SHIPPING.

-POET OF LYTTELTON. Arrived. Yesterday. Star of the Souih, s.b , from Gray mouth. ■ Wanaka, as., for Manuk,>u and way ports.- To-DvY. Kingarootna, a.a., from Port Chalmers Wakatu, a.a., from Wellington and - Kaikoura Wakatipu, a.a.. from Port Chalmers Rotorua, sd. i from Nelson, Picton, and Sailed. Yesterday. i Orest of - the Wave, echo ner, for Timaru. Wanaka, a.a , for Nelson. Linlithgowshire, ship, for London. SHIPPING TELEGRAMS. Auckland, Yesterday. Arrived—Lapwing,: from Newcastle; Saxon, from Lyttelton. Sailed—Sandfly, for Tonga ; Oam art), for Rarotonga ; Peerless, for New York. -• Wellington, Yesterday. :• Arrived—Rotorua, from Picton and Nelson; Mahinapua, from Greymouth ; - Hawes* from South ; Grafton, from Grey- v r |Qo9lh ;and NelsOn; R. U. Cameron, $ Soh'Wnery frotn Lyttelton. ■ : t Sailed— Rotorua, for the south ; Mahi nspnaj for Dunedin ; Kennedy, for Nel son snd West Coast. Dunedin, Yesterday. Arrived—Manapouri, from the North ; , Gleaner, from Eaipars. Sailed—Wakatipu, for Sydney via Lyt telton snd Wellington.

DAILY MEMORANDA.

r .J 5 .:■ J i AUCTION SALE'. • ' " Saturday, May 10. Messrs Matson, Cox and Co., at Tatter aall’s —live and Dead Stock .Ur Thoe. Bollock, at the Arcade, Burnett : r " atreet —Horses and Sundries 'p. T , Tußsday, May 13. Matson, Cox and Co., at the Tinwald Kaleyards—Stock. MEETINGS, AMUSEMENTS, Etc. - Friday, May 9. Debating Society—Meeting, in the Library room, at 8 p m. »j . .' - Monday, May 12 " ‘Oddfellows’ Hall—Public Tea Meeting and Lecture i< Borough Council, at Borough Council Chambers, at 7.30. S' : Monday, Mat 26. L.O.G-T. —Anniversary Tea Meeting in St Stephen’s Schoolroom, at 6 p. m. Friday, June 6. - Ashburton County Council —At Council Chambers, 11a.m. - *• Sati kdat, Ju'E 7 , Wakanui Road Board, at Road Board office, Moore street, at.ip.3o a.m.

MARRIED.

Moore —Horn piste k. May Btl, at Ash burton. by the Hev. A. M Beattie, John Frederick Moore to Johinna Hof meiater.

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna Est Veritas et Prevalebit THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1884.

Owners of gorge fences abutting upon s public roads often omit to keep their pro- | perty withii legal confines, and at each , seed time the fence encroaches farther f upon the highway. The evil is n6t so rampant in the Ashburton County as in , some longfet settled districts, but the , Upper Ashbirton Road Boa d has found it necessary to take the matter in hand and has had jorse removed from roads at the cost of adjoining property holders. At the B.M Court this morning the clerk to the Board recovered the cost of this work frog a dpfaultiflgjj£2grietor.__^ The adjourned monthly meeting of the Library Committee takes place this even ing. As important business is to be transacted a full meeting is requested.

On Tuesday number i.f gentle men interested in the cheese and lutter industries were present at the Auckland Chamber of Commerce for the purpose of inspecting samples of cheeie brought by Mr Bowron, Inspector of Cheese Fac tories, from Te Awamutu, Pateranga, Ru kuhia, Pukekohe, Taurauga, and Bay of Plenty. Mr J. C. Firth occupied the chair, and in a few introductory remarks referred to the importance of the cheese industry. There were, he said, iweuty one cheese factories in the colony, of which sixteen were in the North Island. Those present had tested samples of cheese trom the Waikato factories, and so far as he coal t learn were very well satis fied with its quality. Toe difficulty ex perienced by cheese companies was th it they had not yet found the best means of disposing of their chetse, and on this point ha invited Mr Bowron to speak. Mr Bowron said that cheese from Ashburton had sold in London at from 56s to 70s per cwt. Another thirty tons had been sent, and he venture 1 to say it would rea’ise about 74i per cwt. Mr Bowron then wont on to explain that in London large cheeses of about SOlbs each would bring about LlO per ton more than smaller sizes. Next year twenty factories would be in operation here, and each would be abe Ito manufacture fifty tons of cheese. If the product, 1,000 tons, were sold in London, tay, at 84s per cwt., they could sea the amount of money it Would bring to the cclony. He was of opinion that there should be one factory for Ched dar and double Gloucester cheese, and all young persons engaged in the business should take certificates of competency there. ll# was also convinced butter fac tories would be a success in the colony. Mr Firth said ho would put it strongly before the Directors of the New' Zealand Shipping Company and Shaw, Saville and Co, whether it would not be a much bet ter policy for them to take cheese in con siderable quantities in the cooling cham bers of their ships at £d per lb, for the present rate of freight was simply prohibi tive. The cost of delivering cheese in London at present, viz., lb, was more than the industry could stand. All the single and'*married men who arrived by the British King have either found employment or have gone to their friends in various parts of the province. The single women who booked for Auck land are engaged, and twenty young women who were becked for Canterbury, but who have no friends there, have de cided to remain in Auckland and take situations. The young women were of a superior class. J. Webster has been chosen for the New Zealand footballers in the place of White side. F. Clayton will be the fifth man ; he is a forward. This completes tho Auckland contingent. Much regret is expressed at Whiteside’s absence from the team.

