THE Mount Ida Chronicle AND St. Bathans Weekly News. THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1880.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume X, Issue 572, 26 August 1880, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle AND St. Bathans Weekly News. THURSDAY, AUGUST 26, 1880.

Some littla time ago we discussed, in an article, the Educational System of New Zealand, and compared it' with that of New South Wales. We then an opinion that the system of our sister Colony was preferable to our own, in that,.under it, small school fees were charged. We stated our belief, that it was-necessary to adopt this plan in New Zealand also, and subsequent events have shown that that belief was" well founded. Mr Rolleston, when questioned, stated that he was resolved to. keep the Education Act intact, and would be careful to see that none of its provisions were meddled, with, and he was particularly opposed to the reimposition of fees of any kind. But, in a strangely paradoxical manner, he has since done what he said he vyould not do. He, true, to his promise, has not amended the Act, but he and his colleagues have so reduced the grants to Education Boards that it would have been much more honest in them had they amended the Act in the first instance. Such: large reductions have been made in the payments to the Boards that the ; Otago.Board has resolved to make* a reduction of 10 per cent, in the salaries of the teachers, and has reduced the allowances to 2.5 per cent. The teachers have to "grin and bear it," and it is fortunate fur them that they are able to do so. The Committees, however, let them '•grin " as much as they may, cannot bear it. Tuere are certain expeuses connected with the schools which they must pay, and they have not sufficient funds for the purpose. This has been the experience of the Tuapeka Cominittee, and if our local Committee, and the circumstances must be the same in the case of every large schiol in the Province, although the two

Committees named are the only ones who have as jet made any attempt to grapple with the difficulty, as far aa we have seeu. Ihese Committees have been compelled to appeal to the paren's of the children attendi g the schools to contribute a certain amount monthly towards school expanses. That this state of things should., exist is not creditable to the Government, especially when it has occurred when Pa-liament is in spssion, and when an opportunity not only exists to have it remedied, but, from all appearances, when Parliament is in a humor to agree to it. "We do not quarrel with the Government for reducing the vote, but what we say is that they have brought about an issue, and are not taking the responsibility of the results that have necessarily followed, as they should have done. The imposition of a small school fee, to make up, with the sums paid from colonial funds, the minimum cost at which our .educational system can be administered, would have been a proper'and'reasonable item in the scheme of Governmental economy. As far as we can see, a spall school fee will to be charged,'under authority "of the Act,, before our system is satisfactorily based. In our last issue we gave a report of a meeting of creditors in the estate of Mr J. Cormick, of St. Bathans, and as the meeting, throughout its conduct, exhibited points of irregularity, which should not have occurred, it may be worth while to revert to the subject. In the case in question the Clerk of the Court commenced the business by examining the witness at very considerable length, and with, as the ultimate Chairman properly expressed it, no iutelligible drift, the consequence being that much valuable tine was thrown away, although the caeditors present had come some considerable distance. Now the Clerk of the Court had no right to allow any such examination, and no examination, by any person 1 , whatsoevemhould take place till a Chairman has; been appointed by the creditors. This is plainly enough to be gathered byreading the Act,- but it has been put beyond doubt by a recent decision of Judge Williams, which we -now quote for the benefit of our readers generally, and more particularly for that of the Clerk the-. Naseby ; .District; Court : —"An important point in con- " nection with the proceedings of the "Supreme Court in Bankruptcy was " decided by His Honor Mr Justice "Williams; In re Matthew William " Uaw'kins, Mr Haggitt wished to es- " mine the debtor on behalf of the " petitioning creditor, and His Honor ''■'. held that this could not be done, it "being necessary to have the Trustee "appointed by the creditors before "the debtor could be examined in " open Court. A meeting of the cred- '" itors was afterwards held, when Mr "J. C. Morris .was appointed Trus- " tee." We can .easily .