THE COLONIST. Published Daily—Mornings. Nelson, Monday, August 7, 1893. SUMMARY NOTES.

Colonist, Volume XXXVI, Issue 7701, 7 August 1893, Page 3

THE COLONIST. Published Daily— Mornings. Nelson, Monday, August 7, 1893. SUMMARY NOTES.

Parliament ha 9 now been in session over six weeks, and a big debate on the Financial Statement has been got through, after the usual stirring up of the financial stream, with the apparent object of rendering the waters somewhat lesß clear than before. At all events there were considerable flounderj inga amongst figures, and some of the Opposition speakers oomplsined that the Government finance is not strong enough for them, because the anticipated surplus for the ourrent year, and out of which a quarter of a million sterling ia to be devoted to public works, bo as to avoid recourse to the money market, is not already in hand. This has been taken to indicate that, if they dared, the Opposition wou}d advocate a r sumption of borrowing ; bat such a p01i.7 \y uld not be aooeptable to the people generally. That there is any ground for fearing that the revenue will not be maintained cannot be asserted, and, as proof to the contrary, it may be stated that the Customs revenue for the first quarter of the current y^ar exceeded that of the corresponding quarter of 1892 by £5371, whioh, though not very large, is on the right side. I? must not be thought that Parliament has beta wholly ocoupied in useless debate. A large number of Bills have been advanced an important stage, and in view of the crusade agaiußt the liquor traffic, the Bill introduced by Fir Robert Stout, and which has passed its saoond reading, providing for a decision by the eleotors as ts whether liceases for the eale of intoxicating liquors may or may not be granted, js regarded with very considerable interest. So far asoan be seen, supporters of the di;ebt veto have a better prosneot in New Zealand thao, in the Old

Country— at all events, the matter is being brought forward more earnestly in this Ool^ny ; bat, from n financial point alone, it is neoessary to proceed with o-iiit ; on, for the Colony cannot afford to feive up nearly half a million of revenue, as one legislator poin'.s out, d either can tbe local bodies manage to carry ont their functions eatisf otorily if they are suddenly deprived of over £60,000 a year received from Hcenßo fe->\ The financial eapsot o! the question haß not been sufficiently considered, although it is but fair to Bay that the Prohibition^ s assert, on slender grounds though it may be, that indirectly the liquor traffio entails a larger cost to the Scat? than is made good by the revenue. Of course, there is the greater question as to whether legislation can posßibly be effeotive before the people are prepared to accept suob legislation. Experience shows that means are devised whereby unpopular laws are evaded, and with regard to the liquor traffio it is Burely better that it should be under well defined regulation than that it should become as a contraband trade, with all the evils intensified,.

The position of the late Native Minister, Mr Oadman, has materially changed during the past month. Having gained a verdict with nominal damages aga : nst Mr Bees, who impaled improper motives, Mr Oadman challenged his former acouser to resign his seat in the House, and offered to oppose Mr Rei-s in his own ooDstitnency. It is perhaps ' difficult to find much excuse for a challenge of this kind, for when given and accepted each party appears to be confident that right is on his side. However, the battle has been fought, and won by Mr Oadman, contrary to the expectations of those who felt that Mr Bees bad an advantage as a platform speaker. For all that, the method adopted is to our thinking wholly unsatisfactory. What might have been deemed a great event of the month was the suspension of the New Zealand Loan end Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, but the event has not caused anything in the nature of a panic, and in Nelson, whion is little affeoted, soarcely en expression of sympathy has been heard. Eegarding financial matters, the only other items r- quiring mention a>e the declaration of a dividend, equal to 8 per cent, by the Union Bank of Australia, and the proposition on behalf of the Bank of New South WBles to increase its capital- a proposition that has been well received. Labob troobles have been rife in Australia, and at one time there seemed a bare possibility tbat New Zealand would become embroiled. On the other aide of tbe Tasman sea tbe miners and the seamen struck, and in both cases defeat stared the men in the face. There is reason to fear, too, that more than one diabolical plot was laid by the strikers, for explosions took place on board vessels that left port with Don-Uoionut crews, and one steamer narrowly esoaped destruction, together with all on board. Following the reduction of seamen's wages in Australia, tbe Union Steamship Company of New Zealand issued a circular to the seamen, firemen, eta, on board the Company's ships, intimating a reduction of £1 per month. According to this seamen and trimmers are only to receive £6 per month, and firemen and gieasers £8, overtime being also reduced to odo shilling an hour. The intimation has been received with good grace, though the Union is endeavoring to secure a provision for better terms upon revival of trade. One of the most remarkable events of the month was the departure from Sydney on the 16th inst of the barque Boyal Tar with 237 sou's on board, the expedition being bound for Paraguay, where it is proposed to establish a Socialistic settlement. The 'Baview of Keviews gives some particulars as to this expedition. From this source we learn that the men composing it are the pick of the tall straight western men. Thirty per cent of them are sft lOin and over, all the professions except " lawyers, auctioneers and commission agents, who are regarded as dangerous classes," are represented. The au hority quoted speaks regretfully, not to say pityingly, ef the expedition, the founder of which is Mr W. Lane. It says : — " A large tract, of territory has been secured in Central Paraguay, on the banks of the Tibicuary, the modest sum of £220 having been paid to the Paraguay Government a3 deposit. The settlement is remote for the sea ooaat, and a .South American .Republic scarcely offers tho.-e conditions of social order and political freedom Englishmen love." We learn through the same source that " the settlement will be run on. a communistic basis. Each adult, man and woman will have a share in the common profits irrespective of occupation or ability. The director and the soavenger will be treated alike as regards sharing out the wealth. Children are to be the common charge of the community ; the supreme governing authority is one Director elected by a two-thirds majority. That those forming the expedition are actuated by Doble desires, one cannot doubt, but it is to be feared that disappointment will be experienced all too soon—we hope that there may not also be suffering."

