LEASES AND SPECULATORS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 235, 1 October 1912, Page 4

LEASES AND SPECULATORS.

One of tbe special features of Mr. Massey's Land Bill is supposed to be a clause that will check speculation in connection with the allotment of Crown lands. As we have frequently remarked, the ballot system is distinctly inequitable and unsatisfactory, and we would welcome any change that would get rid of its worst defects. At the same time the evils incidental to the present system are not limited to tho ballot, and we hope that something effectual can lie done to cope with the tendency toward speculation that Mr. Massey has deplored. A? the "Dunedin Star" said recently, "there has been a growing feeling in thoughtful circles that the land of the Dominion is coming to be regarded too much as a counter in the game of chance, as something that may be reproductive by reason of rising market values, rather than as something that should be made reproductive, in the truest sense, by hard work and scientific farming." This is certainly a serious matter, for it means the systematic obstruction of genuine settlement by people who have no capacity for farming, and no desire to engags in it, but who simply hope to profit by the good fortune that luck may throw in their way. Evidence of the prevalence of this sort of thing can be •found everywhere in the Departmental records—notably in the reports of the Commissioners of Crown Lands in the various districts. A recent Auckland report says: "In many cases forfeiture is effected at the selector's own request, a fruitful source of this being the selection of Crown lands without prior personal inspection. Afterwards, when the selector goes to inspect hi 3 newlyacquired property, he finds that it does not come up to his expectations, or is not the class of land he anticipated, or the locality or difficulties of transport promise to make the task of breaking-in a new area mor© arduous than he is prepared to undertake, and he applies to be relieved of an ill-chosen bargain. It cannot be too often emphasised that the practice of selecting lands without previous inspection is an extremely inadvisable one." The Canterbury Commissioner reports in similar terms:—"The total number of holdings forfeited and surrendered during the year was 20 comprising an area of 7,766 acre 6. Fifteen of these were renewable-lease holdings in the land-for-settlements blocks opened during the last two years. It is found that occasionally people apply for these lands without, previous inspection, and after seeing the section on its being allotted to them, prefer to surrender than occupy." And from Taranaki we hear the sarnie compjaint in regard to the numerous ■forfeitures and surrenders recorded by tbe Commissioners for the year:— "These took place amongst the more recent selections, and unless aH applicants for land are subjected to a personal examination as to ■their fitness and financial resources it is likely that a certain proportion of them will be found unsuitable, belonging to the class who select land in ignorance of the work required to bring it into profit, and more as a venture." All this seems, as we have said, systematic speculation m CTOwn leases, and it strengthens our conviction that it would be in the public interest to 6weep away the ballot system altogether, so that if there is any'profit to be secured by the sale of leasehold rights, it may go to the whole community, and not to private individuals

The following is Mr D. C. Bates' weather forecast for 24 hours from 9 ajn. this day: "There are indications for westerly winds, strong to gals. Tho weather will probably prove squally and changeable. Barometer unsteady. Seas and tides moderate." The residents of Remuera are somewhat concerned about the disposal l , of the district sewage, which, it is stated, gets no further than the jvaterfront, and is likely to cause disease. At last nighfs meeting of the Ratepayers' Association it was resolved that the Road Board should be asked to deposit the sewage in the creek, erect a retaining wall, as specified in the Act, and deepen the mouth or the creek so as to provide a good scour. ln this way, it is considered that the drainage will be carried out to sea, and that there will be no risk to health until the system is linked up with the main scheme at Orakei. " Auckland city is richer in endowments than any city of its size in Australasia," said Mr. C. J. Parr at a meeting at Remuera last evening. " Our endowment are put down at |a value of £600,000, but I regard them as being worth nearer a million. For instance the city owns a valuable block of land in the market area near the Town Hall. It is valued at £270 per foot. Last week a block immediately opposite sold for over £400 per foot. In my opinion the market area is on the better side of the road, and should be worth £100 per foot more. That shows you that the city does not over-estimate the value of its endowments. For Remuera to join the city would be a good business proposition, for the district would not pay anything to come in, and would, under the deed oi partnership, get a slice of this heritage." The report of Mr John Rogers, AJkLLC.E., giving estimates for reformation of all roads in the Parnell Borough at a total cost of .