The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1889.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3218, 31 May 1889, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1889.

The Land Bales Question. We are pleased lo notice tlmt Mr Bunny lias carried his resolution at last, Thursday's meeting of the Land Board in favor of disposing of Crown Lands by public fiuctiou. For some time past tlie Government lias been making experiments iu settling people on land under all sorts of conditions, and we are afraid that none of those liave proved very successful. A considerable number of members of the House ofEoprescntatives appear to have a fad that land is a commodity that has a certain value, aud that no persM purchasing it should be allowed to pay more than that, We hold that if tho land is \worth more than the amount estimated by the Commissioner of Crown Lands, the purchaser is presented with the balance, though he and others might be prepared to pay that balance into the Colonial Exchequer. All Crown Lands are public property, and the Crown lias no -right to dispose of any portion of them except at thoir proper value. 'White tho present system of freeholds continuea—and we are of opinion that it will not he abolished in a hurry—every section that ia disposed.of at the Commissioner's valuation without competition, forthwith assumes a value equal to the amount which it would have realised had it been put up to auction, and the balance is dear profit to the purchaser, who, when lie sees, that he can sell at a good rise, is generally found quite ready to accept the premium offered. In place of proving a bona fide settler ho turns out a more speculator, who, after having made one good bargain, will naturally look about liim to find out v;hether he cannot niake another one like it. So far as the Provincial District of Wellington is concerned, tho Go. vernment has had ample opportunity to compare the auction and the ballot systems. Tlie''Government tried its best to dispose of laud under the latter, but its operations were almost completely paralysed by the Manawatu Railway Company, whioh, having arranged a liberal scale of terms, offered its lands by public auction, the sections being knocked down to the highest bidder, provided they reached , the reserve price, The consequence is that settlement on the West Coast is progressing at a fiiflrvellous rate, while the Forty Mile Bqsh, wjth all its good land, has been almost neglected, if we except the special settlement associations. There is something very illogical about cash sales , at . a fixed price. Those who fayor the system say that .the- object of the State is not to get the money for the land, but to get the people to settle on it. Jf that is so, why should not the land'be given to bona fido settlers right out ? None of these theorists can tell us which is the exact middle course between .selling to the highest bidder, and givjng away to the most promising settle that should' be. pursued, Everyjuctlon sale that has been held lias shown tlje valusr tions of the Commissioners are anything but a sure guide to the value of tho land offered, for while some sections realize"-' perhaps': fifty or' a hundred per cent above the valuation, others elicit no.bids at all,.thus proving that it is not at all qi) easy thing for tho Commissioner to find the mm, Tlie idea th&t

tlio ballot system prevents peoplefrom paying too much iB ft very fatherly one, no doubt, and-tba lucliy purr ohaser naturally approves of it when he can soil again at a much higher figure than lie gayo. But how about llio fatherly cave of. the second purchaser? If it is his ownfault'that he pays too miiob, so would it bo his own fault in tho case of the original purchaser if he paid too - muoh, supposing he bought tlio land at auction.' And this again proves that the speculator gets .the benefit, of a balance of value which should have gone to swell, the revenue. There is 110 gainsaying the fact that ..the land revenue ■ of.' the Colony has been frittered away in making all sorts of unsuccessful experiments at a time when the Colony wanted every penny that could be'.scraped. together, and the sooner Parliament realises this fact the better will it bo. •'We do'do not wish it to be inferred that deferred payment sales, or for that matter, perpetual leases, should be abolished, for these afford the means of obtaining land t6 many a small capitalist; but even land disposed of under either of.these systems might with advantage beoffered by publioauotion. We are" also entirely'in accord with Mr, Bunny's protest against the changes that are brought about in the administration of Crown Lands with every new Ministry, that gets into power.: These changes do a lot of harm;- for, people who come from abroad to 'settle in New Zealand, under the impression; that they can acquire land upon certain terms, only-too frequently find that everything has been altered, and leave the Colony in disgust. We believe that the present Minister of Lands would not be averse to the changes proposed by the Land Board, especially if other Boards supported the proposal,

Messrs Lowes fclurns make a further addition to their list for Wednesday noxt of 900 good breeding ewes. To-morrow, being the first Saturday in the month, is the payday of the Maatortoil and Greytown Building Societies. Throe hundred mixed ewe 3 are added toMrF, H. Wood's Taratahi Salo on Thursday, 6th June, It is proposed to form a Wellington Horticultural Show and hold Spring and Autumn Exhibitions. If n local Industrial branch is added tho movement is bound to provb a success The dress circle plan of tho Masterton Theatre Royal for the nights of tho performance of the Pirates of Penzance may be seen at Mr T, E. Price's shop.

