The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1879.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 269, 20 September 1879, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1879.

Tins week the Wellington Working Men's Kights-League decided to send a deputation to wait upon the Govern- : ment to urge concession being made which will enable the laboring classes to settle on land. In all the principal centres of population in the Colony . there are similar movements, which arc natural outcome of the present depression. We trust Parliament when it assembles will endeavor to meet the wishes of the- applicants all over the Colony by placing a sufficient area of waste lauds in the market on a liberal deferred payment system, and making a provision by which settlers may be certain of being employed on road or railway work for a certain proportion, of their time. The principal objection to such a scheme would be that the Government of the day would become de facto the landlords of the settlers who took advantage of it, as well as their employers. In such a position a Government might be tempted to purchase political support by sacrificing colonial to local interests. Its patronage would also be increased by having at its disposal the appointment of numberless agents and inspectors. The only way to do away with such an objection would be to assign to County Councils the labor of settling the lands within their boundaries. The work would be more economically and efficiently performed by the local bodies, and the settlement of working men on land would be taken out of the arena of politics. We do not care how liberal the regulations may be under which settlers may be located. Let the working classes have, if necessary, twenty years' grace to pay for the land they may take up. Let them be guaranteed three or four days work a week for the first three years at a fair price, and let them have every facility for borrowing money on improvements. A man who goes in for settling on waste land has a hard task before him, and if he is a bona fide settler wo would grudge him no assistance which can be given. We believe too much money is spent on railways and too little on encouraging the settlement of land, and would sooner borrow millions for the latter than for the former purpose. Overconstruction ot railways led to disaster • both in England and in America, and New Zealand will be fortunate indeed if she escapes a- similar fate, There i are too few producers and too many ' consumers and distributors in the ' colony. -Settling people on waste lands , means transferring men from the ranks , of the latter to the former. It is a I safety-valve which may prove invalu- 1 able, By its means Sir George Grey's unemployed Eadicals may be made in- ! dustrious Liberals. We sincerely trust that no party in the new Parliament ' will hinder any movement of this cha- | racter, 1

The third term of the Wellington Col- ! lege begins on Monday next. The Carterton Rifle Volunteers parade •, for inspection, on Tuesday evening. J Tenders arc invited up to Monday next, for cutting a drain at Te Ore Ore. The Stewards of the Masterton-Opaki Jockey Club meet this evening to arrange a programme. Tenders close to-day, for ploughing 200 acres on the Whareama Flats.' also for leasing the Pastoral Association's grounds I at Carterton. We expect a large attendance at the football match at Greytown to-day, it V being the last match of the season. We h understand that the Volunteer Band will be present to make things lively. At a meeting of the creditors of Mr s ' T. Lynch, held yesterday only three creditors were present It appeared that a sum coming to the bankrupt from the Masterton Club building was the only o! asset, and Messrs Bacon & Wrigley, the <-,- assignees of the contractors, had given notice that this sum was to be paid to P them. We hear that- Messrs Bacon & Wrigley's right to this will b'e tried immediately. The bankrupt's discharge was s< ultimately agreed to. I gi

