THE LAND COMMISSION.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 12868, 29 May 1905, Page 4

THE LAND COMMISSION.

The [protest of Mr H. Okcy, Chairman of the County Council, • against only a half of the Land Commission visiting this ( district? was well-timed ankl will, we imagine, be generally endorsed. But Mr Okey was, we believe, only aware of half the truth, which is that the 1 Commission— or rather the half of it — is to spend less than a week ins Taranaki. To<lay evidence is being taken at New Plylnoaith ; Tuesday 1 will be spent 'in travelling to Whangamoniona, where evidence will be taken on Wednesday ; on Thursday an hour or two will be dav.oted to hearing evidence which may be forthcoming at > Strathmorc ;J on Friday the Commissioners will hold a sitting at Stratford; and on Saturday morning they will leave Taranaki. Tlnus settlers between Opunake and Patea, including a large district in which land tenure is a burning qiiestion—unfder >. tho . West Coast j Settlement Reserves Act — will be wholly excluded" from attending. Among the witnesses tMs -morning was one whose residence is miles awayr— not near, the railway either— "and anothen wiho had como more than twenty 1 miles us> the,/ coast. This shows* the -desire of settlers to give evidence, and there are others, doubtless, who wouM eagerly attend did attendance not entail a journey of fifty miles ( and baok/ The notice given, too, of the sittings of the X Commission was exceedingly short; for the first intimation was given , on Saturday morning of sitting. The facilities given to settlers in- 1 Southland and Otago to give evidence before the Commission were exceedingly liberal in comparison. The Commission as a whole spent several weeks in those provinces, sitting at numer-, ous centres, and sometimes beating up evidence. The lamcl tenure question is eagerly debated hcre^ and we venture to say that the Commission could obtain evidence in this district fully as valuable as it can get elsewhere. Then there is the roading question,, which oujrht to be very fully enquired into, arid we quite agree with Mr Okcy that it is impossible in, the short time plaeod at its disposal in this district for the Commission to hear half the evidence which, would be forthcoming arid which the settlers have a right to have the opportunity of giving: ,

TKe temperature this morning was 60 deg. in the shade, and barometrical redding 29.99. Stated that chemist F. S. Howe and engineer R. Thomas, of the,Mossman (Q.) Central Sugar Mill, have discovered a non-poisonous agent that will precipitate every discolouring element in cane-juico amd leave it clear as distilled water, therefore obviating . the need of refineries and enabling a turn-out of Al white sugar to be made instead of yellows, the extra sugar gained . by. ilie process being atyout' 3 per cent. Jf this be true, there's a big sugar ' development ahead, and the discovery will appropriately coincide with the Federal process of clearing the coloured labour element out of the industry. George Isaac Burnanil, a respectably- r dt>essed yoii'ng man, a"pipearefd before Mr T; Rutchison, S.3VL, on Monday mloruing, on a charge oi tiheUheft of a gold chain, tdio property of {Mrs Sarah Ann. Street. The ,e\«ideulce showed that on or about March Ist last the acc"uscid aiiid the yoimg lady with whom, he had been ' kcefwn'g company Were, at Compl l am'a'nt*s house, tfnfd il\*> chain was lent to accused by complaityant'to'wear: The chain was not returned, artd when asked for colnplaiwant 'was told that it was being repaired at one of the local jewellers?, but accused admitted in Ctfurt tibis * was" not tfto case, as the dhahl: ihaid bw*n lost. After 'hearing further efviderfee the case was adjo>urnctel until 2 , o'cloc'k, to enable of a satisfactory arrangement bemg made between f"" parties.

