The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. SATURDAY, JULY 10, 1886. Cheap Money.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1285, 10 July 1886, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. SATURDAY, JULY 10, 1886. Cheap Money.

Cheap money, unlike cheap law and cheap Turniture, is an excellent thing ; the question is ; How shall we obtain it? Mr Macandrew, with characteristic philanthrophy and characteristic obliquity ot financial acumen, has essayed to answer this question by introducing to the House of Representatives the Public Advances on Land Bill, a proposal which has been drafted with a great deal of care and urged with a great deal of benevolent ardor and en thusiastic eloquence. Mr Macandrew’s Bill, which sets forth a very simple and intelligible plan whereby the credit of the State could be so applied that advances on land might be obtained at a much lower rate, passed its second reading on Thursday evening but is not likely to progress any further during the present session of Parliament. Some weeks ago we published the full text of the Bill, and it is unnecessary to again refer in detail to its various proposals, but we n ay quote from our local contemporary —one of the most ardent and least illogical supporter of this ethereal scheme —to illustrate the tenor of the arguments employed by its friends. “ The member for Port Chalmers (says the Mail), in an able speech, said that unless the price of produce improved, country settlers would have great difficulty in meeting their engagements, and he instanced the high rate of interest and the costly process of mortgages as helping to unduly increase the burden which farmers have to bear. He argued, therefore, that the credit of the State I should be utilised to enable them to obtain money at a cheaper rate, and showed that this might be safely done under the proposals of his Bill, under which advances would be limited to fifty per cent, of the value of the property advanced upon. Payment would be made in per cent, debentures, which he maintained would always command par, or these debentures could be exchanged for State notes, which would be a legal tender throughout the colony, such notes to be reconrcrtible into debentures at the pleasure of the holders.” We agree with Mr Macandrew that the colony is much hampered and crippled by the high rates of interest paid by its agricultural community, but we fail to see that the proposals of the Bill, if passed into law, would afford the slightest relief to the real sufferers. A farmer who requires to borrow to the extent of only one half the security he has to offer will find no difficulty in obtaining money at 6or 6 1 /> per cent, while those farmers —the vast majority of our country settlers —who are staggering under heavy mortgages and heavy rates of interest could not avail themselves of the philanthropicprovisions proposed by Mr Macandrew. We do not believe there are half a dozen farmers in the Ashburton County at the present moment who could and would take advantage of the measure were it placed on the Statute book, and those theorists and members of Parliament who are interesting themselves in the matter, should, during the recess, take some steps to ascertain the probable value of such a measure. Until this point be settled it is really futile to discuss the perilous innovations proposed

A few weeks ago when the Committee of the Ashburton Racing Club ventured to protest against the arbitrary character of one of the new Rnles of Racing adopted by the Metropolitan Clubs it was made the subject of a very vigorous and not exactly complimentary critique by our sporting contemporary the Referee, Onr contemporary told its readers, in effect, that the members of the Committee

3 ra : sing their voices against what they lelievod to be an objectionable rale were ;uiby of presumption wlrc’i fell little hort of impudence Tim eni'or of the lieferee \v is astounded that tho representatives of a “ small country club ” should have the audacity to impugn the infallibility of the Canterbury Jockey Club, made what we regarded as a very feeble attempt to ridicule the arguments employed by tho Cudrman of the Com. nail tee in support of the position taken up by a majority of his colle»guos. Wa doj

nut profess to m tka a sp-ciality of .port nor to have any particular acquaintance with the rules and customs which govern our national pastimes ; as a rule we confidently defer to the opinions expressed by such authorities as the Referee , but in this case wo were compelled to differ

with the editor of that journal and we expressed, as clearly as lay in our power, the reasons that induced ns to applaud Bl the action taken by our local f ( sportsmen. That the very reasonable n and very courteously expressed appre- l bsnaions of the local club were not a entirely without foundation is abundantly t shown by an article which appears in the s current number of the Referee — the erst- f while champion of the sporting autocracy. 1 It appears that the Canterbury Jockey 1 Club has determined to relegate tho first 1 day of its summer meeting to Boxing Day 1

—a date upon which the Heathoote Rao- ! ng Club has hitherto held a meeting I md this is what the Referee has to say on I ihe subject “ After the C.J.C adopting! bs law the excellent rules they have, we I should never have believed that they! would be guilty of jumping on a minor Club like the Lower Heathoote Racing 1 Club, and appropriating a date that the I L.H. R.C. have used for nearly seven I years past. . , . We spoke our mind 1 wi«h no nncertain sound when the Ash* burton Racing Club announced their! intention of holding out against one of the most salutary regulations in the 0J.C.1 Rules, but wo should have been the first to have taken their part If they had re-1 ceived anything approaching to the provocation to rebel that the C.J.C. have now offered to the Lower Heathorte Racing Club, the latter body have done every, thing in tbeir power to foster racing ; they have always recognised the 0.J.C,’3 authority, have fallen in with their rules, and have abided by the decision of their committee on any knotty point. This being so the line of action the C.J.C. have adopted towards them seems doubly hard—nay more, coming from the Ma.ro politan Club it looks rather like an unwarrantable exercise of autocratic authority in the direction of hindering the welfare of a minor club. . . . w'e hare heard several of the rating spirits of the L.H.8.0. express their determination to hold a day's racing on Boxing Day despite the C.J.C. being also ia the field. As they are not likely to be able to give as valuable stakes, or to act as liberally to horseownera as their big brothers, we they will not be so foolish as to ‘ kick i gainst the pricks ’ Should they, however, elect to do so, and come out on the right side of the ledger, we shall be heartily glad to congratulate them on their pluck and determination. And should they have better spo. t aud better patronage than the 0.J.0., it will only be a fitting reward to the Metropolitan Club for tha very in/ta dig conduct towards their young rivals of which they have been guilty.”—We shall be told that this does not directly bear upon the question raised by tha Committee of the Ashburton Racing Club, but we contend that it is sufficiently applicable to show that the gentlemen entrusted with the interests of local sport are quite as astute and a little more far-seeing than the majority of their contemporaries.

