Daily Circulation, 1500. The Oamaru Mail. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1892.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XVII, Issue 5203, 9 February 1892, Page 2

Daily Circulation, 1500. The Oamaru Mail. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1892.

Mr Thomas Mackenzie lias elicited quite a round of applause from the anti-Ministerial papers for his raid on the Ministerial position. He is fully entitled to this evidence f. of approbation. We do not know that there is anyone on his side who could have done better than he has done. His failure to convince anyone who was not already anxious to believe anything evil and silly of the present Administration is not attributable to any incapacity or unwillingness on his part to make the best of his position, but to the weakness of the cause lie advocates and the comparative strength of that to which he is opposed. Like most of those who criticise others, Mr Mackenzie displays a singular amount of political virtue, and makes one feel regret that all he lacks is consistency. Mr Mackenzie, indeed, approves of Mr M'Kenzie's land policy, though he supported Mr Richarson's administration. He also expressed himself in the following terms in regard to the Government's new taxation: "I am delighted to think that the Government in their wisdom, are ab'e to reduce the taxation on farmers. I am quite delighted to think that it is so, and I say this, that it is now only right and proper to give the new system a fair trial." Mr Mackenzie, then, approves of Mr M'Kenzie's land policy, and credits the Government with having attained, by means of their new taxation, the very object they had in view—the relief of the farmers from a system of taxation that was not only wrong in principle and unfair, but that became painfully burthensome in unfortunate seasons. The only real point of difference on the land question between Mr Thomas Mackenzie and the Minister for Lands is really as to whether or not safeguards shall be adopted to stamp out dummyism and monopoly. Mr Thomas, whilst expiessing approval of Mr John's policy, wou'd take out of it its greatest feature he would permit the poor perpetual leaseholder to obtain the fee simple of his allotment. Such Christian sympathy is very nice in the abstract ; but under the administration of Mr Richardson, by whom Mr Thomas Mackenzie swore, till Mr John M'Kenzic ripped open his lancl policy from top to bottom and exposed the strings by which the Department was being worked, the land seldom fell into the hands of the boii'i fi'le colonist. In theory it sounded well to set up the principle that every man should be permitted to have a bit of land of his own ; but everyone knows that the capitalists swarmed at every sale, attended by their paid dummies, and mopped up almost every acre. We have yet to learn that Mr Brydone, for instance, was a poor perpetual leaseholder. There was only one method of circumventing such men, and that method was adopted by Mr M'lvenzie. The only difference between Mr M'Kenzie and his latest critic on the Opposition side is that the one, having resolved that certain principles are right, determines that they shall be carried out, whilst the other is satisfied to talk of the beauty of the same principles and regret that they must be sacrificed to stupid and fallacious sentiment.

A Government Gazette just to haiul eontains the new scale of rates, fares, and charges for the New Zealand railways which will come into operation oil the 29th instant. We observe that the Railway Commissioners perpetuate the injustice to Oamaru by continuing the differential tariff as between Dunedin and Oamaru. The annual meeting of the Railway Union will be held in the Coffee Rooms at 9 o'clock this evening. The business will bo the election of officers and general. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and M.H.R. for Waimate County, Major Steward, is expected to be in Waimate to-day for the purpose of interviewing the Borough Council re the new post office, which is shortly to be erected. An accident happened on the Kakanui road on Saturday fortunately unattended by any serious consequences. Mr Hugh M'Kay, of All-Day Bay, was driving home from town when his horse bolted and he and the other two occupants of the buggy were thrown out. Mr M'Kay and a little girl escaped uninjured, but Miss Matliieson—the third occupant—was rendered unconscious for a time. She is, however, now progressing favorably. Trains on the Kurow line arc suspended till further notice. There is a glut of potatoes in the Sydney market, the supply being much greater than the demand. The Clarence River has sent an enormous quantity, and the fanners there are now sorry that they planted so many. We (Napier Telegraph) hear that Sir George Grey is in a very weak condition of health, and everyone will be grieved at the news. Last session it was noticed with pain that the old statesman slumbered in the House, which was so contrary to his former habits that it was apparent it was through failing strength. There are many members of the House who make it a practice to sleep out an evening sitting ; something more than the proverbial "forty winks" being taken to pass the time or aid digestion. But Sir George Grey was always in his place, wide awake, and full of fight, till last session. Sir George never wanted to sleep off a potation, or complete the comfort of a dinner with a snoose. His slumbers were due