The Daily Telegraph. THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1883.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3711, 7 June 1883, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 1883.

Commenting upon a lecture recently delivered by Professor Mainwaring Brown at Dunedin," the Evening Star conceives that so far as New Zealand is concerned land nationalisation is only so far within the range of practical politics as that the State may retain the fee simple of the Crown lands at present unalienated, and extend the system of perpetual leasing initiated in the Land Act of last, year to the exclusion of every other method of disposal. Professor Brown approves of the hind legislation of 1882 as " an important discovery," and he specifically addresses himself to the consideration" of objections which, amongst others, naturally suggest themselves to the colony ceasing to grant lands in fee and administering an enormous leasehold estate. In the first place, he recognises the possibility that a deterrent effect might be produced on immigration, since it is Avell known that one of the great inducements to people in the Homo country to emigrate to the colonies is the prospect of obtaining a piece of land of their own. Probably, however, their aspirations would be in nil essentials fulfilled by such certain and perpetual tenure as is provided for in the Act of 1882. In a new country, if wo would have it rapidly populated, _ especial regard must be had to the attractions held out; and it must be admitted that one of the strongest instincts which lead men to leave their Fatherland is the innate desire to possess a portion of the soil. The idea that they can make a home for themselves, which they can hand down to their children, and which in the fullest sense they can call their own, in one of the greatest incentives to emigration from the old countries and to people the earth. The force of these considerations must needs bo admitted. Our Southern contemporary then goes on to remark that it is " quite in accord with the Professor that the perpetual leasingsystem is greatly in the interest of the settler, who, instead of starting , handicapped, as is the ease in ho many instances, with interest on the purchase money of his land, has all his capital availablo for buildings, stock, and improvements." Nor, with all due deferenco to the Professor, and to the opinion of the writer in the Dunedin Star, we take leave to state that, if a settler is handicapped with interest on the purchase money of his land, he had no business whatever to enter upon an enterprise with insufficient capital. If the nationalisation of land is desired for the mere purpose of creating a penniless teuantiy, then let us hear no more of such a foolish scheme. The one great want of all young countries is that of capital. The object of the colony should therefore be to attract the capitalist, to settle the capitalist on the land, that he miylit improve it, and incrca.se the productiveness of the country by a wise and liberal outlay. The pauper tenant would also attract the capitalist, but of a very different and of a most objectionable class—the money lender, pure and simple. The nationalisation of the land means the .settlement of the country by men with means insufficient for the purposes of their farming operations; it means the poverty of the ought-to-be producing and labor employing classes. We do not suppose that Professor Brown, any more than the Hon. J. N. Wilson, has had any practical acquaintance with the subject of what he lectured upon. "Wo fancy that he would entertain a feeling of little compassion towards a bankrupt who entered into trade with no capital. Why then advocate the establishment of a system that would, directly encourage a very objectionable, if not criminal, practice in regard to the occupation of land that every honest man would reprove in connection with all other businesses ?

The Herctaunga Licensing , Committee, at the annual meeting , yesterday, refused lo continue to the three hotels at Hastings the 12 o'clock licenses hitherto held by them.

His Honor the Chief Justice will preside at the Supreme Court sessions fit Napier which will open on Monday next. Sir James Prcndergast will airive by the steamer Wairarapa, due hero from Wellington oh Saturday.

Our Wairoa correspondent informs us by telegraph that the tendering for the Wairoa ferry yesterday was the highest ever before sent in, as follows*: —Smyth, £1-1 oa per month; Riokard, £12 ss; Peakman (present lessee), £11; Hislop, £10 2s 6d; Down, £10. Four years ago £7 was thought too high.

Mr J. Buchanan, M.H.R., has received the following letter from the Colonial Secretary, which explains itself: —" Colonial Secretary's Office, Wellington, New Zealand, 28th May, 1883. Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 11th instant the number and date quoted in the margin, and to thank you for the extract from the Sydney Mail on the subject of dealing with the rabbit post by innoculation with tuberculosis which accompanied it. Arrangements are being made to carry out a series of experiments in this direction, the seat of operations being an island iv the Wairau river. ''

The usual weekly meeting of the Napier Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association will be held this evening, when an attractive programo will be gone through, consisiing of three essays on tho Pyramids of Egypt, the Duke of Marlborough, and Sir Charles Napier respectively.

The Licensing Committee for tho Ileretaunga licensing district held their annual

licensing meeting at Hastings yesterday. Present; Messrs J. N. Williams (chairman), W. J. Birch, T. Foreman, J. Reynolds, and R. Well wood. The licenses "of H. O. Caulton for the Pacific Hotel, J. Tuck for the Railway Hotel, J. Kelly for the Hastings Hotel, and J. Burton for the Shamrock Hotel, were renewed, but no extensions were granted, the Committee restricting all licenses within the district to 10 o'clock. The Inspector reported favorably on the conduct of all the houses.

ThePuketapu Licensing Committee did quite right in taking away the license from the public-house at Pohui. It is probablo that neither the local nor passing traflic warranted tho proprietor in putting up a better house, but no one could have expected that such a place as that at Polmi should have a license. The fact is accommodation for the travelling- public is wretchedly deficient along the Taupo road, and it is not too good at Taupo itself. Tourists complain bitterly, and unless some bettor attraction is offered them they will avoid the Napier route to the Lake districts.

