The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 1885. LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1962, 11 April 1885, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 1885. LOCAL GOVERNMENT.

The question of how tlig fountry districts shall be governed, or rather, hov shall be allowed to govern themselves, is of suph a difficult nature, and presents such yaije4 a-jpppts, that even that of how the funds for efifjbjjnsj to carry out necessaiy works shall bo Bbfcafije/j. (jiiist to a certain extent be considered of secondary importance to it. The money is easily enough raised by rates, or it can be pwjded in the shape of subsidy by the Goveimpjit, but its equitable expenditure lias ahyays gjLyeij a great deal of trouble. In the earlier (lays jt jvaii deemed sufficient to divide the colony into six provinces, the Councils of which had very extensive powers. Soon afterwards it boeamo evident that these Councils could not attend purely local works in a satisfactory manner, aiitl the Provincial Councils therefore erected Road Boards, which hud the power to levy rates, which were generally Htipplemented by subsidies. When the provinces were abolished Parliament considered that an intfirpiediitte set of local bodies was necessary, and tlje Counties were therefore called into existence. Although this system worked fairly well, 4 of drawbacks were soon discovered, which could not. be removed unless the Government either took over a number of roads, which were of colouial importance, or provided fund? for making them and keeping them in repair. Something of this kind was done for a short time, Atkinson soon threw the whole responsibility on the Counties, without making them any allowance whatever for them, Many of them were thus placed in a very awkward position. Wairarapa East, for instance, ,vas expected to look after some forty miles of the main road through the Forty»M.ile Bush, where, at the time, there was BPffi'gely a single ratepayer. The Hutt County had kQ main trunk roads thrown on to its hands, though there was the advantage that they passed through ratable property. Manawatu, Rangitikei, and Wangaiiui, on the other hand, had each only a very small section of main trunk road. Under the provincial form of Government there was 110 difficulty as to how the two main roads in the province of Wellington should be nonaged. The Council recognised that they were of genpral importance, and did

not ask any of |h<) local bodies t(] do any' thing towards thoir ponstruction or maintenance. There was tliis further advantage, that, as the funds were provided out of the Treasury, the towns, to which the roads aronatuitilly of great importance, contributed their fair quota, Under the County system, they wero thrown entirely upon the country settlers. The percentage of the land fund which was given to them did not in any way compensate for the loss, because all the money received from'this source was quickly expended in the formation of roads in those localities where the land had been sold. By means of the land fund some of the counties became abnormally rich, while others, which were more in need of money, received nothing at all. The country felt the inequality and injustice of this, but no. satisfactory scheme has hitherto been propounded for remedying it. In the proposals which have been shadowed forth by Sir Julius Vogkl there is, however, something that may remove the evil. Sir Julius proposes to give subsidies to local bodies in proportion to their wants, thoao which are nowly settled, and most in want of lYiads being very justly considered as entitled to special consideration. It is, perhaps, to be regretted that the scheme does not contemplate the abolition of the duplex form of local government; but if it becomes law'it will certainly be a step in the right direction. There are, however, several difficulties to be provided against, which, we fear, will tax the ingenuity of the Colonial Treasurer to the utmost, In the first place, it will be almost impossible to classify the districts, It could oartalnly not bo fnldy done by dounttes, Wu li&vo it cnao In point At oiu l vovy dooi'B In the County of Wnlmvupn Eiifit, (i portion of wliioli consists of mi old settlement, In wlilgh newly (ill tho roads are formed, while the other comjjrJaea milca and miles of country that lqq\y§ jf.qtjfing of the settler's axe, Tlio former (iquld clpj i|q consideration under the SQhenie, yyj(i]p (i]je other should stand high upon the list of those totalities that require extra assistance. We do not even see that the boundaries of the road districts »gyjc] prove useful for a just classification. |n thesjsconi}, apy attempt at classification, no patter Ijow jijdiciou 3 it might be, would certainly be .tjie signal for $ scfambjp j|) Parliament, and all sorts of tricks woi|l4 be played by ijjenjbertf to obtain special advantages for their districts, This woi|l4 lead to a lqt qf log-rqll.-ing, and the Clovui'imieiit puld haye one more opportunity of making bito of dfiubtr ful votes, and of making high bids for thoao of opponents representing country constituencies. As we have already said, the question is bejjet with serious difficulties 011 all sides, and we are curi,® to see how Sir Julius Yooei, will stocr cloar of tiieiii, We are not without hope that a largo measure of success will attend his efforts, If heroes uifcgegj} jie will haye done more for the promotion of }}} Ifey Zealand than any man beforo him,

