Poverty Bay Herald . PUBLISHED EVERT EVENING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6486, 1 October 1892, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald . PUBLISHED EVERT EVENING

GISBORNE, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1892. THE VALIDATION BILL. This measure passed its second reading in the House on Thursday evening, and referred to tho Native Affairs Committee. We trust that it will emerge from the Committee in timo to become law this cession. If the measure gots through the House, no trouble is to be apprehended in the Council. As Mr Cadtnan said, the proposals aim at setting at rest for ever existing disputes over titles. All the European members, with the exception of Sir Goorge Grey, who spoke on the subject were agreed that it was imperative that something should be dons immediately. Mr Rees was particularly strong in his opinion on tho necessity for remedial legislation ; but he unfortunately has impracticable views on the subject of the machinery to carry out reform. He said a strong Parliamentary Committee should be set up to probe matters to the bottom. Surely, he does not believe that such a Committee could or would find timo to go into the numerous cases in dispute. Even if tho Committee sat all the year round, the progress would be intolerably slow, whilst the expense involvod on the parties to the transactions would bo enormous, if they did not elect to let matters no by the board. Every Native should have an opportunity of appearing; before the tribunal entrusted with dealing with transjictions in which he is concerned. Nearly the whole of the Maoris interested would be practically shut out from attending the tribunal suggested by Mr Rees. The utmost that Parliament cai-i do is to lay down the principles under which the awards shall be made, and devise the machinery to give effect to the principles Tho Legislature should not be called upon to constitute itself a Native Land Court, havingtodeal with hundreds cf complicated cases. Parliament may properly reserve to itself the right of review and annulment of decisions to prevent wrongdoing or injustice, but that is quite a different matter from being obliged to go into details and take all necessary evidence in the cases, which would have to be done to ensure fair decisions. The transactions could not be taken in, globo, and an award made to apply to the whole. There are different kinds of transactions, and each must be decided on its particular merits. The basis of the Validation Bill is equity and good conscience, and we take it that everyone is agreed that the disputed titles should be settled on no other lines, at the same time it being clearly understood that no wilful violations of the law had been committed. The present Bill does not contemplate validating open breaches of the law, even where the transactions were not in their nature immoral. This is nn important point to bear in mind, for a great many people are of opinion that in land dealings which now form the subjects of dispute, the requirements of tho law had been knowingly ignored in the hope that if trouble afterwards arose matters would be righted by future legislation. The difficulties have been caused through the laws having been so involved and contradictory that it was impossible to understand thorn. Tne settlement of the long-standing dis- ' putes about Native land is now narrowed down to the question of the nature of the j tribunal to bo set up to make the awards. What the Maoris have to expect from a Parliamentary tribunal was exemplified the other day when a majority of the Native Affairs Committee resolved to absolve Mr John Lundon from the consequences of as disgraceful a piece of wrongdoing as ever characterised dealings between the two races. One need not be surprised to learn that a majority of the House endorses the report of the Committee. As for Native Committees, there is not the least likelihood of such bodies ever being entrusted with deciding disputes between Europeans and Natives. Special Commissions so far have bean costly failures. The Native Land Courts are the proper tribunals to decido these disputes, and the Government has acted wisely in the interests of both races in not passing by experienced and able Judges of that Court. The duty will devolve upon the Ministry to select the Judges most suitable for the work, and if this is done with judgment neither the country nor the parties directly concerned will have,, reason to complain of tho new tribunal.

