IN OTHER CENTRES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 156, 26 March 1908, Page 8

IN OTHER CENTRES.

(by telegram—special correspondents.)

AUCKLAND. March 25. Scod for Settlers, A good deal of- misconception seems still to oxist in the country districts regarding tho Government assistance towards purchase of seed following on the recent'bush fires. Inquiries made at the Auckland Crown Lands Office ■ respecting complaints from Kawhia went to show- that very few applications for seed have been refused,' but, of course, it lias, been necessary to make full inquiries, and .it has been' only since March 8 that the Commissioner for 'Crown' Lands has been able to get to wort on the matter, that being the date of'his . return- from; Kawhia. The settlor requiring grass seed first requires to fill, in an application; form,and, that being satisfactory,. tho order is at onco transmitted to the seed merchant named by the applicant; Tho merchant 'then' forward the invoice, together" with a promissory noto form, to the settler, and'upon, of tho promissory note signed tho seed is dispatched. There' has" undoubtedly been delay over the process of getting in the applications in'declaration -form, - but this form was necessary to .ensure' that the applicants v/ero . persons Xinabld to provide' seed for themselves. Again; delay'has taken place' on the settlers' side in returning the signed promissory notes, and same settlers seeni to imagine that they ;can be supplied with seed for burns resulting from, ordinary bushfoiling operations, and also for burned fern land, while, applications have', been received for seed for areas where formerly flax and. swamp reeds were growing! and .where' there novel - was a blade of sown'grass. "The. help offered is really only to.'replace grass areas destroyed'by tho firos on holdings possessed by people who ' have; '.thus . been left unable to help themselves. ' application in declaration, form has also been necessary for several other ' reasons! ' ./For '/instance,' seed orders have ..been cancelled sjmply because, notwithstanding that ari. : order was sent almost 'simultaneously,; .tho-pettier had; prior- to asking for State aid, ordered his' seed elsowhere, and in some vague way expected tho one order to' starid against the other, although placed with entirely ; different people. Howevor,; persons who hiavo even bought seed are being helped if it is' thought they need assistance; ': Another, point is that the. staff of- the Lands- and Office have had an." extraordinarily busy time, lately, having- had to handlo one of the heaviest land ballots that has, been held for years," and being engaged in. tho throwing open of all the lands to be mado available under the new .Land. Act. Two or three; officers of. tho ' Department havo been closely employed for the last i ten days supervising seed selection and weighing ,at tho seed merchants' shops,, and the. steamer leaving- for Raglan and/Kawhia to-morrow will take • a large quantity; of-' Government orders of seed, provided.'..the-necessary conditions havo been complied with. ■ Whilo. any delay that has taken .piacd'/in- Auckland 1®- regretted, tho officers of , the Department are doing their best to cope with tho work with, the utmost dispatch, and, - provided,; the settlers facilitate matters as-much as possible at; their end, . there should now. be no delay whatever. It is also, pointed out that settlers have, not lost tho chance of re-sowing at all, as March .is the- ordinary, burning month m Auckland,--and 'grass-seed sowing' generally takes. place jn April;: : .

An Extra Horse Wantea.' . ' An amusing appeal .for an extra horse was received from the Curator of the Tapapa Hatcheries at the meeting of the Council of the Auckland Acclimatisation Society yesterday afternoon. After pointing out all the pros arid cons of the situation, the v writer furnished the following description, of- the animal required. "What W want is a thoroughly reliable horse, with, plenty of constitution; .a .low-set, active draught one, with # plenty' 'of "substance :'Y can •'work easily, and is easily kept in condition. A gelding is better than a iuare, <aud,' thef§ is not; much wear and tear about a washy-coloured one or ono with a whito face and a lot'of white legs. I don't believe in them, and hate to see them about. A kindly-tempered horso is .wortn a lot. Some that are; all Tight if they are kept at hard work every day get very .nasty if they hare a slack time and are making a start on a cold, wet morning. -Thisclass of horse is scarce, but can occasionally be picked up for about £12 or £15, after some of the bloom has been taken offthom." "One of the Createst Evils." .Mr.-Kettle, S.M., made.some severo strictures at'the Police Court-yesterday as to tho practice of men taking money from women on the racecourscs and' investing it on tho.totalisator. It was one of tho'greatest evils of, tho country, ha said, and was doing more to foster gambling than the public wore awaro of. Ho would always raise, his vc\ice against the practice, ; and' would' .like to draw the. attention of tho public to the fact that it'-was an .offenoc >against' 'the ■gambliiig laws of the, country, .to accept money from another'person and invest it,'on the totalisatb'r. ' I .

dunedin;

'■ March 25. Tho DuriedirJ tramways are paying. It will'be found, I • understand, -when' tho tramways' manager presents ;liis. reportj that the profit for tho past year conies' to £5500. " Mr. J. Allen, M.P., reached Duncdin.'yesterday, after a trip to Colombo, to ; meet his son, wild- was taken ill whilst studying at Cambridge. Tho young man has benefited somewhat.by tho .voyage.' .. Tho Union Company has . purchased the Dartford, which has lain at Sydney for some time. The Dartford is.an iron ship of 1327 tons, and was built at Sunderland in 188?' by Mouiisey and Foster. Her principal dimensions, are: Length, 221 ft. Sih/j: breadth,. 36ft.':' depth, 21ft. 9in; . . . .

Mr. C. C. Graham, Official Assignee, who retires ,on May 1, on three, months', full pay, aftor.t'went.y-fivc years' service,-began-his .official duties in 1882. ,Ho bas.ibecn 'a. Stipoiir diary Magistrate for. twenty "years,, and 'has held the position of Coroner for a'period of six years. ..." ' .. ... \.

HASTINGS

March 25. ■ \ The Town Clerk has received' a letter from the Colonial Secretary • stating,.-. that the Govornor has granted the petition of John Bowson and others,, praying for the severance .from the borough' of -an aroa inthe north-east portion of Hastings. :, Tho Ikaroa Native Land. Board opened its sittings to-day in the Court-houso. Tho Boara consists .of Mr. P. Sheridan • (president), Judge. Johnson, and Ihiiia Hutana (assessor). Several leases were dealt with and .confirmed, including one from tho Natives to ]?. D. Luckio, 59,839 acres, Owliaoko, Do, sections: 2,'3, and 4, for 21 years, and 1)7 for 30 years. "