-.understand how it might be possible'for a Clerk or Registrar, acting for .an absent Judge, •to make an error as to the._practice of the. Court over which lj£ presides, and we'cannot, threfore, view the case in question as being a culpable error. Mr Shepherd is an excellent officer, in so far the routine the Court is concerned,; = and we believe he has created a beneficial change in the general conductjof business, of the Court, but he is rather apt to lose his head when he. gets into a position in which "he may exercise a little brief authority; We therefore, hope ;> that; for the future,. he will be on his guarli against so. serious a weakness, and that, when.next called upon to preside in. a Bankruptcy Court, he will stick strictly to the duties which concern himself,: and not meddle with those which belong to the Chairman and the creditors. .;

It is stated that Count Ton Moltke openly, talks,of coming war. A. London: telegram announces the. appointment of Lord Gifford as Colonial ■ Sec-; retary of Adelaide. [_ ■ \'- : - It is announced that,..Mr Gladstone will; proceed to or Madeira in- a fortnight's time, for a change of air. ~ There is;; a; good deal of suspicion felt of the honesty and loyalty of the new ruler of Afghanistan, Abdur Shaman, who* Las been appointed by the British. . It is _npw stated that Major Brown, of Taranaki, is the ''Commissioner" who telegraphed in Maori to Sir George Grey asking •him'to take up his case, and promising, ■i i return to make startling revelations against the Government. - ; ; Lord Hartinc-ton announced to the House of Commons that it was not the intention of the British Government to appoint a Hritish Resident it Cabul, .but,that arrangements* had been made with the Ameer to receive a native envoy who would represent the Vicer°y- ~..-. Dissensions have broken out amongst Ayoub Khan's army, which are likely to retard his movements. The Herati regiments having claimed their division of the spoil, became clamorous to be allowed to return home. Notwithstanding the efforts made by Ayoub to retain their services,' they deserted in one body, and are now returning to He- ' rat'—' ;'■':■ ".■::.-' *. The Baroness Burdett Coutts has notified to the Queen her intention to marry Mr Ellis Ashmead Bartlett, the Conservative.member for Eye, who is aged 32. Her Majesty, and also the brother of Mr Bartlett, without objecting to the Baroness. Burdett Coutts' intention, have disapproved of the proposed marriage, and immense pressure is beiucr brought in the highest circles to dissuade her ladyship from a marriage by which she would loose half her present income. The Chinese residents inDnnedin are having a good laugh at the expense of the police or some of their emissaries. Within the last few days placards have been posted announcing the reward for the discovery of the perpetrators of the Kyeburn murder, and these placards are also printed in English and Chinese. In several cases the Chinese ones are posted upside down, and the Celestials are inclined to laugh to scorn the boasted enlightenment of the "barbarian" Britoi..— ' Timss.'

Russia has lately made fresh overtures to France, which have been declined. Sir Hercules Robinson and family have booked by the John Elder, to sail on the2lst September. F. A Groube, one of the Austral an Cricketers, is a New by birth. He was born iu New P.yinouth. There are more than ,1.000.000 horses., in Austrnliaincludinar New Zealand. T"n° -number of horned cattle is mo-,> than 7.259,00'>, and of sbeep about 61,000,000. Two boys hive been finei? in Sydney for stealing ginger-beer. Even the the cup which doesu't cheer and doesn't inebriate is dangerous. _ The •'■* Dnnstan Times' has reason to believe that the late Member for Waikaia was a son of Admiral Ben wick, and arrived in Melbourne in 1852, by the Great Britain. . The trial in connection with the Wimbledon scandal has been commenced. The state; ments already made indicates that collusion has existed for several years between the marker.aud some of those engaged in shooting. The Emperor of Germany has left lschl, and General Von Moltke has suddenly gone to lschl, yia Vieuna, to meet the representa tives of Austria, Roumairia, and Servia. There are sensational rumors of new alliances