeks at the theatre. Mr. Cotterell and his wife (Isabella Carandici) have just commenced a provincial tour in South Australia, and Madame Cora and her company were doiug well at White's Rooms. "The following most absurd statement," writes our Hamilton correspondent, " appears in the Cross : ' Constable Robinson, stationed in the Waikato districb, brought to town a man named George Hippew (lippew is the correct name) sentenced to G months' im prisonment for chopping a man's head open with an axe.' This is most absurd. The man Tippew is somewhat disposed to fits of temporally insanity, and during one of these (its threatened (did not do it) to chop the head of a person in Hamilton open with an axe. He was sentenced to obtain sureties to keep peace for nix months —not to (> months' imprison tntnt, and in default has been obliged 10 go to prison. In reference to sub- Inspector Northcorte's inquiry the same ground has almost been gone over, as in Major Clare's only a nativechiuf was examined to shew that Nortbcote had. the very fullest permission, and that the chief accompanied him through, so that he would be well treated. Major Mair, a member of the Court, testified that Nortbcote had rendered the greatest service to both him and settlers in native matters in getting back settlers cattle which had strayed, and in settling small dis putes. TheR.M. Court finished on the morn ing of the 7th. George McCana, for assaulting and obstructing Timothy Howard, bailiff, in execution of a warrant against G. N. D. Hay by Quick and Stewart, was fined 40s and costs. The Resident Magistrate would only enter into the question of assault, main taining that under the Resident Magistrate's Act he had no power to question the right of possession of sheep, no right to enquire whether the sheep were the bailiff's pro (am. under the warrant of Supreme Court or any other persons^

Our Pigeons' Goldfields Budget.

From the despatches brought by our pigeons to-day we take the following items:—

TAiftUA

In the Prospectors' claim there is every indication of a quartz lode three to four feet thick in the western side of the shaft. In the low level the ground still remains hard, but with every appearance of becoming softer. A further distance of 26 feet has to be driven before the lode is jmet with. The whole country dips westward. Those who pegged easb for the underlie will find their mistake. There is confidence here but pending the litigation mere shepherding is the order of the day. A body of men have started a drive at Pakiriarahi creek to intersect a lode supposed to exist there, which gives excellent dish prospects. Even the cement through which the drive is passing would pay hand somely if a battery were handy. O'Dowd, Butler, Jackson, and others have erected substantial stores at the Upper Township and gully, Gillett, Burdett, and others at Measletown.

OHINEMURI.

At a meeting held at McCloughen's hotel, Mackaytown, on Saturday afternoon, it was proposed that the leasing regulations of the Act of 1866 be brought into force, in order that the number of men legally employed on mines might be reduced, so as to prevent the necessity for protecting claims during the winter. An amendment moved by Mr D. Hogan and seconded by Mr J. Dickson, to the effect that it was not desirable to bring the leasing regulations into force, was carried.

"ODDS AND ENDS."

Mb and Mrs Case (Grace Egerton) amused a large audience on Saturday evening at the : Prince of Wales Theatre, with their capital entertainment "Odds and Ends." The scenes and characters were delightfully varied and full of mirth and fun. Some of the songs were extremely telling such as "Fading Away," and " Come into the Garden Maud." The nervous lady, rightly named "Tremlet," was well pourtrayed with all the old maidish peculiarities .of that timorous individual, who loves her dog Tim, and brandy and water in preference to the pure element. The stage struck Molly Brown was another of Mrs Case's lucky hits, which produced|greatlaugh ter from all parts of the house; but of all the character presentations, we think the most: successful, perhaps, because the most familiar, was the meeting of Sairey Gamp and Betsey Prig, in Kingsgate-street, Hol born, in her way to Bloomsbury Square. This was excellently done by Mr aud. Mrs Case, and heartily applauded, none the less so, by the recent recital of the same im mortal confab between those two once popular ladies. The scenes closed with a comic sketch, entitled " Married and Settled," which was wondrous in its effects upon the spectators. Mr Case was very successful with his musical accompaniments on the violin and concertina. "Odds and ftnds" will be repeated this evening, and on Wednesday the final performance of these clever delineators of the grotesque in human life will take place. To-morrow evening the audience will have an opportunity, in com pany with Mr and Mrs Case, of taking a trip up the beautiful Rhine from Cologne to Mainz.