The Midland Bailway Company has again placed itself in evidence with a new offer, somewhat more favorable to the Colony than its prsvio'.s onos, but nevertheless qne under which the Company is desirous that it may be relieved from the completion of its present contract. Apparently the section between Motueka Valley and Reefton is to be left out of consideration, and the Colony is to pay £85,000 a year for ten years in lieu of land grants for the Springfield-Teremakau section The line from Belgrove to Motueka Valley is now being prooeeded with, and we understand is to be finished during the coming summer — this section the Colony is to purchase for £100,000 if the latest proposals are to be entertained. These proposals are now under consideration, but we do not fancy there is much likelihood of their being accepted, The weather Is often regarded as a handy topic to which reference may be made, but on the present occasion we wish it might be left out of our notes. Last winter was wet, this has in some respects been worse. In a measure, Nelson has not been so badly off as other places, but unless a change comes soon she will lose her prefix of " sunny." Wellington has been windy, of coursg, and what with hailstorms, heavy rains, land slips, and generally wretched experiences, its people have not been having a very good time. Blenheim has quite regained its old name of " The Beaver," having broken the record by going under water every third day on the average for some time past. From Canterbury we have had reports of storms, snd a church was blown down in that part of the country. In Auckland there have been floods, and on the West Coast gales and flood?, though do great damage seems to have been done in the latter direction. In the Waimeas some damage was done a fortnight ago, but the worst effect of the bad weather is that it is impossible to wcrk the land, which is completely sodden, and some of the corn is reported as having been desiroyed. The bad weather, too, is serious for early lambing, arjd unless a ohange takes plaoe speedily great !o>s must rfsult.

Dubing the month we had definite information as to a renewal of difficulties in Samoa, where fightiog occurred between the rival factions. Annexation of the Islands by Great Britain has been suggested as a means of laving further trouble, and probably an agreement to suoh a course by all three of the Powers interested would be advantageous to each. Referring fo annexation, it may be remarked that during the month the Empire has received an addition, the British flag having been hoisted on the Solomon Islands.

One of the local events of the month w&s the annual Show of the Ntlson Poultry Association, which was. a marked improvement on all previous exhibitions. The entries were more numerous than in former yeaiv, and subsequent to the local Show, Ntlson exhibitors proved successful at Blenheim and Wellington.

In the doings of the New Zealand team of footballers who recently visited Australia, interest has been very general. Nelson had only one representative in the team — Hamper — but he rendered a good account of himself, and the team was highly successful, winning 9 matches out of 10. They played three matches against All New South Wales and \ Jost one of them. < {hqut last Summary the M?riya.l ot the

barque lone from London to this port after a passage of 140 day was recorded, but last week the barqne^* ohievement, from London to Wellington, arrived after a still more protracted passage, 172 days having been spent at sea.