arising out of the conferences. Mr Horace Bastings (the late member)' •announces himself as a candidate for -Waikaia; Captain Mackenzie will likely stand ; and a Mr William Morris, of Switzers, telegraphs that he intends contesting the election. Mr Foster, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, has gone to thevcountry with the object of enquiring whether coercive measures are necessary for the suppression of the .disorder now prevalent there. * --- We clip the following from the 'Mataura Ensign Mr C. Maunsell, of Mataura, despatched a quantity 'of oats to London through an luvercargill firm. He has received advice that they yielded in London 33s per quarter, or equal to 4s per bisheJ." Mr de Lautour censured the Otago Members for their absence, stating that when the House rose at four on a late occasion there were only three Otago Members present, • namely himself and Messrs Finn and Jones. When the House rose at five this morning only four Otago Members .were; present, namely, Messrs de Lautour, Jones, Finn, and Shrimski. Intelligence has been received in Candahar which states that the cause of Ayoub Khan's inactivity, since "his victory over General Burrow's brigade, was attributable l to the fact that he was severely wounded during the encounter, and that since then considerable distention exists amongst his army. _ This report, however, requires confirmation Dissensions have broken out amongst Ayoub Khan's army which are likely to retard his movements. The Herati regiments having claimed their division of. the, spoil, became clamorous to be .allowed to.retur n home. Notwithstanding jthe effort, ;rnadeb v Ayoub. to retain their- services,, they deserte? in one body, and are now returning to Herat. Portadown, a town in the;north of Ire-: land, near Armagh, has been the scene of serious rioting, arising out of bitter feeling existing between the different religious sec" tions of the community. The police in the locality have been augmented, and as an additional precaution the military force in the district has been considerably reinforced Ist consequence of the prevailing depression of trade and of the strikes amongst the engiueers and ironworkers, many ironmasters in the west of Scotland have decided to close their establishments at the - present time. Large numbers of blasts have been extingiithjd, and much distress exists among the working classes, who are thus deprived of employment. Kelly was formally committed to take his trial at the; Beechworth Circuit; Court, oh October 15th, on charges of -murdering Constables Lonigan.and Scanlam. .. Since' his, return from Beechworth he is much depiessed, and complains of the yains in his foot.. The bullet was.extracted on Friday, ; since when the pain has been relieved.'.. M'ln tyre, the principal witness, invthe Kelly case r 'is suffering from pleurisyj and has been obliged to go to the - Evert little while we read of some one who has stuck a rusty nail in his foot, or knee,; or hand, or some other portion of his body, and that lockjaw resulted therefrom, of which the patient- died. If every person was aware of the perfect remedy for all such wounds, and would apply it, then all such reports must cease. . The remedy is simple, almost always on.diandj andean be applied by any one, and what is better it is infallible. It is simply to smoke the wound, or any biuse or .wound that is.inflamed, with burning wool or woolen cloth. Twenty minutes in the smoke of wool will take the pain out of the worst wound ; repeated-three times, it will allay the worst cases-of inflammation arising from a wound... V .cEsn.E3 " in the. '. Australian ' say that whentbe pretty daughter of Mrs Brady, of the Restdown Hotel, was going to be married (it .was only the other day), amongst other preliminary arrangements was the drawing up of the matrimonial intimation." Mrs B. looked over the announcement in a file of the 'Argus,' and at last discovered a precedent which quite accorded with her views: It ended with, " No cards "-•;■ and as Mrs Brady explained, " : They - might dance, and eat, and drink as much as they liked, but she wasn't going to have the harmony, of the evening disturbed by gambling." At a banquet recently given to him, Mr Herbert Gladstoue told the sfcoi.y of a new Eaton boy, who, being unaccustomed to the ways of the place, took his prayer book to chapel on the Saturday, and was kicked down the steps for a saint, whereupon, on the following day, profiting, as he thought, by experience, he left his