THE LAND BALLOT.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 13481, 22 July 1907, Page 4

THE LAND BALLOT.

Tho Land Laws Amendment Bill proposes to abolish the present system under which land is disposed of by ballot when moro than one application for a section is received. This system has proved cumbersome and unsatisfactory, applicants having in some cases travelled through the colony for months, attending ballot after ballot in the en-deax-oftr to obtain land for theif own occupation, bu-t- without- success, while often the lucky marble \Vas' drawn by an applicant who 'had ndt tho remotest intention of using the' land himself, hoping to «ell his goodwill for a substantial sum. Under the new measure it is proposed to dispose of land r by. tender. Of course in the, event* of' two or more tenderers 'offeririgt-'the same .prite tho final decision will still be left to chance. That can scarcely be avoided, but the system has considerable advantages over the' baHot system. Under the latter a man may obtain a section at a low nominal rental, but he may — and of ton does— nullify this advantage by paying a substantial sum for the goodwill, besides, which he has perhaps lost a Jot of time, and been put to con*sidorable expense" in amending ballots The lucky speculator .who draws a section and is «ble to sell his right to occupy > it pockets, money which ought to go to. the Government, and which under tho tender system will do so, for tho man who rflallydeiireV to obtain land for his own occupation -will know that bo must offer its value, and thus'higher rents will be Obtained than under the present system. The -Government will fix an upset of five per cent, on the capital value, and tenderers r can' bid wliat they iiko. -

Tho Recreation Sports Ground Committee desires; ixr acknowledge with thanks the donation of a row of seats by Mr A. G. Sykes. A . first offending, drunk, an elderly Native, was brought before Mr Fit/sherbcrt, SiiVJL, this morning. Defendant, who pleaded guilty, was conviefcod and discharged.

Thero were' about sevonty present at the meeting of the Opunake Coursing Club hold at Okato last Wednesday. TJio Puppies' Stake, the only -event £j;ot off, was won by "Mi* M* Hickey's'Torpedo. Coursing was enjdyed at Messrs Putt- Bros', on Thursday. Thirty hares were, put up, thrde being killed.

Tho Postmaster-Go'rieral has " replied to Mr Okey, M.H.R., who introduced a deputation to the Hon. Geo. Fowlds on the question of a new post office at Rahotu, that the matter will receive due consideration, but that in the meantime the present rented building is answering the Department's requirements well.

r Auckland peoplo are continuing the agitation for a canal -through the isthmus joining Auckland and Manakau harbours, so as to allow coastisrg traders to pass from the east coast to the wost and vice versa aft Auckland, arid do away with railing from' Onehunga. A deputation waited on the Harbour Board last week, and submitted estimates for' a canal 8$ miles long, excavated to allow vessels drawing' 20 to 21 feet to pass at any time. They put the cost at £800,000, and the revenue, on the present scale of business] at £20,000 to £25,000 a- year. " : The tramway employees in, Auckland have decided to ( adhere to "the by-law for the prevention of pvercrowding the electric cars! This- seems to work well enough except when the 5 o'clock rush comes., Describing one of* these scenes the Auckland Star sa^yss — * -There was a scene of much, confusion^, and .the general stampede; fpr seats resembled more of ■ a football ■ Scrimmage than peaceful citizens following their daily avocation. Even chivalry was forgotten. 'Might is right!- seemed to be the accepted motto,- and , fragile women were remoselessly carried willy-nilly into the cars or ruthlessly . pushed aside. Their discomfort was also, intensified hy the drenching rain and the muddy state of the roads. Many passengers of both sexes boarded the cars when in motion near the terminus, only to get off again when the cars came to- a standstill, the licensed number having secured their seats earlier." The Auckland City Council is altering its passenger regulations.

If you use Zymoler'Trokeys you will not be bothered with irritation of the throat, causing you *o cough. Always carry them with you ;_ they are pleasant to take. 4

