The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2243, 23 November 1886, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Ot whatsoever state ox persuasion, religious or political.

TUESDAY, NOV. 23,1886.

r J?fiE question, What are we to do with the unemployed lis a serious and a very pressing one. It is true that as yet no one in the colony has experienced any real distress, such as the people of older countries are only too familiar with : it is also well enough known that many of those who are out of work do not want work, but belong to the genus loafer : at the same time there is a class of honest and industrious men genuinely hard up, and that from no fault of their own. Many of them, doubtless, are quite unfitted for colonial life, and ought to have remained where they were, but being here we must make the best and not the worst of them. It is by no mean easy to determine what is best to do under the circumstances, but there can be no doubt that the extension of settlement is one of the things needful. It may not be natural to force settlement which, it may be argued, is one of those things to which the principle of " slow and sure" should be applied, but it must be remembered that too many of the other conditions of our life in New Zealand are artificial to allow of settlement being proceeded with on conservative lines. If we had not spent so much borrowed money on railways ; if we had not devoted so large a proportion of our loans to bringing immigrants to our shores we might have been quite content to permit the settlement of the l;mds of the colony to take care of itself ; but having made the railways and imported the people, it is our bounden duty, as well as our interest, to find employment for both. Numerous have been the schemes proposed for meeting the difficulties which He in the way. Both Mr Rolleston and the present Minister for Lands, Mr Ballance, we know have the subject very much at heart, and the latter's village settlement scheme appears to be meeting with success, though it is much toov early yet to speculate upon its merits. A Mr Gavin M. Park is the latest reformer in the field. His plan is, roughly, as follows :: — • (1.) Blocks of the best obtainable Crown lands in each provincial district should be set aside for settlement under the perpetual leasing system, without the right of purchase at any future date, and informatton as to position, quality, etc., of the land freely advertised. (2.) Persons desirous of taking up land in any of these blocks should intimate their dcs-ire to the proper authorities giving full information as to the purpose to which they intend to apply the land, together with the quantity required, which, in no case, should exceed 150 acre's, of fii.st-class land, or 300 acres of second-class land. (3.) After *he selector has received an intimation that a section has been allotted to him, he will immediately furnish to the Government, certified by a Ciown lands ranger, or other qualified officer, an estimate of the cost of clearing, fencing, and necessary buildings, the amount to be so expended being limited to, say, £4 per acre. (4.) Whether the selector desires to follow any special profession such aa gardener, orchard-planting, hop growing, vine growing, or any such calling, necessitating extra outlay, the area of his selection shall be limited to, say, 50 acres, but the amount to be expended may exceed the limit named in the proceeding section. (o.) After the applicant's selection has been granted, and the expenditure necessary to make it reproductive agreed upon, the selector shall, within a given time, commence to clear and prepare his leasehold for the purpose for which it is iequired. (0.) The Government shall pay (on the production of ranger's certificate) for the improvements periodically, as the work progresses. (7.) When all the improvements agreed upon have been completed (or previously, if the land has been rendered sufficiently reproductive), the selector shall be granted a perpetual lease of his holding, subject to re-valuation every fourteen years. (8.) The value of the land shall be assessed in the fiist instance, at £1 per acre for first-class land, and 10s per acre for second-class land as its original value, with the cost of improvements added thereto ; thus, if £4 per acre has been expended on the holding of first-cl.iss land, the chessmen t hhall be at the rate of £."> per acre, and the lessee charged by the State on that valuation at the rate ot o per cent, per annum. (9.) Any freeholder may sell his land to the Crown at a valuation to be agreed upon between him and a Government valuator, and in the event of the freeholder being dissatisfied with the Government valuation, he may appeal to a competent tribunal and his position shall be tho same as if the land had been taken by the State under the P.iblic Works Act, excepting that no percentage abovo that decided by the Court as being the real value of the land, .shall be paid foi it. (10.) When freeholder sell to the State they shall have the right to return their land on perpetual lease, if the area \% not too huge, at a rental of 5 per cent, per annum on the price paid for the land, subject to revaluation every fourteen years. (11.) In estimating the value of private property offered fur « il« to the State, the valuer hhall Lake .is a basis for his valuation tho power of the land for reproductive purpnspx, and in no case .shall the -peculatm' value of land be considered in determining its value. (12.) Outßiiin" CV iwn tenants ahall be entitled to compensation foi' all permanent improvements which have been made at their own cost on their holdings during occupation. (13.) Tenant*, shall beheld responsible for duly maintaining the lands and improvements in proper order, and the Governirfent ranger shall have the right to enter upon any government leasehold lands on duly authorised dates for the purpose of inspection.

