THE NEW NATIVE BILL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7060, 21 August 1894, Page 2

THE NEW NATIVE BILL.

We understand that considerable dissatisfaction is expressed regarding section 08 of the Native Land Court BUI, which has been introduced by the Premier. The aeotion is as fallows :—

" After the oeming into operation of this Act it shall not be lawful for any person othsr than a person acting for or on behalf of the Grown, and under the written authority of a Minister of the Crown, to acquire any estate or interest in any land owned or held by a Native or Natives (except such land ss hat been acquired by a Native or Native* from the Crown or from Europeans) without the consent of the Governor in Council first obtained. Consent to the completion of any transaction commenced or pending at the time of the coming inco operation of this Act must be applied for before the ——day of — — next. No consent granted bereunder shall operate to defeat any existing restriction or other bar to alienation. A return of all consents refused or granted under this section shall be laid before both houses of the General Assembly within twenty days after the meeting of each session of Parliament The provisions of this section shall apply to any land situated within the distance of half a mile in a direct line from any lujmon, ioaiariki, or hot or mineral spring or pool, and to any agency or authority to deal therewith or in relation thereto."

A petition has been printed and circulated, letting forth the reasons for objecting to the above section, and copies will be sent to various parts of Poverty Bay for the purpose of obtaining signatures. There are not very many natives who have purchased land from Europeans in the district, the land being for the most part either owned by the natives, or is the property of Europeans. There are many small sections in the settled parts of the Poverty Bay district which are still owned by natives, and it is urged by the objectors to the section that it would be a most unworkable method of procedure to have to obtain tbt oeneent of the Governor* in-Ooancil before a purchase could be completed of a quarter-acre section. The trouble and expense involved would be sufficient to completely debar any intending settler from acquiring a small section for building or othsr purposes. So far m prohibiting private dealings in land is concerned, the principle is recognised as sound when spplied to large areas, which, by section 70 of the Act, are limited, but Native owners, as well as Europeans, consider that in the disposal of small sections — as for Instance are to be found at Haiti, and other places contiguous to Qisborne, the prohibition would be most disadvantageous to members of both nets.

Tenders for the erection of the new Court Home buildings closed at roon to-day. As they had to be forwarded I? Wellington the result U not yes koown. The inquest on the burning of the Bir George Grey hotel at Waerenga-ahika ii being held to-day. A report will be given to-morrow. A moat beautiful Aurora Australia was observed here U*t night. Our Napier correspondent wires that the spectacle was also very brilliant there. Exhibitors at the poultry show are requested to have their exhibits at the City Rink by nine o'clock Thursday evening, owing to the large number of entries. The County Clerk notifies by advertisemeat thai the roll containing the names of Natives who are entitled te vote at the County election, is open for inspection at the County office and also at several convenient plaoes within the county. At the Magistrate's Court this merning, before Mr Booth, 8.M., John Stafford was fined Is and costs for permitting the chimney of his bouse to catch fire on the Uth August, contrary to the provisions of the Borough bye-laws. This was all the business. The Cemetery Trustees met on Saturday at the County office to consider tbe*bece*sity of providing for more effective drainage. Mr Reynolds kindly offered to itake the necessary levels without charge, and it was decided to call for tenders for opening two large drains upon the boundaries, and to enlarge the present outlet. We would remind onr readers of the Scottish concert and Highland dancing exhibition to be given in the City Rink this evening, by Mr W. P. Btnart and his accomplished pupils. The programme has been carefully compiled, and each of the items is clear to the heart of Scotchmen especially, while many are favourites with all lovers of music. The concert commences at 8 o'clock. The monthly meeting of the Gisborne Publio Library Committee was held last evening. Present : Messrs D. Johnston, J. Barton. Featon, O'Meara, Pettie, Townley, and Lucas (hon. sec.). The librarian reported 143 subscribers. A donation from Mr W. Parnell of » pie«« of Irish turf for the Museum, was acknowledged with thanks. Mr Featon reported lhat upwards of 300 tickets had been sold for the Art Union, and t hat they were going off rapidly. The drawing was fixed to take place on the 17th of September. Mr Blundell, Stock Inspector, (says the Manawatu Times) ordered a badly diseased cowtob* destroyed. The animal, which belonged to a family living on the Foxton line in poor circumstances, was their only msans of livelihood, and we hear that a charitably disposed resident living in the vicinity, has started a subscription for the purpose of purchasing another cow. On a Sunday recently a sheep was grazing on the high cliffs behind the Marine Hotel, Sumner, Canterbury, when it missed lU footing and fell over th» cliff, landing on a large bunch of geraniums, the drop being over 150 feet. Some people who observed the sheep fall made for the spot, and were iurprUed to find that it was quietly feeding away at the grass, having escaped apy injury.

