PUBLISHED EVERT EVENING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7659, 18 June 1896, Page 2

PUBLISHED EVERT EVENING

GISBORNE, THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 1896, Sympathy has been expressed with Mr Ward in his troubles, but there ia one man to whom a full share of sympathy is also due. Recent events must have inflioted a severe blow upon Mr Seddon ; indeed, it has been the heaviest trial his Government has had to endure during its tenure of office, and the Ministry has never stood so frail before the country as it is to-day. This weakness must cause greater anxiety for the reason that tho general elections are nigh at hand, and the Ministerial party is face to face with what is bound to be a stormy session. Although the party is still large, it is remarkably deficient in men qualified to be leaders. With Mr Ward and Mr Reeves gone, Mr Seddon has lost the two best debaters on his side of the House, and there are none qualified to replace them. The recent appointments to the Ministry did not strengthen it, for Messrs Hull-Jones, Walker and Thompson are men of mediocre ability and quite unfitted for positions as leaders. In Mr Ward Mr Seddon has lost his righthand man, and the office of first lieutenant must now fall to Mr MoKenzie, who, however, is a strong man only in his own Department of Lands, and goes quite astray when he attempts to tackle finance or other matters out of his province. The party is thus exceedingly weak to withstand the hsavy attacks which are sure to be made upon it this session, and to explain and discuss the legislation which it has to bring forward. That the Advances to Settlers scheme has so far proved a costly failure is proved by the statement of accounts laid on the table j of the House by the Premier at the commen- ' cement of the session. The return shows that of the net proceeds of the £1,500,000 loan, £1,433,23-1 has been disbursed as follows : — lnvestments at 31st March, 1896 (temporary), £313,044 19s { (mortgages), £425,801 12a ; cost of management to 31st March, 1895, £1546 19s; to 31st March, 1890, £9394 13s ; interest on loan for halfyear to Ist October, 1895, £22,500 ; Public Trust Office (beiug amounts paid on account of instalments of priucipal received from mortgagors), £3369 12d ; cash in hand aud in Bank on 31st March, 1896, £657,576 13s. There were 70 mortgagors iv arrears on Slst Match last, the amouut of arrears of interest being £439 12s 6d, and of principal, £92 Is. The loss on the first year's working is shown at £31,159, but like certain balance-sheets which have been heard of lately, the statement is deficient in that it does not show the contingent liabilities. The return is made up to March Slst, and interest amounting to £22,500 was due next day, so that it follows that the actual loss to tho colony for the first year was really £54,659.

Tuere is a point of importance to friendly societies which we have been asked to say something about. It is in relation to " unfinancial members." There are members in all lodges who allow their contributions to fall into arrear, and when sickness or mishaps overtake them fall back upon their society and expect the same benefits as fully paid up members. We have before us the judgment of Mr Hutchiuaon, the Wairarapa Magistrate, in a case in which a man named Payne Bued the Court Local Enterprise of Foresters for sick pay. His Worship dismissed one line of defence, that he hud no jurisdiction, holding that it was the undoubted right of every man to go to the judicial Courts of his country for redress of grievances, and that neither tho Friendly Societies' Act nor the society's rules prevented lawsuits between a member and the eociety as a body. The main point upon which the caae then rested was " Did the 29a owing by Payne make him unfinancial." Two officers of the Order had held an investigation into plaintiffs financial position in reference to tho society, and reported he was " justly returned unfinancial," his arrears in December 1894 being £2 9s. Since that date £1 had been paid off the arrears, leaving 29s due, and dealing with tho " unfhmncial " aspect of the ease Mr Hutchinson said that the matter resolved itself into the question whether or not contributions for incidental expenses wore to be taken into account in deciding whether a member was unfinaucial or not. The wording of rule 158 was very obscure, but looking at the principles and objects of the society and the liberal constitution its laws enjoined ho thought it might be reasonably interpreted as referring to ordinary contributions. He therefore gave judgment for pluintiff for the £39 claimed, with costs £5 19s, la concluding, his Worship said it was a pity the case had ever been brought into Court, ns il. was evident it had led to strife and bitterness of spirit and word amongst memhors. Tho effeot of this judgment may thus bo taken to be that where a member is in arrears for a small amount, say to the extent of one quarter's contributions, ho has still a claim on his lodge for benefits, but not if he is deeper iv arrears. Tho lesson to fiiendly societies is that they are required to interpret their rules liberally, and not to hold to the strict letter of their law. _^ wv— _-_~-_ — ~— * The lines upon whioh proceedings against those responsible for the Colonial Bunk manugement will be based, if such take place, muy be gathered from the following, which arose out of Mr Viger's cross-exami-nation by Mr Macgregor in the recent Supreme Court case in Dunodiu : — Now, I notice that in the report of the diroolorß of the Colonial Ba.uk submitted to | the half-yearly meeting of proprietors on the.

