The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, MAY 1, 1883. THE COUNTY RATE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1367, 1 May 1883, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. TUESDAY, MAY 1, 1883. THE COUNTY RATE.

Notice has been given of the levying of a general rate of a farthing in the pound throughout the Wairarapa East County. This proportion on the capital value of property may be deemed to be equal to fourpence in the pound under the old method of rating on annual ■ values. The County Chairman explained on Saturday last that, this rate '.is .'.meant to cover, first, the.charges under the -Roads and Bridges Act, which are supposed'tobe provided for by special rates varying, "from 1 onefortieth of a penny to tliree,,..halfpence in the pound, these said special rates being merely legal fictions .instituted for the purpose of complying ■ with' the letter of the Act. Secondly, to provide interest on loans formerly raised within the County, and thirdly, to provide for the maintenance, of. district lines of roads. It is satisfactory to know that a general rate of a farthing in the pound will do all this, but then comes a particular difficulty in' Equalising the liabilities of different portions of the county so that they. ; may one and all contribute fairly towards special works interest and road nfaintgpice, This adjustment, Mr BEETffAMriintimated, could be effected by giving those portions of the county which were, riot' deriving benefits from special works, and which were not liable for interest on old loans, oxtra grants .foiv. the maintenance of their roads, liv'e do 'not say^such an'adjustment cannot'be made, but it will certainly not be very readily effected. In one district for example, three halfpence is required for special works under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act, and •we hardly see how a farthing general rate collected from the settlers in this particular locality will place them on an equal footing with : settlers in another : portion ot the County where only.' V fortieth part of a penny, is needed for special works.. It remains tobe shewn, ■whether, there can be a. fan; adjustment on a" general farthing rate. Should, however, this he found impracticable, the Council .will not be placed in any difficulty, the Act providing for almost every contingency.' In this instance a separate rate under the amended County Act Of rßß2 ; may be substituted for a general rate. separate rate would solye the difficulty at once,; for it would '.permit' say- oneeighth of. a penny to be levied in one! riding; a 1 farthing' in 'i. anbtheiy :£' half■pennyfa'a third, and three farthings'-in afourfch. The separate rate is, in fact, the: key to, any; puzzle or difficulty whicli:: may 1 ;: ftrise under the general rate.? It stakes; time and patience to' get at alijthe .intricacies of our local government acts. A: civil,-Beracoex-i kmination .presents-fewer^difficulties

and a less number of problems s than they do, Settlers, and even wardens and councillors, may be excused 11' they have hot as yet'got them at their fingers ends. It is, liOAvovor, necessary that our collection of local acts should be mastered,and that on such an important question as a county rate ovory consideration should be fully discussed. As yet the conveniences of separate rates have not been debated in the Council, but no doubt before a general rate of a farthing in the pound is agreed to, they will be duly weighed and argued. In suggesting the alternative of separate rates in lieu of a general one, we do not desire to raise a difficulty, but simply to ventilate the question thoroughly so that settlers as far as possible may understand the intention and meaning not only of the Act, but of their representatives. No doubt the Chairman of the- County as a law maker, is thoroughly familiar with every phaze and convolution of the act, and if lie ■has ; taken counsel with the experienced •representatives-of the County as to the best method of solving rate difficulties thoughit bea farthing in the pound general rate is'likely to be one, Still at present we do not see how a satisfactory, adjustment can be made on such a basis, and -probably, there are others, beside,, ourselves who do •not, as yet, see ,a clear ; way •■straight ahead in the direction in-, '(located. We may explain lest it should be.supposed that wo are writing against a County rate that " a separate. rate," is essentially, "a county rate," that county rates may be divided into two classes," general rates," and what may be termed'" general separate rates, Under one or other of these divisions •County East must raise money,, and the only question is which is the more favorable as a matter of public .convenience and public fairness,

The annual meeting of the Featherston Eoad Board takes place, this afternoon. •The.usual fortnightly meeting of the Loyal Masterton Lodge, 1.0.0. F., takes place at the Empire Hotel this evening. Tenders close to-morrow at Mr 6. Fannin's office for alterations and repairs to the Boyal Hotel. Messrs Lowea and lorus offer tomorrow at their Masterton Sale Yards a full catalogue of sheep, cattle, and horses. Messrs U. W. Mills & Co. have a new advertisement on our front page which will prove interesting to farmers, &e. We understand that most complete arrangements are being made for the Druid's Festival, It takes place on the 3rd of May, and is certain to prove a thorough success. . The Friendly Societies' parade at Greytown on Sunday la9t was attended by. over thirty members of the Oddfellows, the Carterton and Greytown Lodges only being represented.. The Foresters did not turn out, probably owing; to the very wet morning, The procession was headed by the private brasi band. Mr Young, the Wesleyan minister, preached a suitable sermon from the text" Bear ye one-another's burdens."