Not a little excitement was caused by the publication of the news in yesterday's Oailv tl|.ai flgtjyo hostilities had already commence,4 between t|/e Russians, nwl the p/pe >yag gingerly sought, Quite a wai'llko fGPUng p.em4<4 the town, and tlie general opinion ligjg, as well as throughout the colony, was tlmt a collision between Great Britain and Russia is now almost unavoidable, To-day we publish a Router to tho oftect that the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs had made an explanation on behalf of the Czar, stating that the officer commanding in fei}tr&l Asia could not have been aware that negotiating for settling tho disputed frontier were proceeding, It is just possible that thin in pite correct, but whether the Russian Minister to supply the information, or whether it Jjiyji ii'.i.t reached General KomarofF, is a point that !)af| ygjb to be explained, If Russian taoties in the past go for anything, tho explanation is )t r oi'th very little indeed. 4 meeting ftf jtye Pree/.]jpHgJ}|; Association >vi)l be held at 7.30 p! i>j. A ennoef't in aid of the Greytown Cricket Olub will bir M4at |;l>e Jtyesteyg' Hall, Oroytown, on I'iiursdft}' H?s, The Masterton steam sash and dooi' fligtoiy is for sale or to let, together with th« (fOliiplafeg plant Full particulars may be obtained on ftfijiliffltjon to Mr F. H. Wood.

Messrs Lowes & lorns make two ii|i)ce additions to their next stock sale, of one hundred and fifty fat wethers and one hundred and fifty two-tooth crossbred ewes.

Mr P. H. Wood advertises a timber dray, a horse power, and a reapor and binder for sale,

fr P, H. Wood has leased six acres of qij Jtjje rise near the Masterton Hospital for the of sale yards, the tender for which was r.eceirfJy }e£ to Bentley Bros, MrG. M. Wood, of the local voluntoers, who went over to the Nelson encampment, picked up a fine piece of obsidian, or volcanic glass, which lie has presented to flje }ogal museum. The largest (alley of sheep shearing in Canterbury this year was d/)i)e |jy Thomas Lester, of Kaiapoi, )y)wgof 2f2 alioop in hours, The animals wove well shorn, nna had Lefltfli' been pushed, lie could have moroftßod his WPP, No other shearer was within 70 sheep of him, To-morrow the Greytown Voluntooi'B hold a Church parade. The company will fall in at the Post office at 10.30 a.m. and, headed by the private baiid, will march to St Luke's Church, where the Autumn Thanksgiving .Service will take place.' If the weather, is favourable, we );,aye no doubt the service will be well fttteni}e/l, If tlio Goyotnjijent is in need of an armed cruiser of mora tJj.an ordinary speed, for coast defences, wo suggest that there is a veiy fast steamer, the Takapuna, laid up at Dunediu. It would jierliaps be easier, and save time, to get out the armament from Home than to wait for a vessel. The Admirality evidently have none to spare, otherwise they would not be arming merchant steamers that have been put at their disposal.

In our report of .tljc sale of work at tho Wosleyai] fjohool room, we omitt'ejl Hie qaineof Mrs J. Williams, who tooif a very aotiyo part in the proceedings of the eVehliig, _ ' The barometer in. Masterton. to-day reached tho extraordinary high reading of 30,40 being, we are informed, the highest that has been known for a number of years. The numbers given are not corrected to sea level.

Mr A. J. Rawson, surveyor and land agent, publishes in another column a list of properties for sale. Among others, there is one of four thousand acres in the Rangitumau block, twelve miles from Masterton, which may be obtained oil very easy terms either in one block or in sections.

Eighteen prisoners are to bo brought up at the Police Court, Dunedin, 011 Tuesday, 011 a charge of refusing to work at the heads, A prisoner named McCoinb had complained of illness, and was believed to be shamming, and the others refused to go to work unless he did,

One of Mr Price's men of the Phoenix saw-mill, Dalefield road, met with an accident yesterday by getting one of his hands injured. He was brought to Dr Smith's surgery, when it was found that the little finger had to be amputated, which was done, tho finger being taken off as close as possible to the hand. A special general meeting of members of the Masterton-Mangahao Special Settlement Association will bo held at the Institute this evening. As the business to be transacted is very important, a full attendance of members is requested, The report to be presented by the Committee appears in another column,

Members of the Masterton Football Club are again reminded that the adjourned annual meeting of the Club takes place at the Empire Hutel this evening, as much depends upon the success of the inaugural steps for the season, it is to be hoped that members will not allow trifling matters to provent them from being present.

