DEATHS. THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES. THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1891.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9157, 2 July 1891, Page 2

DEATHS.

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES. THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1891.

Bowks.—On the 29th June, at the residence of his Bon-in-law (W. F. Ward, Biveralea farm, Southland), Mr T. IS. Bowes,- aged 75 years. Sutherland.—On the 25th April, at Murthly Inn, Perthshire, William Sutherland, native of Eogart, Sutherlandshire; aged 47. Deeply regretted. Scott.—On the 23rd Juno, at Waipori station, Berwick, Adam, eldest son of Alexander and Margaret Scott; aged 11 years and 2 months. Announcements of Births, Marriages, and Death} sent for publication from the country districts require to be verified by the signature of either our agent in the district from whioh the announcement is sent or of the clergyman of the district.. Charge for these, 3s per insertion

I "We cannot do more, and are not inclined to do less, than simply enter our protest against the proposed action o£ the Harbour Board in accepting a surrender of Mr Donald Keid's lease and re-granting the land to him at a reduced rental. "We do not like to criticise the action oii a body of men who give their time to a public object without remuneration and who appear to be acting in good faith, but we altogether fail to discover a legal justification for their proposed action. An Act, of Parliament was passed some years since to enable local governing bodies like the Harbour Board to deal more effectively with their tenants, because it was. found highly inconvenient that such Boards should have no power to accept surrenders or readjust rents, while great loss might ensue through the insolvency of a tenant which might be avoided by easing his rent—a question which does not arise in Mr Reid's case. The Board seem to have treated this Act as something analogous to the Irish Fair Kent law. To that extraordinary law, passed under the most extreme circumstances, we can see no analogy whatever. It was a law to save a nation of peasants from a choice between something like slavery and extirpation, and even in the extreme circumstances in which it was passed Parliament never dreamed of extending it to city lands, still less to the warehouses of merchants. "We do not know whether the Harbour Board is acting under legal advice, as no opinion has been published. If they have obtained a responsible opinion upon a definite statement of facts, we shall feel leas inclined to be critical; but even then we should prefer to see them act under the guidance of a Court—not as to the bare possession of powers which undoubtedly exist, but as to the propriety of making use of them. There is no doubt that the Board is sacrificing an appreciable portion of its revenue derived from land on which are erected substantial buildings which seem to us amply to secure the. rent. Are they acting with the object of making the reduced rent secure, or because, to quote an expression used by one member, "relief should be granted to Mr Reid, whose case is exceptionally severe." We have the authority of Mr OargiU, as reported in-our columns of May 15th, for tho view that Mr Reid's case was not exceptional ; we do not, however, consider this in point. When, if ever, the Parliament of New Zealand thinks' fit to pass a Fair Rent law, which it has hitherto refused to do, it will probably confide the fixing of rents to a judicial tribunal. We think that the day when even this is done will be an evil one for New Zealand, and especially for Otago, since it would probably lead to an abandonment of the form of lease so peculiarly suitable to our condition, and so fair to both landlord and tenant, which prevails in this province. We very much fear that Mr Reid's good citizenshiphis public services and his high character, have been considered in this matter. He has an undoubted grievance against the Board for releasing tenants who had speculated in leases ancl had done nothing with the land,, and seems to think he has a grievance, which, however, we fail to recognise, in the Board accepting lower rents ■ from his neighbours. His real grievance is one which he basin common with all thoso on whom heavier burdens are cast through this undue generosity — that is to.

