THE Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri TUESDAY, 14th APRIL, 1874.

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1567, 14 April 1874, Page 182

THE Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri TUESDAY, 14th APRIL, 1874.

The settlers of Roxburgh, Otago, on the occasion of Mr Holloway's visit to their district, held a meeting, at which they laid before him a statement of the unsatisfactory nature of their laud laws, and the difficulties thrown by the Provincial authorities in the way of settlement. For this, they were taken to task both by the Daily Times and Guardian. The Mercury defends the setters, who have long and vainly sought redress of their land grievances from the Gbvemmeut. It is only right that a gentleman in Mr,. Bellow ay's position should have both sides of the question fairly laid before him, and we

do not see why the Roxburgh settlers should be blamed for the course they have taken. Our telegrams show that Mr Holloway is far from satisfied with the land laws ; and it is quite probable that the action of the Roxburgh people will prove the first step towards a much- ' needed reform. A Wellington telegram reports that Mr M'Kirdy of that city has gained the contract *for reclaiming fifteen acres of land from the Napier harbor, for the sum of £5,900. It is long since the necessity of this work was first urged upon the. local authorities; but this is the first step towards carrying it out. The money squandered year after year upon the harbor, would if devoted to reclamation of the pestiferous lagoons with which thetown is surrounded, have ere now proved a highly-remunerative investment. <> The notorious want of accommodation in some of the more remote country hotels in this Province has long been a source of complaint on the part of travellers. The Hon. W. Fox, who recently made a tour through this Province, has sent in the following complaint regarding three of the worst of these houses, to the Chairman and members of the Licensing Board : Westoe, Mnrton, (Province of : Wellington), 6th April, 1874. Gentlemen,— Though not a resident in the Province of Hawke's Bay, yet as one of those travellers for whose benefit we arc (old public houses are established, and having boon lately subjected to extreme annoyance by the badness of some of the houses in ill at province ; being also a magistrate, I feel it but my duty to protest against licenses being granted to three of the houses referred to. I do so the more readily because I am informed that the districts proclaimed by the Government under the Licensing Act in Hawke's Bay province, as in Wellington also, are so absurdly large as to be likely to nullify the provisions of the Act which give a veto to the residents, and therefore there is no remedy except in the general, and very large discretion vested in the Licensing Board by section 22. The houses which I refer to, arc . . . These houses are all conducted in the worst possible manner, so as to render them the source of the greatest discomfort and disgust to travellers, instead of the places of refreshment they are intended to be. Two out of the three-are filthy to the last degree, swarming with verminThe servants are quite unfit for their work, and the whole of the surroundings of the traveller who resorts to them ; the sights, the smells, the language which greets his ear, are calculated to excite intense disgust. To say that these places are beastly would be a mis-application of terms. No beast is ever a participant in such scenes as occur at these dens. They are not beastly but demoniac ; no words can better describe them than " Hells upon earth." Il is a burning disgrace to any Government that such places should be licensed for money to demoralize the community, outrage public decency, and scatter vice and misery broadcast. It appears to have been particularly the object of those concerned to push such houses into those places where large bodies of laborers are employed on public works, or where considerable native communities afford ready victims for the rum-seller; and it seems to be particularly in such districts that the vigilance of the licensing authority has been the most relaxed, and opportunity given for the establishment of the very worst description of drinking dens by which the country is cursed. As already stated I am aware that I have no standing ground to appear before you under the provisions of the Act. But there is nothing in the Act to prevent any one who has suffered from complaining ; and every colonist has a right to protest against the action of Government by which the community is injured. I beg to call your attention to the fact that should the injudicious size of the districts prevent local action, the Licensing Board has the fullest discretion to refuse licenses on its own judgment; and it must be its duty 1o make some further enquiry in these cases beyond the mere householders' certificate of fitness.. With regard to such certificates, they imply personal knowledge of certifier of the character of the applicant, and the manner in which he may have previously conducted his house. I cannot understand in the cases I have brought under your consideration bow any honest man can have given such certificate, and can only believe that the certifiers must have no personal knowledge of the houses in question, a point which I submit it is the duty of the Board to ascertain, and which with clause 22 in their hands they have full power to enforce.—l have the honor to be, yours, &c., William Fox, M.H.K. ■ &■ The late painful event in Auckland, by which a, volunteer cadet, LI years of age, lost his life, has directed attention to the absurdity of these boy corps, which have little to recommend them, and are a source of danger to the community. The New Zealand Herald in some very just remarks on the subject, condemns the corps as demoralizing the boys. Our contemporary says :—" Enlist a boy as a volunteer cadet, and he at once conies to give his attention to a pursuit which has so much of excitement and fascination in it as to cause him to neglect his school studies, and those other requirements by which it is intended he shall be fitted for a useful career in after life. The boy-soldier thinks of little else than that at some time lie will be enabled to become a fullHedged representative of an adult corps, and not a few arc impressed with the idea that to smoke cigars, inhale from sooty pipes, swear copiously, and use flash expressions, is the readiest mode to reach, the height of their ambition."