to physical exhaustion, and his friends fear that he will not be seen at his usual place next session. Sir George Grey was born in April, 1812, and with the weight of years must be counted the severity of his life in his younger days. At the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, before H. A. Stratford, Esq., R.M., the following civil cases were heard : W. Manning v. G. Parr. Mr Crawford appeared for the plaintiff. The claim was for IA 14s, balance of money lent and interest, which plaintiff said that defendant agreed to pay. Judgment by default for amount claimed, with 7s costs. J. and T. Meek v. Robert Beckham, claim LIS 17s 4d. Judgment by default for amount of claim, with 21s costs. For some time past the Lyttelton Times has been publishing a periodical statement of its circulation, duly accredited, from which it appears that it sends out eight or nine thousand copies daily, and hence enjoys the largest circulation of any morning paper in the colony. The Christchurch Press responds, after many months of silence, with the indefinite statement that it lias " the largest bona fide. circulation in the colony." Probably this will lead to a direct challenge, which will settle, between the two Christchurch dailies, a question that is always, so far as the public are concerned, surrounded by more or less doubt. In his speech at the bauquet given to him in Dunedin, the Governor said:—"l have seen the solidarity of labor. I have seen the working men exhibit their loyalty to each other, tried by the truest test of trials—the pinch of hunger. I have seen men stick to each other, even when they had a bad cause ; I say, sir, that that was worthy of a better cause. (Applause.) I have seen the determination on the part of the industrial classes to be represented by some of their own mates in the Parliament of the colony, and I have noted the difference between these true representatives of the people ani the would-be champions of the work-ing-men. (Loud and continued applause.) I have found the former to be conscientious, honest men, with a grave sense of the responsibility that rested upon them, and a most sincere desire to do their duty to their constituents, and have found the others to be men who regarded the working men only as men with shoulders broad enough for them to climb up upon them if not to fame, at least to notoriety. (Loud and prolonged applause.) Gentlemen, the next Parliament in England will most cer-

tainly contain a large number of labor representatives. (Hear, hear.) I have not the slightest fear for the future of the Empire because these men will take a share in the shaping of it. (Applause.) I am one of those who have rio fear of the Democracy, but I confess that I have some dread of the smooth tongue of the plausible demagogue. (Applause.) On the contrary, I think that such representation in the Imperial Parliament will be productive of immense good to the Empire. There was a danger at one time that the Empire might go to pieces out of sheer indillerence because people in one part of the Empire did not take sufficient interest in what was going on in another part; hut since the great dock strike in London, and since the Australians came forward with their sympathy and their purses, it has been abundantly clear that t lie influence of labor in one part of the world is so great in another pari of the world, especially of the English-speaking world, that there is no danger that we shall look only upon the afifairs ot others. Three thousand bales of high-grade wool, from Sydney, New South \\ ales, of an average of 35011) each, writes the Auckland Herald's American correspondent, were brought to San Francisco in the steamship Monowai, which arrived from the port named on Christmas morning. On the last trip of the steamship Mariposa 1928 bales, of the same average weight, arrived, and the next steamship from the colonies (the Alameda, due January 21st), is expected to bring to San Francisco a consignment of Australasian fleeces fully up to the Mouowai's shipment. These shipments are considered unusually heavy, and the fact that the M'Kinley tariff has clapped II and 12 cents a pound on the long fleece from the antipodes does not seem to have, any other effect on the Boston merchants, who are the sole importers of the wool for use in Massachusetts factories, than to make them demand more of the article. The Lyttelton Times' (ieraldine correspondent writes :—The farmers in this district have been busily engaged harvesting under the most trying circumstances—sunshine and rain vying with each other for predominacne, causing considerable anxiety to those most particularly interested in the ingathering of the crops. Weather permitting, the harvest will bo the most bountiful seen in the district for at least ten years past, the yield of wheat in several instances being from 50 up to 70 bushels per acre. Oats will be equally prolific. As the Resident Magistrate's Court, this morning a first offender, for drunkenness, was convicted and lined ss, or seven hours' imprisonment. Joseph Kench, an old offender, was convicted and lined 10s, or 21 hours' imprisonment. Wo regret to notice that the Napier Evening News will cease publication on Saturday next. The News has made itself a name for the fearless manner in which it. has spoken out against the regime of monopoly and the abuse of power. Situated in the very hot-bed of squallocracy, it has maintained its independence throughout a