The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1879.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 341, 16 December 1879, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1879.

At this time there is no topic so prominent as the Loan question. It is a cardinal point in every man's conversation to put iu a word about the loan. " Good news about the loan," says A,; " Hound to get it," remarks B,; " Must have it," exclaims 0. ; " Can't do without it," chimes in D. Taking a general instead of a local view of the loan question, nearly every settler in every town and village throughout the colony is anxious about it; everybody has loan on the brain, loan on his mind, and loan on his tongue. The five million loan is to cure all evils; it is a universal remedy for monetary difficulties, commercial depression, want of employment, want of intellect, want of energy, excessive taxation, overwhelmning debt, and a general shortness of cash, Under these peculiar circumstances we think it will not be out of place to say a few words on loans, particularly the last and the present one. Our last loan for £3,500,000 was brought out by the Bank of England—sometimes called the ''old lady of Threadneedle-strcet." It was a five per cent, loan issued at par. Subscriptions for it were invited on the 3rd June, 1878. Three and a half millions were asked for, aud the public offered eight and three-quarter millions. It was a pronounced success, and very profitable to the Bank of England, for, for simply advertising and receiving subscriptions for the same, that institution charged a .half per cent, commission, and was paid £17,500 for its services, Our present loan of £s,ooo,ooo—the greatest of great colonial loans—is stated to be issued at 97|, or a discount of 2$ per cent.—equal to a rebate of £125,000 on the total amount. This shows a

diminution ill our credit to a serious extent, but we may be well content to receive it on these terms, As to the cost of raising it, no doubt it will be heavy, all the more so if Sir Julius Yogel is allowed a finger in the pie in manipulating it. ' The influence of the Crown Agents with the Directors of th» Bank of England and the money brokers in the City has, in floating it, as it has been before, been of invaluable service to us; at the same time, it is patent to the most ordinary mind that if we are not lunatics this must be our last loan for years to come. Thoughtless and impecunious people will exclaim, Why so 1 We reply that only a year and a half ago we borrowed £3,500,000. That is sunk in the gulf of extravagance and public works, and now five millions more are authorised to ba borrowed and are placed on tbe market, Of this enormous sum two and a half millions, will be expended by June next, and we are pledged not to go into the market again for three years to come. More than this, at the end of another twelve months we shall be paying a quarter of a million of money for interest on the five millions more than we are paying now on our present loans. To meetthis extra expenditure of £250,000 000 a year, there must be extra taxation independent of the excessive taxation now being imposed, In the face of all this, and friendly disposed as we are to the present Government, we cannot help saying they are acting very unwisely, nay, foolishly, in going on with that wretched job of a railway —the Wellington and Foxton line and other lines, and also in not boldly facing, but rather shirking, the question of retrenchment in the way of reducing their overgrown and over-paid Governmental establishments. Why not stop the assistance given to immigration of people without capital 1 Next winter, we fear, will tell a sad tale in the way of unemployed. Then taxation will bo so heavy that tbe colony will hardly be able to bear it, We beg to remind our rulers that exorbitant taxes are easily imposed but difficult of collection. Yon may lead a horse to the water, but you cannot make him drink.

Tlio privileges at the forthcoming Rangitikoi races have realised £SOO. _ It is estimated that tho South Australian harvest will this year yield a surplus of 325,000 tons of wheat for export.

Tenders are invited for additions to the Clareville School.

Tenders are invited by the Wairarapa Hospital for its supplies during the ensuing year. . ..•■..-....■.■

To-day Mr Thomas sells on the premises the stock, farm implements, etc., of the Gladstone farm. lorns & Fergusson announce a sale of furniture on Saturday next in their rooms, Masterton.

