Rangitikei Advocate. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1907. SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXII, Issue 8937, 1 October 1907, Page 2

Rangitikei Advocate. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1907. SECOND EDITION. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Ivlß J. M. TWOMEY, ex-M.L,C., who was at one time au ardent advocate of laud nationalisation, has become a convert to the freehold on the ground that the freehold tenure ,- a a more advantageous investment

to the State than the leasehold. His arguments are of conslderab e interest at a time when it is proposed to withdraw from sale for all time nine million acres to he used as an endowment for education, and other purposes. Hr Twomey takes the case of 3,000,000 acres of laud valued at £3 au acre, half of whion is sold outright and the other hall leased for G 6 years. In ease the State received *,3,000,000, and the necessity for borrowing was obviated to that extent. In t w second the State received 4 per cent on the capital value iper annum, which was, however. co™texbalauced by the interest paid to the foreign mouev louder. At the cud o the 00 years the State still owed the £‘Z 000,000 originally borrowed instead of having had the sum originally received for the laud foi OT “ t „ thnne vears It is, howuse during those jcais. n , ever, generally supposed that Lie increase in the value of tno land during the period of the lease would at its close amply repay the State for the disadvantage of having’ had t 0 pay away the routs received in the form of interest on loan money.

Supnose, for example, that the pro, party has risen in value t( £30,000,000. ' After deducting tn< original £2,000,080 there remains £18,000,000, from which the value o. the'tenant’s improvements must l>

deducted. Iu most cases the unimproved value is no greater than onehalf the capital value, but eveu assuming that it were as high as twothirds the share of the State jwould only amount to £13,000,000. In tne litst place wo may point out that n the £3,000,600 acquired by soiling the laud had been invested at 5 per cent compound interest for 60 years it would have .amounted to £37,30;!, 060 13s hi,'a much Larger sum than that actually acquired. Thoro is a certain amount of unreality aoout such calculations, so wo may put them aside and return to the more practical point that the State has for 00 venrs been deprived of the laud tax* which would have been paid during the 60 years’ poriodjutdjhc land been freehold. Neglecting the graduated tax as counterbalancing the exemptions allowed wo have to deal with a land tax of Id in the & on an unimproved value gradually rising from £3,000,000 to £12,0000,00. ; A calculation will show that the total resulting from this tax with compound interest would again exceed the £12,000,000, which is supposed to ho such a splendid haul for the State after a wait of GO years. The net result of the two systems is, therefore, this: —The Stme gained £13,000,000 in the increased value of land, but it lost the land tax, which in all probability would pan out equal to this, and it lost also the increment of the £2,000,000 which, if invested at compound interest, would have been £Si,2Gt),(>uo. Without taking the laud lax into consideration at all, therefore, the least the State lost by leasing instead of selling the 1,000,000 acres in the GO years is over *25,000,000. This argument is worth the consideration of those who are hesitating as co the desirability of sotting aside extensive endowments ns provided for in the Bill shortly to come before the House,

A CERTAIN section of the press ifl fcj 10 Uni fed States seems to bo determined if possible to create trouble between America and Japan, cording to the New York correspondent of the Loudon Times the attitude of the press is distinctly provocative, and writers therein are

making sneering references to Japan’s quiet attitude since the transfer of the United States fleet to the Pacific was decided on. That the statement of the Times’ correspondent is justified is amply shown by a cablegram reporting that the Washington correspondent of the Now York Times, after an interview with President Roosevelt, declared that the United States’ •fleet’s cruise to the Pacific was due to Japan’s constant diplomatic hectoring of America, and that the resources of.friendly diplomacy iiad been practically exhausted ui trying to meet the captions Japanese. The allusion to the correspondent’s visit to President Roosevelt is merely inserted with intent to deceive, as

nothing is more certain than that

the President never expressed any of the sentiments which are indirectly attributed to him. Vvo were recently informed that Mr Hearst and his yellow journals had joined the crusade against Japan, and it would scorn that in rise absence of a Thaw case or similar matter to fill their columns the lower class newspapers in tlie United States are deliberately working to bring about a war with Japan. Such action cannot be too strongly condemned, and we hope that the diatribes of what is fittingly called the gutter press may fail in their mischievous object.

IN the House the other day the Prime Minister of the Dominion waxed indignant over the suggestion that an employee in the railway workshops at Christchurch had been dismissed because ho had adversely criticised the Administration. Ho proudly pointed to two alleged instances in which members of the Civil Service had been dismissed “for taking active part in supporting supporters of the Ministry.” How those have since been rewarded is nob stated, nor has it been made clear that they were supporting candidates who wore not desired by the Ministry. Sir Joseph apparently desired to convoy the that so far from resenting criticism the Ministry really welcome it, and, of course, it is a well-known tact that any member of the Civil Service may freely express to bis fellow servants any opinion he may have of the Ministry or Ministerial supporters. There are no spies in the service, and those hostile to the Ministry, or who detect defects in the Administration, always have the best chance of promotion. But if interference iu politics to further Ministerial objects is so sternly repressed, how does it happen that those who organise presentations, or who are members of the electioneering machine known as the Liberal and Labour Federation, are always sure of the smile, of approval, and may oven hope for’substantial reward-out of Lie public purse?

