The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1883. THE COUNTY RATE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 5, Issue 1546, 28 November 1883, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1883. THE COUNTY RATE.

A good many settlei'B lmve paii the County rate in Wairarapa East, and a good many settlors havo not paid it. The latter have been reminded- that if it is. not paid within a certain period .legal proceedings will "be taken for its recovery. Such notices are tolerably familiar to Wairarapa settlers, Seeing that they have been issued from time to .time by every'local body in the district, and in some instances 'have led to further proceedings in tho li.H, Court. Our local contemporary, is indignant that such notices shoiild have been.issued by the county. Wh'oii Road Boards and Borough Councils'put tho screw on tardy ratepayers not it word is said, but when the County threatens to put on tho Bcrew nothing, is' too bad to say against it, Our contemporary asserts that the general rate covering special rates is illegal and warns tho bounty of the terrors of the law. Had it made itself familiar with tho Roads and Bridges Construction and the Rating Acts it would not havo fallen into this mistake. It advises the county not to risk a "scathing admonition at the hands of justice," We venture to prophecy that the scathing (uhnmtiori will be "judgment for the plaintiff for the amount claimed and costs." Tliero are many settlers in this district who will not pay the County rate if it is illogal. If what our contemporary says of the law is correct, the rate, as .a matter' of course, cannot be collected,' and thriso who have paid it already, will get their money back again; It is all noiisense to try to frighten tho Council on the one hand from collecting the rate, or to expect certain settlers on tho other to pay it if it is illegal. Our contemporary recommonds settlers also to complete the petition for County suspension which was commenced some months ago. It would have been only fair, if, in giving this advice, it had pointed out that the completion of tho petition would not absolve them from tho payment of a single farthing of the. rate, It might also be said that when the requisite number of signatures is obtained it does not follow that the County will be suspended. In tho first place, the Mastorton Road Board, the Castlepoinl Road Board, and the. Pahiatua Road Board, must express their willingness to take over, the County liabilities,' and wo'shall be somewhat surprised if two out of thethree bodies named, agree to shoulder this, burden; • It is too late now to resist payment of this year's County, rate, but if settlers feel strongly about it and they have some reason to grumble having been in some instances subjected to an excessively high valuation

wlno)i touches their pookota moralhaj} fiie County rate does—letfchem loOkput for next yoaf's l'at'eK ' Wn't save themselves fot this year, but they-can:' save themselves for next. jLet-the'iii say how 'much th|D County,': ftrid 'f much the Eood B6avd- oaglit to take from them next year. let them determine whether they shall -have high rates and much road making, or low rates and little road making, "Probably like sensible men they will agree that moderate rates sufficient to keep in repail'existing roads, and make a little headway with new ones will suffice. All sorts and' conditions of men have joined tlio County. Settlers' Association, ■, Why, not talk, out the question at its meetings and come to some underj standing as to the course that is best in tho interests' of the district. It is absurd to represent a County body as a malefactor. 'lf it is an enemy. ! -to settlors, by all, means sweep it away. If on tho other hand it is a friend of settlers, let the cloud of misconception and misrepresentation which obscures it be dispersed, The advocates of the County .system are ready to face all objections. that can fairly be urged against it, they have nothing to conceal. or extenuate. The opponents of it oan faco it openly in the R,M, .Court or at public meetings, but as yet they liavo not made a case out against it in either the ono or the other. There has been a good deal of vituperation and very little argument; and as long as this is so th? task of gettirig clearly at the real merits of our lbcal self-govcrning,institutioi)s,is a;difficult one.,.' , , "'" ' v.,.