OPENING OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL

Tlie Superintendent's Speech'

The 30fch session of the Auckland Pro vincial Council was opened to-day by His Honor Sir George Grey, Knight, X.C.8., the Superintendent. There was a full attendance of members. G. M. O'Eorke, Esq., Speaker, took the chair. His Honor the Superintendent shortly afterwards entered the chamber and said :— Mr Speaker and Gentlemen oh1 the

Provincial Council, — I have taken the earliest opportunity of meeting you after my election to the office of Superintendent. The melancholy event which was the cause of my being brought into the position I now occupy, was, no doubt, as deeply felt by you as by myself. I trust that a fitting opportunity may present itself of our jointly making some public recognition of our appreciation of the important services for so many years rendered to this province by the late Mr Williamson, whose love for, and devotion to, the interests of the inhabi tants of this country were, I believe, unsur passed by those of any other man in the colony of New Zealand. Although I conceive it to be a great honour to have been chosen to the post of Superin tendent of Auckland, I can hope, for no great satisfaction in my office unless I can succeed in promoting the happiness and prosperity of the inhabitants of this proviuce. which I shall sincerely endeavour to do, and hope that by your assistance my efforts may not be wholly unsuccessful, but that our united exertions may, in great measure, secure the welfare of her Majesty's subjects in the northern portion of this Island —efforts which will be highly appreciated by the Queen, to whom the welfare of every (jarc of her vast empire is an object of concern. The prosperity of every State must greatly depend upon its finances being conducted upon a sound basis ;—upon perfect integrity and punctuality in all its transactions with the public or with individuals, and this can only be obtained by an economical and just adminintration of its revenues. I have, therefore, directed my attention during the short time I have been in office, especially to the subject of the financial position of this province, and its prospects for the future. You will find that your Provincial revenue, upon which you can wholly depend, is extremely small, but little exceeding the sum of £15,000 a year. To this may be added a sum of about £10,500 from the gold fields and other sources. It is true that from the General Government we should be entitled, during the ensuing year, to receive about £17,500 from capitation and special allowances, whilst our land revenue might possibly amount to £2,000 during the same financial year ; but such large reductions are made by the General Government upon account of various claims from time to time brought against the province, that we cannot reckon with any certainty upon receiving perhaps even two-thirds of these estimated amounts; indeed one-half of the land revenue must be deducted to pay advances already made to this province by the General Government. Whilst the Provincial revenue proper is so small a very large revenue is raised in the whole from the inhabitants of Auckland. Generally the heads of that revenue may be stated as follows : —

Making a total of £309,05G 0 11 The inhabitants of the province are Btated in the last Census as being 67,450 souls, ex cluding natives. This gives a taxation of about £4 12s. Od. a head on every man, woman, and child composing the European population, which means that each small farmer or labourer who ha 3 a wife and four children contributes aboot £27 12s from taxation each year to the revenues of the colony. If we consider the con dition of a labourer so circumstanced receiving five shillings a clay wages, and working every day in the year, without one holiday, or one day's sickness, and never being out of employment for a single day, he would then earn £76 in the year. Such income is, however, reduced at once to about £48 a year; for the present system of taxation, which is levied mainly upon the necessaries or comforts of ordinary life, falls heavily upon the poor. This large proportion of his annual earnings is taken from him by in direct taxation in such a way that although he feels impoverished he finds a difficulty in tracing out the cause which leads to his embarrassment. Yet this cause provides that education shall almost be withheld from his children, whilst he together with them and his wife must be deprived of many comforts which his labour and providence justly entitled them to if their interests were duly attended to by the Government; and his chance of making any considerable savings from his wages is now very small.