25th September, 1895, they show a not profitavailable for distribution of £19,950 2« lOd. t Do you know whether the balance-sheet c from which these figures are taken included the Ward Association account as represented t by tho balance-sheet of the 29th June?— [ Uur balance-sheet would include tho Asßoei- . at ion's debt as shown in our books. ; Then it would get the benefit of this | £30,000 transaction? It would appear as ' good in your balance-sheets to that extent? — Yes ; it was supposed to be good at that t date. c Was it supposed to be good on the 25th September ? — Our balance-sheet was dated j the 31st August. I know that, but I ask you was it supposed to be good on the 25th September when the balance-sheet was submitted to the proprie- i tors I— l should say not. I As a matter of fact, did not the directors £ and the manager know on the date when they presented the report to the shareholders ] that, ao fur as the Ward account was con- ( cerned, it was at any rate in a much worse ( position thau it was represented in the j balance-sheet?— l think so. To an extent sufficient to wipe out the , whole apparent profit for the half-year — viz , £19,000?—! should not like to say they \ knew that. - ' Then I understand that this meeting for I the approval of the report was adjourned till some date in November f — Yes, 1 think so. I Mr Haggitt : It was adjourned until after j the approval of the agreement. So that at the time of the final presentation of the account the directors and the general manager must have known that this Ward account was £55,000 in round numbers worse off than it was represented in the balance-sheet f — At what date } The 18th November!— l presume so. And no intimation of anything of that sort was given to the shareholders in any form whatever I — No,

The litblo people of Japan have been terrified by fearful earf.hquakes, which lasted for 20 hours and resulted in heavy loss of life. Japan is eminently a volcanic country, eighteen of ita summits being in constant eiuption, whilst the great aud sacred mountain of Fuji-Ban, 12,370 ft high, is an exliuct crater, dormant since 1707. The islands are liable to frequent and disastrous earthquakes, and in the last great calamity, which'occurred on October 28th, 1891, 9960 persons were killed, 20,000 were injured, and 130,000 of their frail houses were destroyed.

