The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1885. THE PRICE OF LAND.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1991, 15 May 1885, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1885. THE PRICE OF LAND.

■ o Fkom time to jtinie a controversy springs up in the press on Jhe price of Crown lands offered for sale, and occa,sionally it finds a faint echo in Parliament. The one side argues that the people should be put upon the land, even if jt had to be given to them, while the other has it that the Government should u.ot.gell p acre except by public auction; and when tjiese assertions have been made, tJ)o.on,e professes f|nt its own view is the liberal Que, while the other plays into tho hands of landsharks, and the said other replies that to give away jand, or what is next door to it, is a phase of ltfceralj.siji that the Colony can do very well without. There is, no doubt, n great deal to be said on both sides. Neither is absolutely wrong,yet open to a good deal of correction. In the early days of settlement the Provincial Governments disposed of the bulk of the land either by public auction or by throwing it open for free selection at an upset price that left a fair profit to them. It was by this means that they were enabled to cg.vry out their public works, and to subsidise Eoad Boards. Had it not been for the land fund many of the important roads in the fiojony would still he in an unfinished state, and numbers of dangerous rivers remain .unbrjdged. It was through the land fund, for in r stance, that the rivers in the Wairarnpa Valley bridged, and the majority of tlieni, .too. after Parliament had withdrawn the Customs fieveuuo ] from the Provincial Governments. We think that this of itself is n sufficiently strong argument to show that ft fair price should be charged for Crown Lands, and that to sell them at a very low rate would simply retard settlement, »s there would not be sufficient means to construct roads and bridges. The revenue which the Colony derives from other sources is required'in other directions, so that.at least the bulk of the money must necessarily come from the one source. The system of selling by public auction is, however, a failure, except from a public revenue point of view. The sales of land on tho Waimate plains and j'n other districts on the West Coast, brought in enormous sums, and there were one or two instances in which agricultural land was run up to £l6 per acre. The consequence was that, although nearly all the roads were formed, a large number of the purchasers were unable to hold the land, and. when they disposed of it they did not get anything near the original price, with all the'irijprovGments thrown in. The upshot of the keen competition is that there is a great deal of distress on tho West Coast, and that large numbers of farms are in the market' without buyers. It is the duty of the Government to avoid evils of this sort, though we confess it would be difficult to find a remedy. The Government will do its duty to the country by charging a fair

and reasonable price—iipri;e that will leave such a profit that all necessary works in the neighborhood where the block is being Bold may be carried out, To sell at a loss would be doing an injustice to older settlers, and even to those who are not landholders at all, because they, as forming a portion of the tax-paying population, have arjght to see that the' public estate is'not squandered, and that what may perhaps be called a liberal policy does not impose additional burdens on the whole Colony. ...

We aro pleased to notice that tho question of altering the railway time table so that visitors to the Wuirai'npa who wish to return to Wellington the same day shall have more time at the place they may wish to stop, has not been allowed to drop, Mr G. Beetham, M.H.R.,is in communication with the Minister of Public Works on the subject, and we may expect to hear, in a day or two what the political head of tho Public Works Department may have to say on the subject. If he refuses to grant the reasonable request of the public, it will, at any rate,, be interesting' to know whether Mr Richardson will adopt the shallow subterfuge of Mr Maxwell, that tho majority of the public does not desire the change, or whether he will say what cannot be supported by facts,(hitt it would be inconvenient and expensive to alter the hours at which the train departs from Masterton, or whether, in. the event that he is disinclined to grant the change asked for, ha will find some other excuse,

The Masterton Temperance Choir meet for practice to-night. It is probable that the Wellington Racing Club will hold a steeplechase meoting during the winter, Tho meeting of the Masterton Tent LQ.'R., jthat should have taken place last night,' of a quorum. The Treasurer of the Hospital acknowledges tho receipt of £1 Jg from the Rev. W. E. Paige, At the inquest on the body of the child found in Eitzherbert Terrace, Wellington, £ verdict of "found dead" was returned. An elderly man whp.oxccedcdthcbounds ofebriety last 'night had cheap, quarters found for him, ahd'conitrib'uM\thesumof 5s towards the general fund'of tliobbrbiigh in. tlm ]IM. Court this morning. Mr 0. p. Sk.orrett has been appointed Revising 'Barrister' .under tjiQ 'fejlding Societies' A.ctl f<?r ,the Wellington district; The fl%Q'')j,e.cam',e''.yacaiit through the dgath pf Mr J.',o,9f(iou 'Aljai).' "" It is notified that Mr Thomas Garswoll, of Kumurau, intends, at the next licensing meeting, to apply for a license for a house to be known as tho Kumurau Hotel,

?he papier Telegraph inserts a letter from Mr Win, Cjojensp,'referring to the affairs of a local 'Bankrupt; and after running into two columns, holds" the remainder over for another issue, Tliey must bo hard up for matter in the Napier offices,

If .any doubt JJje recent impprtatipn' ,of |almJoji ,ova jyfluld prove successful, it is now entjrely removed, for we find, on inquiry that about three fourths slp}}& pyaare already hatched, and that a very large proportion of tho remainder are showing e'vety sigij of vitality.

