Hawke's Bay Herald. MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 1879.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5279, 13 January 1879, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 1879.

The address Mr Stout delivered to his constituents at JJunedin on IViday night was very different to that of the Premier at the Thames. It may not have been as long a speech — though on that point it is not easy to judge by the telegraphic summary — and possibly not nearly as eloquent, but there is an honest ring about it that renders it far more acceptable than all the well turned sentences of the Premier from which so little can be gathered that is really practical. Mr Stout tells us plainly that he has hobbies, and that he went into politics with the desire to see those hobbies carried out. He does not explain the nature of those hobbies— they are not, at any rate, explained in the telegraphic summary of his speech — but we can quice understand that they are in the direction of extreme Liberalism, and also that they will not be pushed forward unduly, nor be made the cause of political trouble. Mr Stout holds to the theory that the State ought never to part with the fee simple of the land — a theory with which we quite agree. Looking at the question in the abstract, it seems quite ridiculous that any man should have in perpetuity a section of the planet on which we are dwelling ; of course, he can only personally enjoy the possession of it during his life, but he has, according to our present system, the power of disposing of the land, and, in any case, it is lost to the State altogether. It may originally have been parted with by the State for a mere trifle, and its value increased a hundred or even a thousandfold without the owner having contributed much if anything to the enhancement. Mr Stout's theory amounts to this — that if the State had not parted with the fee simple, but had only leased the land for a term, it would come back at the termination of that term increased in value, and the State would have the advantage of the increase. No doubt it would be highly advantageous to the State if such a theory could be carried into practice, but it unfortunately happens that it is not easy to dispose of large tracts of land on a tenure terminable in a certain number of years, particularly in a new country, and as the necessities of the State demand that the land shall be turned into cash, Mr Stout's theory cannot be carried into practice. Still, however, he claims that the unearned increment — or in other words, that increase in value which is not due to anything the possessor has done — belongs to the State. The position Mr Stout takes, then, is this — The State I ought not to part with the fee simple because it ought to have the unearned increment ; but the State has parted with the fee simple, and yet it is entitled to the unearned increment, and therefore it was determined to impose a tax of one half-penny per acre on the value to sell. Here we note the conflict in a candid mind between its aspirations and that which it feels to be just and right. Mr Stout views with sorrow — as every true patriot must — this vast estate, which should be the people's for all time, passing into the hands of individuals for small sums ; he sees the possessions of these individuals becoming immensely more valuable day by day by expenditure for which the people are taxed, and he would fain convince himself that the State only parted with so much of the value of the land as it was worth when it was sold. But he fails in being convinced, for all he does is to impose a tax of one half-penny per acre on the value to tell. He makes no attempt to confiscate the " unearned increment ;" he merely taxes it. We have the highest opinion of Mr Stout, and the utmost faith in his integrity and honesty of purpose ; and therefore we regret that he justifies the land tax upon the ground of the State's right to repossess itself of that with which it has parted. It would have been sufficient, we should have thought, to have stated that there was a. burden to be imposed, and that it had been placed upon those who were deemed best able to bear it: Another of Mr Stout's hobbies, we gather, has reference to the Legislative Council. He fldoes not propose any change in the mode of appointing the members, but suggests that they should hold their seats for a fixed number of years instead of for life. This is a very moderate change indeed, and we should see nothing objectionable in it if we could be convinced that there is any necessity for a change at ; all. As we have said on previous occasions, it seems to us that the very cause of complaint against the Council which Mr Stout appears to have, proves that that Chamber admirably serves the purpose for which it was created. Of what real use would it be if it were to be utterly subservient to the Lower Chamber, and pass every measure just as the Ministerial majority in the House of Kepresentatives framed it 1 ? Mr Stout cannot say that the Council has been obstructive ; all he can urge is that it restored the Electoral Bill to the form in which it was introduced by Mr Stout himself. Surely Mr Stout should be the last to deem that to be a crime so great as to demand a remodelling of the constitution of the Council. It was merely an appeal from Stout to Stout — from Mr Stout at the termination of the session to Mr Stout at its commencement. One more of Mr Stout's hobbies is the question of electing our Governor, but we reserve comment on that point and others in the Attorney-GfeneraVs speech until our next issue^