The winning numbers in Mrs Warren's Art Union are advertised in auolher column. The racehorses Three Star, Free Lance, and (jlenora arrived in Giaborne last night, by the Tasmania from Auckland. It was Mr John Wallace, senr., and not Mr James Wallace, who was ordained an elder at the Presbyterian Church on Sunday. Polmerston North people are petitioning for sittings of the Supreme Court at that place. A Maori boy who was brandishing a firestick at Waitotara struck a native girl in the eye and she will probably lose her sight. The Rev. J. Milne, the central figure in the trouble at St. Andrew's, Auckland, has been called to St. Paul's, ©amaru. The Petroleum Company's bore at M oturoa, New Plymouth, has reached a depth of 1635 feet, and is driving through papa formation. A case of neglect and cruelty is being investigated at Melroae, Wellington. It is alleged that a boy of seven has been kept in a fowlhouse or chained to a bedpost. At Timaru last week Alice Taverner, aged 19, who had had differences with her sweetheart, threw herself over the breakwater and was found drowned. A reproduction of that fine opera " The Yeoman of the Guard," befere the end of the year, is contempleted by the V\ ellington Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society. When the Premier gave notice of the Alcoholic Liquors Sale Bill there was a chorus of "Hear, hears" from behind the Government benches, and a demand for "bare majority." The 'Frisco mail boat Monowai had not arrived at Auckland up till a late hour this afternoon. The Giaborne portion of the mail will probably not be here before Wednesday next. In usually well-informed circles, says the H.B. Herald correspondent, it is considered that the new banking legislation foreshadowed in the Governor's speech will give Ministers power to control the appointment of some high banking officials. On Friday afternoon, upon the occasion of Mr Ingpen resuming his duties at the Karaka school, he was presented with an address by the children congratulating him upou his recovery from a serious illness, and gladly welcoming him back to his duties. Complaints having been made by a number of people in the country districts that they have been unable to obtain enrolment forms, Mr Barton, registrar, desires us to state that he has forwarded a number of the | forms to each of the fifty post offices in the Waiapi> electorate. In the course of an address to the jury in connection with a charge arising out of certain transactions in mining shares, Mr Justice Oouolly smilingly remarked of the Stock Exchange, " I do not know whether any of you gentlemen frequent that gambling saloon that is now being carried on in Queen street." The member for Master ton is bidding tor the gratitude of the settlers by urging the desirability of reducing the rate of interest on advances made under the Advances to Settlers Act to 4 per cent. Mr Hogg evidently recognises that his Government is being " left " in the money-lending business. At the recent pigeon race from Oainaru to Christchurch under the auspices of the Christchurch Pigeon Flying Club the winning bird, Mr Earnshaw's Ballyhooley, accomplished the distance with an average velocity of 1181 yards per minute. The distance from Oamaru to Christchurch in a straight line is over 120 miles, The following teams will represent the Rovers and Te Rau-Wanderers 11. respectively in their match next Saturday, and a good game is expected, this being the last occasion this season on which these clubs meet -.—Rovers : File, Albert, Campbell, DeLautour, Dick, Craig, Sunley, Brewer, Odium, Carter, Healy, Webb, Nasmith, McKinley, Power, Andrews, Tom, 1). Tye, aud Cookery. To Rau- Wanderers 11. : P. Reid, Goldsmith, Driberg, Thompson, Lewis, Harris, Finlayson, Rodgers, Siddles, Leech, Hohepa, Hatara, Collins, Atea, Nere, Pene Waru, Murphy, Taylor, Hagan, and Tyson. The first round of the senior contests under the control of the Poverty Bay Rugby Union will be brought to a close on Saturday afternoon, when the match which was declared " off" by the Uuion between Te RauVVanderers and Turanganui will be re-played. Both clubs will be represented by their strongest fifteens, and a close and exciting contest may confidently be expected. Each club has two wins to its credit, and the side which wins on Saturday will hold the lead for the premiership. The combination will place a superior team in the field than that which defeated Turanganui in the disputed match, and are consequently warm favorites. The following are the selected teams : — Te Rau-Wandererß : Pahoo, Kuao, Hillson, Tuteari, Tuhoi, Sheen, Niabett, Henderson, Katene, Hare, Jonea, Hooper, Tait, Evinson, Webb, P. 'J'yßon, and Hemi. Turanganui : Wainhouse, Young, Crawford, Bull, Burns, Ovenden, Loomb, McLachlan, Poynter, Caultun, Kennedy, Armer, Bourn, Courtayne, aud Tyson. The plain and fancy dress ball held in the Theatre Koyal last night proved to be very enjoyable. The hall was tastefully decorated with evergreens, and tho floor was in good order, about forty couples being present The music supplied by Mrs Fernandez and the catering by Mr Craig gave ovary satisfaction. Mr W. Webb oliioiated as M.C. Some of the most striking costumes among the ladies wore :— Mrs Nelson as " Games"; Miss K. Hackott and G. Martin, "Trilby Girls"; Mies Young, Ferryman's Daughter; Mia3 Swari.rick, " Rump " ; Miss Tyson, "Flowers"; Misa Hood, Ludy Footballer; Miss Roidy, Schoolgirl; Mias Heale.y, Shrimp Girl ; and Mrs Harper, Mies Webb, Miss Williams, and Misa Gillice in evening dress. Amongst the gentlemen the most noticeable were ;— Mr Smith aB "Dr Quack " ; Mr Hanlon, Maltese KUght ; Mr Tye, Stockman ;Mr Hackett, Fireman ; Mr Callughan, Huntsman j Mr Finlftyson, " Romeo,"

