THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DALY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1880.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3469, 6 February 1880, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DALY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1880.

Thb prospect of having portions of the! goldfieid thrown open for selection under I

the Homestead Act aud the Land Act, 1877, is not now so remote, and if within a reasonable time the Government declare such blocks of land as they possess open for occupation under the above acts, a boon will be conferred upou this community of inestimable value. The County Council appears to have awoke to the importance of the subject, and some days ago sent the following letter to the Hon. Mr Whitaker :—

Sir, —In obedience to your instructions that the Committee, who interviewed you in Auckland on the 15th instant, should submit their views in writing on the question of opening for settlement lands recently acquired by the Government in the Hanraki goldfields, and that you would forward the ssmo to the honorable the Minister of Lavd j, I have now the honour b<* auggeet on behalf of the Committee that His Excellency the Governor be respectfully advised to open for selection the blocks of lamia no'ed in the margin hereof in accordance wii.h tho provisions of c Tho Lands Act.,' 1877, part 8, section 154, and section 2, appendix A, of the Homestead Act. Repeated applications are received by the Council for the lands to be declared open for selection by miners and others who are desirous of acquiring email holdings in tho immediate vicinity of the fjolcififlMs, arid for which purpoßo much of this land is adapted. With your intimate knowledge of this goldfield and its special requirements, I need not at length refer t) the many advantages the district would derive from* these adjacent settlements, affording as they would permanent homes for many whoao occupations prohibit them from selecting lands in more district locations.—LanrJa noted in the margin :—Hibi Pirawnui, Hotoritori, Mangarehu, Mangatahi, Xaraka South No. 2, Kiraka Norn No. 2, Kavaka South No. 3, Blangakiriku-i No. 1, So. 2, and do. No. 3.

We have every reason to believe that the Government will allow no time to be lost, for the present Minister of Lands is a great advocate for the permnaent settlement of the waste lands of the Crown, and is following energetically in the footsteps of his predecessor in office, the Hok. Mr Thomson, and the late Native Minister, Mr Sheehan. who took the first steps in the direction of obtaining the ' goldfields lands. The Land Act provides :—" That the Governor, by proclamation, may from time to time declare any Crown lands, within any mining district, not held under license or lease at the date of such proclamation, or over which the license or lease has been cancelled, to be open for sale or selection in sections of such size and form and on such date as he may determine; and any lands so proclaimed may thereafter be sold at a like price and subject to the like terms and conditions, or as near thereto as may be, as Crown lands of the same class not within a mining district. And the Governor may from time to time alter, amend, or revoke any such proclamation. Before any such Crown land is offered for sale or selection the Board shall determine whether any watercourse running through or bounding the same will, in their opinion, be thereafter probably required for the purpose of discharging therein tailings, mining debris, or waste water ; and if the opinion of the said Board such watercourse will be so required the same shall be duly notified accordingly, and a right shall be reserved to the Governor in the Crown grant to issue to holders of miners' rights or mining leases licenses to use such watercourse for any such purpose without liability to pay compensation therefor." Besides the authority given in the above sections the Land Board can, under the old Homesiead Act, grant areas of laud under the following conditions : —

1. Tho area allowed to be selected by each person of the age of 18 years or upwards shall bo, of first, class lands fifty ncres, oi' of second elaß3 lands, seventy- five acres, sad for persons nndor 18 years of age, of first class lunds, tweuly acres, or of second claes lauds thirty acres. Provided that at tho total quantify to bs selected by-any one family or number of persona occupying the one household shall not pxceeo two hundred stores of first-class, or three hundred aoos of secondclass lands.

2. Within three months after the selection has been approved to l.lre, Board, the ("elector shall commend) to reside on his selection and shall continue to reside conlinuoualy thereon for five years from the date of such approval as aforesaid..

3. Wi'Jiin eighteen monlho after such approval the selector shall erect on his Belection a permanent, dwelling house, of wood or oilier mater ala, which shal! bo specified in regulations to bs issued in reference to Homestead System selections. -4. In each year there shall be brought under cultivation one fifteenth of the- area of such selection, if open land, and one twentyfifth if bush land', so that at the end of the five years' one third of the eelection of open land, or one fifth of bush land, shall be under cultivation.

5. Hon performance of uny of the foregoing stipulations shall reader the sjleclio > void, and the right of the Eoleufcor therein and to all improvements thereon shall be forfeited.

6. At the end of the said period of five years, a grant or grants shall u&ue for the lands selected ; provided the selector shall not Lave forfeited his right thereto in manner aforesaid.

At a meeting of local magnates, held in the middle of Albert street this morning, the manner of U>*' reception to Sir George Grey ami Mr Whitaker was discussed, arid a little feeling was shown when the mat tor rauio up as to who were the proper persons .4o lake the leading places. One big man said some Councillors were trying to curry political favor by hanging ot\ to the skirts of the great taen's garments. Considering that several of our leaders have been for years working in such a direction, the remark was somewhat personal, not to say unkind, and it is said will be taken up by those who feel themseves aggrieved at the first Convenient opportunity.