You are aware that by ah Act passed in August, 1874, an advance of £40,000 was authorised to be made by the General Go ' vernment to the Province of Auckland, on terms to be arranged between the two Go vernments The agreement made, in com pliance with this Act, was : That £6,000 was to be paid immediately after the passing by the Provincial Council of an Appropriation Act, and £6,000 was to be paid every three months thereafter, until the total amount of £40,000 had been reached. The General Government has paid £12,000 of this ad vance, but refuses to carry out the agree ment entered into, stating that the portion of the £40,000 paid in any one year mast not exceed £24,000, as if it were an annual grant. I beg you to consider whether it is desirable ito receive any further sums upon account of this advance from the General Govern ment,- as half the land revenue of the province is for the first two years to be taken by that Government in payment of the advance so made, and after that period of time the whole of the land revenue is to be ; taken in payment of the advance until the entire sum advanced has been repaid. You can, therefore, only avail yourselves hence forth of this advance by consenting to a con siderable reduction of your annual revenue ;in each year after the termination of the present one. You will observe that such advances made by the General Govarnmeat to this Province are apt to mislead the public. We appear to receive a boon, but merely increase our indebtedness and dependence. There can be no doubt that in its revenues this Province has been greatly wronged; and I think it would be better, instead of begging for advances which are to be repaid, quietly but manfully to require that justice shouldbedone to"the inhabitants of Auckland—that an immediate stop should be put to the extravagant expenditure which is effecting our ruin, and that the financial righta of spending ourselves the main part of our own revenues, which were assured to us by the Constitution Act, should be at once restored to this Province.

By another enactment the General Govern ment made provision for carrying out an agreement the Ministry had concluded with the Pumping Association at the Thames to advance them £50,000, upon securities given by that body to the Superintendent of this Province. The General Government now propose that this £50,000 should be made a charge upon the province of Auck land. All the papers connected with the agreement will be laid before

yon, and it will be for you to determine whether you will assume the liability for this sum of £50,000, and wUi annually vote such portions of it for the use of the Pumping Association a8 that body m?kn£mof £60,000 was appropriated by the General Government for the construction of roads in the Northern Island of New Zealand. Of this amount only a sum of about £10,000 has been placed at the disposal of ?he Provincial Government. The accounts connected with the expenditure of this amount shall be laid before you. Such portions of the special allowances of £25 000 and £4000 respectively as have not been absorbed by claims made against the Provincial Government, have been paid or will be paid, to your Treasury during the COAryou a rl S a yw aare,asumof £250,000 was appropriated by the General Government for making land purchases from the natives in this province, with a view to se curing a large landed estate and a future land revenue for the people of Auckland. The Provincial authorities have in no way been consulted regarding the expenditure of this sum, or the purchases of land they would desire to have made from it ; and they are left in entire ignorance of the mode in which, and the persons by whom, the land is pur chased, of the remuneration given to the land purchasers, and of the prices paid for the tracts of land acquired. The province has, however, had handed over to it a landed estate thus acquired of 123,93(3 acres. Out of this about 108,000 acres have been in spected on the ground for the purpose of determining the character of the land ot which the Provincial Government has become possessed. The result shows that only 2,699 acres of really good agricultural land has been handed over to the province ; that there areß 674 acres of second class land, and 9b,150 acres of land of no agricultural value what ever Considerable portions of the land so handed over are so embarassed, by haying been leased by natives to Europeans for long terms of years, for the purpose of cutting timber and other similar objects, that the value of the blocks acquired has (it the leases are lawful and valid) from this circnm stance alone, without reference to the generally very inferior character of the soil, been greatly impaired.

I have felt; it to be my duty, in considering what steps should be taken for the future of the province, to attempt to ascertain its financial position in reference to the General Government of the colony. We have here the extraordinary spectacle exhibited of a province excessively rich in all natural resources, many of which are of an exception ally valuable character, —blessed with the mo3t favourable abounding in har bours, and inhabited by a most industrious people, who yield an unusually large revenue, still making little or no progress compared with the career which Nature seems to have destined it to run. And the cause of this apparent anomaly is not very difficult to discover. Aucklaad alone of all the colonies and province^ in this portion of all the world is deprived of a land fund. The bounty and the foresight of former Govern ments of Great Britain have provided a large landed estate for the benefit of its subjects, European and Native, inhabitating the Islands of New Zealand. Of its share in the vast land fund which has arisen from this great property the Province of Auckland has been, and still is, deprived. I make no statement here regarding the legality or illegality of this transaction; I state a fact which has impoverished, nay ruined, mul titudes of industrious families, and left J energetic men, who ought years since to have been in a position of wealth and comfort, still struggling wibh difficulties against which they can hardly contend, and harassed by seeing their wive 3 and children sunk into a condition of society which their birth, education, and tastes render repug nant, almost insupportable to them. The claim of the people of Auckland upon this land fund is a subsisting and living rieht. No shortcomings or wrongful acts of one set of representatives can lastingly de prive a people of rights secured to them by law • such rights still subsist and live. Another set of representatives can rectify the wrongful acts or shortcomings of those who preceded them, and can give reparation for wrongs suffered ; and I still believe that, either in the adjustment of the payment of the interest on the public debt, or by some similar means, a method must be found for making some reparation to the people of Auckland for the wrong inflicted on them in regard to the land fund, and in recognition of their rights to participate for the future in the benefits of that land fund, although these may now be small.

