The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1886. Public Advances on Land.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1313, 12 August 1886, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1886. Public Advances on Land.

This evening we publish the last of three speeches—by Messrs Walker, Steward and Ivess —selected from the debate upon the motion for the second reading of the Public Advances on Land Bill. The speeches, perhaps, are three of the best delivered in support of Mr Macandrew’s magnum opus , and they will, undoubtedly, carry a great deal of weight in this particular district where the speakers are all known as shrewd business men without any predilection for impracticable fads. But our local representatives have taken an entirely new departure ; they have loudly and sincerely joined in the cry for “ cheap money,” and by some extraordinary hallucination appear to see a possible realisation of their aspirations in the measure introduced by Mr Macandrew. Mr Macandrew has candidly admitted that his peculiar idiosyncrasy prompts him to think that what is ABC to himself must be A B C to everybody else, and in moving the second reading of the Bill he did little more than ask the House to throw all theorists and theories to the winds and consider the question in the light of common-sense and of first principles. This is all very plausible in the abstract, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that theories in connection with monetary and commercial affairs are built up on centuries of dearly bought experience, and it is impossible to remove or very much modify the hard and fast lines by which j these affairs are governed. Our representatives made a very earnest appeal on behalf of the agriculturists of the colon}'; they were far less illogical than their leader in this matter, but they seem to have lost sight of this fact : It is not the people who have no mortgages, or only small mortgages, on their land, but it is the people who have already borrowed on their land far beyond 50 per cent of its value, who ask for relief, and the Bill introduced by Mr Macandrew would give them no relief whatever. The member for Port Chalmers, while setting aside certain generally accepted theories, has taken up others of a far mote ethereal nature. He contends, with 1 ' a great deal of enthusiasm and a great deal of persistency, that the high rate of interest is mainly responsible for the crippled condition of our agricultural and pastoral industries, but we deny that it is the only or even the principal cause of the present depression. In this connection we cannot do better than quote from the speech of Mr M. J. S. Mackenzie, the member for Mount Ida, who claims to be one of the few farmers in the House. He said, “The honorable member for Wakanui said .that only a few men in this House understood agricultural and pastoral pursuits. I presume lam one, for I I have been engaged all my life in them

Will an v one pretend to say that the high rate of interest is the cause, or even the .great or main cause, of the present unfortunate a nd depressed condition of these industries? The assumption is perfectly ridiculous. The very facilities that farmers have had for borrowing money in the past have been a more potent cause ot miscnief to them than the high nt ; of interest; and this Bill proposes increased tacili ties for borrowing. Then again, is nothing to be said for the high price j of land? We have for years past, from | 1873 to 1880, been passing through a 1 tremendous period of inflation, in which land was selling not only at double, but at treble, its true i'» *

value. I maintain that that is a | more potent courre of disaster than I the rate of interest. Then, I suppose there is also something to be put down ] for the fall in the price of produce, t That is a factor in the unfortunate ' position in which the industry is now. The honorable gentleman said that was < a thing we could not mend. That is true ; but in connection with it ws can ; use a greater economy when produce is I low than when it is high. All these things help to pull down the industry and t? keep it in a depressed condition ; and it is mere hypocrisy—l am 1

applying the term generally, and not to the honorable member—for us to overlook all these main causes, and to fasten on. this rate of interest, which if altered at the expense of the rest of the community it is said might put everything ; right.” It is not often we are able to < agree with the opinions expressed by * Mr Mackenzie; but in this case, we admit, he has taken Mr Macandrew at his word and discussed this question with considerable common sense and no little acumen. We trust that during the recess the farmers will give their • representatives' clearly to understand that fcthe relief proposed by Mr Macandrew would be no relief at all, and g that the agricultural community will not be satisfied with merely sentimental and impracticable legislation.