(U ) In the event of the ranger being of opinion, after inspection, that a tenant ih causing serious depreciation in the value of his leasehold through culpable negligence, or that the improvements are being allowed to fall into disrepair, he (tho ranger) shall call upon the tenant to immediately place the land or the improvements in proper order, and should tho occupier dispute the justness of the ranger's demands, it shall bo the duty of the ranger to summon the tenant before the nearest resident magistrate, whose decision shall be final. „. (13.) In the event of a tenant failing to comply in accordance with the decision of the re-idont magistrate, it shall bo the duty of the ranger to again summon the said tenant before the nearest resident magUtrate to show cause why his lease should not be cancelled. Mr Park is an evident as well as a professed admirer of Mr Henry George, though lie admits that compulsory nationalisation of the land of this colony is not possible. He thinks, however, that its resumption by the State could be effected gradually, and with the full concurrence of the people, who would not be long in perceiving the advantages of the scheme he advocates over the freehold system. We are bound to say that the plan appears to be feasible. With the general principle of land nationalisation we have little sympathy, but, whatever its tendencies, 'Mr Park's plan offers a means whereby industrious men might make a comfortable living, and provide a home for their children after them. To merely place people on unimproved land without assisting them pecuniarily is useless, in many cases it would be cruel. Touching the case of those least fitted for colonial life, to which reference is made above, Mr Park sa y S : __« Jt may be asked — How will this system of land settlement affect the unemployed, many of whom are totally unfit for pioneer settlers ? My answer is that a fair proportion of them at least would settle on the land under the altered conditions ; but there are thousands of good and suitable men, now in steady employment, who would gladly exchange their present situations for the free and independent life on land which for all practical purposes may be called their own, and the vacancies caused by their leaving the town for country life would be open for those unemployed who are not fitted for pastoral pursuits." We cordially recommend Mr Parks little pamphlet to the attentive perusal of our readers. The banks in Waikato will be closed on St. Andrew's Day, 30th mst. The Piako County Council will meet at 11 a.m. to-morrow at Cambridge. The annual meeting will be held at noon the same day.

At the evening service at 8. John's, Te Awamutu, on Sunday, His Lordship Bishop Oowie presented a lay reader's license to Mr Sorby, who has taken Dr. Blunden's place, as lay reader.

An extraordinary vacancy having occurred in the Cambridge Road Board, nominations of candidates to fill the same are to be sent in by the Ist December, and an election (if required) will take placo on the 11th December.

We have to acknowledge the receipt of a pamphlet entitled " The Unemployed and the Remedy," by Gavin M. Park. The subject matter is referred to in our leading columns. The pamphlet may be obtained from the publisher, Mr Price, bookseller, Masterton. The cost is sixpence.

One of the railway employes named Sexton meet with a nasty accident yesterday morning whilst unloading railway sleepers at Hamilton. One of thft sleepers on the top of the pile suddenly fell, striking him on tho right fore-arm, slipping down on to the back of his hand, fractured one of the small bones.

The Thames correspondent of the Herald states :— " Mr H. T. Rowe, secretary of the Thames District; Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards, has wired to the Government, requesting the payment in full of the contribution due by the Pinko County up to April next, his action being founded upon a letter from the Premier to the Auckland Board."

Mr T. Vincent of the Hamilton Pottery, wishes us to state that any one desirous of testing clays in the Waikato can send them to him, or they can have the use of the kiln themselves, providing they supply thenecessaiy fuel. This is a very generous offer, and as Waikato is celebrated for its clay, those interested should not let this opportunity pa<-s.

Captain Sommerville, Wanganui, chairman of the New Zealand Rifle Association, has received a telegram from Captain Acheson, to the effect that the site for the next shooting meeting has been selected at Ahuriri, 21 miles from Christchurh, and one mile from Rabbit Island railway station. Lieutenant- Colonel Wales, of Dunedin, will be asked to take command of the encampment.

The usual monthly meeting of the Hamilton Cemeteries Trust was held at the Council Chambers last night. Only one tender was received for leasing the unused portion of the Hamilton l£.i"*t Cemetery, and it was resolved not to accept it. It was agreed to put up the lease for 14 ye.xrs of all the unused land, to be offered at the next sale but one. Several small accounts were passed for payment, and the meeting terminated.

Mr Herbert Logic, the much-re-spected officer in charge of the Post and Telegraph Offices at Hamilton, returned home on Saturday, after a well-earned month's holiday, spent in the North. Mr Greatbatch, who, during Mr Logic's absence, acted as postmaster, left yesterday, carrying with him the esteem and good wishes of all who have been brought in contact with him during his brief stay in Hamilton.

Mr Henry Reynolds has forwarded us a sample of the butter turned out at his factory at Pukekura, under the management of Mr Geinnnll. It is scarcely necessary to say that its quality is firstclass, and should command for it the top price in the market. We understand that Mr Reynolds has found a ready maiket for a large proportion of all the butter he is likely to make for some time to come.

Mr McCredie, a settler on the Lower Waipa, sustained a serious injury to his face yesterday at the sab yards at Ngaruawahia. Whilst holding an obstreperous bullock with a rope the animal suddenly charged him, and before Mr McCredie could clear himself it struck him on the right cheek with his horn, inflicting an ugly wound about two and a half-inches long. Mr McCredie rode up to Hamilton, where, in the absence of Dr. Murch, his wounds were dressed by Mr Sandes.

