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New Zealand Mail, Issue 751, 23 July 1886, Page 22

A “Native Difficulty,” must always have an ugly sound in the ears of New Zealand colonists. It recalls so many sad and terrible memories of by-gone horrors, that the mere mention of an occurrence such as that of last Sunday —recorded very fully in our columns elsewhere —necessarily affords food for much grave and anxious thought, absurd as the individual incidents may seem. There is much reason to be thankful that there was no bloodshed—:in. the ordinary acceptation of the term, the only gore which flowed being from Maori noses, whose “ claret ” had been “ tapped ” by the vigorous taps of sturdy colonial fists, or°by chance flicks from the gentle and persuasive stockwhip. The general good humour and moderation displayed on both sides deserves cordial praise. Especially is this the case on the part of the European settlers whose holdings were thus trespassed upon and wantonly damaged by the Maori fanatics. People acquainted with the locality described the invaded farm as the show place of the district. That paddock in which those

hundreds of Maoris, with their horses and carts and cattle, coolly •established themselves, breaking it up and erecting tents and a big meeting house, had been cultivated with peculiar care and pains, ■and was the worthy farmer’s special pride. It is difficult to conceive anything more irritating than to have a mob of fanatics, fired with the notion of some misty grievance, in which the victimised farmer has had neither act nor part, forcing an entrance and destroying the results of all that -care and labour. Many men in the heat of the moment might have used forcible measures to defend their property. It would have been hard to blame them, yet had any. Natives been, shot or otherwise severely wounded, a flame might have been kindled that would only have quenched with blood The situation must at one period of the day been in the highest degree critical. Several hundreds of excited and fanatical Maoris on one side, fired with the conviction that they were acting under inspired dictation; on the other side an equal number of stalwart European settlers, resolved upon defending their homes and properties— it is wonderful that no more severe collision resulted, and great praise is due to the three magistrates who were present, and who are stated to have done so much to allay the angry passions which were rising on both sides. The conclusion was the farce after tragedy. The wholesale ejectment of the Natives, the swift destruction of their meeting-house, the arrest of their ringleaders, and the impounding of their horses, constituted a striking, if somewhat comical, illustration of the change which has come over the aspect of things since that time in 1879, when the Government Surveyors were carted off by the Maoris. The advantage of numbers and strength is now on the European side, and the intruding Natives found themselves last Sunday evening simply swept out like so much rubbish by the housemaid’s broom. It is to be hoped that, the lesson may be a salutary one, > and may teach the Maoris that their day for bullying has gone by, and that their wisest course isjto behave as good and lawabiding citizens. We are glad to learn that in dealing with this new trouble, Mr Ballance has gone to the fountain head and warned Te Whiti that he will be prosecuted as an accessory before the fact, if he instigates these illegal and mischievous proceedings. There is not the slightest reason why Te Whiti or any other Maori, should, any more than a European, be permitted to set the law at defiance, and to instigate its breach. If the Natives have any real grievances let them seek redress in the proper manner. It is said that they desire to have the rents of the Native reserves paid to them direct instead of passing through the Trustee’s hands. We can conceive, however, many objections to the course, and even were it ever so desirable that would form no excuse for the perpetration of wilful damage to the property of an unoffending settler. That sort of thing should be put down with a high band, and we are very glad that Mr Ballance has given instructions to this effect. He has an opportunity now of showing how he can deal with a difficulty of the kind, and we have no doubt he will prove quite equal to the occasion.

Te Whiti has once more been arrested, for inciting to disturbance and injury to property. It is to be presumed that be will be brought to trial as an ordinary oftender and treated accordingly. The Government have acted very properly in taking this course. It was intolerable that Te Whiti should be permitted any longer to keep the whole country in hot water, and to instigate illegal acts with impunity. Mr Ballanee’s “ one - policeman ” policy is now on its trial. If he succeeds in suppressing this disturbance by means of the ordinary civil force, and in restoring the order and submission to law which previously prevailed, he will be fairly entitled to claim that his judgment has been vindicated, and that he was right in assuming the time to have arrived when the presence of a strong military force was no longer requisite. At the same time it should never be forgotten that such a happy state of affairs could not have been attained but for the vigorous administration of Mr Ballance’s predecessor, Mr Bryce, who fairly crushed out the incipient rebellion, and both pacified and settled the disturbed country. It will be in

every way for the benefit and prosperity of the Colony if Mr Ballance’s policy now proves to be capable of permanent application.