After the "Rifle Match, a private match was arranged between Captain Snodgrass, I C. Jury, of Carterton, and W, S. Gregg Greytown, five shots each at COO yards, which resulted in Captain Snodgrass scoring 13, Jury 9, Gregg 8. Yesterday was one of the prophetic days mentioned by the Unknown in a late issue of this paper, and it will be generally admitted that it was a " shocking" bad day. If this be the result of having a" seer" in the township, we would sooner that our local astrologer moved his tent to some other quarter where earthquakes and thunderstorms are in greater demand.

We omitted to mention in our report of the Greytown Horticultural Show that the handsomo crochet wool quilt that gained a special prize, was made by Mrs Waghorn, of Greytown, and was worthy a place in any industrial exhibition.

A boy named Charles Seager was drowned on Sunday evening in the Ohonga River. He was crossing in company with two men, and the river was very high at the time, The body has notbeen found yet.

At H. T. Browne & Co,'a sale of cattle on Monday, there was a 'capital attendance, especially of the pastoral interest, About 90 head of nice young bullocks were drafted into five lots, and the first lot of 20, after some keen competition, was knocked down to Mr Livingstone. at £6 10a per head. Mr T. L. Thompson, of Te Ore Ore, was a purchaser of two pens at £6 5s and £ol2s 6d per head respectively. Mr Lister-Kaye bought a fine lot at £7 per head, which was the top price paid for any lot. The last lot of ten were withdrawn at £6 5s per head. The cattle were much admired, and it was evidently the scarcity of cash that prevented them moving at better figures,

The sheep returns in the North and South Wairarapa Districts are gazetted, In the former there are 67 flocks, numbering 278,294 sheep; in the latter 180 flocks, numbering 299,257 sheep, The principal ilocks in the North district are- Messrs Becthiim, 44,519; J. 0. Andrew, 13,000; J, Armstrong, 15,000; D. Cameron, 11,000; Elder and Co., 10,300; Dr Grace, 13,500; W, W, Johnston, 12,000; R, and E. Mauiaoll, 10,200 ;E. Meredith, 11,100; J. V. Smith, 12,500; J. E. Thompson, 10,350; and J, C. Vallance, 12.500. In the .South Wairarapa sub-division the largest flocks are—The late R, Barton, 17,907; W. Buchanan, 10,000; J. Cameron, 14,050; E. and C. Pharazyn, 15,700; Riddiford and Son, 21,000; and G. M. Waterhouse, 26,200.

The large clock at the English Houses of Parliament is the largest in the world, The four dials of this clock are 22ft. in diameter. Every half minute the point of the minute hand moves nearly seven inches. The clock will go eight and a half days, but it will only strike for seven and a half, thus indicating any neglect in winding it up. The mere winding up of the striking apparatus takes two hours, The pendulum is fifteen feet long; the wheels are of cast iron ; the hour bell is eight feet high and nine feet in diameter, weighing nearly fifteen tons, and the hammer alone weighs more than 4001bs. The clock strikes the quarter hour 3, and by its strokes the reporters regulate their labours. At every stroke a new reporter takes the place of the old one, while the first retires to write out the notes lie has taken during the previous fifteen minutes.

Captain Warren, R.N., whose inventions have proved of great advantage to the public since the time of the Crimean War, has been making experiments with a view of designing a float to save persons in clanger of drowning and yet to be of such capacity as to be carried in the pocket, the fishing basket of the angler, or the reticulo of the lady traveller. Kecentlyat the St. George's Baths, Belgravia, Captain Warren, with some nonswimmers and swimmers, demonstrated that in the space occupied by a small tobacco-pouch could be carried a float which/when inflated (the work of a few moments), would support a man or a woman in the water, and enable a swimmer to support a non-swimmer for such a length of time as would give meanß of assistance the opportunity of reaching both. An important feature in the invention is that it is fitted with a valve which will admit the air by the pressure of the teeth, but automatically prevents it from escaping, and has no screws or parts to be mislaid—Daily Times. An old Swan River settler has aikcd for a sum of money to be placed on the Western Australian Estimates for the importation of monkeys of all kinds into the forests of that Colony. The applicant undertook the management and settlement until thoroughly acclimatised,

