OUR LETTER HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8883, 20 May 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

OUR LETTER HOME.

„ „ „mv Coventor, tho Earl of Clasis now in Australia, and the P°, w ;steamer, the llinemoa, has left iV lli,',..ten t'.-r the purpose of convey- . ii," rsceileiicy and suite irom bytlin*™ * t |„. colony. The lion. I*. p'M-lcv Colonial Secretary, left in the Euhu tor the purpose of receiving i . •ertinu' lli- l'>xcellency. ; Crucial Assembly of New Zea- , 1 is siiiniiiotieil to meet on the 23rd 'liiitc' I'"' , ' ll ' despatch of business, fI ' in consequence of this there has I I"'', ot i J,, a revival of political dis- | vU T' K •< anticipated that the Colonial T, will have a satisfactory • -o",'cut to place before the House. sfitt'im "i ' , p > i m. mis have been favourable, I ~i;( i iiial produce has been fetching :i: ', 1 j' rlir> Hi the London market. ■r' \ >\p'ert of fro/en mutton has fallen '.(■'(a's'iinc extent, but this is caused by c ' i m i!;. 1 ill the colony to stock the t '" ■ *~( i s that are being taken up and P..„, - into cultivation. _ In a very ' '•" ;i:ii'' tiiese will begin to yield, '■hl'vwVi ,'hie us to surpass the liigh:l"r' sc'- icaclietl. ill a stateiuent ,'.' v 'made by the I'reuiier, Mr. p.V-i'ac, lie claims hat he will have a. considerably over i'loo.ooo, iie lias paid oil' i'l 50,000 of lloat-v'-"iti'l't "'"t of revenue, and .1150,000 "•",> out el the proceeds of loan con- " ,'J- ... p must not be forgotten that J: ,;,,, i. is been done on the finance late ;,n crnnient, and that the !;! vvi.f measures of the present .Minis[V . !; ,yet come into operation. T,'.,','j,'nat:uic!!ts concerned have been }!Z. : v Vr.w'ucil getting in returns in j [a ; iii' land ami income tax, ami ivriiih r lias stated that he feels " n . [in! the amounts he estimated „• j j.,» r-'ceived will be realised, t„.,\ ..\v fixation will no doubt begone ~ j.j fie jiroxim.ate session, ami in ..hi' ; i;v certain changes will be I'iic discussion that lias taken _ u .„ tj:in the recess has siiown iue~t objectionable points, ami .Ministry cannot ignore. It is v 'jeVf,i tint .Ministers will be coinl„ lied to ir.'-Hlit he provisions imposing taxation oil debentures raised in Kngij, i, a:ai to remove from tneir .scheme otii-T t-atincs of an impolitic nature, i: '«oer, the I'reniier has made •;0 statciin nt on the subject. " A in-elect ion has taken place during the uatii in which great interest was !.;mih'ftcil all over the colony. Mr. J. W . Thos;iv':i, ncatiber for the P.ruce ilist:. - i:i Ha_'o. resigned. Mr. Tlioiiiso:i in- a member of the Opposition par:v, hut Ministers hoped to capture the seat, and put forth every ellort for that purpose. Mr. Lee Smith, of p'.;;;eiins, came out as a Ministerialist or diiiato. and his speeches were able a: .1 nioiierate. The Minister of Public Works (.Mr. Seddon) and the Minister for Lands (Mr. John McKenzie) ad-c'-os-.'i meetings in the district on behalf or .Mr. Lee Smith's candidature, while the I'reniier also visited the South jiist before the polling. Mr. i Jauies Allen, of Dunedin, was the Opposition candidate. l'ht; poll took i.-e on May 4, when the numbers vvp.,':- Mr. Allen, P's.j ; Mr. Lee Si:,:*.i;. .".-.s : majority for Mr. Allen, 5-07. Mr. Allen formerly sat for Dunedin. aii'.l in all probability will yet tike a foremost place in politics. 1 he lur^ i.; ijority against the Government candidate was somewhat of a surprise. Tie. is no doubt that .Ministers were deeply v.ortitied that after all the etiorii they ha.l put forth their candidate was s.i deeideilly defeated. 1 Jut j.icr!i'ius the most notable political incident, of tiie month has been the position taken up by .Sir George Grey in reference to some part of the Ministerial policy. This occurrence may have a very considerable 'etiect on the strength of parties. Last session Sir Ik-orge (irey opposed the Government cii some parts of their financial policy, and it has been well known during the recess that he regarded some of their measures as noxious, and as likely to be injurious to the colony. In an interview with a reporter of the X Zealand 11ki:ali> at Wellington the Premier ridiculed the idea of Sir George opposing the Government as an act winch would be futile, and also inconsistent with his previous political career. In reply to these remarks Sir George Grey has made a statement w !iieh shows that he regards _ the legi-liuion of tin- IJallance Ministry with grave apprehension, and as being on some points class taxation of the worst kind. We give in another column t!i'; statements "inade, as the position ftkeii up by Sir George must tend to form the legislation of next session, &r Geori!" Grey, for some years past, has not sought office, and probably under M circumstances would lit,- again accept ar ')' position in the Government. lint lie occupies a unique and powerful position in the House, owing to his experience and his great talents for tiKjHte. He may be said also to hold a sitail.ir position in the country, lie is the one man who has prestige in it 'n:a one end to the other, a prestige tot dependent on any otlice, but on personal <|ualities. Sir George' has imuouhmdly been the creator of what is ca;|.-d the Liberal party in New Zeaa;':(l. if lie comes to the conclusion that some parts of the legislation of the Lei.mi..- Government are likely to be injurious he will have a largo following from persons who have hitherto supported them, as it is undoubtedly the that many of the ''Labour party" look to him for guidance. Sevet;il members have lately addre.vM/rl their constituents. The two most irn])ort;uit speeches were those of '-ir John Hall and Mr. Macarthur. Sir Hail spoke at Leeston on April -■.and from the, Opposition point of Mew he carefully reviewed the''whole policy of the Government, lie showed now tic new taxation would bear nardly upon hand as compared with M h'i' forms of wealth. Mr. Macarthur, *■'0. , ' l, presents the district of ihtngiyk('i, spoke at Leilding on May '■), and ,l "' lie is regarded as a good authority [•"' ; dl liiiancial questions, considerable '"iportance has been attached to what 'aid. he gave an able address oti the finance and land .settlement poh'.aes ( ,f the Ministry. . J-'uring the month two native meetI 'f| ot .seme importance have been I ,'; ' • J'he hist assembled at Waitangi, . J,I J of Islands, on the spot where the '""ou-J treaty was signed. It was atif'"i ' hietly by the natives resident. ■' '<strict to the north of-Auckland ~ y hut representatives were present \[°."o | p,,rts of the colony. The lion. 'i, 1 ' ''hiian was present, and also the oil. I M,. ( ''roU, tlie native member of w ', e . , *y't'iitive. The second meeting • s held at Otorohanga, and consisted lie-- "I the native owners of the su ' wintry.'"' At both meetings Mr i' tS i ot iiiijiortance were discussed, riaf' 1 - 111 ' H,t forcibly before the Y,'!\ e ' s position in view of the t!ieP , ' SS °f settlement, and showed '" how they must conform to the orUl !p u 'y laws. vi'; f uv , lu ' lo i "the Maori King," who i f 1 J "!s r land a few years ago, has U. j,' 1 °' : time in Auckland v.'irl" I,' 1 " ' p,s had several conferences is tl ' "°, n -.-Mr. Gadman. Tawhiao Ki|ir' e Sl) " ot * ''"t'dau, who, when the difw was started, was ■^■ lu a by the natives, and who

