TARANAKI.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 994, 20 March 1891, Page 24

TARANAKI.

The weather has been superb all the week, and towards the end of it a number of Deoplo ventured to light up fallen bush. I hear Mr Baillie got a good burn over 3000 acres. Some smaller burns are not so good, owing to the large amount of green growth that has shot up during the past wet season. The thistles this year are almost phenomenal, acres and acres of them are growing everywhere, seven feet high, to the great inconvenience of cattle and the utter confusion of sheep. Many farmers sold out their dairies last spring and bought sheep, hoping to make a better profit on them than they could on butter at 5d per lb. Butter has now gono down to 4d, but tbe sheep owners have not been without their troubles. The rain coming down on the sheep, just after they were shorn, causea many deaths among them. The impenetrable forests of thistles prevent the sheep from getting to the feed, and, from various causes, a great many of the lambs died. Still the extreme smallness of profits to be made in dairying causes more and more farmers to leave it and take to sheep instead. Only a small number have taken to growing fruit as a business, it being a question not yet answered by experience whether fruit will be sufficiently paying in Taranaki. I believe, if advantageous situations are utilised, plenty of shelter planted to protect the fruit trees from the winds that are felt so strongly here, and great vigilance exercised to keep down insect pests, fruit growing can be made a profitable business. But even to those who do not reckon on making it a business, Sandy’s advice to his son is good : 4 Be aye stickin’ in a tree, Jock, ’twill be growing while ye’re sleeping.’ If there is no more necessary use for the profits of the ripening fruit, they may, at any rate, furnish the farmer’s wife or daughter with pocket money. The event of this week has been the grand banquet given by the Liberals on the 10th instant, in honour of Mr Felix Maguire, the member for Egmont. It was spoken of as the great Liberal demonstration at Stratford, and was considered so essentially political that some gentlemen refused to be present on that account. The Hon. Mr Ballance, Mr Maguire, M.H.R. (Egmont), Mr Or. Hutchison, M.H.R. (Waitotara), Mr E. M. Smith, M.H.R. (New Plymouth), and about 150 gentlemen were present at the banquet, while seats were arranged on the stage for those ladies who wished to hear the speeches, or to look on. About thirty ladies were present, some others having refrained from applying for tickets under the impression that they were,all taken up, but p.s many more could have been seated. The banquet commenced in the Town Hall at little before 9 p.m. Two tables, the length of the hall, and one across were tastefully arranged with flowers, and loaded with good things. The hall was prettily decorated with flags and Chinese lanterns, and was well lighted. Conversation and laughter far exceeded the usual description of hum and buzz, and showed that all the guests were mightily enjoying themselves. Shortly before 10 o’clock Mr Allsworth, Chairman (editor of the Egmont Settlor), rose to address the assembly with a short speech, during which he read out a few letters of apology from gentlemen-iunable to attend for various reasons given, '"'and proposed the health of Mr Maguire, which was drunk with musical honours and cheering. Mr Maguire responded, his remarks being received with reiterated applause. I will mention the opinion Mr Maguire expressed that it was a bad custom to sep irate the ladies from the men on such occasions, and he would be pleased to see them sitting at the banquet, and hoped the time would soon arrive when etiquette would no longer prevent their doing so. The Premier said ho agreed with those sentiments, and would go further and say that he thought the time hod come for giving the franchise to women, and he believed much good would result from doing so. He had heard it asserted that the women would bo entirely ruled by the priests and parsons (at these words an audible laugh arose from the the benches where the ladies were seated), he did not believe that, but thought the women would vote in an independent and unbiassed manner. All the topics of greatest interest, politically, and locally, were touched upon by the various speakers, who were repeatedly applauded to the echo. The toasts were enthusiastically responded to with all the honours, and libations of wine were abundantly poured out. The ladies had all departed by twelve o’clock when only about half the speeches had been delivered. The banquet was over soon after 2 a.m., having proved an immense success. The fine weather has brought out the usual swarms of mosquitoes and travelling agents. The smoke of the bush fires will soon drive away the formei 1 , but the means of keeping away the latter are yet to be found. It adds auother care to the hard-working farmer or farmer’s wife, harassed by unseasonable weather or low prices of produce, to see every day coming up the garden walk another agent, and know that there will be a bad quarter of an hour fighting against the demon, who insists upon their buying pianos, organs, books, photographs, pictures, patent medicines, jewellery, cork ornaments, and insurance

policies, regardless of their assertions that they cannot afford these things with butter at 4d per lb. Really, if some of these gentry would turn their hands to productive work it would be a boon to society. If the books, organs, &c., are properly advertised in the papers, people who require them will know where to send for them. But to force people who do not requiro these things, and. cannot afford them, to waste valuable time listening to an endless farrago of extravagant praise, persuasion, and flattery, is insupportable. The result of the Local Option polling at Ngaire showed 93 being against an hotel being opened there. Part of the Mountain-road, between Ngaire and Stratford, presents a magnificent spectacle on this night of the 13th. An Education Reserve which has for years past stood like a great wall, shutting out the afternoon sun and making the days shorter for those who lived within its Bhadow, has to-day been burnt, a strong north wind blowing favourably. It is a wonderful sight by day, but still more striking by night. As far as the eye can see great trees are glowing and throwoff fireworks; every now and then some of them go creaking and smashing to earth, while above all Orion’s steely-blue stars seem to glitter coldly compared with the red glowing balls of fire which look like great stars twinkling and shooting in the sky, the darkness making the rest of the trees invisible.