Mrs fSadlor forwards a parcel of Books for Bushmen." Tinders f^ the Ol . cct; . an of & Cottlafe , q at %mont Yillago arc invited in vhis Jssue by r y railk Messenger. New York papers say that there arc 100,000 unemployed i» that city, and t-lmt 30,000 children are compelled to go to school without break Fast. Th* ararlborough Times says :»~A Sta'rljorough settler' at the recent egg.laying ban> 1? iet, did not altogether Jikctlw asseition that there Va . s moro ia » a»n from , a producer's point of \iow than in a sheep. "Give mo the good old merino," he said. "It "»> Jiang. oU io thi , tussobks; and, with all due deference, flint's what ' the fowl mn't do.'' Men and women, boys and girls trembling ant l scarlet with hysterical shame, move up the hall, sometimes alone, sometimes urged by mission workers. Reaching ihe front seats. they drop on their knees, the mission' crs loieel beside them, with an arm around them, and the audience in the boxes look down with nervous pity. The scene is simply re{jellant. Sensationalism never reached lower depths than this. The utter futility of it all, the knowledge that these feeble-

minded mesmerised folk probably are the last in the hall who require con-

version, and arc no moro accepting the "vita mi ova" than a man under morphia is obtaining rest, fills one with depression . — E. H. Cooper in Daily 31 ail. on the Alexander-Torrey mission.

Tjhe st eams'lsip Princess Tivne recently arri-v. >I at New York wiuh S3 "lost ehikhvn of Israel" On their way from AmtraKa to Benton Harbour, Alichigan. The Tyoitdon Standard's corrosjxmdent says the King ami Queen, of this strange stvt are already there, wish 400 of their subjects awaiting the cml of the world in August, 1916. The men of the party have, let their beards «ro\v to their knees, and the women wear their haar streaming down their hacks. Bissert, the leader of th'\-=e people, who have ample resources, traces LKn descant from a king of Wales, who is supposed to have Uvt.il 1000 years ago. They are vegetarians, and only eat food raised ly theni^eivo^ and carried with them. r Skey believe that golden chariots will come for them after they have ovcrpowiThd Satan.

A yaimo- New Zcalander, . writing from Singapore on iApril 2nd, says :— ' "There is great excitement here at present. A cold storage concern has just b'vn started, and the first shipment of moat which was landed the other day is being thawod. 1 had a bit of real mutton yesterday, and didn't I enjoy it! None ofjyour cheap gout which we usually get here, but real mutton! Then -I had some Christian hares— what do you think of that? I tell you it was a treat. The funny part of it is \ that, after paying ail charges of shipment and so forth, it is cheaper than the meat ihe Klings sell us. The latter must have been making a great profit, because they've iiarl tilings all their own way, but the tide is turning against them now. Tlwy're issuing circulars in very funny English to try to keep the custom, but they haven't a hope. ittVre goin^f to have- some lovely things, from all accounts, including even apples."

The weakness of one of the links in the defence of Australia by the purely Australian navy*— of which Australians can hardly boast (saps tho Sydney Telegraph) is evidenced from the following paragraphs taiktn from papers during the past two or three weeks : "The giuirboat Protector, en route from Sydney to Newcastle to embark the Newcastle detachment of the New South Wales Naval Brigade, put into Broken Bay on SunUay for .shelter. Owing to the rojugh sea she was tnable to proceed on her voyage, and ih^ men were 'brought "down from their headquarters to her by train. V . . . . "The warship Protector, en route from Sydney to Adelaide. put into JerVis Bay through stress of \\ctxihi'.r. She cantimuctf her voyage \cstr-ixlay morning." . . . . " The tpinboat Protector, with a torpedo boat in tow, left Hobart this afternoon for Adelaide- at 5.30, but anchored offHassal Point, at the mouth of thn Derwent, owing to bad weather threatening."

The "ATufoial Provident Messenger" for May has an article on the fiftysixth annual report of tho A.3H.P. Society, in which the following passages occur :— " The report *is one which i.s likelyjto stagger the pessimists who think, or affect to think, that the Commonwealth is going to the dogs. New business of nearly three and three-quarter millions sterling shows that our agents have been active, ihe public responsive, and that ihe material well-being of the people is undoubted. That the business is not ephemeral in character is shown by the fact that the net increase, after allowing for all claims, surrenders, and lapses, is m the neighbourhood of one and a half millions of sums assured. Tho wonderful tenacity of the business is further evidenced by the fact that the fotal of the assurances void from all causes is under 4% per cent, of Ihe amount in force at the end of the year. There can be no mistaking this eloquent to the popularity and public standing of ihe society."