THOUGH we are not surprised by any action of a Ministry which is continually devising “circuses” to divert the attention of the people from really serious political subjects, we failed to discover why the Premier should propose to waste public money on the issue of medals to school children to commemorate Dominion Day. The Wellington

Ministerial orgahtes, however, accidentally revealed the It appears that Dominion Da, was the twentieth an Divert ary Premier’s entry into po-JiticH nfo. and of course when medals are issued this fact will not he forgotten, ana the children will bo impressively in-

formed that the day is commemorative not only -of the birth of the Dominion, but of the political birth of a gentleman who has since been belmighted. Wo trust there will he a strong protest against this proposal to waste money which is so urgently required for other purposes, andgwhich the colony has had to borrow.

A meeting of Chinese gardeners Wanganui on Sunday decided to raise the price of vegetables 50 per ceu . «V»“K “t“ .S.’SSS S.wo»,o«tio CMvordOA yMWrday in readiness. Christchurch reports that lambing has nearly finished on the Pemn&ufi.. ThVperccutago .isholow the previous years, but the losses arc not so hcav y as was expected. Webb, the champion sculler, w A ar - rive at Lyttelton to-day from the north He will ho in Canterbury *or a fortnight and the Lyttelton Rowing Olnb intend making him a tiou on the opening day of Lie s season next week. , .. Tho Peilding Fire Board selected SO firemen last night from those who applied, and the brigade was reconstituted, ready for any emergency that may arise.

During the month ended yestor- ■ day only four marriage Licenses , were issued from the Wanganui registry office against 27 for September of last year, which is the lowest record for a considerable period. Over forty officers have already applied for accommodation in connection with the classes of instruction for volunteer officers m the Wellington district. Camp will oo pitched on the Mount Ufiojr. site The classes commence on October Ist and continue for ton days. I,!'r Justice Cooper, sitting in Chambers at Wellington, granted motions for probate in the following cases Willoughby Brassey, Christopher Simpson (Feildmg) and William Coombes (Palmerston to. orth). Letters uf administration in the estate or George jllenry Asher was) SBO granted. At Foxton William J. Gardpw ws* fined 20s and 7s costs, in default 7 oays. for"using throating and abusive language to Olio B. Coloy. Ho was rdso charged with assaulting Eichard Lord, for jyhicu ho was fined 40s and costs 21s, m default 14 days. A deputation from the Pohangipa County Council to consist of the Chairman (Mr E. W. Brown) and Crs Jackson and Hand Handley will proceed to W elliivdon at the end of the week for the purpose of interviewing the Minister for Public Works with the object u£ getting a subsidy for the repairs to the ’.l ehanguia bridge. Some little time ago a span ot the bridge was destroyed by a big shp.^ A case was rooenilv 'ppo 1 1U which a lieu that had died at n bitfield, Victoria, on being disscitcu, was found to contain six pea rifle cartridges, a screw huu JP ip * long and a piece of copper %. Ue. Mr Hawkins, Government Poultry Expert, pointed out tuay the hen swallowed those articles because. it could not obtain grit, without which poultry could uot exist ipi ! any length of time. A lire early this morning gutted the Napier Sowing Club’s shed, destroying eighteen of the .Club’B boats h.os ill os' the whole ‘of the Union Club’s plant, which lifld been trans.ferred to the shod, while the Ijyipa building was being removed. The Napier Club’s shed and plant were insured for £4OO in the Australian Alliance. The Union Club is fully covered.

The allegations cf rough play mafic against the Auckland rop*esoutiitive footballers while ou tlvoix’ soutuoru tour have been further inquired into bv the committee of the Auckland Rugby Union. Tiha report of tho manager of tho' team, and also or several players, gave a point blank denial to cue charges, and reference v/aa made to tho hostile reception that tho team got at Dunedin and Christchurch from the crowds who attended the matches.

At last night’s meeting of Auckland City Council it was decided to seek the authority of the ratepayers for the raising of a loan of £oo,ooo for tho extension of tho electric light and power soryice. It was also decided to cable to ly.r T, laidgloy Taylor, tho well-known sanitary ox* port of Loudon, inviting him to come to Auckland, to report upon a drainage gcliomo. Ko will arrive about dime nest, and the cost of his visit is estimated at £IBOO. at Kaiapoi yesterday G. H. Martin was iiued £5 and _ costs _ for dynamiting a watevholo in Waimakariri river ami taking trout, ihe defeuoo was that ho was making experiments with no idea at all about talcing trout. He gave notice of appeal. William Patemau, _ a fisherman, was fined £2 for faking trout. He had baited a hook for cels and caught trout which ho did not retui’n to the river. A second charge of being illegally in possession of trout during the close season was withdrawn. .