The poll of the policyholders in the New Zealand Government Insurance Association, which was declared Monday night at the Athenseum, is in favor of returning the control of the Association’s business to the hands of the Government. This was carried by a majority of 952, the votes recorded being as follow : —For returning to Government control, 3183 ; for the Board proposed by Mr Bell, 514 ; for the Board proposed by Mr Fisher, 1717. That is to say, 3183 voted for placing the business in the hands of the Government, and 2231 voted against this course, by giving their votes for one or other of the two classes of Boards proposed. Such, then, is the verdict of the policyholders. Wo do not agree with it, for while we readily admit that Government control would be infinitely preferable to the miserable half-and-half system that now exists, we still believe that a Board Could have been devised to work well and satisfactorily. The plan proposed by Mr Fisher, while by no means perfect, appeared to us freer from serious drawbacks than any othersuggestionthathadbeenput forward. It has, however, been decisively rejected, and may, therefore, be dismissed from consideration. There is, however, another course which some expect will be recommended by the Parliamentary Committee now sitting on the same subject. That is to place the control in the hands of a Commissioner appointed by Parliament, and responsible to Parliament, with a Committee (or Board) of advice, consisting of three or four persons elected by the policyholders. Such a plan would probably answer very well, and we hope that if it should not be recommended by the Committee, it will be proposed by some member as an amendment, so that at least it may be fully discussed before the future of the institution shall be finally determined.

Lobby gossip says that the resolution carried by the House on Wednesday on the District Railway report was finally drafted by Mr Samuels, the member for New Plymouth.

The half-yearly returns published in the Gazette show that for the six months ending on the 30th June 112,720 ounces of gold were exported from New Zealand of the value of L 451,113, the quantity for the first half of the previous year having been 113,258 ounces of the value of L 452,040. The Auckland returns are 19,147 ounces, against 17,974 last year ; West Coast, 57,370 ounces, against 58,704 ; and Otago, 34,98 ounces against 3510. Wellington figures with 47 ounces against nothing for the first half of last year.

The total number of persons who arrived in this Colony during last month was 1183, and of those who left was 1544, showing a balance of loss to New Zealand. of 361. Of those arriving, 552 came from the United Kingdom, 269 from New South Wales, and 135 from Victoria. Of those leaving, 238 went to the United Kingdom, 674 to New South Wales, and 497 to Victoria.

The report of the committee of the House of Representatives in the case of Mr Mcßae and Mr Humphreys is a very proper one. It is true that they have no legal claim against the Colony for compensation for the losses which they sustained by the late eruptions, but the circumstances of the case are quite exceptional. Their conduct at that terrible time has justly won universal admiration. No quality is so highly valued as personal courage, especially when it is shown in the cause of humanity. In their case they used every possible effort to save the lives of their neighbours, and in their praiseworthy labours took no thought for the safety of their own property. The testimony of all who were on the spot bears this out. They_ are now totally mined. Before the disaster they were both in prosperous circumstances, but now they have to start again in life. If the Government carry out the recommendation of the House of Representatives, and place on the Estimates a sufficient sum of money to aid the men who so highly distinguished themselves on a most trying occasion to make a fresh start, there can be little doubt that they will be acting in accordance with the wishes of the great bulk of the people of the Colony.

The vital statistics for June are gazetted. The births were 74 in Auckland. 62 in Wellington, 52 in Dunedin, and 39 in Christchurch. The deaths and deathrates were —Wellington, 35, or 1'35 per 1000 of population ; Christchurch, 16, or 1-05 ; Dunedin, 21, or o'9o ; Auckland, 25, or 0 76. Two octogenarians died during the month. The RegistrarGeneral remarks In respect of the four cities that the deaths from zymotic diseases were 9 in June against 10 in May. There was in June an entire absence of deaths from diarrhoeal diseases, but diphtheria caused 3 deaths in Wellington, and measles caused 2 deaths in Christchurch and 1 in Wellington. The extent to which the deaths in this class are affected by climatic influences is shown by the following comparison : In the three hottest months of this year— January, February, and March—the deaths from these diseases were respectively 44, 49, and 63 ; in June they

were 9. Of these, the deaths attributable to diarrhoeal diseases were respectively 37, 40, 46, and for June 0. Constitutional diseases caused 13 deaths in June against 17 in May. Phthisis heads the list with 9 of these deaths. There was a slight increase in the number of deaths from local disease. Diseases of the nervous system were considerably more fatal, having caused 17 deaths in June against 11 in May. Diseases of the heart caused 6 deaths, and diseases of the respiratory system 15 deaths, an increase of 1 on the number in the previous month. In the hotter months of January, February, and March the deaths from diseases of the respiratory system were 8, 6, and 7 ; in May and June, 14 and 15. The mortality from these diseases in 1885 was greatest in the months of August and September, when the deaths for the respective months were 20 and 22. Of the 5 “ violent ” deaths in this class, 2 were caused by accidents from blasting, and 1 was suicidal.