Yesterday tho Bluff Harbor Board’s dredge was caught by a heavy squall from the westward, and driven out to s?a. There were three men on board at the time, including the senior pilot. The steamer Kakanui went in pursuit of the 'dredge, which was seen going in the direction of Toitois. After an anxious period of suspense she overtook the “ blowaway ” and brought it safe to the wfoarL The d:edge stood the unusual experience well, ipaking but little water.

Residents of the Poverty Ray district are getting up a testimonial to Major Ropata, sympathising with him in his treatment by the Government. The wreck of the brig Rio Grande and her cargo was sold yesterday for LI 50. The Wellington Post last night says it is understood that Mr George Thorne, jun., the superintendent of agents in the Government Insurance Department, has been suspended from duty, in conse quence, it is believed, of certain matters which came to light in connection with the recent prosecution of Joseph Mackay, one of the travelling agents. It is not yet known what further steps will be taken in the matter.

The Union Steamship Company have purchased from Mr Ewing his steam launch Gareloch. She is to bo used on the trip of the Wairarapa to the South Sea Islands for landing passengers at various points of interest and other pur poses.

At tho New Plymouth Supreme Court civil sittings the case of Boswell v Samuel for alleged libel was commenced yester day. This was an action for damages laid at LL.500 for alleged libel and slander by the defendant, who is a solicitor. The alleged libel is contained in a telegram to the defendant, and the alleged slander is said to have been uttered before a Com mlttee of the New Plymouth Harbor Board. In the first plea for libel Judge Gillies recorded a non-suit, and in the second for slander, which he left to the jury, a verdict for defendant was returned with full costs.

The S.C. Amateur Athletic Club sports commenced at Timaru yesterday with fine weather, and a good attendance. F. N. Robinson, champion of Jthe years 1889, 18S2, and 1883 won the 100 yards, half mile, quarter mile, and 250 yards races, and long jump. A, E. G. Rhodes won the two mile walk. Herbert A. LeCren won the mile and a half steeplechase for the ladies’ cup with T. S. Baker, the winner 1879, second. The contes a gene rally were good. For the one mile bi cycle race only tho brothers Cutten (2) of Dunedin entered. Ic was won by F. A. Cutten.

Don’t use stimulants, but nature’s braiu am? nerve food—Hop Bitters. See.—[Advt.] Mother Swan’s worm Syrup.—lnfallible, tasteless, harmless, cathartic ; for feverishness restlessness, worms, constipation. is. The N-Z. Drug Co., General Agents, J

SIR GEORGE GREY AT CHRISTCHURCH.