The Denton Hat is guaranteed to keep its dolour and shape.*- "The Kasb," New Plymouth.— Advt. For Up-to-date Printing apply to Herald Office.

That there is money in lj/utfcer may be gathered from the fact that a Milton (Ota-go) storekeeper during a recent weak put over the Counter 5111 bat a clear profit of 111 per Ib. • This ia thow a Masterton paper announces a fashionable marriage botween tdie East and '\Vost 3-tAt the •Mkstortoii Registry Office, the marriage of Tim Lee (laundry expert) to Miss Mabel Stone, of ' Nelson, was solefriiiised. Judge Ltuirens Hawn, who has j>ist concluded twetoty-two years' senrvico on the Bench in Kansas, has married 3102 couples, vETo classifies the ceremoaies as marriages of necessity, <xm-

venimce, impulse, ldve, romance, sxnd

business conditions. In Milan letters are now collected from the street pillar-boxes by an electric ) travelling post-office over a journey of fifteen miles. Sorting and clamping are done during the run from one box to another, and at the end of each, circuit the letters arc haraled aver for immediate delivery. It is not generally known (says an exchange) how "beneficial the keeping of aheap is to a farmer. Not only are their wool, flesh, tallow, and pelts valuable, but, there are over 250 different kinds of weeds which they eat, and several more which they actually pull up. and throw on the ground. A postal note for Is Gd has been received in( Nelson to be forwarded to a 3£otn.iero resident. ' The note is from Zion City, and is for the value >of some plums stolen from the ex-iMbtu-ere resident's orchard about six years ago by a yowng fellow who is now a follower of Dowie in Zion City. Considerable aldvance is heing- made with the autumn cultivation for grain (says the Christ church Press), but the prices, for wheat so far are not tempting enough to induce farmers to plant a large crop of that cereal. In spite of some sharp frosts, the pasture lamds in North Canterbury afford

plenty of grass for stock.

According to the American geologist, Professor Curtis, who has been visiting our Alpine region, tho Swiss Alps are much younger than the Southern

Alps of this island. This, he said, accounted for the different , elements in the two regions— shingle slopes in the New Zealand) mountains and sharp neodle-likcj peaks in Switzerland. The. Victoi-ian Railway Dejpartimettrt is at present engag-ed in some interesting negotiations with a far-seemg 1 lady whose husband was killed while on duty on the railways. Tnstaajd of marking the usual claim for comjp.s'nsation. she has offered the Government the option of paying compensation, or of providing with permanent railway employment another yoking man

whom she proposes to make her second hjushand.

The Beiv. S. Barmg J ,Gould relates in jChamllers Journal that un old woman long hoodwinked t<he coastguard by carrying about a babf. This was actually a jar of brandy, which she drew off from a hidden receptacle of some smugglers. "You've a very quiet child

there; 1 mover hear it cry," said one of the guards to 'her. "That may toe," replied Nanny, "but I warrant you he's got a deal o' spirit in hinis." Anil he let her pass.

Am attempt is to be made by certain of the bookmakers of New York to avoid the j penalties attaching to the breaking of the betting laws by doing their business by means of wireless telegraphy oat board a steamboat stationed outside the three-mile limit. 1 Should they succeed, their action will be an interesting parallel to that of the ingenious British;' "bookies," who have found, to their profit, that} the sand-stretches left dry by the receding sea are not <places within the meaning of the Act.

A rather amusing incident ocdurml at one of the Milton churches on Sunday. When the collection plate was being passdd rdun*d a momiber of the congregation forgot in which poclket 'ha had put his inton'dod offering, an(d only discovered it some timo after t4ie minister comimexfce'd his serm'em. /Without waiting until the discofurse was

finished the gentleman saSunterdd up an/d offered his mite to the minister, who, by requesting Mm to place it 'in the plate close by, remarked that it was the. broadest hint he had yet received as to his being long- winkled. N T ectdlcss to say the minister todk the hint, and the congregation departed from the cfrurch earlier than usiial.