A special meeting of the Board of College .Governors was held yesterday, reports the N,Z. Times.: fee/if: Hon. A, de C. Brandon (Chairman),' J.'- R. Blair, H, Bunny, and Dr Hector. The Bill for amending and consolidating the laws relating to tim Wellington College and Girls High School, which was considered at last meeting, was approved of. Mr G. Beetham, M.H.R., and Mr Blackett, Engineer in Chief, arrived by the mid-day train to-day. Mr Blackett 13 paying a special visit to the district for the purpose xii himself as to the 'roal''nature of the'Waipojua at the Pairau, and the'manlier in which any" diversion would effect tho Interests 'of settlers. He left for.the Opaki about'lialf an hour after his arrival, accompanied by Mr Beetham, several members of the Wairarapa East County Council, the County Engineer and jfJ.Qunty Clerk.

Mr D. Gaii?erjtjfi of Greytown is fitting a varnishing room in his factory on the most approved American prjp.pipie, proof, and having a ventilator at the" top for carrying off the fumes of the varnish, In $c woodshop he has a wagonetto, a physician's jvh.7iat.Qn, a new coach, and, ajnongst ptjier yehic)cs' jj a piano-box buggy, whicji jsgpljghfc jtha.tjiiiiancaii gof ijnd.or jt and cany it away onljis 'slioukjerg, There is also a'nowly ,desjgiie| milk cart with a rece# jn the bacfe .of it for the driver to stand in whilst driving, and fromwhiohhe hag npdjfficulty prdclay in alighting to serve customers."

There was a slight sparring matoh yesterday between Messrs Bunny and McCardle, says tho N. Z. Times. An application Ijad bj#n inadoto tho Land Board by the holder of asectjop in which Mr McCardle had been originally ju|teji'e|ted, Mr Bunny wanted to "know you know,*' $ !l e goiir orally does. Mr McCardle gfipngjy" pbjeefced to the way in which Mr Bunny had referred to himself, and tho lattor : ietowc/l that he was prepared to have his opinion to ask for 'information'libmit ft patter in which a member of tho Board had been mixed up. The question of roads versus defences, was incidentally'' referred to.; Jh'B,pny belteyedjhat if the Govern-' ineirfcljad'the fpr the necessary inpjiey to .open up the'country the Houso would gmnt iti J.fc WQuld be far better, than spending the mniisy jn guns and ammunition—a romark which'appeared to be generally approved of by the other members. Mr McCardle said he felt suro it would pay well to get a loan for oponillg up the country, it would prove far more beneficial than the railways. Mr Bcetham remarked that t!}e roads would help the railways very materially, The memory -of tho Chineso is said to bo very extraordinary. A contributor of a series of articles on the Chineso Mission in the Presbyterian gives the following: —A young man was much surprised because I did not know the price of horse-racing "consultation" tickets, the gpvernmenfc regulations regarding contagipus. diseases, and the scale of payments to an Accident Assurance Society. He said "You "have read books, and yet you do not know these things!" A Chinese who has read books professes to know all about everything within the bounds of China, and the amount and variety of knowledge stored up in the memory of some' Chinese is amazing. When speaking with a leper lately, Poter's denial of Christ was mentioned, and, to my surprise, Ah Lye was acquainted with all the details, though it is not long since I gave him a copy of the New Testament. By their particular method of study the memory is trained to a very high degree, and when scholars of China are as well versed in the Word of God as they now are in their classics, they ought to .make excellent preachers,

The local option poll for tho. AjJFredton Licensing District will be- taken*.& the County Engineer's Office, Eketahuna; on the 2nd of June; : > -. V " You are not allowed to loiter in the: polling booth," said the officor in ■■'charge to a temperance canvasser at; .the late election. "I'm scrutineer," he repUed. "If you are found smwedrin-hen" said the Returing Officer, "you will get locked up,". '■:•■.; -; : •' Legal proceedings are no\y being taken by the Deputy Assignee in Bankruptcy, against'debtors .in tho bankrupt estates of D. F. McCarthy and E. B. Bell.'.

It is intended, if possible, to have New Zealand sccneiy exhibited in connection with the New Zealand Exhibition. It will be shown in the shapo of dissolving, views, and each day a town such as Christchurch, Dunedin, 1 etc will be gone through, then the Hot Lakes and other interesting places. ••■■>„.,;; ; ; Those who felt interested in what has been termed the Mungapakeha Bridge job, are recommended to read the ; letter of " Spur," which' appears in l another column. They will probably find that those who ciy out about jobs-being per.petrated are not at all unwilling to assist when their own pockets are likely to bebenefited. . V.

