The Wairarapa Daily FRIDAY, MAY 28, 1880.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 475, 28 May 1880, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily FRIDAY, MAY 28, 1880.

We believe a public meeting will y be held at Masterton on the" Proper! Tax." The feeling of the communit is very strong against it, and the'inte est taken in such a gathering will I very general. A certain amount < responsibility will rest on the promt ters of any such meeting, not in askin : • the public to condemn tlie tax, but ii i advising it as to what substitute shouli take its place. It is impossible to ignor the present necessity of the- tax fo revenue purposes, or for a tax of t somewhat similar character. The vei diet of any public meeting held on th subject will carry no weight with i unjess it faces the question. It may b said that the objection on the part o the public is not so mucli to the ta itself as to the inquisitorial mode i which the valuation is made ; but w fancy that the feeling of reluctance t pay will be stronger even tha the sentiment about the method < valuation. If the meeting doe 9 tali place we trust that some practical suj gestions will be put to it in order test public opinion on such points whether people prefer to. pay school fe to a Land or a Property Tax, The ir position of school fees would relieve tl exchequer and assist to do away "wi the necessity of the former levies. Th( again, the reduction of our expenditu on railways, or its cessation, won tend to relieve the monetaiy pre'ssu which is now felt by the Governmei If, too, public opinion demanded t reduction of excessive salaries to M: isters and legislators, the Governmc would be in a far better position I throwing up the Property Tax. \ would gladly see an expression of pub opinion throughout the Colony in fa* of the immediate reduction of unpri table expenditure on railways, and unwarranted outlay-on salaries. Wi this done the Property '.Tax woi speedily be knocked on the head. ' T true policy of the Colony is not: creasing the revenue,-but reducing..ti expenditure.

An alteration has been made in t place for holding the first meeting creditors in Donald McKenzie's assign estate. Instead of at Wellington, it vi be held in the Masterton Courthouse Tuesday, Bth June. A gentleman from Eketahuna- yeste day evening informs, us that some of't bridges on the Eketahuna road are in very shaky and dangerous state, and til the ford of the Ruamahunga River is shi ing dnd getting very soft. A stuffed fox-skin; in Mr Chinohfln window, attracts a good deal of atlentio and from the natural posture in which is lying, frightened a few people. Vi heard one person remark that it was' of wild A painting by a local artist, I Thomas Donnelly, is on view in Mr, ■Williams' shop: w,indow. The aubinff' "The Dawn of Life," and hl 'bL finished in an artistic manrier. Tils' not the fivst painting we : -have ieeh fro the brush of Mr Donnelly,: • •

Salmon Broa & Co,, Wellington, have r £6OOO to lend on broad acres, Tenders close to-morrow for metalling Tenui-Oastl® Point road. F, H, Wood.&Co,, bold on important sale of land &c,, at their roomu, Greytown, j to-morrow. i T]lie Featherston Highway Board, hold i their usual monthly meeting at the InstiI tute, Greytown, on Saturday (to-morrow.) The Greytown Borough Council, have decided to make an effort to provide suffit cient drainage from properties, that Buffer from surface water, after heavy rains. If the experiment proves successful, there is no doubt the drain will be continued for a greater distance. j The traffic to the Eailway Station at Greytown, is telling severely 011 the ' Main-street through the Borough, and unless it is quickly taken in hand by the Council, it will tax all their energies to I keep it passable. The footway extension contract, is being puslied on, and will be a great boon to pedestrians. A large list of fruit and ornamental I trees from Mr McCardle's nursery, will ' bo offered by Messrs lorns & 00,, at their j rooms at 2 p,m, to-morrow. Trees from this nursery are well-known to be of a superior description, and we have no , doubt good prices will be realised for ' them. We are glad to see that the Rev Mr Fell is to preach next Sunday morning and evening in the Presbyterian Church, ' Masterton. Mr Fell is one of the few ■ popular preachers in New Zealand, and it iB very much to be regretted that such a , clergyman should return to England, ; A deputation of Ruripnni settlers waited upon the Board for the purpose of presenting several statements in connection with the school, the erection of which had been applied for some time ago, From a detailed statement it appeared that the number of children at Kuripuni and Manaia was about 198. After some discussion it was resolved that the Board, [ while recognising the necessity for a t school, cannot at present'undertake its erection owing to a want of funds, but that the application would be favorably > considered when funds were available. 1 We were told yesterday of. an incident of bush life which may be worth recording, A man, one of a number camped out iu the Forty Mile Bush, went a short way into the bush to look for some dry ■ wood for a fire, taking with him an axe, I his dog following him, A short distance , from camp lie came across an enormous r wild pig—a boar—and finding it impossible [ to escape by troe-olimbing, had. to stand his ground, The dog immediately " went for" the pig, seizing it by . the ear, The man, in rushing to make a blow .with his - axe at the pig, tripped over a root .and f went head over heels oyer pig and dog, dropping his axe, He made all possible speed back again to his axe and on recovering it speedily ended the pig's life. Its tusks proved to be fully eight r inches long, and our informant tells us 1 the men in camp had pork for a week t - afterwards. It was fortunate for the man he had the 'dog' with- lnm, or he might have been a " this day.

