The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 1879.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 241, 18 August 1879, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 1879.

In our issue of Friday last Mr McCardle placed Lis views for nettling bush land by a Small Farm Association before our readers; and although we hardly go as far as he does in the matter, we readily admit that if he, as the representative of a number of settlers, is anxious to settle the Fortymile Bush, every facility ought to be given by the Governn lent to encourage a movement which must be beneficial to the colony. We would adviso (tfr McCanlle, however, instead of waiting upon the Land Boa rd and seeking aid in the Ministerial offices, to commence an agitation in favor of the administration of waste lands being placed in the hands of the elected representatives of the Counties within which they are situated. Let us Live local self-govern-ment in the settk mient of waste lands, and then industrious settlers will perhaps be assisted ii istead of discouraged when they seek to occupy them. The Government at present takes fourfifths of the land revenue, and we know it is idle to expect it to give up a sixpence of it, We would urge that the Colonial Treasurer should still take the lion's share of the proceeds, but that he should take it; from the hands of County Councils, to whom should be entrusted the whole operation of selling the land. If this vrere the case the Government would not be able to refuse a block of laud in the Forty-mile Bush to a local Small Farm Association in the first instance and the Masterton Borough in the second, only to hand it over to the City of Wellington as an endowment. The Government, when it wanted money, would not in the future as it has often in the past, put blocks of land in the market for the benefit of landjobbers and for the sake of getting hold of a little ready money. If Counties are to be more than ornamental distributing bodies, they •should claim a right to interfere in settling for their own benefit the waste lands within their boundaries. It if] quite evident that the elected representatives sitting in one particular County in which the waste lands are / located are much better fitted to administer them for the benefit of the county and colony than three or four gentlemen sitting in an office in the City of Wellington who are, as it were, directly under the thumb of the Government, and bound to carry out the : wishes of any Ministry which may be in power. The Counties are quite : strong enough to take the administration of their waste lands into their own hands, and we hope to see a movement I in that direction initiated. We feel > certain that, if under a liberal land ! law, the County Council of Wairarapa. j West had the control of the waste land | in the Forty-mile Bush, it would settle. ■ them far more speedily and efficiently! than any Waste Land Board could do- i

One fourth of the ratepayers in any Borough have a right to claim that it. shall be divided into Wards, but whenever • any ratepayers in Masterton attempt toexercise their undoubted privilege, themembers of the Masterton Borough Council jump down their throats, flourish public opinion in their faces, and frighten. them off their ground. The meeting on Friday last, was a case in point. The > Council had prepared or certain members • of it had done so, a ridiculous plan of a. sub-divison, which in itself was quite sufficient to deter anyone from joining in the ■' movement, and then asked the ratepayers ■ to discuss the matter, but what this meant;

was really askingthe ratepayers to hear the' Council discuss it. Mr Donald Donald was known to be the mover of a resolution in favor of the alteration, but b e allowed himself to fall into the haw'js of the Philistines, Before he could speak a word the Mayor said all that could be said against his proposal, taking as it were the wind out of Mr Donald Jjonald before permitting him to enter tb. e arena. Councillor after Councillor all pr i me d with full information on all mat erial pointa, folowed one after another, and it was easy to see that the meeting W as altogether in their hands, and tkt they could do what Uiey lkedmihji The real question is one that a minority and not a majority of the ratepayers, has. a right to decide, and without entering into any discussion on the merits 0 f tho proposal, we claim for minority its undoubted privilege and assert that, the Borough Council of Masterton wero not justified in stamping out the movement after the manner of Friday eyemng last, Anyone in favor of it has a district right to ascertain whether one fourth of the ratopayei'3 of the Borough SUppovtthe change, andweadvisesuchaone to exercise bis rights in spite of the expression of_ public opinion at the late meeting, which in our opinion was unduly biassed by the Borough Conncil.

