NOTES FROM NELSON.

Lyell Times and Central Buller Gazette, Volume VI, Issue 266, 27 March 1886, Page 2

NOTES FROM NELSON.

(from ouk own correspondent.)

THE BOROUGH COUNCIL. In my last I gave your readers an intimation that the imbecile conduct of the City Council was likely to so exasperate the ratepayers that an indignation meeting was likely to take place so as to enable them to give vent to their outraged feelings. This prediction is about to be verified, for during the past week, a document, calling a meeting for Monday next, has been extensively signed by some hundreds of substantial burgesses to that effect. And, as if to lend weight to the movement, an ordinary meeting of the Council took place, at which a scene was acted more disgraceful than anything on the hitherto unbeaten records of°this historic body ; Councillor Rowell appeared on the scene in a state not quite suitable for discussing public matters, and the language he used was not scriptural, but lie was just not drunk enough to attend the meeting, which was more than some of his brother Councillors were, and his conduct displayed so much knowledge of the art of vulgar abuse that the rest of the Councillors retreated, leaving Councillor Rowell in possession of the field, and the business of the evening paralised. This circumstance will only tend to bring about the end at an earlier date than was expected, and strengthen the hands of the promoters of the meeting; the object of which is, a clean sweep of the Council and its officers. They may, of course, refuse to resign, and probably will, but tliey will retaiu their seats in such case in a most unseemly manner.

It would be far more to the purpose, and far more dignified, for them to resign now and come forward for re-election, without having to do so after a condemnatory vote of the ratepayers, for there are souk undoubtedly good men in the Council, but the unthinking public only look at the acts of the body as a whole, and condemn all where a majority only are offenders. There are some members who, by their want of business knowledge, want of tact, and general unfitness for anything above street sweeping, are not suitable representatives for anything or anybody, and it will be well for themselves and the public when they are relegated to the obscurity they merit. It is idle for people to say that good men cannot be found to take their places; there are plenty in the city with the time, ability and fitness, to manage the very small amount of work to be done in this Municipality, and it is humiliating to the ratepayers to have to say that they are content to have their affairs mismanaged by Councillors of the calibre of Rowell and his fellows.

sporting. At the time 1 am writing the town is deluged with horsey men who are saturating the atmosphere and public morals with " straight tips," " soft things," " good doubles," and other enticing and easy methods of making a few pounds without any work ; but I do not think there is any big harvest to reap iu Nelson for the clever division ; cash is scarce for one thing, and it is, perhaps, a negative virtue we can lay claim to, that we have not a racing stable to our name in the district at present. Now and then a sportive capitalist invests in a speculative colt or worn-out crock, on which to spend a few pounds in training expenses and entrance fees, with more or less success, but the da>s of Nelson's supremacy in horse breeding disappeared about the same period as its power in politics waned. I don't, of course, draw any parable as to the concidence, but only state it as a fact indicative of our having bacome a "one horse," or, correctly, a no horse sort of a place, both ia sporting and politics. There is, however, one description of sport in which we can claim honors, and that is rowing. The Wellington Regatta, last week, was the scene of a signal

vsctorv f>r our Wik tu Club, and ove 1 that vis'ory we are naturally jubilant, and justly so. for it was a victory gainer agniint the crack crews of the colony So decided was the superiority of oil) men that the southern crews decline 1 to accompany them to Wanginui when another trial of skill takes place this week, and the picked crew of the colony, the Union of Christchurch, turned tai ■ml went back home perfectly s-itisfied that they stood no show, ns the Wakatu? won both races at W vnganui. It v amusing to notice how badly the Welling ing people t ike a licking. Whilst they could not deny the win of the Wakatus. they affected to sneer at Mieir want of graceful style. This club do not aspire to e thetics, but to athletics with a prosper of cash behind, and the Star Club, of Wellington, a month or two a«ro, en deavored to make some very stringent rules, prohibiting any one from rowing who took money prizes, but their swell notions were incontinently kicked out by Clubs who are not so wealthy, and who prefer solid cash to pewter pots as a reward for weeks o f training and loss o r time. Over twenty years ago I was one of ;i crew which took part in the fir 4 interprovincial race in Wellington, and I have i distinct remembrance of the petty unsportsmanlike dodges they tried on to box our chance, but we managed to pull the event off in spite their obstacles. The clubs of the present day appear to emulate their predecessors of a couple of decades ago. I suppose the atmosphere of Wellington has the germs of meanness among its components.