The Bouth Australian Minister for Agriesltare bu received a report from the ■sanager of the Adelaide wine depot in London, stating that the prospect* of the Market for South Australian wine in England are improving. A Mile of music copyrights took place in London recently. The late Michael Watson's song, "Anchored," realised £1000, the highest price that baa ever been obtained for a song. A family live* out in Oregon (U.B A.), which has a peculiar religious faith. Each member of it take* aix bath* every twenty - four hoars. No outsider is allowed to enter their dwelling. They work every day for ■ix years, and then abstain from labor all through Urn ssvsath year. In the Congo territory the land owned by the Belgian Congo Commercial and Industrial Company stands in the Company's books at 2d per acre. Actual tales have been effected at this price. On the 21st nit, at Adelaide, Corporal Clark, of the Albany Permanent Force, attempted to lower the mile walking record of 6m in 23secs, on the Adelaide Oral. He ■tands Oft 2in, and walks very upright. He covered the first half-mile in 2mm 37sec, and the whole distance in smin 46 l-sth. Owing to his marvellous time, many doubted his style. »ufc competent judges say bt walked fairly and perfectly. At the last meeting of the Waitahuna Farmers' Club the Noxious Weeds BUI was discussed at length. The members present were of opinion that a Bill of this description was very necessary. The opinion was expressed that clause 7. which refers to the trimming of hedges and burning of cuttings, should be amended so that it should be allowable for cuttings to be left to rot oa the ground, as it was thought that this would have the effect of checking further growth. At the meeting of the Dunedin Gaelic Society lately, Mr Btuart exhibited to the meeting the celebrated snuff mull won by Robert Barns, at Craigdarroch, 18th October, 1790 (as per inscription on the lid). The mnll was a sort of challenge trophy, which had to be competed for annually as a drinking boot. The winner was the man who was sober enough at the end of the night or morning, as the ease might be, to blow a whistle. The following is the clause of the Adulteration Act, 1880, under which milk eellers have been prosecuted in the Timaru Magistrate's Court recently :— " Any person who shall sell any article of food or any drag which shall have been mixed up with any other substance with intent fraudulently to increase its weight or bulk, and who shall not declare sneh a mixture to any purchaser thereof bnfore delivering the same, and no other, shall be deemed to have sold an adulterated article of food or drug, as the ease may be, under the Act." The standard quality for milk is fixed by the second schedule to an Act of 1881— " Milk shall contain not leas than 90 per eeot by weight of milk solids, not fat, and no* less than 2 5 per cent of butter fat." Something was said in the Court about there being no penalty for selling skim milk as whole milk, but it has been pointed out that that* is. The Chinese residents of Auckland held a " social " the other night in the V.M.C. A. Rooms in connection with the mission of Joseph Lee, Chinese aUsafooary. Over three honored invitations were issued to citizens. The Chinese stood in a row at Urn entrance ball and shook hands with everyone invited. A number of hymns were sung by them, accompanied by Chinese instrument*. Nuog Kwongand another delivered addresses expressing gratitude for the kindness of Europeans to them. " Many people in Canterbury regard the volunteer force of the district as a rapidly diminishing quantity. Volunteering, they say, is practically dead. It would be dead, and not in Canterbury only, but throughout the colony as well, if negleot and mismanagement in high places could have killed it. To the gr*at credit of the force, however, the volunteer movement, so far from being dead, is actually beginning to advaoce."