say, the whole public of Dunedin1] AH this has nothing to do with the j *;« legality of the proposed arrange-, m ment. It behoves the Board, as j * a public body administering an im- jDI portant trust in the interests of the whole community, to see that they do not shake the public faith in their pro- pc ceedings by acting illegally: it is not ar too late for them to consider this. It tc is pretty generally suspected, if not oi •well known, that our rates and charges »« in respect of harbour accommodation ai are tho heaviest in New Zealand, and w though the finance of the Harbour Board is sound, there are not wanting those who cavil at it and seek to ■ influence the London holders of the E Board's debentures. Every shilling that „; the Harbour Board gives away still p further increases the objectionable I burdens on shipping and on merchan- » disc, and every reduction of secure £ rentals tends to impair the security of a the debenture-holders. We sincerely hope that the Board will do nothing * that can be condemned as illegal which j may have either of these results; and ( with this expression we commend the matter to their earnest consideration. _ ~- i The intention of the National Bank to < write off its bad debts by transferring L 150,000 from capital account, and ■ thereafter to restore its capital by call- ] ing up a similar amount, has not, the cable informs us, been agreed to by the ; shareholders without animated discus- i sion. Nor was it to be supposed that it would be. Neither can the decision of shareholders to appoint a committee for the investigation of the Bank's affairs be in any way cavilled at. The disastrous experiences of the Bank of New Zealand so recently were quite sufficient to make National Bank shareholders uneasy when they learned that their assets were worth L 150,000 lsas than the amount at which they stood in the Bank's books, and it was perfectly natural that doubts should have arisen in the shareholders' minds whether even the large sum mentioned represented the total amount of the Bank's bad debts. It will have been noticed from our cables that the chairman at the meeting of shareholders is reported to have said that the amount of bad debts had not ; yet been fully ascertained. When we first announced the proposals that were ' about to be made by the Bank, we made inquiries on this point, and ascertained that the management here were satisfied that the amount which it ia intended to write off would fully cover all deficiencies; and we are again informed that ■ L 150,000 will be ample for the purpose. It is generally understood I : among those best qualified to for»i -sr ' opinion tha J* iiie general business of * i-hs Bank has for years been conducted with care and prudence, and that the bad debts with which it is hami pered are mainly legacies of bad times — incumbrances which it was i hoped would improve in value' with ; better days. As these better days have not arrived, and as properties : have consequently remained in a non-elastic condition and at their greatly fallen values, without much , chance of early improvement, the ' Bank has wisely decided to rid itself of the incubus. It is unfortunate that .shareholders have to be called upon so I heavily, but there can, we think, be little question that it is better for them to preserve their business by the addition of capital rather than face the alternative of liquidation. In the - one case they are tolerably certain I of a return on their investment, . although it may for some time be t a small one, while in the other certain ) loss would be the result. We i cannot altogether say that shareholders t have no giievance against the manager ment of the Bank. It seems tolerably 3 clear that the chairman at the meeting . of shareholders held in London in July i 1885, when he gave an assurance on it 3 being decided at that time to write , down the capital from L 350,000 to 1 L 250,000, that the Bank would " then start with a clean balance-sheet," cannot have appreciated the true position 3 of affairs. We assume the explana- . tion is that certain going businesses 3 on which the Bank had made large _ advances were then looked upon as s likely to turn out satisfactorily 3 with careful nursing, and that these ! expectations have proved fallacious. y Nor will adverse criticism be withheld ' from the management of the Bank for j regularly paying dividends with the knowledge that heavy writing-off t remained to be done. There can be 3 no question that National Bank stock 3 has been purchased in the reasoni able belief that nothing was likely t to interfere with the payment of II a small but regular dividend. s I These, then, are the grounds 3 ; upon which adverse criticism of r i the National Bank management are : founded. But there have been extenuating circumstances. We have no 1 doubt that the management honestly f \ believed that the going businesses 3 , with which the Bank had become in--1 ; exlricably associated would in time 3 | improve their position and reduce to 3 ! moderate limits the amounts that had i i been advanced on them ; and we can a . also quite understand that tho Bank I j hesitated to pass its dividend and t -court an investigation of its affairs . ! while the troubles of the Bank of New 1 ; Zealand rendered the fate of that ~ institution doubtful. Had the National s Bank closely followed with an announcep : ment of its losses, the position would 3 have been a critical one. The justifica--3 i tion for not earlier coming before 3 shareholders with a plain statement of \ the position—it may possibly be an . inadequate one—is the fact that the y business of the Bank has been sound _. and worth preserving. But it is 7 perhaps unnecessary to say more on . this point. The Bank has now made c a clean breast of its troubles, and we do not think the committee of in--3 vestigation are at all likely to find them 3 , understated ; it has a sound business, j ; now conducted, we firmly believe, with ] the utmost caution; and the probability T '■ is tho shareholders will have no reason 1 j to regret their decision to provide the 1 \ new capital which it was found necesT : sary to ask for.

f In the Legislative Council yesterday the i members were in a working mood. Tho | Indecent Advertisements Bill was read a second i time, and the bill to reform the constitution of \ tho Couucil passed through committee. The | term for which councillors are to hold theirseats 1 was extended from seven to 10 years, and the j clause as to the election of a Speaker was made '{ Bimilar to that in the bill of last year. I Iv the House of Representatives yesterday, j after questions had beon replied to, Mr O'Conor ," made a personal explanation to clear himself ji from tho charge of supporting tho late Governi ment because tho Mokihinui Railway Bill was 4 taken up by them. The Minister of Lands then j resumed tho debate on the financial proposals of : the Government, replying at length to the (' speech of his predecessor on the previous even- : iog. He was followed by Mr Mitchelson, and :, then came Messrs Earnshaw, Harkness, and II Mills. The debate was again adjourned.