A THREATENED CALAMITY. Among the promised blessings Yogel is to shed upon this glorious colony, to prevent the sponge being applied for the purpose of extinguishing our little encumbrances, is the Radical notion of buying up the large estates in the colony with a view of dividing them into small holdings, so as to render them capable of carrying a much larger population. It is not a new idea, but in Sir Julius' hands it can be made to look not only new, but poetical and practical. There, on the one side, is the picture of the immense plains held for the benefit of the few, and only carrying a sheep to the acre, whilst the owners are rolling along in their magnificent chariots and dining on turtle soup and ortolan. On the other, the thousands of capitalist farmers in the old country waiting eagerly for a chance to acquire small homesteads in the colony, and to make a home and fortune for themselves and their posterity in this radiant Britain of the South, where all is lovely, where taxation and landlords and parsons do nut absorb the whole of a man's earnings, and where there is absolute joy and bliss and contentment with the good government provided by an economical and far-seeing ministry. These kind of things sound very well from Vogel's lips, but when I hear his speeches I h*ve a sort of impertinent curiosity to read between the lines, because I have a sad want of faith in the gallant knight's loquacity. And in this case I read something in the following style: The bulk of the business of the colony, both public and private, is carried on through that great financial institution 8.N.Z., and its various offshoots. In ye irs gone by, when trade was brisk and loans being distributed, B.N.Z. made no bones about advancing money on runs, farms, stock, crops of wool not yet grown, or crops of grain not yet sown, saw-mills or steamers, gin shops or going concerns of any description. Of course they will do the same thing now, but with more caution, but in the days I allude to, when wool was a shilling a-ponnd as against fourpence now, it was very little trouble for a squatter to drop into the Bank parlor and get a big overdraft or a big loan on mortgage; as a matter of fact the urbane manager could not be too obliging. So long as wool remained at a shilling the security was good, but, unfortuuately for both bank and squatter, wool fell, and persistently kept on falling, and then the security began to assume a rather fishy look, and 8.N.Z., or the Loan and Mercantile, which is a sort of partner in the business, but by no means a sleepy one, felt it expedient to caution economy to the squatters, while B.N.Z. parlor interviews became rather less cheerful than in former days, and then the bank found it necessary to appoint supervisors over these estates, and, to work them to advantage, put their own men to look after them, whilst the nominal owners were allowed so much a-year to keep up an appearance j of respectability and remain nominal only. From a well-informed authority I hear of about one hundred and seven ly large estates in this fix in the province of Canterbury alone. Now, although these estates vary immensely in 6ize, quality and producing power, the same general principles affect them in the matter under consideration, so I will take an average case to show what bad security B.N.Z. has. Three star run was, and nominally is, the property of the lion. Augustus Spooner, and contains 50,000 acres of fair land capable of carrying a sheep to the acre. After the preliminary expenses of stocking the run, fencing, &c., the hon. Augustus had laid out all his cash, but he had a net income, with the then high price of wool, of say £'6ooo a-year, and from time to time bought the freehold of the homestead and fancy blocks at the Government rate of £2 per acre, until he had the run properly gridironed. He then built a town house, set up a racing stabjie, and made up his mind to enjoy life. To do all this he had to hypothecate two or three years clip in advance, and then, to his horror, a newclass of people began to invade the colony; they were called cockatoos. These objectionable fellows had no respect for the pioneers, as the squatters called themselves, but bought land right aal

left on the runs, till the l itter, to preserve the nselves, had to buy their holdings outright, tui'l to borrow the money to do it. Now, plenty of this land, although ,'oo 1 enough to grow wool 011 at a rental lftwo.jence }ier acre, was ve y dear at £ - 2, and with the advent of the cockatoo, the old breed of squatters may be sai I to have gone to the will. But most of the runs were bought, and wool falling in >rice brought about the state of things .vhich exist at present. The hon. Augustus Spooler bad to keep on borrowin<*and interviewing the banker, who first advised the abandonment of the racing stud, then 1 bill of sale over the sheep and other stock, and over the implements, and over the furniture in the town house, and then tdvised the appointment of a man they ha 1 in their eye as manager of the Throe Star estate, and the unfortunate Spooner iinding that the encumbrances on his once valuable property were equal to something like i! 10 an acre, was f tin to become a grateful pensioner of 8.N.Z., at X'4oo it-year, with a house in town to live in, ;ind to do the bidding of his proprietors in his place in parliament.

VOGEL TO THE RESCUE. The Bank's resources, large though tliey ate, could not staud the strain of so many properties falling into their hands, so they have for some time past been issuing debentures in London at 6£ per cent.; but these large estates are a terrible drain upon them, and tliey had to contrive some schedule to get these extensive lands redeemed. To take the estate mentioned above. It stands in their books at .£lO per acre. Its value, with wool at fourpence per lb., is ten shillings. How theu is this murderous deficiencj 7 to be made up ? There is only one wayVogel is great; Parliament is pliant; the country wants settling; another ten million loan will set more money circulating ; land will temporarily rise in value ; more immigrants will arrive ; the Government policy is to buy up the big estates ; the pioperty-tax valuations are high j we will sell at that price, or nominate valuators in our interest, and the colony will take the land and free lis from our bad 11101 tgages. That, my friends, is what I read between the lines in Wei's Auckland speech. Korari.

[Continuation of News, see 4th Page.l