Rangitikei Advocate. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1907. SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXI, Issue 8734, 7 February 1907, Page 2

Rangitikei Advocate. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1907. SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES.

The New Zealand Times of course supports the Land Bill with the greatest zeal, but like many other authorities on the land question forgets that zeal is a very bad substitute for knowledge. Wo venture to make rather a long 'quotation from an article which appeared ou Tuesday in the Times, simply because it chows a disgraceful lack of knowledge which really deserves to be described in stronger terms. In tho course of many severe censures passed on tho opponents of the Bill the writer of the article gays “ a bad position naturally employs bad arguments ” and tis wo hope to convince our readers that the Times uses bad

arguments the conclusion we must

come to is obvious. The article criticises a statement that the graduated tax is already sufficient to prevent the aggregation of large estates as in the last tea years tho number of holdings of 50,000 acres and upwards in area has decreased from 112 to 00, and adds : “it must not be forgoiton that a 50,000 acre estate is worth, say, £150,000. When it is remembered, too, that during tho last ten years tho number of holdings between 5000 and 10,000 acres in extent (or, say, between .£1 I.OGO and £OO,OOO in value) has from 013 to 108, between 10,0UU and 00,000 Seres (230,000 to £60,000) from 227 to 237, and between 20,000 and 50,000 acres (£60,000 to £150,000) from IG2 to 16G, it will be seen that it is not Mr McNab who has made no discoveries.”

The assumption that the land held large area-.! is worth £3 an acre is of course absurd. If that were the case there would bo at least 2GO estates instead of 07 over the £50,000 limit of unimproved value. If, however, the £'3 refers to improved value, it would show that largo landowners have improved their land to its fullest extent. This, however, is a mere minor point in the argument. The whole force of the contention in the passage we have quoted rests on the assumption that the estates referred to are held under tho freehold tenure. The writer might have been warned when tre looked up his statistics in too Year Book that this was not tho caso by the statement “ the area of the holdings over’the 320 acres limit necessarily shows as very large in a table which includes the Crown pastoral leases.” In fact the increase of fairly large holdings to which tho Times objects is almost entirely due, not to the aggregation of larger estates, but to the increased amount of land leased by Government. That this is the case is shown by the fact that SSS Crown tenants hold 11,104,276 acres under pastoral leases or an average of 13,000 acres per head lot at on average yearly rental of less than 2d per acre. The number of occupiers of pastoral runs 10 years ago was only 828, and tho area of land thus held was 10,651,305 jacres. When we note that only 901 persons in the colony hold areas of over 5000 acres, either freehold or leasehold, we must come to the conclusion that by far the greater number of the larger areas are held by Crown leaseholders. The Land Bill will have no effect on the holders or the large pastoral runs, which moreover can he broken up into smaller areas as the leases fall in, should they be suitable for subdivision. Without pursuing the matter may further it must he perfectly clear to all that the views of the Now Zealand Times on the Land Bill are tho result cf gross ignorance on the subject for no snno person would deliberately venture on such absurd misrepresentations.

A fanner at Tolioniainro (Otago) last * week threshed 105 ba.ee of :ea.ee erci, avc-r- ---'• ii"it!" live- ia.sh.;!s to the ban, of; si.; acres of ■'round, thn.; .• vt-iu-in;; a return oi iiT.busier.]- ;o the a area. A ;vv ■ v a;a:• ' no small experience in agricultunil a hairs as. .arcs vhe Oamam Mail tl’.at : : , vicai, of sehe ;r over'the whole Canterbury mva, inao v.TI exceed 20 bushels to the rvre. as there are some t vary line crop; to be found hero and there, d The oats are much poorer, and will d probably average lulls' mors than tho h wheat. g Wireless telephonic communication between Berlin and Lovlon will be an achievement of,the near future, according to Professor Slaby, and he regards il as not improbable that he may ultimately Is ~ble to ring up New York. A curious coincidence happened in Wellington Magistrate's Court recently when three solicitors were engaged in j cases against their namesakes. Mr | Blair appeared for plaintiff against aj defendant Blair, Mr Peacock against j Peacock, and Mr Webb appeared ! i against Webb. | Amongst the jurymen who sought to t be excused from service when the [ criminal sessions of the Supreme Court [ opened at Wellington was a man possessed of a wooden leg. His counsel j submitted that the juryman would suffer j great inconvenicea and pain if compelled to sit in a cramped witness-box. I Mr Justice Cooper expressed himself j that it would be very inconvenient for j the juryman to lake his leg oil. He f M ould be excused. j VALUABLE TESTIMONY. John .“Sharp, Esq., .1.1’., and formerly j Resident MagiMivitu,Nelson. says :—“The j unequalled reputation of IMPEY’S MAY APPLE induced me to procure several bottles. I was very sceptical of tho , virtues said to bo possessed by patent medicines, but I found IMPEY’S MAY • APPLE a splendid tunic, promoted digestion, and had a beneficial effect 1 generally. It is highly spoken of by | citizens of my acquaintance.” n Mr A Lawson, Proprietor Orepuki Cheese Factory, Southland, says :—“l ? have suffered all my life with bilious sick \ headaches. Have taken medicines, patent and otherwise, but none did mo permanent !l good. With IMPLY’.B MAY APPLE ” the results are most gratifying, HALF A t: BOTTLE has completely cured me, audit *. teaspoonful once a month keeps mo in „ perfect order.” b 'The endorsement of IMPEY’S MAY 11 APPLE, by such prominent men as Mr K Sharp; and Mr Lawson should be sufficient o: recommendation to other suffers to try it. & Chemists and Stores, 2s (id per bottle.