prayer-bookfat home, and was kicked down the steps for an atheist The company, made very merry ■ over this story, but they would have enjoyed the j.k: a. ; great deal more had theyknown that :lie j venile hero of the story they had listened to was the. father the Premier of England. Sir Charles Clifford, speaking.at a recent meeting iu London, at which Mr A.!';. Halcombe lectured on "The Resources of New Zealand," mentioned that when he went to New Zealand he took' with him two servants, who .had not the-proverbial halfcrown..., Iu thirteeu [years' time, they were worth £40,000. Another gentleman who went out at the same-time, with; £L50,()00 died a pauper. Now they...might..ring..,thechanges on that, and say that if any one had brains and money they would do better in New Zealand than in England; but if they had neither brains nor mouey they had better stay at home, where they would have the workhouse to fall uack upou. We understand that a number of farmers in the neighborhood of Kyeburn Junction are earnestly endeavouring to erec' a floiir mill in the immediate vicinity of Douglas' accommodation house. Ihe intention is ire ! clijve, to erect a mill, and let it, and it is possible by such means it might be made to pay. A carefully prepared sheet, we are informed, shows that within a radius of 4 miles 16,000 acres of land is taken up either as .freehold, agricultural lease, or deferred payments. The townspeople of Hyde favor this mill. On Monday, the 31st May (sajs the i ' Hong Kong Daily Press ') a dreadful dent happened at Bangkok, which has nbjt*^^

Important alterations are in contemplation with respect to the police quarters at Clyde. The Kyeburn river, at Malloeh's, ,was in a flooded state on Saturday last. The water had washed awav a portion of the bank, which rendered fording dangerous. Cameron's coach was detained for some considerable time, before it was considered advisable • to make the attemnt The Taieri was also very high but not dangerously so. The- gale which raged here with great violence on Thursday evening last, did not do much damage With the exception of levelling a few fences, unroofing a chaff house on the Maniototo block, and the sudden disappearance of several chimneys, we have heard of no other losses The gale was generally felt throughout the colony. ■Mining and farming operations are being busily proceeded with, and no suspension--attributable to the weather had, so far, this season, taken place in carrying on these --- industries. Water for mining purposes is still coming in plentifully, and the farmers are busy ploughing, and preparing the ground for seed. The Rev Mr. Hobbs announced in .the Church on Sunday evening last that as it was probable that he might soon be called upon to resign, this cure he wis desirous.to put the financial position of the church - .upon a satisfactory basis; a meeting of the congregation to consider the matter has been called foi this evening. The Counties Act Amendment which has passed the Lower House, repeals the words "not being aliens" in the 44tb section of the "Counties Act, 1876." This will permit Chinamen, holders of Aimers Rights, to vote at the election of County Councillors. The Chinese vote in this County-would go a lon* way to swamp an election. We hope the Legislative. Council will amend the clause, and substitute the words " not being Chinese." The'drawing of Strang's consultation took place in the Masonic Hall on Monday eveninglast.- There was a large number of subscribers present Five gentlemen were appointed by the subscribers to conduct the drawing, which was well arranged, and went off without a hitch, and to the satisfaction of everyone. The prizes and blanks happened to out very well mixed. Ihefirefcprze came* out tolerably early in t'le evening, but the second was not drawn till nearly all the tickets had been disposed of. Mr Strong deserves credit for the trouble he took to arrange the drawing in a satisfactory ana fair way. Ho was eminently suecsssful in his object The first prize—a house valued at £2OJ, or cash for 90 p<;r cent of its valuewas won by Mrs W. GufSa, of'Naseby. A ' cheque for £IBO was promptly handed over by Mr Strong. It is rumored that the second prize has also been won by a local resident, but as yet it ha? not been elai*red. Some of the prizes go to different parts of the colony, one as far as Taranaki. . ,The Lauder.Creek, on Saturday was hi<*b.