The meeting held in too Tuam street hall, last evening, under the auspices of the Working Mens Politi cal Association, to hear Sir George Grey b lecture on political topics, was one of the largest political gatherings held in Christ church. The building was densely crowded, over 2,500 persons being pre sent. The Mayor occupied the chair. On the curtain rising and showing Sir George seated on the platform, loud and pro longed cheering burst forth, which was renewed when Sir George Grey rose to speak. _ Sir George Grey said that for the hrst time since a memorable election he bad the honor of addressing those who then rendered him so great a The universal opinion of those who fairly con sidered the question was that he was truly and justly the member for Christchurch. ''Cheers.) The loss of his seat had not deprived him of his place in the House, nor impaired his power to do them good. The time would come when the record of that transaction would be expunged from the records of the House. (Applause.) None of the speeches yet delivered on the political situation touched the real point at issue, so as to impress it on all men a minds. The Government in particular had greatly neglected their duty in not laying before the people a full and clear statement of their policy. In order that the people of Canterbuty and the working men might understand their real position, he would lead them back to far distant tmren considered the way in which this d fee that at that time the seeds of many future vils had been sown. Before that, when great misery prevailed throughout .England and Europe, and there was a ’deep sense of the evils of the system of s’land tenure, people were striving their "uhnost to emigrate to new [lands. Those evils were now greatly aug mented, and people more than ever were pouring into new countries. British statesmen then took a “fad” to found co’onies like those of ancient Greece, but those colonies consisted each j of only one city with a little -land around it, and there were only two classes—free men and slaves—a fact these statesmen overlooked The Greeks were a very re ligious people, and in point of all things, except justice to slaves, their religion whs "ood. When Canterbury was founded, the chief men saw that they had no slaves, and so they made laws whereby laborers were to continue laborers for a certain time in order to supply the labor done in ancient Greece by slaves. This was done by fixing such a price on land that no poor roan could get land for a considerable time and until he could re-- p’a e himself in the labor market by another slave whom he brought out. When the colonists first came to the Middle Island it was almost depopulated by the raids of North Inland na'ives. He was then Governor, and the Brit ah Ministry about 1849 announced to him that a great opportunity had offered for benefiting the British peop’e, and that they would get a vote from Parliament of lilo,ooo This was to be spent in buying a block of land, which was to be cut up and sold, and the proceeds applied to buy another piece, anything left over being spent on publi ; works. This was to be repeated till the whole island was bought. This money came from the people—the British tax payers—and therefore it belonged by right to the people. The rich men of England, who believed that they were the class born to rule, devised a plan for colonising Canterbury in the interests of their own class, and made the price of land as high as possible, and so as to keep the labor market supplied, they fixed the price at L2 perfac ©, and then said, * ‘ Weare going t o found another England with rich and poor, and with an established church. ” They made an arrangement that no man should buy an acre of land unless he gave LI to the Church. The Canterbury Assj ciation got 250,000 acres granted to them for the Church, and were able to keep the poor out of the land they came to seek. The Association having got this advan tage obtained another concession It was that the Secretary of State might grant any amount of land in New Zealand to them to be used in the colony. When he (Sir George Grey) heard of this, it seemed to him a m:>st dangerous thing, for by it one-third of the revenue was to be appro priated to support a particular church. He made a desperate resistance against this, for he thought it wrong to other churches and to the favored body itself, because the possession of such vast wealth as would have been obtained, and has been, was sure to lead to mismanage ment, and he believed also that that church was in the best position whose priests were supported mainly by the love they inspired in their people. Ha was successful and so no land was granted to the Association, and the grant of the 250,000 acres was stopped by the people on the spot, though the burden was, to a certain extent, left resting on the colony to the present time. Many leading states men and bishops of England supported the Association, and he had to undergo great odium in consequence of hia action. The friends and relations of those persons who bought large blocks of land in the province naturally thought they were the true governors of men, and for a time oc cupied every legislative and executive post. They followed the example of their class in England by legislating for the benefit of themselves. Continued posses sion of power led men to become arrogant and eventually to arrogate to themselves the rights and privileges which belonged to the community at large. Unless every person had an opportunity of filling any position, even the highest, in that com munity, so as to lead him to develop all his powers, that community would be one of a very inferior stamp- One set of men —ha would not say party—for would to God there were no parties hete—had long held all the power in New Zealand, and as a consequence they had become some what like other men who had long had all the power in their own hands. He saw that the Premier, when addressed as to the rise in the railway rates in Christchurch, had said that he could i.ot believe a charge of Id a bushel would be equal to 2s fid per acre, and would ruin the trade in grain. If Canterbury people could not beir this, in consequence of being mortgaged up to the eyes, the sooner they cleared out the better. Was that the wiy to speak to persons in mis fortune? Would they clear out for men who said such things ? (No) Banded together in one brotherhood they would make those men clear out. (Cheers). This treatment of the Canterbury people reminoed him of the treatment of the Jew Philo by Caligula, and showed him that tyranny did exist in this country, against which it was time to unite. (-Ap plause). The present position was founded on the past. Every laborer prevented from getting his land at once was pre v nted from getting a choice of good land. What was the result of preventing a man from getting land till he could raise L 3 an acre ? Could he go to a Government j 'tank and get an advance on that land ? No; but a person of position could do so-, and then he could sell the land to the poor, but not for L 3 an aero, but at a rate which compelled j;he latter to mort gage hisproperty heavily in order to pay the purchase money. The poor m-iif was thus involved in toils which made him almost a slave, for he had to borrow money in order to try to get a farm which he would not have had to borrow had land been solcj. on a fair system. This was one great cause of the pi.esent t'oublc in Canterbury. Another consequence flowing from that was this : the public i works system was introduced. It was noj

a new thing, as it had > een in force on a diffirent plan in South Africa for 15 years. In New Zealand all Crown land belonged to the public at large. Still the people had not opp rtunities given them of getting freeholds out of that land, which was instead cut up into large es'atea, some of which were sold for comparatively very little Public works were begun, on which the poor were taught it was a blessing to be employed, and which gave an enormous value to contiguous properties. These works were done with the people s money, and yet the poor people had to piv as much for them as the rich man had, who’e properties were so greatly benefited. The poor men had worked and made the railway, and got nothing more than the right to pay a certain sum annually. Why did they make the in creased value of the prop rty which was enhanced by those works a present to the rich owners while they themselves re mained poor 1 If the people asserted their rights they would soon become land ho’Jers'themselvcs, but if not, they would remain poor all their lives. In the North Island pe >ple understood that in the South Island people were wild with the Ministry because it had raised the railway rates. What did that matter to the masses, who had no produce to be carrie 1 on them 7 If they had a land tax put on the unearned increment, which belonged to themselves, they would have the use of the railways for a comparatively small sum and they would not feel the tax. At the present moment the interest on loans was one and a half millions, and was paid annually by the 500,000 people in the colony. It was jest L 3 a headland was paid to make other people rich. It seemed to him incredible thatamairiad man STioutH pajj Lip a year, for that was what the average afflount -would be for such a purpose fhe people were robbing themselves. They must unite Was Auckland, Southland, or Dunedin, to be set fighting Christchurch about things of comparatively no importance 7 What did it signify who was in office 7 Let them put men in office pledged to | pul this land tax on. (Applause.) The Government talked about the boun teous pay given to the railway servants and poire, but if they took away from that pay what each man gave to pay the interest on the debt to make others rich the pay would not seem very large then. These truths should make all of them unite to get what they were entitled to. People were always either advancing their condition or sinking lower. The people of New Zealand would sink into the position of the English poor first, and then because the estates here were larger, and the land better, they would sink deeper and deeper, while the power o? the rulers would increase. The energy and vigor which should characterise dwel lers in a new country, seemed already to have been almost lost by the ‘people of New Zealand who permitted such things. People had said to him, “ Why don’t you go in for nationalisati m of the land 1 ” He would answer, “ Take the unearned increment first; if you wish to nationalise land afterwards, well and good." He believe! it would come to that with a more educattd race, but he believed also that the desire to possess land to transmit to one’s posterity was still strong in New Zealand. It was said, why not buy up large estates and nationalise them 7 But would the people in addition to the un earned increment agree to give the land holders a large sum for their land and thereby add still further to their own bur dens 7 Why was a nation to consent to pay a little more per year for holding their land than they should do merely because they had been wronged in the first instance 7 ' Let them out on a laud tax first. (Cheers.) He had vainly pressed the Government year after year to publish a Doomsday Book, giving pa>- ticulars of all the land held by every man in the colony. When that information was made public he would bo ready to see if he could work out a scheme for land nation ilisation. (Loud cheers.) It was all very well for men like himself, who had had no suffering from want, to say that they could bear poverty, but the question was how could those who really felt its terrible power do so ? How could anyone realise the suffering he caused to another under the present system ? Let those who agreed with him unite vrith their fellow-workmen throughout New Zealand to insist on re lief from the burdens they lad no right to bear. (Cheers.) Let them say that within six weeks a decrease should be made in those burdens, so that their wives and families "should not suffer the deprivation they now did. In many re-, spects freedom did not exist in this coun try. Members of Parliament had not their rights. At the end of last session members were not allowed to speak their thoughts, but were restricted in a manner