embodied the principle of resistance to European .supremacy. Potatau died before the war was fairly entered upon, and lawliiao succeeded to his position. His power lias steadily declined, as within the last, few years several tribes which formacknowledged allegiance to him have taken a course of their own. But Tawhiao has always been looked up to by the Waikatos, and occasionally up till quite lately surveys have been stopped in his name, lie sees, however, now that it is perfectly futile to carry on anything like opposition, and that, his own interests and the interests of his people will best be consulted by being 011 perfectly friendly terms with the Jovernment. Several of the Maori chiefs who were great by virtue of their ancestry have become pensioners of the government, and no doubt. Tawhiao found that to draw a pension regularly would greatly conduce to the comfort of his declining years, llewi Maniapoto, who headed the natives at the siege of Orakau, has been in the enjoyment of a pension for several years. Tawhiao is hereafter to draw a sum of L'-2"> per annum. The lion. Mr. 'adman, in agreeing to confer this pension, said he del not ask anything in return, except, that Tawhiao would use his inlluence with the native people to keep them from breaking the law. Tawhiao said that he had already done so, and that in the latest case, Kerei Kaihau had acted entirely 011 his own responsibility. On April i'l>, the first sale by public auction of landed properties belonging to the Hank of New Zealand Instates Company took place at Timaru. The properties oil'ered were the 11 iversion and Arowhenua estates in South Canterbury, comprising a total area of !«;ilo acres of magnificent" farm lands. There was keen competition for the Kiverslea lands; and, although all the lots were not disposed of, those sold realised a substantial advance on the reserve prices fixed by the company. The unsold sections are. we understand, moving oil' at satisfactory figures. The bidding for the Arowhenua estate was, however, languid and spiritless. The result of the sale as a whole, when it is taken into consideration that the terms otlered were of the most advantageous character to bidders, shows that there is not that demand for small firms or the acquisition of land of reasonable areas which the Ministry put forward as the principal reason for the new taxation proposals. These proposals were intended to cause large landowners to subdivide their properties in order to satisfy the land hunger ' which they stated existed. The sale at Timaru, however, shows that the ''hunger" has been exaggerated : or that, as is perhaps more probable, their policy has rendered investors more cautious. At all events, it is somewhat significant that the sale of these excellent pastoral and agricultural properties failed to attract outside investors, the purchasers being in every case local fanners desirous ot increasing the area of their present dines.

