THE MIDLAND RAIL COMPANY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10014, 28 December 1895, Page 5

THE MIDLAND RAIL COMPANY.

[By THOaiUPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Wellington, Friday. Is the Midland Railway arbitration case, the co«ts and charges of umpirage awarded are £0859 ; fees and expenses of Sir Bruce Burnside on both orders of reference, £2625; feos and expends of Sir Charles Lilley (appointed by the Government), £1500 on the first order of reference, no charge made on the secon.i; feos and expenses for umpirage, £200 on the first reference; second reference, fees and expanses, £500; secretary, £210; proof reader, £24. The award is to be lifted on Monday, and both parlies are sanguine. The Government, claim that on the main i«sues and on the merits of the ease, they will succeed, some six of the items of the claim having been abandoned or withdrawn, or held not to be arguable. Pending arbitration proceedings the Government withhold the final issue of land grant, certificates for land earned by the company prior to the termination of the contract. In the meantime provisional cer tificatos had been issued. The Premier explains that prior to the second order of reference being gone into, it was argued between the parties that the land grants for which provisional titles had beon issued should bo completed and withdrawn from the order of reference. Prior to tho address by counsel, it was agreed thai) the land grant earned but not oxorcised, amounting to £21,000, should be eliminated from tho order of reference, and that tho company should be allowed to select, as in cases where provisional certificates had beon issued, or at the option of the company, £lfi,oooin land grants and the £5000 now standing to the credit of the company in the suspense account. This was agreed to, and the question of issuing land grants was altogether eliminated from tho order of reference.

In the August issue of the National Review, Mr. J. L. Macdonald gives a very disparaging account of the condition and prospects of fruit-farming in California. The business has boon " boomed" in tho most unconscionable manner for many years, and, in Mr. Macdonald's opinion, it lias been greatly overdone. The climate, soil, and fruit producing capacity of California, ha represents have all been greatly over praised. Many a fruit farm is now to bo had for the mortgage money upon ir, which is very much less than the capital Bunk in it, Mr. Mncdonald appears to think that the condition of fruit-farmers will become worse instead of better in the future, as he is of opinion that there is much over-production, and planting is still going on. But, so far as we can make out, the case is one of roWtive over production only. That is to say, tho growers as a body are in the hands of middlemen, and, while they get miserable prices for their produce, consumers pay prices half of which would remunerate growers handsomely. What is needed is co operation among growers to employ agents of their own to dispose of their fruit. It has been alleged that sponges may probably be very cheap in the future. Mr. K. C. Kingsley write-" as follows" Recently it has been discovered that these animals will grow and flourish whan cut up into slips and transplanted. This brings up the old question as to whether sponges aro vegetable or animal, and may result in overturning the old-time verdict that they are a lowor order of Animal life and not vegetable. However this may be, the sponge beds can bo increased indefinitely by simply planting small piecos of them, which grow rapidly." There were two prisoners in the lock-up last evening, both on charges of drunkenness,