You will, I think, see from the papers that will be laid before you that there is no hope, under the system at present adopted, that any land fund of importance will ever accrue to this province from the vote of £250,000 appropriated for the purpose .of acquiring lands from the Natives in the Northern Island. I feel sure that to rely upon this proceeding as a mode of extricating this pro vince from its difficulties, and securing it a future land fund, would be an unwise pro ceeding upon the paTt of its inhabitants. As in the case of the loans, to which I have already alluded, this is a proceeding which I think we should not recognise. We are in it treated as children, having no rights, or who are incapable of exercising them. It is one which to us is humiliating, and I believe it is in principle and practice unthrifty and unwise ; I should prefer rather than adopt it, quietly but with firmness to rest upon our actual rights, and to request that these may be distinctly recognised, ascertained and compensated. If the large debt we owe is charged npon and paid from the land fund, the colony must virtually give up to its creditors the control of its landed estate. It can thence forth establish no special settlements nor encourage the location of settlers under systems peculiarly suited to provinces or localities. Industrieus but poor families can no longer be located under regulations afford ing them just advantages. In many respects the progress of settlement must be again re stricted, and it is to be feared that in another form the interests of the humbler classes, upon whose prosperity our material progress chiefly depends, will be sacrificed, whilst those who have most benefited by the large expenditure which has taken place will still escape from the payment of their fair share of those liabilities to which they ought in justice to contribute.

If we now turn again to the state of the finances of the province, we shall find that from a people already so depressed by the deprivation of that land fund which had been provided for them a great revenue is raised, amounting in the whole to more than £309,086 a year, of which about £249,000 is actual ordinary revenue raised from Customs duties and from Stamps. The whole of this great revenue, with the exception of £15,033 Provincial revenue, and £10,500 from the goldfields, is, in the first instance, taken from them and carried to a distant part of the country. There is then," as I have already shewn, returned to them from so Vast an amount, a sum which does not nearly, reach £18,000 in one year. . ;Ifc may be said that if I estimate the revenue taken from the province at £250,000 a year, that the cost of the courts of justice, and establishments of the General Government, is paid by the people of this province from fines and fees, and other similar sources of what I treat as extra ordinary revenue, and that after they have paid for the support of these establishments and their own provincial expenses, the sum taken from them is about £250,000 a year. I ask you to consider what this means : It is this, that a sum exceeding £3 10s. per head per annum is levied upon the entire population of this province —upon each man, woman and child, and is carried from it to be in great part spent elsewhere. It is a deeply interesting subject; of en

quiryl to ascertain -what remedy m*y ba applied to such a Btate of things. |< It will, however, be found that | difficnltieu lie in the way of betti jg the future prospects of the peopj o f this province. You will find, looking ,; the rev"enae and expenditure of the w^ole of New Zealand in a general manner, that the estimated revenue amounts to about £1,450,000 a year. Ido not think that the interest on the various loans can be stated *k less than £850,000 a-year. This leaves be tween £500,000 and £600,000 as a margin to work upon for the purpose of carrying out reductions in the public expenditure. The whole of this sum in the estimates of the General Government, with the exception of about £45,000', is absorbed on objects to a great degree necessary for the peace and good order of the country, although from the extravagant manner in which this is done there is°a great waste of means. The sum of £45,000 is treated as an available balance in the estimates which are laid before* the public i but in the estimates which bring out this available balance of £45,000, very large sums of money are not included in the expenditure which,. under any proper system of finance, must have been borne as a charge against the general revenue: such as various payments to provinces, immigration charges, public buildings, balance ofdefence expenditure, furniture, museums, offices for departments, and other like charges. It is thus evident that the margin left to work on for the purpose of carrying out reductions in the public expenditure mast be exceedingly small. Something may and ought to be m stantly accomplished in this direction for the present rate of expenditure admits of very great reductions ; but, when the total amount whwn cotlld be saved is divided between the several provinces of JNew Zea land the share received by each can but slightly reduce the burdens thrown upon the inhabitants of each province. It may be said that additional taxation must be im. posed upon the people, but I apprehend, that in truth the limit of profitable taxation m the direction ia which it has hitherto been im posed, have been' almost, if not actually reached, and that it is very doubtful if further taxation in that direction would much increase the revenue, whilst it certainly would greatly diminish the comforts and process of the inhabitants of this proving. It may be replied that the income realised from the railroads, when completed, will do much towards paying the interest upon the debt; but I believe that the cost of mam tenande and repairs will, at least for several years, be so large, compared with the possible traffic on such railroads, that but^a very small margin of profit, if any, will be avail-