—itmajmaau The Amoy-Shanghai cable is broken. A steamer leaves Atnoy for Shanghai at 2 p.m., Singapore time. An excursion train, is advertised to leave Greytown on Saturday next for Cross' Greek, to give children anil their parents, an opportunity of enjoying atrip on the iron road, The fares are fixed at a very moderate rate, vis., Is for children, and 2s adults, return tickets. Should the day be fine, no doubt a large number will avail themselves of the chance of an enjoyable outing. We hope to hear of many such trips being organised in the spring. • From information we (Standard) have received regarding the boat accident on Saturday last at the Lake Ferry it appears that W. Taylor, Richard Green, and Michael (surname not known) were putting cattle across the ferry for Mr Riddiford while doing so the boat by some means got taken out to sea; subsequently the boat was washed ashore with Taylor and Michael.. The former was alive and very little injured when he was dragged out of the surf, but Michael was quite dead when picked up. Green has not been seen and there is no no doubt but the poor fellow has met with a watery grave. We understand that the following letter has been addressed by a settler at Masterton, to the Hon Minister of Justice: " Sir,—l beg to inform you that the Deputy Commissioner of Property Tax has thought fit, in the discharge of his official duty, to Bummon me before the R. M. Court here on the 6th inst., for Land Tax due to 30th June next. Not wishing to have my name brought before the public as a defaulter, I came into Masterton, the day before the sitting of the Court to pay the amount, but found the Clerk of the Court away, attending to his duties in Carterton, and as no person was appointed to receive the Tax, I wa3 to pay it. The next day was exceedingly wet, and as I reside several miles from Masterton-which distance I always walk—l was unable to attend the sitting of the Court, Or. the following day, I came to Masterton' to pay the tax and the Court fees, but, to my .surprise, I found another guinea added to the amount for lawyer's charges. Mr Crombie, I believe, sent a gentleman ; of the department to..represent .him in the Court, and to prove the claim, but if lie has thought fit to delegate his duty .to- another person, I respectfully submit I should not be made to suffer.' Hoping you will be pleased to enquire into this unnecessary charge, and grant relief to the amount complained of, I have, &c. The N. Z, Times says.:—A worthy boniface on Lambton-quay while engaged in a periodic rat battue in ottjpif the outhouses of the premises on Wednesday, suddenly fonnd himself in'a' quandary, one of the frightened rodents running at the leg of his trousers'; and taking refuge iti the most, roomy, part of those habilk ments. The rat screamed and the boni-, face swore, while onlookers roared with laughter; and. for an ihtfjrv'al.a very lively' time prevailed. At last.a valiant friend came to the rescue, and safely delivered the much perturbed landlord'from his unwelcome and unceremonious, lodger, The English Ritualists .have scored a' point. One Dr JuHus appliad for a manjoining him to take proceedings •under the Church Discipline Act against Rev T. T. Carter, rector of Olewes, for illegal ritual. The Court granted the manda.mus, but the Bishop appealed to the Lords Justices, who quashed the mandamus on the ground that the Bishop had a discretion whether he would allow the Act to be put in force or not. Dr. Julius then appealed to the House of Lords, which, however, dismissed the appeal with costs.' Mr Gladstone's query, " Is the Church of England worth preserving ?" has evidently found an affirmative answer with- the Bishop of Oxford. A. member of the present Victorian Ministry-was travelling with his wife:(byan extraordinary train, as is now-the custom) on one of the Government lines. Leaviug the lady in the carriage, he went to the refreshment room. In his absence a guard entered the carriage and said " Will you show your pasß, ma'am ?" The lady said she had no pass. • " It's always been the custom," mumbled the guard, ' for members' wives to have a pass. Perhaps I had better seethe Minister." But,"said the lady, "although I have no pass, here is my ticket !" The blank countenance of that guard at the sight of a ticket paid for by a member of Parliament is reported to have bean a sight to see. ' ° ■ The new process of meat freezing is receiving considerable attention in Ausoolft n A cum W' * ith a ca P ital of 4200,000, has been formed in Melbourne. In Brishane, -£50,000 has already Been subscribed, and a meeting was held in aydney last week, with the object of forming a company, the capital for which is to be fixed at £IOO,OOO, Messrs William Howard Smith and Sons, the owners of a' large fleet of steamers trading between Queensiand, lew South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, contemplate having their boats ■ fitted, with refrigerating machinery, for the purpose of carrying shipments of meat from Queenalandj to be transhipped at Sydney to the Orient liners,"