The Wellington Land Board havo decided to appoint a Committee to deal with the applications for a reduction in their payments made by settles on the Kopuarangi block.

'On tho motion of tho Rev, J. Paterson the Board of Governors have rosolved to invite Lord Onslow to pay an 'official visit to the Wellington College mid Girls' High School. It ib proposed that with the consent of the Governor the visit shall be made sometime during the session, so that tho speakers of both Houses and other members of distinctira may attend, His Excolloncy tho Governor is already associating himself with many locsl public movements, in Wellington and elsewhere. He has signified to tho Secretary of tho Wellington Poultry, Pigeon, and Canary Association his willingness to become patron of tho institution, and also to open the annual show, which takes placo on the 11th Of July.

We are requested to remind our readers of Messrs Ltiwes and lorns' sales at their rooms to-morrow. Tho list will be a most extensiyo one, embracing now aiid second-hand furniture of,every description, a lot of carpenter's tools, a most useful line; also a lot of drapery, clothing,. hosiery, dress goods, \&c,and tho usual lines in produce, poultry, and sundries, r A writ was issued yesterday by the Kaihu Railway Companj against the l-Kiiuri timber Company claiming £20,000-damages sustained by the action of the latter company in entering' a a,caveat lately directed to bo removed by tho Court of Appeal. Notice appears elsewhere of the annual show of the Wairarapa Poultry, Pigeon, and Canaiy Association whioh is tii take place in the Masterton Drill Shed on Friday and Saturday, July sth and Gth, Entries close with the Secretary, Mr R, J. Fittou on Saturday Juno 29th. In connection with tho above a grand art union is announced, and on (he last evening of the Show an auction will bo held.

Thß Bush Advocate saysA man named John Barton who was working for Mr Keating at the rabbit fence, nut with a serious accident on Wednesday by a tree falling and crushing him against another tree, Ho waa carried to Mr Ryan's place at Akitea and fr«m there was brought into Danevirko by Mr Djlman. Constable Ryan heard of the accident • oarly Saturday morning, in time to convey Barton to the Waipukuran Hospital by the first train,

The Wairarapa iB shortly to have a visit from the Rev. J. Ward, formerly Wesleyan pastor at Greytoivn, and the many warm friends Mr Ward made in the district are looking forward with eagerness to again meeting him, Ho is, we understand, on a lecturing tour, and has been eminently successful up Taranaki way having given pleasure tolarye audiences. Mr Ward's programme is as follows-Wednesday, sth June, lecture Feathorston; Thursday Gth, lectute, flrey town; Friday Vth, lecture. Carterton Sunday.Oth, moruingscrvioe, Greytown; afternoon'service, Carterton j evening service,/ Masterton. Monday, 10th, lecture, Masterton. The subject of the lectures is" llemimsconcm of the Taranaki war."

The Bush Advocato says:—Thero is weeping and wailin? in a certain bush township over tho disappearance of an erstwhile auctioneer, commissiou ogenl, lawyer's clerk otc. The individual .referred to waa formerly a resident of Woudville, whero he had a.business record that was seldom equalled, for a space of six months or so he shewed'tho Woodvdlo folks how, having nothing of his own, it was possible to live upon the fat of tho land, He successfully fulfilled hit mission, "And departin?, left behind him, footprints on the sands of time." He came northward, and alighted at a flourishing timber centre; which hisgenius enabled him to discern contained mosey and mon. He has had both, and is once moro on the wing. He made many friends, and in various ways, some of which niay be made known later on. Meanwhile we may content ourselves ■by saying there is one particular friend between whom and our hero there is a little, dispute as to the ownership of £lO, who is taking stops to obtain a personal interview, with the R.M. as witness. More anon. •- ,

Thero is just now an .exceptional oppor tunity-'for purchasing ladios'i winter costumes at greatly, reduced pi-ices, at. tho lyhplesale Family Drapery Warehouse, Te AroHgiipo, Wellington.