£76,500, came before the Parnell Borough Council last evening. The Mayor (Mr R. S. Briggs) stated that at a special meeting had been called to consider the report, but unfortunately a quorum was not obtainable. Those councillors who were present, however, went carefully through the document. It was decided that the report be adopted, and duly advertised in the daily Press, preparatory to the taking of a poll. Mention was also made of the desirability of holding a public meeting with the object of placing the matter before the ratepayers. A signpost indicating the name of a certain street was the subject of half an hour's discussion by the Parnell Borough Council last evening. This weighty matter had come up twice before, by reason of certain correspondence from an indignant ratepayer who objected to the erection of the post at the corner of his garden fence, considering that it spoilt the picturesque appearance of his home. This gentleman had offered to have the post taken up and removed to the Council's yard at his own expense if that body would place the street sign anywhere except near his boundary. It was stated, moreover, that the wife of the aforesaid ratepayer had spoken very emphatically to one of the Council's officers, threatening to use the post for an exhibition of axemanship if it were not removed. In the discussion of a motion that the request be acceded to, one councillor observed that ho, h0 viewed the post and found it not at all an eyesore; it was neatly] "chamfered at the corners," and there were no skeletons hanging from it. ( Much laughter.) Several dtb"_r speakers considered that all name pfates should be put up alike, either on posts or nailed on to buildings. The motion was eventually declared carried, but a standing order was found to stand in the way, and the matter was accordingly hung up for another fortnight. It may be added that a motion adopting the engineer's report and estimates for the £76 000 road extension scheme, and deciding to advertise the same, was Carried immediately afterwards without discussion. Mr. Pearson, who was so dreadfully nnrt in the motor accident at Waituna still lies in the Palmerston Hospital in a bad way. He has been delirious, but With one lucid interval. That was when the bandages were removed from his eyes and he found he could sec. His face was driven completely in by the collision, his nose being driven under his skull One eye was destroyed, and the other ruptured. The latter has been put together and stitched, and there is some hope of the sight being restored. Tlie great danger is the injury to the base of the skull. It is remarkable that so dreadfully injured a man should have survived so long, but all that surgical and nujsir>° skill and devotion can do for him is being done, and the fact that he has lived and still hves is the ground for the hope of ultimate recovery. When addressing the ratepayers at Remuera last night, the Mayor o*f Auckland (Mr. (.'. J. Parr) was asked what the position was in regard to Orakei. •The Mayor replied that "he could not speak as freely as he would like, since the City Council's Bill was still before a Parliamentary Committee. He was afraid however, that there was some trouble ahead. They were aware that as soon as the City Council announced its scheme for acquiring Orakei for the purposes or a model suburb, syndicates got to work, and one Southern speculator operated freely. The bill now before Parliament was being opposed strongly in certain quarters, and he regretted to say that the member for the district appeared to be amongst tho opponents. He was still hopeful, however, and he trusted that i this fine area would not fall into _c' hands of private speculators, to be squeezed to the last shilling. A resolution was unanimously carried, calling upon the Remuera Road Board, and the member for the district to support the City Council in getting its bill through Parliament. A Wellingtonian who has just returned from a tour of the world was much struck with the systematic way in which the Americans carry out the beautifying of their towns and cities. Almost everywhere he went he saw street after street with trees on either side,' and the effect was most pleasing. In Chicago he went for a motor drive, aad for fifty-two miles never left the boulevards and parks. During his visit to Detroit he went over the works of the Ford Motor Co_ which are capable of turning out 600 cars every day. The factory seemed to him to cover acres. The New Zealander has come back with a good word for the Americans. He found them hospitable and obliging, and only too willing to show viators anything which they thought would interest them. In an article published yesterday regarding the desirability of a game iarm, Mr J. E. Elliott was inadvertently referred to as chairman of the Hobson County Council, whereas he is chairman of the Hobson Acclimatisation Council. The work of raying the tram extension from the present Greenlane terminus to Mountain Road, Remuera, was commenced yesterday. The distance ia about 20 chains, and will complete tho penny section from Victoria Avenue. The contract is to b* finished in three w«eks

A phase of the rubbish removal system was before the Grey Lynn Borough Council at its meeting last night, when a letter was read from Mr Wyllie (city electrical engineer) forwarding the following ruling: "That trade refuse of a non-combustible nature such as tin, iron, etc, be carted by the owner and deposited on the tip set apart for that purpose by the Council." The Mayor (Mr G. Baildon) remarked this wae the outcome of having a twopenny-half-penny destructor, that would hardly burn the label oil a jam tin. It would be an expensive job to sort the tins out of the house rubbish. On his motion the matter was referred to the Finance and Legal Committee. The renaming of roada is spreading from Mount Eden to the adjacent boroughs. The Epsom Road Board, at its last meeting, set up a committee to inquire into the matter, and the Mount Albert j Borough Council were last night sub-1 jected to a petition asking that the name of Balmoral Road be continued in thiir ■borough, and also that the name of Kingsland Road be changed to Edendale Road. I Several sound arguments were brought forward in support of the petition. A number of residents, however, submitted a counter petition, the basis of which was the