severe struggle for existence and a chequered career. The force of circumstances has been too strong for it and it has had to give in. The Napier district will now be unrenresented by a respectable journal, only the subsidised papers of the monopolist, class remaining to revel unchecked in their systematic career of misrepresentation. The Post states that even if there is a, surplus on the present financial policy, it will be due to the policy of the predecessors of the present Ministry based on the Property Tax as a principal feetor. Apart from the doubtful construction and contradictory nature of I lie above statement, tlio Post is evidently sowing seed for future contingencies. Seeing the strong probability of a satisfactory surplus, our contemporary is preparing its excuses and explanations, which must be urged early and long to have any chance of taking effect.. The Redclilf correspondent of the Waimate Times writes :—Harvesting has been in full swing through the district for the past three weeks. The weather has been most favorable, and nearly all the crops have been cut down. Stacking is now being pushed ahead vigorously, and if the weather keeps good fanners will very soon feel comparatively safe. The crops are nearly all considered good, and some considerably above the average. Perhaps the heaviest in the district are those of Mr Douglas, Waihao Downs, where a large area lias been in wheat, oats, and barley this year. Nine reapers and binders have been going oil there from daylight to dark for nearly three weeks. The improvements effected on this property have made it the foremost in South Canterbury for carrying stock and raising crops. On the roadside, near the homestead, may be seen a splendid crop of 50 acres of potatoes, and as many more in swedes, mangolds, carrots, and cabbages in one paddock. A lot of these will, of course, be for sale ; still, a great deal must be consumed on the place, where there arc nearly always 100 men at work. Education up Auckland way is distributed on a somewhat peculiar basis, if we may judge from the prospectus of the Auckland College and Grammar School, .as it is republished in the New Zealand Herald, a portion of which reads:—"Fees.—These are: For pupils in the lower school, if under the age of thirteen years, L2 Ills per form ; for all others L 3 10s ]«•>■ ton, except that for two members of one family both chargeable with the higher fee, it is reduced to L 3 3s each." If this is not offering a premium on numerically lai'L'e and physically thin families, we (lon't know what else it is meant for. Messrs Butterworth Bros.' trophy, competed for by members of the Oaniaru Uiflcs, was won by Private R. Smith, with the score of 31 at 300 yards, 10 shots. The Union Company's steamers lvawatiri and Brunner arrived off here shortly before four o'clock this afternoon, and, notwithstanding the heavy sea rolling in, both vessels steamed into port without the slightest difficulty. The Kawatiri has, we believe, come from the West Coast with a coal, and the Brunner is from the North with merchandise. " A town like (Jreymouth with a population of three or four thousand and no public baths, why ! you surprise inc," was the reply made by a tourist at Greymouth last Sunday on being informed that if he wished to indulge in a dip he would have to go up Coal Creek or to the beach. His surprise would probably have developed into absolute physical paralysis had he been in Oamaru and learned that a population of nearly GOOO were in precisely the same lamentable condition owing to a lack of responsiveness to those who essayed to establish such a promoter of health, manliness, and recreation, or to a disinclination to be cleanly. The Government have just purchased 30,600 acres in the Pohinuiatanc Block from the native owners, who have reserved 5000 acres for themselves. The price paid, we hear, was about os per acre. The land is said to be of fairly good quality, though covered with bush. The negotiations were conducted by Captain Butler, Land Purchase Officer, who also succeeded in getting land through the Native Land Court, so that the titles might be individualised, and each owner's interest determined.—Wanganui Herald. The adjourned meeting of the Acclimatisation Society was held this afternoon. Present : Messrs H. Aitken (president), Stock, M'lntosh, and Crawford. A letter was read from Mr W. H. Spaekman, President of the Christchnrch Society, who has been appointed Chairman of the Chicago Exhibition Committee, with reference to the most suitable exhibits and information relative to fishing stations and best means of access thereto, asking for particulars thereof. The Secretary was ordered to comply with this request. Notice has been brouglit before the Committee that some persons had been fishing in the Society's rearing ponds, the same not being opened. The Secretary was instructed to let the papers and public known that the ponds were not yet opened, and trespassers would be prosecuted. The numerous carcases of sheep and cattle strewn along the beach as a consequence of the late storm will become a serious menace the public health unless they be buried or otherwise disposed of. It has been mentioned that they might be taken to the depot; but how would that improve the position ? It would only transfer the nuisance and the evil to the very doors of the residents at the north end | of the town. The depot is already bad | enough without the aid of festering carcases.