The Interprovinoial football match, Auckland v Wellington, played at Auckland yester. day resulted in a victory for the former by I four points to two. The next English and European mail, rin San Francisco, will close at the Ashburton Post Oflico on Saturday, August 14, at 10 p.m. The portion of Mr A. Orr’s drapery stock remaining unsold will be submitted to auction at the Arcade by Mr T. Bullock on Saturday. A meeting of the South Eakaia Library Committee was held in the Library on Tuesday evening. Present—Messrs Hardy (Chairman), Reycraft, Oxley, Makeig, Broadbent, and Blackburn. Twenty-nine new volumes recommended by the sub-committee were ordered to be purchased. It was resolved to forward an order Home for £l2 worth of books, as per selected list. A sub-committee was appointed to arrange for an entertainment in aid of the funds. Accounts were passed for payment, and the meeting adjourned. A special general meeting of subscribers was then held; Mr Hardy presided. The attendance was very small. The amendments in the bylaws recommended by the Committee were approved of with a few alterations and additions. The meeting adjourned after passing a vote of thanks to Mr Blackburn for his services in making a copy of the bylaws. As the the Botomahana was leaving Auckland fop Sydney last evening one of the horses attached to a cab standing alongside swerved, the horses and cab falling over the wharf, the cab being jammed between the wharf and the steamer. Mrs Atwell, who was inside the cab, fell into the sea, as also did Monzios, : the cabman. Although the traces were out one of the horses was drowned. W. Smith, one of the stewards of the Botomahana, jumped overhand rescued the woman, who was lucked by the struggling horse in the Water, but not seriously. The cabman was assisted out safely.

The Otago Dock Trust have passed a resolution to at once float a loan and send an agent to England to obtain information and purchase material [and plant. The members appeared to think that if not proceeded with the dock would eventually be made in Dunedin. There was only a small attendance at the Town Hall last night to witness the entertainment provided by Mr F. B. Brine. The first part of the programme comprised vocal and instrumental music, of which the items rendered by Mrs Moss, Misses Moss, Messrs Stephenson, Matheson, and Porter were the most noticeable. After the usual interval Mr Brine displayed his feats of legerdemain many of which were very cleverly executed. Mr Brine’s rrpcrtolre is very similar to those of the various professionals who have visited Ashburton, and without anyjattempt at display he his able to; provide a really pleasant evening’s amusement.

Mr W. Roberts, of Ashburton, has secured the contract ..for the constructionjof the Opihi bridge.

On Wednesday next, the occasion of the Ashburton Hunt Club Steeplechases, Saturday return tickets available for return up to the following day, will be issued to Ashburton from Christchurch, Timaru, and intermediate stations.

During the last few days a number of special trains have passed through Ashburton conveying frozen meat from the South Canterbury Refrigerating Works to the s.s. lonic at Lyttelton. Altogether about 11,000 carcases will be shipped in the lonic from the Timaru Freezing Works. The last part of the shipment will pass through Ashburton to-night.

The ways of the Press' Association Agenoy

are past human comprehension. Yesterday many of our readers were disappointed to find that the Christchurch agent of the Association had sent us notaooount of the Hunt Club Steeplechases. We were equally disappointed, and complained to headquarters. This afternoon we received, as some solace, the following telegram from the Bluff agent of the Association:—“ Maori, s.s., Conway, left Greymouth 7 p.m. on Cth. Experienced fine weather until breasting West Cape at 8 a m. on 11th. From thence to arrival at 9.30 p.m. last night experienced thick rainy weather. She brings 150 tons of coal for Invercargill Corporation, and will sail this afternoon for Greymouth, via East Coast.” Now, the Maori has made this voyage about three

times each month for the last five or six years, and on almost innumerable occasions has experienced “ fine weather until breasting the West Cape,” but hitherto it has not been considered necessary to herald throughout the colony the movements of this insignificant collier. Possibly this is the first shipment of coal secured by the Invercargill Corporation, the commencement of the reckless dissipation of the new municipal loan, but we confess to a total absence of interest in the wild investments of our southern friends, and in future can only publish the movements of the Maori in our advertising columns.

Druid anniversary August 25tb. Dramatic entertainment —Race for a Widow.—(Advt.)