In consequence of the Town Hall being engaged Mr Beetham's meeting to night ww be held in the upper room of the Institute, Mr Charles Rooking Carter arrived in Masterton on Saturday last, Tho last letter from the Agent-General of tho Colony affords the information that the number of letters received by him daily from persons wishing to emigrate to the Col< ny ranges from GOO to 1000. A powerful and fine toned bell has been hung in the , tower of St. Patrick's Church, in Masterton. Hutchison, of Wellington, declines to run in conjunction with Fisher for the Assembly He follows, we presume, the golden rule of self first and party second. We are glad to notice that tenders are invited for a new Wesleyan Church at Greytown. After November Ist the Featherston Highway Board will not employ carts with tires of a less width than five inches. F. H. Wood and Co. held a very successful sale of general merchandise at Greytown on Saturday last. There was a good attendance, and satisfactory prices were re'iised. The road from Masterton to Greytown is in a, very bad state, the carts gra.velling tb.rou.gh Carterton having cut the road up. Betv/een the Taratahi Store and' Bay's Hotel it is a sea of mud.

It is unnecessary, we presume, to remind our readers that Mr Bunny meets the electors this evening, at Feath.orston, and Mr BeeUiam holds his first meeting at Masterton.

To-night is the last night of the American War Panorama. In spite of bad weather it was well patronised on Saturday by a large audience, which expressed its gratification by frequent bursts of applause. Mr C. R. Carter's address to the electors, appears in another column. We shall refer to it more particularly in our next issue. Electors interested in securing the return of Mr Beetham, are requested to meet attho Club Hotel, this afternoon.

Mr Henry Mason has been appointed returning officer to conduct the first election of trutees for the Wainuioru Rabbit District, to be held on the Bth of September, at the school-house, Gladstone; and Mr William Skeet has been appointed retuvninc! officer for the Otaraia Rabbit District, the election of trustees for which will take place at the homestead of tho Hon, John Martin, Otaria, on the, Bth September? Both districts have been proclaimed under the Rabbit Nuisano e Act, 1876, by the Governor-inCouncil. On Saturday last, one who was almost recognized as the father of Masterton was interred in tlie Public Cemetery. There are, indeed, settlers in the Borough, who have been longer in the district than the late Mr Bannister, but none who have in the past, so thoroughly identified themselves with all its interests, andworked so heartily for its advancement. From the time when Masterton began to outstrip in progress the other settlements of the district, Mr Bannister was regarded justly as the leader of the various public movements in the town, and his influence was always worthily exorcised. He was enterprising, and yet prudent, shrewd, hut also upright, and straightforward, He possessed in a marked manner, those homely John Bull qualities which make Englishmen both liked and respected. When advancing years and failing health made him partly retire from taking any active part in public matters, he handed over to younger men the offices he h ad been wont to fill, and we venture to say that his successors owed much to their former association with him. It was expected that the attendance at the funeral on Saturday last would have been very great, and though the weather was as unfavorable as it possibly could be for anyone to turn out, it was almost a matter of surprise to see the numbers who faced a chilling, drenching rain, in order to pay a last tribute of wspect to their old friend. The fnneral procession was headed by members of the local Masonic lodge, followed by representatives of the Odd Fellows, Then came a very full muster of the Court of Foresters established in the Borough, of which the deceased was a member, To the brethren of the latter order, the charge of the coffin and pall was committed. The Mayor and Councillors of the Borough headed the general 'oortege, Altogether, nearly three hundred settlers were present, and, had the .weather been favorable, at least double that snumber would have attended, A characteririntic feature of the procession was the presence of several Maoris. It is well known that the Natives placed great confidence in the deceased, and had a genuine regard for him, and it was only natural and right that they should have joined his other friends in gathering round his grave. The service was conducted by the Rev. J. F. Teackle, assisted by the choir of St. Matthew's Church. The arrangements in connection with the funeral were entrusted to Mr Jago, and it is unnecessary ■ to state that they were carried out in the \ beat possible manner throughout. : When the late Bishop Selwyn was re3i- ; ding at Auckland a neighbor used to drive ' his dairy cowb into one of the bishop's I grass paddocks, after dark, and take them i out very early the foliowing morning. The Bishop, on one of his servants complaining of the trespass, asked at what time m the morning they were taken out. " Six o'clock, sir," was the reply. " Well, then, said the bisbop, you get up an hour earlier and milk all the cows," The servant did as he was told, and ever after that the dairyman sought fresh fields atyl pastures new for his cattle. \

