The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1881.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 3, Issue 67, 24 January 1881, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 1881.

In the ]ato session of Parliament one of the 4cls passed was "The Brands and Branding Act." As it is of spocial interest to many settlers in this district, jvo propose to give iu our present issue a summary ■ of, its provisions, Registrars of brands,' pnd districts within which they shall act, are appointed by the Governor. All brands registered under the Provincial Acts are valid for a period of two years from the commencement of the Act of 1880 at the expiration of which tern) a fresh registration must be made, Persons using unregistered brands are liable to a penalty nqt exceeding £5, and the fee to be paid for registering is five shillings for each braird, Power is given to Registrars to reject any brand which is likely to lead to mistake or confusion, Jf two persons in one district arn using the same Iwand the one who lias adopted it for the shortest time must change it, Refusal to alter a band is punishable by a fine not exceeding £SO, Si,ookowners can alter their brands or cancel them from time, as they may deem necessary. Brands disused for twelve months are to be cancelled by public notice given by the Kegistrar, There is a penalty not exceeding £SO for using a brand, or a sinjilar to that registered by another person.' Tjiero; is a penalty not exceeding £IOO for branding stock without the authority of the owner of it, or for defacing a brand in a similar manner, The last fine is contingent upon a fraudulent intention being proved. A registered braijd is to be deemed prima facie evidence of ownership. It is compulsory for sheep over fogr jnoptbs old to bo branded, and the penalty for eacl} j sheep not so branded is not to exceed £10; so that a man with a thousand sheep unbranded of the age of five months is legally liable to a fine of 110,000. Horses and cattle running upon fenced lands need not be branded. There js a penalty of S2Q for removal of ear mark on another person's horse, cow, or sheep. And lastly ajl the fines go into the public account, If New Zealand is not a fine country it is evidently a country of fines, With a few more Acts like the Sheep Act and the Brands Act a smart Govern-, ment could raise a considerable revenue, We hope compilers of handbooks on the colony will be reticent on the merits of these enactments, as if their penal clauses were once known in England, farmers would never venture their 1 little all in New Zealand land and stock.

We would remind-aottlera throughout, the district of the School Committee elections this evening,

We remind our readers' that the tea meeting and public addresses in connection with the Wesleyan Church, Masterton, takes .place this afternoon and evening,

The wind on tho Rimutaka on Friday was said to b,e as violent as oniho occasion of the accidonh The new protective works, however, rendered the crossing at Siberia perfectly safe. On Friday last Messrs Neil & Cookery had a valuable brake destroyed by fire on the harvest field at Te Ore Ore. Mr T. L. Thompson gives a description of the incident in another column.

A chimney on firo in Queen-street woke tlio Masterton fire-bell on Friday last. The burning flue was, however, speedily suppressed by a wet sack. J. lorns & Co. had their yards well filled with stock on Friday last, being principally store cattle. Good yearlings brought L2 5s per head, two-year-old steers L 3, mixed L 3 3s, cows from L 4 to L 7.

With reference to the late firo at Mr W. Francis's, on the Tmtahi, wo learn that only the threshing machine was insured, the rest being a total loss. H. S. Wardell Esq., as chairman of the Licensing Bench for the Wairarapa District, on tlio arrival of the mid-day train on Wednesday, inspected the White H.irt, the new hotel on the Belvedere road, Carterton, and finding that the building had been built in accordance with the the plans laid before the Bench in September last, confirmed the provisional licence then granted to Mr R. H. Elliotte. The ball given by the Carlerton Rifle Volunteers at Carterton on Friday evening last was a success. Mrs Palmer, assisted by the Carterton Volunteer Band, provided very excell6nt music, to which about 30 couples " tripped the light fantastic toe. 1 ' Mr A. L Wliyte catered in his usual first-class style, and a most onjoyable evening was spent, the parly not breaking up till 4 a.m. next wiling,

The scholars of St, Luke's Sunday School, Greytown, hold their annual Picnic on Anniversary Day. Accompanied by their teachers, parents, and numerous friends, they left Greytown by an early train for Pigeon Bush, on the shores of the Wairarapa Lake, whore they spent a most onjoyable day, returning in the evening well pleased with their outing, Strangers paying a visit to and upcountry settlors arrivjng in Maaterton are often at a loss to kiiow which is the cheapest and best house to purchase all kinds of General Drapery, Millinery, Clothing, &c. Schroder, hooper & Co., Hall of Commerce, offer special advantages in this line which cannot be met with elsewhere, their stock being the largest and best assorted in the Wairarapa, Their prices are lowor then any house in Wellington, their goods are all new and of the most durable class, and they soil cjieap and f«F cash. This establishment is situated directly opposite the Club Hotel. Remember the address— Schroder, Hooper & Co., directly opposite the Club Hotol. Read their advertisement op the front page of this paper.— (Advt).