never before heard of. Again, from the first establishment of New Zealand Par liament to lasi session two days a week were set apart for Private Members’ Bills. Now there was one most obnoxiom pri vate member, who wished every man here to have the same chance of becoming a lawyer as a man had in England and other colonies, and who wished to abolish oaths in Courts of Justice, so that the truth could be spoken there without an appeal to a Deity, whose name it was irre verent to use in connection with such matters. To repress this member one day a week was taken from the private members’ days, and yet no remonstrance arose from the country. Many measures devised for the people’s good were thus stopped. The present Government had taunted their opponents with having flumped the country, but they themselves had since followed their example. The Premier in one of his tours had come to Christchurch and told the people that if they taxed themselves still more from their earliest years, they would remove all fear of his friends having to support the poor in their old age. Everybody was to be compelled to contribute in a certain manner. They were not to be allowed to invest their savings how they liked, so every old man was to get 10s a week, a sum which he could spend in having a drink with a few of his friends on one day, and would leave him nothing for all the rest of the week. The Premier had then said that nothing was to be said to him about politics, and so nothing was said, and the Premier no doubt went off laughing at them. Major Atkinson had come a second time to Christchurch, and had told them really nothing. If there was anything to be got out of the people the Premier would come round again. With regard to the Federation Conference the New Zealand delegates had made the Governor perform an unlawful act, and appoint them by his own authority. The people should have chosen those delegates whose action was to influence the colony for all time. These delegates when met together in Australia had drawn up an enactment about which the people interested knew nothing, and had sent it home to England with a re quest for the Home Parliament to make it law. True, it contained a proviso that this law should not coma into force in any colony till assented to by the Legislature of that colony. By' this means,- however, the colony might hare become fettered by the action of a simple majority of Parlia ment at any hour. He would show how vety undesirable that would be. There were men who wished that colored labor should be largely introduced. If they doubted it, let thenj read jthe records of Parliament. Now, a great part of Aus tralia could only be cultivated by c dored labor, therefore it was quite right such labor should be imported there. His ex perionci had shown him that where colored labor prevailed the masters got the fran chise extended to their laborers, and mile them vote for them and their own mea r