Further papers on the question of charging interest to capital during construction of Public Works were laid on the table of the House yesterday week. They comprise two letters from the AgentGeneral, with enclosures relating to the Indian railways, but no new points are brought out.

A return has been presented to Parliament, on the motion of Mr Beetham, showing the amounts paid to each of the Direct Steamship Companies by way of bonus and subsidies for carriage of mails during the year 1885. The New Zealand Shipping Company received L 12,760 143 8d for subsidy, L 7885 bonus, and L 936 remitted light dues ; total, L 21,581 14s Bd. The Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company received L 49 2s 8i for carriage of mails at one penny per letter, and LIO4O light dues remitted ; total, LIOB9 2s Bd.

The Customs duties during the June quarter of this year showed the large decrease of L 66,000 as compared with the corresponding quarter of 1885. The falling off was chiefly in spirits, tobacco, wine, beer, tea, and sugar.

The Eight Hours Bill, which has been made the subject of many insinuations this session, was thrown out last night week by one vote, on the motion for second reading.

Mr Vincent Fyke’s Otago Central Railway Extension and Construction Bill has been circulated. It provides further facilities for the construction by private enterprise and for the working of a line of railway to extend and continue the Otago Central Railway from Taieri Lake to Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka. It proceeds on much the same lines as the Midland contract, excepting that only 33 per cent, on the cost is to be granted in land, and the land granted is to be sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of, in accordance with the land laws in force in the Colony. The cost of the line is not to exceed L 750,000.

It is generally estimated that the session will be brought to a close within three weeks at the furthest. Indeed, the Government expect to finish within a fortnight, should no troublesome questions crop up in the meantime. This, however, is by no means an impossible contingency. /

Rumour says that the Select Committee which has been sitting so long on Mr Vaile’s scheme of railway reform, has almost finished taking evidence, but will probably take some days to consider its report. Various anticipations are entertained as to the probable nature of the Committee’s recommendations, but in any case the report should form the subject of an interesting debate.

Papers have been laid on the table, of the House comprising a return showing the revenue contributions of the respective provincial districts, correspondence relating to the conversion of loans, and further particulars as to the census of the Maori population.

A return has been laid on the table of the House showing the respective contributions of the various provincial districts to the revenue of the Colony during the past year. The figures are as follow : —Auckland, L 496,299 ; Taranaki, L 35,053 ; Wellington, L 640,175 ; Hawkes Bay, L 96,926 ; Nelson, L 99,012 ; Marlbrough, L 31,341 ; Canterbury, L 457,000; Westland, L 48,687 ; Otago, L 753,110. These figures comprise Customs, stamps, land, property tax, beer duty, and territorial revenue.

Once more the New Zealand Shipping Company’s steamer Aorangi has covered herself and her commander, Captain Turpin, with glory. She was the first to beat the Arawa’s famous record of gross time, but was immediately distanced by the Rimutaka, there being, however, only two or three hours difference among all three. Now, however, the Aorangi, has beaten her former lime by nearly half a day, and her rival, the Rimutaka, by 8J hours, completing the passage in 39 days 3 hours including stoppages. This is indeed a splendid run, and indisputably the shortest on record as to gross time. The steaming time, as on the last occasion, is not officially given, Captain Turpin having consistently objected to this being done,°either by himself or by any of his officers, so we have no means of judging whether or not the Arawa’s steaming time, hitherto unapproached, has at last been beaten. It would bejvery interest-

ing to learn the duration of the Aorangi’s stoppages at wayside ports. Unless her stay was very brief in each instance she must have achieved another “ best on record ” in respect of steaming as well as of gross time. In any case, the feat is one upon which the New Zealand Shipping Company may well be congratulated. The Aorangi earns a bonus of something like L7OO this trip in addition to subsidy.

