The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, MAY 19 1879

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 163, 19 May 1879, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, MAY 19 1879

The Evening Post last week had a sensible leader on the prevailing commercial pressure, in which it showed pretty plainly that the Banks have been more to blame in giving undue accommodation to the public than in withdrawing it. The latter was, of course, a necessity, but the former process ought to have been conducted with a little more judgment and deliberation. Our contemporary then proceeded to speak of the manner in which persons in business have latterly thrown up tlie sponge in the following strain. " In plain terms we do not think that any sufficient reason exists for the general panic which seems to have set in, or that circumstances at all justify the extreme readiness displayed on all hands to make assignments or perform the operation known as liling one's schedule. The cheerful alacrity with which creditors accept small composi-

tious, on the debtor's own statement of accounts, without examination or trouble, of course greatly encourages recourse to such a settlement. To parody Hamlet we may say, '■ who would dunning bear, to groan and sweat beneath Bank pressure, when he himself can his quietus take by a deed of assignment," The process is wonder-, fully easy. An obliging friend is got

to act as trustee, and perhaps to guarantee from 2s 6d to 10s in the £, as the case may be. A private meeting of creditor's is then held, and an elaborate statement of occounts put forth, showing probably on its face that the debtor is several thousand pounds on paper to the good. He, however, talks of hard times, losses by others, and Bank pressure, and the creditors, many of whom a fellow feeling makas wondrous kind, and who probably contemplate a similar step themselves, gladly accept the composition and declare the deed duly executed, which declaration being endorsed by the Supreme Court, as a matter of form relieves the debtor of fill liability, leaves him probably better off in his business than ho was before, and secures him a certain

amount of sympathy as a victim of the times. It is high time tiiis state of tilings came to ail end, but with the bitter experience which so many business men have of the cost and delay of winding up an estate in bankruptcy, we can scarcely wonder that creditors prefer a certain dividend, however small, to the chance of such liquidation. It may, of course, be said, that if the

creditors are satisfied no one else has any right to complain. This js only true to a certain extent, The public have a right to complain about anything which acts as an encouragement or incentive to dishonesty, or which lowers the moral tone of the commu-

nity. That such is the result of the extraordinary facility offered to debtors to shuffle off their liabilities must be patent to every one who has watched the course of events here lately." We are inclined to believe that the conclusions of our contemporary arc hardly justified by facts. There is little evidence to lead to the conviction that those who have of late called their creditors together have been in a position to carry on their respective businesses in an honest manner. It is the duty of any man whose assets are not equal to his liabilities to call his creditors together. If he were not to do so he would simply incur additional liabili-

ties, ■which he would not have a reasonable ground for assuming that lie would be able to defray, We scarcely think that in the majority of those cases which have latterly come under the notice of the public, any alleged insolvents have really been solvent, or that if such an instance occurred, creditors would not be sharp enough to make the discovery and profit'by it. Our contemporary advocates an amendment in the Bankruptcy law in the interests of creditors which would prevent any debtor from clearing himself without undergoing the ordeal of a public examination, That the present Bankruptcy laws are unsatisfactory to both debtors, creditors, and the public few can doubt, and we are not even certain that they have the solitary merit of pleasing the legal profession. A man in the Wairarapa, for example, files his schedule in Wellington. If, however, the estate could be dealt with in a Wairarapa Court justice might be done to both the bankrupt and the creditors, but when all proceedings have to conducted at a distance of fifty or sixty miles,, creditors will not attend meetings, and in one instance a fraudulent bankrupt, per-

haps, slips through unscathed, and in another an honest man cannot get hi&. discharge from the difficulty in getting a quorum of his creditors to come together. The experience of the present season ought to be adequate for the construction of a measure which will satisfy the requirements of the Colony.