a urea. Many very objectionable laws h prevailed in such countries, such as flog- I ymg for many offences, and a passport t system, whereby any man, no matter r what his color, was kept under a kind of s surveillance. A great falling off in wages r would also result from importing colored i labor, therefore it. was most. undesirable ‘ that this colony should be united with a t country where the white race was likely 1 to be in a minority. Their cry should i he “New Zealand for the Europeans" * (Loud cheers). Lot them found a free country in the Pacific, where the evils arising f*om a colored population would not be known. A great wrong had been inflicted on the working classes through the preemptive right system, In America and elsewhere the natives were permitted to sell their lands to the Government only. When he was Governor he had formulated a scheme by which it would have been possible for small farms to, have been obtained by the natives. This had not been accepted, however, and many very wrong things had been done by persons getting possession of the Maori land, some of which he might bring up again at a future time. Many land spe culators had taken advantage of the right of pre-emption to acquire large oj tales, often with the assistance of Government given unlawfully. His remedy was this, that the natives should sell the lands through the Government in small blocks, and at a fair but not exorbitant price. By this means the valuable land unsold in the North Island would pass into the hands of small holders. It should be sold ] in the open market and fairly. He asked them to support him in this. He wished them to consider the words of John Bright, who found that 41 per cent of the families of Glasgow lived at the least in a single room, many of them living more than onaJamily in one room. 37 par cent lived with two rooms to a family. He believed that less than 10 per cent of the families had more than three rooms each.' Let them con sider what a few people were benefited by this mass of human suffering. Their present state of civilisation permitted such things as men, women and children having to pass the night under trees, aye, he had seen them just outside the Palaee of the Queen herself. Among the Ancient Britons these people would at least have had some hut. Even among the Maoris such things would not be. Ho. asked, seeing these things, what had civilisation done for England 1 What had been done by the system of taking the land from the people f>r the benefit of a few 1 He held that there was no nobler object than try ing to gain for the whole of God’s creatures the benefits he had bestowed for the use of all, but which were being used only by a few. Let them therefore unite, not setting settlement against settlement, or island against island, but banding them' selves together for what wae really a re ligious duty—the securing for all the biesings they should enjoy, and the re moval of those causes which now pre vented their obtaining them. ■ln answer to a question as to whethei he would follow Mr Montgomery, Sii George. Grey said since he had resigned the leadership of the Opposition ho had never sought it again, but no mau should compel him (Sir George Grey) to come tc terms with him to secure that man’s co operation. He would have what ho be lievect to be right and just, or nothing a< all. He was able to walk alone. He answered a number of other ques tions, and on the motion of Mr|G. Dorney president of the Working Men’s Politics Association, seconded by Mr F. Gluinnes the following res elution was carried amida a storm of cheers, only four hands being held up against it—“ That this meeting having heard Sir George Grey’s opinion, on the present political crisis, heartily approve* of them, and considers that th< future welfare of the colony depends ot the carrying out of the principles thereit expressed, and reoognres Sir George Grej as the most fitting leader for the purpoai of doing so." Sir George Grey thanked them ■ moa heartily for the kindness extended to him and said that though he was getting oh and could not serve much longer, the; might depend upon it he would work fo the good of the people of New Zealani as long as he could. | The meeting, after passing a vote c thanks to the chairman, broke up.

MR IVESS AT THE TOWN HALL.

Mr Joseph Ivess, M. H. B. for Waka nui, addressed a well attended meeting in the Town Hall last evening, the chair being occupied by his Worship the Mayor. The Chairman in opening the proceed ings said he was pleased to see so large a gathering, as it showed that an intelligent interest in political matters was taken in the district. He need not say anything of Mr Ivess, who was so well known ot them, nor was there need for him to bespeak a patient hearing for the member for Wakanui.

Mr Ivess said that he had purposely delayed meeting his constituents till this late period, because so few important questions had been discussed during the last session of Parliament, which he considered had been one of the most barren ever known in New Zealand. Lately, however, a greater interest had been shown in political matters, and there could be no doubt we were on the eve of great constitutional changes. The Opposition and Ministerial parlies had declaradjtheir respective poli c es, and the representatives of the people could declare which aide they would fal low. Referring to the work of last ses sion, Mr Ivess said that it would be remembered that Major Atkinson, to the great surprise of most people, reversed his tactics of the previous session and within a few days of the opening of Par liament stated what measures the Govern ment intended to bring forward. The Financial Statement, too, was delivered unusually early, within three weeks of the commencement of the session. This might seem strange to them, but he (Mr Ivess) considered the reason of this action was that the Government had a strong majority at their bask, while in the first session they were not bo in dependent. He considered that those members who did not keep their promises were criminally responsible, and he could assure them that every pledge he had made at the time of his election had bean faithfully kept. He would now briefly review the work of last session, but would not detain them Ion?. There were 137 public Bills introduced, and of these 78 were dropped or other wise disposed of. The House sat in all 432 hours, giving an average of 4J hours to each member. Ot the Bills introduced and passed, perhaps tho most important was tho new Bankruptcy Act, which was a great improvement upon the old Debtors and Creditors Act. The Official Assignees were appointed to take the place of trus tees iu bankruptcy, but he thought the Government had made a muddle in their selection of men to All these positions. As an instance of thin he might refer to the appointment of Mr James Ashcroft, who had been editor of tike Otago Daily Times, and had made himself a martyr in connection with dummyism in that pro vince. No sooner was that gentls man elected to the office than he-appointed as solicitor Mr Dick, the son of the present Colonial Secretary. Then there was the property Tax Bill, which gave the Government power to put jl in the £ on that tsx. .-He had opposed that Bill, which was carried by a majority of 10, because Jw was of opinion that there was no need for further taxation, as the financial difficulties could be met by judi cious retvouclf.uent on the put qf thcCf)- vernmeijt. When th§ EstittjjiU.# ,

