WELLINGTON.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4167, 26 June 1875, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESrONDENT.) .. June 2Lst. Our City Council has lately been exerting itself to some purpose. It has entered iuto a three years' contract, on very advantageous terms, for the removal of the night soil 01 the city for one thing. It has also called for reports from the Engineer, .Harbour Master, and Pier Master as to the best means of increasing* the wharf accommodation ; and it lias made fresh and much more satisfactory arrangements of a financial character with the Bank of New Zealand. The Bank undertakes the disposal of L 50.000 of Water Works debentures on favourable terms as to commission, and in the meantime advances L 40,000 on the security at eight per cent., thus enabling the Corporation to pay off the advance of £25,000 on Water Works account made by the Wellington Trust and Loan Company, and on which the interest has lately been ten per ceut. The Bank of New Zealand itself has also bjtn charging this rate on the overdraft, but now it agrees to allow an overdraft on ordinary account of £10,000 at eight per cent.' Tiie Council is also about to petition Parliament to reveal the exemption of Government property from rates. More than one-half of the Thorndon Ward is Government property and pays no rates, although the streets and footpaths have to be maintained along considerably more than a mile of unproductive frontage. The occupants of the Ministerial residences are also always veiy particular on the subject; of drains, &c, so that altogether this Ward is a great drag on the t-.txat.iou of the remainder of the city. It is uryed that at home Government property always pays local taxes, and that there is every reason why a similar arrangement should exist here. This matter is of ci urseoneof interest t >every municipality in the Colony, although none are probably affected to siu-h an extent as Wellington, There was a great meeting of early settlers in the Oddfellows' Hall on Thurtday last, convened at the suggestion of Mr John Howard Wallace, who is seeking to make p ditieal capital by trying t j convince the early settlers that they are a vary Mused lot of persons, because the Colony has not recognised their services by free grants of land. Hi nee the meeting to urge these claims. Probably there were about iOO pioneers present, the rest being "new chuius,"anxioustoseetlus fun. After a number cf gentlemen had been asked and refused, Mr Geo. Crawford, one of ih". City M.P.C.'s, was induced to preside, and he was the only man nf any influence or position in a political sense, who was present. In fact, all the leading men amongbt the early settlers are thoroughly disgusted with the agitation and with Mr Wallace. Many of the genuine old country settlers are, however, ltd away by him, and honestly believe they have claims which, as one of themsaid, he was sure Parliament would be only too alad to recognise in a substantial manner. Mr Wallace was, of course, chief orator at the meeting, but neither he nor those who succeeded him, in any way defined the grounds of the claiir.s. They all talked in a vague way of all they had suffered and gone through in the early days of colonisation. There were a iew very respectable old veterans present, some of them having come even from the Wairarapn to attend ; hut, as a rule, the speakers who followed Mr Wallace were not very creditable representatives. Two of them might, amongst other sufferings they had endured, have alluded to coi tim accusations ot sheep and pig stealing on which they had been arraigned, and acquitted. They did not, howeve1 ', touch on this point. Theie was a resolution p:>s*ed with great enthusiasm to the effect that everybody who had arrived in the Colony prior to the Ist January, IS4S, was entitled to compensation, and that Parliament be petitioned t > consider their c aims. You will observe that the date is arrangul so as to leave the Otago pioneers no chance of sharing in the spoil. One indulividual, who said he was a later arrival than 181S, endeavoured to protest against that date being fixed, but the meeting w.uld not hear him, and he was howled down. The proceedings then became rather disorderly, but a comn.ittee to urge the claims was appointed, and a subscription was opened to defiay expenses. About £10 was, I believe, the amount subscribed. Mr E. J. Wakefkld, who has been rather cut out in this matter by JVlr Wallace, was present, and various i {Torts to get him to speak were made, but without eff ct. Mr Wallace was even agitating this matter frr some nine months by mems of le'ters in the newspapers, and Mr Wakefield has also written several times on the subject, although the details of his scheme of compensation diif-r from Mr Wallace's. The latter gentleman's little game in agitating the question is to try and get into political life again. He was once chairman of i Committees in the Provincial Council, but has since been rejected at two general elections, and several intermediate ones. He is now trying this old settler g*iine to get a sea' in the House of Representatives, but the attempt is very unlikely to be attended with any success, for even those early settlers who have an honest belief in the soundness of their claims against the Colony, have no faith at all in Mr Wallace. Theie is a strong attempt now being made by the New Zealand Times, to achieve what it has always professed to oiin at —a Colonial circulation. Having failed to do this on its own merits, it now wishes to do it by means of being subsidised by the Government, to print daily Parliamentary reports, supplied by the Hansard reporters, the publication of the weekly blue books being of course don« away with. The Times gravely urges that this should be done. In the passenger list by Ihe Collingwood, now nearly due, appear the nain^s of eleven men, some of them married, described as plasterers. These m-n, it seems, were specially advertised for by the AgentGeneral, and the news of this caused no little astonishment, as it is well known that there is very little wo k indeed for plasterers here, and many of the trade already here have bad to take to other woik. The New Zealand Times, wishing to regain the favour of the Government, forfeited by its late attempt at "rattiner," and forsteiug a row about those ni'-n, drew attention to their coming, and asserted that l)r Fcalherston "was not authorised by the Government to insert the advertisement," nor did the Government know of his doing so. This might to singleminded people seetn to throw the blame on Dr Feathertton's sh< uklers, but the excuse is a most deceptive and disingenuous one. The Government certainly did not authorise Dr Featherston to advertise specially for the men, or know of his doing so ; but the Government did order Dr Featherston to send out a dozen plasterers, and this order was given on the representation of the Colonial v rchitect that they would be wanted for the new Government buildings. There are, how-' ever, plenty of the trade here, and the buildings are not likely to be ready for plasterers for another twelve months at least. The men now on their way out will probably have to be sent to some other Province to find employment. The attempt to throw the bLime of sending them on to the AgentGeneral was not a very reputable proceeding on the part of the Government. Captain Wheeler's many Wellington friends were very glad to hear of his safe return with the Hawca, and hope soon to see him and his new ship. The Hoskinses are not doing very well at the theatre. Mr and Mrs Darrell are engaged for twelve nights, and the company has been strengthened by the addition of Miss Flora Anstead, who returned to New Zealand by the Alhambra. Mr and Mrs H. N. Douglas are coming from Sydney by the Easby. Dr Carr, the phrenologist and mesmerist, has .been drawing very well at the Oddfellows' Hall for the last week. Stranukrs payir.g a .lait to liuueam are often at a oss to know which is the best establishment to visit .or the purchase of drapery and clothing. Herbert, Haynes, and Co. offer special advantages to the public that can be met with nowhere else in the city. They keep at all times the largest and best assorted stock of every class of goods, imported direct from the leading manufacturers and warehousemen at home, which, being bought entirely upon cash terms, they are enabled to offer goods of such sterling- value as cannot be equalled by any other house in the trade. Every article in stock is marked at a fixed price for reidy money, from which no abatement is ever made, so that the most inexperienced buy their gfoods at the same price as the best judges. Their terms are—net «ish, without discount or reduction of any kind. A ' tuller description o their stock will lie found in an advertisenirmt in the first pac;e of this caper.— [A»vr.