Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, MONDAY, JUNE 20, 1892. THE EDWARDS' CASE.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6898, 20 June 1892, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, MO NDAY, JUNE 20, 1892. THE EDWARDS' CASE.

Mr Edwards is one of the most injured men in the colony. The origin of his troubles may be traced to the Gisborne district. Had there been no disputed titles to Native land here, Mr Edwards would most probably still be enjoying a good •practice as barrister and solicitor in Wellington. His books showed that he was earning more than the salary of a Judge of the Supreme Court. Whilst strongly of opinion that he is entitled to compensation for the great loss he has sustained, we cannot help feeling that he is himself in some degree responsible for the present predicament. The position of chief of the Native Land Commission whs offered to him by the Atkinson Government. There was no doubt as to the power of the Governor-in-Council to make that appointment. Tho position was not con sidered good enough to induce Mr Edwards to give up a good practice, for it was reckoned that in a few years the Commission would complete its labors, and then Mr Edwards would have to commence the practice of his profession afresh. It is usually the work of many years to build up n good legal business. Mr Edwards pointed out to Mr Mitchelson, the Native Minister, the temporary character of the appointment first offered him, and declined to take the position unless he were made a Judge of the Supreme Court. After some demur on the part of the Government, tho demand was conceded, which was a most unfortunate thing for those directly interested in Native titles as well as for Mr Edwards himself. The law under which the Commission was to adjudicate was no doubt defective, but it is generally thought that the Chief Commission took too narrow a view of the law. Mr Ormsby, his fellow-Commissioner, was a mere cypher on the Bench Ho was overshadowed by a colleague who was a Judtje of the Supreme Court, and who showed that ho was far from unmindful of his own importance! Tho supposition was that the Commission was to bo a tribunal of equity and good conscience. That was undoubtedly the spirit and intention of the Legislature. In its brief experience it proved to be nothing of the kind. The paraphernalia of the higher Courts of Law wore insisted upon, and tho arguments turned upon technicalities. After putting suitors to a lot of expense, the tribunal proved utterly abortive. There are other parties as well as Mr Edwards entitled ts compensation from the State over the business, People were induced to go before a tribuntd which was powerless to settle their claims. A bargain is a bargain, and the State made a distinct agreement with Mr Edwards. The highest Court in the Empire has declared that in the fulfilment of that agreement tho New Zealand Government exceeded its powers. But there was nothing discreditable in the compact ; nor was the law perfectly clear on the subject. A majority of the Supreme Court Bench in the colony decided that Mr Edwards' appointment as Judge was constitutional. Mr Edwards himself, despite the decision of the Privy Council, still adheres to the opinion th<it the appointment was legal. His only recourse is an appeal to Parliament to repair the great injury that has been inflicted upon him. If there is justice in the Legislature he will get compensation.

Mr W. Maude made hia first appearance on the Bench since his appointment as a Justice of the Peace at the Police Court this morning. A telegram received as we went to press? on Saturday stated :— Captain Edwin reports that there are strong evidences of unsettled weather with high winds between midnight to-night and the 23rd inst. The official enquiry into the loss of the schooner Awaroa will be held by Mr Johnston, Collector of Customs, to-morrow morning at 10 o'clock. The enquiry will not be open to the public. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company have received the following London cablegram, dated 1 8th June, 1892 :— Mutton market unchanged. Lamb is in demand ; quotations unchanged since last telegram. New Zealaud beef is in rather better demand ; forequarters are worth 2^d per pound ; quotations unchanged ; hindquarters are worth 3Jd per pound. Tallow market irregular ; quotations unchanged. The question of the establishment of a public museum for the district is again being brought before the public. Recently Mr Warburton, who was for some time a settler in the Waiinata district, made a handsome donation to the Mayor in trust for the proposed museum of a valuable collection of Fijian curiosities. Mr Warburton gathered these during a long residence at the Islands, where, being a great favorite with the Natives he was able to gather many articles which treasure-hunters fail to obtain. The whole of his collection, including spears, mats, model of a surf boat, carved work of all descriptions, shells, etc. , has been handed over to the Gisborne Museum, Mr Warburton having returned to Fiji and not caring to take the bulky collection with him. It will be remembered that some time ago after the death of Mr Julius Hansen, his valuable collection of birds, etc. , was offered at a valuation, and steps were taken to procure -this, and make it the nucleus of a museum. The movement which was then set on foot was allowed to languish, and is now being revived by his Worship, who has generously come to the front with a donation of ten guineas. An active canvass is to be made for further subscriptions, and the promoters express every hope of raising the whole amount. The subscription list is headed :—" Subscription list for purchasing the museum collection of the late Mr Julius Hanßen, which it is desirable to obtain for the purpose of formiug a public mtiscum tor the Poverty Bay district-ami which is intended at present to be carried on in connection with the public library. Subscriptions to be paid in quarterly instalments to meet the arrangements of the purchase. The price of the collection is £200. Anything over this amount will be spent in building such rooms as may be required." It may be stated that it is proposed to add to a room adjoining the library as additional space will be required for the display of the collections,

