WELLINGTON.

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1614, 25 September 1874, Page 370

WELLINGTON.

(FROM OUE CORRESPONDENT.) 21st September. There was something after all in the telegram that. stated' Messrs Fitzherbert and Bunny intended to sell up every acre' of land in the province thai; could be put into the market before their identity as provincial officers was. lost in consolidation. But not satisfied with land they are about to sell what is at present a very pretty anchorage-ground for small craft, and will take au expenditure of some £40,000 before the water is displaced by diluvium, which cannot happen before two years. This is certainly looking ahead. Prepared as the people were for something audacious, the announcement in the Post that 100,000 acres of Provincial land would be sold on the 26th October did astonish many, especially when coupled with the announcement that the land in process of reclamation, about 40 acres, was also to be sold shortly, and in one lot. Such a gigantic piece of auctioneering had j a startling appearance. Dark hints as to some move of the Superintendent had been going about for a few days before ; but afler all there is nothing very surprising in these large sales when the position of the province is considered. The need is great, the mare must be kept going, and only " money makes the mare to go." If consolidation should happen to be postponed by any change, we may expect that the only land that will be left available for forest purposes in this province will be the tops of the Tararua ranges or some equally eligible site. If the province has felt the keen tooth of pinching poverty in the past, the alacrity now shown in providing " ways aud means " iudicates that its last days will at least be merry if short. Badly off as the province is in many ways, she has still something to sell, and if the Superintendent is determined to do business in the way he has ,commenced, we can make a roaring exit. As provincial expenditure possesses, or should possess, some slight interest for you still, the following figures compiled by the Tribune may not be in-apropos. This is what he thinks might safely be saved without impairingeificiency of administration in any way :—Legislative expenditure, £1,390; salary of Superintendent, with expenses and allowance as Land Purchase Commissioner, £850; his clerk) £225 ; Provincial Secretary, with allowance for house-rent, £700; hisclerk, £200; Provincial Solicitor, £200; Executive Council, £2OO ; assistants,&c, £750; miscellaneous, £2,000. After allowing £4OO per annum for a permanent officer after abolition, there is a total of over £6,000 for salaries and the thousand and one contingencies, to numerous to particularize, to use an auctioneering phrase. There is a tacit admission now that Kennaway has been not only appointed Secretary to the Agent-General without his knowledge, but that the unapparent intent is to make the position of the Doctor as uncomfortable as possible, and in the hope that he will throw up in disgustIn any case we may " look out forsqual's '' from the contact of two dogged and untractable natures ; and if the Doctor, who has the reputation of being a perfect Warwick in politics, should revisit New Zealand, the political arena will witness some warmer work than has been seen for a long time. The Strathnaver salvage case is being conducted with a dangerous-looking deliberation. Sympathy certainly runs with the consignees. No matter what the legal merits of the claim may be, the general public will think £IO,OOO a preposterous price for doing a good turn to a distressed vessel at the cost of a few tons of coal and a few hours detention. The salvors, however, are resolute, and on the strength of an order from the Vice-Admiralty Court, prevented the discharge of any of the cargo until the consignees entered into bonds for the claim pending decision in the case. The Opera Company open to-night ; and if appearances are anything the air of Napier agreed immensely with them They are to play upon their "own hook" this time, and at million prices. Their last season here was as successful as it was remarkable, though I am not aware that the enterprising impressarios who engaged them made a pot ot money out of the speculation. Whatever may be their experiences of the transaction they are not likely to come forward again. Fortunately his Kxcellency is off in his yacht, and we will be spared any vice-regal unpleasantness upon the occasion. Speaking of his Excellency reminds me that his seamanship is far from perfection ; in getting under way the other day his yacht was handled in such lubberly fashion as brought it within an ace of the ground, and it was only the swift dropping of the " mud-hook" that prevented such a misadventure. The comments of the golemouches who gathered to watch the occurrence were not very flattering or sympathetic. His Excellency faced out into the Strait though tho scud from the south-east boded bad weather; the result was what was expected, and his Excellency passed a night of tempestuous tossing without making any headway on his journey. An Eatanswill quarrel is raging between the Times and the Post. Oddly enough, it is over the dinner ; the editors of the Times and Tribune were invited, the latter only attended. The Post was altogether ignored, in consequence, it is said, of some paragraphs personally offensive to the Governor. It was thought that it would lie very bad taste to invite to a banquet given in his Excellency's honor a person who had shown him such discourtesy and want of consideration. There is no doubt whatever that the original intention was not to ask any of the editors. An intimation was given that the reporters conld, if they chose, attend in their places in the gallery as usual, while the dinner was on. It was tolerably clear from this that some one desired the proceedings to be reported ; and it is equally certain that the invitations subsequently given to the

Times and Tribune would not have been but for the offensive remarks of the Post. The Committee saw how they could kill two birds with one stone: they administered a sharp rebuff to the editor of the Post, and made it the more conspicuous by propitiating the other two journals by invitations. I don't suppose that" the one cared any more for the affront than the others did for the honor v of being invited. It has, however, furnished a pretext for an uncomplimentary interchange of sentiment among all three. On Saturday, an unfortunate fellow named Cornelius Regan, who happened to be in a despondent mood, shuffled off his mortal coil by putting his head in a cask of water and keeping it there until somebody else took it out for him. The man was not absolutely poor ; he was the owner of an express wagon, and was steady and industrious, and had no apparent reason of getting out of his disappointments, if he had any, by such a short cut. But perhaps the execrable weather had something to do with it. They have a suicidal month in England, and favorable and unfavorable seasons for the crop of suicidps—why should not like causes induce' like effects at the antipodes ? Certainly the past four months m Wellington have been very suggestive of drowning, and very apt to tempt any one suffering from a bad fit of the blues to play hide aud seek with his vital spark. [by electric telegbaph.] The Wanganni Chronicle asserts that the Government have, after long negociation, succeeded in mailing arrangements with Kemp, on behalf of the Wanganui natives, for a twenty-one years' lease of about £350,000 acres in the Murimotu country, at £3,500 per annum, or at the rate of £lO per thousand acres. Considerable native reserves are to be made out of the block. The agreement requires formal ratification from different members of the tribe, but it is hardly likely that this will be withheld, as Kemp has, it is understood, received one year's rent in advance. The Ngatikahuugunu, through their representative, Renata, will have to be consulted, but negociations have reached such a stage that their successful completion is only a matter of time. It would be an interesting inquiry what claim the Maupoko have over Murimotu, or why Kemp slnuld receive one year's rent in advance. —The Chrouiclo is wrong in certain particulars. The £3,500 was paid to Kemp not as rent in advance, but for distribution among heads of hapus to induce them to agree to the sale. 24th September. The inquiry held before J. S. Williams, Registrar, and Judge Weston of Napiei 1 ) over the alleged defalcations and irregu. larities of an officer in the Stamp department was concluded yesterday. No cause was elicited to warrant the suspicion ; all the alleged counts of the indictment being found to be without a basis of truth ; and the opinion is general that the officer in question has suffered a serious hardships. Neither the report nor the evidence are to be made public. ,