As the N,Z. Shipping Co.'3 steamer Euapelui was coming up to the wharf in charge of Pilot Sims at high water yestercluy sho stiiok on a mud bank, And all attaints to im lioj! »|f liayo failed fl«go is being dtbohaipd in tho monntltno by means of lighters, The mud bank alluded to ho boon tho subject of chaff on the piU'fc (if Ofijltaiil Fftjrtjliild, of tlio Government stempy I3|neiniw, fpr pup t|pie past, he nlwayfi predicting tM steaniov WQuld. be grqundetl ilieiu T|ie Ruapehu lias since floated off. There have boon sumo remarkably heavy yield uf apnles, araonp other fruits, in the Morrison Bush district tills year, says the Standard, Among some of the most noticeable are the orchards of Messrs Hollaic], Barratt and Wood. On an accidental vißit to Mr Wood's farm on Saturday last, our attention was drawn to the yield of one particular tree, which would more than fill an ordinary ■ seized flray, each apple being an extraordinary size and' about one pound in weight each'.' - ' ' ' 'Mr iW writes as follows The week has been fine, with the exception of Friflay, which at times was damp, and yery po)i| as long as the wind was in the S.quth-west. Tfyorg ps fi yellow sunset ,011 Tl'TOday night, and tjiep fqlifwefl the usual rajnfaJJ with)}) forty ejg])t hours, |lij§ prepursqr qf rain may be depended upon for the ila.sterto)) neighborhood. It was granti weather fpr our jopal cricketers to visit Wolilngtfin, Mill ajtlipiigf) Ipy did not win a match, tlioy did notdi/paoe themselves by bad play. I believe, from what I heard in town, through the favorable impression made by the Wairarapa jjlayers, an annual match is likely to take jjlftoo in ful-upj? seasons.

Volumes of smoke arising from the Drill Shed the other evening, says tho Evening Press, attracted a large concourse ,qf people who imagined that a fire was in progress. Qi) ty'rjyiiig at the shed no fire gould be finally, jt \vag found that the cause pf tlie gmt)]ce was tracoable to a very simple source. It appears that on the return of the Volunteers from Nelson, a small quantity of powder had been spilt on the floor. One of the non-commissioned officers, finding lyjng abjijlt, thought he would have a little fun all to himself, sq ])e collected about- two handfiilg pf the ppwdcr and a gqrgcqu§ "devil" of pqwder watey (inft 4hs'i ilbfiKt the gjze pf Jiis !)ea(}. When the ''devil" was duly jiniphefl, the pyrotechnist placed it near the centre pf the building, and, applying a match, calmy fleflted himself to enjoy the spectacle in dignified solitude, The "devil', duly fizzed and spluttered, and the sparks flew and the smoke rose, and tho amateur fire, worker was happy. Our amateur actors will perhaps feel interested in the following extract from the letter of a Christchurch correspondent pftiiß&fgl? New ZealanderWhile on the subject pf theatrical performances, I may state that tiie"(i|ateny jpe has assumed qultealarmlng proportions i'ijpaiir terbury. A few years ago thero ly a dramatic club in existence ; I'iOw almost cvory little village has one, while |]lpstc)iurch possesses quite a number of tljei/i. sefinances for cliaritablo objects are of frequentoocurajike. Jto'tlie no small disgust of professional companies tvayolling this way, and the aspirants for dramatic fame are by no means confined as formerly to the. middle classes, the Upper Ten, influenced, doubtless, by the development ment of jijip jiinateuv craze in fashionable circles at home, havi|j| jjefpine suddenly ipbjtiuug to trea.d tlfe jjtage. A§ ft raje tjje jadies evince much nifTO loj.' fltilfjyaiiji general abjHty on the ptage than tiie pi|jp|i)pnj wjiq ffjr the most part am decided Muws,' ff()w 'lqijft tljis new fad may last one cannot tell, but jn the meantime it is productive of more mibljc gnod than generally accrues from Fancies of t}j}g Jfipf}. r p)ie performances are always wej} fit(;en(ie(j, fip4 OHF l ocal institutions benefit financially Mr Wardell is reported to have given the reporters of the Wellington papers a quiet looturo the other day. According to the Press, ho said There appears to be a habit amongst you reporters of reporting matters of a purely private matter—matters which do not concern rlie public at all. I refer to a report of a jyjiich !• noticed in this morning's paper, matter J( f <juite a personal character, which I tonk liVlfiy"«wvii tfpi. I hope you will take the hint kindly, and not make such matters publio again, and I wi'l be much obliged." Mr Wardell is, no doubt, quite right in one sense. The practice oi taking business in chambers jsyhflpyer, not a commendable one, and the less there ijj of it the better the general pi'jblic w|lf sefyed. ff the report was pne pf p. caag, 1 ?' then the ppTOlltatiyes qf the Press should have agpp tp tJip fftcfft leivppapei's generally oxet'oiae a fair aiiinmit pf judgment as to what is palatable to their readers, whose tastes they are bound to study,

_ The groat question of public interest besides which others sink into insignificance is—will war over be proclaimed between England and Russia, and if so, what likelihood is there of Russian cruisors' making a descent on New Zealand ? We 'are greatly of opinion such events are not at all improbable, especially as looting the Coach Factory would be one of the main intincemgnts for such a course of action, To prevent such an undesirable event occurring the proprietors are determined to get rid of their stock of carriages, lamps, fittings, itc„ at_ such prices as will ensure nothing being left for the Russians to levy upon, —A DVT.

Ij; is notifies} flmfc tho n»ii<l (Pi'toF fif the Wellington Mege co|i)lneMs on Ifle ICtljinst. . ']•