Among the allegations brought against the British officers in Uganda isonc that they caused the drowning of 500 victims. In the House of Lords Lord Salisbury said ho hoped the new Parliament would sanction the construction of a railway from the coast to Uganda. It is stated that a Dunedin solicitor has issued a writ against the proprietors of the Workman, claiming £1000 damages for libel, in certain statements published by that journal. If the Napier Corporation borrow the t'35,000 which they propose to do, in order to carry on public works, the borough indebtedness will then amount to £105,000. The Oamaru Harbor Board has made overtures for the purchase or hire of the Bluff Board's Priestman dredge, steamer, and barge, but the latter body has decided not to part. The Canterbury representative football team will visit Wellington about the end of August. Visits are also expected from the Taranaki, Wairarapa, and Manawatu Unions. On two runs in Central Otago Mr Stronach has 175 men fighting the rabbits. From another station in the same region the owners sent away in the last twelve months half-a-million skins. A cable from London states that the Eng" lish press consider that both Hempton and Batger, of the New Zealaud athletic team, showed first-class torm at the sports meeting at Tufnell Park on Saturday last. A sad state of affairs. A girl named Ethel Budd, ageil 16, was sentenced to one month's imprisonment at Masterton on Tuesday for having no lawful means of support. There is room for reformers. The New Zealand Shipping Company's Ruahine took 80,000 carcases of frozen mutton from Australia, the ports of shipment being Rockhampton and Newcastle, while the Tekoa was expected to take 65,000 from tlio same ports. A writer in a southern contemporary takes up the cudgels on behalf of the colonial servant girl. H« says " that the general servant's work is just about the hardest in the colony. She works from six in the morning till nine at night, and for ten shillings a week, and even then is accused of snobbishness." Cablegrams announce the death of Captain Stairs, who died on his return from an African expedition. Captain Suiirs^ who was one of the officers who accompanied Stanley in his last expedition through *• Darkest Africa," was not unknown in the Hawke's Bay district. For a time he was connected with the surveyors of the local Land Department. The experience of buah work that he obtained in the colony proved of the utmost value to him during that long and trying sojourn in the heart of AfricaThere is no waste of words in the follow- ! ing clipping from a Wairarapa paper : — " A delicate operation, and one requiring a high decree of both skill and care, was performed at the Maaterton Hospital on Tuesday by Dr Mackenzie, of Wellington, assisted by Dr Hosking, the hospital surgeon. The skull of a patient who was recently admitted from the Forty-Mile Bush was opened, and a tumor and portion of the brain removed. The only hope of saving the man's life rested in this treatment. His funeral took jtlace yesterday." The Wellington Press of Thursday states : — The Hon. Geo. Randall Johnston's resignation of his seat in the Upper House was received by His Excellency the Governor yesterday. Mr Johnston sent his resignation on more than one occasion to the late Government, but it was never accepted, and he was granted leave of absence for the session. He has now been absent from New Zealand for two years, and it would appear that he is not sure of being here in time to take part in the coming session, The resignation is forwarded direct and unconditionally to the Governor, and must, of course, be accepted. Mr Cadman has explained to the New Zealand Times the reason of the Government's action on the subject of the removal of a small part of the Otorohanga district from the prohibition against the issue of liquor licenses which covers the entire King Country. The explanation is to the effect that the action in question had been taken after due consideration. It was done in compliance with an application signed by Wahanui and Taonui (the two leading chiefs of the district), together with others of minor note. Their object was to enable proper accommodation to be made for the Europeans who were settling in the district and travelling through it. The Minister had satisfied himself that some accommodation was necessary for travellers, and that the granting of a license was the only way to ensure the provision of what was required. The cable message from London published last week, to the effect that four horsepoisoners had been committed for trial, is (remarks the Christchurch Press) possibly connected with a daring attempt to swindle underwriters, the facts of which are hinted at by the London correspondent of a financial journal. According to the accepted version of the facts, some underwriters insured four valuable horses to the Cape ; £2400 is mentioned as the amount. The horses walked on board in their cloths. The underwriters' minds misgiving them they | sent a veterinary surgeon on board to travel to the Cape as a passenger. On the way one of the horses died. The