The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1885.

Thames Star, Volume XVI, Issue 4994, 14 January 1885, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1885.

The Minister of Lands has just been banquetted at Woodvillo, between Wellington, and Napier, and in. the coarse of a speech delivered by him iv response to the toast of his health, referred very sensibly to the settlement of the lands of the colony. The want of proper regulation in the past of this very important question is one of the elements of the present depressed state of colonial finances, and all glory will be deserved by the redeemer from its present monopolisers of the millions of acres of colonial : lands whose occupation has been improperly acquired,- and the continued possession of which is an iniquitous blot on the government of any country or colony. The land should undoubtedly belong to the people, and the acquisition of wealth by a few of them should not enable those fortunate few to deprive the many of what should be a general heritage. The" very laudable desire expressed by the Hon. J. Ballance is deserving of every praise, and we can only fincerely trust and hope that his ! exertions in the direction of promoting settlement will meet with every success. We do not belong to that rabid class who, without considering vested interests or the rights of property lawfully, although not — whenconsidering theinterests ofthe human family—properly acquired, would burst up all the large estates in the colony, and distribute the acres broadcast to all and sundry who cared to apply for them; but there are numerous and practicable means by which, firstly, the remaining acres may be profitably used, and after that consi* deration meets with due attention, arrangements for dealing with the largely held, and in many cases unutilised, land can be made. This young and flourish* ing country should not be crippled by its natural possessions falling into the hands of a few persons who have been singularly fortunate in the race for wealth, and government should be so contrived that room to live should be provided for those,who have been less fortunate in acquiring riches, yet who may be possessed of all the deserving qualities entitling them to such possession. In our own district much may be done towards settling a number of those families which go to make up the list of humanity, and no doubt if somo action be taken in pointing out how the end may be accomplished steps will be taken to facilitate it. In southern portions of this island and other parts of the colony advantage has been taken of- the regulations issued in connection with settlements. We trust the people of the district will not omit to take some of those steps which cannot but have the effect of increasing the prosperity of our surroundings.

The members of the Grajjamstown Fire Brigade will arrive in Auckland to-night by the Botomahana, and leave for the South tomorrow by the Union Co.'s s.s. Wairarapa. We wish them every success in the competition, and judging by the time they hare made in the various events during practice, they should render a good account of themselves from Dunedin.

The following tendera were opened f*r County Works at noon to-day: Forming and metalling road near Rotokohu, J. Quinlivan, £398 3s 6d (accepted) ; P. Trainor, £439 ; J, Sheehan, £487 5s 4d ; E. Bain, £533 15s; A*. Butler, £586 6s. Bridge across the Ohinemuri River at Karangahake : B. M. Smith, £21110s (accepted) ; A. Moore, £240 ; C. S. Brown, £258 10a ; Smardon and Morton> £26616s 5 J.Punch, £278 15s.

The Nora, a brigantine of about 215 tons register, in ballast from Auckland, arrived in the Firth early this morning, and was at once piloted up to Bead's mill at Kopu, there to load 150,C00ft. of sawn kauri for Brisbane.

: A SOCIAL tsa iv connection with the Thames Sunday School Union will be held in Weeleyan Schoolroom to-morrow evening. After tea a meeting will be held to receive the annual report, elect officers, and consider festival and other matters.

-4m.;KG3T the passengers arriving in Auckland by the sB. Wairarapa from Sjdney today wu3 lit) Lordship Bishop Luck, 0.b'.8.

In the Police Court this morning T. L. Murray, Esq., J.P., occupied the Bench, imd recorded five shillings or impriso nient till the rising of the Court against an inebriate, for over-indulgence yesterday.

The annual New Zealand Wesleyan Con. fereneewill beheld iv Dunedia next week, and among the changes to be made in Minis, tors' s'ations is that of the Hey. H. Bull, of Thames. The ,'people here are desirous of securing the appointment of the Eev. J". J. Lewis to the charge, but other districts are also desirous of obtaining that gentleman's ser« vices. There is a probability of Mr Bull being appointed to the Pitt , street (Auckland) church. Mr S. Hetherington proceeds to Dunedin with the Eev. H. Bull, aa lay representative of this district.

