North Otago Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1895.

North Otago Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8172, 2 May 1895, Page 2

North Otago Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1895.

Fhw public speakers talk with ro much earnestness an tha lion J. G. Ward, and his words are calculated to cury conviction to the minds of thoao who ato prepared to aocopb statements on trust, and without giving much thought to their credibility. Me Waid never abuses *u opponent, and In this respeofc he is uuitga • groat many of his confrere! on eiioa of the House. Bat we are »!r»tf (h%t Hr sVford, notwithstanding hi a e*rov*<tnes« »nd -hip nloencas, h»s •Uowed htraarff to dww the long bow with won Tenawnce in London, that the, irrow U ha« .hot la more Jlkity^to h»rm the bowmatt tlifttt anyone «li«. TJo hon. Bentleman, In »4<lre«tnß the Loitfon

Government had collected the land tax before its due date because tho colony was financially In straitened circumstances. The tax was collected, ho sii ', in order to avoid tho noodless Usuo "f Treasury hill<\ This in the verira' fu<lgo Doos tho Colonel Treasurer rxpec? colonists to belitvo that tho Government would, at a lime wh n mowoy was tight, and land ownrrs had n«t ti o much of. it to spuo, c*ll upon tham to piy tho land tax nontly five months boforo the propiT time, in order to avoid tho needless issue of Treasury bills. If Mr Ward hid tod tint story tothu marines there might have b-tn ground*, in the innoconco of their fiith in mmkiiid, for tho acceptanco nf tho statiinent; but to toll it to tho pooplo of this colony, through tho medium of tho Lindon Press, is too muoh oven for h 8 frionda to boliovo. Tin G )\oi'nmont are not going to risk their popularity brcju^o they did not caro to ncod'iflly issue Troasury bills. In this all tho consideration they h»ve fo tho farmers ? Sooner lhau is ua n few Treasury bills thfy would scivw monoy out of tliom long boforo it was duo ! Mr W .rd however, in drawing the long l»w to fro this shot, ko.pt the weapon strung, an! fired another, which is equally untru-t-wor hy. Ho 6aid at tho time tho tax wis collected tint (ho colony hold throe mi Ilions of unpledged securities two-thirds of which ho had himself f' rwarded to London at tho time of tho Australian crisis. Mr Ward made a statement of the sort whilo in New Z 'uland. and it was promp'ly donied by tho Hon. G. F. Uchardson, who poin'ed out that the securities Mr Ward refected to lnd bo«n hypothotica'cd, and woro not therefore av«ilablo for plodging assain. Suroly Mr Ward doos not mean that ho had offered the equity of redemption of the securitie«, for that h all ho had to oflor. and it would natural'y bo of just the same v.»lm as (Uinaru IHrbor B ard bonds of 1879 Or has ho a reversionary interest in the eighth wonder ot tho world or the bluo empyrean ? Tho Wellington correspondont of (ho D^ily Timos, who had nude enquires into Mr Ward'n s'ate-nu-nt, wires to that piper as follows: '•The cnbloßtnm from L ivlon in the pip'rsof yeHterd*y, reporting thftt tho Treasurer had stated, in his address to the London Chamber of Oommorco, that tho colony lud throo millions of unpledged eccuritics in L mdon to guard ag.»inst rrncrgoncy, h^is causod some surprise hcrj in financial circh-s. Tho phrases used m regard to tho accuracy of tho statement may not bo hero set down. I have been at somo pains to search tho authorities aviilablo horo, and, notwithstanding the defective character of somo of tho information supplied to Parliament. have ascertained tho following facts. Wo hid of Government debentures issued under tho ConsobdMed Stock Act of 1881, LI 300 100' These wrro hold on tho following Government deposits: For the Public Trusteo L 20.400, for the Public Dob's Sinking CommHsionera L 19.400, for tho Governmont Insurance L 494.300, for (ho Post Oflico Savings Buik L7n4,4()0. ditto L 17,600; total, L 1,300,100., 300,100. Thore were held also for l\,st Oftico Savings Bank: Oimarugas J^onJs L»000, Oamaru lurbor bonds L 33.400, and I'nperUl guiran'end debojitures L 324.000; total, L 466.400. Thero wore hold in tho Consolidated Fund Treasury bills, having be ou issued against tho L4'7fi,OOO of Imperial guirantoed dobenturo", and for tho Public Works Fund L 20.000, of tho Wellington and Manawatu Railway deben'ures, W.A.M , LG95,000. It will bo peon, therefore, ih<tt tho only fluid securities wero porlups «ho last, and tho Tro^sury bilh of L47(5,000 wore issued to red<?om thene, so as 10 kropthom as a 'stand-by' in ca«-e of a crisis. This waß doi)O in 18U3. All Iho other co called ' unpledged' pocuritus woro plodged to Government dopartmouts." Jt may b« possiblo that Mr Ward, like the Inst Emperor Nipoleon, has built up a •' stand-by" to fall back on 111 o»se of a fitinncial rout ; but the peoplo of tho colony havo no conception of its origin, or whoro it iB. lis location is a mystery, and its origin in probably similar to Topsy'u—it "growi'd," and ovidemly from nothing. Mr Ward could have floated his loan without tho siory of the three millions of securities, and if he cannot tubitantia'o it ho nny not bo bo fortunate when ho next woos the British monoy lender.