- ' an flood, and stopped the traffic for about 24 "' hours. After an. attempt by Mr Pope, the diiyer, to ford the stream on horseback, in which he was unsuccessful, it was deemed prudent to return to the White Horse Hotel. He succeeded iu reaching Ciyde about one o'clock on Sunday after having to travel with the coach over very rou 4 h and dangerous country, to enable him to cress the creek considerably higher up. It must be a matter of great regret that the financial circumstances of Vincent County are not sufficient to permit it, in conjunction with the County of Maniototo, to go on with the really necessary work of bridging the creek We understand that the plan and specifications of the proposed bridge have been prepared, and had it not been for the action of the Council of Vincent, at its last meeting tenders for the work would, by this time' have been called for. A few: hundreds of pounds for the- Lauder Creek: might-have -been saved from the costly structures, which span.the Clutha, all in the neighborhood of Clyde. A Sydney paper says .—There is a clerk in one of the Banks of G-eorge street who is sfb 10 a in in height and only "weighs six stones avoirdupois weight. He possesses moat extraordinary digestive powers, and can assimi lace almost anything from Kidmans Cheese to a Cambridge sausage. Queensland owns him. A novel feature in connection with che turf hw been inWuced to this Colony by the Editor of the ' Canterbury Tinns 'and it is the more worthy of consideration in that it is of a very innocent character. The mvelty consists of £SO for the correct placing of the first three horses in the C.J.C Handicap at the Metropolitan Spring*Meetin<r The names of the horses have to be written on a coupon published in the ' Canterbury Times ' and the prize will be awarded to the first to Bend in the names of the p'aeed horses in their or.ier past the post. This offers a very harmless method for the exercise of ability in distinguishing the ralative: merits : ot the horses, and for creating a special interest in the race itself. The sending in of coupons is to commence on ' Monday next and terminate on Nov. 1. * ; The Irish in Glasgow are greatly agitated in reference to the disturbed state of af&irs in Ireland. Several public mee'.ings haveC been held at which 30,000 have and resolutions were adopted expressive sympathy with the peasantry who have been by their lanlord., and whose fO;.id l t:onhas been aggravated by the rejec ion ot the tenants' Compensation Bill. It is rumoured that the Gladstone Government, impressed with the serious condition of Ireland and yielding to the representations nride to them, purpose, having recourse to extreme measures in order to repress the disturbances and as rarian outrages in the country. It is thought probable that the Peace Preservation Act of Ireland will be renewed, with the view- of effectually coercing the Fenian organisation. .A POSTSORIE, in -the 'Star' fays:—Mr •Vmceiit Py£e - the account of whos° peregrinations wi'h " a prima donua, a tinker and 'a glnzier has Ik en affording such amusement to the HouFe at the instance of Mr thei member for Colderidge—has been diverting Ins leisure by roncocting an Edncilion BilL JSot that the hon gentleman has the slightest ideacthat it will ever get hevond the first reading, but with a view of propitiating that rather powerful element in. his cons'ituenny whicr agrees in the principle with that enlightened ;V"ictoriah V patriot Sir John ! O'Shannassey Mi Pyke, to put the nvitter briefly, would _supersede the present State system-of education by denominationalism P ure ._ a P4. simple. He might .as well attempt to stpm the torrent of the Molyneux with his pocket-handkerchief, or induce a quartz miner, with shares to sell, to speak the truth. A SE tlee named Williarr Bissell, residing at St.Leonards, left, that place on Friday afternoon, 20th instant, m a small dingy in search for a missing boat. He Arrived at Portobello about 4 pm , and, not fi-jr ing the boat, determined to return home. He was advised not to do so by virs Latham, wife of a storekeeper th-re, but in reply to her, stated thnt he would go whether he succe ded in sfttin" home or not. Since that time nothing hns been seen or heard of liim since, and it is supposed that he has been drowned. A late account states that the boat in which Mr Bissell left was picked up on Sunday evening between the Quarantine Islands at Port Chalmers, by two lads named Larkins. It is therefore to be feared that the unfortunate Fnan h-.s lost his life. He leaves a wife and puly-

