THE COLONIST. Published Daily—Mornings. Nelson, Monday, September 30, 1895. SUMMARY NOTES.

Colonist, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8366, 30 September 1895, Page 2

THE COLONIST. Published Daily — Mornings. Nelson, Monday, September 30, 1895. SUMMARY NOTES.

Shortly, after the publication of our last summary number the Bill dealing with the Bank of New -ealand pasßed through tbe Upper Hoase, and reoeived the assent of his Exoellenoy the Governor. The maintenanoe ot the Bank has thus been assured, and is shareholders have been saved ftom any danger of being oalled upon to immediately pay up tbe balanoe of their liability, but the Colony has taken up a burden whioh Bhould it have to faoe a further suooesßion of lean yearp, would 89Buredly prove a heavy one. i Still, the alternative might have proved more j galling, and the early realization of. tbe / assets of the EBtates Company will give substantial ground for hope that tbe period of difficulties in oonneotion witb that Institution is drawing to a olose. We must therefore hope tbat in tbe near future the aesets alluded to will find purchasers. Having got rid of one momentous question the Government of New Zealand tackled another taßk, wbioh they coon found t> be almost as hazardous aB tbe taking of a hornet's nest. It was given forth that tbe Customs Tariff was to be amended with a view to getting rid of come very apparent inequalities ; but not only was it sought to accomplish this, as the assurances of Ministers deolared, for it Boon became evident that the new Tariff was expeoted to bring in additional revenue. At first Bight it might appear altogether unnecessary to add to the taxation wben, year by year, the present Colonial Treasurer has been able to announoe a surplns. It must be remembered, however, that publio works are still urgent'y wanted in this young country, and it must be appreciated that if neoessary works are not to be constrnoted out of borrowed money, suffioient revenue must be raised to enable them to be proseouted Tbe money, outside of ourrent revenue, available for suob works has become largely reduoed, and if some additional revenue were oarefully devoted to improving and inoreising means of communication, there aie probably few wbo would objeot to being oalled on to contribute on an equitable baßis ao that progress might be provided for. Unfortunately the Colonial Treasurer waß at a very considerable disadvantage. When he retained to the Colony Parliament was already in session, aud in addition to dealing with the finances of tb6 Oolony, he had to faoe tbe very intricate businesß conneoted with tbe New Zealand Bank, and it has been made apparent tbat the Tariff proposals as originally brought down bad not reoeived that amount of oon*. sideration whioh ehould have been devoted to tbem, and no deubt would have been given, but for shortneßß of time and the difficulties alluded to. In his Budget speech delivered at the end of July, the Colonial Treasurer estimated that the alterations in reßpeot to Customs duties whioh be then suggeetad would lead to a net gain of £10,000, hot from the later discussion it would seem that this was a> low estimate. In July the Treasurer proposed to reduce the duty on tea from sixpenoe to fivepence by way of relief to consumers, Bnd he also proposed to tax flannelettes to the extent of twenty per cent, tbat impost being apparently with a desire to proteot the Colonial woollen manufacturers, it being said that flannelletes. though oontaining no wool, oompeted with flannel. Tbe latter proposal evoked an outory, and tbe Treasurer gave way, and as members were given a freehand in dealing with the Tariff, though appealed to now and again against weakening the finances of tbe Government, the duty on tea was ultimately reduoed to fourpence. It was proposed to place a duty on such fruiiß as are obtained from the Paoiflo Islands, inoluding bananas, pine apples, oranges, ooooanuts &o, but theße fruits are still to oome in duty free, but for tbe protection of N6w Zealand growers, apples, apricots, and most of tbe iooally produced fruits will have to pay a duty of a penny per pound, though between tbe 14th July and the 31 -it Deoember tn eaoh year, apples aud pears will be admitted on payment of a duty of one halfpeny par pound. Bootß and shoes will have to pay a somewhat larger duty under the new Tariff. Bat withall the deßire to main strong finance it is open to doabt whether tbe new duties will bring in bb much ievenue as tbe old. It may safely ba asserted that oertain importations will show a falling off, while the remission on tea of two penoe a pound will be appreciable. I As regards tha future, eigne of increasing prosperity are by no means wanting, and the fact points to the probability of an increased demand for land, to the possibility of the Bank of New Zealand estates being 'favorably realised, and to tbe certainty of settlement being extended. It waß recently reported that the timber industry in the Nortb is beooming much more aotive, additional mills being employed with labor provided for a larger number of hands. Then, too, the mining industry is more promising at the present time than it has been for many years. A great number of companies have been formed for the purpose .of developing mineral wea'tb in tbe Auokland district, and in this Island, also, increased aotivity, and additional enterprise are noticeable. Onb of the most hopeful signs, indeed we may say the most hopeful, is the advance in value of wool. At the beginning of the month we were advised througb the cable of the result of sales at Sydney, when it wsb reported tbat tbe highest prioes known for two years were being realised. Later on it was reported from tbe same place that prioes were fifteen per cent, better "tban they were twelve months ago, end sinoe then the reports from the Old Country have been fully as cheerful. For the year 1893, New Zealand exported wool to the value of £3,774,738. So that a rise of 15 per oent. on the olip about to be Beoured will mean an additional half miilion sterling to the abeep farmers of New Zealand, and that withoat ft farthing extra