■ought down they were opposed by Mr ‘-t rilliam Swanson, a strong supporter of te Government, who moved that they be .duced by L 50.000; but Major Atkin- . >n refused to accept this, and made the . tat er a party question. The Treasurer, i spite of the indignant remonstrances of it John Hall, would not alter a figure of tie Estimates, and after a spirited debate e gained a victory, thinks to the wrnw ..-r; lajority who supported him. How the iolonial Treasurer, assisted by Seed, ras taking up the question of Civil Ser ice reform, and he (Mr Ivess) argued hat if retrenchment was necessary now t was equ dly necessary last session. Che •' nannerin which the Estimates were forced ihrough the House showed how a block role could be used. Another measure of great importance was the Land Bill brought in by Mr Rolteston, the object of which was to place the pastoral lauds of the colony under the leasing system, and to do away with the purchasing clause introduced by the Legislative Council in the Act of the previous year. Having been always opposed to the leasing sys tem, he (the speaker) had voted against that Bill. He believed that the substitu tion of leasehold for freehold tenure and the continual tinkering in connection with our land laws was damaging to the in terests of settlement. ' The Bill of Mr Rolleaton they would remember was car ried in the Lower Houae by the easting vote of Mr Hamlin, the Chairman of Com mittees, and was lost in the Council by the casting vote of the Speaker. The pre sent Ministry could not be said to have administered the lands of the colony satisfactorily, as over 21,000 acres ef the unalienable reserves had been sold to r friends of those.in power. Mr Ivess then went into statistics ta’.en from tho Crown Lands Guide for the of showing . that. New,Zealandcontaiuad 64,000,000 acres. Of this there had been sold 14.000. 16,000,000 belonged to the Maoris, or Europeans who had purchased from them, so that there still remained for disposal 34,000,000 acres. It was said that 9,000,000 acres of this are worth less, showing that there are 25,000,000 acres of good land available for settle ment. From a recent return he had gathered that the 14,000,000 acres which have been sold were thus held : 40,000 people held 3,024,766 acres, valued at L 7 per acre, or ' L 20,000,000 ; 2,871 people held 2,796,000 acres,' valued'at L 6 per acre, or L 16,003,000; 260 held 7.000. acres, valued at 38s 6d per acre, or L 13,334,181. Of the 40,000 who held the three millions and odd acres, 20,000 held from 1 and under 50 acres, and the other 20,000 held from 60 to 600 acres. From this he signed that it was the smaller holders who sustained the taxa tion of the colony. If those who held from 600 to 10,000 acres were compelled lo cultivate their lands the same as the smaller farmers our exports would be greatly increased, our population would multiply, and our taxation diminish. He bad always advocated a progressive land tax, which had been a plank in his plat form at the time of his election, and he had never wavered in his opinion. Great mischief was wrought by the absentee class, who lived in luxury at Home from the receipts of rents drawn from the colony. If they came to New Zealand and worked their land they would be heartily welcomed, but Government should make them understand that when a mm bought a piece of land he could not do what he liked with it. He hoped . those present would not think he was advocating communistic doctrines, bat he was clearly of opinion that these absentee proprietors should contribute to the re venue, and he would use his best endea- vors to get such land laws passed as would induce a better class of settlers to Immi grate to the colony. If this were done there would be no necessity to go to the English market for loans to support them. This brought him to the question of bor rowing. The public and private debt of the colony amounted to L 6 ),000,000, and to pay the interest on this sum required LB,OOO, which meant the labor of 32,006 ' ' men every day in the year except Sunday. That the chief burden of this tax fell upon the producing classes there could 1 be no doubt. The manner in which the money obta nod from these loans was expended was a disgrace to the ' colony. Mr Wynn-Williams had told the electors of Heathcote that he was an independent m mbor, and that ha was opposed to borrowing. Yet be had gone into the lobby with the Colonial Treasurer on the four million loan question, although he had previously spoken against it. This was to him (the speaker) a paradox, but perhaps the Heathcote people could under stand it better. Mr Ivess then quoted statistics to show that the public debt of New Zealand was greater than that any of . the Australian colonies, ihe respective amounts were:—Victoria, L22,105,202J... New South Wales, L 18,721,216 ; Queens land, L 13,125,350; South Australia, L 12,472,600; Western Australia,L6U-,000; Tasmania, L 2,050,600; New Zealand, L 30.235,711, less sinking fundL2,462,496. However, there was a silver lining te this < dark cloud, far the producing power of New Zealand was proportionately far . greater than that of the other colonies, - as would be seen from the following figures : —ln 1882 che total produce of ; wheat in Australia was 20,645,618bu5he15," whereas in New Zealand above 10,270,291 bushels were grown in that year. The produce of oats and barley in favor of Australia was 26,768,376 bushels, and New Zetland produced no ie s than 21,528,182 bushels, which was only about one-fifth less than the whole of the other colonies put together. In the matter of sheep we were ahead o| every colony but. . New South Wales. He gave them these sta tistics to show'that with good government there was a chance of extricating ourselves from out present embarrassing position. He was strongly opposed to any further borrowing, at any rate for the present. The incomplete lines of railway in the colony must be finished, or otherwise settlement would be seriously retarded, but the money for these works should be found from some ether source besides loan. Major Atkinson had staled that of the L 17,000,000 borrowed the North Island had only received L 300.000 more than it was entitled to, taking the European population on a basis for calculation. The Treasurer, however, had neglected to tell them what was the proportion of interest on that L 17,000,000 paid by each island. A return furnished on the motion of Mr Macandrew showed that the revenue con tributed by the North and South Islands for the year ending 31st March, 1882, was as follows:—North, L 928,276 j South, Ll,sl9,462—making a difference, in our favor of L 591,187. The loan, if expended in proportion to revenue, should have been North Island, L 5,969,893 ; South island, L 11,180,093. The ex penditure for the North was L 7,017,638, and the South L 10,122,348. The popu lation of the North Island on the 31st December, 1881, was 197,720 J while that of the to population the North had received lof the loan the excess of L 1,057,973, while s— the Middle Island had under proportion no less than L 1,067,746. As a proof of the inconsistency of some members in re cording their votes on the loan; he might refer to Mr Smith’s motion for the distri bution of L 6.000 among (he public! li braries of the colony Large sums were voted for nonproductive works, add yet when the smalt amount he had mentioned was asked for the ‘ •improvement of the people, it v4s opposed in some quattorA : He had vote 1 tot cue grim., hh wie glad to say thac our Ooiiuty Ijbranq; hyf benefited by it The Question of decentralisation had been! dietUsseq considerably of late, and- it WWUd oer» taihly be a nn-minent plank In tip Opposition 1 platLru) duiug the oomin| ■ - J ' ' ~~ M

THE ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1884.