The Hon. J. Bryee will be a condidate for ; he New Plymouth seat at the next general lection. Five direct liners with an aggregate fcqnago cf 25318 lons were at Lyttelton one day ist week. Mb is proposed to build an industrial hall , i* Christ church on a site near Coker's olel. Mr Stead, of Christchurch, has given 25 ms of coal to warm the Chrißtcnurch poor nring the winter. The New Zealand Agricultural Company's inds in Southland, comprising 140,000 cres, are to be cut up and sold. Another difficulty has arisen in connection rith the medical staff of the Christchurch oapital, one of tho members of which has ant in his resignation. At a meeting of pastoralists at Fairlie, forth Canterbury, it was decided to encavur to obtain a grant of £10,000 from the loverDment for the erection of a rabbit fence 3 the district. A representative of the New Zealand Yorkers' Union is to travel the North sland shortly for the purpose of establishug shearer organisations in the various lastoral centres. The paddle-steamer built on the Clyde or the Northern Steam Ship Company, and n( ended for the Thames-Auckland trade, vill leave for New Zealand at the end of the iresent month. She can steam 16 knots. Fully 300 ladies promised to jem the health Society promoted by Dr Emily iyder when she was in Auckland in Feb■uary. But when antther meeting was held i few daya ago to form the society, only two ,vero present. The idea has been abandoned. As it is felt that tuberculosis is very nuch more prevalent in the colony than is generally believed, the Wellington Agricultural and Pastoral Association is forwarding % circular to all kindred Associations, asking .heir co-operation in endeavouring to obtain From the Government an advance copy of the proposed Bill dealing with this subject, jo that it can he discussed, and suggestions made if thought necessary. In a letter written by Mr Frank Stephens, lately a student in the Dunedin School of Mines, to a friend in Dunedin, he says : — '* Rinderpest has broken out in South Africa, and cattle are dying off everywhere. It is a splendid time to run our frozen mutton in from New Zealand. A shop in Johannesburg which sells Australian butter, eggs, cheese, fruit, etc. , is doing an enormous trade ; in fact, it supplies almost all the fresh butter that is to be obtained iv South Afriua. The opportunities for trade that New Zealand might have here are very great." Professor Forbeß, who is now visiting Lord Glasgow, is the famous electrical engineer whose great work has been the ' ' harnessing " of Niagara. Professor Forbes, in consequence of the success of these works, has in contemplation the advisability of similarly harnessing the Victoria Falls on the Zambesi for the benefit of Rhodesia generally, and he ia making inquiries as to the conditions obtaining on the West Australian goldfields with a view to transmitting power from the coast to work the mines. , Fortunately (says the Kumara Times) a man trap that has existed for years in the shape of an old shaft, 30 feet in depth, has lately been found. The day labor man's attention was drawn to a hole in the footpath immediately oppoaite the Premier'a late residence in Seddon street. Closer inspection proved it to be an old shaft, with a covering of saplings and a few inches of gravel on top. There has been a lot of traffic near this spot, as for years past the Queen's Hotel was the last halting place of the Christchurch coach. Tho shaft is now being filled up, and will no longer be a danger to travellers. At the Magistrate's Court this morning, before Mr Booth, S.M., judgment with costs was given for plaintiff by default in the following cases : — Arthur John Cooper v. Arthur Ward, claim £3 (Mr Arthur Rees for plaintiff), costs 10s ; Messrs Common, Shelton and Co v. Dennis Malone, claim £10 S3 lOd on a dishonored promissory note (Mr Finn for plaintiffs), costs 19s, and solicitor's fee 15s 6d. The Cook County Council applied for an order against Thomas Wright for £1 lla 4d on a judgment summons. An order was made for immediate payment, in default 3 days imprisonment. Stanbury will be able to read a fine crop of obituary notices and leading articles on the sad event of his death. Although the correction was lodged within a couple of hours, its transmission was delayed to such an extent that the evening papers were not able to withdraw their eulogiums. The news, which was the one theme of conversation during tho day, caused great grief to the wife and parents of the sculler, who reside in different parts of New South Wales. When the report of his drowning was received it caused much perplexity as to how his death had occurred. His brother-in-law aaid he was like an eel in the water ; one of the best swimmers he ever saw, water seemed to be his element, whilst Peter Kemp remarked, " There isn't enough water in the i hames to drown Jim Stanbury fairly." It seems that while Stanbury was training he lost one of his sculls, and in trying to recover it upset his outrigger. Ho managed to dive clear of the boat and swam to a passing skiff. From this skiff he bailed oub his outrigger, and then resumed training. Meantime the sensational message as to his fate was speeding to Australia. Robert Butler, the ex-convict who has been re-arrested by the Melbourne police, is one of the great criminals of his age. Since 1860 sentences have been passed on him which represent an aggregate period of 4C years, and his repertoire of criminality is an extensive one that stretches from vagrancy to burglary and sacrilege, and was only prevented from also including murder of a peculiarly cold-blooded kind by the ability with which Butler defended himself against that charge. It is worth while observing that Butler may be a gaol-made criminal. Ac a child of thirteen years he was imprisoned 12 months for vagrancy, and very soot after finishing that term he was arrested again on the same charge and gaoled foi six months. Then he began to do something to better justify his imprisonment, and aftei serving a sentence for watch-stealing, was convicted of robbery under arms in th( Firzroy Gardens. After that he figured as c desperate burglar, thief, and embezzler ir two colonies. It may not bo fair to say that he gob his criminal education in gaol. Bui for a lad of thirteen, who had instincts foi " picking and stealing," no belter system ol developing them could be imagined that the intercourse with convicts which sooietj gave Butler at that ago.