The Daily Telegraph SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1881.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3218, 22 October 1881, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1881.

Mr Cannon has come forward for the representation of the East Coast, according to his address in direct antagonism to the other candidates, who, he asserts, represent an association of capitalists for the acquisition, in a wholesale manner,, of large tracts of country which will be locked up for years. It is Mr Gannon's opinion tbat, m a district like the East j Coast, where the complication of the native land laws is peculiar, none but the large capitalists can acquire a freehold. His object in entering Parliament will therefore be to endeavor to secure a flimplifica'ion of those laws, in order that all comers may be able to buy land free from all prospect of future litigation. He holds to the idea that it is to the interest of the East Coast Land and Settlement Company—to which we presume he al ludes as a numerically insignificant but financially powerful section of the community—to retard the opening up of the country until such time as the titles a»-e completed of the blocks now under offer of sale to the association. And then his address follows on with this remarkable sentence: —"Whatever contributes to the present prosperity of the district, directly or indirectly, increases the cost of such lands to the detriment of the persons now buying." Mr Gannon, it therefore appears, would have us believe that the association is interested in retarding the prosperity and progress of the district in order to keep down the price of land, and that tbe success of the company depends on the maintenance of the existing complicated native titles by which outsiders are precluded from dealing with the Maoris through fear of future litigation. This is at least what we gather from his address, because he says in another part of it " that it cannot be to the interest of the district to be represented in Parliament by a large speculator, or by one whose pecuniary interests are bound up with an association of capitalists for acquiring large tracts of country." Now, we were always under the impression that the East Coast Land and Settlement Company was formed for the purpose of doing exactly the reverse of what Mr Gannon alleges it to be its interest to accomplish. Accepting the " peculiar complication of the native lands " as an unfortunate fact, the company proposes to secure land under those existing laws, and, as quickly as possible after acquiring country, to cut it up for purposes of settlement. Mr Gannon's candidature seems to us to assume a false issue. He endeavors to show that his mere presence in Parliament would secure such an alteration of the native land laws that the existence of the company would be unnecessary. That is to say. that complicated titles would become suddenly clear and easily acquired ; that the price of land would rise to such a height that tbe company could not make a profit out of its "earth-hungry" speculations; that land speculators would become extinct; and that the " man of small means," relying on his manual labor, would be able " to compete in proportion to his savings for the acquisition of a plot of land for a home for himself and family." All this may be quite possible, and with a man in Parliament of Mr Gannon's ability to point oat how legislation can bring chaos into order, no doubt some progress in that direction might be effected. But tbe difference between Mr Gannon's proposals and the company's operations is this : that the one relies on his own individual efforts to secure an alteration of the native land laws in order to accomplish what the other is doing under the existing state of the law. Mr Gannon puts no small value on his powers of usefulness in Parliament, judging from the following amusing passage in his address:—"lf you do me tbe j honor to elect me, I pledge myself to have a law passed that would remove the barrier that has so long stood in the wny of persons of ordinary industry obtaining land in this district." There is nothing indefinite about this pledge ; put bim in Parliament and he will carry it out. There must be something in the climate of Poverty Bay that is extremely favorable to tbe production of self-cou-fidence. No doubt Mr Gannon would do his best, but with him effort and accomplishment are evidently synonymous terms. Taking bis address as a whole we are inclined to think that the electors will form the opinion that he ia rather too young to represent them.