'b COMMERCIAL Stationery, Account Books, Presents, &c. M. JDNES, East Street. 11 123 R OBEKTS, PAXTON & CO AKB CASH PURCHASERS OF BEANS BARLEY PE4.S N OATS COCKSFOOT AND RYE GRASS SEED. They supply farmers with the bea* quality Large .Cornsaoka, «t the lowest ; market rates, And will make liberal Cash Advances against Grain placed in their hands for shipment to London or else where. ROBERTS, PAXTON & Co. - • lute P. Cunningham and Co’s offices, Corner of Manchester and Lichfield Sts.. ’ ' ‘ • Christchurch. 3 523 P U B LI C N O T ICE. . Having Iteeir appointed Sole Agent in the Ashburton County for the sale of “The Maclom Pickle and Preserving Company’s goods,” I am prepared to re ceive, orders for pickles in ■bottle or Jar, pure vinegar, cordials, • turd catsup. The quality of these goods is vouched for in the following extracts, and they can be supplied much cheaper than the imported article : —Encourage local industries I ! 1 •* The Maclean pickles obtained the high est award at the International Exhibition 1882, against several of the principal English manufactures ; the highest award at the Canterbury Agricultural and Pas toral Association's grand show, 1883; and alpo.a letter- highly commendatory from the President of the New Zealand Indus trial Exhibition, 1883. and 1854 (no awards having been given).”—“ Professor A. W. Bickerton, Colonial Ar tlyst, re ports : —The pickles having oeen ex amined, were found to be well preserved. <of good color, and perfectly free from adulteration. These pickles have been incase in my own household for some time pasr/and I consider them to be superior .to those imported. The samples examined were purchased from a giocer in the city, and may therefore be considered to rep-e ---vent -—the average ’quality.” - S. E. POYNTZ, Novelty Empo"' m, Burnett *4tl&et, Ashburton. - 3 503 IE ASHBURTON COUNTY STOCK _ ' AND SALBYARDS COMPANY (LIMITED), is prepared to Sheep in large or small lots at the following ARedoo«d ,&»le of : #1 ,Fpr the firstoOO sheep, one penny each ‘ ' JTor the second 500 sheep, one halfpenny each For the second 1000 sheep, one faything ■*' each For flocks of over 2000 special arrange ments will be made. The material used will be charged for » addition to the above, v ij. * GEORGE JAMESON, >8.1107 Secretary. Stock Sales R K A I Stock Sales. The undersigned will hold regular '.-SALES of all classes of STOCK, etc., etc., at South Rakaia, on the under •mentioned dates, the Ist and 3rd THURS DAY in each month : May 15th June 19th June sth THE HEW ZEALAND LOAN AND . MERCANTILE AGENCY COMPANY LIMITED. 0. W. TURNER, ;> Agent. atson, Cox & Co. , Rakals Agent.



Wanted ITTANTED a Ploughma YY Edward G. W ri»hi WANTED —Tenders to acres Turnips Par John Doyle, Upper Rangit V\T ANTED, immedi itel; Vt 10 raac * Hayes an tisement. TENTH Anniversary St Lodge, No. 62. WANTED— Every one cessful in Hayes union to read advertiaemer rnHE Anniversary Tea A held in the Ohurcl Schoolroom on Monday, D a SUPERIOR Home i or two gentlemen in family. Applica ion infii letter addtessed to C. B ,ca office. WANTED Tendeis f lons Potatoes. Ton to be lodgsd at Gpakdivs p. m., Saturday, 10th iaa Joseph Hunt. WANTED A Situaii Housekeeper. G< A pply to—TittrcKtY Boarding-house, Wills stre %, VTaNTED to purchase V V any quanti y; ah Pickling Onions. Novelty Emp rium and P 5 758 r|~IEA on the Table at G WANTED Known—E Sago, 4d ; Tapioca, per lb. —J. McGregor, opposite the Arcade. r | ‘ICKETS, 1s 6d, maj X where. MaY 26, Temperance England WANTED Known—The in town to buy Mill: Jackets, Dress Stuffs, et Segers’s, Sealy’a building First-class goods marked profit. New goods now o| MAY 26, the oldest L( ton will eat, drink WANTED KNOWN—] Ril] PoBt.BP. ThKA'