Mary Jane Ferguson, a single woman, about 30 years of age, lias made an extraordinary admission to tite police at Linton, in Victoria, in connection with a recent attempt to burn tlmva the stablos at fclio roar of an unoccupied house. A tin ot tat was found baruihg in tlie stables, and the place was smeared with kerosene. In a signed statement Ferguson said, ‘‘l did it for,a bit of e. .■•.•itoment. as there was a fire at

Mr Niool’s, the baker, the same morning, and it gave mo the idea of it.” A' charge of incendiarism has boon lodged against her. Returning to Huutly on Saturday night by the late train from Auckland, a'travcller who had two flasks in his pocket, one containing whisky and the other spirits of salts, in - vited two companions to have a drink. Both refusing the flask was replaced in the man’s pocket unsampled. On being produced again it was discovered that a drink had boon offered from the bottle which contained the spirits of salts, and the consternation of the one traveller was only equalled by the joy of the others at the fortunate escape. A path-riding cyclist, of the fair sox, led a constable a lively chase in the upper part of the Avenue ou Sunday, says the Wanganui Herald. Disregarding the man in blue’s call to stop she pedalled way at an Arnst-like pace. She soon, howover, found herself pursued, fop the limb of the law, borrowing a wheel from a brother constable in plain clothes who chanced to bo passing, set out upon her track. The fair offender thou got her head down to her work, and in the distance of two or throe blocks, had made pursuit hopeless, leaving a panting and dusty policomau wishing it was not Sunday so that he could wash the dust from his throat with a shandygaff.” ‘‘Do not make the fatal mistake of planting your seeds too deeply, ’ ’ remarked Mr W. Bayhss, during the course of a lecture ou ‘‘The Culture of Annuals,” at Christchurch. ”Katnro does not bury her seeds deeply, and as often as not merely drops them ou tho surface of the soil, with perhaps a few leaves to cover them. Some seeds, notably those of the anemone, have tho power of working themselves beneath the surface of the soil. I sow all flue seeds ou the top, without any covering, and get the best results from that method.”

It is strange, says tlie Wairarapa Times, what a distaste the average man displays towards the new catchword “Dominion,” and how ho rosouts it, even when it is presented in the attractive form of a sugarcoated holiday pill. An analysis of the word itself suggests its uusuitahloness for a free country or a free people. It is suggestive of two ideas', of which the former signifies lordship and the latter slaves. As regards tire lordship business, we arc a little uncertain whether Sir Joseph Ward, or Mr Massey, or the Trades Unions should be our overlord. We are not altogether prepared to accept the title of “ millions” or slaves for the people of Now Zealand Dominion is a big-sounding v/ord, and some peonle are shallow enough to glory in its sonorousness without waiting to think of its meaning. Possibly Sir Joseph Ward himself never thought of its sense.

Wo have opened a. magnificent selection of Suiting Tweeds and Worsteds embracing all the newest shades in Tahao Browns, Purple Blues, - and Greens. Inspection cordially jinvitsd. Oollinson and Curmiughame, Ltd., late Dp Luen Bros., Palmerston North.—Adyt,

During tho quarter-just ended 400 deaths were registered in Auckland against 275 in the same period last year. The Registrar attributes the exceptionally high deatli rate to the prevalence of infantile complaints and influenza. July showed the highest number of deaths recorded, viz., 149, the unusually high proportion of 44 being children under 5 years. The deaths for tho quarter exceed those recorded for any previous quarter. Possibly tbe continuous wet weather has been a contributing factor. A correspondent requests us to publish for tho information or sheep farmers tho following remedy tor ewes when bearings become displaced Place tho affected sheep m a separate pen, procure some tamo acid and dilute it. Sprinkle this on tho inflamed part, which will cause the disarranged hearings to shrivel up and return to their place. Then take the balance of the ewes out ot the paddock and give them a good long walk, and then place them in a field where (they will require to walk a good deal for their food, it this method is adopted there will bo no more trouble with the complaint. The extension of the Workmen’s Compensation Act to include aomestic servants, which _ came into force on July Ist, is causing serious anxiety to employers (wrote a Loudon correspondent on August 2nd). “Occasionally,” he said, *an amusing side comes in, as, 'for instance, when tliis week’s lady s maul brought an action for £35 damages because while sitting up late waiting for lior mistress she dislocated her

iaw in yawning. The case was settled out of court. The Act involves serious liabilities on 9 m " ployers of domestic servants. Claims up to £3OO in case of death by accident and payments of half wages for life in case of permanent injury may have to be paid. Meanwhile insurance companies are reaping a golden harvest, practically every domestic being now insured. £ Ratos vary between 3s (id and 5s for indoor servants, and from 15s to ”£1 for outdoor servants. “ 1 Although the more fancy liuos_ in feminine attire are the principal attraction to our lady customers _ at present, yet they should bear in mint wo are offering special inducements to bur flannelettes, calicos, sheetings,'curtains, Hollands, blankets, rugs and hosiery. -Seo oiir special offerings at very special prices at J • Mcßldowney’s Stores, Martou, Hunterville and Taihape,