The Rev Mr Morley preached at the Wesleyan Church, Greytown, on' Sunday evening to a large congregation. The following team will represent the Greytown Football Club on Saturday next against Masterton :—Messrs Burch, Saywell, Somerville, McMaster, Wenhani, Hirschberg, Cameron, Udy, Beard, fl, Humphries, Maguire; Tocker, Webster, Desmond, and F. Tally.- Emergency— F. F. Mnxton, J. Humphries, T. Ingley, and G. Terry. The European mail of the 9th March says, Mr G. M Wulerlihuse, of Wellington, was recently in Goifu, and at present he is in Athens. Ho is not expected back at his charming residence at Clapham Common for a few weeks, Hitherto the Greyraouth county has let its toll-gates by tender. A new plan has been adopted and on Saturday, three were put up at public auction, This resulted in a surprising (success, the three toll-gates fetching £IB4O, as against £IOOO for which theh were let last year. There wore numerous bidders and keen competition. A special meeting of the Masterton Borough Counoil was held last evening for the purpose of confirming the burgess roll, Present—His Worship the Mayor, and Cm Oaselberg, Ohinchen, Heron, and Price. It was resolved—That the business stand over till the next ordinary meeting, in order to give those in arrear a last chance to pay up and obtain the privileges of burgesses. The meeting then adjourned, The dark rainy night last evening was very unfavorable to Mr Coleman Phillips' lecture at Kuripuni. However, some fifteen'or sixteen persons faced the elements in order to hear about the Isles of ihe Southern Seas, and the lecturer deoided that he would proceed with his lecture, but abridged to it meet the special circumstancos under which it was delivered. Mr Bi«h, the Mayor of Masterton, having been voted to the chair, Mr Phillips commenced his address by a reference to the recent annexation of New Guinea, explained why the British flag had only been hoisted on the western half of that great island, as the, Dutch who possessed great influence'in the Malay -Island?, had previously secured the eastern"moiety-of it.- Speaking of the trade of the South Sea Islands he claimed that it was likely to be of great importance to New Zealand. We had neglected it hitherto because we had' been engaged in this colony in opening up our internal resources, but when our merchants looked abroad, the South Sea Islands would be their Erst basis of operations. He had visited the Islands and sold steers and sheep there at wonderful prices. They were dependant on New Zealand and Australia for their food supply, and in return they could give us cottony coffee, sugar, oils, and fibres. As an example of the extent of trade he mentioned the fact that the-contract for supplying prisonersinNew Caledonia amounted to £600,000 per annum. He believed that before : ■ another ten years were passed a trade with the Islands would be opened up,, already coal and flour were being ex-, portedtothem from New Zealand. He then briefly referred to Fiji, only about the size of Wales,'and yet exporting £10,000,000 of produce annually, snowing how prolific a small country could be. He stated that sugar could only be grown with certainty in islands of this character, and that they would always be of the first importance for this. roason. HeY next sketohed the discovery, of America, the \ first voyagers in the Pacifio Ocean, and Ihe Islands of'-the Polynesia and passed on to the massaores which have ocourred in the southern seas, and the commission appointed at home' to enquire into them, Be ; ! feared;: Arthur -Gordon had {oo strong, sympathies with native races to domubh good, .Aterahriefreview of tiaptain; Cook's voyages ; he.concluded by. displaying some photographs, papers, : &o;,sfrom .theATqngaiYgroupe^ ; On -trier -motioni.-of. seconded was unanimously accorded to the lecturer.