P/r^r^r— —"• '" i Tb|mori l bw\ Miv'Solleston .moots 'the Pahia^a,.,settlers, and on the following tq Maslartoti. ' ' 1 'The Wairnrapa 'East Co'uniy moot at the County Offices, Maaterton, thiaaftoriioon-. Our report of its proceedings will appear tomorrow,

Mr A, Farmer, of Cuba-street, Wellington advertises in another column some decicidd bargains 111 furniture bedding and upholstery. Messrs Whittakev Broa., of Larablon Quay, Wellington, whose novel and artistic Christmas Cards created so ranch sensation last year, announce a supply of novelties by the lonic in every conceivable style and at all prices ■ Tho Longhurat case has beon settled, His Excellency the Governor' has in formsd the Minister that ho has gono fully into tho sovoral mattors relating to this case, and rogrets that he cannot arrive at any othor conclusion than that Longhurst is guilty of the crime of which ho was convicted, in April, 1880, and that his roleaso would bb a grievous miscarriage of justico and a-sorious injury to the publio at largo. Wo iu'o glad to hear that the. hoahh of Mr Samuel, tho head master of tho OarJorlon school, has improvod, and that he is returning to hiß home ra that township. ;• Tho Provisional Direotory of the Wellington Woollen Company have arranged to receivo a deputation from Masterton on the question which has recently been discussed in this town, We understand that the statutory meeting of IhcWairarapa West County Council to-day -vill probably, for the convenience of Councillors, be adjourned till the 30th inst.

Spoaking at the Mitohelson banquet, Mr Dargaville said Members have a flood deal of pledsuro during the session, jiosidcsjieceiving'tho 200 guineas, There is. a gorgeous batiquetting. ; hall; oalled Bellamy's, where the ma'sMelicalo viands and I Jyj-choicest wines are suppljed at first cost, and woll-trainod '.servants in livory'-aro ilioro,Jo obey ono's orders, ThereJS a magnificent library, stocked with the most valuable books. There. is a lofty ( corridor nr lobby lighted by electricity and luxuriantly fur .islied, There ire hot and cold baths in tho building, The Iflegiapb in tho next room places' you in communication with tho wholo world, ,and tho telephone, rtitli-all Wellington, Then, outside the precincts, ilioro awthe, frequent sumptuous dinners and Ray-balls at the ihousos of groat people. I venture to say that our,esteemed gueat.of this evading enjoys his sessiontime fairly well'.; Oirtaiuly whe.niheirst' went down r he ;l knetv nothing about the game of lawn tennis. Now I will back him against anyone on the Wairoa. It is bunkum to pretend that there is nothing but liard work and late hours for members during .tho,;. session. Even tho austore Nat'lvo Minister and tlio"unco' guid" member for Auckland North may, at times, bojound.bn the tennis court unstavching themselves bylmeiiisiif that admirable gank For myself, I feel that my jjnnstituenta. placo me under tho greatest obliaation'by sending ine there, and I liopo thoy will long continue to do' so. : • ' ■.

Shortly beforo ten last evening a loud peal on the firo bell announced a fjro in this town, and a large orowd speedily I colleotod round Messrs Eapp and Hare's premises, which_\vas tho scene oi danger. It appears that the premises were closed and tho lights put out about half-past nine o'clock. Abovo a lamp, in the window Bomo small socks nora hanging, and it is supposed that ono of these must havo caught firo before the lamp was extinguished, and subsequently dropped •sparks on to the drapery below it, Mr Hooper, junior, next door, was the first to notico the glare in tho window, and at once gave tho alarm. Messrs Rapp & Have wore almost the first to respond to tho call and_ enter tho promisos. They at once, with the assistance available, hudfy the time the Brigado put in an appearance, two or three minutes later, all danger was at an ond. The damage | done to the Btook is about twonty pounds and to the building double that amount,' The prompt discovery and suppression of ■tho fire was extremely fortunate, as otherwise ono of tho largest blocks of buildings in the town might havo been dostroyed. Mejsrs Eapp & Hare may bo specially congratulated, as the insurance on their stock was extremely light, and a serious firo woald havo been a very heavy loss to them, The affair created considerable excitement for a short timo in the town. If is a pity that the early closing movement could not he carried out here, and .the necessity for using kerosene lamps t}t this season of the year obviated. Messrs'Rapp & Hare in another column express their obligation to Mr Hooper jap., Mr James Brown, the Firo Brigade, and the publio who assisted them so willingly in extinguishing tho flames,i i.- );'■ ■ \

The Masterton Hortichitura] Society's Spring Show tq-daji isra' ifreat suocess. Tho exhibits ate ..very -numerous, and in the recent bad weather, flowers and vegetables are exhibited in a very, forward state. .The show of ladies work and works of art of various kinds is extremely good, some . beautiful pioturos hung round the walls having a very nice effeot. The poultry section has a good number of exhibits of .various kinds, and is certainly a great assistance to the,show. Ouv full report and .prize list will appear - in to-morrow's issue.