The Government has given the Central B abour Bureau of the Salvation Army permis- *J* t on through Government agents to issue free ena lilway passes to unemployed in search of work. ma , branoh of tho Army's bureau is now open at 1 lunedin, * U b We understand that Mr Robert Cbapman Dv as received a dozen designs for the pro- j osed Burns memorial, and several more Pri re expected. When all the designs are 01( d hand Mr Chapman will select the Igt ne which he considers most suitable, and übmit it to the Reserves Conservation Society, fter which the approval of the City Council rill be aßked, and tenders invited for its rection. At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday norning judgment, with costs, was given for the ilaintiffs in the following cases :—Herbert, 3aynes, and Co. v. George Hodgins (Neieby), jlaim £5 83 lid, for goods supplied; Dunedin 3rewery Company (Limited) v. Robert J. Hinckley, claim £23 19s, for goods supplied md dishonoured promissory note. Mr W. A. ___ 3im appeared for plaintiff. There was no la appearance of defendants. Messrs T. K. Weldon and John Elmer, J.P's., presided at the City Police Court yesterday « morning, when Catherine Stevenson was flned 10s, or 48 hours, for drunkenness, and a first offender was convicted and discharged. The Minister for Education has promised the Maori members that he will consider the matter of compelling the parents of Native children to send their children to school. It is understood that the Cabinet will recommend bis Excellency the Governor to grant a f free pardon in the case of Walter Tricker, of A Rangitikei. Tricker was convicted of the t murder, near Bulls, of a settler named Raynor c in* 1863, but the evidence being only circumstantial steps were taken to obtain a reprieve, which was granted, and six Bnd a-half years 1 later a conditional pardon was granted. For the v lasfc 21 years Tricker has resided in the 1 Rangitikei district, the residents of which lately petitioned Government that a full pardon should ** be granted, so that Tricker, who is now possessed of considerable property, could dispose of it by will. Tricker, since his release, has won a high < reputation for honesty and energy, and regained j his posiiion in the world. '■ " The Limit of tbe Day of Grace " formed . the subject of the Rev. Mr MacNeil's address in Old Knox Church last night, when the last service of the series in that church wes held. The theme was treated in a very impressive \ manner, and, as on previous nights, a good many remained to the after meeting. Mr MacNeil was, as uanal, well supported by city and country ministers, and the Rev. Mr Todd, of Oamaru, and other gentlemen took an active part in the proceedings. The Peninsula Naval Artillery held an inspection parade at their drill hall on Tuesday evening, when there wai a good attendance. After parade a meeting was held, and Lieutenant Carvosso was unanimously elected lieutenantcommander. Another unfortunate gum digger has fonnd a grave in the Northern Wairoa River (writes the Aratapu correspondent of the Auckland Herald), and, as is almost invariably the case, the accident was the result of drinking. William Walker, described as a fine young fellow of very respectable . demeanour, came to Aratapu on.Jh? 34th ult. with Beveral other? tlLbjiy^irovisions, &o. They spent some time at the hotel, making merry, and then some of tho company returned home, leaving Walker and another to complete their business. About 11 o'clock the two got into their boat to cross the Hititai, the water being perfectly smooth. When about six ohain3 from the wharf Walker, who was in the Btern of the boat, was seen by several persons on shore to be reclining backwards, partly over the stern, and by moving from side to side causing the boat to roll. In one of the lurches Walker lost his balance and rolled overboard. His mate, who waa far from sober, seemed to lose all presence of mind. If he had put out his oar ho might have reached Walker, bnt instead of doing this, or polling the boat close to his struggling comrade, he dropped his paddles, aiid shouting in an excited manner," Keep up, Bill; keep up, Bill, I'm coming," commenced to paddle towards him with his hands. Those on shore could sco and hear all that transpired, and Mr O'Connor quickly launched a boat and pulled to the rescue. He was, however, too late, for when he reached the spot the struggling man had disappeared, and did not rise again. A reference to -Mr Gladstone's first Budget, explained in the House of Commons on tho 18tb of April 1853, brings into strong light the enormous advance in financial growth made by Great Britain daring the last 40 years. Mr Goschen in his last Budget estimated the revenue for the year at £90,430,000 and the expenditure at £88,444,000. In Mr Gladstone's Budget the total income was £52,990,000 an 1 the total expenditure £52,183,000. Time, in the interval between Mr Gladstone's first Budget and Mr Goschen's last the national income has gone up over £37,000,000, and the expenditure over £36,000,000. If we get up a row between a judge and a barrister in Victoria (writes " Atticus" in the Leader) they go ono better in Queensland and have a set-to between the occupants of the bench. The Chief Justice ventured the other day, in tho Full Court at Brisbane, to try and quicken the pace of a counsellor who was reading long extracts from the text books, when one of his own learned brothers, a newly-made judge, jumped upon tho chief, and as good as told |him to hold his tongue and not interfere with a gentleman practising at the bar. If this sort of thing goes on, there will be wigs on the \ floor before long; and scenes that were once : typical of Chief Baron Nicholson's mock court '■ in the London Coal Hole will be repeated in solemn earnest in the northern capital. Before . that comes off it; might be well to appoint one of ■ the labour leaders umpire, to see fair play, and : issue a code of regulations fixing the maximum size of law books that may be used as missiles, and how long a judge can be held in chancery, , subject to a writ of ne exeat. The annual soiree in connection with the Dandas atreet Primitive Methodist Church, held on Wednesday evening, was well attended. ' The report of the treasurer showed that more than £300 had been raised for all purposes by the congregation during the year, and that the church in other respects was in a very healthy i condition. Able addresses on different phases i of Christian work were given by Messrs A. A. Adams, J. Milburn, A. S. Adams, and Captain Wilson, with a few remarks by the pastor, the Rev. P. W. Jones. The choir, under the conductorship of Mr Miller, rendered somo excellent pieces. Miss Miles sang a solo, and Mr ' Faulkner gave an organ solo. Votes of thanks to the ladies, &3. brought to a close one of the i best meetings yet held in the church. The entertainment to be given this evening at tha City Hall iv aid of tho funds of St. Paul's . Pro-cathedral gives promise of being of an unusually excellent character. The tableaux and cameos illumined by the limelight will, wo are informed, be quite unique and hitherto unrepresented. The sparkling comedietta, entitled "Taken from the French," will, for 1 the first time here, be placed on the stage. Though last, by no means least will be tho varied and selected programme of vocal and . instrumental music, under the direction of Mr i Arthur Towsey, which alono is expected to afford a rich treat to all lovers of good music. Many well-known ladies and gentlemen make their first appearance on this occasion before what will no doubfc prove to bo a largo and well-pleased audience. At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday morning a renewal of a pawnbroker's license was granted lo Esther Hart.