Messrs Lowes & lornß announce a sale of furniture and sundries 'for Saturday next, at 2 o'olook, Mr Henry Renner, laborer of Masterton, has filed a declaration of insolvency.. The first meeting of creditors will be held at the Court-house, Masterton, on Fridav 11th May, at 11a.m. - On Saturday next Mr F. H. Wood soils at Greytown a large and valuable oolleotion of medical works, surgical and dentist's instruments, Bnd sundry personal effects. The waltzing match, reports the Post, between Messrs E Crockett, and A. Devine at the Foresters' Hall, on Satarday evening, drew together about 150 persons, and much interest wbb evinced in tlio contest. Mr Crockett danced with Miss Mitchell and Mr Dbvine with Mißfl Kinvague, and at the expiration of twenty, minutes the judges (Messrs H. George and T. McClemun), declared the latter' the winner, In handing over the stakes, £lO aside, Mr Dobson explained that the award had been made to Mr Devine, not so much for his graceful waltzing as for his strict adherence to the rules of'the competition. i At a meeting of the Southland Farmers'' Co-operative Association heldon Saturday, last, there were 46 applicants for-'.-thei secretaryship.-'■ Thej? were referred lo a ; committee. The custom of .giving credit' to shareholders and others was criticised,; and -it was ultimately resolved, ".TJia},,, instead'of : trading on an ostensible!, cash ba&is,. Credit. ierms;-Bhould.-'be given." 'Willi:reference l . toJncreasijlg the .capital, the started with best intentions, but owing to mismanagement it bad- not been properly worked, and the capital was too small, and it was for the meeting to say whether they would make another stait!o_r let the business collapse. The Se'pretary: stated ; the losses, su far as ascertjiihed',; 'were 12800, The President said'some of''the: loss was on grain shipped in a very Md ; condition, without supervision. A resn-, lution, "That it is desirable to increase the number of shares rather than make fresh oalls," was carried with some disent.

A lecture will be given to-morrow evening at half-past seven in the Mas'terton Wesleyan Ohuroh by the Rev. W. Morley, ex-President of the New Zealand conference. The subject will 'be'one which should prove of. great interest to all who hear it, being a discourse- on the celebrated Dr Guthrie, the preacher, author, and philanthropist, Admission will be frefi ; ' There are a number of persoiiß in Masterton who have been placed under the restrictive clauses of the' Licensing.Aot. The law has stopped their grog, but they have suoceeded in evading its operations. In this, no doubt, they have had the sympathy of publicans, Licensed victuallers are tied down-pretty 1 closely, and it ts only human nature that they'should, when they see an opportunity, slip the .collar that galls them, The evasions of the prohibition orders have become so -frequent and notorious that the police have been at their nits end to counteract them. Eeceutly,..we .understand, innocent looking.station-hands with doga and swags, have been putting up at local hotels, who are said to be .policemen in disguise,, These spies have, we are told, succeeded in trapping some of the prohibited ones into committing breaches of the law,_ which compromise the licensees. In one instance we.hear that three informations have been 'laid .against onepublican, and this, we'believe, doeß not exhaust the list to be brought up next court day, Of course, till all the facts conie out;any comment on either .the action of the publicans or police is premature, The casss'will be interesting, in our opinion, not so much as regards the administration of the law, but as a.test whether the prohibitive clauses of the Act are of much practical value, If they cannot bo made to secure the object for which they were intended, it would bo better for Parliament to rescind or remodel them, A correspondent who-Was not at the lecture last night, and whose verdict on it must be taken ' cum grano salts' sends us the following:—" Some doubt that a providence wise, is ruling o'er all neath the skies! But sure, now this doubt is put to the rout—by their, opportune water supplies! On the Isles of the Sweet Spicy- South, twice OolemanV essays give mouth I But the clouds of the sky know he's dreadfully dry, and with wisdom prepared for the drouth I" The Druids ball which.is to.be held., at the .Theatre Eoyal May 3rd, 1883* promises to be the greatest success of the season owing to the low price, of admission, and the Bon Marohf advertisement which will be found on the third page of this paper. Special notice is called to the fact that L. J. Hooper'& Co. are selling choice white Josepliiue kid gloves at Is 6d per pair, evening flowers at 3Jd.spray, fans at is 3d, plain and fancy dresses, very cheap, promenade scarfs and shawls, &c, all kinds of drapery, millinery, and clothing at wholesale prices. The largest and best essnrted stock in the district to select from.— Wo regret to.Jearn that Masterton is about to lose Mr J, Valentine Smith as a resident settler, : '■ •'--.'"•- In an advertisement in another column the subject for debate on Friday evening next for the Masterton Debating Society runs as.follows:-" Is. Major Atkinson's National Insurance' Scheme sound, practical, and desirable for the colony of New Guinea?" Surely New Guinea must have been inserted by mistake for New Caledonia? '

Mr Dion Boucicault; the,aotor-author recently sent Henry bving a present of American dainties, which wevfi served at some supper parties which have been given in the' Beefsteak room at the Lyceum Theatre after the per-= forman.ce/ Mr Irving's opinion'having been required, he telegraphed to the donor: "Our verdict is, Perfect, Perfect terrapin; the; finest soup known. Canvas-backed ducks ethereal." A. celebrated novelist, who visited the States a few years ago, gave, up all engagements in order to dine with a gourmet.-. twelve days running on canvass-backed ducks .and champagne. -Trutli.:;! '.'":-•".;-■.- '. ■ ' :-.