I hear (says a London! correspondent} that Lord Onslow lias decided to dispose of certain portions of his Surrey estates in the parishes of Waking, Stojke, Send, Ripley, Pyrford, <Worplesdon, Sunjningd'ale, and - Chobham, ihe property in question extending to about three thousand acres. It consists of farms> agricultural holdings, allotments, wdodland, and brickfields. This step, coupled witit Lord Onslow's retirement from the Government to take a perjnanent salaried"biUet" of £2900 per * annum, has created a good deal of furprise, anfd given rise to many conjectures in Anglo-Colonial circles. The ex-Governor of New Zealand has always been regarded as a man. who was sure always to have a place in a Unionist Administration, and to receive steady promotion in Ministerial position, if unlikely to reach the highest post. He was also regarded as specially cherishing his position as a large landowner in Surrey, with its attendant influence. So the double retirement has naturally excited f surprise as well as regret.

jMr A. Divine, c himnoy •weep, has resumed practice, and orders^ will receive prompt attention. ■ In connection with the case of distress "Sympathy," Cill-strcet, forwards a postal »ote for 10s, and expresses the hope that others will contribute to a most deserving- object. Captain Bclwin wired at 12. 15 p.m. to-day ::— Strong- winds to gale frc m-bot^-cen north-east asnfd north and west. Glass fall. tides hi^h, yea heavy, rain proba'bJy heavy. Dv iHenri do Rothschild has offered two prizes — one of £200 and another of £120 — for the best papers written in French on the "Rational Food for Man." The awards will be .made next year, and the essays have to bo 'handocl inibteforc ncrfxt IVew Year's Day. In expressing his opinion <.n somw "temporance" leaflets sug^xjstod to tho Cambridgeshire County Council for use iv schools, one distinguished authority pointed out that not only al-

cohol, but also pure distilled w a tor is

in cor tain circinnstances a nerve poi scm, and so is oxygen nt a pressure o. four atmospheres.

The Duiwdin Society for the Protection ojl and Children received over 500 applications for help duringthe year, of which 356 were dealt with. The report says : — "~\Yo have

worse cases of cruelty to wives among

men who boast .of their '.housanxte than alnong- those who huve little of.

tho world's goods." According to the New Zoalankl Tlor,ald the Union ami NorMiom Steamship Companies have each promised

to give £100 towards the cost of removing- the rocks which obstruct the Channel up' the tfartivktvU harbour. Surely there can be no oxcuso now for tihe Gon-ornmeiit to delay the matter a moment.

A conference of momibers of tho Taranaki anfd Stratford H'osvpital Boards was being held at the local Board's ofßce this morning in oonnoctHou* with the b-ottlem(!iit of accounts between th^ (wo Boards consequent on the severance of the Stratford district.. Hos&rs Tisucji, Coe*lv, Andrews, Biuro-ess, Bx-o;\*n, and 3lurley represent dd the TaranaTci Board and 3Fe*srs 3Fadcay, Liaridet. Hine, and Monjivhause ihe Stratford Board. '3lessrs P. P. Webb, Chief Audit Inspector, representing the Auditor-Goueral. aaid C. T. stills , & late socretary to the Taraniaki H;os^it,al Board, were present.

Thus a Wairarapa paper :v—The Locomotive 13nginQ Drivers' Union is starting a new dispute in; (his land where "industrial peace" reio-ns. Men want 66s per week, with limited hours and the usual considerations for overtimo. The dispute will affect sawmillers in this district, but why should they object? They, can put up the price of -tiimber another peg; and the cost of building will go up a little and rentals will stiffen sotmewfoat. It is only another case of "devil take the hindmost/ and this is ' perhaps the unfortunate man who cannot get regular work, and who oanuot afford 1 -to. pay a hig*h rent.

OVerhcand.— -Cholly : "I say, Glus, got anything going Wednesday nig>ht?" Gas: "No, why? 1 / Cholly: ''Come to tho 'La jVlast-otte' Assembly at Broug-ham-street Hall. Ripping timo, t<ij>tap music, good floor ; bring yomr invite." G-us <: "Eight, old chap ; I'm there.'" I—Advt.1 — Advt. uoao