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New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 8524, 2 November 1888, Page 4

It is understood that the Government have received official intimation from the Colonial Office that Her Majesty has been advised to give the Royal assent to the Governor’s Salary and Allowances Act, 1887- It will he remembered that considerable doubt existed as to the fate of this Act at the hands of the Imperial authorities, there being a very general idea that it would be disallowed, in order that a more valuable piece of patronage might be retained by the Crown.

The amount of Customs revenue collected last month was L 124,441 4s 3d, the four principal ports contributing as follows :—Dunedin, L 30,050 ; Auckland, L 25,285; Lyttelton and Christchurch, L 22.649; Wellington, L 23,288. The amount collected in October of last year was L 124,209 19s 6d. The total receipts for the seven mouths amounted to L 808,584. The official estimate was L 208,333, for the first tw-o

months (at L 1,250,000 per annum) under the old tariff, arid L 126,250 per month for the other five months under the new tariff; total, L 839,583. Thus the actual receipts fall short of the proportionate estimate by L 30,999. There is, however, good reason to anticipate that this deficiency will be recovered, or nearly so, during the coming summer months, and that the ultimate result for the year will very closely approximate to the estimated total.

The Beer duty collections during the month of October amounted to L 4536 ss, as against L 4155 6s in the same month of last year :—-The returns at the four principal ports were as follow :—Dunedin, LllO2 ; Lyttelton, L 94 8; Auckland, L 895; Wellington, L 492. A, deficiency is shown as against the estimate for the seven months of the financial year that have elapsed, of L 2749 13s lOd.

The Government have received from Mr A. D. Bell, representative of New Zealand at the intercolonial commission on rabbit destruction, now sitting at Sydney, an interesting memorandum, in which a brief resumd of the work of the Commission is given. Mr Bell (who writes under date 17th October) states that a. progress report of the proceedings and work of the Commission, with a resume of its main undertakings and proposals for the future, is to be presented to the New’ South Wales Government shortly, and copies will be available for other Governments. With reference to the Pasteur experiments, he says they demonstrated clearly that fowl cholera can be communicated to rabbits either by feeding ' them with inoculated fowl ; or by infection. This, however, was already well known, and the experiments on the power of the disease to spread among rabbits resulted very differently. M. Pasteur’s agents then demanded permission to make further experiments in the open country, but 'this the Commission refused, preferring that the series of experiments it had planned should be tried first. These are now concluded, and the results may, Mr Bell says, be _ roughly described as indicating that, - while the disease is sufficiently safe as regards ordinary domestic animals, it is unfortunately almost as safe under anything like natural conditions to the rabbits themselves ; while it is very deadly when once the rabbit- takes it, it is anything but conspicuous for facility in spreading among rabbits, either by infection or contagion, even under more favourable conditions than couldbe obtained in the open country. This, however, is only a general resume of the results achieved, and the progress report will give more detailed information. When;Mr Bell wrote a new series of experiments were to be made at Rodd Island, which would be, as it were, half-way between the laboratory and the open country. The results of these Would net be arrived at for at least six weeks, by which time Mr Bell would , have returned to. New Zealand. In ’ conclusion, he says that while the members ©f the Commission are individually almost dismayed to find the extent, to which they have pledged themselves, they are determined that their labours shall be carried: to a conclusion and the many questions under consideration thoroughly, investigated. He has been greatly pressed to return in January to take part in the work of the Commission, and, although he declined to pledge the Government, he cannot but recognise that withdrawal from the work at present can hardly be justified. Personally, however, he would prefer not to go again. ,

The report of the Royal Commission appointed to investigate the particulars of the Point Resolution question has been presented by the Governor to the Government. Phe report is a voluminous one. The Commissioners are of opinion that the Government took land in excess of that, required. They see no reason for imputing to Mr Brewer, who purchased the land for Government, any corrupt or improper motive. They agree > that the course adopted in the purchase of the land was not justifiable. They consider unquestionably that wrong was done, for which the Government were solely responsible. The Commissioners attribute no blame to anyone but the Government and its agents; and Government acted wrongly in two respects—(lst) in taking by proclamation, under pretext of requiring it for public purposes, land which they never intended to use for the purpose, but had already bargained with private persons in order to save LSOO compensation claim ; (2nd) in making a private bargain and applying to the Legislature for special authority to . defeat the right of preemption which the law had expressly given the previous owners of land taken by Government and not required for public purposes ; and further, in refraining from sending to the Church trustees formal notice of what they intended to do. The Commissioners aver that the wrongs mentioned had been specially ratified by Parliament.