This evening—Meeting of the Programme Committee of the Ashburton Racing Club at 8 o’clock.—Meeting of the Committee of the Ashburton County Hunt Club at 8 o’clock.

A Press Association telegram, Hawera, Taranaki says that the Maoris commenced to build a wharo on Lysaght’a freehold property, and refused to desist when ordered to do so. The police are enquiring into the oircumstances. The Maoris threaten to plough and fence any portion of native leaseholds from Whesuakura to the White Cliffs that take their fancy. Inspector Pardy arrived at Hawera with constables from New Plymouth to join forces with the local constables hs

order to proceed to the scene of the Maori whare building on Lysaght’s run. Te Whiti iis supposed to have substituted this new departure in place of the maching around which has been going on for so long, but was stopped recently. A meeting of the Tinwald School Committee was held on July 3, All the members were present, Mr Jephson in the chair. Correspondence was read from the Board of Education with regard to library and gymnasium, and enclosing annual returns. The Chairman was instructed to reply that there was no library in connection with the school. The visiting committee reported that the school was not well cleaned, and it was decided to call for fresh tenders, to be in by the next monthly Applications for the office of Se, ret ary to **ie Committee were opened, and that of i , iudsell at £3 10s per annum was accepted. Messrs Jephson and Reid were appoints , a visl.ing committee for the ensuing month. The Chairman brought up the matter of the granting of'the ass of the school tor meetings, but consideration (was deferred until next meeting. Accounts amounting to £29 15s 8d were passed for payment, and the meeting adjourned.

The Maoris propose to tiqm the ground where the Monniki natives died, also to erect toll-gates on the mud fields, at the terraces to raise a revenue from tourists.

The members of the Ashburton Orange Lodge and visiting brethren will meet at the Hall to-morrow at 10.30 a.m., and march in procession to the Presbyterian Church, where an Orange sermon will bo preached by the Rev Mr Stewart, of South Rakaia. The annual meeting of the Rangitata Presbyterian Church Committee was held on Tuesday evening at the residence of Mr Kellahan, Mayfield. There was a fair attendance, and the Rev D. McNeill presided. Mr J. Coskery, the Treasurer, read the annual report, and statement of accounts) which were considered satisfactory, and adopted. The following gentlemen were elected as committeemen for the ensuing year :—Messrs D. Morrow, H. Corbett, T. Corbett, T. Paterson, D. Kellahan, Christenson, and J. Burgess. At a subsequent meeting of the Committee, Mr T. Paterson was elected Chairman, and Mr H. Corbett Treasurer. Votes of thanks to the retiring officers {and the J Chairman terminated the proceedings. 1

A meeting of persons Interested in the formation of a Sons of Temperance Benefit Society was held in the Arcade Chambers last

evening. Messn John Oaygill and J. A.

Bfford, from Christchurch, officers of the

Grand Division, attended for the purpose of

instituting a branch division. A fair number of candidates were in attendance, and, after successfully pasting the medical examination, were initiated into the mysteries of the Order, and constituted a division. The following officers were then duly elected for the {current half year : —Worthy [Patriarch, Brother Alfred Cook; Worthy Associate. Bro j Robert Galloway; Worthy Recording Scribe and Worthy Financial Scribe, Bro. J. 0. Duncan; Worthy Treasurer, Brother J. I Mullaney; Worthy Chaplain, Bro G. W. Andrews; Worthy Conductor, Bro W. D. { Beaumont; Worthy Inside Sentinel, Bro A. Yapp. The intallation ceremony was oon- | ducted by the Grand Officers present in a most imposing and impressive manner. On being called to order, the Division decided to

ask the Grand Executive to allow the formation of the Society to take the form of a resuscitation of the Helpmate Division, No.

16, which existed in Ashburton some years ago and the request was granted. It was decided that all members joining within a month should be allowed to come in on the scale of fees payable by charter members, which is much lower than the ordinary scale. Ten propositions for membership were made, and, after deciding that the next meeting should be held at the same place on Tburs. day, the 22nd inst., the Division passed a hearty vote of thanks to the Grand Officers for their attendance and services. The meeting then adjourned. We are requested to intimate that any person wishing to join the Order, or obtain information, can do so on application to Mr J. C. Duncan. The Supreme Court sitting at Napier was resumed yesterday, when judgment was delivered in the case of Sawkings v. the Evening News Company, a claim for three months’ salary in lieu ot notice, plaintiff being summarily dismissed from the editorship of the defendant company’s newspaper. His Honor gave judgment for one week'B salary only. In the criminal lible action Thompson v. Sawkins the plaintiff did not plead and the case lapsed. Further evidence was taken in the Oase.Aratihi v. Nahu and others, a lengthy case in which a number of natives claim to be interested in a reserve held in trust by Locke and others. The defendants are as anxious as the plaintiffs to have the trust defined, but half a dozen different sets ot natives are interested, and the case is one of a complicated nature.