The New Zealand Government Gazette of the 9th inst contains the following announcement: Office, Wellington, 21st March, 1874 His Excellency has been pleased to disband the Napier Rifle Volunteer Corps.—Donald M'Lean." That is to say, the corps had no existence at the time of its last annual inspection. Six clays before the banquet to the representatives, at which the corps received the compliments of Major Gordon, and before the memorable parade in which the same gallant officer took occasion to snub all the volunteers of Napier—the Rifles had been disbanded—if we are to believe the Gazette, though Major Gordon announced his intention of reserving his report until he should again have inspected the company after a space of six weeks. Now, it is hardly credible that the company could then have been disbanded nearly a week, neither Major Withers nor Major Gordon being cognizant of the fact. The Rifles, indignant at the treatment they had received from Major Gordon, sent in their resignation on the Ist April, between which date and the 9th there was plenty of time to get up this notice of disbandment. In the same Gazette we note no less than nine resignations of volunteer officers, from which we may infer that similar causes to those which have led to the resignation of the Napier corps are in operation elsewhere. Mails for the Australian Colonies close at the Bluff at 10 a.m. to-day. Mails close for Wellington, per s.s. Rangatira, to-morrow, Wednesday, at noon. Mails close for Lyttelton, at 4 p.m. to-day, per luvererne. Letters to be specially so addressed. Mails close at the Chief Post-office, Napier, for London, at 4 p.m. this day, per Queen of the North, such letters to be specially so addressed. There have been no cases at the Resident Magistrate's Court since our last issue. We would direct attention to the Panorama of the Holy Land, to be exhibited in St. Paul's Presbyterian Church, on Thursday next, at 7 p.m. The New Zealand Gazette, 2nd April, notifies the appointment of G. A. Oliver, Esq., as Revising Officer for the electoral districts of Napier and Clive. The following gentlemen have also been appointed postmasters in this Province from the Ist January last:—James Lyon, Kereru; Robert Somerville, Karamu ; and John Sim, Mohaka. The s.s. Mongol, which took her departure from this port on Saturday morning, was the bearer from our Province of some old settlers. Mr and Mrs H. S. Tiffen left by her for Kandavau ; Mr and Mrs Purvis Russell, Mr Melville Smith, and Mr P. Dolbel, for England. Mr Dolbel, who for the last fourteen years has represented the Mohaka district in the Provincial Council, has resigned his seat. Mrs J. Brewer was also a passenger for England by the Mongol. The agricultural statistics for this Province show the number of holdings in the Napier district to be 203 ; in the Clive district, 185—total 888. In the Province there are 10,146|- acres broken up, but not "in crop: acres in wheat; 846 f in oats, in barley ; 2,848 in hay; in permanent artificial grass (including hay total) ; 225 in potatoes, and 109| in other crops. The total number of acres under crop, including sown grasses, amounts to 117,0394. Our Tauranga correspondent telegraphs as follows, under date 13th April:—" The Acting-Deputy opened a Good Templars' Lodge here on Saturday. Great enthusiasm prevails on the subject.—The proprietor of the Masonic Hotel, for selling drink to a drunken' man, has been fined £3 and costs.—Mr Stewart, immigration commissioner, leaves to-day, to examine a block of land near Maketu.—During the last week Tauranga lias received a steamer daily." A correspondent sends the following account of the Easter Monday temperance festivities at Waipawa, which arrived too late for insertion in our last: —The third anniversary of the Waipawa Tent of Rechabites, as well as the establishment of the Progress Lodge of Good Templars, was celebrated on Easter Monday attheßechabito Hall, Waipawa. At 4 p.m. a procession of the members of the Rose of Sharon Tent of Rechabites, the Rosebud Juvenile Tent, and the Good Templars, both male and female, headed by the Wnipawa Band, started from the Rechabite Hall and marched through town, returning to the Hall, where at least 350 persons sat clown to a sumptuous tea, provided by the managers. The repast concluded, and the tables cleared, a public meeting was held in the Hall, which was crowded in all parts. Mr. J. Harding, of Mount Vernon, was called to the chair. He said, it was twelve months since they had met on a similar occasion, and he thought they might congratulate themselves on what had been accomplished during that time —not only had the cause of temperance in general advanced; but the order of Good Templars had been established and had made great progress. He was glad to find that they were availing themselves of the Act of last session, and endeavoring to prevent the issue of any more licenses in their district; and he saw by the papers that similar action was being taken elsewhere. He apologized for the absence of the usual report, owing to the illness of the Secretary, who, though present, was still an invalid; having as they were aware, recently had a very narrow escape from death. He thanked the numerous friends present for the sympathy they had shown on that occasion. A varied anil entertaining programme of music, singing, readings, and addresses,| was then gone through, and after a vote of thanks to the Chairman the meeting closed with the National Authem.

In the New Zealand Gazette of the 9th inst., his Honor J. D. Ormond is gazetted Wairoa Confiscated Land Commissioner, under the regulations of the 4th March last. The Rev. J. Smalley, the Wesleyan minister, recently arrived from Wellington, preached to a crowded congregation in the Council Chamber on Sunday evening. < "The cry is sHll—<They oome."' By our telegrams it will be seen that some 4,500 emigrants have left England for this Colony during the month of March.