FIFTY YEARS AGO

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 92, 15 October 1932, Page 11

FIFTY YEARS AGO

ITEMS FEOM " THE POST »

A PICTURE OF ROTORUA

"A recent visitor to the Hot Lakes district does not give us a yeiy charming description of Now Zealand's sanatorium," remarks "The Post"' of this dato fifty years ago. "The placO he describes'as having a very desolate appearance, not a blade of grass to be seen anywhere. Tho only house in the new township is that of the medical | man, who has a perfect sinecure at a 1 salary of £ 400 a year. This gentle- | man is believed to be a nephew of 1 Judge Fenton, and /ill-natured people I are saying that this is sufficient rccom- I mendation for his appointment. The | Government have put up a shed known 1 as 'tho Baths,' which arc- a good mile | from tho hotel, and although the price | for making use of the baths is reason- | able enough (6d a single ticket or 4s a I dozen), the place is anything but com- I fortable, while the man in charge looks | like a very greasy mass of humanity. I The hotel accommodation can only be 1 described as very middling, and the | table is only second rate, although ex- I orbitant prices are charged. This is a I matter of course, seeing that it costs 1 £10 a ton for the cartage of provisions. I The tourist is somewhat compensated, I however, for his'disappointment by the I magnificence of the pink and white 1 terraces"—this was before their' dcs- | truction /by the Tarawera eruption of 1 1886—"which are exceptionally grand I and well worth seeing. But one soon I tires of the hot springs, mud-hores, etc. " The journey to the Hot Springs is a very uncomfortable one, tho journey over the rough road being especially disagreeable to the inyalid. The place will never be much patronised until it can be leached with less difficulty." DECAY OF THE MAORIS. "Two important meetings were recently held in the conference room of the English House of Commons to consider a scheme for arresting the decay of the Maoris. The need for such a scheme was said to exist in the fact that, contrary to the policy of the chiefs, the Native lands are rapidly being alienated and the proceeds squandered. Tho scheme proposed was by means of an association to be originated in England, to which all waste lands may be transferred for the purpose of opening up, to invest by way of sinking fund the prime value of the lands as it i 3 gradually sold at enhanced values to settlers, in permanent alienable annuities, to be granted by the New Zealand Government in favour of individual owners of the land Or their heirs, and shareholders in the association to share with the Natives any further profit. on improved values in the land. The quantity of land proposed to b 6 ' dealt with is . 10,000,000 acres, and it is estimated that in eighteen years the Native land owners will be in the enjoyment of the interest on £4,000,000. Taiwhanga and the other chiefs at Home strongly advocate the plan, and the movement has received the approval of the Earl of Shaf tesbury ' the Bishops of London, Liverpool, and St. Asaph, Sir Penrose Julyan, and others." . ' . REVENUE -RETURNS. "P" 5 actual recei Pts for the first natfc of the current financial year amounted to- £1,683,386, or more than £62,000 m excess of half the sum estimated to be received in the -whole year. This is, of course, highly satistaetory, and it must be admitted that - the results of the financial half-year are of a most favourable and promising character. Not their least satisfactory feature is the evidence they furnish that the colony will b3 well able to pay the interest on the acjfli-j ' tional debt which Parliament has authorised to be incurred, without the •■■<;: disagreeable necessity of resorting to increased taxation." PANAMA CANAL. . Fifty years ago it was fondly hoped that the Panama Canal would be completed in a year or two. That the initial attempt to build it was going to end in failure .is foreshadowed by the following paragraph:—"All heavy work in the inter-oeeanie caifal at Panama was stopped at the beginning of September; The _rainy season, although" so far only a very light one, has shown that even a light rainfall impedes all work, and on lower ground entirely prevent* it. Men who attempt to work fall sick, and men in charge of gangs of labourers say that none of them can work more than three days a" week, the rest being passed in bed with fever. Two severe shocks of earthquake have suspended traffic .. on the Panama railroad for some time, bridges being thrown out of line." RACING AFFAIRS. "A deputation waited this morning on the Minister of Public Works (Mr. W. W. Johnston) to urge upon the Government the construction of a ■ branch railway from Petoni to a point near the racecourse. Tho deputation consisted of gentlemen connected with the Wellington Eaeing Club:—Sir William lfitzherbert (president), Dr. Diver, Messrs. J. S. M. Thompson, E. Peaiee, J. D. Baird, J. McDowell, J. Saunders, H. S. Fitzherbert, and J. E. Hayes." It was argued by the deputation that the branch line would prove to be an exceedingly advantageous proposition, . and the -Minister informed the deputation, in words similar to those used by his successors, that the matter would be duly considered. "At a meeting of the promoters-of tho Island Bay Eace Meeting, to be held during the first week in December next, which took place last evening at the Post Office Hotel, tho following programme was adopted:— Maiden Plate, of 10 soys; District Plate, of 25 soys, confined to horses '■■ belonging to persons residing within fifteen miles of the city; Hack Eace, of £7 10s; Island Bay Cup, of 40 soys; and Consolation Stakes, of 10 ' soys. A band will be engaged for the occasion." PROCESSION OF BOATS. "The opening of tho boating season was celebrated by a procession of boats ■! in the harbour this afternoon, which ; was.witnessed by a very, large number I of spectators, the wharves and embankment being lined with sightseers. The Naval Brigade occupied a prominent position in the display, no fewer than nine boats being manned by 'blue- ■ jackets.' The Navals mustered at their boatshed on Clyde quay, and subsequently joined the aquatic train near the Queen's Wharf, tho boats taking up the following order:—Captain's and President's gigs abreast, followed by tho three cutters ia line, after which came a boat containing the band, having on, the starboard side tho Customs launch' (borrowed for the occasion) and on the port a gig (lent by the captain of the ship Pleione), the company's whaleboat bringing up the * rear. On the passage across the band played some selections nicely, and the strains sounded very sweetly as they were wafted across the water. On arriving opposite the Star Boating Club's shed, the Navals joined with the other clubs, and the procession then moved off, the following order being observed:—Engineers, Naval Brigade, Star, and Petoni Eowing Clubs, and the Canoe Club. The band was stationed at the end of the wharf and discoursed sweet music as the boats proceeded round the course, and the Trhole affair was vevy successful."