TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4138, 28 August 1900, Page 5

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

STREET’ IMPROVEMENTS

A poll of the ratepayers will he taken to-day on two of the City Council s proposals for the extension ami wide.iiiim of streets. One of the proposals is "to harrow £25,000 for the purpose of acquiring the block of land between l<’'ra,ser’s lane and 'Wingfield. street, with the object'of widening both streets and extending the latter through to Mule-rare street. No properties fronting "Molesworth street, and Mulgrave street will he interfered with, except those which are on the line of the two streets which are proposed to he widened. It is estimated that, the land left for sale alter widening the streets will produce an amount within £.IOOO of that repaired for purchase of, the block. The second proposal to lie submitted for the verdict of the ratepayers is that to borrow - tS.OOO for the purjjoso of widoning Adelaide road, from the Basin Reserve to John street. Revans street ami Riddiford street. If tiio poll is favourable. Adelaide road ami Revans will he widened 20ft on the east side, and Riddiford 161 ft on the. west side. The latter proposal does not involve the partition of the .Basin Reserve. The Basin Reserve Bill will require to ho passed by Parliament, before the proposal to take a street through the reserve can ho submitted U> be ratepayers. Tu the poll that is to he taken to-day ratepayers ought not

to forget that the wives ,of male ratepayers can vote as well as the husbands' of female Ratepayers. In other words, it is the law now that if the husband has a vote as a ratepayer, his wife, who may not he-a ratepayer, can vole also; and if the wife has a vole as a ratepayer, her husband, wbo may not be a ratepayer, can also vote on a residential qualification for Ihe loan proposal.

TIIK PBEMJKB AND THE TAB!PI''. Tin* Premier find something lo say to the ironworkers’ deputation yesterday on the subject, of what has appeared in the press regarding the tanif proposals. Ife saw In the papers, he reiiiark'-d land such st a I eluent s enldd only lead to friction), that the Government had given way upon all the proposals for remissions. He .said that was a misstatement. The Government gave way on nothing. lie told the deputation which waited on him (Mr Seddon presumably meant _ flic ■ Boxers"; that he bad 1 listened to what they had to say, and he gave his own. opinion on one or two minor subjects, and said he would place their views before Cabinet. it .was annoying and vexations, and injurious "to "the. colony, that such things .should appear in the papers, more especially as they were not correct. Then be saw in the papers a letter which it was said lie had received. He never received such a. communication. Much a statement- placed the Premier in a false position, but at all events it would not prevent bis doing what lie felt was just. , He should stick to (be main lines of the Government proposals; but there were some which, after consideration and taking evidence, would probably be modified. While he was on the tariff he wanted to make it as perfect as possible.

THE NORTH ISLAND RAILWAY. At the weekly meeting of the Auckland members yesterday, a discussion, which occupied an hour and a half, took place on the present position of the North Island Main Trunk Railway, and with regard to what action should he. taken in the event of the public works proposals relating to this undertaking being unsatisfactory to the party. There was a general expression of opinion that the minjmum amount that should' be allocated miring the present financial year for the construction of the railway should not he less than £250,000. It was pointed out tliat the assets, represented hy land purchased with loan money ear-marked for the construction of the railway, now amounted in value to £BOO,OOO, hut no machinery was provided for the utilisation of these assets. It was suggested that the Auckland members should insist on debentures being issued against the assets in order to provide funds for Hie speedy completion, of the Hue, and it was bel ievecli tbe Southern members would 'not offer any objection t*> this proposal, as no liability would be thereby imposed upon the colony generally. In order to embody these suggestions, and also to formulate the action wmch tho Auckland members should adopt if their proposals were not agreed to, a sub-committee of three members, was appointed-to prepare the necessary resolutions and submit them to tho next meeting.

DISEASED CATTLE AT THE CARE.

The correspondent of the “Standard" at Capetown reports an. incident which occurred at the begin ning of last month which is certainly not creditable to the authorities there, and which may prove to have had disastrous results. A shipload of cattle from the Argentine arrived at Capetown consigned to a local butcher. The beasts were found to be badly infected with foot and iiioutli tlisea.se. The Government, however, rn vo permission for them to ho landed on the .understanding that they were to In l slaughtered immediately. Considerable numbers were accordingly thrown overboard to swim ashore; but the kraal in which they were confined was broken through hy the animals, which were very wild, and wi nt through barbed wire as if it wore silk thread, and the diseased took to the veldt, and numbers of' them got in. among the herds of local farmers. Groat indignation was felt against the Government, and deputations waited on Mr Merrimun, of the Agricultural Department, to see what could he done. Mr Merriman treated the whole thing as a trilie, and declared that “he the results to the colony what they might, the remainder of the cargo must he landed.' Truly, this is an amazing attitude for the .Government of a pastoral community. i