The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY JUNE 4, 1885. NATIVE LANDS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2007, 4 June 1885, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY JUNE 4, 1885. NATIVE LANDS.

A Wellington paper which, it may lie presumed, is in tho confidence of 1 the Government, states tliat it is he- > lieved that the fight' of the ensuing • session will he over the Native Lands Bill to he introduced by the Native Minister. The announcement should not occasion uny surprise, because whenever any measure which proposes , to deal with Native Lands is introduced 1 in the House, there is sure to be ut light over it, There is a certain section of philanthropists who are of opinion that the Maoris should not be allowed to sell their land at all; others, who probably pride themselves upon being " well up" in political economy, bold that they should sell to nobody except to the Government; while a third party is of opinion that the Maori should be allowed to sell to whom he pleases, and at whatever price he may think proper or convenient, As an abstract principle there is little fault to be found with the last named of these views, because, when a Maori is acknowledged as the owner of a certain piece of land by the Government, vhich considers him to lie a civilised being, lie has a moral claim to deal with it in the samo manner as Ji'uroppans would. What applies to an individual, applies to a tribe. But various Governments have come to the conclusion that the Maori, though civilised to a certain degree, is in many respects a fool, who may sell his birthright for a mess of potiage at any moment, provided he had the opportunity. Laws have therefore been made from time to time to prevent him from squandering his property, the Government, however, in its unselfishness, always taking care not to miss picking up any crumbs that were found lying about. Asa matter of fact, while the Government professpd to protect tho Maori from the land shark, it picked his pocket without any qualms of conscience whenever nppofl unity offered. The means were supposed to be justified by the end, which naturally put money into the Treasury. The Pre- '• mier has been known to make statements upon the land question which '. are as much opposed to each other as the poles 5 but wo believe that, were he 1 asked the question direct, he would 1 say that he is not in favor of ! any more land being sojd by ■ the Government, Mr Larsagh is \ very decidedly of opinion that the ] nationalization of the land is all hum- | bug, while Mr Ballanob lias shown a j

very decided leaning towards the Premier on the subject. If the proposed Native Land Bill is to he a Government measure, how can it represent the views of the Government as a whole? Orjiow can even the Native Minister claim that it is his conception, with his pronounced ideas on the land question. We are told that it is proposed that under certain given, and very simple, conditions, Maoris shall be permitted to sell their land—in other words, that the doors shall be thrown open as widely as possible to the land shark. We are not prepared to assert that the colony would suffer by this, because the land would lie put to some sort of use at an early date; but; we do say that the whole principle is entirely opposed to the policy that has hitherto been pursued by the so-called Liberal party, The measure, if framed upon the lines that have been indicated, is simply another proof that the members of the present Ministry are not held together by any principle whatever, but by i mere desire to hold office.

The origin of this bill is probably not very clear, but we venture to express the opinion that it was not framed by the Native Minister at all, but by Colonel McDonnell, who has been acting as an agent for the purchase of Native lands for some time past, and who, it is now rumored, is to be appointed a judge of the Native Lands Court. How these wheels within wheels work is not by any means uninteresting. At.the last general election, Colonel McDonnell opposed Mr Bryce for Waitotara, and, as a matter of course, had the support of Mr Ballanoe. In the same boat with them was a stiangnr to the party, Mr Robert Pjiaiuzyn, the father-in-law of Colonel McDonnell, who has since received a spat in the Legislative Council, Yery few peeple who know much aliont these matters give Mr'Balhmce all the credit or blame attaching to his administration of Native affairs, because they have good roason to believe that Colonel McDonnell is his confidential adviser. When we find that an attempt is to be made to allo'v Native lands to be dealt with wholesale, while Government lands are disposed of in dribblois, we may certainly expect to see a fight in tlio House, and we may expect, too, to see a great many of the Liberals opposing the measure tooth and nail.

A notice calling upon the owners of sections 35 and 36, Mangaone, to erect a dividing fence appears it our advertising columns.

