: Immunity from disease on board ship, it seems, can be secured by paying for a saloon passage. That is the rule laid down by the Government m releasing certain of the passengers by the Hydas pes from quarantine, while retaining the rest almost by force of arms. We never heard of a worse abuso of power. If ever there is an occasion when social or accidental distinctions should bo entirely ignored, it is when a party of travellers are called upon to share a common mis fortune for the benefit of a largo i number of their fellow creatures ; and it is hard to know which to despise most, the snobbishness of the saloon passengers of the Hydaspes, m demanding to be dealt with differently from their poorer com rades, or the culpable weakness of the government in' granting their request. •Who, m the name of fortune, • are these grandees, that a most salutary and stringent law must be set aside to suit their convenience 1 Suppose the Hydaspes had met with calms or baffling winds, and been kept out of port a fortnight longer, • — would a commercial crisis have ensued at Christchurch or society been convulsed at Nelson, because Mr Day or Mr Collins, or Mr anybody else had not arrived ? The whole thing is a sheer absurdity, and brings contempt on the admins tration generally. When the Nebraska was quarantined m 1872 there really were aboard of her people of importance to the public, and the moat urgent private circumstances existed m connection with one of her passengers, to justify, if any thing could, a relaxation of the regula tions. Parliament was sitting at the time and one or two members, who had i long been waiting for an opportunity, to j come from the East Coast, were on board the Nebraska. So also was a gentleman from Napier, endeavoring to reach a southern port with all possible haste to see a dear relative who was at the point of death ; to other private persons also, who had purposely come m the mail steamer at great expense, on account of special missions or business, the detention m quarantine waß a terrible infliction. 