the Court of Siamin H's lVTij-sfcy th« KW, n.imo of tlv 1 i-Ht-i of lh» PaUee, n d snmo of the rov»l children were on a pl"a sure t-ip *-> tV *-<y ' r-freit. »t Koh Buigj. '-in. A. har*»e containins? the Qi»en «nd her infant dnue'ntar, the Prince-s Kmuaia, Wis cnpMzed through »ho rope i\»»«vc' ins it. to the B earn yacht, eivin£ way, nnl nil on board are enpposed to be drowned. The body of Her Royal Highness and that of the young princess locked in the arms of her nurse, bare been recovered. A royal prince and a high military officer were tried by court martial and sentenced to degradation. Ttf view of the reduction in allowance to school comini'teus the Tmipeka High School Committee ln've embowered the Rector to levy Is. each por quarter on all children attending school up to the first standard, and 2i. above that standard towards assisting to dpfr.iv school expenses, cost of pens, ink, & ; The Nascby Committee, as would be seen by the report of the last meeting held, has been compelled to take a similar course. Circu lars have been issued to parents. What of this in the waj of coincidence ? Nearly twelve months ago (says the ' Thames Advertiser') the marriages were announced of two brothers, on theßime day, by the same clergyman, and »o-diy is inserted the Announcement of the advont of two olive branches, the births being almost equally concurrent. Both children are girls, and the nurse says "as like as two ppaa" Further than this, it may bo said, one doctor and one nurse had been engaged for both ; hut this orrang"mcnt waß upset by the course of events. At Christchnroh on Monday, Mr Mellish, R.M., was called to decide whether Hindostanee was an improper language. A person of evidently respectable appearance, who answered to the name of Stephens, was charge I with using obscene language in one of the prmcipnl streets of Christchurch. The arres'ing constable handed to the Banch a pnper on which he had written the language alleged to have been used, and be swore positively that it wus obscene. Inspector O'Donnell, who happoned to be passing the plnco at the time, was equally positive. The defendant indignantly denied the charge, and declared that what the police had mistaken for foul hingu-Jge was Hindcstanee, in which tongue he was conversing w'th a friend. The latter, in the person of Mr Crncknell, swore that defendant had been sneaking all the time in Hindostanee; and that no expression of an improper nature was used by him. The Bench, in view of the coiitliel'ing nature of the evidence, gave the defendant the benefit of the doubt and dis mused 'he rase. A correspondent of the Bunalla pnper denies that Ned Kelly caused the death of Cherry, the platelayer. His accounb of it is this :—" When the police arrived at Glenrowan thoy commenced to fire into the dwelling f rom all directions. The bullets came thick and fast like showers o f hail Each of us endeavoured to protect ourselves as well as we could, some under beds, others on the floor. I took refuge among some bags of grain. I could occasionally hear bullets strike and bury themselves in the bags of grain behind which I was sheltered. As the bullets continued to pour in among us, I heard some person cry out ' For God sake •omehorej lam shot.' I recognised Martin Cherry's voice. I immediately ran to bis assistance, and I found him bleeding from a wound he had received in the groin. I pulled a sheet from off a bed and did my best to Btop the bleedirg by tjing the sheet over the wound. I had scarcely completed the rough dressing when a bullet grazed the buck of my head, so, finding I was in extremo danger of bring Bhot myscF, I lifted a mattress off a bed and placed it over Cherry to protect him as much as possible from further dimger, and then rushed back to my previous place of shelter, where I remained ■until iibout 10 o'clock in the morning, when the police gave us all permission to leave the house. 