Interesting to ladies! TIIO Divorce' Court; sits at Wellington to-day. .Tho coursing meeting.convened' at the' Empire Hotel on Saturday evening fell through. Dr Lemon, telegraph commissioner, is staying at the Club Hotel, Masterton. Ho proceeds north as far as Eketahuna to-day. Mr J. H. Parker, teacher of music, is the. last victim who. has indicated his I'inability to not" play" but" pay." I' Mr Martin Rockell, of this town, has we are informed been appointed to the literary staff of the New Zealander. We. believe Bishop Redwood will consecrate St. Pathrick's Church, Masterton, on Sunday, Juno Ist. The Rev Mr Harrington preached two able sermons in the Presbyterian Church, Masterton, yesterday. The usnal monthly parade of the Greytown Volunteers takes place to-morrow evening. The usual fortnightly sitting of tho RM. Court falls duo at Featherston today. On Saturday last Messrs lorns and Fergusson's cattle sale was as usual well attended but almost as much business was done privately as was effected by the fall of the hammer.

The? new Bus starts this, morning.' Hastwell, Macara, & Co. challenge opposition by reducing fares to one shilling, and running an extra coach. Pat Cockery acts as Jehu to the latter.

Prior to Constable Byrn's departure from Groytown, Messrs Barnard and Fuller, on behalf of several settlers, presented Mrs Byrn with a purse of ten sovereigns, as an indication of tho esteem in which her husband was held in the town.

On Wednesday last Mr Tully, of Greytown, was elected as a member of the Featherston Highway Board vice Mr Barton, resigned. Mr Pharazyn was also nominated as a candidate, but for want of a seconded the nomination fell through. The Government, in answer to a requisition from the banks, declines to alter the holiday for the Queen's Birthday from Saturday, the 24th, to Monday, the 20th May. ■ The bank holiday will fall on Saturday as previously announced. In the Camperdown Chronicle there appeared a letter from Mr John L. Currio covering a report supplied to him upon experiments made on the Larra Estate with the rabbit .exterminator of Messrs. Humble and Nicholson, of Geelong. This report gives the following summary of the day's operations; Five hours work with machine ; operated on 14 burrows of(altogethcr) 154 holes; 78 dead animals and one live animal found in the burrows ; one burrow left closed ; aAerage time to cadi burrow, about 20 minutes. " i

It is said that Prince Louis Napoleon' is desperately smitten with a handsome young Englishwoman of noble family, and that but for the remonstrances of his mother, would have proposed in the ordinary way, The ex-Empress, however, is a most ambitious lady, and in her exile has not given up her old and cherished schemes, and a grand marrige, both from a political and social point of view, is what her Majesty has set her mind on. There has been during the past week, reports the Wellington Times, literally no trade doing beyond the current wants of the retailer, and in most instances sales are restricted to cash, The suspensions among the smaller traders have been numerous, but in most cases the men have been struggling on in hopeless insolvency for some months past, and at the end of the present depression their absence from the commercial world of Wellington will bo esteemed a benefit. Our quotations for imported goods under the present state of affairs remain nominally at last week's rates, but the desire to realise tends greatly m favor of the buyer for cash, and makes it difficult to quote exact prices. AccordingtoProfessor Dubois-Reymond of the University of Berlin, there are no physical reasons apprehending the dissolution of ouv planetary system just yet, though how long this world will be worth living in seems to have been left an open question. In a lecture which he gave recently at Bremen "Oil the End of the World," the learned professor came to the conclusion that, according to the law of the conversation of force j the sun can continue to shine only for 17,000,000 years longer. By the expiration of that time the surface of the earth will have been gradually covered by glaciers, The following amusing story is told by the Melbourne •correspondent of the Camperdown Chronicle: Some very smart criticisms, and very strange stories, are afloat as to the chief occupant of Government House. You know, just as well as I do, what an utter absence there is of ostentation of manner among the English

nobility, except, perhaps, in afewinstances. But the Marquis of Normanby carries the severe simplicity of his style of living to the greatest extent, and somo of our " stuck up" people hardly know what to make of it. He is, in fact, the plainest of plain men, His Excellency is provided with an orderly, of course, but does not think it his business to waitfor his orderly,

hut his orderly's business to wait for him. Rather than have that state of things reversed, the Marquis of Normanby would dispense with an orderly, not thinking perhaps that lie stands very much in need of one. Well, His Excellency, who drives in a buggy as an ordinary farmer, and is not in appearance very unlike one, had occasion to drive into town one day last week and left his orderly, who had not had