The brigantine Circe's trip from Auckland to the Thames yesterday was a fast one, the distance to Bagnall's mill (8 miles from here) being covered in sfc hours, including the time lost while taking the pilot on board. She gut under way at 7.30 a.m., and at 1.15 p.m. the anchor bad been dropped, and the men went below to dinner. The ketch Violet has also lately made some quick passages from Auckland to the Thames, each of her last five trips being accomplished under six hours.

At the annual meeting of the Pa:roa Public Kail Company the balance-sheet showed receipts of £57; a dividend of Is per share had been paid, and a fair balance remained in hand.

The Trades and Labor Congress concluded its sittings at Dunedin yesterday. A motion directing the executives of the Political Association to secure an artizan or laborer a3 representative of city electorates in Parliament, was lost in favor of an amendment leaving the matter to the Committee to deal with. It was resolved, "That in the opinion of this Congress the time has now arrived when Trades Societies should endeavor to settle all disputes by arbitration, as they consider that strikeo only Vecome legitimate after every other means has failed." The next Congress will be held in January, 1886, at Auckland.

The Wanganui Herald says:—" As an experiment on pouch trees which may be eaßily tried, and wiU cost very little, wo recommend to thoße whose trees have Bhown signs of decay that they should try the following cure, which has resulted well in one case. It is this : Take a few brass nails and drive them into the trees. The remedy seems bo simple as to be laughable, but we are assured that both brass and copper nails are being tried for this purpose with good effect. It is at any rate worth trying, as the loss to the district in the shape of peaches will this season be considerable."'

Within the past year or bo apiculture has made wonderful strides throughout the Waikato district (says the Times) ; indeed, there are few other cultures that hare commanded so much attention and interest as the hitherto obscure department of farm life. Nor can it be spoken of as belonging exclusively Jo farm life, for almost every person now-a-days who cultivates a few roods of garden is the possessor of a small bee colony of from two and three to two and three and twenty hives. A small apiary may now be found on almost every farm, and in almost every garden, flourishing, and affording not only a pleasurable pastime, and study to those who own them, but a very considerable source of profit likewise It is expected, under favorable circumstances, that this year the Matamata apiary will turn out five or six tons of honey. The local market will take all that can be made, and at a price that cinnot fail to pay handsomel •. The Wellington Evening Post lets out a wail Bgainst the Police Offences Act for interfering with, the Sunday avocations of milkmen, and told a harrowing tale of the inconvenience that had been caused on the previous day through families not getting their ordinary afternoon's supply of milk. Our contemporary wound up its remarks in the following fashion : —" State interference with the ordinary comforts of respectable people is very irritating, and is likely to provoke a strong protest." On the following day the Post, instead of admitting its own blunder in finding fault with a provision of an act which it had never read, put the blame upon the police for mis-reading the clause in question. Our contemporary says:—"We yesterday received statements from two milkmen in reference to warnings which they had received from the police not to carry on their calling on Sunday after 9 a.m., as if they did, they wou'd be fined in accordance with the provisions of the Police Offences Act. We have Bince looked up the act, and find that the warning was altogether uncalled for, inasmuch as milkmen can ply their calling from morning to night on Sunday, if they like, without contravening the provisions of the 16th clause, whioh iB the one held in terrorem over them. In the list of exempted persons the only ones whose Sunday work is restricted to 'before 9 o'clock in the forenoon' are hairdressers and barbers. Milkmen can accept our assurance that their operations on Sunday are in no way whatever restricted by the Police Offences Act."—Wanganui paper.