The London correspondent of a Southern paper writes:—" The Emigration Office has just lost one of the most valuable officers in the service of the Government of Now Zealand. Mr Thomas Short whose death from consumption took place on the 28th of February, had been connected with tho New Zealand Government Service for nearly.twenty years. Tho result of the local option poll, in the Riding, says the Examiner, shows a large majority in favor of an increase of licenses. In regard to publicans' licenses , the Woodville vote was a tie, but Danevirk and Kumeroa polled largely in favor of an increase,

The landlord of the Club Hotel, in Blenheim, has lately started a novelty _ in the shape of a ladies' room in connection with his house. "Two rooms," says the Marlborough Times, " have' been set apart far the purpose, and the membership of nearly all those ladies who dwell at a distance from the town is promised." The project, if confined to meeting the convenience ef ladies coming into town frmn j;hu country on business, is not a bad one,' b'd| hi any other shape a ladies' club at a publichbu's'e' is' altogether opposed to English ideas, Persons who have business in Wellington which they can can attend to in the evening, or who wish to witness the performance of the "Silver King," which appears to lays taken the inhabitants of the Euiplro.Dityjjy storm, wjjl have an excellent opportunity' afforded' tliem tomorrow, when they can leave by tho. afternoon train, and return 'by one leaving Wellington at 11.15 p.m. arid'running right thrb.uglj ifl jfasteiioh. "The usual Saturday return fares wjjj be charged.' ' In 'noticing that Mr Florence McCarthy 1)4 feflhje.a' part proprietor ""'of'the Grey Hfyer- AW, /> Wellington conjtemporavy rpyie'ws'w© Sir George Grey in miikg $8 ?!*$ Agency, and adds thai affeer "its fa}} Mr M'Carthy took up journalism, Ws may explain that Mr M'Carthy had been a journalist for years before the Agency was sorted, hayjng also been on Hansard. He therefore simply Tel} ba,gk on his former profession,

An extraordinary mattoi' is. under jn; vestigation by the Nottingham police, No 'less'than seven ' ladies' have 'been sjifl.bjje.d recently in the public 'at nightfall", njjscreant, who overtakes liis victim's, and then jpjj round ap,d ) suddenly stabs '.tliem with'it share ihstruiße^t'.and'disappears." Ei.ve' of' Hie victims Iwve'beerioply slightly 'wo'iinddd, but two have sustained-jiijrao) of .a serious nature. Ono lady" was able .to describe her assailant, but he is still at large. At the annual niee|;ing of shareholders in the Colonial' Insurance Company, tlis Rev. C. S Ogg pointed out that the Direptors. of tlie Compaiiy recejyed an''honqrariun) pf £JO.OO between them, which he considered was top much for s6'work, they had to do, He njoyed that the amount be reduced to £3OO, The meeting appeared to sympathise with the motion, and Mr Levin, as one of the Directors, said he was quite in the hands of the shareholders. The Hon. A, de B, Brandon pointed out that r Jie Directors j;ad nejer drawn their honorarium when there was iib'dividend .to ( deolarp, aj)d |)ie 'Qhajrman. having ruled tli'at'th'eino.tipj) 'ooidd jwt'b« put ffJthQi)t ntjfcice; the matter was allowed to drpp/'Tlierß ate many other companies who might w|th. advantago consider the amount of profits absorbed by their directors,

"Once more the French flag floats over the spires pf Strasburg." Such is the aunomioomoht proudly propagated by the whole French piftiss, -'Thlsrlftt'does-not, however, mean that the lost provinces have heen restored to the French people'; >t is simply emblematic'of' a childish and theatrical phajje in the 'JFrench 'character, ii'would appear that a ijyw i)f Strasburg succeeded in sotiio of ttje storks which,'it'is well khpwnj'are tfie' pride of fjjg tflwu, He'forthwith dyed the'under part of tlje wjngs pf tip buyls—the one wing red, the other blue, leaving the body to forn) tljo whito qr central portion of the French trlpripr flag,' TfedW, tlie birds were at onoo restore!! tp ffeedpit), and as they spread out their wings, to ]?Pgairi their roosts, they displayed all the colours of France. The fury of the German authorities was so great that at first they proppsejf tp sjiqpfc these innocent stahdard--bear.ers.

Heilbron's German Worm Cakes and Fitzgerald's Koromiko Extract are Patented.—Advt. .

You Can Be. Happy if you will stop all your doctoring yourself arid families with expensive doctors oi''cure ; aTls'fchat do only harm, and use Nature's simple remedies for all your ailments; you will bo well and happy and save great expense. Tho greatest remedy for this, the great, wise, and good wil} tell y.ou, is American Op's Hpp'Bjtters.