able for public purposes. . " , The plan that appears to hold out the greatest hope of a considerable increase m the revenue is to attempt, by largely reducing the present system of taxation, to lower the cost of clothing and of the prune neces 3 aries of life This would relieve the mass of the population from heavy burdens which now impede their mdnstry and limit their comforts. Small farmers and the in habitants of country districts would then be able to carry on their operations freed from some of the burdens by which they are now overweighted. But even when this was done it would still be necessary to nave re course to a system of taxation by -which the wealthy would be required to contribute to the necessities of the State to an extent which bore some proportion to the value of their property. I believe that m this way a larger revenue would be reaped from the Customs and the ordinary taxa tion than is obtained under the present heavy rates of duty, and that commerce and trade would revive and increase, W^B^ the amounts obtained from taxes, to which, those realising large fortunes were forced to contribute, would form a valuable addition to the revenues of the country. In considering any measures you desire to adopt for economising, as far as practicable, the expenditure of this province, you will do well to be*r in mind the subject of the general finances of the colony, so as to har- . m/mise your system of finance with that which, in your'belief, the General Govern ment can most advantageously adopt to relieve, if possibie, the people of this pro vince from the expenditure now entailed, upon them, and from which it is so desirable that they should, if possible, be.in part set free. The province of Canterbury appears to have received 10,098 immigrants during the past year, including 1,120 nominated in the colony. The province of Otago has 12,311 immigrants in the same period of time. Into the province of Auckland during the past year 4.890 immigrants, have been introduced,; including 804 nominated in the colony. I have not had any opportunity of myself; acquiring a knowledge of the class of immi-' grants which have been introduced; but, upon the whole, I do not think that any - just ground for complaint exists against the class of immigrants who have been brought into this province; but those acquainted with the large amount of immigration whichj has taken place into thiß province in former" years will feel that no very large addition has been made to our population during the past year, considering the great liability for interest upon loans expended in immigration purposes which has been entailed on. the province of Auckland. . . '. The agricultural progress of the province for the past year i3 in some respects very satisfactory. About 40,000 acres haye been laid down in permanent artificial graßV ;? '~; making a total of about 250,000 acres so laid; down. The returns in these respects speak highly for the industry of the settlers in many of our outlying districts, especially of : those in Marsden, Rodney, Eden, Franklin,; Waikato, and the East Coast. I hesitated for some time to accept the; administration of the Goldfields, because!' had no funds at my disposal to execute many' necessary works there ; and I found that the Colonial Secretary was giving orders for the expenditure of considerable sums on tna ; fields, which I believed, from what I heard, were supplied from the Treasury of the General Government. I wag^ therefore, unwilling to inflict even an. apparent injury upon the population on.: the Goldfields by depriving them of an ex penditure which was in some respects advan tageous to them. At length I felt convinced^ that the expenditure which was taking place, and with which, in some points, I did not altogether concur, was really a charge. upon"; Provincial funds, executed under the orders'; of an authority in no way. responsible or amenable to yourselves, or the Provincial, authorities I then thought it my duty to accept the administration of the Goldfields, so as to bring the expenditure incurred there" under your direct control. You will find that my suppositions were right; that all the expenditure incurred on the Goldfields is. to be made a Provincial charge and will? be deducted from the small sums this province'; is to receive from the General Government;' whilst the amount expended" in a short, time absorbs so large a proportion-, of the goldtields revenue which remains available after the permanent charges on it have been paid, that your power of causing useful works to be carried on upon the gold fields will now be very small. I shall, how- ever, gladly co-operate with you in allf measures which may.promote the welfare of the population settled upon the goldfields, < who, by their industry and respect for law, and order, which are remarkable, and save us from a large police expenditure, have'i established the strongest claims upon our . consideration. On the full development of the important Thames goldfields haxigsalßO, in a great degree, the future prosper^ <*» this Province. £bji » The Governor has recently, hy,^^, ,fs» - restricted the powers of legislation cC.'-«^cJ^ | upon the Provincial Council by the CoTasfe'/ tution Act. I was not satisfied:,that these orders could be lawfully issued. C I have, therefore, raised doubts npon this point, a»d the orders wi^romaininabeyanceuntilthese

