FIFTY YEARS AGO

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 68, 21 March 1931, Page 17

FIFTY YEARS AGO

ITEMS EROM «> THE POST "

SALE OF QUEEN'S WHARF

" "It is to be much regretted,that the negotiations between the City: Council and the Harbour Board, regarding'the • proposed transfer.of the.Queen's Wharf j from the. former to the1 latter . body, should have been so far resultless," I comments "The.Post"' of "i9th. March, - 1881. ' 'Both parties cordially agree as to the extreme desirableness of undivided authority in the harbour management, but the-difficulty is to agree as to the pecuniary equivalent* of the / property to be transferred. The sum of. money which the buyer deems liberal to excess—almost unjustifiably large— 'the'-seller" declares to be less by £6000 than the lowest price which can.be accepted for the property, even if it be sold" at the most alarming sacrifice. The Harbour Board offer £25,000; and -the City Council demand-£31,000, theso being the respective net amounts after deducting from £64,000. and £70,000 the cost of the: property—-£39,000, about which, there is no dispute." ( J ':\ .' Pour days, later "The Post" announced a settlement, "The City Council "are much to be commended for • . the decision ait which/ they have 'ar- ■' rived' to accept the Harbour Boards-off-er to purchase thh Queen's Wharf, e>., for £04,000. It is, as we show_ed a day or-two ago, greatly to the interests of the Wellington citizens that the. board should acquire the wharf on the liberal terms offered, esepcially as the council has po legal right to make a: penny of profit out of the wharf, and, therefore, /really possessed, strict- . ly. speaking, no goodwill at all, although „ offered £25,000 for any that might;possibly exist." It is cieditablo to tli c good sense of the council that they did not'stick out unduly for tho . extra £6000 they at first asked for the property.. As it is, they have obtained an excellent price, have* obtained relief from their liability on account of the; Wharf Loan; and £25,000 to the good. • The whole arrangement appears a very satisfactory one, and councillors who voted for it deserve the hearty thanks of the Wellington citizens for tfieir judicious action in the matter." - •.-..- ..- ■ . ; /■■"•; : V.-. . A TALL ORDER. '■'•;:'■■; ) "One of the Maori?chiefs who sjoke .at.;..the :T6\ore Ore meeting was rather severe onthe 'prophet' Paul (aMaori .who claimed miraculous powers and . ■who;had -hoisted a mysterious flag). Paul had not done, very much to lay claim to his title, and the chief ■ thought that he might as well-publicly hint at this. ■ Bising to his feet, he informed Paul that he had not come from Napier to see a'mystic flag floating overhead, .but-had come under the impression that - the .self-styled prophet; was to demonstrate beyond a doubt that he possessed , prophetic inspiration. If Paul, continued the chief, would V take a live Bheep, cut it in two, stick it together <again, turn.it adrift in.a, paddock, and wake it eat grass, he (the speaker) .•would then believe in Paul's power, [but not till then. ' Paul didn t attempt tto do anything of the kind." ' , _.Further, reference to this big meeting of Maoris- shows the wiles of the Native.; "'Many Maoris expressed their determination, to go home as they had had. enough of the meeting. Those .wesirous of remaining some time>longer "ion. the festive scene tried to persuade their less contented brethren to remain ia," little, longer by referring to last S^ar^accident on the Bimutaka railav/an4 giving currency, to a report .that a similar accident had again'happened. This had not1 the desired effect, however, and a number of Natives jnade for the railway station." ,--'■ ' TELEPHONES A > NOVELTY. '."There has been opened within the' past few days two. telephone stations ■within the Provincial District of NelBon to connect with the telegraph system at Motueka—one at Takaka: and the other at Collingwcipd, the circuit .extending over fifty miles. This attempt, inade-,to supersede the ordinary Morse system by; the use of the telephone, /has, we,are informed, proved a great success. The telephone system has • a}so been adopted as a means of eomr ; munication between Kaitangata and Catlin's Biver, and between the latter place, and the Nuggets Lighthouse. The yarious Government buildings in this lexty are connected.with tfce telephone, as also are the Wellington Pilot and Signal Stations. It is not improbable that before/long the telephone will come into very' general' use for small stations, aB it requires no skill to work, End is as cheap as it is effective." OLD HORSE TRAMS. "About thirty men were engaged at fthe-cprner of Cuba and Manners street last night in. raising the level of the jtramway, with a view to its junction with the Courtenay place extension. JFrams will probably be running over , the new line in a few days' time. The '.' new service will,be worked by <horsepower, a number of norses having • been • brought down from the Wairarapa toidayfor that purpose. Trams, will start from Courtenay place to Government Buildings, and vice-versa every twenty, minutes, which, alternating with tho present service, will have the effect of giving a service every ten.minutes between Government Buildings and Cuba "street." . .; . - ■ ..V .'. , VIEWS ON RAILWAYS. ' "Mr. S. Swarbrick, for thirty years igeneral manager of the.Great Eastern Bailway, is at present in New Zealand, . being-at present engaged with his , two (daughters in a tour round the world, ph. being interviewed on the subject iof• New Zealand railways, ~he expressed an opinion that a lack of", energy exists, and that our Government do not study, their owninterests-'sufuciently by more attention to the inters jests of the travelling public. He considers that the authorities should work jthe railways—say, for a period of three jpears—on a clearance of, expenses only, : and devote the residue to the benefit of itheir customers; and that greater trayelliiig facilities, with a reduction of the" tariff, would quickly enhance their ■■funds."' •■ ■ __ :. •■••■ -.-• ' :■■;■ :;-.-;.:V; 7 QUITE MAD.; A' ' 'lucubration difficult to v; underktand" was received and published by »'The Post." It came^rom a ','pro--1 phet" who had been tarred and feathered at Waipawa, and read as follows: "For I am born as among a brood of chicks, among which appeared . a young duck, an egg of that nature having been placed secretly by the Lord Jbecause* He promised to send the longpromised duck, and it was hatched; and because it differed in nature to the test, and crossed water to others.of its ' nature, and went to places unknown to others, where they could not get, and because its voice went quack! quack! alone, while its fellows went chick! they all suspected it was mad. But neither its mother nor its.1 brethren cpuld stop it from quacking or 'change its nature. It died, and when it was revealed that it was the promised duuk, many wondered what it had done to merit the title; but the Lord said everyone has a right to the title of their nature. It crossed the water and followed the course of its own nature, and I have another feathered- bird. Watch for the coming of the gander." '■'"-It seems to us," remarks "The Post," "that that bird is not very far . frff;"'. ."■: -:. ■.■■•■■"'-:■ ■' ~ , ,

Dr. Klein, assistant secretary to the Detaartment of Commerce, . announced in a broadcast that the national income of the, United' States in 1929 was £18,000,000,000.