Messrs foi'iis and LVgußson announce;; largo cattle stock sale, for Halm-day next, at their sale yards, Masterton. The Court of Appeal of New Zealand will hold a sitting at Wellington on tin 10th of November. A sorido in aid of tho Wcsleyan Cliurcl: organ fund, is announced for Tuesday next, at Masterton. We met a couple of Chinamen in Queer street, Masterton, yesterday. We hope they were en route for tho snowy range; to fossick for gold. The Masterton Rifle Corps had a prettj good attendance at their parade, afterwards marching through tho town accoim panied by the Band. By error in Miss Best's advertisemenl the school hours were stated to be from 1.30 to 3 p.m. in the afternoon. The right time is from 1.30 to 2,30 p.m. The Greytown Trustees have agreed to the amendments suggested in the trust act. by the Masterton Trustees. There are some small points of difference, wo understand, but in the main, the two bodies are in accord. The R.M, gave his decision yesterday morning in the case of E. Kibblewhito v. t\ and J. Kibblewhito for the plaintifffor the sum of £57 10s. Mr Bunny gave . formal notice of appeal. I The Queen and Princess Beatrice left Windsor for Osborne on the 19th July. Owing to some information received, extraordinary precautions were taken to ensure the safety of the Royal train. Mr Halcombc has demanded an apology from the Manawahi Herald at Foxton, and a gift of LSO to the Church of (Sngland at Fcikling, for rei>rint ; ng as a pamphlet an article from a Wellington Journal, reflecting upon him. At Nelson recently, at a bankrupt meetin, there were only three creditors present one of these being a lady, The latter, being the lamest creditor, was placed in the chair, and the business thou proceeded in regular form. With reference to the recent mysterious murder of Georgo Vennel, near Christchurch, the Government offer a free pardon to any person implicated in the murder, but the actual offender, who wil, give such information as will lead to the conviction of the murderer or murderers. The soiree to be held under the auspices of the Loyal Greytown Lodge of Oddfellows at Greytown will be held on October the Bth, early notice of which will appear, We are glad to be able to announce in connection with this soiree that a new feature will be introduced, viz., glees, songs, itc., at intervals, so that those who are not dancers can enjoy themselves as well as those that can. The lodge in question contains some good singers, and wo expect a rare treat. We hope to see it well patronised, as it deserves to be. It has been estimated that a couple of rabbits will in it period of four years increas" to the enormous total of 478,0G2. and the figures arc arrived at by assuming that a wild rabbit will breed at six mouths old, will bear seven times annually, and bring forth five young ones eacli time. We should say that five is rather too high an average as also seven kindles in the year. Malting these allowances therefore we shall be nearer the truth if we put the figure at 250,000, a total which we believe is a fair estimate. ■ In an article on the rabbit question, Land and Water makes the following comment;—"ln New Zealand, too,"there seems to be' much cry' about rabbits and ' little v,-;u\' indeed, in ilie literal reading of the adage, for we gather that a Mr Cowan, a ruuholder in Southland, Now Zealand, states that on his run of 20,000 acres, he killed 30.050 rabbits, in four months. The cost of destroying them was 3d per rabbit whilo he got no more than Hd. per skin for the skins in winter. Their presence on his land had reduced the lambing of bis flock by 20 per cent. Another gentleman recently stated in the New Zealand House of Representatives that tracts of country had been rendered, almost valueless by the rabbit nuisance. On twenty-four holdings in the South during 1870 no less thai) 1,050,000 rabbits were destroyed. On the same runs there were 153,000 sheep less than were shorn previously, and these runs produced 1700 hales of wool loss than they did f ornierly. That amount of wool, taken at a moderate computation of Llo per bale, would, he Qstimatid, bring a return of L 24,000, which, at 10 per cent,, would represent i capital of L 250.000. There is a good deal of genuine wit floating tip and clown American newspapers. When the Camden Post says "a man's character is like a fence ;—you cannot strengthen it by whitewash," it gives us i genuine epigram. Quite as felicitous, ,00, is this from the Cincinnati Breakfast Fable: "A tack points heavenward when t means the most mischief; it has many liiman imitators." A bright turn to a 'amiliar quotation is given by tho Bide'ord Miniature thus: "I am thy father's spirit, as the pint flask said to theinqinsi;ive urchin who had been investigating rhc cupboard." Mr Talmage having said .hat hell has four gates, the Buffalo Excess hopes they open outward, so as to live easy egress in case of fire, The iackeusack Republican gave a witty con:eit when it said last fall; " The leaves if trees, like summer boarders with bills mpakl, take their departure, leaving heir old trunks behind them." The blowing evidently stolen from the English: ' At dinner the host introduced to the avorablc notice of the company a spb.mdid l-ufile, styling it a beauty, he says, ; Dr So-md-sogave it to me—killed it himself.' What was he treating it fori' said one of he gnosis. This, which is going the ounds without credit, bears evidence of u-igin in the New York World: "A horn in the bush is worth a dozen in the land."