DUNEDIN.

Dunstan Times, Issue 702, 1 October 1875, Page 3

DUNEDIN.

(FROM oca CORKESPONPENT,) ' September 29, 1875. The Ringarooma with the English mail arrived at the Bluff, making the, quickest passage on record, 92 hours. The news is not of a very startling character, the most important you had by telegram. The great event of the week has been the advent of the Auckland Football Team, who came down to play the Dunedin Club. They had previously been to Wellington and managed to get a good licking. On their arrival th'y very cheekily paraded the town, displaying their colors. Tho match was played on the Cricket Ground, according to tho Rugby rules. The Aucklanders broke tho ice by scoring half a point, but did not succeed in again making a score. Tho Dunedin men managed to score nine and a half points. Tho two Clubs lunched together at the Imperial Hotel, and left in the Taupo for Christchurch. There they have again suffered a defeat even worse than here by not getting a score at all. The Star devotes a leader anent the Gold Duty, a subject evidently not understood by the writer, who talks in a very labored manner to convince that the tax is not an unjust one, and does not press as a special tax ou the miner, but is a just charge for the destruction of land they occupy. Such twaddle is unmitigated flap doodle to gull those who do not understand the matter. The miners might not grumble if a tax was put on tho export of wool aud other produce, then they might bo on an equal footing with other producers. The Star thinks one pound a year a mere trifle for a miner to pay fur the privilege of occupying a paltry acre of the waste land of the Crown, The squatter only pays about two ponre an acre, and yet the product of the miner is taxed two .and a bah per cent on the export of his produce, and the squatter goes scot free. This is highly equitable in the eyes of the Star. There are now two bills before the House, one for a reduction, and the other for the abolition of the duty. Sir George Grey goes in for abolition, and the irrepressible Shepherd has foretailed him by getting his bill for reduction on the notice paper first; but I suppose through the disunion of goldfields members neither will pass. Your Waterworks Bill has passed the third reading, but will, no doubt, get a severe hauling over in the Council by the great Moontahero, from South Australia, who generally runs a muck at all borrowing bills, especially municipality ones. Mi Stout’s amendment in the Municipality Act is likely, to a- certain extent reverse the order of things in Mayoral j elections : tho lopphig off of the iniquitous ; plurality of votes, whereby so many mayors j have been elected by a majority, got by j votes of paltry unoccupied sections, is con- j sidered a step in the right direction. And it is to be hoped that the proposal to give a 1 plurality of votes under the new. Road • Boards may also be eliminated when the Bill comes before the House ; if not, better have Piovincial Councils with all their j evils than a multiplicity- of pettifogging I cliques, which would bjS the result if j plurality of votes are made the basis of j their constitution. , . Immigrants are pouring in, and the general remark is “ what are the poor souls to do.” Trade is dull here. Great complaints are being made. Men shrug their shoulders and say that there is a crash coming, others that this is a dull season ; but there cannot be a doubt that traders have quite enough to do to hold their own against the heavy, and, to a certain extent, fictitious rents, which are being paid, and dull trade. It is evident that land must be had for the people to settle on. as the present state of things cannot last. The towns cannot live on themselves, but must have the country settled with a thriving population from which reciprocal support will ho obtained. It is high time that there arose in this country a convention, similar on principle to the Victorian one. At the coining election tho battle will have to he fought ; the circumstancps are similar. The people want land to settle on, and the pastoral tenants will leave no stone unturned to obtain a renewal of their leases. We have seen what was done by those able and disinterested men, headed by the late lamented Judge Grey. There is no time to be lost. A lesgue ought to be organ : sed at once, that, instead of the people being a lot of isolated atoms, they shmilH, by combination, become such a power in the state ; that their influence shall be such that tboir just demands be acceded to, that we may have houses for tho thousands who are being induced to flock to oar adopted land. The Waste Land Board at its last sitting refused to recommend a refund to a Mr Walker. The circumstances are that the surveyor, who had had no experience as an auctioneer, put up some sections at about eighty per cent, above tbs up-set price, as fixed by law. The mistake was pointed out to him but without effect, and Mr Walker purchased under protest; yet, the Waste Land Board wdio appear not to quite understand justice, admit an injustice has been done, bnt refuse to make amends, and advise that application bo male to the Government, alleging that the applicant would be more likely to get the refund if they did not recommend it. Surely this is a nice state of things, and must be highly satisfactory to the country.