North Otago Times. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1885.

North Otago Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3971, 3 June 1885, Page 2

North Otago Times. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 1885.

During the session of parliament which is to begin sood, the country is JikeJy to hear a good deal about what appears to be a very grave mistake made by Mr Baliance, as Minister of Native Affairs. The mistake is in connection with native laiidß along tb© route of the North Island trunk railway. It appears thai many members sanctioned the prosecution of the line only on the understanding that, before it was started, a satisfactory title should be obtained to a fair proportion of thenatim land to be opened up by the railway. As we all know tho work of conetructing the railway was entered upon some time back, but the native lands through which it is intended to taka it are still

"as they were." This, on the face of it, means seveial things not at all pleasant to contemplate from the point of view of the public interests. It means j that Mr Ballance is not that supreme master of native affairs which some supposed him to be, and also that his nolons of business are so poor that he haß sepn nothing wrong in committing the colony to the construction of a costly railway which will pass through extensive areas of native lands, without the •reproductive settlement of those lands being assured. Practically the line has been started without the governmeut's having taken reasonable businesslike steps to ensure those results of which nothing but the certainty would justify the construction of the line by the colony. Mu< hof the good which was reasonably expected to come of tbe construction of the North Island railway has thus been caused to become extremely problematical and lemote, and if it is ever achieved it may not be until after such trouble and expense as will very emphatically make " the game not worth the candle."

An idea of what is likely io take place in regard to this important matter may be obtained from a perusal of speeches recently made by members of the House. A considerable number of members have lately addressed their constituents, and a fair number of those who have thus spoken have dealt pretty Btrongly with the subject on which we are writing. When addressing his constituents at Hawera, on the 22nd of last month, Major Atkinson " cotnplaiued that land for the North Island trunk railway had been taken before the titles had been ascertained. The late government, he said, took up the position that a million would be added to the value of native lands by the conBtructioa of this line, and they had determined to get the title ascertained, and then they would have gone to the nttives and said : We must have so much land before the railway comes thiß way ; we must have a reasonable proportion of the land, or we must purchase at the present value. They were bound to do that in the interests of the colony, and were bound not to put a million into the interests of the natives without the colony reaping some advantage. But the present government were in a great hurry to make a splash, and had sacrificed the interests of the colony. The land had been taken, and the natives would naturally expect to be paid the value which the land would have when the railway was made. An exorbitant price would have to be paid for the land, and the colony would suffer } in fact, the colony was absolutely and entirely in the bands of the natives ; whereas, if there had been a delay of a few months, and the government had delayed the splash, better terms would have been obtained." Speaking to his constituents on Saturday last, on the same subject, Mr Bry'ce said that " It wsia a grievous wrong to the colony to go on with tbe North Island central railway with no prospect of a definite settlement, and so largely increasing the value of the i land for the native owners which was not liable to taxation. He was a North Island man, but he would say most emphatically that not a sod ought to have been turned till a satisfaatory title to the land through which it passed had been obtained." Nor is it only members of the opposition party who view this matter in a strongly unfavorable light. Mr Leonard Harper, member for Avon, is not only one of the go vrn merit's supporters but he ia one of the chief man of that Canterbui'y " corner " which, formed the cor-ner-stone of tbe government party last session. Well, Mr Harper, in addres«iug his constituents last Thursday, said, inter alia, that a "matter on ! which there might be trouble, wms as to the land for the North island trunk railway. There might be a satisfactory explanation given, but he must say that he had been under the imprea- | sioD, when the Tote on that loan was taken, and the loan was authorised, that it was understood the native land* would be taken over at their then valuation. The improvement in their value, consequent on the construction of the railway, would go a long way to pay the expenses of construction. But he now understood that the present Minister of Native Affairs intended not to require tha natives to part with the land until after tbe railway had been constructed, and then only to lease the land. This, as he had said, might be explained, but it appeared to him to be contrary to the intentions of tbe House."