— Lyttelton Times. The Rev. L. M. Isitt tells a good story at his own expense (says an exchange) which be can well afford to do, as he has told many a good joke at the expense of others. He was addressing a meeting one night, when some of the larrikins in a back seat made it lively for him, and be thought he would take them down a peg. Said he, " There is a prevailing delusion that it ts tbe good little boy who dies. That is a mistake. I always preach that it is the geod little boy who lives. As for the bad little boys, why, in oar part of the country, we swallow them/ Straight and clear, as " bolt from the blue," came the retort from " tbe bad boy," " Swaller them ! I thought as much, judging from tbe size of your mouth." The parson felt that he had strnck a snag, and left that larrikin severely alone for the remainder of the evening. Mr Isitt has a keen appreciation of wit, and he swallowed the retort, although his mouth is scarcely so large as the one described by Byron, who said of the fair sex that he wished they had but " One rosy mouth, from north to south, aad he could kiss it." A new arrival who came to Wellington by tbe Doric, commenced gaining his colonial experience at a very early stage of his New Zealand career, being "run in" yesterday afternoon by Constable Johnston, who was en duty on the Queen's wharf. The man's intention had been to visit the races at Christchurcb, and he had boarded the Taraweta with that object in view, but his to put it mildly— exhilarated condition waa to apparent, that the officers of the steamer refused him a passage, and be was bundled ashore. His conduct had before this attracted the attention of the constable, who noticed that he was being carefully " shepherded " by several racecourse spielers. Upon being searched at the lock-up it was discovered that the foolish fellow had no less than £1444 in a pocket-book which was jauntily placed in tbe breast pocket of his overcoat. The accused was fined 5s by ) Mr Martin, 8.M., his Worship tendering him tbe excellent advice that hs would do well to lodge his money in the bank if he did not wish to be robbed. Tbe cash found by the police was made up of 14 new £100 Bank of England notes and £44 9s 6d in gold and silver.— Post. The powerful battleship, which is to be built by tbe Thames Ironworks for the Japanese Government, is to be named tbe Fuji Yama, after the celebrated Japanese mountain. The vessel will be of tbe Royal Sovereign type, and will have a displacement of 12,250 tons, while the total coal capacity will be 1,100 tons. Tbe armour belt is to be '>28 feet long, and 18 to 16 inches thick. The two barbettes will be plated with 14in armour, and each carrying two 12in breechloading guns ; while the other armament of tbe vessel will consist of ten Bin quick-firing guns in casemates, and twenty-four smaller Hotchkiss quick-firers. There will also be six torpedo electors. The engines, which are to be triple expansion and 14,000 horsepower, will be constructed b? Messrs Humphry*, Tennant, and Co., of Deptford, the boilers being of the usual cylindrical type. The speed will be eighteen knots. Ihe Japanese Government have had tbe construction of two powerful armour-clads under consideration for about seven years, and a commission was appointed to visit the various ship-building establishments of Europe and America, but it was finally decided to place the orders in England, one at London and the other at Newcastle, without allowing Continental Srnui to tender. The Southland News states that a remarkable case of personation is at present the subject of talk in Invercargill. A young woman, not much beyond 20 years of sirs, whose husband is said to be in Australia, took a dislike to female service, aud discarded the dress of her sex. She succeeded in concealing her sex for about six months, during which time, it is said, she had been engaged in different parts of tbe district in the laborious work of ploughing and general farm labor. Bhe gave satisfaction to her employers. She frequently drove into town iii a dray, and although moving amongst these who had formerly known her, the deception was not revealed. It is stated that slie did not deny herself the pleasures of life, but regularly attended dances in the district. She is not & strong- looking girl, but those who saw ber when clad in men's garment* assert that she made an ideal youth. How her sex came to be discovered , has not come to light, although she stoutly , denied the deception when it was first ! hinted at,