similarity of the names Edendale and Edenvale. The Council decided to consider the petitions in committee, and report at the next general meeting. The Mount Albert Borough Council last night received a petition from a number of residents urging that the Council takfi steps to prevent the practice of youths firing pea-rifles and shotguns in paddocks. The accompanying letter stated that the wife of one of the petitioners had narrow-1 >y escaped being shot by a stray bullet' recently. Several councillors testified to the frequency and danger of the practice, i and it was decided to forward the petition to the police. »Ki hOSe Who attend< *l the meeting of the Bible-in-Schools League last evening had occasion to realise that religious disputants, like compeers of the law of politics, are able with facility to emerge gracefully from the smoke of wordy warfare to a state of renewed harmony. A controversy was recently waged between the Anglican Bishop of Auckland (the Kt. Rev. Dr. Crossley) and a leader of Presbyterian thought (the Rev. Isaac Jolly, M.A.), on the subject of "After Death.Consequently it was reassuring to observe the twain seated together on the platform and engaged occasionally in fraternal conversation. It was further pleasing to note the gracious manner in which hia lordship, as chairman, introduced the Rev. Mr. Jolly, when the latter's turn came to speak. " Our names have been associated in other matters," artfully commented the Bishop, and his smile prompted a ripple of laughter throughout the building. It had no sooner subsided, however, than the giant of the Presbyterian faith rose with the manifest intention of accepting the olive branch, and, with a smiling bow, he commenced as follows:—"Bishop Cleary"— That was all for the time being because the outburst of laughter was such as to drown further attempt at speaking. The idea of the Anglican Bishop being addressed by the name of the Romas Catholil Bishop at such a critical juncture was too much for the risibilities of the audience, especially as certain published opinions of the latter had been the subject of a criticism during the evening. Excellent results are being obtained by the wireless station on the Tinakori Hills near Wellington, in the series of tests aow being carried opt preparatory to opening for commercial operations. The principle applied has been to endeavour I to secure communication in every possible direction, in order to find out whether there ia any screening action, as has been noticed at some stations. So far the experiments have been entirely successful all round, and the operators have received general congratulations on the strength and clearness of the signals sent out. It is not intended to use the station for long-distance work beyond its regular commercial range, and there is no idea, either at Wellington or at the much more powerful station at Kaitai, North Auckland, of attempting to maintain constant commercial communication with Australia. Receivers of telegrams will notice that ' from to-day the form of the messages is new. The old form, though a great im- , provement on the still older style of an envelope, with an enclosure, was very unhandy compared to the new. The ■ main object of the new form is quickness. • It was necessitated by the invention of a folding machine by Mr. L. G. James, manager in Wellington, for the wellkni wn engineering firm of Niven and Co., Napier. By simply turning a handle, the forms are folded and gummed, and when they leave the machine they only require stamping before being ready for delivery. The saving in time is considerable as compared with the hand-folding of the old forms. The telegrams are simply fed into the machine, much after the manner of a printing press, and an ingenious arrangement of wheels, cams and springe effects the folding, by which the gummed edges aie brought into position. Business people will be pleased to know that the new forms are much narrower than the old, and will consequently fit nicely into the usual standard-sized office file. The width of the old form was always a nuisance to firms who file their messages nway for reference. The new form, though absolutely secret, is much more easy to open than the old form with its adhesive stamp joining up the interlocked ends. The machine is capable of turning out about fifteen telegrams a minute, and can do about twenty-five a minute with one boy feeding and another turning the handle. The machines are in use in Wellington, Ohristehurch and Auckland. A youth was arrested at Porangahau, Hawke's Bay, charged with the theft of jewellery. Found in his possession were a revolver and several cartridges. The cartridges, instead of the usual powder and lead, contained a chemical mixture, which, when exploded in a room, would have the effect of lulling the occupants into a deep sleep. Amongst the lad's belongings were several articles of jewellery. He is supposed to have landed in Auckland about six weeks ago from Sydney and worked his passage to Porangahau. Compulsory pilotage started this morning m the port of Auckland, and the N.Z. Shipping Company's Kaipara was the first vessel to leeve under the charge of a pilot, in accordance with the by-law which came into force on the let of October. The steamer Southern, from New York, with a large cargo of case on, wae the first vessel to come in. Evidence of whit Pukekoho farmers can do in the way of fattening sheep was to be seen in o. butcher's establishment m Karangahapc Road this morning. Four carcases were hanging from the beam, all from the same farm. Tho respective weights were 1731b, 1601b, lo~!b and 155!b, The sheep were a cross between blackface and I.inrntn. Latest ,:,.,.....; ,;., . ai- h nUt>l ust re . ceived; new shjtpec and designs; newest season 8 colourings. Sco window display —Snath and Ckugbey, Ltd.—(Ad.) "