VETERINARY SHOEING FORGE. WANTED Known—W. T. Kingston (late with J. R. Steel, Blacksmith) begs to announce to the public of Ash burton and surrounding district that he has commenced business in a nsw shop erected on the VVakanui road, next G. Ray, Engineer, Millwright, etc. (nearly opposite Central Hotel), and trusts to re ceive a fair share of public patronage. All shoeing done in his usual style, and guaranteed the best workmanship. Re.- pairs neatly executed. Estimates given for builders’ ironwork. 3 652 Special Advertisements. EWW 0 R T Copies of Mr BowaoN’sßook “ Cheese, Butter, and. Bacon,” can be obtained a* tbia office. Prio«>- 2s. ' Notice— J. A. PerSSOn CABINETMAKER, UPHOLSTERER & SHOP-FITTER, Wakanui Road (near Post Office), Begs to thank his customers for past favors and to announce that he is now prepared to execute orders for all classes of suites of furniture in tapestry, repp, velvet, leather and horse hair, and to suit every one. Furniture upholsteied and polished. Mattresses le-mada and car pets re-laid. People from country will do well to pay J. A. i’.’s establish ment a visit before purchasing elsewhere. All work entrusted to him will be faith fully carried out, and b}s pric< s will defy competition. Agent for Walter Gee’s Venetian Blinds J. B. Mansfield, Monumental Mason FUNERALS CONDUCTED ON REASONS LB TERMS Meech and Co. DO not, as a rule, care to blow about the Excellence of their Goods, but when they find that they can offer induce ments which no other house in Ashburton can possibly do, they feel justified in rushing into print to let the general public know that they will be studying their own interests by purchasing from the makers. MEECH AND CO., CABINET makers, UPHOLSTERERS, UNDERTAKERS, &0., &c,, &c., BURNETT STREET, ASHBURTON. Being supplied with the latest improved Machinery, they are able to turn out Fur niture, &c., in all the newest designs, apd at prices which defy competition. Farmers and others wishing to make their homes conafortab'e should pay this Finn a visit, and they will find that MEECH AND CO. can supply every Household requisite at prices which, to meet the times, will really surprise them. Brackets and all other k nds of Gutting done for the trade. £ 376



Special Advertisement



gTATIONERY. Commercial, Plain, and Fancy. ACCOUNT BOOKS PRIZE BOOKS fj* SCHOOL BOOKS & REQUISITES (SchooliCommittees supplied) TOYS & FANCY GOODS. Andrewes Bros., Booksellers, Stationers, &c., ASHBURTON. M R T A N T The undersigned is now landing PRIME CASTLE COAL for household purposes. Also on hand, BEST N ATIYECOAL- BLXCK PiNB FIREWOOD. Building Timber at Prices to suit the Times. ALPHEDS HAYES, Coal and Timber Merchant WILLIAM COLLINS, Manager. INTENDING PURCHASERS OF CLOTHING FOB THE SPRING AND SUMMER SEASON Should visit the NEW ZEALAND Clothing Factory’s BRANCH, Where they can select from the LARGEST VARIETY OF FASHION ABLE GARMENTS, Manufactured from sound and reliable New Zealand Tweeds. The well-known reputation enjoyed bj the Firm of Selling a GENUINE ARTICLE AT WHOLESALE PRICE , Has resulted in an increase of Business I during the past season, ann they can now i boast of having Twbnxy-onb Retail Branches in New Zealand, thus enabling 7 them to increase the Factory produce, 3 economisi ng both nuterial and labor, ann - ensuring to their patrons a further benefit - in the shape of a still Rower Rate of Wholesale Price , SHIRTS, UNDERCLOTHING, HATS & ’ CAPS, PORTMANTEAUS, i And every requisite at Wholesale Price. e Ashburton Branch : t EAST STREET,



GRAIN SEASON 1884. nnHK NEW ZEALAND LOAN AND X MERCANTILE AGENCY COM PANY (LIMITED). Capital £3,000,000. Reserve Fund £210,000, RAKA IA, CHERTSEY, AND MET H YEN AGENCIES. Mr 0. W. TURNER, the Company’s Local Agent, will be in regular attend ance at CHERTSEY: ON TUESDAY?, from 11 a.m. till 2 p.m. METHVEN: ON THURSDAYS, from 12 till 4 p.m. RAKAIA ; At all times during the week. Every information as to Cost and Arrangements for SHIPPING GRAIN pan be obtained on application to C. W. Turner, AGENT, - 358 Rakaia, Ghertsey, apd Methyen. 2 = — —* £F YOU WANT GOOD AND STRONG FURNITURE, GO TO DAVIS’S JHEAP FURNITURE AND RED DING MANUFACTORY, BAST ST Rls E T SOD TH, ASHBURTON. fjTYERY article Sold at Christchurch -i Prices and beat of material and workmanship. FUNERALS CHEAPLY & COMPLETELY FURNISHED - ■ TO FARMERS The Undersigned are CASH PUR CHASERS of Wheat, Oats, Barley, Peas, Beans', Rye-grass, Cocksfoot, Batter, Cheese and Potatuesat HIGHEST MAR KET RATES. Liberal Cash Advances made on Grain sent in for Sltorage at our Brick Granary at Addington, whpre, if necessary, ar rangements can be made for Glassing, Cleaning and Grading all descriptions of Cereals at moderate rates. The machine in use for this purpose was specially se lected by Mr George G. Stead during his recent visit to Europe, and we can with the utmost confidence recommend this Grader, being similar to the one in use by the New Zealand Grain Agency Com pany, Jjimited. To those who are de sirous of shipping to the European and Continental Markets on their own account, pur charges md arrangements will com pare favorably with ' any other agents in • Canterbury. No Commission or Interest charged on advances against shipments. Prompt and original account sales rer dered. WOOD, SINCE AIR & CO., MilNrs and Grain Export Merchants. t. ®nt for Ashburton— -3 340 f.iFFRRIMAN.