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South Canterbury Times, Issue 6264, 10 July 1890, Page 3

The Hospital and Charitable Aid Board meet to-morrow.

The football matches this afternoon, if played, must have partaken of the fun of a duck hunt. Macintosh and Wade would bo the best players.

The long spell of dry weather appears now thoroughly broken, and the steady downpour to day wiU be sufficient to satisfy all demands. Wo do not want six weeks of it, —but possibly will get it. Mr Ballance asks, Why has no attempt been been made to classify the Civil Service? Every person knows that it is required. Every on fl knows that there are numbers of officers who are working for miserable pittances, while there are others who are receiving £I2OO or £1503 a year, and who are doing no more than those who are receiving £l5O. The cablegrams to day very briefly describe what must have been queer scenes in the London post office. Our readers may fill in details from their imagination, and can hardly picture to themselves a scene too strange for a public office. The police yards however presented a still stranger one, when the determined strikers tried to hold the waverers from going on duty. Down our way, says Mr Taylor, what have we to contend with now ? Huge estates : and you cannot touch them. I had the pleasure some weeks ago of calling attention to a few typical cases, such as the case of Cheviot, where one county consists of about three hundred thousand acres owned by four or five men, the residental population amounting to only 113—men, women and children. Another case is that of Moore, of Qlenmark—seventysix thousand acres, with a residental population of only thirty-five. Other cases might be mentioned, for Canterbury is simply spotted with instances of that kind.

In an article referring to the no-confidence debate the Wellington Post says:— The country is sick of the paltry details in which both sides lose themselves year after year. It does not want to have any more discussions which'sound like funeral orations on a commercial ledger, with copious extracts showing the virtues of the departed. Away with book-keeping ; gives us no more jugglings with figures. Let us get on to the discussion of something that hao for its object the keeping of the people in the country and the addition to their number, "which hitherto both sides have agreedjto declare imperative, and to ignore as if it never existed. Teachers will remember the case of Miss Selena Stark, of North Melbourne, a teacher who challenged the action of a Government Board of classifiers in placing her in one class while she maintained that she ought to have ranked higher. The Government fought Miss Stark in the Supremo Court because her contention was'also that of many others, and they feared possible claims for increased salaries. Miss Stark won the day and her praternal Government took the case on appeal to the Privy Council which august body also thinks as Miss Stark does and the Victorian Government pays the piper. The other day (says an exchange) the railway department of Victoria advertised for 611 men. The pros, perous colony replied promptly w ith eleven thousand applications. For the 130 porter, ships there marched a battalion of 1186 strong; for the 150 repairers of way there came a regiment of 1885 effective men. Forty engine cleaners were wanted, and lo ! aligned before the windows of the astonished Commissioners was a whole brigade numbering 3768. Two hundred and seventeen artisans rushed for the 12 engine-filters’ places ; two hundred and nineteen tried to fit into the space reserved for 12 engine-blacksmiths ; a solid array of 980 carpenters and joiners came to do battle for 30 places ; 396 labourers fought for 25 ; 629 genteel young men for 12 junior clerkships ; and many hundred more for the other posts all duly advertised. This overwhelming tide carried the railway department away in its swirling current; it was not till a special staff was put on to classify the applicants that order was restored and breathing time gained. In Victoria the law is to ballot the applicants in those cases down to three times the number of vacancies, to submit the result to examination, and then to make the appointments after another ballot, inscribing the failures on the }ist o? those who wait for vacancies.

The Shearers' and Labourers Union of Oamaru is waking up the farmers of the district to do something in their own defence. Aj; Farmers and Employers Union was formed some days ago, and this week a branch was formed at Kurow. The general opinion of the meeting was that the Labour Union “ log ’’ had been crudely and hastily constructed, and required considerable modification to make it acceptable to farmers and othe.r employers. The farmers agreed that the Eight Hours day would be generally acceptable, but it would not do for horse-men, plough-men for instance, for if a man did not begin to feed his horses before 8 0.m., and had them fed and done with by 5 p.tn. there would be no work done. Another difficulty was the claim for lime and a half pay for overtime in harvest.

The Napier Harbour Board are presenting a bill to Parliament similar to that of the Timaru Harbour Board to simplfy the collection of the harbour rate. The local bodies have agreed to it except the Napier Borough Oouncil, who protest against one clause. The Mayor, Mr Swan, said he had glanced over the Bill and he did not think they could possibly agree to one clause, which actually made them responsible for the rate. They were not only appointed collectors, hut were made responsible for the total amount which should be collected. He did not think that that would meet with the views of the Council. That was not the idea intended at the outset, or at least he had not looked at the matter in that light. It would not do for them to let the Bill pass in its present form if they could help it. The Council agreed and a committee was appointed to take immediate action in securing an amendment.

Mr Ballance, speaking on the Address-in-Reply, S';id: Jn Canterbury great difficulty has been experiencsd in getting suitable areas of land available for subdivision into sections for farmers and labourers; and an honourable member from that district tried, some sessions ago, to get a sum placed on the estimates to enable labour-settlements to be formed. At Lake Ellesmere an area of land was accordingly surveyed and out up into lots of from five acres to two hundred a-res each. There were forty-eight of these sections. Here was the making of an important township ; here was the establishment in prospective of a dairy-farmors’ association or settlement ; here was exactly the kind of settlement that was wanted. But, Sir, instead of putting these sections up to ballot, requiring that they should “be all taken by bona fide occupiers, instead of carrying out the intention of the Land Department in surveying this land into reasonable sections, they were put up to auction to be purchased for cash. As a consequence, one man buys no less than twenty-three of these sections; another buys seven, another six, and so onj so that the whole of this land falls into the bands of a few persons, and this promising settlement this opportunity of locating population on the soil—has been entirely neglected through the administration of the Lands Department. In a letter to the Wellington Times on Bank of Hew Zealand matters, Mr George Buckley says : —“ Before I deal with the main question at issue, I must congratulate the shareholders on the good fortune which has apparently lately befallen the Bank. I say “ apparently," in the hope that it may not prove more apparent than real; for, Sir, it was known to every second man. one met in the street in Auckland that two members of the present Government of this Colony were largely indebted to the Bank of New Zealand ; and it was equally a fact, Sir, that when the circumstances surrounding the indebtedness of one at least of these gentlemen became known to the Board of Directors, of which I was a member, I was compelled to intimate that I could remain on the Board unless he resigned ; and resign he did. The Hon Mr Hislop now denies the indebtedness of the two gentlemen ; consequently, either (1) they have paid their debts, or (2) they have been paid for them, or (3) they have been wiped out by some; other process. If either the first or second plan has been adopted it should bo good news to the shareholders. If the third, possibly the gentlemen referred to will enlighten others similarly situated how the “ wiping out ” process was accomplished. For my own part I cannot believe the Bank’s claims have been paid. The news is too ood to be true."