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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XL, Issue 190, 2 August 1876, Page 4

The chairman of an election meeting at Sandridge, Victoria, recently told those present that if they hnd any questions to e.Bk the candidate they were to do bo, and if he did not answer them right, he would give him a smack in the eye. "It is to be presumed," say the Argus, "that the answers to thequestjou were 'right,' as the threatened punishment did not take place. Couceruing Mr Wakefield's land fuud resolutions the Christchurch Press writes : — " They are significant. A voluntary offer to give up half the land Jundj made by a Canterbury member, the representative of a constituency most interested in preserving the existing arrangements, is a ' fact worth notice. It shows how severely the difficulty is beginning to be felt of keeping up a system under whioh one portion of the colony may be rolling in riches, while others are in a state of absolute want. How to provide for the requirements of those parts of the colony that have no land fund — this is the great problem of the day. It is not a difficulty raised by abolition. It has been pressing with increasing urgency for several years past, and would have come to & climax during the present session, even if the abolition scheme had never been heard of. As yet the solution is not forthcoming. The Government see no way out of the dilemma. Their proposals are at best a mere attempt to evade the question, aud to stave off the impending crisis for a year or two longer by the aid of Treasury bills. Thia ia the best that Ministers can do for üb. It remains to be seen whether the collective wisdom of the Opposition has succeeded in devising any more sagacious and more effective policy." A sample of Stewart's Island oysters have been sent to Melbourne, and are prefered to New South Wales oysters. The Argus reports that in size, appearance, and flavour they greatly resemble the English "natives." As the first shipment hna proved very satisfactory, the establishment of a regular oyster trade between Stewart's Island and Melbourne may be expected.