So our readers will see that discerning men of both parties appear to be agreed that a very grave mistake has been made in regard to native lands

along the route of the Norfch Island tiunk railway. It may be that Mr Ballance will be able to show that nothing really prejudicial to the cause of settlement has been done or Jeft undone. At present, however, the circumstances all point the other way. We suppose, too, that \re shall have to wait until the session opens for further enlightenment on tho subject.

The monthly meeting of th« Athenaeum committee takes place ou Thursday first, at 7 30 p.m.

Mr K»lly, who was defeated by Mr Sbeehan, for the Tauranga seat, intends to test the legality of the election.

The services of jurors, eummond to attend tho ait'inf of the distriot court to-day, are not required, there being no ciminal business to transact-

The police, we understand intend to proceed against Mrs Poole for the illtreatment of ber stepson, who was found covered with filth in a pigstye the other day.

The namo cf Mr N. Fleming was inadvertently omitted fiom the list of the mere, bars of the committee of the benevolent aociety present at the meeting oq Monday evening.

St Paul's young men's association will meet thia evening an eight o'oU ck. when a debate will take place on the question, "' Would Greac Britain be justified in going o w*r with Rudaia." A full meeting ia requested", j

A lime light exhibition of Dr Barnardo's work among the waifs and strays of London, with descriptive readings, will be given In Columba ohuroh on Friday evening. The viewß have heen lent by a gentleman in Christchurcb, and are eaid to be faithfully representative of eo«n»s in th« work of Dr Barnardo.

At the us al meeting of Emanuel union, held last evening, Ay H. Whtlch read a very interes ing and instructive paper on

"Soenea in the life of General Gordon." The paper gave a brief sketch of Gordon's life. The aketoh was interspersed with anecdotes, and was much appreciated by the members. The Rev. Mr Seth-Smith presided, and the attendance was good. Next week the ladies will provide an entertainment, consisting of readings, solos, etc.

Mr Brooks' Dramatic company produce the comedy " Our Nelly " at the Public H*ll this evening. There hat been a general wish expressed that the company should ropeat •• Our Nelly," the last representation having been so agreeably given. Besides this phe company have sustained a finanoiat loss in their eff jrts to please the public, and they hopo to be able to recoup themselves somewhat and provide a pleasant evening'amusement at the same time. A farce will follow the comedy.

An editor, who thinks the wages demanded by his compositors an im omcion, has recently discharged his hands, and intends doing his own type-setting in the future. He says : " oWinG io tire eXhoßbiTanc W«ges 'lEjnANded by printers \vE hyve conoladed to do UroWn trpesefcjing jn the fu i üb«. ; and ai/rhough we never leArNed tqe Easiness, wE dO Not ccc yny gReaT mA^ory iN Tqe alty. '

As some persons at the recent fire, without any authority to do bo. destroyed the windows and doom of the house occupied by MrGreeiifiald, in their efforts to aare property, it ia just as woll to let the public know that the peißons who act in this way are ieaponsible for the damage done, if it is committed without authority from the fire inspectors belonging to the borough. The inspectors here are— Mr Mainland (tha captain of th« fire brigade), and Inspector ihompson, of the armed constabulary. Sabsection 4 of 274 of the act, defines tbe duty of a fire inspector thus : "He may, with any assistance he requires, break into, take possession of, or pull down any premiaos for preventing the spread of tire, doing, however, as little damagg as possible thereby." Section 23f6 also adds— "That all damage to property caused by any fire inspector, or any portion aoting under his orders in the duo exeoution of their duties under this act, shall be deemed to be damage by fire within the meaning of any policy of insurance against fire, anything in such policy to the | contrary notwithstanding."

