PATETERE.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3698, 1 November 1880, Page 2

PATETERE.

(To the Biitor of the Emunf Star.) !. Sib,—l , see in last, week's News. as I extract fipsa your.paper, re Patetere laad > -swindle, I jsm glad to n* oneiof th« ' Press ; indepeadent, sßpojA to.; ta|t r th^'". gutter up: I have already written twioe to the Aooklaad Herald on the subjest. It is in my opinion one of the greatest, frauds thattaarerer been perpetrated od the public. Bj the illegal sale of tW Fiako SwaUp the piblie lost £40,000, as other coejpauies were prepared to' give that much ovtr aid above whist the present one paid, kad it been put up for auotion. Bat Patetsre esps this by nearly ten times that asaouU* and fusUier,. this land is almost all atti Sable for liamadiate

settlement, the other vasaot I have all the correspondence sjsott it before me, and I never knew of a greater piece of jobbery, aided and abetted br some of our representatives—me* who nave been it? Why, by looking after tfati own. It is time the public sh^old tats a peep behind the scenes, and n* be eejoled by the rollickiog, racy at/* of 1* crafty lawyer, saying he was in Ac ranks of th# unemployed, about toetfV/Vi bread by practising his profaeios. We ire in the ■ame boat in this Waikutc si you are, it is high time to dispense'vita, those, mea ! whose professional duties interfere with the public interest. The Government ! could bave acquired all tha" tract of land (viz. 400,000 sores), witt very little expense, if it were nbt for tie, obstruotioß I caused by Europeans, with He assistance of two lawyers, aeflsbevs ©• the House. According to one telegmm in the correspondence (No. 64) a ripreeeatstive drew up a petition to the Government on behalf of the natives, prarin* that the proclamation' be temoved Rom the Patetere labds. The Uleg»m stafcss.it was signed' by natives /ho had no interest whatever in the Ind, b*|o«ly got to swell the list; tut ejpeers to me like trying to deceive the Government. The name of that.representative is Mr Whitaker, and his partner in iaiqaity is Mr J. Sheehan. This lind graanag company promises to do thl asd that for the benefit of:the public; t flff *■ tsjtjr promises! Who is to compl them tmA what guarantee have we ths>thay willilo soP But I don't think tb»t the Jaftii is severed yet, as;l hati the -Mtfes>! Governor has refused to ityi tbrOrist-in-Counoii removing the vn&ti&KßHiL:It is to be hoped the new ftati*Aiili!W? do the same, so that it sjsj be stuliiX before the Howe.. I stf say totW people of the Thames thai as of |n«tef

importance to you than to us (although, indirectly, it interests every colonist); but more directly you., as you are looking out for good land to settle upon. I should suggest that a public meeting be held to protest ngßiust thia gigantic Swindle; by so doing you would strengthen the hands of Sir George Grey, and give him courage to fight the long odds against him. The late Government was said to be extravagant—well, so it was; but it must be borne in mind they had to pay the debts and suffer for the blunders of former ones. I defy any man to tarn out clean work when he uses soiled tools. But the present Government are going in for retrenchment and taxation on the one band, while on the other they are helping to despoil us of our public lands (to enrich themselves and their friends), the means we have for./paying our debts and taxes. If you look at that vast tract of valuable land lying between Cambridge and Taurange, you see it is lying surveyed for speculators, who will launch it on the English market to be purchased by capitalists, who in their turn may cut it up and rent it to tenants, the evils of which can be seen in the old country. Men of the Thames I appeal to you for the sake of yourselves and your children to rise en masse, and do what you can to put a stop to this nefarious practice of land jobbing, bearing in mind that all I native lands will ultimately fall into the hands of Europeans, and legislation re waste lands ought to be such that men of small capital could have equal facility for purchasing their moneys worth ss the men of large. My object in writing this is that as this land in question is -eminently suited to the wants and requirement* of the Thames people, being of good quality, with' the river Waihou running through it, and we ought at all . hazards fo have the matter delayed till the House meets, as it is a question of too great importance to the country for Ministers to settle oh their own responsibility. They, of course, will try and settle it before then, as some of them are in the swim themselves, at least I know one who is proverdial for Orders in Council re land transactions. He is like the steam in a boiler that cannot be seen, but is the motive power that works the machinery for good to himself, but evil to the public—l am, Ac, r H. Eoohb, Te Awamutu. October 26,1880. ;

The local representatives of Alderman Me Arthur, who is to be installed Lord Mayor of London on the ninth proximo, issued invitations to a number of leading citizens to a banquet to take place at the Northern Club, Auckland, on same date to celebrate the event, but Mr Larkins, one of the gentlemen who issued the invitations, not being a member of that aogust body, as a matter of course, found out when too late that he put "his foot into ft" The Northern Club Committee discussed the question, and, of course, declined the use of their private apartments. The matter has been the principal local topic during the last few days. Messrs Firth, Owen, Kissling and other members of the general committee of the Club are reported as having put foe set on the ambition of Messrs McMillan and Larkios, and the question now asked is, where do McArthur and Co. bank P Mr Larkins was one of those new arrivals who took such ah active part in Pastor Chjniquy's advent here to the intense dissatisfaction of his colleague. The Hiil«mnM-Ba*7, howerer, be got orer by Messrs Larkins and McMillan giving the spread on one of the floors in their Queen street warehouse. '; '■'■ ■

An appalling act of cruelty is reported from Pontremoli in Italy. A female lay •errant employed in a convent had been detected in the act of stealing some bread and for this offence she was tried, before an impromptu tribunal, consisting of the abbess and two of the senior nuns. She was found guilty, and her -self constituted judges proceeded to carry out their sentence, which was that she should undergo the torments of purgatory. Haying conveyed their victim to a cell ia which an iron stove stood out from the wallfr.they caused the stove to be heated in her presence and then tying her hands behind her back, held her face down for several minutes close to the surface of the glowing metal. Her struggles and heartrending entreaties for mercy were of no avail; The pitiless women, deaf to her cries, protracted their martyrdom until her scorched eyes had lost their sight for ever, and her whole- face was converted into one huge blister. The other members of the convent were shocked at this barbarity, and. denounced the perpetrators who are now in prison awaiting their trial before the civil tribunal.—Home Hews.-^--is■;-■: ■••■■-,■■ .-■'■'■':''■