Wc areijtiitg certain that it would bo advantageous for every !gdy in ; Wellington not only to inspect, but to make a selection from these costumes, aS they are stylish in material and make, and My one-thirdless than usual prices; at To Aro House, Wellington. - ' ' ■ We a l '® ofloringsome tasteful, useful winter costumes, value 35s Gd, for 21b Gd and 22s 6d; o very choice lot in navy and white cheek foulard, brown checked and j sttiped. foulard, brown caslimero, embroidered safjn and cords, myrtle cashmere, satin, triinmed, navy striped an jheoked':Abeige, ; and grey'' check beige, ot ..winch the real value ranges froip 39s 6d to three guineas. We ' offer, ,Vq Say, tho pick of this lot for 2ft !;W efi?,b> & ,Te ArpHonijp, Wellington, j: We are offering a 43s heliotrope broche merveilleaux costume for 29s Gdg a 47s 6d finopruheserge.cos'tnmefor.32sGd; a six guinea navy trimmed brocaded'cashmerefor. 455; |and a small but select lot of superior costumes'in blue , iihd gold broche, navy, navy and gold cinnamon^' cashmere, handsomely; trimmed, the' real value ' of whioh rangSs'from six to'eigbt guineas, tin M TB4WSMS?, Wel|a?t«a,-4ifrfi'

The regnlac monthly meeting.'ot tho Mnstertonßoad Board takes place tomonow, Satuiday. It is understood'that the Government haye no mteritiou ot bringing in a bill to amend tho Eduoation Act or tho.Land Ait this, session. . : [j . The' Yen. Archdeacon Fanopurt has been appointed Trustee 1 for the Kaiko. kirikiri (Bishop's Reserve. Maaterton find Papawai Trusts, vice tho Rev. R. J • Thorpe resigned, The following tenders for Bridge-deck ing were opened by the Wairarapa Korth County Counoil and dealt with on Thuraday,. Joseph Dawson, J>l39 IBs; (accepted), H. Stevens, £14719 4, J'. Chapman, £172,' J, H. lfythuno &Co instructed by MrJudd Executor in the' estate of the late Mr Richard Parker will sell by auction ac their rooms Feathorston St., Wellington, on Wednesday June sth; that valuable freehold farm of one hundred acres beintr section Nolß on the plan of the Wliarekakni Block near tlie township of Martinborongh together with the dwelhiighouse and outbuildings thereon. This .valuable property is reckoned one of the best pieces of land iu tho distriot.