We hear from Wai^x'ifeuiAtt that for the last few days there has been a hunt after a man, supposed to be insane, who is said to be reaming about the ranges in the Yieinity of that township, in a state o£ entire nudity. The natives had been sttccessful in seizing the mail) and had tied him down, but he contrived to release himself, and having by some means obtained possession of a gun, he betook himself to the ranges again. Constable Murphy and some shepherds are in pursuit of the poor demented fellow, but up to last Saturday evening they had not , succeeded in capturing him. Mr Hoskins and Miss Florence Oolville | made their third appearance at the Theatre Royal on Saturday evening. " Naval Engagements " and " The Handsome Husband" were the pieces performed. In the first Mr Hoskins represented Lieutenant Kingston, R.N., with a dash and vivacity well suited to the character. The Admiral Kingston of Mr Oily Deering was also a capital performance. Miss Florence Oolville was charming, as she always is, as Miss Mortimer, who is engaged to the old Admiral but eventually marries his son the Lieut enantj exchanging with Mr 3 Pontifex ,(Miss Lizzie Laurence) the " widow of over 40 years,", who. engaged to the Lieutenant eventually marries the Admiral. The scene when the exchange takes place was admirably played and. quite brought down the house. Miss Lizzie Laurence, who is making herself quite a favorite in Napier, gave an excellent delineation of the widow. " The Handsome Husband," though not so pretentious a piece, was if anything, more amusing than "Naval Engagements." The principal parts were sustained by Mr Hoskins, Miss Florence Oolville, and Mr James O'Brien. The piece throughout was well performed, but the gem was the scene where Henry Fitzherbert (Mr O'Brien) pretends to be intoxicated, much to the disgust of Mrs Wyndham (Miss Oolville), but to the delight of Mr, Wyndham (Mr Hoskins), who is hiding behind the sofa on which Henry Fitzherbert is lying. The house was quite convulsed with laughter, and the applause was enthusiastic. Mr" R. W. Rede, who played Stephen, the footman, was received with several rounds of applause, evidently as a greeting of welcome on his return to Napier. This evening, the last but two of the. appearance of Miss Col : ville and Mr Hoskins, the play of Richelieu will be presented. Stray horses are becoming quite a nuisance in Napier. They, are generally to bo met with at night-, and, as the writer can say from his own experience, it is anything but pleasant to como unexpectedly up in the dark in close proximity to a horse's hind legs. It appears, however, that oven in the day time horses wander about our streets, and occasionally inflict injuries upon wayfarers. This was the case yesterday afternoon, in Clive-square, when a stray cab horse that had taken possession of the footpath near the Provincial Hotel kicked Mr Frank Ledbury on the face, cutting it open to a considerable extent. The matter certainly requires looking to. The Hawke's Bay County Council will meet this morning at half - past 10 o'clock. The only business at the Resident Magistrate's Court on Saturday morning was an application for a further remand for Elizabeth Newell, who was still unable to appear. "Peregrinus" writing in the Sydney Morning Herald on the " New Zealand land system," refers in somewhat disparaging terms to the commercial importance and pfogressiveness of Nelson, which ho describes as " a happy, rural, jam - making, hop-growing locality, where, however, no money is to be made, and whore — if we are to believe the statement of a Nelson member, made during a recent debate in the House — in spite of the fact that the population of the colony has almost doubled, land fetches lower prices to-day than it did in 1870." We beg to call the attention of parents of those children who attend Mr Rearden's school, Coote-road, to his advertisement in our columns stating that the duties of his seminary will be resumed to-day. The Saturday Advertiser says: — "A favorite amusement with the larrikins, who make night hideous with their senseless rioting every New Year's Eve in the streets of Dunedin, is throwing flour in the eyes and over the clothes of passersby. On Tuesday evening last a hulking youth, who was engaged in this innocent pastime near the Gutting, happened to throw a handful over a lady's dress, just to see how tke white would show upon black velvet. Before ho had time to "bolt," he was seized from behind by a gentleman,, who gave him a good, sound caning across the shoulders, making the sportive youth sing out, to the no small amusement of the bystanders. The gay young dog's jacket was not so" dusty when the gentleman ceased his work. An Irish barrister, travelling; on Circuit, escaped a good horsewhipping in the following manner : — He had, it appears, most grossly insulted a respectable witness in Court in the cross-exami-nation. Tihe next morning, very early, the insulted party arrived with a for-midable-looking horsewhip, presented himself at. the hotel where the barrister was staying?, and having ascertained the number of Ms bedroom, proceeded there at once, aixd found the barrister in bed. Roughly piilling his nose, the visitor addressed him as follows : — " Sir, I am the person you so scandalously treated in Court without reastm, and lam come personally to chastise you with this horsewhip for your insolence." "Are you indeed!" replied the barrister. "But surely you. would not strike a man in bed ?" " No, sir, I pledge my honor not to do that." " Then by thepowers," exclaimed the advocate, "I will lie here till doomsday!" The humor of the thought disarmed the affronted gentleman, and, bursting into a fit of laughter, he said, " Then, sir, I will not molest you this time, but let mo recommend you never to hold up a person of respectability, whose only object is to tell the truth, to the derision of a court of justice."