Pobmo Wobkß at Takaka. — We learn as regards the tenders for the three sections of the East Takaka Road Extension, there were five tenders sent in for No. 1 section, the highest being for £651 10s 6d, and the lowest, by Messrs Glyn and Moore, which was accepted, for £340 8s 4d ; for No. 2 seven tenders were received from five tenderers. Mr H. Bate's for £792 was accepted, the highest tendf r being as muoh as £1750 ; five tenders were received for No. 3 seotion, and these ranged from £377 to £483 12s, the former being from Messrs W. and G. Spittal, and was accepted. No doubt the work will be pushed on as speedi y as possible. Charitable Aid Board.— The Gollingwood County Council, we learn, has requested MiHenry Baigent to become its representative on the abovenamed Board in place of Mr Heyward, resigned. The Gounoil accorded the latter gentleman a hearty vote of thacks for his past services. Misixa Returns.— The following are the Beef ton mining returns for the past week :— Progress, 2300zs amalgam from 220 tons of stone ; Globe, 148ozs from 170 tons stone ; Cumberland, 98ozs from 80 tons stone (plates only) ; Big Eiver, 277£ozs gold from 160 tons stone (general cleaning up) ; a dividend of 9d has been declared in the latter Company. Floods in Blenheim. — The Blenheim coach, which was due in Nelson about six o'clock on Saturday evening, reached town a little after 3 p.m yesterday. Mr Newman, who drove through, reported that the Alfred river was in flood, but he managed to crosß it. On Saturday the town of Blenheim was pretty well under water, the flood, which was the fifth within a fcrtinght, we are in. formed, being one of the highest experienced for a long time. Social at the Port.— A social is to beheld in the Port Hall this evening, and we are told that it promises to be a very successful one. A pleasing programme will be carried out, acd refreshments will be provided. Theatre Royal. -The tableaux entertainm nt, in aid of St Mary's Orphanage, will be given in the Theatre Boyal to night, when the very effective tableaux, together with excellent v cal and instrumental xausio, should provide an agreeable entertainment— one that should fittingly close the holiday. Caledonia House.— Prior to stook-taking and in view of receiving heavy shipments of new goods shortly, Mr Bobert Bnodgraas has commenced his annual sale of surplus stook. On referring to an advertisement in another column, it wi 1 be seen that there are a large number of odd lots to be sold cheap. Obrtainlt the beßt medicine known ia Sander and Sonß Eucalypti Extract. Test its eminently powerful efleot in coughs oolds, influenza—the Belief is instantaneous In serions oases, and aooidents oi all kinds, be they wounds, burns, soaldings, bruises, sprains, it is the safest remedy — no swelling, no inflammation. Like surprising effects produced in croup, diphtheria, broaohitis, nflammaiion of the lunga, swellings, etc. ; diarrhoea, dysantry, diseases of the kidneys and urinary organs In use at hospitals and medioal olinics all over the globe ! patronised by his Majesty the King of Italy ; crowned with medal and diploma at International Exhibition, Amsterdam. Trust Sn this ap. proved article and reject all othera. The centre of attraction is a most beautiful lot of real ostrich feathers at 5s eaoh, the former price was 15s and 203.— Jas Armstrong Co., Trafalgar street. This above gooda are now on view in our window, dome and ccc them, and get yonr piok early at 5s eaoh— Jas. Armstrong <Jfc Co. Ladies' Josephine 2-button Kid Gl&ves, all shades and sices, for 6d a pair.— Jas. Arm" strong & Co. A special line of ladies' black Cashmere Hose (marked 2a) for la 3d a pair. This is 20 per cent off wholesale price. — Jas. Armstrong & Go. For ladies who find it necessary to go out in wet weather, there is nothing like a good waterproof oloak or u>ter, and A. W. Bain & Co are colling these at very low prices (new goods). There cannot be a better or oheaper lot of table linen, curtains, tray olotbs or serviettes in Nelson, than A W. Bain & Co are now showing. They are really remarkably oheap. Keepivg only the best (?oods and selling at the keenest rate of profit is what A. W. Bain &Co Bra rnakiDg a point of. They have jaet bought a big lot of goods for almoßt next to nothing, and egk the public to come and ccc them, and (i( satisfied) to buy.