Rnnivivrs Pomahaka ! Pomahaka is a mmo that tho devout and patriotic Ministerialist conjures by, and it comes to tho surface with oven more frequency than the gross surpluses of tlio present Government, and probably ouo is about as valuable as the o.hor. This time Pomahaka bobs up with the well-known Mr Duncan Campbell, friond and henchman of the Hon. John M'Kenp.io, toronoly perched on top. This is tho same Duncan Campbell who previously affirmed that tho Government had not paid too niuoh for PoinalnUa, but it will be seen from an artiole on tho first page of this issue that Mr Duncau Campbell has materially altered his opinion on tho subject Ho now consides L 2 an aero amplo valuo for Pomahaka., and so gavo hia opinion in a Southland Assessment Court. It might be asked how Mr Duncan Campbell reconciles tho last statement with thoso ho has previously made on tho subject. This question, will not, hownvor, no immediately concern Mr Duncan Campbell as that which is associated with tho Highland fling that tho Minister for Lands will dance whon ho reads tho statement of his ungrateful protege. If Mr Duncan Campbell does not take exceptional care of his scalp look that manly adorn ncnt will be reft from its placo to graco tho trophies of hie great cluof, lo •hatter tho solemn assertions of his chief as to tho value of Pomahaka must come like an earthquake to thoso simple souls who bolievo that tho Minister for Lands can do no wrong, and something will havo to bo (sacrificed to appease tho divinity that shapes tho end of our only land legislator in Now Zealand. That appeasement will no doubt take tho form of giving Mr Duncan C.unpboH tho opportunity of making an affirmation that ho novcv .i)ado the statement, or of retiring from the public soryicc. Whichever Mr Campbell may elect to do will not disturb tho actual valuo of Pointhuka, which is, according to practical men living in the distiict, just 30s an aero, and not L 2.

The letter of ♦• Headmaster X^ School, 1 crowded ou of yesterday's issue appears on tho lab page. Tho rainfall at Tolara for April was 40 points. Mr G. A. Mitchell is a pasiongor by tlic Rimutaka from London for Oamsru. | {Mails for Norfolk Island, por Alico May, close at Auckland on Friday, tho 3rd iust, t}Ls p.m. The fc'ouih Canterbury Jockey Club realised a u«t proQt of L 35 out of its lato race meeting. Mr \V. M'llwraith, who for many years \vaa a guard on the Oamaru line, (tied rathor suddenly at J/iwroace og Tuesday ni^ht. Magnesia is aa autldolo in poisoning by phosphorus. Tho poisQiious prgperty of m»tah heads is phospliorus. B|TUc Hon. Mr Cadman was not deputfttionisod at Timaru, and aftor his southoru oxperienco ho must have woudorod what was the matter, 1 The Athlotio, Oamaru, Exo«l«loc Had White Star Club* pl»y pr&otioo gwnea on their respootlvo ground! to«d&y. Iv yo»tordfty'a Issue wo omittod to mon. iipo that the leporb of tho «ocoud day's on* quicy into fete af/ftir* at tho Walnrek* Sahool wu from tho D%Uy Tiuatf.

