WAIROA.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 217, 28 October 1874, Page 2

WAIROA.

Tite weather has been very boisterous lately, but little rain has fallen, and the recent winds have dried the land up a good deal. The grass is, however, presenting a fine appearance. Shearing has already commenced. The natives are busy with their cultivation, and altogether news in the district is very slack. Sub-Inspector Carlyon of the A.C. Force, who lately received his promotion in this district, was, I hear, presented at Wellington with a handsome testimonial (by permission of the Hon. Defence Minister) from his late comrades hereabouts. Such a fact speaks volumes for the “ entente cordiale ” that exists between different ranks in the service, and the officer thus notified is to be congratulated not only on his promotion, but also on his carrying with him the esteem of his subordinates in the Force.

I see that it is reported that two live Moas have been caught in Canterbury. There is an old Maori legend current in this district to the effect that a “ moa ” guarded by a taniwha lives somewhere in the neighborhood of Whakapunake, and old natives affirm that a moa’s feather was once found up there. Whether there is any truth in the yarn, I know not. One would be able to swallow the moa alone, but the taniwha is a caution to snakes.

It is generally believed that the new and stringent regulations now' in force for the Volunteers will put the finishing stroke on the Wairoa company, w-hicli w'as falling away piecemeal under the old regime, and requires a thorough re-organ-isation on a new and improved basis. What with the continual stream of immigration pouring into the colony, and the ever increasing amount of interest on borrowed money going out, we are laying up for ourselves (or rather Mr. Vogel is laying up for us) the certainty of a reduction of w'ages and increased taxation. This should be borne in mind by the W'Orking classes; it is all very well for the squatocracy to import cheap labor, and to defend such a measure especially when they get good roads made to bring their wool down by, but for the working classes themselves to uphold a measure calcidated in every respect to injure themselves is somewhat astounding in its suicidal folly. In all the other colonies, especially where the vox populi is audible, the democracy strongly object to assisted immigration, a very bad lot is inevitably introduced by its means into the unhappy country favoring such a measure, police forces have to be added to in order to guard against the large increase of crime, jails have additions built to them, hospitals to be enlarged, and workhouses will be required in order to keep indigent immigrants from starvation. The natural increase of the present population will settle on the land quite as fast as the Native Department will increase the Native difficulty. Let us have no more taxation and no more immigration—for a time at least.