Mr D. Dobbie requires tenders for carting wool and back loading to Ngatapa station. Rev. Mr Gibson preaches in Wesley Church to-morrow morning and evening, the evening subject being {; Fishers of Man." A meeting of settlers in the Waimata district is called for Wednesday evening in the Public Hall, to consider the proposed alterations and metalling of the road. It is stated that the new steamers o* Messrs Huddart, Parker, and Co., the War" rhnoo and Miowera, for the intercolonial service, represent an expenditure of £200,000. A peculiar accident happened in the Waipukurau schoolground the other day. A boy was playing at " John Bull," and was so overweighted by the number of playmates on his back that he fell and broke one of his legs between the foot and the knee. Mr McKenzie, manufacturer of furniture polish, is now in Gisborne, with the object of establishing agencies for the sale of the polish, which has an extensive sale throughout the colony. The article is highly spoken of by papers elsewhere, and, judging from the numerous testimonials received by the maker, it has given satisfaction to those who have used it. From the trials made in our presence, we can testify that the polish has a remarkably brightening effect on furniture. The County Council received from the Government to-day, the following letter, in reply to a communication pointing out the unfair exemption of small grazing runs from local taxation : — Sir, in reply to your letter of the 6th inst., with a communication from the Cook County Council, on the subject of the basis of rating for small grazing runs, I am directed by the Minister of Lands to inform you that he regrets the Government does not see its way at this late period of the session, to propose any amendment to the Rating Act, in the direction advocated by the County Council. The matter is a difficult one to deal with, for while the Cook County Council states that the G per cent rate is too low, it is urged in Canterbury that it is much too high.— l am, &c, A. Barrox, Under-Secretary for Crown Lands. The foregoing letter displays a state of gross ignorance or wilful blindness. The small grazing runs here, with a secure tenure for 21 years, and full compensation for improvements at end of term, stand on quite a different footing to the pastoral runs in the South, with their short tenure, and no compensation at end of lease,

The annual meeting of the Gisborne Swimming Club will be held in the hall adjoining the City Rink on Friday evening ■ext. In the twenty weeks "ending 23rd September, the big Dnnedin dredge at work in Wellington harbor has lifted 147,470 tons of stuff. The Union S.S. Company announce an fxcursion to the Hawke's Bay show, the Southern Cross leaving here on Wednesday evening next. Drs. Fell and MacKenzie, of Wellington, uiccessfully removed last week a tumor from the brain of a female patient, and she is doing well. A trout or salmon was recently caught by Captain Clarkson, of the fishing cutter Florence, near Arauvi Bluff, while fishing for moki and butterfish. At the wool, sheepskins, hides, and tallow sales to-day there was a good attendance, and satisfactory prices were realized for most of the lota. A full report will appear on Monday. Mr George Anderson, deputy-master of the Mint, Melbourne, estimates that on the annual coinage of £50,000 worth of silver there would be a profit of £21,000. At present there is a loss of £5000 per annum on the coinage of gold. It is stated (says the North Otago Times) that a quartet of grain speculators in Canterbury have, between them lost about £100,000 this year in grain dealings. They made about a similar amount last year, and the ups and downs of grain dealings are exemplified in these facts. A bushfaller named Witton, working on Messrs Jopp and Glassford's property, Waimata, had his leg broken by a falling tree. Fully an hour elapsed before he could be extricated by his mates from his painful position. A party is bringing the injured man down to the hospital, which is expected to be reached this evening. The following tenders were considered for transforming the Waimata bridle track into a dray road :— J. C. Griffen £128 17s 6d, Cahill and Co. £165, J. McHugh £179. As the tenders were all above the estimate, it was decided to allow them to stand over until the meeting of the Waimata Road Board to-day, in order that the Board might make an allowance of £40 towards the cost of the work. The Board met to-day and resolved to grant the £40, and the lowest tender was then accepted. The Wkatiier. — Weather forecast for 24 hours from 9 a.m. to-day: Wind between south-west and west and south at all places northward of Napier and Raglan, and between south-east and south and west elsewhere. Sea, heavy on both coasts. Barometer rise everywhere. Warnings for southerly galea with rain and much colder weather have been sent to all places. Synopsis of last 24 hours : Falling barometer everywhere, especially in the central districts, and a heavy rainfall at all places northward of Lyttelton and Queenstown. Hard northerly gales have been experienced northward of Gis'jorue and New Plymouth. -R. A. Edwin. The monthly meeting of the Waimata Road Board was held to-day, there being present Messrs J. Tombleson, (chairman), Harris, Dormer, Strachan, and