At tho Land Board meeting yesterday ifc was decided to pay over to the person incrested tho sum of Ll9 19s, valuation reoeived for section 54, block 0, Maerowhenua, At tho Police Court yesterday, beforo '^M Messrs Grummit and Gilchrist, J.IVs, Wm. Black, an old offender, was finod 10s, with the alternative of 48 hours' imprisonmef^ H for drunkenness. H J. CJarry, a steerage passenger by tho H Anglian from Sydney to Auckland, wm ■ found missing between seven or eight on, ■ Sunday evening- Ho is believed to havo H jumped overboard between those hours. <^J Tho Deputy Assignee cays this hiw been V tho dullest year for bankruptcy busmen for ■ tho last decade, and ho wonders if them is ■ any possibility of this wretched state of H affairs (from hla poiut of view) altering for ■ the better. fl Tho hall above the Union Stores can now V bo obtained for socials, balls, dances, meet* I ings, etc., aud as tho floor had been pro- ■ paved f r a skating rink no more desirablo ■ place could bo found in tho towu. Mr 1^ I Lane will give particulars. I The Wellington Post aays Minittcrs spend I about two-thirds of their timo cinvassing I for votos and being banquotted, and from I what we know of them wo should say the I other third 13 spent in suffering a recovery I fiom tho consequent indigestion. I At a meeting of tho Waiareka School I Committee hold on Tuesday night it was I decided to recommend Mr W. K. Bastings I for tho position of head teacher of tho I school. The Board forwarded 12 names, I Mr Bastings ha* exceptionally good ccrtifi- I catcs. 1 Tho Pelorna Guardian, which is owned I and edited by Mr C. H. Mills, M.H.R., i* greatly disappointed with tho administra- I tion of the Advances to Settlers Act. Ib complains of the delay in making advances, the refusal in so many cases to make any ad • I vanco, and the way valuation fees aro charged. If tho Now Zealand Times, tho Welling, ton Ministerial paper, is tho mouthpiece of tho Government in tho matter, there is trouble ahead for the unemployed. Tho paper says : "The SUto must not bo expected to act tho part of i* wot nurse. The inott must not expect constant work at) a rato higher than (or even as high) as tho current wage." This moans less work aud^ reduced wage. " The secretary to tho General Post Office, Wellington, advises that during the break in No. 3 cable delayed telegrams between tho North and Middlo Islands will bo accepted only on the understanding that they will bo hold at tho tcuninal office in each island for transmission iti the evening, and that if pressure of ordinary work bo then too groat they will be posted between Wol« lington and Lyttelton, or Bleuheim, for on« ward transmission. The Land Board yesterday again con* sidered a memo from the Under-Secretary of Grow n Lands w ith regard to tho islands in tho Wailaki, and it was resolved that) resolution No. 19 of 10th April last bo ra« srinded and the islands bo now offered m six lots - lot 1. fromocran to railway bridge) lot 2, from railway bridge to old ferry re» servo ; lot 3, from old ferry reserve to tho mouth of the Awamoko river ; lot 4, from tho mouth of tho Awamoko river to tho mouth of tho Maerewhenua river -, lot 5, from tho mouth of tho Maerewheiuta riven to Otekaiko river ; lot 6. from OtckaikQ river to the mouth of the Kurow river. Tho upset price for each lot to be LI S. £ Tho Waimato Times, referring to tho Catholic School oxcursion from Oamaru to Waimato, says : " Tho visitors wera most* hospitably entertained by tho Rev. FatlioC llcgnaulb and tho Sisters. Football, rac< ing, and other contests wore indulged in t and a most enjoyable day spent. Before their departure three cheers for Fathrr Regnanlt and tho Sisters wero hc&rtily given by the visitors. Altogether thcra ■ vero more than 1000 excursionists, and many found their way to the Point bush, and Knotting'y and Victoria Park*, wlnlo the footpaths in Queen street were crowded! with pedestrians duriug tho whole after« noon, giving the main street an unusually lively appearance." The Tuapeka Times