For tho first timo in 20 yoars a" Stratford School Committoo meeting, on Friday night, lapsed for want of a quorum. At Kilmorc, Victoria, recently a potato digger dug and bagged in one da 7 4£ tons, or 46 bags of potatoos. Ho 's the champion digger of the district. Mr. Nowton King reports having disposed of six dairy farms on account cf the Crown Dairy Company, the latest i sale being a 200-acre farm near Toko, to Mr. May. . Tho butter producers and exporters of New South Wales are much concerno'd over a proposal of .the shipping companies to increase the freight on biuter to London from threo-eighths of i penny to a halfpenny per. lb. What is claimed to be a record day's winding for any colliery in the United Kingdom was made recently in tho Bargold colliery of tho Powell Dyffryn Company, Walejs. .The quantity of coal ! raised was 3245 tons.. . Letters received from places- beyond the -colony,, addressed to tho following, are lying at the Chief Post Office, New Plymouth «X-M. Anderson, J. Athol, W. Barnard, F. Callam, Angus Campbell, Gfeo. Campbell, F. W. J&ayton, Mrs. Lawrence Healy, John JLamb, Frank Roberts, Sv Saundcrs. . ' : 'The KiaOra inquiry was one of tho most extensive ever held in Auckland. Tho depositions occupy between 600 and 700 pages of foolscap. t At a rough average this works out at about 125,000 words. Over 30 witnesses were; eiamii^ed, and many of them recalled several times. A poll to fill the vacancy caused in the Eltham Borough Council by tho retirement of Councillor Quin was taken on Friday, and resulted .jn the election of Mr. D.. Cattanach (214 votes). Tho onjy other candidate was Mr. H. G. Carman, who received 206 votes- For a bye-election the interest shown was unusual, over 55 per cent, of the ratepayers voting. - . There was great demand for the domestic servants brought put by the lonic. The young. women, who are described as bright and healthy, were ■selected by the Honourable Mrs. Joice, who interests herself in >fche emigration of young women of suitable type. The newcomers' ages range from twenty to thirty. Employers were snapping them, up in Wellington as sowi as the jgangway was down. 'Those who dive into the mysteries of- | the occult may find an interest in the following, told by tho seaman MeNaughton, the man drowned in the wreck of the barque Woolahra. A few } nights ago he dreamed that this would' | bo tho ship's last voyage, as she wotdd be 1 wrecked and all onf board, except himself, perish.. Little did so swift a fulfilment of the dream in part! — N.Z. Times. ' f^; . According to recent statistics, Greymouth contains more Chinamen in proportion to white~ population than any other town in the colony. From all accounts, a great business in illicit gaining is done, in the Chinese quarter, there being no less than six lottery banks in full swing there, with draw- | ings thrice a week, and emissaries from thero are regularly doing the Coast towns seeking patronage.

In illustration; of -Government dejay a speaker at a meeting-of the'MariaNfra'tu County Council said that some years, ago he telegraphed to the Government pointing out that aji expenditure , of £20 would prevent further damage" at Bulls protective work. Later he had to raise his estimate to- £50 and then to £100 as the damage progressed without moving the Department to actionand at last the repair of the work cost the Government over £520.

A farmer who had. a large area of land under lease-in-perpetuity and another in freehold (says the Eltham Argus) thinks that the farmer with lease-in-perpetuity land does not receive fair consideration compared with the freeholder when applying to the Government for losms~ With 300 acres lease-in-perpetuity, Ye failed to secure £1000, whilst on 100 acres freehold he had no difficulty, in securing £1500. He thinks, seeing there is very little difference in the two tenures, that the distinction should not be so marked.

A Wanganui tradesman was fined recently for carrying through the streets! a parcel of meat' uncovered. Mr Treadwell, who appeared for the prosecution, stated that the information had been ! laid under the borough by-laws, which provided that no person shall .carry through any part of the borough in any j car or vehiclo any butcher's meat, unless tho same is covered with a clean covering, so as to protect thfcineat thoroughly from dust. In this instance the meat' was on top of a cart, and exposed to dust. i

Tho Newt Zealand. Herald reports that Whakarewarewa continues to be the centre, of attraction at Rotorua, all the geysers and pools being in a very agitated state. Recently Pohutu gave one display, the eruption lasting for an hour and 'five minutes. Next day the same geyser gave two fine- exhibitions, the first r occupying an -hour and five minutes and the second an hour and twenty-two minutes. The third day it erupted twice, the water being sent to a height of 70ft. The first eruption continued for an hour and a-half, and the second for twenty minutes. Next day Pohutu gave one display, which lasted for forty-seven minutes."

•The man who keeps horses is having a bad time now' (says an Exchange) owing to the high price -of i fodder. On tke human 'family a rise in one or. two commodities need not press very heavily, for if the price of, say, oatmeal or potatoes goes up with a jump it is possible for the householder' to put some other ■ article of diet of his table. In feeding houses, however, the choice is restricted. A coal dealer, says a Dunedin paper, states that the average cost at this timo of the year for oats is from Is 8d 'to Is lOd per bushel, and for chaff he usually pays £3 10s a ton. This winter he is buying oats at 3s 3d a bushel, and cannot get good chaff for less than £6 a ton. In New Plymouth oats are realising 3s 6d to 3s 9d per bushel.

The ordinary cough medicine may soothe the throat, but it has no power to heal ; recovery is not complete, and a second attack is more liable to follow. Chamberlain's Cough Remedy is quijte different, because it not only soothes but also heals, so that the affected parts are restored to a healthy condition, and the danger of a future attack is removed. . For sale by all dealers. ,