Barker. The j County Council wrote granting the Board £190 a3 ano rate subsidy. From the same stating that tenders had been received for widening the road at section 3 into a dray road, and go the cost of work was in excess of the Council's ability to provide for, requesting the Board to add the £40 vote for bridge to this purpose, in which case the Council would accept the lowest tender. It was decided to divert the £40 for purpose applied for. From Colonial Treasurer advising payment to the Board's bankers of £1200 loan for the Waimata River special district. The sum of £5 was voted for a cutting on the river bank at section 5, Richardson's. Capt. Winter was appointed to interview the Chairman of Poverty Bay Road Bord re repairs to bridge near Tietjen's gate. Mr Grant applied for expenditure of £50 on road to grazing runs, Waimata North. It was decided to grant the amount, tenders to be called for the work. The Board agreed to join with the Waikohu Road Board in borrowing a special loan for road to Waimata West. For the purpose of illustrating his class lesson last evening Professor Lichtwark had a young unbroken Daniel O'Rorke colt, the property of Mr .J. Finlay, and this animal proved the most troublesome he has had to deal with here. It had a decided tendency to play up, and clearly demonstrated that ifc knew what bucking meant sufficiently to have given the person breaking it in by the ordinary method a very lively time, when the probabilities are that the horse would have received some very rough handling, and temper would have been displayed by both trainer and horse, but it was not so under the Professor's method, for within half an hour he had mounted the colt barebacked, and then placing a saddle on it kept mounting and remounting He also, to show the confidence lie had in the horse after the lesson it had received, sat down between its hind legs, parsing first one and then the other over his head. Another class lesson will be held on Monday evening, when lie will have for a subject a horse of Captain Winter's that has proved itself to be a troublesome animal to handle. Smno time ago the residents of the Karaka and Whatatutu district applied for the establishment of telephonic communication with Gisborne, and after some correspondence bad passed on the subject, the gnrrantee required by Government was given. However, the Department have just intimated that the work cannot be undertaken, as there is no money for the purpose. We notice that similar replies haxe been received by settlers in other parts of the colony who desired the erection of telephone iincs. We understand that the resident'; of the Waimata, Tiniroto, and Waerenga-o-kuri districts have applied to the Government for the establishment of telephonic communication with Gisborne, and have notified that they are prepared to give the necessary guarantee ; howerer, we are afraid that there is no likelihood of the applications being acceded to at present, as the shortness of funds reason must apply to all cases. It was predicted at the time that the Victorian Government gave a bonus of 2d per 1b on the butter exported, that it would be of little benefit to the farmers, as the lion's share would be pocketed by the Melbourne companies and firms. The returns now furnished show that the total amount paid as butter bonus for the year ending June 30 by the Victorian Agricultural department was £24,047, of which £16,979 was obtained by 13 companies and firms in Melbourne, and the remaining £7168 was distributed amongst 40 butter factories and individual producers in the country. Yet this was called encouraging the dairy industry ! A Wellington correspondent states :— -A very remarkable letter has been addressed by Mr John Murray, late general manager of the Bank of New Zealand, to the Hon. George M'Lean with reference to the evidence given by the latter before the Public Accounts Committee relative to the Colonial Bank's claim for a share of the Government banking business. Printed copies of the letter have been sent to members of both Houses. It reflects in very strong language on the accuracy of Mr M 'Lean's evidence, and also goes into various private matters between the writer and Mr M'Lean extending to 29 years back. I should imagine that ulterior proceedings will ensue. Meanwhile Mr McLean has replied vigorously to Mr Murray's letter. During the year IS9I the following was the consumption of various articles of common use in New Zealand : — Spirits 442,360ga1, tobacco 1,257,0821 b, cigars, cigarettes, and snuff, 124.7381 b, wine 108,066 gal, ale and beer 248,039gal > tea 4.055,] 931b, coffee, cocoa, and chicory 567,9541 b, sugar 54,008,8381 b. The duty on ad valorem goods wiVB £448,905. There is a slight increase in the consumption of spirits, tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, snuff, tea, cocoa, coffee, and chicory : but a small decrease in sugar, wino, ale, and beer. The consumption of colonial beer does not appear to be increasing, as the quantity consumed last year was 110,000 gal less than in the year preceding. Ten years ago colonial beer was used in a larger gross quantity than now, and the proportion to tlie population over 15 years of age was 15gal per head, instead of ir2gal }ast year.

