Wairarapa Daily Times. ESTABLISHED 1878.] TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1894. THE UPPER MAKURI SETTLED.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4640, 6 February 1894, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. ESTABLISHED 1878.] TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1894. THE UPPER MAKURI SETTLED.

SECOND EDITION.

The editorof the yYoodville Examiner lias investigated tho condition of certain Upper Makuri settlers and recommends that the valuation of their properties should be reduced by one half, and two years rent remitted to them. We gather Irom him too that Mr Hogg, M.U.R., endorses his view and will strive to give effect to it. flis argument is that the settlers in question aro men of the right stamp, but liavo had special difficulties to contend with in the matter of bad burns, bad roads, and wrong grass seed. If they are not assisted they may ho compelled to give up their sections, aud Ibis surrender will be bad for them and bad for the country. Taking the facts as givon by oar contemporary we are of opinion that these settlers have a claim tor conskferntion, and thai it may be expedient that they should receive the reduction and remission of rent that is suggested, but it is porfectiy evident that the recognition of claims of this kind would be an admission that the Government methods of settling bush land were a failure. The faoili» ties they offer to men with little or no means to embark in comparatively large enterprises are a delusion and a snare. The man, who, in the old Provincial days, would take up forty or fifty acres of land in fear and trembling now boldly selects two or three hundred acres, and at the first reverse he collapses. In the old days a msn bought'his bush'land for ten shillings an acre right out, and this is about the real value of such property. Now-a-days a man pays a rental value on thirty or forty shillings per acre; the rent is low, no doubt, but on the higher valuation itis practically a ruinous impost, Under the old system the settler stayed by bis land or sold it at a profit! under the new he loses both his capital and' his labour. The system is wrong, and as long as it lasts a very, large percentage of tlio men who settle on land, will be ruined. It is coming to this, that the Government must make concession after concession to keep its settlers on land, or must admit the practical failui e of thoiv scheme, Men rush for land to the Government like iioths round a candle, only to singe their wings. Every year hundreds of deluded settlers will want to break their bargain with the Government, and the litter must either spoonfeed them, or let tbern drift.

• School Committees noitli of tlio Rimutaka ore entitled to not less than four seats on the Education Board, and wo have a somewhat poor opinion of tbem if tlioy do not claim their right. At present they possess only two, and if they remain indifferent as to their representation on this body, tbny may come down to one. The propar course would be for the Chairmen of the various committees in this district to meet, and to agree to some concerted plan by which they could secure an equitable representation, This might be doneeitherby amending iheActinordertodefinenine voting areas within the Educational district, or merely by some general agreement as to the candidates to be supported at future elections. If a ; trial ballot were taken locally prior to an eleotion, and the.Committees agreed to vote for the candidates most acceptable to the majority, there would be no question as to the Wairarapa regaining its quota at the Board.

CisouiAJß have been sent to the Bohool Committees in this dial riot asking them to nominate candidates for the annual vacancies of the Education Board. We understand that all of them were sent out too late, to enable Committees to send in nominations within the prescribed time. If (he Wairarapa is tp be disfranchised in Education matters, this is about the cleanest and most effective way of doing.it. Wo are not sorry ourselves that this has happened, aa it tends to bring matters to a head. •■ The Wairarapa candidates are effectually suppressed, and as one of them is Mr A, if, Hogg, our sympathies are with the suppressors; :The inemberfor Mastorton is not a.comfortable man tO Bit OP,

We. hear that the prohibition party iu .Mastertou will not fight the coming licencing elections, but have handed (heir shillalah over to the Knights of Labor, who are willing to chip in on this ocoasion. It in understood that the Knights believe. the Alcholio Liquors Control Act tn be a workaMemeasure,- which can be used to effeotually control the liquor traffic. If the Knighia lake the field, tha eleotions will not be.as devoid of intorest as might othcrwme be ixpeoted. They will, of course, have the support of individual prohibitionists, and by combining political aud temperance forces they may make iheir mark and carry ail before them,

Yet another pamphlet I This time fiom A.W. Bickorton, of Canterbury, whopublishes " A uow story of the Stars." He does not write about operatic or political stars, hut soars into space somewhere near the milky wy. Scientific men and journals will not notice bis discoveries, so he appeals to Kew Zealand journalists, He comeß to the right quarter, for what don't New 'Zealaud journalists pretend to know ? He talks about stars grazing, and why should not these celestial stock graza if they want to. He dilates on " partial impact," a ihoory which is easily comprehended by New Zealand journalists, who will also follow him readilyiu his ideas of " initial volociiiop." It is by no means ouriouß that there is an allusion to Sir George Grey in the pamphlet, because we never me', with a local production of this kind yet that did not in some way or other drag in the honoured name of our great speculator in unborn millions. If any of our friends want to know about the dust of space and how it is kicked up we can lend as well as recommend to thorn Mr Bickerton's brochure.