Mr \V. Bell, of Denison House, Queen-street, announces special bargains in millinery, and appends a prjze list that is worth studying, We learn from a reliable source that Mr C. Rous Marten, who has just returned from a trip to England, has been appointed editor of the New Zealand Times. The following tenders have been recieved by the Education Board for the under-mentioned works; Waihekeke school, residence—Trotman & Humphries, £l7B (accepted); C, Daniels, £l7B ; B. Gray, £179; T. James, 4188. Palliatua school, residence-Crimp and Jensen, £200; T. Miller, £l9l 19s (accepted).

e Gladys, Countess of Lonsdale, is ongaged to be married to Lord de Grey, i eldest son of the Maiquis of Ripon, s This lady, who, it will be remembered, was one of the witnesses in the' Durham divorce case, was last year engaged to be married to Mr Edgar Vincent, Financial , Adviser to the Khedive of Egypt, but tho i engagement was broken off. Earl de s f Grey is about 33 years of age, and is heir to a rent roll of £30,000 a year. Truth i declares that he has been industriously. ■\ hunted in society for the past 12 or 13 ;, years, so that Lady Lonsdale would appear to have mado a gppd match. ; A prophet has no honor in h)s pwn country is once more illustrated in our telegrams, The Brennan torpedo, which has been adopted by tho Admiralty, is the invention of a Yictorian working man. : Some years ago the invention was offered to the Government of fchat cqlony, but . thoy declined to even grant a trial, because their military men—volunteer officers who had only smelt powder in rifle matchescould not believe that a mechanic, who did not profess to know anything about f military matters, could invent a capable • torpedo, Everything comes to the man r that can wait, and let us hope that Bren- , nan will now roap a rich reward, : The Government hnve decided to (lis- | pensc with the services of threo of tho , Native Lands Court Judges and appoint [ threeother gentlemen to the vacant oflicos, ' The retiring Judges are said to bo Mr H, T. Clarke, Mr L. O'Brien, and Mr E. M. Williams, each of whom is entitled toa retiring pension of £3OO a year. Mr 11. T, Clarke received his first appointment in J843, Mr L. O'Brien, entered the Government service in 1855, and Mr E, M. Williams was appointed Resident Magistrate of Waimate in 1861. Whether these three gentlemen retire from their present appointments of their own free will and accord we ("Napier Telegraph") are not in a position to say. The gentlemen who are appointed to fill the vacancies are Messrs McDonnell, formerly well known as Colonel McDonnell ; J. A. Wilson, of Tauranga ; and Mr R. J. Gill, of the Native Office, The Baldwins' gave their farewell entertainment at the' f heatre Royal last night before another very goof} house. As before, the audience was thoroughly mystified, especially with the thought reading, which has undoubtedly been the chief attraction throughout, and which was'again very successful. Those interested in.horse race will perhaps be glad to know that two gentlemen who had written dov/n the question "What horse will win the pxf Jfaw Zealand Cup," gotthe answer '•' Admiijistrajfli l ,'' Messrs Foley and Berkley, to wjfpje enterprise we owe the visit from Professor and Mrs Baldwin, are to be congratulated upon the success which has attended their efforts to cater for public amusement, and we trust that they will prove oqually fortunate in the future. The unkindest cut of all was given by Professor Baldwin to a certain bumptious individual who is supposed to have some connection with "Asmodeus." The ' bumptious individual is a great believer : in everything that appears to him supernatural or incomprehensible, and he con- ! sequontly believes in morethingsthanmost j people, When Professor Baldwin was in I Wellington, he found it neoeagapy to ex- < plain to his audieneo that he oould not ■ get the assistance of Mrs Baldwin in the i thought reading feats that night, as the 1 lady was in very delicate health, The s next day the Professor and ihe bumptious < individual met, and the latter seized the f opportunity to give a long lecture on tho ' evil resulta of nightly putting a lady i of delicate health into a trance. The f Professor said little at the time;' but as i opportunity offered he informed the pri- 1 vate frjenij flf his adviser of what had c Qccurr>d, and capped joke by saying t thatheneysr, put Mrs Bald™ into a I trance at f •" ]

Staff-Captain Matthews, a very efficient officer of the Salvation Army, arrived in Masterton last evening, flo will lead a " special attack" in the Army barracks this evenini'.