time enough for his toilet, behind liiui. This might have escaped notice, had not his orderly been observed coming exasperated, and perspiring, on a high stepping horse, sit a great speed after His Excellency, as he came along asking, " Did you see the Governor?" The question was put to one of the police on Prince's Bridge and the answer was—" No, by gorar, but I seed an old man dhrivin' by, who had just come from Gover'ment House." "That's him," said the orderly, and increased his speed, We clip this paragraph from the Christchurch Globe" Now that His Excellency the Governor has taken his departure all sorts of little incidents are related about him, among which is the following: On his way along "Victoriastreet for Park-terrace he observed in the crowd the eyes of a laboring man fixed upon him with an intensity that at once attracted his Excellency's attention, Looking then more closely he recognised in the laboring man a schoolmate of many many yoars ago. The Governor at once whispered to 'the coachman, and intimation was conveyed to the residence of the Hon. W. Robinson. The meeting between the two old schoolfellows was cordial in the extreme, and after B ; —n had resfreshed the inner man, lie related . his experiences, and traced his downward career to a too strong indulgence in a' drap o' the cratur.' He has now gone to Wellington, Where the Governor has promised to look after him and find him a billet, if he will only keep himself straight. We give this story as it was told to us without exaggeration of any kind."

MASTERTON HIGHWAY BOARD. • A meeting of the Board was held on Saturday last. Present Messrs Bennett (chairman), Buchanan, Minchin, Chamberlain, Beetham, and, Moore. The minutes of the previous meeting' 1 were read and confirmed. CORRESPONDENCE, The following correspondence was also read. Letter from the Treasurer of W airarapa I West County, enclosing cheque for £376 8s sd, amount due to Board by Council. One from Messrs Moorhouse, Edwards, and Outten, solicitors, Wellington, claiming £7O as compensation for land to be taken from Mr E, H. Hunt, for a road at Taueru, . engineer's report. . The Engineer's report was given in and read. DEPUTATIONS. Messrs. Campbell waited on tho Board and requested liberty to erect a gate 011 line of road leading through their properties on the Opaki. Mr Harris also attending relative to the removal of several chains of stones, and also requesting that a cutting might be made an the road leading to his'place.

Mr C. McLachlan also attending, and requested payment 'for falling bush and land taken for a road leading to Kopuarangi. . RESOLUTIONS. The following resolutions were then passed That notice bo given to the several owners of Native land in the Te Witi Block of Board's intention to take a road through the same. That Messrs Moorhouse, Edwards, and Cutten's letter be submitted to Mr Beard, the Board's solicitor, for his opinion thereon.

That Messrs Chamberlain and McKeiv/.ie inspect the work applied for by Mr Harris, and expend a stun not exceeding £ls on the same.

Tliat tho Messrs Campbell have liberty to erect gates on the lino of road leading 1 through their properties. That Mr Bremner and tho Overseer be requested to put in pegs on a road run- 1 liing through native land at Tupurupuru. ! That Mr McKenzie inspect the bush fallen by Mr C. McLachlan, and ascertain the quantity of land taken for a road, and report to next meeting. That a statement showing the amount expended on roads and repairs on the properties of Messrs Moore and Meredith since 1872 to date,, together with the amount of rates paid by them, be prepared and published. That in future all repairs made to the Taueru road be paid by Nos. 2, 4, and G Wards. That that the Secretary write to Messrs McKenzie and McKay, and request them to erect a swing gate between their properties on the' Upper Taueru road, and metal the approaches thereto. PAYMENTS. H. Aulin, advance on contract £ s. i>. metalling Mauriccvillo road 42 0 0 C Christensen, falling bush Mauriccville road 27 0 0 C. Lennox, fencing, Opaki ... 79 3 0 J. O'Connor, wages, repairs, Taveru 7 14 0 Engineer's salary and wages of staff 3G G S Messrs- Hourigan, Palmer, Jones, and Dixon 2 1G (1 Draughtsman's salary 19 4 8 Pay ton & Co. 5 advertising ... 10 0 0 W. H. Smith, printing &c, ... 15 0 W. G. Beard, legal expenses 22 0 Men's wages, repairs No. 2 and 4 Wards 21 11 G Men's wages, Forty-mile Bush road 98 10 0 The next meeting will be held on the 15th Julie at 10 a,m.