veterinary surgeon cut it open, and discovered poison. The rest did not die, the presumption being that the poisoner took alarm. On arrival at the Cape the groom was placed under arrest, and nobody claimed the horses. They were, accordingly, offered for sale, when £70 was offered for the lot. The Dean of Napier had a lively experience last week. He was a passenger from Nelson by the steamer Grafton, which met with heavy weather in crossing the Strait, so heavy that the captain had to put into Ohau Bay for shelter. The Dean of Waiapu, who had been preaching at Nelson in connection with the very successful Jubilee services in Nelson Cathedral, had urgent private reasons for reaching Napier the next evening. He therefore elected to be landed in the ship's boat, and with six others tramped ten miles across the hills to Makara, where a milk cart was chartered to bring the party into town. The pedestrians, having never contemplated such an excursion when leaving Nelson, had some of them smooth low shoes, and the tramp over slippery hills was anything but easy, while the difficulties were enhanced by the weather experienced— first snow, then hail, then rain, and then all three at once driving into their faces as they clambered the hills or dragged their way through mud gullies. Great preparations are being made tor the tug-of-war to be held in the City Rink on Friday and Saturday next. Mr Townley has received instructions to erect a staging 70ft long, 7ft wide, and 3ft high. To do this he will require to place it from one corner of the Rink to the other. Everyone present will then have a good view. The reserved seats will be on the stage, and the entrance to them through the side gate. At the start of each tug the ball in the centre of the rope •will be securely held by a chimp fixed on the staging. Each ttam will then be able to put aU their strength on before the start. Immediately the men get in position the starter will ask " Are you ready ?" and will fire the pistol, releasing the ball from the clamp, and the fun commences. A friendly contes* has been arranged to take place between the Forresters and Druids, and as many of the strongest men in the Bay are in these Lodges a big tussle may be expected. The management wish to state that they will be quite willing to allow any private tups to be pulled off under their control— such as blacksmiths v. carters, water v. beer, smokers v. non-smokers, or any trade, club, or profession against another. The plan of reserved seats will be opened at 12 noon tomorrow, and a big booking is expected. Colonel Simeon's name has been added to the committee. The Wbathkr : — Weather forecasts for 24 hours from 9 a.m. to-day : Wind between north-east and north and west at all places northward of Timaru and Queenstown, and between north and west and south-west at all other places ; barometer further fall everywhere ; sea heavy on both coasts after 12 hours. Warnings for northerly gales and rain have been sent to all places. Synopsis of last 48 hours : Throughout the country the barometer has continued to fall steadily generally, with strong northerlyjgales southward of Napier and Wanganni, and a f»ood deal of vain in both Islands. — R. A. Eowi.v.

An American team of professional cyclisita will visit England this season. Book debts in an Auckland estate totting up to close on LoOOO were recently sold for 1/26. The Northumberland miners have voted £4000 and the Durham miners and £'1000 towards the relief of the the Cleveland miners. The Ameer of Bokhara has given a week's notice to his subjects that everybody neglecting to take precautions against cholera will be executed. The Ministerial journal at Marton has this paragraph :— " Though pledged to introduce 11 Payment of Members Bill, Ministers will not press it, or make it one of their policy measures. " An interesting case, R. B. Williams v. the Union Bank, and vice veraa, is being tried at Invercargill. The Bank claims for advances made, and Williams claims £10,000 for damage done to his business through the dishonoring of cheques. A Gippsland farmer is boasting of having grafted a tomato vine on to a potato plant, and gathered a crop of tomatoes off the top and a pile of potatoes from the roots. A Salvation officer, "Staff Captain" Alderton, has arrived by the steamer Ruapehu to be stationed at Dunedin. He was manager of " General " Booth's farm colony at Hadleigh, on the Thames, but it is not known whether he comes here in connection with the over-sea scheme. Women are being slowly organised in England, f>S,OOO being now unionised. Among these are the barmaids, of whom alone there are 80,000 in London, and whose union runs a " Barmaid's Journal," which has sonic famous contributors. Of the entire human race, it is estimated, that 500,000,000 are well clothed— that is, they wear garments of some kind — •2,j0,000,000 habitually go naked, and 700,000,000 only cover parts of the body ; 500,000,000 live in houses, 700,000,000 in huts and caves, and 250,000,000 have virtually no shelter at all. It was at a meeting of ladies in a town located in the North Island. A resolution was proposed, and the lady who occupied the chair said, " All who are in favor of this resolution please stand up." They all stood up. "Ah !" was the exclamation. " This resolution is carried — only two against it." They were two innocent reporters. The New Zealand Trade Review contains the estimated results of the past season's grain crops. There were under wheat 401,273 acres, yielding 10,257,738 bushels, or an average of 25 50 bushels an acre ; oats, 323,508 acres, yielding 11,009,020 bushels, or 34 03 bushels an acre ; barley, 24,268 acres, yielding 688,683, or an average of 24*34 bushels an acre. The Turanganui