A gentleman was promenading the streets with a bright little boy at his side, when the little fellow cried out " Oh, pa, there goes an editor!" "Hush, hush!" said the father, " don't make sport of the poor man—God only knows whatyoumay come to yet." Tremendous fortunes are being mado in the Colorado silver mines, according to the San Francisco papers. A common grocer, who eighteen months ago was bowing to a customer who honored him wilh an order for a pound of soap, is now wnrlh 5,000,000 dollars. A cashier, who less than a year ago was starving on a small salary, is now worth 60,000 dollars.

The following tough yarn is from an American jjaper:—There is a species of stinging scorpion found in the river bottoms of Western Texas, Immediately after the birth of her young, the female places them in a basket-shaped receptacle on her back, where they at once attach themselves and begin sucking her blood, Of course the mother soon succumbs to this unfilial treatment, and begins to droop, The young ones are by this time sufficiently nourished to demand more substantial food, and they kill their mother, and devour her. Should one of the voung ones become detached from the living nest, it is at once feasted upon by the mother. Thus it seems that while the female willingly sacrifices her life to her young, yet she does not hesitate to kill them should they be so devoid of instinct as to refuse to remain where she places them after birth. While this is going on the male parent stands around, evidently "bowing the job." j

Visitorstd'theCity will notice in ! Myers' picture-frame' Lambtonquay, a splendid collection of oil paintings bf notable Maoris. , .' < '■) \

:Henry Baucke,;who has had a Chatham Island, claim agaihat' the' Government for the last fifteen years,, has petitioned the Government not.to 'prorogue Parliament till it besettled." '■ '.

Notice is giyen : that Messrs D. M'Lachians, J; Strang, and' Grace Bros, flocks are infected sheep within the meaning of the Sheep Act, 1878. From tho Evening Post we learn that it is now pretty certain that Mr H. S. Wardell, R.M., atFeatherston, will occupy Mr Mansford's seat at the Wellington Court during that gentleman's leave of absence. Mr J.M. Girdlestone announces that he will sell on Saturday next, the privi-. leges of the Caledonian Society's sports, These privileges should command a higher price this year than last, the paddock in which the sports are held being so accessible to every man, woman, and child in the Borough. It is now definitely understood, says the Chronicle, that the New Zealand Times is about to change hands. Mr Bain, of Southland, is said to be the purchaser. This will probably eventuate in the New Zealander being amalgamated with the limes, Experience has proved that two morning newspapers in Wellington will not pay, One good morning journal, well managed, wculd pay very well indeed, The Post says:—We understand that the New Zealand Times and the New Zealander have both been sold —tho former to Messrs Bain, M.H.ft., and Carkeek, and tho latter to Mr Chantrey Harris, late manager of the Southland Times. The papers change hands at the end of the year. It is rumored that there is a likelihood of their amalgamating, in which case it is said that an attempt will be made to start another morning paper. A meeting of the Directors of the Wairarapa Caledonian Society was held at the Prince of Wales Hotel, yesterday. Present—Messrs Vallance (President), Sellar (Vice-President), Wyllie, D. Donald, Rockel, and Payton, It was reported by

a sub - committee that the Masterton Volunteer Brass Band had been engaged at satisfactory ■ terms. Messrs Sellar, Bish, and Wyllie were appointed a ground committee. The following were appointed judges :—Messrs Livingstone, H. McMaster, 6. H. Lister-Kaye. J. Bagge, and F. G. Moore. Messrs H. H. Beetham, W. 0. Buchanan, D. Donald, R, Donald, G. Drummond, J. Drummond, J. Payton J. G, Rockel, H. S. Wardell, R. G. Williams, J, Snodgrass, and W, C, Cuff were appointed stewards. Messrs Rockel, Hales and Payton, were appointed as a lunch committee. After arrangements had been made for sellinp the privileges the meeting adjourned.