There was a good attendance at the practice of the Hamilton C.C. on Saturday, and a scratch match was indulged in. The club has been considerably strengthened by the return of Mr Yon Stunner to active membership, and by the accession of Mr Byng, late of Eton and Cambridge, whose hard hitting was the feature of the afternoon, Mr Yon Stunner made no less than four catches all requiring some running to get at. He also shaped well with bat and ball, considering that he has not handled either for nearly two year?.

An anniversary entertainment in connection with the Tauwhare day and Sun-day-Schools was held on Friday November the 10th in the School grounds. Athletic sports were held early in the afternoon, the various events bfiing eagerly contested. In the evening an excellent tan was partaken of, kindly provided by the ladios, after which an entertainment was given by the pupils under the leader-ship of the school master (Mr Clark), The Rev. G. O. Griffiths of Cambridge occupied the ch.vir, and gave an interesting opening addiess, after which a lengthy programme was gone

through in a very creditable manner. So,me of the elder pupils acquitted themselves remarkably well. The amusing f.irco, "' Box and Cox " was afterwards given by three <»f the local young men and caused groat merriment. Mr E. Norm took the part of "Box" very creditably, Mr Sam Drinkwater was almost perfect in his part, whilo Mr W. Oocboy, aa Mrs Bounce. 1 , took very well. The usual vote of thanks, to the ladies, the chairman, and Mr Clark, for having trained the children so successfully, being earned by acclamation, the hinging ot the National Anthem brought to a close a very enjoyable evening. A collection at the door in aid of the harmonium fund realised £2 Bs. —(A Coi respondent.)

An adjourned meeting of the Hamilton Domain Board was held last night. Piesent: Messrs Graham (chairman), Edgecumbe, Knox, Tijipen, Scott, Yon Stunner, Barton and Jones. A letter was read from the committee of the International Fete, applying for the use of Sydney Square on two days in Christmas week. The application was granted, 25 per cent, of the gate money to be retui ned to the board. — Mr ¥. Crawford wrote claiming 12s 3d, balance of account. Referred to the engineer to report. — Mr Knox moved that a finance committee be appointed, consisting of Messrs Tippen, Yon Stunner, Edgecumbe and the mover. Carried. A legal committe consisting of Messrs Edgecumbe, Yon Stunner and Scott was also appointed. —Mr Goodwin rendered an account for £57 7s Od, for fencing contract. The account was referred to the Fnance Committee, who recommended the payment of £30 on account, the balance not to be paid until the committee again met. Thif was all the business.

Mr Matthew Burnett, the renowned temperance advocate, paid Ohaupo a visit on Thursday, the 18th instant, and, considering the short notice a large number gathered at the school to hear him deliver one of his lectures on " Pictures from real life." The Rev. Mr Hutson was voted to the chair, and the meeting commenced With singing " Work, for the night is coming.'" The Key. Mr liishworth then em?ag£d in prayer, and after a few words from the chairman and the singing of another hymn, Mr Burnett commenced by giving the meeting a choice of subjects, and it was ! decided unanimously to 'have " Honest John and a New Zealand picture."' He then drew the picture of " Honest John," tracing his career from the time he fir»t met him, at a meeting in Victoria, one Sunday afternoon, a poor drunkard, heavily in debt through gambling, cards, and billiards, till the last time he saw him, standing on the pier, waving a good-bye with his handkerchief as long as the steamer was in sight. It was a natural picture, and as he described how he paid off all his debts, prospered in business, gave one day out of the six working days to seeking out and trying to save the drunkard, getting a thousand to sign the pledge, the natural became a marvellous picture. The other picture was equally interesting. A few availed themselves of the invitation, to come forward and sign the pledge dining the singing of some moie hymns from Sankey's collection, and the meeting terminated with votes of thanks and tho Benediction. Another invitation having been given to any who wished to stay behind aud sign, the meeting went through the form of dispersing. Some left the school and then came back again and signed the pledge ; some went direct to the table and signed, and then went outside to get someone eNe to come and sign. When the meeting fairly broke up it was found that 28 had signed the pledge and donned the bit of blue. The , meeting was • a complete success in every way, and will be remembered for a long tinie by many who had the pleasure of being present. — (A Correspondent.)

The Government have received from the Secretary of State for the Colonies tke regulations under which commissions in the British army may be obtained by officers of the colonial military force". The candidate will require to have served at least fifteen months as an officer in the local military force of the colony, from which he is nominated, and must have attended two annual trainings, or have seen active service. A field candidate rau»t be within the ages of 19 and 22 on the Ist of January of the year in which ho us allowed to present himself for evamination. The intending candidate will be required to undergo inspection by a medical board, and will not be allowed to proceed with his examinations, unless he is physically qualified for com missions in the army. Th? regulations go on to derail tho examinations for which the candidate must qualify. Until further notice two Army Commissions will be allotted to each of the undermentioned colonies annually viz., New South Wales, South Australia, Victoiia, Queensland, New Zealand, and Cape of Good Hope. Candidates' papers, after being completed, will be returned to the Director-General of Military Education, in the War Office, London, for adjudication. The Governor in the colonies is to notify the War Office of the number of qualified candidates, and in event of the number exceeding the number of commissions, selections will be decided by competition in military examination.