Messrs P. Hayman and Co. have sent us the April number of " Outward Bound," a monthly journal of light and Interesting literature. Messrs li. C. Reynolds and 00. Bell 125 tons European sugar to-morrow at tho Tongue wharf. The Dunedin Sold Dredging Company has declared a dividend of lsper share. Messrs Lorie and Co sail grocer s stook and plant to-dny at George nnd Dundas streets. A speoial geueral meeting of the Pirates football Club will be held this evening at the City Hotel to elect a captain and member of committee. The'annual meoting of the Oingo branch of the Industrial Protection League of New Zealand will be held at the Coffee Palace to-morrow evening. Messrs James A. Park aDd Co. conduct sales as under: -Today at the West Const Hotel, Princes street, household furniture and stook-ln-trade; tomorrow, household furniture at Maitland atreet South; and on July 18, oity freeholds and leaseholds. Tenders are Invited for the purchase of the Horseshoe Bend Kawarau Biver dold Mining Company s claim and plant. The Rev. K. A. Teller lectures in the Choral HaU to-night *' On London, the City of Contrasts.' Ho has been preaching and lecturing at Port Chalmers to large audiences this week, nnd leaves on Friday to vlßlt the laken. lecturing on the way; and returns to Dunedin for Sunday tho I2th,and engagements for two weeks alter that date. D.l.C—The ciumiaoy's-.early stocktaking Bargain Tables will commence on Saturday, 4th July. Tho management desiro shareholders to kindly observe this announcement.- [ADVT.]

Eden George and 00. (Linilted), the leading photo- 8 graphera ol Dunedin, who produce by lar the beat . work ln Hew Zealand, take one dozen beautllully enamelled cabinet!, iv auy position or ityle, for 15s. One price list adopted, and no extra cbarges are made to visitors from the country.—[Advt] Marriage Presents.—lntending purchasers ol Bbove are respectfully invited to inspect the new goods just opened at G. and T, Young's, 38 Princes street, Dunedin. Two shipments new goods reoeived this month.- [Advt.] ~,.». 3oss Hislop, Watchmaker and Jeweller, 7* Prinoes street. The oldest established home ln town. Bepaire of all kinds. Good assortment Watohes, Olooks. »nd Jewellery. Spectaoles to suit all Ights.—[Advt.]