Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 1895. The Depression.

Manawatu Herald, 26 February 1895, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 1895. The Depression.

The Government organs are-much to be pitied' In fcneir attempting to fool the public that there is no depression existing. , Such statements are absurd and the instances quoted by them as proving the truth of their statements speak eloquently against them. Thus, for instance, the New Zealand Times, in writing up Messrß T. Kennedy Macdonald's sale of the Manawatu Railway Go's, lands said " The lands to be offered on the present occasion, of which full details are published in another pomprise 27 country sections, containing 6060 acres, and 42 township allotments. At Silverstream, Upper Hutt, Pahautanui, adjoining McMenamen'B run, Otaki, Shannon, Hadfield, Fitzherbert, and other parts of ithV provincial 'district of Wellington will be found sections suitable for farms. A number of sections, for which titles have just been granted to the Company and which front good metalled roads, have valuable clearings and grass paddocks, and on others valuable totara. Allotments in the townships of Shannon, Manakau, Ohau. Paraparaumu, Tokomaru and Linton will also be offered. After the sale of the Company's lands the auctioneers

will submit a number of improved farm properties, situate along the Company's line, which will tto doubt command special attention. Amongst them will be the. late Mr Tabor's property near Manaliau* on which 200 acres have been felled and 80 acres sown in English grasses ; Mr Whittem's property at Te Horo, containing 623£ acres, with 400 acres cleared and laid down in grass} a Valuable property, all cleared-, adjacent to the Creamery at Shannon) containing 121 acres ; property containing 778$ acres, of which 70 acres are cleared and well grassed, and a leasehold, with right of purchase at £4 pel' a©re» both within easy distance of the Shannon Railway Station. 1 * Verily a choice assortment of lands, Variously placed* thus offering a very fair test of the buying capacity of the people. Bat what do we find ? Is the result anything like what the Times asserts? "The Auctioneer made a stirring speech as to the folly of men in prominent positions cohstahtly crying depression, when, as a matter of fact, the people of the country as a whole for some years past had been saving money and adding largely to the accumulated Wealth of the country. The gospel for the people of New £ealantl was faith, hope and courage in the future of their great country. All that New Zealand wanted from its people was belief in their destiny and the determination and energy to go forward and prosper* Mr Macdonald's remarks Were received With applause. The bidding throughout was exceedingly spirited*" We go no further than the Ttmei own report to prove ill despite of Mr Macdonald's appeal the sale was practically a failure. There was offered for Bale on Friday, 6060 acres of land for the Railway Company, the terms for which were, ten per cent deposit, 15 per cent in one month, and 75 per cent at the end of five years. Yet out of 6060 acres offered on these cheap terms, the ' Times reports only 1760 acres being sold ! The acreage of the improved farm properties situated along the Company's line, which the Times hopefully believed would " command special attention " ran up to 2846 acres, and all that the Auctioneer disposed of was one improved farm containing 121 acres !1 1 In the face of these facts the Times asserts that " the sale was a marked success, not only as to the number of the lots sold and the prices realised, but in the very largo attendance of the country setters and their desire to invest capital in the purchase of land." What will be said next ? The following taken from Thursday's Wanganui Herald will perhaps better explain why country settlers did not desire to invest capital in the purchase of land, and it appears a very good reason to ;— " The extremely low rates ruling at Messrs F. R. Jackson and Cos. sale yesterday, and especially for sheep caused a decided feeling of depression, and as the auctioneer stated throughout the firm's long experience they had never known such difficulty in quitting the lots submitted even at the ridiculously low rates ruling. Some of the older class of ewes were sold at Is per head, and lambs at Is lOd. Surely these must be bed-rock prices." The depression is here despite all that Government newspapers may declare to the contrary, and is to stay during the coming winter. It would be. more honest to admit a fact than keep on crying aloud a misstateinent that all must laugh at.

i The Borough Council invite tenders for various works. Tenders to be in by the 4th March. | Next Friday Messrs Abraham and Williams hold a stock sale at Foxton. Mr Battersby has started sinking a well at the Foxton Creamery. We regret to learn that the fnrther sinking of one of the old artesian wells at Paiaka was not successful. Mr Beeves is to become Minister of Justice in place of Mr Cadman. The Commission on. the Horowhenna Blook, which is not needed, is to sit at Palmeraton. Mentioning Palmerston reminds as there are still the two towns of the one name, one North and one South, when is the Governor by power of clause 4 o?"The> Designation of Distriots Act 1894 " going to require the younger town to submit a new name ? The appointment of a Returning Officer, and the date for the first election ql the Mukaka River Board will be immediately gazetted. The* meeting at Levin on Saturday night was not a suooess. Mr J. G. Wilson, M.H.R., who was expected to take the chair did not put in an appearance. Mr Prouse was elected chairman in his stead. The Sandon School Committee have decided to vote for Messrs Fry, Carson, and Mayo for members of the Education Board. Mr Donald Fraser endeavoured to show that the" Romney breed of sheep killed more "yellow sheep" than other breeds. The Romney breeders are naturally up in arms looking upon the assertion of Mr Fraser as having been used to help along the . Lincdlns, he being-; a "breeder of the latter class. Me gladden* the' Secretary of the Wellington Meat Export Co., agreed with the members of the A. and P. Association that Mr Fraser had made a mountain out of a molehill. He had no idea when his letter to Mr Fraser was written that this gentleman was contemplating a crusade against Romneys. The Manawatu Times says Mr Grant has arranged an excursion to Woodville on Wednesday week for the scholars attending the College street school. Mr Grant had a conversation with the Mayor of Woodville at the railway station this morning, and the latter promised to make arrangements i for entertaining the children,

Messrs Abraham, k Williams will offer by auction section ft) 4, Foxton* fdr sale OH Friday*

We draw Attention td the programnie issued by the Foxton Racing Club for their autumn meetingi

Mr 8. 8: iWkman, writing in a magazine on the Simian traits in the human baby says " Even a cross baby should be calmly contemplated by the philosophic mind." It is only a philosophic mind that cad cj&hnly contemplate a cross baby, except its mother; _.

The bSallty-booka advise women to cultivate a hobby. They say that a person with a hobby keeps bright eyes, rosy cheeks, and an expression of animation which in themselves constitute beauty fat beyond the period at which the hobbylesS women lostt these atttsfctfonai

T"he %al Humane Joßiety his. presented silver medals to Dunlopj engineer, and Kendall, steward, for heroic conduct at the wreck of the Walrafcaßai The northern rivers in Queensland ace in high flood, and still rising. Many people having been flooded oat, and crops destroyed on the flats. The mails from the South have been blocked for three weeks.

The Hifieffloa rettitfiedtt ilyttSltoil ftdm a month's grittse" to tne Southern Islands on Sunday, with Mb JSxcellenoy the Governor and pat tys. The pleasure of the trip has been considerably marred by the bad weather. Captain Fairchild •peaks of the passage as by far the worst he has ever made to the Islands.

Mr C. E.Beethami of fahiatuai intends starting a Bomhey fcttia flock on his property at Mangatainoka.

Four burglaries occurred at Kaiapoi on Saturday.

Several large kauri logs are drifting about Covier Island.

The Sluggish River Drainage Board accepted the tender of McAuley for contract No. 6 but refused all tenders' for contracts 6 and 7, as beiDg above the engineer's estimate*