Mr Wi Fere has given notice to move, That, in the opinion of this House, the sum of money paid to a member of the Legislature for negotiating the sale to the Colony of the Waikato-Rotorua Railway to be refunded, and the amount applied to relieving the sufferers by the Tarawera eruption ?

The long-expected and oft-deferred debate on The Public Works policy of the Government opened on Tuesday, and was carried on from 4 p.m. until midnight, when an adjournment until next day was agreed upon. Some very good speeches were made, notably by Mr Ormond, Mr Bryce and Mr Ballance. The Colonial Treasurer moved the second reading of the Loan Bill in. a clever speech, evidently designed to disarm opposition. He virtually admit ted that the criticisms as to that celebrated LBOO,OOO were accurate, and that it was subject to the liabilities stated. That had, however, been already fully conceded by Mr Richardson in his Public Works Statement, but even that admission was unnecessary after the conclusive manner in which the facts had been proved by Major Atkinson. Mr Ormond’s powerful speech, from its tone, might have been expected to conclude with a want of confidence motion, but of course nothing of the kind was contemplated at this late period of the. session, apart from the fact that the House manifestly does not desire at present to displace the existing Ministry.

The Joint Committee on the Rabbit Nuisance and Sheep Act presented their report on Tuesday. They consider that although the rabbits are kept down where strenuous and continued efforts are made to destroy them, the Colony is suffering a heavy annual loss from the great numbers still existing, and that the infested area is constantly increasing. The loss has assumed such serious proportions that in the Committee’s opinion no more important question can engage the attention of the Legislature. They recommend that the maximum penalty for neglect should be increased to LIOO, but with right to appeal when the penalty imposed is above LlO. They consider also that local efforts should be encouraged as much as possible. It is suggested that local efforts should be subsidised at the rate of L— for LI, that every Inspector should be empowered to dismiss summarily for neglect of duty any rabbit agent under his supervision, and that the services of any Inspector should be dispensed with on failure to deal effectively with the rabbits in his district within a reasonable time. The introduction of “ natural enemies ” is recommended for the destruction of rabbits on Crown lands. The Committee advise that greater facilities should be allowed for the travelling of sheep intended for slaughter; that no person should be compelled to dip ewe-flocks during lambing time, and that the penalties in section 3 of the Sheep Act Amendment Act should be assimilated to those of section 5.

The terms on which it is proposed to purchase the Waimea Plains Railway are specified in a memorandum by the Minister for Public Works which was included in papers submitted to Parliament yesterday. The price to be paid by the Government is L 35,000 cash, and the Company’s debt of L 75,000 to the Insurance Association ; total, LIIO,OOO. The Company is to forego half the rates due by the ratepayers up to 31st March last, and all subsequent claims.

Further papers relative to charging interest to capital during the construction of public works were laid on the table Tuesday night. The Agent-General writes that the House of Lords (on the death of Lord Redesdale, the chief opponent of the change) have brought their Standing Order on the subject into conformity with that of the House of Commons, deeming that “ this may safely be done if due provision is made that the public should be informed that the interest paid during the construction of the works is paid out of capital.” The practice is therefore now permitted, under certain restrictions, by ths Imperial Parliament.

A return has been presented to Parliament showing the results of the assessment of 1885 as compared with that of 1882, giving the assessed values of rateable property in New Zealand. The assessment of 1882 gives the total rateable value, exclusive of lands rateable under the Crown and Native Lands Rating Act, but inclusive of the proportion of leased pastoral lands of the Crown upon which rates are paid by occupiers, and exclusive of Native lands outside the five mile limit. The assessment of 1885 gives the value exclusive of all Crown lands and of Native lands rateable under the Crown and Native Lands Rating Act and of Native lands outside the five mile limit. Following are some of the principal figures : The total rateable valuation of the New Zealand boroughs amounted to L 32,377,098, as against L 27,607,897 for 1882, and of the counties to L 64,455,542 against L 66,274,543. Towns therefore show an increase of nearly 20 per cent.,

counties a decrease of about 3 per cent. The total rateable value of New Zealand, property in 1885 (including L 3,700,000 for the proportion of Crown lands on which rates are payable by occupiers, which was included in the total for 1882, but which is stated separately in 1885) was L 100,532,640, as against L 93,882,440, an increase of nearly seven millions. This is a much more favourable return than, was anticipated, a prevalent idea being that the assessment would show a heavy average fall in the value of property. There is a general increase in the provinces of Auckland, Hawkes Bay, and Nelson, a general decrease over the rest of the Colony. The following are the figures for the principal boroughs :

The counties mostly exhibited a decrease, Wairarapa, Hutt, Waimea, and Marlborough being among the few marked exceptions.

