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Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3700, 3 November 1880, Page 2

Ik another, column _ will be found the requisition to Mr Wm. Wilkinson to contest the Mayoralty, and his reply thereto. The requisition bears the names of some of our moatj r#ipeoUd fellowtowjiemen. „ T?B Thames County Council met this afternooDy but the late hour precludes us from 1 giving a report oi'what transpired. .-,......

Air adTertieoment in another column, jßigried by Bobert Coiner, calls Mr Brasßey's com mitteo together for this evening aO the Gresham Sail, opposite the Governor Bowen HoteL '<V ■■' .x>n>-3.j^;<r' ■v^ .'V; ' ■>

1 ? The prospect of a goldfield at Te Arohi has increased the value of land in that district, for at the sale by the Commissioner of Waste' Land id • A<oeihnd a few days ago, land offered some time ago, and for which there was not a single bid, fetched nearly five pounds per acre.

Fob yean it has been the custom on the Thames to allow the school children to beg for donations towards their annual feaats, and it is a very bad custom indeed. We are pleased to notice that our Wesleyan friends have taken another mode of getting the money required for the Sunday school fratival, instead of allowing the children to make the collection, and that is by holding a Christmas Tree. This will be held at the Volunteer Hall, Richmond street to-morrow evening, and each visitor will be given a present, while the admission Fees are very low, one shilling for adults, and sixpence for children. The admission fees will go towards the'annual festival. We shall be pleased to see a similar plan adopted by the other day and Sunday schools.

The great event in the racing world of the Southern Hemisphere—the Melbourne Cupis over, and thousands are.now congratulating themselves on their good fortune.or Demoahing their bad luck. Grand Flaneur'is the winner, with Progress second, and Lord Burleigh tbird, all the three placed horses being favorites, The winning time is the third fastest in the records of the Melbourne Cup, having only been extolled by Chester in 1377 nnd Darriwell last year. The cablegram with the result, sent us direct,' was the first received on the Thames, though it'was too late for our issue of last evening. It reached' here at 7.6 p.m. It was handed to Mr Lawless, and through him the news was quickly known throughout the townihip. The address .presented by the employees of the Public Works Department to Mr D. Mi Beere, late engineer in charge of the Thames and Waikato districts conveys good .wishes and thunks for his extreme kindness and good nature towards bis officers during the years they had been under him. Mr Beere, in replying, said he was much gratified and would not wish a better staff of officials to work with. He hoped they would be in the same accord with his successor. '

At a meeting of the Executive yesterday it was decided to commute the death sentence on "Joe," the Fijian, to imprisonment for life, on the ground that he had on two previous occasions had fits of insanity.

The latest news from South Africa is of an alarming* character. Reports have been received of massacres of white people by the natives of Natal, and the position of the troops ; is daily becoming more critical. Assistance from England is urgently required.

Those two popular volunteer corps, th»' Naval Brigade and the Scottish Battalion, 'meet at the Naval Hall to-night for another combined drill anticipatory of the proceedings (at Ellerslie) on the 9th inst A successful brigade drill, was carried dut under MajorMurray and Captain Wildraan on Monday evening last, and to-night will be the last previous to the departure of the Thames Volunteers to Auckland. I

Seveeal influential colonists in london and others inteiestsd in tha progress of the colonies and the question of food supply, have la-fen active measures to have the capabilities of : the Australian Oclonies for supplying fresh meat and other food brought promic ently before the people < f England. With this object it is contemplated to hold an exhibition of Australian fresh food in, London next year. Th» promoters of the movement are sanguine of the success of the project, which it is thought will tand to expedite the growth of the business of food supplies from Australia to England.

In consequence of Tricketfc and Blackman failing to agree upon important details of the, match between them for £500 a-Bide, it ha fallen through. The principal obstacle in the way was the date upon which the match should be rowed. Immediately it became known that the match between Triekett and Blackman had fallen through, a challenge was issued on behalf of Laycock to row Blackman again on the Thames. Blaokman's friends were desirous that he should compete for the Championship, and require time to consider whether he will accept Laycofik's challenge.

The spirited editor of the Echo, of Dunedin, goes for the Patetere swindle, and the Echo is the only journal besides our own that appears to have spoken freely upon this famous or rather infamous transaction. The article referred to says:—"ln Parliament the. Patetere matter came up, and many Minis* terial supporters urged delay. And it was understood by many that the Government would not surrender their valuable rights until Parliament had debated the matter. But no; the claims of 'European' speculators.are again deemed,of more concern than the rights of the Maoris or the settlement of the colony: The Ministry have agreed to surrender the rights of the Crown. By this disgraceful job— we can call it by no other name—the colony has lost tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds, settlement has been delayed, and,a few have been made wealthy at the expense of the Maoris and the Public Treasury. Fancy hundreds of thousands of acres handed over to private speculators! There is one aspect of the matter that should not be forgotten. This 'job' has been completed without the consent of. Parliament. At present no sum of money can be paid without a vote of some sort, and the Minister of Lands, were he ever so willing, could not give a settler one acre of land save by virtue of a special Act. And yet the Ministry have banded over at least 300,000 acres of land, in whica the Crown has purchased rights. Is this proper P This is the constitutional' view. „ Ought any. Ministry to bare the power to dispose of the peopie'e rights without the consent,of the people's repseeentatives in Parliament assembled ? But it is not because the transaction is unconstitutional, if not illegal, that we find fault with it. It is a 'job.' Why should the colony have surrendered its rights to this large area of land? Looked at from a money point of view, the colony has lost, at a moderate computation, £100,000. Looked at from a settlement point of view, we do not like to state what the colony ha« lost,"