Mr W. H. Simpson, of Havelook, has invited a private meeting of his creditors to be held at the offices of Mr E. Lyndon on Tuesday at 11 a.m. Letters from Mr R. Stuart received by the 'Frisco mail state it is his intention to leave England for this colony in December. Mr Stuart will consequently not offer himself for the office of Mayor this year as he hoped to do. The remains of the late Mr Thomas Lowry were conveyed from the Criterion Hotel to their last resting place at Puketapu cemetery to-day, a large number of the frienda of the deceased following in carriages and on horseback. The Wallingford Highway Board, of which Mr Ormond is chairman, at its last meeting, struck a rate of eightpence in the pound for tbe year ending June 30, 1882. Perhaps this fact will dispose of the ridiculous statements that Mr Ormond pays nothing but the County rate. It having been reported that, owing to the complication on the West Coast, the genral elections were likely to be postponed, Mr F. Sutton made enquiries at Wellington by wire, and has received a reply to the effect that the Government aro not aware of any reason for a postponement. The postal authorities notify that from and after the Ist November money orders will be issued on the German States at rates that can be ascertained at any money order office. On the Ist January next a system for the exchange of money orders between tbe United States and this colony will be established. At a meeting of the Napier Rowing Club committee, held last night, the following crews were arranged for the trial fours : — (1) F.Kennedy (stroke), Mowbray 3, Arrow 2, Hansard bow; (2) Sheath (stroke), Thompson 3, Hanna 2, Parker bow; (3) Tabuteau (stroke), Westenra 3, Gibbons 2, Gilpin bow; (.) Begg (stroke), Gracie 3, St. Hill 2, Ormond bow. Mr B. C. Mounier, who for the last three years has been in charge of the Waipukurau branch of the Union Bank, has been transferred to the management of branch at Hamilton, Waikpto. Previous to leaving Waipukurau Mr Mounier was entertained at a supper, and presented with a

purse of sovereigns from the many friends be has made in that district. A special train will leave Hastings this evening, reaching Napier in time for the opera, and will return immediately after the opera is over. Special coaches are also arranged to run from Puketapu, Taradale, Meanee, and Petane. H.M.S. Pinafore has not lost its hold on the public favor, and with a number of vistors from the country it is probable that the last appearance of the Cary Company will be a most successful one. Out of something like two hundred and fifty tickets taken in Hawke's Bay for Abbott's £10,000 sweep on the Melbourne Cup only one drew a horse. It seems absurd to send money out of the place on the chances of 100 to 1 of obtaining a big prize; but it is constantly being 1 done, so many peupte being led away by the delusive hope of suddenly securing a large sum of money. There will be no more sweeps after this year, and then, we presume, tens of thousands of pounds will be forwarded to Melbourne for that kind of investment. Mr M. J. Gannon, one of the candidates for the East Coast, " pledges" himself, if elected, " to have a law passed that would remove the barrier that has so long stood in the way of persons of ordinary industry obtaining land in the Poverty Bay district." Mr G-aunon must have either a very strong belief in the power of tbe influence he could exert in the new Parliament, or else he is very cheap with his pledges. We have no doubt but what the Premier would feel happier if he could pledge himself to pass any one measure through the House. But apparently what is impossible for veteran Ministers is easy enough for a sucking politician. Mr Forster has just finished a new hand hose-reel for the Napier Fire Brigade. This reel was a prize given by the Union Insurance Company at last year's competition, and was won by the Napier men. It is of handsome construction, and extremely light, weighing only 260 lba. There is also en Mr Forster's premises at the present time a fine horse hose-reel constructed to the order of the Spit Fire Brigade. It will carry six men. besides the hose and necessary implements, and only weighs 840 lbs. Both the reels are of very handsome construction, excellent workmanship, and reflect great credit upon the establishment of Mr Forster. The Graphic of September 3rd contains eight sketches of " Social Life ia New Zealand," depicting " mourning for a dead j chief;" " Mrs Donnelly and Tarekai's first 'wife;" "the widow's tent;" "Mrs DonI nelly's child," &c. Turning then to the ( letter press for an explanation of these remarkable drawings the following absurd blunders will be found :—" A Maori woman has been married to a white man (of the Irish persuasion, probably, judging by his name), and now that she has been