says : Mr HassaHi Rabbit Inspector, who has been in chargo of tho Tuapeka district duriug tho past) four years, with hia headquarters a(, Tapa« inn, has been transferred to the charge of tho Kurow district, and will leave for therein the course of a week or ten days. Wlnlo iv charge of this district, Mr Hawaii has discharged his duties in a manner that won for him the esteem and respect of tho Bottlers, while at the samo time he wa? successful in securing a proper compliance* with the la\y» and that without finding »(j ucceasavy vo resort to harshncM or waciy« , ma. lie will be relieved by Ina.pc.oto7 ' Empson, who comes from the Kurow dis« trict. Mr Einpson's headquarters will be ab Lawrence, where ho will reside, Mr George Hutchison, M.H.R., speaking at Wanganui, said: " l'tuc government is. a themo Mr Scddon dolights to handle— possibly because ho docs not practioo it, The association of ' Puro Go* vernmont ' with our land administration i% fast bcooming a minus quantity. Time wn when Mr M'Kenzie, with all hit fads as t<> titles, we.l considered a safe administrator. It is a pity that facts indicate a sad decline. Everyone haa heard of Pomahaka, and th<! more ono hears of it tho loss one can like it, The concatenation of circumstances tlmO led to tho payment of LlB,OOO of public money on tho eve of tho general election to a supporter of Mr M*Kenzio'a for a conn paratively worthless cstato, is ono of those things that stamp an Administration a) utterly bad. The more tho dirty water iq stirred the inoro tho ugly sediment rises." Tho Auckland correspondent of the Daily Times wires to that paper : 4 rather sultry scene is Baid to havo occurred at tho Tariff Commission's sitting! A deputation of Knights of Labor plaoed beforo tho Commission a proposal to mako certain reductions tiona in duty, and suggested that tho lossj bo rooouped to tho Treasury by taxing all lands and abolishing all exemptions from tho land tax. Thlt propoial to atill furthel tax farmers rouaod tha member for Cluth* (Mr T. Mackenzie), who took the deputa* tion in hand. Hi* Highland blood carried him beyond tho bounds of caution, and ho waa " nulled up " by tho chairman (Major; Stoward) and other members of tho Coin* mission j but Mr Mackenzie continued to make such strong remark! that tho ox&mlaa< tion of tho deputation abruptly closed, and the chairman was glad to bo rid of tho knights and soothe tho ruffled feelings of mpmbors, St. Luke's Ladies' Gnild held their am nual sale of work in aid of tho Sunday School building fund in tho Athonajum Hall ycuter* day afternoon. Tho ladies of tho guild later osBlduously for twelve month! in pre« paring fork for their annual sale, and thciC action is self-denying and praiseworthy. Ib must be encouraging to the incumbent, Canon Gould, to havo so many wiring helpers in the Guild, and tho result of then? l^bfrfi will bo gratifying to those who detiro to pueh forward tho erection ot a Sunday school for St. Luke's. Tiieie were plenty of goods displayed for sale yesterday afternoon, and the visitors wero entertained with music and rofrcshod by '• four o'clock tea.' 1 Those who presided over the refreshment department wero Mrs Garland and tha Misses Murdoch. Tho work sta'ls weta under the control and direction of Mcsdimea Gould, Lemon, Brooke-Smith, Gledhill, Headland, Taylor and Misses Macdon»ldi and Jones. Tl^oro was a largo attendance) in tho evening, and tho rf,sutyB vere satia* factory to tho promoters. Read Clayton, GAnmNER, akd Co.'s ndvortiiwmonji at tho foot of tho third page, James Gemmeli.. invifce» inspection of hi* WINTBR ooniignment (ojc Aorangl) of Scottiah and English fuitingi, opitinga, and trouaerlnga, Including aome real H&rjcm Tweedi. A ohoioo leliction of exoluaivo noveltiei j »Uo U»m*ru md othar ColonUl goods of th« beat quality. Thia JSiUbliah , ment haa long boon noted for the Q»t>olaM| oharaolor of it* produotloui, Suita from 7Ca upwarda, WaUrproof overcoats to ordtr »nd roadv mado at loweib oqrrw* rAt9«.-^AHM OIKUK^ XkW»M 9^ti| V*wW"i .. . ' .