The County Council intend to interview Mr Whitaker upon matters touching the County, especially re the water race, which has not yet. been formally handed over by the Government, also re the matter of grants for roads and bridges.

Wje believe the County Council have disposed of the Golden Crown mine to Messrs S. Maekay »nd T. Dunlop for the sum of £700. These gentleman intend working the mine vigorously. Mr Dunlop being jit present a tribute* of a portion of the ground should be an authority upon its value.

The Mayor and Councillors will deputationise the Hon. the Attorney-General upon Borough requirements. The vexed questions of Charitable aid, the railway, (aid other matters will be referred to. The Mayor has been requested to introduce to Mr Whitaker a deputation from the Liberal Association who are interesting themselves in the railway continuation, and the.throning open of lands under the Homestead system.

The quarterly district meeting of the A.O.F. was held in tho Freemasons' Hall last evening, when the following district officers were present: —D.C.li. tschofield, in the Chair, D.SC.E. F. Christmas,.©. Mas. Shepperd, D.S. Sec. J. Smith, D. B. Gr. Christmas. A considerable amount of business was'transacted, and many matters touching the future working and welfare of the order were discussed. After the business was over the visitors were invited to partake of a banquet at the Governor Bowen Hotel, where a few pleasant hours were spent, 'i he usual loyai and patriotic toasts were given, and many complementary ones interspersed with songs.

The Provincial Grand Lodge meets this evening at the Lodge Sir Walter Scott, and the visitors are afterwards to be entertained at a banquet at the Governor Bowen Hotel.

DtriUNG- the hearing of the case Cain v. Rateliff or Hun'er to day the Court was crowded, and great interest seemed to be taken in the proceedings. The sympathies of the audience seemed to be with the defendant.

This morning the Naval Cadets fired off for the district prizes. The shooting average was fair, and the following were the five hinhesfc scorers, consequently taking prizes, viz:—Cooper Ist, Eirby 2nd, Otter 3rd, Ingles 4ih, Wells sth.

Mb Landees has received the sum of £17 7s 6J, the contribution of the Tairua Suwmill. employees to the Irish ltelief Fund.

Some amusement was caused in Upper Albert street yesterday afternoon by a delicate little fracas in which an enraged elderly female was the leading spirit. It appears that her daughter had married against her will, and o> that breach of filial duty the olcLlady had couficated the girl's boxes. The scene .yesterday was occasioned by the newly married husband and wife, accompanied by two policemen armed with a warrant, proceeding to the mother's house and taking the boxes. On coming down the hill again, the party were met by the old lady furioso, who brandished her gingham, and gave her daughter any amount of what is known as " slack jaw," The bridegroom also caafe in for bis share of the latter luxury, but stood it with exemplary coolness. The lady's string of vituperation lasted eleven and a hale or twelve minutes. The resppnsibily of local bodies in the case of accidents occuritig through carelessness or want of proper precautions taken to preserve the lives and property of the public would seem to be scarcely kuown in New Zealand, or more persons would seek redress for losses sustained. A case of considerable interest to Uoad Boaids and the public was heard on Saturday in the supreme court at Christckurch, before Mr Justice Johnston, on appeal in banco. Some time ago the Oust Road Board cut a ditch and placed a culvert,- neglecting to fill up that part of the ditch crossing the unformed path. A man driving cattle along tha road went off the formed part, and sustained injuries (rough his horse falliug into Ihe ditch. Ho brought an action in the lower court, where damages were obtained. The .Board appealed to the supreme court, and the judge held that, as ihe public had a right to use the whole 6Q feet of the road, the Board was guilty of'negligence in not filling up the ditch on the unformed part, and dismissed the appeal with costs. The decision against the Uoad Board will therefore hold good.

A eecent issue of the Oban Telegraph, a West Highland paper, states that " the shootings on- the estate of Kingairloch, near Fortwilliam, has been let to the Rigid Hon. Dour/Jus M'Lean. son of the worthy old Highlander who governed New Zealand." Some of Mr Douglas Vj 'Lean's New Zealand friends will, no doubt.be surprised to learn that.a newspaper published in the county in which his father (the late Sir Donald M'Lean) was born, dubs the young gentleman with the title of " Right Hon," as if he had been made a Privy Councillor. Sir Donald began life as a sailor, then became a policeman, subsequently a sawyer, then a PakehaMaori of note.

A Legislative councillor, in spaking of the Maoris on the East Coast of the North Island, said he was sorry they did not adopt the religion of the Maories in Otano, who had a religion of their own, which was founded od these principles : That not one of them should touch a drop of liquor, and that they should never gamble, and never make use of improper language. The Government should send souse of .these men up to the East Coast as missionaries to induce the Maories there to adopt their, excellent religion. Wo (Morning Herald) were under the impression that our Presyterian and Episcopalian clergy men had established a far more orthodox creed than that described above.

Tbeue are at present in Germany 340.000 workmen out of employment, and 14.000 employes without places. The average reduction of salaries during the lust year was 20; per cent., and more than 30,000 taxpayers were prosecuted for nonpayment of taxes.