The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1879.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 344, 19 December 1879, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1879.

The other day Councillor Gappevstated publicly Ins conviction tbat the future o Masterton was, in his opinion, a gloomy one-first, from the effects of the railway, and secondly, from taxation Councillor Gapper possesses both intelligence and sincerity, and though we difler from him in the conclusion at which he has arrived, we do not question either one or the other, There is no doubt that Masterton, in common wh the Colony, has to face taxation : but its capacity for bearing it is probably as good as that of any otheniei Khborhood, and from this cause it will not suffer more than any other centre of population in New Zealand. The argument of the railway has more force in it than that of taxation. Before the Jne reached Featherston Councillor Upper very truly pointed out that produce, such as oats and wheat, commanded a higher price than it has done subsequently, and that Canterbury gram can now be brought so cheaply mto Masterton that it competes with the local produce. It appears to us that corn can be grown just as cheaply in the Wairarapa as it can in Canterbury Land is cheaper here, labor is no dearer, i mproved mad)ine r iflit' h onl y which the Middle Island producer has perhaps, ut in having a little more capital and a little more knowledge of howtoui.it Canterburypriceshave Been low enough to compete with WairarapaprfcM this year; but then this h« been done »t» loss to the producea Unterbur; f U me» cannot grow oat, »t kn thantToihillingg without losing ZSi he ' ™> «i. WairarapS t* produce them profitably at the mm**. Th.p M ty m h.sb ee nan miWbli one for far ffi , ri throughout h. CoW.and if the coming jea„ are kfcft.ume.TreahouldJikeCoun. [dlorGapper, take a gloomy yi eff of fte future of a corn-growing district The good years will, ttefefll certain, follow the bad ones as «urely as sunshine comes after rain and tvo look forward to this neighborhood supplying Wellington with the staflof life. We do not believe in a small local trade in grain, even though a larger profit be attached to it. Limiting the amount of corn grown to the local market really means limiting the mm of the farming interests of the disnefc The broader view of a larger yield and a larger market is, we feel sure, the true policy which will brin* success to Masterton, and we hope to be able in a year or two, by the irresistible logic oLfacts, to convince Councillor Gapped that the future of Masterton was-not so unpromising as he prophecied it to be,

We call attention to a detailed list of the.furniture to be sold by Messra lorns and Fprgusson to-morrow afternoon.wJiich llie sale will be altogether unreserved

At the Brancepeth station in this district two lambs we recently killed, one Hvlueh weighed GOlbs and the other 581l)s. A wether on the same station turned the scale, at lOllba, and 561bs .Wight of fat was boiled out of its car' Oaao.

Notice ,s given of the election of a Councilor for the Borough of Masterton to •Ml an extraordinary vacancy. Thenomi:nat.on is fixed for the 30th December, and the poll, if required, for the Bth o January.

. An adjourned meeting of the Licensing Bench sat at Masterton yesterday to con sidera complaint lodged against Mr Swain of the Marquis of Normanby Hotel Carterton, The complainant did not appear so the charge lapsed, Mr Beard, who appeared for the defendant, submitted to the Bench evidence in contravention of the charge,

! A gentleman who has. perhaps spent more tune in the ranges than anyone else informs us that had he published the result of his investigations and of the assays made on the specimens he brought down with him, half the adult population would have been gold hunting up there by this time. We have ourselves every faith m payable quartz reefs being opened up yet at many points in the hills, and only wonder at the apathy of the pnhlic in not attempting to systematically develop the wealth of the ranges after the evidence of its Mutence had been fairly brought home

The annual examination of the children attending the State School, Featherston closed on Wednesday, and the results are pronounced most satisfactory. The infant department went through the work in a very pleasing mnnner; 119 out of 161 were duly classed in the following order • -33 m Standard 1,, 29 in 11., 21 in in' 14m1Y., 13 in V., and 11 i„ VI. The number in the school over eight years of age is 106. The Inspector pronounced the work of the standards well met, and complimented Mv Gnrr on the hi-dier work of the school. Pull marks for reading, writing, composition, science, drawing, and singing were readily taken. The j school breaks up to-day.-

Messrs P. R Wood and Co. are now the lessees of the Featheraton Sale Yardß, and have abolished all entrance fees..

A meeting of Forostera took place Inst evening at the Foresters' Hall, Masterton for the purpose of forming a Lodge of the Second degree of Forestry, being the Ancient Order of Shepherds. P.P. Bro. Bovis, from Court Sir George Grey, Wellington, attended and constituted a Sanctuary named the Loyal Enterprise, and installed the following officers:—Bro Gray Pastor, BroGallaway, Sub-Pastor, Bro. M. Williams, Treasurer; Bro. Easthope. Scribe; Bro. G. Dixon, First Attendant ; Bro, Parkes, Second Attendant; Bro. Roberts, First Keeper; Bro. R. Brown, Second Keeper.