Messrs Lowes & lorns make several aditions to thoir sale for Saturday next. The list now will be a large one, as it embraces all kinds.of furniture andhousehold requisites, and will bo without reserve..

The following football team will play all comers on the Park Oval on Saturday next at 3 p.m. sharp:—J, Perry, W, Perry, 0, Perry, Ingles, Pelling, 0, Bannister, J. Bannister, A. Whatman, E. Whatman, Welch, Holmpod, Hoimslow, Ranginui, EwingtOn, T. James. Professor and Clara Baldwin appear at Carterton to-night. The Professor has had very largo audiences during his three nights' stay in Masterton, and everyone is delighted with the entertainment, It will be a treat for. the Carterton people, and as the Professor only stayß there two nights, he will probably have crowded houses. Mr A, J, Rawson desires us to direct attention to his special advertisement regarding a block of 4,000 acres of land, in the Wangaehu valley, which he is offertag for sale. Formed roads now extend' to within one and; a half miles on either side of the property, and tracks to make it accessible have recently been cut and cleared by a survey party. The Superintendent of Telegraphs invites tenders for the supply of 250 telegraph poles between Woodville and Pahiatua, and for the carriage of wire, anus, bolts, and insulators on the line. This, of course, means that .Pahiatua is abuut to be placed in telephone communication with the rest of the colony by way of Woodville.

Sir Julius Yogel was probably in a quandary when, as chairman of the finance committee of the Government Insurance Association, ho wrote the letter which appears in another column to the Treasury Department. Under ordinary circumstances the letter would, as a matter of course, have been addressed to the Colonial Treasurer; but Sir Julius .himself holding that office, he probably shrank from doing such a ludicrous thing as addressing a letter to himself. Hence it was addressed to the Department, though it began with the usual "Sir." It is reported that an industrious individual has been making a good thing out of catching ferrets for a Te Ore Ore fanner of late. The fanner is a groat believer in ferrets, and has a standing offer that he will pay so much per head for them. Latterly he has purchased considerable numbers, but, though he turned them out, they never scorned to increase. It has now transpired that the enterprising seller did not go far to lay his his traps. All he did was to go into the paddocks of the. farm, where he invariably captured as many as he thought was judicious to offer at one time, The farmer now wonders whether he could liot brand his ferrets.

The Australasian notjces as a curious in cjdent of the recent war scare, the withdrawal of sums pf money from building societies, savings banks, and ordinary banks, under the belief than the money would be safer in some place of concealment, It is curious as illustrating a survival of, or rather a relapse to, the hoard-' ing instinct which it was, thought' that advancedcjvilisationhadnearlyerad'ipated, Modem methods of banking call upon" the money owner to forego the pleasure of seeing and handling his money, a pleasure which, when money more and more took the form of paper promises to pay, had practically disippeared. The system induces him to forego his sense of actual possession of saved money, and in exchange it offers him the gratification of interest,

A remarkable instance of equine longevity has occurred in Staten Island, U.S., where a famous trotting horse, named Old Turk, died on the oth of March last. His first race was run in the year 1842, so that he must have been something like 4G or 47 years of age. At that time he trotted against and beat a field comprising some of the best horses of the day. About 12 years ago he was standing at the bow of the ferry boat Westfield when she blew up. He was hoisted between 30ft and #t into tho air, but landing in the water, he swan; ashore. The. last years : qf his life were spent at the Richmond County Poor Farm, where a comfortable stall had been built' for li'imV 'He had lost nearly all his teeth, and' lived upon boiled food for some months before jlj's death.