As an evidence of the extraordinary progress of tbe cigar manufacture in United States, it seems fiom recent statistics (says the 'Times') that of, the 3,290,109,447 cigars consumed in the States in the year 1881, only 40,000,000 were imported, the rest being of domestic manafacture, Putting out of account the imported cigars, the the highest tax paid on the most costly cigars is 6dol per 1,000,,'0r less than two-thirds of lc each. The cigars and cigarettes being sold to consumers at prices ranging from 5c to Bc, 10c 15c and 25c each, the profit picked up on the route from the crop of tobacco selling at 10c per pound on the farms in Wisconsin; New York, and Connecticut to the side pockets of the consumers is, therefore, 'considerable, the weight being 100 «gw per 1 lb, The ' Pall - Mall Gazette' Speaks of Russia as " the nnwieldly empire which aprawla across two continents."

% TheOity of Sydney, with the San Fransibco mail, arrived at Auokland last evening at 10.80 plni. > The mails may possibly reach Wellington on Wednesday evening,', j.. , i ganuifrotn a visit coast'on; Saturday." He will staya'few'days there, and ! ; fhen proceed;to| Wellington;; ; He>is not I in,good:health,: and 1 is suffering from a ■;; A■meeling of the Masterbn Benevolent Society wsb' held: yesterday. : Present— Messrs Peißt (iii' tb chair), Biah, and Dr ,Beard, and Mesdamea Paige and Gapper. An application was made on behalf of a married peraon with ,five 'oliildten," who .required "assistance to remove hor family to Giaborno, where her husband "is stationed. -■ Mr Geo. iMe.r had kindly collected subscriptions to the -extent of J4':93 towards this object, and the Society agreed to supplement this by'ah equalamount. ■ ■- - (;' ; Eespect for the majesty of the law may, 'Truth' opines, be earned a little too far. In the course of a recent in-quest-at Gateshead on a boy,named Wiljiamp, who had resorted to hanging himself in order to enter another and better world, it'transpired that his .mother refrained'from cutting him down as soon as. she saw his position, being ■utder the 'impression, that ":it was illegal to doso ; iiiitllthe amvrlof the police." This almost caps'the 'story of the Spanish Prince who caught fire and .burned to death because they couldn't find the Chamberlain whose duty it wouldhave b'eeii t'o'put him out. Two rival bejl.es, at an evening party seated in the conservatory with their Mspectivecavaliers, enjoying their Bupper. The.gaa was turned down Bomewhat, as it :should : be in a conservatory at an evening party. '"My dear Julia," said one of the faßCin'ating creatures, "how beautiful your complexion ia—in this dim light!" "Oh,'thank you," respondbd her rival," bo\v lovely you look in tho dark!"

> A lady i 3 reported to have scolded her little boy, for taking's drink of water at an hotel " For says she, "we pay 3s 6d for our dinner, and wateris very filling." A gentleman living near Austin is the patentee for the latest mode for getting rid of a scolding wife. He sets a springgun in his hen roost to >hnot robbers, and then sends his wife to fetch eggs. When you see a man sit down, in a barber's chair, pin the newspaper round his neck, and begin to read the towel, you may put him down as abaentminded. A Word in Season,—Wo would pallspecial attention to some new black dress fabrics for autumn wear, more prominent among these being—lst the Chevron Cloth. This is one of the latest novolties, is all wool, and though not heavy it yet soft and warm, and wears well. 2nd. The Crept Cloth, in appearance is verj much like the Australian crape cloth, but ii is much more durable/and makes, a very effective dress. 3rd. The Koversible de Lyon is quite a novolty, being Cashmere on one side, and a fine. Grecian cord on the other—a charming fabrio and warranted to wear well, 4th. The Watered Beige is a really- material quite nnique.as a watered wool fabric, and can be depended on for wear. Ladies requiring' black dressea for either ordinary or mourning 1 - attire should inspect these specialities at an early date. < Some of the handsomest dressos, quite pictures in their way, have been and are now being completed to order iii tho dressmaking department at To Aro House, Wellington,-fADVT.]