The Dunedin football club expect an Oamaru team to meet them in Dunedin on the 20th of this month. A good representative team has offered to go, and with some practice they should be able to hold their own against any Dunedin club. In order that they may have the necessary praotice each member should tnrn out to the next two Saturday aftsrnoon matches. It is to be hoped t^at members will Bhow that they are anxious to keep up the credit of the club by mustering for practice next Saturday, when the annual match between the past and present scholars of the district high school and members of the club will be played. The following are the teamß : School — Aitken, Borton, Frauce, Ferens, Gifford, Gilchrist, Hewat (2), Johnstone, Moore (3), M'Maater (2), Roxby, Ross, Steal. Taylor, Todd (2), Townaend. Club— Austin, Bilton, Brooks (2), Butt, Cutton, Cork, Collie, Forbes, Godwin, Fyfe, Hunter, Jardine, Robinson, Suow, Wright, Eve-y, and Ingpen. Members are requested to meet on the old ground each afternoon for practice.

The Sydney circular of the N.Z.L. & M. A, company, of May 21st, csntaina the following ; Wheat — There is little doing in this gram at the moment, as buyers are awaiting a further fall before committing themselves to large transactions, and growers are not yet disposed to concede. Present values are 3s 9a for Adelaide, and 3s Sd for New South Wales. Fowl feed has good enquiry at up to 2i Bd. Oats — Now that maiza is coming in mole freely, 1e99 oats are going into consumption, and, in the face of large importations, prices have further given way, and we do not see any hope of an improvement for some time to come. At auction yesterday, a splendid sample of best quality milling oats only realised 2» 2d ex store, while stout heavy feed wore sold by ua on the wharf at 23 J^d, and send tartars at 2« 6d. Several di-cuiored parcels of "feed" only realised Is lOd to Is 11 i. Market flat. Bran still remains in active demand, and lati consignments have all been taken up at 12£ d to Is Id. Pollard has also good enquiry, and up to Is l£d has been obtained. Potatoes — As anticipated by our circular of 7th instant, the influx of supplies has had the •flfcet of weakening the nnrkefc considerably. On arrival of s.s. Tekapo and Wakatipu, prices at ont time went down quite LI per tun, but as a fair demand existed, and stocks we o not abnormally htavy, a slight recovery was manifested but spot parcels of prime Derwenta at pree"t are not quotable at a higher rat* than L 3 7s 6d. Kidneys are completely negltoted,

A meetiDg of the Otepopo road board wbb held in the schoolhouse on the 29 ch ult. Present — Messrs Al»rton (chairman), Henderson, Anderson, M'Kay, Morrison, Ross, and Patterson. The minutes of the last meeting were confirmed as read. Mr Morton was then voted to the chair, and th« board proceeded with the election of officers for the ensuing year. Mr Morton w»b re-elected chairman, and Mr Macdonald, olerk ; Mr Morrison was sleeted treasurer. The chairman drew attention to a letter recently pub* lished in the North Olar/o Times which stated that the board had ueen aoting in an illegal manner in not holding their annual meeting in the first week in olay. He explained that he had not called the meeting as the auditor had not yet visited the dißtrice, and consequently the books had not been audited. Mr Mortison did not *cc why the board should be blamed when the mistake was not on their part. Mr Henierson thought parliament Bhould be moved to appoint another auditor, as there was too much work for one, The chairman drew attention to section 108 of the Road Boards Amendment Act, 1882 : "At the annual meeting of ratepayers th« oertified balance, sheet aad the auditor's report thereon must be submitted." He further stated that an soon as the books were audited, the annual meeting would be called. The clerk was instructed to write again to the auditor. Mr Wm. Frame waited on the board re the opening uf the dotted track through section 13, block 8, along the Otepopo river from Glenc-.e to Break-n«ck After disouasion it was reaolvcd that the engineer te instructed to survey this track, and also the dotted track, from the town b >undary to Breakneck, through the properties of Messrs Feawick and Watson. The board decided that all ratea must be paid by ths 15th Juno. Accounts amouting to L 53 13a 3d were passed for payment, and the board rose,