The North Can terbury Charitable Aid Board have decided that lists of names of recipients charitable aid should be available in the office for public inspection, and that full lists be sent quarterly to the contributing local bodies, also for public inspection in their offices. At the Addington Yards, Canterbury, o23rd Sept., over 3000 stove sheep were dis posed of. The bulk of the entry consisted of crossbred hoggets, which realised from 13s lOd to 15s lOd, aged crossbred ewes with Jambs and lambing J2s 9d to los 9d, merino wethers 9s and culled ewes 4s, very nice merino ewes with 100 per cent, of lambs 13s 6d. In fat lambs the market was well supplied with good sorts, which sold according to quality and size at from 14s 3d to 19d. There was a large entry of second-class sheep, with a small quantity of prime crossbrecl, for which the demand was not so keen as the last few sales have elicited. In only a few instances was more than £1 a head given, the general run of wethers and maiden ewes being sold at 16s to 193 6d. The sale of crossbred ewes was very limited ; a large proportion of the yarding consisted of merino wethers, some of which were of undoubted quality. These sold *t from 13s 6d to 15s 9d, and in one or two instances this was i exceeded. j The Post says : — " The present Government has asked for aiul obtained power from Parliament to authorise the Insurance department or the Public Trust Office, if Minirters should so desire, to make loans on personal security, discount bills, make advances on bills of sale or on jewellery, or in any other form of money-lending known. Yet so it is. Clause 77 of the ' Public Revenues Act 1891 ' provides ' that it shall be lawful to invest any of the balances of any of the accounts mentioned in this part of this act in any securities which shall be declared by the Governor by Order-in-Council to be securities in which such balances may be invested.' The Government Insurance account and the Public Trust Office account arc two of the accounts mentioned. All that is required, therefore, to enable either the Insurance Department or the Public Trust Office to launch out in the most extended loan, discount, or pawn-brokiug business ia an Order-in-Council specifying as securities which they may take bills of exchange, bills of sale, promissory notes, or articles ot jewellery or value. It might be well, in the Public Revenues Bill now before the Houao, to somewhat limit and more closely define this power of investment." A telegram from Burketown (Queensland) states that a remarkably daring escape from the police barracks was made early on the 9th by Benjamin Bridge, who, 12 months ago, escaped from the Mnrrurrundi Gaol, where he was undergoing a sentence of 10 years' imprisonment for horse stealing. Bridge successfully evaded the police until about six weeks ago, when lie was captured by the local police at Riversleigh station. A New South Wales police officer arrived, identified the prisoner, and intended to take him to Sydney by the next steamer. The prisoner set fire to his cell, and gave the alarm. Senior constable M'Grath, who was the only constable on the premises, opened the cell and removed the prisoner, who after a desperate resistance was chained to a fence. In the meantime the whole of the barracks was in flames. M'Grath with others went to rescue his wife and family, the court records, &c, and during the confusion the prisoner escaped, making for the mangroves, where he disappeared. He has not yet been recaptured. He is said to have been twentytwo times before a jury, the present being his fourth escape from custody. He informed the New South Wales officer that he would never take him to Sydney. The courthouse and barracks were totally destroyed.