WELLINGTON NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2856, 9 December 1908, Page 40

WELLINGTON NOTES.

(From Ouit own Correspondent ) WELLINGTON. December 1

Special interest is now attached to the N«w Zealand lawn tennis championship meeting at Nel&on during the Christmas holidays owing to the intimation received that Sir Alexander, the American player, together with Messrs Wilding, Parker, and Doust, will be competing. Nearly all the available accommodation at Nelson has already been taken up in view of the event. Though Mr Hamilton was unsuccessful in his recent search for huiae, the Maoris whom he left in the bush have since found a few of the birds, which are nesting; consequently no further steps will ds taken with" regard to their capture until the young birds are fully fledged. There is now some hope of preserving the huia, and when specimens are taken they wall be carefully dealt with and liberated on Little Barrier Island, off the North Auckland coast. It transpiies that there has been wholesale destruction of huias by a Government survey party during recent years, the birds being killed for their feathers, which are valuable. Apropos of the present financial stringency some remarks were made by Mr C. J. Ciawford, Mayor of Miramar, last evening. "I always looked upon freedom as the principal' characteristic of the British race — freedom of opinion, freedom of speech, freedom of criticism. But here in Ne-w Zealand," lie said, '"one must never say what one thinks or knows ; it is wrong*, it is unpatriotic. Now I know that this district largely depends for its progress and its development. both private and public, upon tire funds supplied by the larger landowners in the countiy". Tbe legislation under winch lands "were taken over for closer settlement and large properties were cut up helped a district like this, but now the graduated land tax ha- dried up all sources of supply for pla-ces like this. A friend of mine,' a New Zealander. just leturned from Queensland, where he has money invested, told me that he considered there was a million of New Zealand money invested in Queensland. I know that the «enei al driit of money has be?n out of New Zealand. So long as that sort of tiling gees on we shall suffer from shortness of money. We must establish finaneii'l confidence in the country. We must stop sending money out of* the countiy. Then we shall have money for borough purposes and for the building of houses."

The Chinamen at Saltwater Creek, near Timaru, have progressed with the rest of the town, having increased the size of their vegetable gardens from about 25 acre" to 100 acre*, e\eiy inch of which i= under cultivation this year.