An inquest on the body of Henry DaTy Cormack, aged 2 years and 0 months wh» died suddenly on Sunday afternoon, was held yesterday forenoon, in the Globa hotel, before the coroner iMr H, W, Robinson), and the usual number of jurymen. Mr Geo. Bruce was chosen foreman. Inspector Thompson conducted the enquiiy, and the first witness he celled wh the father of the deceased, Alexander Cormack, who stated that the child bad baen ailing for a week before hii death, but could not say what wus the matter with him. On Sunday morning, when he left home, deceased was apparently much better, but on going home about three o'clock the same aftarnoon, ho was in a dying sta'e. With the assistance of some neighbor* he put deceased into a warm bath, Mary Ann Cormack, ai»ter of the deceased, said that the latter did not seem ill on Sunday, but aa he wai conghing she sent and got some medicine from Mr Hayne, the chemist, of which she ad ministared not quite a teaspoonful. Her brother'a face became flmhed, then it turned white, and she at once Bent for a neighbor, who wan noc at home. With other assistance she carried deceaied into another room. He vomited, and asked for some milk and water After taklug a little of it, he commenced to •hake »b though in a fit* Her father came in just at thft'i time. Dr Fleming, who hid been sent for, arrived shortly afterwards, when ha pronoun oei life to be extinct. J. R. Hayne, chemist, deposed to having sold a shilling^ worth of oougb. mixture on Sunday last, which a child of, any age could take, as it was perfeody harmless. The mixture hud a tenper cy to make a child tick, cough mixtnrep generally had. It would net oauie one to vomit— it aoted as an expectorant, The mix*

tare was one that he kept ready made up, and was composed principally of paregoric and syrnp of squillt, with a small quantity of lpeoaouhana wine. Dr Fleming save cvi- | deooa that he had made a post mortem ex- ■ amioation of the body, and found that the child had been suffering from ex ten si r« pleurisy, parioarditus, and an effuaion of blood on the brain, any oi whioh was sufficient to cause death. He found the lower part of tha langs very much congested, and filled with dark colored blood. The impre». eslon conveyed by this was that the immediate cau'e of death was asphyxia, brought on by an attempt to swallow, which, as tho child was iv suuh a weak state, cauetd a fit of coughing. He had heard Mr H&yne'H evidenoe re the ingredients the mixture was made up from. They were what is generally used in cough mixtures. He further stated that the laudanum in the paregoric could not possibly hare been the came of death, as it hid not; had time to ope- ate He was perfectly oerUin that the medicine was not contributory to the death unless it had irritated the throat, thereby bringing on a fit of coughing. The jury, without any hesitation brought in a verdict agreeing with the medical testimony.

A. BARGEA.NT, PHOTOGRAPHER, TEES STREET, IS NOW TAKING PORTRAITS FROM 12a 6d PER DOZ.

They Eay Russia wants India. Let them ; say, for they will hae to tak it first, if they can. They say P. Cormaox is very busy. Is he 1 Aye, is he. Get a suit frae him, if ye can. He hae lots of cloth, and he does not mak slops for ye, The cheapest house in town ia Cormack's, tailor and clothier, Tees street, Oamaru. — [Advt.

Catarrh of ihr Bladder. — Stinging irritation, inflammation, all Kidney and similar complaints, cared by "Bachu-paiba," Kempthorne Prosaer and Co., agents Chrißtohureb.

" BrjoHU Paiba.' — Quick, complete cur« all annoying Kidney, Bladder and Urinarl Diseases, At Druggists, Kempthorne, Prosser, and Co., Apents, Christohurch.

Flies and Baas, beetles, inseots, roaches, ants, bed-bugs, rats, mice, gophers, jackrabbits, cleared out by " Rough on flats,' Kempthorne, Proaser and Co,, agents Christchurch.

If you are siok with that terrible sickness nervousness, you will find a "|Balm in Gilead " in the use of Hop Bitters.

£100 Reward —They cure all diseases of the stomach, bowels, blood, liver, nerves and kidneys, and £loo will be paid for a case they will not cu.e or belp, or for anything impure or injurious found in them. — Hop Bitters. Genuine only mtde by American Co.

Decline of Mait.— Weak Nervousness, Dyspepsia, Impotence, Sexual Debility, curec* by " Well's Health Renewor. Druggißt8 — Kempthorne, Prosaer.Jand Co, Christ church i