Hoary rain on the hills near Oxfoifi yesterday almost entirely extinguished the bush fires. Rain more or less heavy appears to have been general yesterday in Mid and North Canterbury.

A couple of prominent pigbreeders, in a conversation with our representative at Folding Show, complained that though tho managers of bacon factories appeared to, set great value on pigs bred specially for bacon, they refused to pay any higher price for such pigs than for inferior breeds, and paid simply on [weight. If this, practice continued it would not pay farmers to go to the expense of breeding first-class bacoiwr*.

Some excellent hauls of fish have been made in Wellington Harbor by line fishermen during the past few days. The prevalence of edible fish in the port has attracted a less desirable kind, sharks being not uncommon in the deeper waters. A boating party caught two “six-footers” off Ward Island last Sunday, and at Mahanga Bay a seven-foot shark was hauled up on the same date.

A thoroughly qualified man has been engaged by the North Island National Hairy Association to proceed to the Old Country to exhaustively investigate dairying matters and all pertaining thereto. Mr Bolt, who for so many years has successfully managed the Taien and Peninsula Dairy Company, has been instructed by his Directors to leave fer England on a similar errand. Ro leaves Dunedin some time in March.

It is commonly supposed in Australia ami New Zealand (according to the PimoruUsts’ Review) that Great Britain is a smail place entirely given up to,big oilios, factories, noblemen’s'parks and reserves, with little room for the farmer and stcck-nsiser, other than the studbreeder. Tt will come to many ns a shock to read that in Great Britain there are over 7,000,000 head of cattle and 25,0(10,000 sheep—nearly as many cattle as in all Australia, and 6,000,000 sheep more than there aro in New Zealand.

One of the most remarkable crops of wheat in the colony is that owned by the Maoris at Te Whiti (Wairarapa)', says the Carterton News Gladstone correspondent. . Measured, the grain stands '/ft 2m in height in many places, and the yield is in . proportion to the size of the stalks. The strength did not go into straw. It was found impossible to use the binder on tho crop In tho hoariest parts. The knife was lifted 15 inches from the ground, but the burden even then was too heavy, and the machine revolved tho reverse way. Scythes had to be used in those portions of tho crop.

At Feiltling Court yesterday, before Mr Thomson, S.M., F. W. Bismarck was bound over in his own recognisances for £lO to keep the peace for 12 months towards his wife. Judgment was given for plaintiffs in the following eases; 11, !;■. Cullen v. H. Sears,claim £2 l C; s, costs 10s; F. Amadni v. 11. Morphy, claim £2 Os Gd, costs lUs ; IT. E. Wills v. C. Gray, claim £ I 3s, costs os ; Martin Bros. v. C. 11. Lovett, claim 18s, costs Os. Orders were made in the two following eases of judgment summonses :—W. ,il. Percival v. F. fl. Hughes, claim £3 10s ; and J. IV. Andersen v. S. Withers, claim £3 5s 3d. 8. Tear, sued Glesson Bros, for £lB, being at the rate of 2s GJ a day for use of a brake, which it was alleged the defendants had wrongfully retained. Judgment was given for plaintiff for £2O, to be reduced to £2 if brake is returned within three days ; costs £1 19s. Oxn Bottle Cuiied Him. “ Last summer," says Arthur Bolton, of I-'o'ton Bros., Bendigo, Vic., “ I laid a severe attack of summer complaint, or bowel trouble. For a time 1 pai 1 no attention, simply lot things run along, but fin.ling it was becoming a very serious matter I concluded to try Chamberlain s Cone, Cholera, and Diarrhcea Kennedy, which I had scon so highly recommended in the papers. Our local chemise sent me a small bottle, and before it was all used I was entirely well. The pain was stopped by the iirsfc dose. For sale by Messrs T. H. Brfcilm, Idarton; Ellis Bros., Hunterville; and TV. B. Clark, Bulls.