The Wellington, to Bketahuna railway is the best paying Government Hue in New Zealand. 'J'he returns for April, 1889 show that it yields at the rate of £B3B per milo. This is nearly double the returns,piven by tho Auckland lines which yioid ouly £432 per' milo. Tho working expenses of the former line absorb sixty-one per cent of the receipts and the latter sixty-live. Under tie new management the returns for the first month show a net profit of £44,5U0 equivalent to four and a half percent on tho cost of the railways, More frequent trains between .Masterton and Eketahuna would make this line reproductive to a still greaior extent. Tlteijvo o'clock train only goes through three' days a week and a later ono goes on Saturdays, There should certainly be two trains evory day. . . A meeting pf the Wellington Land Board vas held oil Thursday present Messrs J. W, A. Jfar.hant, (Commissioner), W. A. Fitzherbert, H. Bunny, W. W, McOardle. The schedule of laud sold since last meeting showed that 6786 acres 0 roods 22' perches had been disposed'of fur £2336 Gs (id. A great number of applications for transfers and extensions were dealt with, also applications to complete titles,. A scheme for cutting up tho Crown lands in' the Otaiiiakapuu Block was approved, The Board also approved a scheme-for'tho disposal-of the sections cut out of the MastertonMangahao Special Settlement, and also a scheme with regard to tho Crown sections in tho Makuri Block. A similar scheme with regard to Mount Marchant country, Puketoi, was also approved. Mr Uross waited on the Board and asked that sections 107 and 103, block 5 Wairarapa, and section OS, block 3. bo withdrawn, and that'they bo thrown open under the Act 1887. It was resolved to obtain a report on the value of the sections.. A.R. Bunny wrote that hn would at once.effect improvements on soction 25,b10ck 3, Mangahao, if time were given him. The Board, decided to givo him time if bo would consent to fall 40 acres during the winter. A similar application from A. Morga.i, section 74, block!), Mangaono, was dealt with in liko manner, as was also an application from J. E. Gilby, section 4(i, block 7, Mangahao, A letter was read from J. Stevenson, statin" that ho 'could not proceed with his improvements on section '2, block 4, Makuri, until his back lino was defined, it was resolved that he should effect the improvements during the. winter. It was resolved to allow T. J. Quirk to purchase 80, block 11, Munrolmo, for £3 . per acre. "Tho Pshiatua County Council submitted proposals for tho oxpondituro of thirds of payments from seotions 8, 9,18, and 19, block 1, Makuri. The Board'approved tho expenditure of money from sections.B,lß,-and 19.' With' regard to A. H. Hickson's section 11, Block 6, Kopuaraiiei it was, resolved that Mrs Dorset should be informed that if she can obtain a transfer froin Mr Hicksou the Board will approve. It. was resolved to allow R, H. Elliotte to continue occupation of section 1, block 13, Rewa. It was resolved to inform J Vilo that the Board had no objection to the transfer of section 14', block 4, Mangahao, but that be must take steps to obtain the necessary transfer from Mr Hayes. A repmt on the Miisterton-Mangahao Speoial Settlement was submitted. It was decided to consider the report at next meeting,' , : The Masque Fancy Dress Carnival at the Rink last-night was a success in evory way, almost every pair of skates weroewagod, whilo the pallery and stage were crammed with Jookets on, Owing to Signor Morley having to send his magmficont wardrobe to Wellington on Wednesday a number of persons.we're disappointed in obtaining faucy dresses. Had it not been for this little centre temps the. oaroival would have un doubtedly been the mo3t briiliant one that has yet takeu place, As it was thore were a great many handsome and original dresser on the floor. tlio uiost notiseable being Silver Kiiig, A Lancashire Witch, Queen of thought Chadband, Our Mary Ann, Coal-black Rose, My Pretty Page, and a host of others too numerous to montion. Both the Tinkers and audie'ice wero kept in screams by the excellent clowning of a young gontlemen in a very Joud nigger masher Euii. This disguise was sc complete that we were unable to recognise him,but.his "funny business" would have done credit to a circus clown, Mr Pearson's band excelled thomselves on the occasion, and eyorything .woiit off without the slightest hitch, the party breaking up at eleven o'clock after a capital evenings amusement, Mr Coker informs us that it is his intention to give his young patrons a Carnival, as soon as a consignment of children's skates he has ordered arrive. It will be givon during tho uiidirintiT holiday, and will be supplemented with a novelty yory dear to the hearts of juveniles, Tho Wellington Meat Export Company richly desorve all the support they recoive from tho meat producers ot the Wairarapa and-West Coast districts, They hayo shown that thoy havo the enterprise and breadth of view, which entitles them to tho confidence of the producers,. -Tijey last year reduced their rate of charges to jjd, a scale whioh has been reached wo believe, only by one other company iu the Colony. Of course the reduction from |d to § of Id was made in 'expectation that tho produopre would send down so large a number of carcases as to make the freezing pay at the reduced piice, and this , expectation bas not been disappointed. It is needless to say, perhaps, that the cost of the establishment and of workim? expenses does not increase in proportion to tho increase of tho work done, and that whereas if the freezing was limited to 50,000 carcases a year, if would be necessary to increase the charge there is quite sufficient profit on the 122,000 carcases, and 6,100 head of cattle which will haye been frozen in the yearehdin? 30th proximo to provide a fair dividend to tlie shareholders over and above all necessary payments toreseivo. The Company are so confident in the expansion of the trade, that they are about to extend their freezing power by tho addition of a second large machine, makin?, with the smaller machine, a total' power of three freezers.. They will be able to freeze 83,000 shoep a mouth, or 23,000 sheep and 800_head of cattle. While the Welliu' ton companies show such l enterprise as this, there is littio ohance of the success of outside competition. The acjvantpossrsi in the rates of freight fir live-stock, over dead meat,' on the railways and tho cpnvenion'ce of markets for'offal and the immediate shipment without railway freight of tallow, eh» ablo them to offer benefits to 'producers beyond tho reach of ■aa inland, enterprise, and which must tell, very': heavily fa. their favor. They have .shown ; no desire to make extravagant profits at the cost of ths'produoer, but have' recognised the high importance ot developing the trade. It is a policy of this kind that is the best assurance, of Jtheiri cori: .tinned kcces'sand'ofthe-coiitmuimco Of: the oonfidenceof farmers-aiid graziers Of tj)s province, -ftow

The preliminary notios of the oratori o " Pai-adiao" appears in another column' Although the talkod-oE; new hoi el at Mnrtinbuiough Beotna to have begun and ended in rumour, it is likely thnt livery awl bait stables will bo ereoted thero by Messrs Tlioinai and .Wargetts, by whom we underat-ind, Mr G.' Lawrie's line of ooaohea is to bo taken over on Ist, June. It is statocl that a well-known nursery, niati to wardi tho lower, end of the Valley, has.receutly lost no iess thaii IftOOO ornamental and forest trees through transplanting by inexperienced assiatants.. Much of the mortality of ..young trees is certainly often wrohjjlyismbed by .'purchasers to the quality of the shrubs, when it is really the planting that is to-blame, as in this case. , Such erroneous conclusions lib not give, the jupplyera fair play.