left a widow she has returned with her half-caste daughter among her own kinsfolk." The sketches were intended to represent scenes connected with the burial of Tareha, but who supplied the descriptive writing and made wonderful nonsense of it is locked up in the bosom of the editor of the Graphic. The third performance of " The Pirates of Penzance " by the Cary Company drew a moderate house last night. The Opera was again produced in a most finished and successful manner. At every repetition of this work it is possible to discover new beauties in the music, and new and most laughable absurdities in the plot and dialogue, and in \f r Gary's company there are artists thoroughly able to do justice to all the capabilities of the opera. The performance of last night was equal and enjoyable throughout. Ihe quiet grace of Miss Murielle's Mabel grows upon the audience at "every repetition, and several of her efforts last niirht were vigorously applauded. Miss Leaf as Ruth was again excellent, and received many tributes of applause for her admirable singing and acting. Mr Wentworth received a well merited encore for his rendering of the remarkable song "I am the very model of a modern Major-General," and his singing of the beautiful ballad "softly sighing" received a like recognition. Mr Morley was in good voice, and sang with his accustomed vigor and success. For the Sergeant's songs in tne second Act Mr Benham received loud and continued applause, and was twice called upon to repeat the idiosyncrasies of a felon when not engaged in his employment. The choruses went splendidly, and added much to the enjoyment of a thoroughly successful performance. To-night " H.M.S. Pinafore" will be produced, in addition to the first act of "The Pirates." For the performance of "Pinafore" this company has received general and emphatic praise, and although the opera has been performed frequently in Napier we do not hesitate to express the conviction that it has never been placed upon the stage in this town in a manner so thoroughly satisfactory as the way in which this company are capable of producing it. The Josephine of Miss Leaf has been generally recognised as the best rendering of this charming character that has yet been seen upon the colonial stage. And with Mr Porter as the Admiral, Mr Wentworth as Captain Uocoran, and Mr Morley as Ralph Rackstraw, we may anticipate a success for the performance hitherto unapproached. I just came across an amusing anecdote of a little four-year-old child who was saying her prayers at her mother's knee, and having concluded as usual, ' Bless papa, mamma, grandpapa, and grandmammas, uncles, aunts,' &c, she paid, * Oh ! mammy, dear, I do wish these people would pray for themselves, for I am so tired of praying for them!' The writer of London Town Talk in the Argus says that the most noticeable feature of the portrait of two sisters in the coming Academy is the hair, the gloss, and beauty of which are due to a daily dressing in champagne. People, on reading this, want to know where the liquor so used, or rather so abused, goes to—whether it isn't rebottled ' for exportation.' History solemnly records that the ladies of the Court of Versailles, prior to the French Revolution, were daily supplied with baths of milk, which, after use, were returned to tbe Marchioness Dv Lait for the regular consumption of ordinary customers. First introduced into England from Germany, we are all familiar with the silver, golden, and diamond weddings, which mark the twenty-fifth, fiftieth, and sixtieth anniversaries of the marriage day. The Americans have added to these the sugar wedding, which is, of course, the first anniversary; the second is the paper wedding ; whilst the fifth, tenth, and fifteenth, and twentieth are styled respectively the wooden, iron, tin, and electro-plate weddings. As each guest is expected to bring an offering appropriate to the occasion, these innovations are looked forward to with dread by bachelors who have many married friends, and will possibly drive them into matrimony in self-defence. "Argus" writes in Land and Water :— " Easter eggs are becoming formidable taxes on the pocket, although in London we have not as yet arrived at the extravagance of a French vicomte who a fewyears ago presented to a charming actress a the form of a gigantic egg, which, when opened in the courtyard, was found to contain a beautiful little phaeton drawn by two piebald ponies and a miniature groom in faultless attire. Talking of extravagance, I hear that one of the belles of the season, whose chief charm is her hair, owes the gloss and beauty of this ornament to having it washed every morning in champagne. It is to be hoped that this hairwash will not become general, unless the best gooseberry fiz will answer the purpose." Among the things which surprise provincial visitors to London is the large number of large and palatial hotels which are to be met with in every quarter of the modern Babylon. The spacious hotels at Euston Station have been considerably enlarged; De Keyeer's enormous pile on the Victoria Embankment, facing Blackfriars Bridge, is in course of being nearly doubled in size ; and now thsre is a scheme afloat (and indeed begun) for building another vast hotel