mi wtiMmjfa a», monda^ may io y nn



Customs ... Stamps Postal Fees and fines ... Provincial revenue froldfielJs Education Kate ...

£ s. i 234,548 11 13,902 15 11,390 4 11,711 9 15,033 0 10,500 0 12,000 0

d. 9 6 0 8 0 0 0



JUNCTION DRAPERY WAREHOUSE. "We are now.Opening up O U R N E W TOOK or AUTUMN AND WINTER DRAPERY & CLOTHING, To Hakd Ex Ada, Baron Abbware, &c, To our order direct from the Manufacturers. FRENCH MERINOES in all colours . ALL "WOOL PLAIDS WINCEYS SKIRTINGS SHIRTINGS . FLANNELS BLANKETS . SHEETINGS L And every description of FURNISHINGT GOODS. A Choice Lot of CHILDREN'S, MAID'S, AND Li DTE*' WATER PROOF CLOAKS AND MANTLES . . LADIE9' BLA.CK CLOTH JACKETS. HO3II3RF, ETC. FANOY DREBB MATERIALS in Threat variety. NEW CLOTHING, ETC. To be followed by further shipments ex Emily McLarren and Dunedin, RUSHBROOK & BRIDGMAN, 1 (Latb R. Hobbs). JUNCTION DRAPERY WAREHOUSE, Opposite the Army and Navy Hotel, r .' " UpPEK QtrEEN'-STB.BET, AUCKLAND.



•pURCHASE OF "p REEHOLD FINDING tte had not snffloient room for our fart lnoieuing trade, we have - ; 'S; J PURCHASED THE FKEEHOLD of the CITYHALL PREMISES,:: Extending from Queen-street to liorne-Rtreet, which will enable us very shortly to meet the wishes of our |l numerous friends and public by opening a SHOW BOOM on the Ground Hoor'for Millinery TJndor 11. clothing, and Fancy Goods. " \\ Due notice will.be jgiven on the completion of the \\ extensiT's alterations now proceeding. I HOLLO WAY& GAR LICK II "DEALERS & CLOTHIERS, !j 'if. ~ . ( .. '230, Queen-street, ! -Wdd/UM! II ..:.; ;.i;. AucWand.



T pOS GRAVE AND C\Q. BEG to inform the Inhabitants of Auckland that, owing to excessive shipments to hand, and expected, they find it necessary to call a Sale of their DRAPERY and MEN'S CLOTHING, both Wholesale and Retail. The entire Stock, valued at £■75,000, has been Ke-marlced, and will be offered to the Public at COST. B3?~ The F/IE COKIJCIS THIS DAY (FRIDAY), the 7th May, st our Retail Premises, Queen-street. RICES OUEBBNT (WHOLESALE). £ s. d. line Flour,sllk-dressea, "Crown Brand," per ton of 2,0001bs 12 0 0 Ditto, ditto. "T.S. & 3F. Brand," ditto.... 10 10 0 Sharps, ditto 6 10 0 Bran, ver bushel of 201bs 1 3 Fowl Wheat, per bushel of 601bs 4 0 Bags charged.—Terms : Cash. THORNTON, SMITH, & FIRTH.



A Triumph of Chemistry.—Among the chemical triumphs of the nineteenth century none has been fraught with more important results than the discovery, tweiity-fivo years ago, that by com bining with a certain stimulant of absolute purity and agreeable flavour special medicinal ingredients of vegetable origin, a remedy was obtained for local or general debility, kidney disease, gravel, dyspepsia, constipation, and many other ailments. The name of this remedial wonder is TJdolpho "Wolfe's Schiedam Axiomatic Schnapps.