Within the last fewdays cable messages have been received m New Zealand, to the etl'ect that General I loot of the Salvation Army, was making arrangements for sending out a batch of colonists to New Zealand. Considerable surprise has been occasioned, as no definite arrangements have been made here with regard to land or otherwise. In matters Masonic, the most important function of the Order, so far as the New Zealand Constitution of Freemasonry is concerned, took place on the :17th of April under exceptionally impressive circumstances. The new Constitution provides for an annual election of otiicers. Brother Thomson. of Christcliurch, was the first M.W.G.M. of the new Order. Brother Lord Onslow having, for some reasons connate with his position as a Grand Lodge Ollicer of the Grand Lodge of England, declined to accept the position. The new Constitution of Freemasonry has, however, made rapid progress under the rule of brother Thomson, many lodges holding under the parent Constitutions Having given in their allegiance, and several new lodges have been erected, The ceremonies on the installation of brother Malcolm Niccol as M.W.G.M. on the :27th were of a most imposing character. They took place in the Choral Hall, the Masonic Hall being insufficient to provide accommodation, lhe decorations were of the most elaborate description, and the ceremonials throughout were chaste and neat. 11.M.5. liingarooma has come out of Calliope Dock, where she has been for some time past, painting, overhauling, and renovating, and is at present netting everything in readiness to proceed to Wellington. She will remain hen: until next week, part of her crew taking part in the sham fight to beheld here by the local volunteers _ on Queen's" birthday. 11.M.5. Goldfinch left for the Chatham islands about a fortnight ago, and has since arrived .at telton. " She will probably go to Wellington to take part in the proceedings at the reception of the Earl of Glasgow, the .new Governor of the colony. 11.M.5. Boomerang is expected here from Sydney shortly, and will remain for a short period. 11.M.5. Orlando is to leave Sydney to-morrow, for Melbourne, Adelaide, and Hobart. 11.M.5. J loyalist, Tauranga, and Ctiracoa have gone to the New Hebrides, and will return to Sydney. The French warship Dubourdieu, after a stay of a fortnight at this port, has gone to Tahiti, the headquarters of the French fleet in the South Pacific. The Supreme Court proceedings recently have been almost blank, His 1 lon or M r. .1 ustice Conolly being absent at Wellington at the sittings of the Appeal Court. It is expected that he will arrive in Auckland about the 23rd, and take up the ordinary course of chambers, banco, find bankruptcy proceedings to clear oil' outstanding business. The criminal sittings of the Court open on the 30th instant. The calendar is comparatively a light one, but there is oik; feature in it—a charge of murder—which is very unusual here. The circumstances of the crime, and the relations of the parties, will no doubt prove a feature in a case which is surrounded by many peculiarities. The alleged murder took place at Helena Bay, about 140 miles north of Auckland. The man accused is a German named liobert Butler, and has very little knowledge of English, and the victim is a Swiss named Arthur Kettan. The Montague-Turner Opera Company, who arrived from Sydney last month, have concluded a season here of three weeks, during which period they have produced a good collection of standard operas, comprising, " II Trovatore," " Lucrezia Borgia," "Faust," "Carmen," " Maritana," "The Bohemian Girl," " Martha," and " Mignon." The prima donna is Miss Annis Montague, and the first contralto Miss Lambert, while Mr. Turner is chief tenor and Mr. Edward Farley the leading basso, an able quartette, whose singing and acting have been regarded with great interest. Large audiences have been present fit the Opera House throughout the season. The company have left for Napier. Before the visit of the MontagueTurner Company, Mr. Walter Bentley and a dramatic company occupied the Opera House with " Hamlet," "Iviche-

lieu," "Othello," "The Merchant of Venice," "Richard 111.,'' and other worthy plays, produced under excellent conditions, Mr. Hentley, who has a considerable reputation as an actor, appearing in the leading roles.