TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

West Coast Times, Issue 8056, 19 January 1891, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

[Pbb United Pbess Association.] INTERPKOVINCIAL. Wellington, Jan 37. At the beginning of the financial year there was a deficit in the land fund to the amount of £45,000, of whioh £34,000 had arisen the previous year, and £11,000 in 1888-p. So satisfactory has been the land revenue of the last nine months that up to 31st December the total amount collected was £34,191 in excess of the estimate for the whole year. As the best three months of the year, from a revenue point of view, are yet ,to oome, the Minister of Lands is confident the vphole deficiency will have been wjped. out before the year's accounts come to be made.

Though f ihe%h»Mltef.triifc^?Bon libel ' flutt'ls ntfw sefc%wn Wfrfol oil the 3rd l iaVeryJ&ftrotfabloUt will be ! heard on 'ttfet date,^Heeauß3 ;^'r)eals have j feelin it&tituHfti tyy'phitftiff Against the order- made by the Chief Justice in Chambers, allowing Hutchison's "p'le'.s implicit'ng Sir Hairy Atkinson and Mr Mltchelson to stand. The appeal is to be argued at the first banco Hitting after the 'law vacation, which does not expire until 'the~3tst iriflt. The maiu-ca-;<?, of course, '-cannot be proceeded flith till the minor {point is decided.

The shearing and mustering

sffau'gleriinMirlboro'ugh an fNelsb'n sheep! |'di9tri6rß'h"av : in^>pa"ased > over witlibut' oetecjtion of any scab, Government Intend to [declare these districts clean. Block owners 'have for some t'mehekl clean certificates, 'but the declaration was withheld to nv-ke 'Joubly sure.

It was verypo?iHvely rumored last InigWt that the Minist'y would resign on Tuesday. The rnemb'rg of the Cabinet 'who were in town equally po'i ively tUn? 'any such mtentLn. The Premier err ived •aVnMh, accompanied by Messrs Stevens Hall, anil Eolleston. Ho declined to. give any information, and thi Miuitera gdiiefaly are 'ex'reme fy reticent bot '■: as 'to t!be 'Legislative Council oppoinmenK 'and as to the probability of Sir "Hairy ;a6Bbmiog the Speakership of t-h? UpptrHouse. It is pretty "Wdll known that 'this isa contingency which occupy ing'ihe, immtfs of the Ministers, and it Feemßtn be supposed that a temporary reconstruction may take place to enable the Premier •to resign and he appointed to the vacant position . Sir P. Wbitaker arrived yesterday, aod ia Cabinet meeting will be 'held 'to-morrow 'morning/at "tfhich Tall the Ministers will 'be present. W. N. Blair, Engineer in Chief, is 'dangeriously ill 5 he has been fufferihg forsome time 'from an affection (fthe 'kidney's, but -he bad r gained h's health 'auflßceatly to leave thehcue. He worried, 'however, over the escaping prisoners from Milfo'd Sound, which he -was told was a ir flee -ion -on hii depa'tmetit to sudh an

iex'ent a 1 to b ing on conva'sioDi", and

last'tiiguVhe was not expected to live. To-day Mr Blair has recovered consciousness, and his medical advisers stat 'he -is certainly better, though still ex tremely ill.

Hapier, Jan 17. Chadwick, the supposed murderer of Mathieson is still mining. The police are ■searching in seve'al directions, and others are waiting at different stations where i 1 Is possible'he may emerge from tha bush. Tt ia believed he baa perished. He was a qtvet, 'inoflensive man, andlnd no -known qinrrel with 'deceased.

The weathar is magnificent, and cve Ty<thing points to the thirteenth annual nvetug of the Ntw Zealand Jlifle Association, .which opens on TuesJuy, being a great success. The range is situated-at'OmaratJui, on t'uo baokfl of the fufaeka'JjJi river, tea miles from Napier and in many reboots, Captain Sonim'rville saya, iB the -best that has beeu obtained since the formation of the Association. Twenty-seven targtts art' crested, and the tremh is one of thb olemest -and easiest to work in that Sommerville has met with. The camp, which consists of about seventy tents, occupies tfye .position >of the old pah at Omaranui, whero an engagement took place with a>party<of-Hau" Hans' in 1866. 'I he graves of the Maoris who fe'l i . the fight -have been fniced in by Captain fc'emmerville, who took part in the engag ements. The number of compctit ra is not expected to exceed 220, buS if they come up to 200 all the prizes will be paid in full. M>j'>r Web 1 ) will, be in command' of thecunp, .be having been appointed by Government at the requpst of Somnrerville. At this gathering n new departure wi 1 be indJe v ith regard to the championship. Hitherto tbe fi-a! range to fleciie the holder of a belt was fixed a diy or two before the conclusion of tbe meeting, but on t'ua occasion the championship will n'>t be fired for til! every o'her cv<.nt-on the programme is finished. At the annual meeting the Association next week the queatiou of a permanent site and day for holding the competition will be finally decided. Lieut Earles, third ba'talion Victoria Rifles, and Messrs Cairns and Sloan, of the Yarra Wonga Rifle Qlub are the only two representatives from Australia. Gisborne, Jan. 17.

Yesterday afternoon a number of people interested in native land matters visited IVfesgrs Rees, Carro|l and T. M'Kenzie, l&ILIl's. MrDelatourdrewattentionto the complete failure of the Commission Court to settle titles. "Mr Justice Edwards, in a recent decision, declared that the Court had no power to grant relief. He stated that three thousand pounds were already pasted in fees, the commission being worse than useless. There was an enormous amount involved in the titles open to attack and the only appeal would be to the Privy Council. He thought these titles should be admitted if bona fide and not opposed to the Maoris. The Commission having shown the deficiencies the natives willattemptforcible possession. Mi' Bees said the subject threatened the peace of the country, as men who had possession of the land for twenty years would probably resist forcible ejection by the Maoris. Both speakers thought legislative protection should be granted at the ensuing session until the whole question could be dealt with an adverse decision should not be given in the cases where all parties had been perfectly satisfied with the transactions and said that few persons in the south understood such was the actual position of affairs. He promised to support the reform. Mr Carroll, as representative of the native race, agreed

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that the pteaeht system Muehcect g?eafc ifis|pce. trfe thou^nt wßs"re natives agreell tAe 1 Cisurfc ahoulfd have power to issue title's. The meeW that legislative' l pr6iection should be aaked till Parliament was in a position to deal with the whole question. Mr Rees slated that he would move for a comuiission of me^--bers of both Houses to . drajv up a scheme for settling disputes, also for the settlement of all waste native lands.

ts.