'•Mr H ) ,T,'R, , oweu of Olareville/advertlaeaa few ruiloh oowSjor sale, ' ; 'A' mwiing of the directors of the Woitarapi* Oalcdonian Sooiety will be held at the 1 Club Hotel this evening, . -Mr T, B, Ptoolor, the well-known optloian notifies that ha will be in Masterton for one day only on Monday, December 3rd, and may be consulted at the Club Hotel.

A aingular pheuonemon was witnessed from Maaterton yesterday. From a bank of dark oloud in the direction of Taratahi a black spiral column doscended to the earth. 1 ; Tho downfall on the particular spot where tho descontnas made mast have been something tremendous. . We- romlnd, lovers of jewellery of the sale to-morrow afternoon of Mr Mulligan's slock in tho Theatre.Boyal by Mr P. H. Wood. We. have; seen one specimen of the articles which ivill be displayed on this occasion, viz., a magnificent diamond ring, the , stone 6t whioh is larger than any yet'seen in this colony, Mr Mulligan guarantees to sell the first hundred lots at this sale without reserve.

_ There waß an exceptionally good meet' ing at tffe Oddfollows Lodge held in Mas', tertonlast evening. Among the visiting brethren present were the Provincial Grand Master Bro Loasby, the D.G.M. Bro. Pearce, and the Corresponding Secretary Bro. Bannister. An interesting disoussion took place on this occasion in connection with the muoh vexed registration question, The best assortment of clocks yet seen in this .district in. now on view at Mr A. Bish's jeweller, Queen-street. There are among them several varieties of the alarm clock, Borao extremely pretty timepieces under the name of the "Mikado Striker," and 1 ' Lodge Clocks," a novel clook called the" Calender," whioh has an extra hand pointing to the dato, of the month each <day and n great variety of timekeepers of all kinds; The above being a direct importation are being sold at wonderfully ; low prices and anyone desiring a good well finished artiole at small coßt are requested to take advantage of the present opportunity, • See tho windows I—Advt. Seldom has there beon suoh a ohoico of beautiful dress fabrics and elegant millinery as Indies have placed before them this season in the ptinoipal drapery establishments of New Zealand. A visit 'of inspection to Mr G, W. Schroder's Hall Commerce would amply prove this as there is' now on view there tho most extonsivo solection of the latest novelties from England and the Continent ever soon in the Wairarapa,—Advt,

Ravp & Hare's 2s 6d tea unequalled or purity and'flavor. Thy rr I—Advt,

Bapp & Hare would remind runholdors and farmers that they havo juat landed 50 bales of woolpacks, 8 and lOlba,, attached and detached tops, 45 balos corn saoks, 72 doz, sheep shears in. all tho best, brands, special plates in sawing twines. The aubve they are selling at Wellington wholesale prices. An inspection invited.—fADvi.i

For Shirts of .every description, gentlomen shonldpayn visit to the outfitting department at Te Aro House, White Shirts either plaited or plain, fronts, deep or narrow wristbands fasten in front or behind, for studs or buttons, made from material specially manufactured for us—No. I Quality, Gs 6d each} No. 24s Gd each? No. 3 Quality, 5b Gd each; No. 4 Quality, Gs 6d oach ; No. 6 Quality, 7s Gd oach. .Regatta aud Oxford Shirts, ill specially selcoted pattorns, for this Beason'B trade, colours entirely fast, We have to fasto& in front or behind. -No. 1 Quality, 3s 6d eaoh; No. 2 Quality, 4s Gd; No., 3 Quality, 5s 6d; No 4 Quality, fis fid, with Tie to match. For Silk Scarf of all the newost shapoa and stylos;for Merino and Cotton Half-ho3e j for Gentlemen's Underclothing of ovory description; nowhoro will bo found a hotter, largor, ormoro variod stock than at Tb Alio House Cuba St, Welliwton.