A meeting of the Masterton Benevolent Society was held on Thursday evening. Sundry accounts amounting to £l9 7s were passed' for payment."' Several urgent cases that had been dealt with by the Secretary and Committee were reported, and tho action endorsed. Mr Dagg attended, and stated that a sum of £l7 had been collected for Mrs £ Osborne, which he would hand oyer to the Society, tho Society engaging to pay Mrs Osborne the sum of £1 per week for two years, In an urgent case the sum of £1 per week was voted for a month, The Secretary was instructed to procure a mangle for a woman who is in indigent circumstances, the cost not to exceed £O. A recommendation was made to the incoming- Committee to hold meetings on tho first Wednesday in each month, An executive Committee was formed, and the Secretary and one member were authorised to spend money in relief between meetings,

This is what "Puff," in the Evening Press, has to say on the recent change in the Sheep Inspectorship at Wellington : Buckley says Harrison was not sent for to Tasmania and his appointment is not permanent! He was not sent for, but he got the'hint and came!. Found his billet waiting, tor him! Poor old McKenzie kicked out without a shilling to make room for him, after six years' faithful service! Jforrjsjji}, of Tasmania, drawing McKenzie'fl sotw! Mao walkpjg fclie beach looking for a. job! Harrison's "appointment not permanent V No, you're right there, Patrick, my perky peep o' day boy I None of your appointments are likely to be permanent! You're own's getting pretty shaky, you know, and the next Ministry will sack the lot, and put the old hands back j But you'll keep Harrison and all the rest of fliem as long as you can-never fear!

The liberal party jn sew as, we knew it a few years since, is now split into fragments, and the story which we publish in another polunin about political intrigues of lust year, is not likely to heal the rupture, or gather the fragments together again. The split however, may lead to other and better combination, and a new party may arise to save the colony from the policy of squander into which Sir Julius V'ogel is again plunging us. The policy of last session shows us that Mr Stout is being carried off his feet by Sir Julius Vogel, who is full ef schemes and jobs that would have been denounced by the old Liberal party as very discreditable, and very demoralising, The coming session, however, is likely to Beo a strong effort made in the direction of stopping several of the jobs, especially those of the Waimea and Duutroon railways The idea of offering Sir George Grey a position as Commissioner for the King Country was a very ill-advised suggestion, and however much it may be contradicted or explained away, we have reason to believe that the information given to ub on this point is substantially correct,—N,Z BN4,

The San Francisco mail arrived in Masterton last night.

Captain Edwin telegraphed at 1.20 p,m to-day.—" Bad weather from West am South and South-East, and very'coli after ten hours. Glass further rise.

Mr Henry Fielder, of the " Little Dust Pan," Wellington, has one of his original advertisements m another column, which will repay perusal. The return match between a team from the Masterton Public School and the second fifteen of the Red Stars will come off on the Park Oval at 4 o'clock this afternoon.

There were again no cases set down for hearing at the fortnightly sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court atGreytown, ■yesterday. The residents of that township have thus been without a lawsuit for a month,

The Licensing Committee for the Greytown Borough Licensing District, held their annual meeting yesterday. The Police report on the licensed houses was favorable. The applications of George Jones and W. Hammerich for the renewal of their licenses were granted.

The case of the Official Assignee in the estate of H, Miller v Rapp was decided at a Banco sitting of the Supreme Court yesterday. The case wasanappealby the Official Assignee against the decision of the Resident Magistrate at Masterton, when a sum of £55 paid by Miller to respondent within a month of his bankruptcy was claimed. Judgment was then given for defendant, The higher Court, however, reversed this decision, Mr Trayers appeared for appellant, respondent being unrepresented. Another old resident, in the person of Mrs Clifton, has passed away, Mrs Clifton arrived in Wellington in May, 1841, with her husband and family, and till within the last ten years has resided at the Hutt, where her husband died at the ripe age of 80 years, Her family all beine in Carterton, she came there to live with them. Out of about a dozen children, there are only four surviving, viz., two sons and two daughters; but there is a host of grandchildren, the death of one of whom, Mrs Robinson, is, by a strange coincidence, announced in another column, ,