footballers are training steadily for their approaching match with the Pirates, meeting at the City Rink on Mondays and Thursdays, and indulging in running exercise on Wednesdays. They will need it all. The two best forwards in the team, and undoubtedly the best in Gisborne — Robinson and Forest — will be unable to play. Forest received a nasty wrench to his knee whilst playing on Saturday, which will probably necessitate him giving the game best for the remainder of the season. Already the effect of the Island Labor Extension Act has borne fruit (says the Brisbane correspondent of a Syney paper). The noise of many hammers is heard in the work of repairing schooners formerly engaged in the trade, and business ia brisk at one of the Brisbane factories making fire bricks for sugar mills. Several pla/itations that have for years beeu lying idle have changed ownership and are being prepared for cane, and a Brisbane syndicate are making large purchases of sugar land in the Wide Bay and Burnett districts. Mr Feltham, a member of the Mosgiel Licensing Committee, has apparently brought a hornet^ nest about his ears. At the recent licensing meeting he said inter alia : — " He would make the assertion, and his words, if needed, could be challenged, that the constable was not allowed to do his duty in these matters. ... In many instances justice had been interfered with by influence, and the stream of justice, from the Minister of Justice to the constable, was polluted." The Advocate takes up the challenge, and calls on Mr Feltham to demand from the Minister of Justice an inquiry into the alleged wholesale pollution of justice. Mr Snazelle arrived from South by the Te Anau yesterday, and sang in the Romau Catholic Church last evening, to the great enjoyment of a large number of people who crowded the church. Mr Snazelle's season commences in the Theatre Royal this evening. The Otago Times, in speaking of the entertainment, says :— " It is one that has large claims to the support of the public, though, as Mr Snazelle himself intended it should be, it has special attractions for the educated portion of the community. It is a distinctly high-class entertainment, it is admirably varied, it is unique, and those who patronise it may depend upon spending an enjoyable and profitable couple of hours." Mr Snazelle is assisted by Mr Henry Hawkins, a pianist and organist of high repute. We are requested to state that there will be a complete change of programme each evening. A strange story of the mermaid comes from Birsay, Orkney. The othar day a farmer's wife was down at the sea shore there, and observed a strange marine animal sitting on the rooks. As it would not move she went for her husband. 'When she returned with her better-half they both saw the animal clambering amongst the rocks, about 4ft of it being above water. The woman, who had a splendid view of it, describes it as "a good-looking person " ; while the man says it was " a woman covered over with brown hair." At last the couple tried to get hold of it, when it took a header into the sea and disappeared. The man is confident he has seen the fabled mermaid ; but people in the district are of opinion that the animal must belong to the seal tribe. An juiimal of similar description was seen by several people at Dcerness two years ago. The Post says the s.s. Terranora is still a hive of industry, and about 40 men are hard at work with hammer and adze, but the transformation of the cattle-boat into a fullyequipped cable steamer haa attained a stage of auvancemet which permits of a very good idea of the complete work being obtained. Over the stem is a series of massive iron wheels, to take the outgoing and incoming cable, erected on a heavy iron platform. At the fore-hatch is a large and powerful hauling machine, driven by a 30-horse power engine specially designed for the purpose by the late Mr Bulfour, marine engineer. Both engine and liauling gear are on the deck, which has been strengthened for the purpose. Between this, and the after-hold, and just behind the bridge, is to be erected a house to receive Dr. Lemon's electrical testapparatus, and various electrical appliances. The two holds have been thoroughly cleaned out and cemented, the old floors being fleatroyed, and the stanchions which support the deck moved back to make room for two large cable tanks — one for the cable taken in, the other for that to go out — which now occupy the holds. The engines of the steamer generally have also been overhauled, scraped, and painted, and pipes from the main boiler have been constructed to connect with the new winding machinery on the deck. Writing of the late fire in Palmerston North the Manawatu Standard says —The greatest sympathy is felt for Messrs Montague and Sorwall in their great loss. Fourteen months ago, by the fire in the same block, these gentlemen were considerable losers, and just when they had got their businesses into full swing again the same reverse falls upon them, aud the hard work and severe strain consequent upon the building tip of their businesses are lost to them. To the Fire Brigade nothingbut the highest praise can be given. They worked with a will, and their energies were in no cose misdirected, thanks to the efficient supervision of Captain Tingey and Lieutenant Rawlins. The fight -with the fiery element was a severe one, and they came out of it with the best credit to themselves, showing beyond a doubt that their efficiency was of the highest standard. Bible-reading and Prayer, at 7.30, Tuesday evening, in Whinray's Hall. All invited. — (Advt.) j

Numerous discovories of lepers ore causing uneasiness in Queensland. A movement ia on foot to form a Prohibition League iv Palmerston North.