in ontlay. The hope is that the present advance may be at least maintained. So far as the Nelson district is oono mcd, iti proppeots are unqaegtion&bly bright* ning. Tt c advance in ihe prioe of wool will, of course, prove most welcome to tbe farmers, and the protection afford d to fruitgrowers by the new Tariff, if wisely tiken advantage of, will lead to very maoy more peop'e making a living. Then, too, there seems to be every likelihood of the mining industry going ahead, and that will mean a larger demand for the ordioary produce of the soil. Reference has been made in these columns to the efforts whioh are being m-de to prosecute work at the Reefton mines on a larger Boale, and to more completely guard againat loss. On Saturday we published a telegram from our Collingwood correspondent stating that an Engl ; sh capitalist had scoured a valuab'e area at Parapara with the rich deposit ot hematite ore thereon, and it is scarcely reasonable to imagine that an English capitalist ehould have Eeoured the property without an intention of turning it to ase. To ase a vaat deposit of tioh iron ore means the employment of a large nnmber of men, and a lot of men need feeding, ao that in this there is hope for the grower of mutton and of beef, for the dairy proprietor, and the farmer. Another promising venture is the effort that is being made to open ap a ooal field within three miles of the oentre of thia oity. A small local oompany haa expended some five hundred pounds in prospecting, and a report on the workings baa been obtained from Mr Joseph Taylor, late Certificated Teacher of MiniDg ander the English Government Department of Science and Art, and travelling Lecturer under the Staffordshire Oounty Council. That gentleman Dot oaly states that the money has been judioiously expended, but that tbe ooal met with in the workings varies from 2ft to 10ft in -hiokcesa, and he adds : " Suppose the aore o! ooal now praoi ioally ia sight Bhould average only 3ft ia thiokaeßS, and suppose the coal Be Is for only 15b per ton as ia the past ; then, allowing 120 tons per aore for eaob inoh in thioknesa of seam, we have 4320 tons ot ooal worth £3240," and be estimates that this ooal could be won for ha'f that amount, leaving £1620 to the good. He recommends further work to determine the value of the deposits and indicates a likelihood of both natural ga3 and petroleum being met with and in payable quantities, wbile he points oat tbat the extensive belts of fireclay may be tamed to profitable aooount, providing work for many. A proposal to establish a larger looal oompany to oarry on the work has beea well reoeived, and we hope before next month t ) announoe success. But while in New Zealand there are the appearances of the dawning of a brighter day, the reports from Australia are somewhat gloomy. After an unusually severe winter, whioh affeoted the oranges in New South Waleß and damaged the sugar canea in Queensland, a severe drought set in over the greater portion of Australia. From New South Wales we reoeived news of immense bush fires, of oattle being burned to death, and of stock dying owing to want of water. In Queensland, too, drought and buih fires played bavoo, and from ibe oldest of the group of oolonies oame word day atter day th&t miles of country were ablaze. A day of humiliation and of prayer was set apart, and on that very evening oame rain, and from South Australia ba? oome word that the rain has so far saved the crops from -destruction. Bat following the rains, fearful storms have raged on the ooast of New South Wales, and now we are told that a plague of rabbiti is threatening to ruin the pastoralhta in Queensland, in New Soutb Wale*!, aud in South Australia, wbile these creanres are aho playing bavoo in the mallee country of Victoria. After the suooeseful shipments of live stook from the Colonies to England, and after the ' London Times ' had deolared thai such shipments had passed the experimental stage, and tbat a trade had oommenced, it was a sore disappointment to learn tbat of the oattle sent from Sydney to London by the Southern Cross some were found to be suffering from pleuro pneumonia, for that will probably oheok the trade, but it bas been shown tbat witb proper selection and attention live Btook may be Bent to England, and in time the trade must expand. As regards the butter trade, it ha 3 been cabled tbat a Swede has patented an invention for making butter direot from the separator, whioh means that a farther saving of labor may be effeoted, and it is very evident that any saving in labor will tell more in favor of Colonial produoers than of European, who get their labor at less cost. Amongst tbe looal events of tbe month we must allude to the return to Nelson of the Rev F, W. Chatterton and Mrs Chatterton, after an extended tour round the world. They were, of oourse, very heartily weloomed home. The return of Mr Chatterton involved the loss of the Rev E. P. Oaohemaiile, who, during his twelve months residenoe in Nelson, not only made a great many friends, but performed a very large amount of goo j work. His friends, however, find solace in the faot that the last named gentlemen ia not lost to the Oolony. Dubiso the month ths Nelaon Camera Club has held an exhibition of very great merit, and the Bishopdale Sketohing Oiub has also held its annual exhibition. At the present time Nelson is to be eeen at perhaps its best. The mountains are not yet freo of snow, but the deoidaoua trees are olothed ia tender green, and the profussion of blosßom on the frait trees is indicative of a fruitful eeason.