in High Holborn, to be called the Firsfc Avenue Hotel, which is to be conducted upon the American system. It will be per-' haps upwards of a couple of years before the building will be ready for the reception o£ guests, for the space to be cleared is a large one.—Home Niews. In a pamphlet just published Sir Bartle V Frere answers some of tho charges made 1 against him by Mr Gladstone in the r speeches which the Premier delivered during his Midlothian election tour on the part taken by Sir Bartle Frere in the affairs A of Afghanistan and South Africa. In regard to the opinions expressed by Mr Gladstone about the state of affairs in South Africa at that time, Sir Bartle Frere believes that they caused, and are still causing, infinite mischief there. " They have retarded," he says, " the prosperity and progress of the European oolonies in that region; they have laid the foundation of wars, and raised very serious obstacles to the religious, moral, and politioal advancement of the native races." Sir Bartle concludes by stating that he deems it a duty he owes to the people whose best interests are at stake to show " how unfounded are some and how distorted are all the charges brought against me, on your authority, of ever having advocated an unjust or oppressive policy towards our neighbors, or an oppressive policy towards our own subjects." By the death of Mr Laycock, the House of Commons loses one of its ''jolly fellows." The son of a self-made man, but having himself all the advantages of a successful university career and the strength of legal training, he took his place quietly in the House of Commons, and maintained it easily. A Liberal who supported his party, he had, nevertheless, an independent way of looking at things, and a shrewd method of expression which gave a great oharm to his conversation. He was a capital storyteller, and would keep a party in the smok-ing-room amused for a length of time. Hia American yarns were Some of the drollest. For some time he had been " out of sorts." He had been oomplaining of the length of the session, the late hours, the constant con- >_ finement, and the perpetual excitement; * but it was not imagined that he needed more than change and rest to restore hia elasticity. His sudden death revives the uneasy feeling which prevailed early in the session after the death, without warning of three baronets in rapid succession. It is said that Mr Laycock began life as a blacksmith, followed the fortunes of the Railway King, made two or three lucky hits in consequence, had the wit to keep his money when he had made it, and to become one of the riohest men upon the banks of the Tyne,

The Cary Opera Company in " H.M.S. Pinafore" at the Theatre Royal to-night at . ™ 8. Tenders for filling in a section in Tenny-son-street must be sent to Mr Fielder by noon on Monday next. The pure-bred Clydesdale sir Bothwell will stand at Hastings this season, and should inducement offer will travel as far as Waipukurau. Several sections at Hastings are to be let. Notice is given that Andrew Cooper Riggs, a debtor, will apply for his order of discharge on the 3rd November. Messrs Hoadley and Lyon will hold an important sale of land at Taradale on Tuesday next. Tenders are invited for moving and altering a building in Carlyle-street. A number of new advertisements will be found in our " Wanted " column. DIVINE SERVICES TO-MORROW. At St. John's Church:—B a.m., Holy Communion; 11 a.m., morning prayer and sermon (preacher, Rev. F. J. Baker) ; 7 p.m., evening prayer and sermon (preacher, Rev. De Berdt Hovell.) Church of England services will be held in the Lutheran Church building at 11 a.m. "**, by the Bishop of Waiapu, and at 7 p.m. by the Rev. Lawrence Tuke. By the Rev. R. S. Bunn, at Trinity Church, Clive Square, at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. By the Rev. C. Penney, at the Free Methodist Church, Shakespeare-road, morning and evening. By the Rev. J. M. Allan, at Havelock at 11 a.m. and at Maraekakaho at 3 p.m. By the Rev. J. C. Eccles, at bt. Peter's, Waipawa, at 11 am. and 7 p.m., and at Kaikora at 3 p.m. By the Rev. W. Shirriffs, at Waipukurau at 11 a.m., Kaikora (communion) at 3 p.m., and Waipawa at 7 p.m. . By the Rev. W. O. Bobb, at Patangata at 11 a.m., Tamumu at 3 p.m., and Waipukurau at 7 p.m. By the Rev. E. Barnett, at Mr Moore's Kaikora, at 11 a.m., at the Methodist Church, Waipawa, at 7 p.m.