Mr T. 0. Williams has resigned his appointment as a J, P. Donald McEae, a shepherd has been sent from Awhea to the lunatic Asylum, at Wellington. The pppular aetres3 Miss Solange Novaro haa retired from the stage—having been married to a well-known member of the Fourth Estate, Mr Digby, in Christchurch. During the recent floods in Canterbury the chief of a newspaper office, not so very fai from Christchurch, telegraphed to one of his up-country agents-" Wire full account of flood." The answer came back promptly, " Localise Genesis vii., verses 21 to 23, and you have our[position exactly." An up-country editor in Yictoria has hit upon a splendid idea for supplying himself with potatoes free of charge. He states that he has received a sample of 16 potatoes, weighing 231b, from, say, Mrs Smith, and adds that this sample cannot be beaten. Next day, he finds about 40 different lots of 10 potatoes each, all over 231b. Then he raises the weight, and informs his readers that Mr Brown'has sent him 16 potatoes, weighing 241b, and, of course, the usual number of specimens arrive next morning, so that he is always kept well provided with esculents, He intends to try the same with cabnages and eggsA Sweet Craft-Courtship. No one knows how much comfort a person can take smoking in bed until he has tried it and called out the fire department. " This is a sad commentary on our boasted civilisation," as the tramp despondently observed when he found out that the ham he had taken from the front of a store was wooden. The man who undertook to lick a thousand postage stamps in a thousand minutes gave out in his 700 th lap, He says he would rather undertake to lick the post-master-general,

Ghoiceful. —On the wall of a railroadstation in Indiana is posted this notice —" Loafing in this room is strictly forbidden and must he observed."

When does a brass door-knob put you in mind of two eminent musical composers and a famous prima donna! The I' Clerk's and Shopmen's Relief Fund," in Melbourne, the inauguration of which we noticed last month, is being well supported, The matter was not ushered into notice with any triumphant flourish of influential names, but simply on its naked merits. It is well known, says the Australasian, that the class of persons whom it is intended to benefit make no parade of distress. Silently they suffer. They hold no meetings to force themselves on public notice. From loud-voiced cries for help they shrink. In their eyes, better starvation than public mendicancy. And therefore it is that day after day, contributions flow to the honorary treasurer. iEgles, in the Australasian, remarks :- " Municipal economy is to be commended. Unfortunately, however, the quantity of work got out of a municipal officer may not always be compatible with good quality. One of the shires just now wants a good all-round man. He must have testimonials, and if they are to refer to similar appointments filled by him to those for which lie is now invited to offer himself, he must necessarily have had extensive experience, The pay offered is £250 a-year, and the successful applicant is to perform the combined duties of secretary, engineer, treasurer, collector, valuer, and herdsman. One can picture this pampered official tailing cattle, armed with the rate-book, a valuation schedule and a dumpy level! I refrain from naming the shire whose Councillois have hit upon the quite original expedient of combining the offices of Engineer and herdsman, lest there should be an indecent rush of candidates. The Councillors have not quite perfected the round of duties, Why not have included those of ' dustman and chimney-sweep. "

An Irishman has always an answer for everything. A Corkonian, on being asked at breakfast how he came by " that black eye," said he slept on his fist,

A subscriber wrote'to an American editor—" I don't want your paper and longer." To which the editor replied. "I wouldn't make it any longer if you did; its present length suits me very well,"

Sandy (six feet high): "Now, Mike, don't be long, ye'll no fin' me here whan ye came back." Mike (looking down to his dumpy little leas, and up at Sandy): " Sure, thin, I give ye my worrd I'll not be wan bit longer nor I am just this minit I"

Stout elderly man, on Margate jetty, to young and gentlemanly stranger who lias just saved the former's wife from drowning: " I wishes to show you my gratitude; but, as you won't accept money, I will make you a present of a piece of good advice, Novcr eat sausages in summer. I knows what they're made of—l'm a pork-butcher,"