A general meeting of the shareholders in the Mutual Insurance Company is to be held at Auckland on the :25th instant. It has been proposed by several of the Napier shareholders, to send up one of their number to attend the meeting, to represent their opinion upon the sale of tho business, and to oppose the transaction. In reference io Mr Dobson's letter to the directory that, it is said, induced the directors to relinquish the business, the shareholders here arc impressed with the belief that the prospects of doing profitable insurance, are no worse now than they were when the company was floated, and that ten months' existence can afford no criterion one way or tho other.

The Auckland Star, commenting on tl c winding up of the Mutual Insurance Company, says:—"Mr Dobson, the general manager of tho Mutual, has placed tho whole case before his directors in a report which does the greatest possible credit to his financial foresight and integrity. There arc not wanting instances—indeed in the history of.insuraneo they are only too common—where men placed in Mr Dobson'a position have staked the last iota of their shareholders' credit in a ruinoush/ losing game, until the inevitable crash earned misery and suffering far and wide. Thero

arc always temptations to follow such a course, when a man may theroby prolong his tenure of a lucrative and influential position. And though such acts bring down in the end universal wrath and indignation, and sometimes —though rarely, as in the case of the Glasgow Bank directors—the penalties of tho law, yet the chances of escape are so great, and tho hope of confining the losses within moderate limits, or recovering them by the lucky stroke, so dominates the minds of men indifferently honest, that the lessons of tho most startling examples arc quickly lost. It seema appropriate, therefore, to distinguish with a special mark of public approval an instance where a man, having at his back tho entire fortunes of a largo body of shareholders, has refused to continue to stake them the moment ho perceived that tho risks outbalanced the prospects of success."

The San Francisco City Government has parsed a by-law, ordering all boys to be at their homes by o o'clock at night, under a penalty of arrest and fine.

Seven hundred weight of cake, 100 loaves cut for sandwiches and 200 gallons of tea were supplied for the Salvation Army tea meeting held in Dunedin this week.

Sir Moses Montofioro is the oldest English baronet. If lie lives for six months longer his age will exceed 100 years. A Scotch baronet, Sir Henry Preston, is in his 100 th year.

At all Mr Redmond's lectures in Australia it is now the fashion to close with three cheers for the Queen. This is the result of tho lively criticism of loyal newspapers.

The Wairoa Gazette publishes a rumour that Mr Seymour George intends resigning his scat for llodney, and that Captain W. 11. Colbeck, of Puhi, is dosirious of contesting the scat.

The people of Akaroa are very sanguine as to the success of their proposed jam factory. The cheese factory at Leßon's Bay is also in fair way to commence operations before very long.

Howard Paul, tho well-know London entertainer, states that Lccocq, tho author of " Madame An got," told him that Alice May, the Australian prima donna, was tho host Madame Lauge ho had ever seen.

A large number of native pigs on the Waimate Plains are proving a nuisance to the new settlers, rooting up, in a few cases, their newly cleared and grass-sown lauds, and even tearing up the ditch and bank fences. The settlers have given the Maoris notice to remove their pigs, but the}' have not done so, and there is nothing for it but to destroy them.

It. is eliiimetl that "Western Otago can boast of the highest waterfall in the world, viz., Southern's falls, situated on tho Arthur river, about 30 miles from the head of Milford Sound. It is stated to be no less than 5,700 ft high and takes the whole waters of the Arthur river, which makes a porpon* dioular leap of 3,000 ft. It is only 20ft broad at tho top.

The re-appearanco of the Star of Bethlehem is predicted by astronomers for this year or the next. On November 11th, 1.372, Tycho do Brahe discovered a star in Cassiopeia which equalled Sirius, and even Venus in brightness for a month, and then fell back into its former insignificance. Conjecture has sought to establish a connection, between this ephemeral phenomenon and two similar npparitions in 126-1

and 04 ij. A not unnatural inference was that the same increase in volume of this remarkable star occurred before 915, which would bring us to ..about 130 a.d,, and 310, and to the (late of the Nativity. This star is now again due.

The Auckland Star is responsible for the following:—Schoolteachers are greatly troubled with littlo boys and girls who will persist in coming late to their daily task. The following - incident is related by a member of the City Schools Committee as having occurred during - one of his tours of inspection. Teacher (to the boy who Las arrived late as per usual): "Humph, well what makes you late this time my boy?" Boy: '' Please, sir, mother kept me to mind the baby." Teacher: "Humph; pity your mother ever had any babies." This however, is not a patch on the following , , which is also vouched for as true. Teacher (to little boy, Avho of course, was lato again); "Well,'my boy, late again, eh ?" Boy: "Yes ; please sir, mother got another baby this morning." Teacher: "Eh! we'll neo that it does not occur again."

The destruction of rabbits in the Hawea and WiiiKika districts (myn the Cromwell Ai'gMis) is being carried on at a .serious cost in more w;|ys than one. There is little room io doubt that tho imported partridge and pheasants, which wore recently frequently seen in these localities, arc being' rapidly decimated, if, indeed, they have not been quite wiped out, by the poisoned wheat scattered about in till directions. During harvest a number of birds were seen, but they have since entirely disappeared. Compensating in some degree for this unfortunate state of tilings, it is satisfactory to know tli at the red deer in and around Timarit Forest are thriving and increasing in numbers, herds of from nine to twenty having of late been seen. They arc very shy and not easily approached. We are informed that Mr Mathicsou, shepherd at the Dagoon hut, the other day startled a fine stag out of some scrub within a few yards of where he stood. The deer was iidomed Avith a beautiful pair of branching, antlers, showing he had attained a goodly age.