A detbbmihbd and repeated attempt at incendai'jiam is reported from Leeston, says.a Ohristchurch telegram, on Monday afternoon Tfaoß. Frankish, a respectable resident of the township, discovered Borne half burnt paper and gorse heaped against the side of his house, and a. few matches weie under the papsr. Thcsame evening, at 9 o'clock another attempt was made to burn down the same house. The floor of one of the rooms was found to bo on fire, but the neighbours gathered, and the fire was quickly put out. Under the floor was found s a^ck saturated with kerosene. The at'empts have created a great scare in the township. There is no clue to the perpetrator.

The following anecdote, furnished to the Napier Telegraph, by first-class authority, js ■worth reading:—One of the present members of the Lower House is a broad gentleman with a thick beard and a peculiar mark over one eye. If we mistake not, he was a Minister of the Crown at one time, and came very prominently before the public in connection with mining leases. He had been paying attention to a young lady for a long time, and had taken her to attend the House until she was well posted in the rules. On the last day of the session, as they came oat, he bought her a bouquet of flowers, and said, " May I offer you my handful of flowers ?" She 1 replied promptly, " I move to amend by omitting all after the word hacd." He blushingly accepted the amendment, and they adopted it unanimously snd formed a comtni'tee of two with power to increase the number. The cause of the slander action referred to by us in Monday's issue, between Mr Andrew Young, the well-known coach proprietor, and Me N. Rsid, of the firm of Messrs W. and G. Turnbull, merchants, Wellington, was a state*meDt alleged to have been made by the defendant's wife that Mr and Mrs Young were only recently married, and that their grown-up children were not born in wedlock. j IWILKES, the Shorfcland jeweller, is selling his choice and large stock of jewellery at reduced prices. New goods, chaste and beautiful in design. Must ba gold. Call early.- [Aim I.]

The brig Emily has arrived at Mackay' Queensland, from the Islands, and reports that she wbb fired on off ths coast of Santo by natives. There is much difficulty in getting recruits, as both 0-erman and French vessels are supplying the natives with arms and ammunition.

The New Zealand Timber Company, believing their mills were eeb on fire, have decided to offsr £1.00 reward for information that will lead to the conviction of the of* fenders.

Mb W. H. BiYTHE, engineer of the steamer Rangiriri, plying on the Waikato river, fell overboard below Mercer, this week, and was drowned.

Six Musket yearlings belonging to the New Zealand Stud Company were shipped to Sydney by the s.s. Te Anau yesterday. Pilbrow's Welcome Jack and Clarence were also sent.

A THTTKDEBSTOEM, with heavy rain and hail, occurred at Blennei n yesterday afternoon. The weather is cold and inclement, snd there is a gloomy look«out for the farmers, whose splendid grain crops were ripening fast.

PI/A.NS and specifications for the first sections, from both ends, of the North Island M»in Trunk Railway, are now in such a forward state that it is expected the Public Works Department will be in a position to invite tenders for their construction early in February.

At the inquest held in Auckland yesterday afternoen on the body of the seaman Julius Dennen, the verdict was that deceased had poisoned himself, but tlsre was no evidence as to his sanity or otherwise. In the case of Mr J. James, found dead in Mason Bros.' bath, a verdict of death by serous apoplexy was returned.

" There are sciences as well as many arts of getting rich. Poieoning people of arge estates was one employed largely in the middle ages ; adulteration of food of people of small estates is one employed largely now."—Rußkin. What people dare not do in their own city, they perpetrate in Auckland. Adulterated pepper is now continually sent by a Southern firm as fit foriyour consump" tion. Any one can easily detect the fraud by comparing the same with ours; which is pro-pared and sold by us genuine only. BrowD, Barrett, and Co. also guarantee that their genuine Mocha and Ceylon coffees can be relied upon; and that their various bratids Excelsior, Standard, Lion, Anchor, and Crown, consist of pure coffee, mixed with pure chicory in such proportions as we have found from experience to be generally appreoiated.—Brown, Barrett, and Co., Elliottstreet, Auckland.

Eembmbbr that a little Hop Bitters saves big doctor's bills, and curea when all else fails. Read.