The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1893. CURRENT TOPICS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XIV, Issue 2908, 25 February 1893, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1893. CURRENT TOPICS.

There has been a good deal of talk in the North Island of the Government having been called upon to take over one of the large Hawkes Bay estates under the Land and Income Assessment Act, atid would not do so, and some political capital was, of course, sought to be made out of the matter. The facts of the case have been published and a very different complexion put on it. The estate is that of Mr Purvis Russell, Woburn. The owner returned the value of the estate at tho last assessment as £100,332. It was valued by the Land Tax valuers at £129,944. The owner objected to this value as too high and sought to have it reduced The Commissioner of Taxes objected to it as too low, and sought to have it raised to £137,000. Both these objections were heard before a Board of Review on May 19, 1892, when both were rejected, and the Board fixed the value at £129,944. The matter continued to receive the consideration of the Commissioner of Taxes and the Government, with the result that subsequently the Commissioner gave notice to the representatives of the owner that he valued the estate at £143,270, and calied upon them to ajyree to this valuation, or the Governor would be advised to take the property over under the Land and Income Tax Act at the owner's valuation of £100,832, plus the described 10 per centum. The owner declined to agree to either lourae, and claimed the right which the law gave of referring to a Board of Review to nx a fair value. This Board met on October 5 last and adhered to the formerly-fixed value of £129,944 Ihe attempt of the Government to ac quire the estate at the value the owner put upon it was therefore successfully resisted, and their legal powers ceased, but the owner is taxed at £29,612 more tlian he sought to be rated at.

Mr James Francis Hogati, who is mentioned as having been elected as the Nationalist member for the MidTipperary seat, was born in Ire^nd in I £55, and brought to Australia in his infancy by his papents, so that he may be looked upon as an Australian. "Australasian Biography" gives some particulars of hia career. Vv bile still very young and on the staff of the Victoiian Education Department, an article of his in the " Victorian Review " on " The Coming Australian " was so notable as to secure hmi an engagement on the " Keview" staff. Jn 1881 he joined the " Argus, for whuh he has done much valuable work, while at the same time acting as Melbourne literary correspondent to the Sydney " Paily Telegraph/ writing huaiorous sketches for " Melbourne Punch,'? and writing on Catholic subjects in the " Melbourne Advocate." He was the founder and the first president of the yictorianOathoHcYoungMen'sScciety, and has always taken an active part in Irish patriotic raoveraents. In 1886 came the first volume from \\k pen~a collection of fugitive tales previously published, entitled '■' An Australian Christmas Collection," Thus launched on the sea ot authorship, he went to London in 1887, and published his history of " The Irish in Australia," upon which he had long been working, and which met with instantaneous success, and went through three editions. Next came "The Australian in London," followed by a romance, "The Lost tolorer," in 1890, which in its turn was followed by " The Convict King," a romance of real life, yhjt.ch met "with much success. Mr Hogan is! a frequent centributor to " Chambers' Journal," and his writings on colonial subjects fa the " Pall Mall Gazette," .the London .'.' Stay/ and the Dublin ' "Freeman's Journal,'^ have fte^n of great; vqAuo in spreading authentic knowledge sonoeprung Australasia.

While the irrigation question in this district has, apparently, dropped for the time being, our friends in North Canterbury have been wide awake, and on Monday a poll of the ratepayers in the Waiqjajfariri- Ashley district is to be taken on the quesiion of raising a special loan of £31,006 fop the purpose of bringing in a supply of water sufficient to irrigate the whole of the district. Though the proposal is not wifchoufc i£§ opponents, it is almost certain to recede jbh,e apppoyal ojf'jfctye' ratepayers, and Ashley wiU th.e# have outstripped Ashburton —the pioneer! county—in the rase for a comprehensiye system of irrigation. Yet, in this district no one gan be blind to the advantages of an ample water supply. As Mr Threlkeld points out to his fellow landowners p«p north-—" One of

j the best pleas in favor of the water ) supply is that given by the Commissioners appointed by Government to inquire, into the water race system adopted in the Rakaisi-Ashburton district. They report that the waterraces have increased the value of land by 30s or 40a per acre, and increased the sheep-carrying capacity by 30 percent., that is to say, 130 sheep instead of 100. Can anyone believe that these 130 sheep with water would not produce 50 per cent, more wool and 50 per cent, more meat than the 100 would without water 1 Looking at these facts, it would be the height of folly for us to reject this really cheap and efficient proposal." Ashburton has progressed so far as to encourage neighboring counties to go further, and we trust this district will not longer halt in the race.