Kauri Gum and Politics

Observer, Volume X, Issue 623, 6 December 1890, Page 9

Kauri Gum and Politics

In ihe north Auckland district th«re is strong feeling 1 against Messrs Mitchelson Brothers because of their kauri gum regulations, and this antipathy is extended to all candidates who suppo*t the Atkinson-cum-Mitch-elson Government. The following are some of the clauses in the gum licenses issued by Edwin Mitchelson and Brothers for the Bluff Swamp guinfield .— All gum dv? on the said sections shall at all times be the absolute property of the said HJdwin Mitchelaon and Bros., and as against them the digger of any such gum ahall have no legal property therein or any right of lien and detention. All sum so dug shall be properly scraped, and shall be delivered ab least every fortnight to the said Edwin Mitchelson and Brod., or to agents whom they m^y appoint. At any time the said Edwin Mitchelson and Bros., or their agents, shall have the right to demand a full disclosure and inspection of gum so dug, and to call for an immediate delivery of the same, at their or their agents' nearest store. All gum found in the possession of the holder of this license on any part of the said sections shall be deemed to have been dug from the said sections and to be the legal property of the said Ed>vin Mitchelson and Bros. The holder'of this license shall not sell or deliver, or offer to sell or attempt to deliver, any gum whatsoever, whether dug from the said sections or not, to any persons other than the said Edwin Mitchelson and Bros, or their agents. Edwin Mitchelson and Bros, or their agents shall by way of remuneration, on delivery, pay for the digging, scraping and delivery of all such gum, such prices as may then be decided by the keeper of the store at which the gum is delivered, and such decision shall be conclusive as to quality or classification of such gum. In case of the breach of any one or more of the fore T going conditions or stipulations, the holder of this license shall forfeit all claim to remuneration under clause 7, and all gum held by him shall be liable to immediate seizure by the said Edwin Mitchelson and Bros, or their agents. If any gum should be sold or delivered contrary to any of the said conditions or stipulations, the holder shall forfeit to the said Edwin Mitohelson and Brod. or their agents double the market value of the gum so sold or 1 delivered, but this provision shall not prejudice the right of the Baid Edwin Mitchelson and Bros, or their agenta to follow and seize any such gum ; and if the same be mixed with other gum, then to seize the whole parcel so mixed. These conditions, most iniquitous in their one-sidedness, were strongly condemned by the Star and other Liberal papers, when they saw the light in March last, and we were under the impression that they had been withdrawn. However, it appears that they are still in force, and that those unfortunates who dig gum for the Mitohelson crowd are forced to deal with that firm, accept the price fixed by them, and have their other gum legally stolen from them if they mix it with the superior Mitohelson brand. A gum-digger, in forwarding a copy of the license, writes : — ' As the man whose name appears on the license, namely, Edwin Mitohelson, is seeking the suffrages of the people of Eden with a view to re entering Parliament, I trust you will make known through the columns of your paper the terms contained in these iniquitous licenses, so that all may see and judge for themselves whether Edwin Mitchelson is after this action a proper and fitting representative of the people.'

W. S. Allen's electoral committee at Cambridge consists entirely of B.N.Z. employees and tools. The chairman of it is a brewer, who owns two public-houses. That such a man should work for the return of a rabid teetotaller like Allen shows that political plutocrats know how to sink minor differences in order to obtain the return of a Bank of New Zealand candidate.

Business men say — 'When you want economical management, put a lew hard headed Scotchmen at the hear! of affairs !' At the present political crisis, it is worth remembering 1 that John Bryce, Dr. Wallis and Adam Porter, who are rigid retrenches, all come from Nurth of the Tweed. Porter boasts that he never waß in England for more than five minutes.