Particulars will be found in another column of some extraordinary proceedings on the part of the West Coast Maoris. The Native Minister has courteously placed at our disposal the information in his possession. From this it appears that the affair is not likely to assume any serious character, but is expected to be suppressed in a few days by the arrest and punishment of the ringleaders. The Government have beert aware for some time of Te Whiti’s intention to adopt this course, and have warned him earnestly of the consequences, but he has chosen to disregard this caution, and' : to constitute himself an accessory before the fact in relation to the present disturbances, and he will be prosecuted adcordingly. Mr Paray telegraphs that his force is ample for all purposes, and that the whole affair can be coped with by the regular police force, and by existing laws, so that it is not deemed necessary either to pass special legislation or to increase the armed force. The Government are very confident that the affair will be easily and quickly disposed of. And it certainly looks like it. With the arrest of Te Whiti the disturbance has collapsed.

The debate on the District Railway scandal, which was averted on the Wednesday, took place last Friday. It was necessarily of a very painful character, as might be imagined, seeing what was its subject, and it has left a very disagreeable taste behind. Many of the speakers found it impossible to refrain from exceedingly severe comments on the conduct of the persons concerned. Mr Garrick, indeed, delivered one of the most powerful and conclusive speeches ever heard in that House, tearing to shreds the flimsy sophisms by which it has been sought to justify a course of action which the House has so rightly condemned. The Colonial Treasurer had his desired opportunity of making a personal explanation, but he can scarcely be congratulated on the use he made of it. He certainly enabled everybody to understand why his chief was so reluctant that he should speak on Wednesday. If he had no better defence to urge than that “it was no duty of his to dry-nurse hon members, it seems to us he would have been wiser to say nothing at all. Assuredly he did: not improve matters by his wild attacks on the Committee, and on certain newspapers. That sort of thing convinces nobody, but rather the reverse. Nor can we compliment the tacticians who put up Mr Turnbull to anticipate Sir George Grey in moving the adjournment. It was a poor and unworthy device, and deserved the rank failure it met with. It may be doubted whether the last ha - even yet been heard of this deplorable affair, one of the most unpleasant incidents in all our Parliamentary history.

Mr Downie Stewart, has been elected a director of the Perpetual Trustees* Executors, and Agency Company in lieu of the late Mr Robert Gillies. A member of the Wellington Guards writes to us protesting against a proposal to assimilate the uniform of that corps to that of the rest cf the Wellington Battalion. He strongly objects to the uniform of the City Rifles, and asserts that the Guards have nowone far superior to any of its kind in the Colony. The largest brlckmakmg district of the United State-', is that of Haverstraw, New York State, on the Hudson River, 32 milesabove New York. The 45 brickyards off the district have a capacity for making 340,000,000 bricks annually. Employment is found for about 2090 men, beside 300 in the river carrying trade, which keeps 44 barges and 50 small vessels going. By order of the Home Secretary, a coffinwas recently exhumed at Leicester Cemetery, in the presence of the Town Clerk and other officials. A short time ago, a dead body was discovered at the workhouse, four days after its supposed interment, and strange rumors were circulated as to what the coffin actually contained. On being opened it was found that the coffin was empty.

1882. 1885. £ St Auckland . 2,826,144 6,150,869 Thames ... , 190 941 179,129 Napier ... . 776,107 1,070,182 Wellington . 3,403,402 3,530,742 New Plymouth.. . 374,632 312,977 Wanganui . 532,574 471,010 Nelson ... . 851,001 884,758 Hokitika . 101,650 92,961 Greymouth .. 128,699 104,435 Blenheim . 255,896 390,351 Christchurch .. . 3,221,592 3,573,899 Sydenham ,. 701,239 705,808 BytteltoD . 379,214 369,899 Ashburton .. 213,090 206,248 Timaru ... .. 561.97L 509,390 Oamaru ... ,. 788,358 702,743 Dunedin . 4,376,038 4,231,687 Caversham .. 460,700 437,936 Port Chalmers . .. 220,996 205,296 Mornington .. 307,014 342,545 Invercargill . 766,222 1,032,444