1 wisli to state that Martin Cherry was lying on the fljor when the shot that caused his death Btrue.k him, and the said shot wus fired from outside the house. Ned Kelly wus not in the housn ut the time, and had not been for some hours previous to Cherry being shot; which statement can be confirmed by all that were in Die house at the time. In conclusion I wbh to observe that some members of the police force have visited me sinco the Glenrowan tragedy, and have implied by indirect threats to keep my mouth shut respecting how Cherry came by his dtath. But thinking it best to let the public know the truth iB my excuse for trespassing on your space." Elbeu George Batt, the Mormon apostle, after a brief residence in Dunedin, has returned to Tin urn disgusted. In a few days he proceeds to Auckland, having, it is stated, received a message from four families there, who paid bis pussage-money, and are anxious to receive Mormon bap'ism at his hands The ' North Otago Times ' says that some of Mr Batt's converts in South Oamaru have begun to wax cold in faith, and have decided not to set Out for Utah. An American lady, who has recently visited Utah, gives it as the result of her observation that the female portion of the community there seems cowed and degraded, and maintains that the elders ar<J obliged to go far afield for converts beenusft the eyes of the United States people have been opo»> to realise theological humbug of Latter-Day Saintism.—' Times.' Last night's ' Age ' published an account of the interview of its reporter with Kelly in Beech worth Gaol. It subsequently transpired, that the reporter was Mr D. Gaunson, tlio prisoner's solicitor. The 'Argus' published a sub leader severely commenting on the conduit of Gaunson, which, it said, was calculated to prejudice the public mind against the witnesses for the prosecution. Mr Gaunson wrote declaring that the 'Argus' had rendered itself liable to a criminal information for printing matter calculated to prevent ft fair trial. The 'Argus' thereupon republished its former remarks on the suLject, in order to enable Mr Gaunson to move in the matter if he desires. Tub 'Pioneecr' says: —"Perhaps one of the most curious episodes of the occupation of Cabul by our troops, after well-nigh forty years' absence is that a well-known major in one of our Goorkha battalions finds himself again in Cabul, his birthplace in the days of the old occupation. Born in 0 bul, he was carried by his mother, the wife of a stuff officer of the army, through all the horrors of the dreadful retreat, was borne into captivity, released by Shakespeare's -cavalry, and grew up to bear Her Majesty's commission, and agnin to enter Cabul. Stranger still, the gaoler of his mother has come to Cabul, and visited his prisoner of days." The Punedin 'Echo' thus puts, in "a nutshell," one effect of the Property Assessment Act. 1879 :—" We suppose it would not be out of place to give those owners of land •who denounced the Land Tax, a gentle reminder as to what the Property Tax really means. Let us take the case of a man who has his property taxed. How much per £1 •on the gross rental will he have to pay the tax gatherer? We reply Is 2d. The matter is easily tested. Let us suppose the rental is £IOO per year. According to tlv> Property « L . £ ct, the value of the land is 14 times the gross rental, that would be £14.00. At a penny in the pound that is £5 lffs Bd. So long as a landlord hus to pay 1b 2d in the pound on (he gross rental, besides his other burdei s, he must feel iiap-y. Equitable property tux! "

MUNICIPAL CO u NOIL. The ordinary meeting of flie Borough Council was held on Thu-'sdny, 19th instant—His Worship the Mayor, Crs. Glonn, Newman, GumV, and Inder. MINUTES. The minutes were read and confirnn d. The petition of J. Fanner and others, re Broom street nuisance, wad referred to the Sanitary Committee. DEAIN. A le.ter from J. Dixon, asking for drain pipes to be laid instead of the open drain through hytagardcn, was referred to the Geaeral Purposes Committee. BESJDENCE AREA The Town Clerk was instructed to lodge an objection against the granting of the application of a residence area, made by Mr Monk, as it would interfere with a road now in use. GOLD EEVENXTE. The Committee appointed to confer with a Committee appointed by the < ounty Council re the gold revenue accruing within the Borough, reported that they had met, and that the matter had fbeen discussed, and, uo doubt, it would be satisfactorily arranged at the next meeting of the County Council. CBICKET GROUND. On the application of Mr Glenn, it was resolved that he be released from his lease of the grazing right in the Cricket Reserve. Lease to terminate on this date. FINANCE. Accounts amounting to £47 6s were passed for payment. THE COURTS. ST BATHANS.—Resident Magistrate's Court. August 17. — Keenan and Morgan v Price j £6 5s lid. Adjourned to August 31 "Warden's Couut. Grants.—Agricultural Lease—section 13> block VII, Blackstone, 320 acres, Andrew Tierney. Extended claims.—Thomas Davis, Peacock and others, M. Gannon. Protection. —Barron and Nolan, B. Wood and party, D. Sutherland. Water Races.—(branch) Owens and pirty, W B. Leader. Tailrace.—W. B.