The Ashburton Guardian. Magna et Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1890. LOCAL AND GENERAL

Pastor Birch is spoken of as a labor can didate for Auckland City. The Tailoress' Union have voted another £25 to the strike fund, making £100 in all. An expert says Irishmen, Hebrew?, and negroes seldom commit suicide. A baby boy belonging to an Otago man | has been christened «' Sir Robert Stout McTavish," Miss Lydia Yon Finkolstein is reported to have cleared L.3000 from her lecturing* rouT in Australia. - . A trout weighing 161b 14oz was caught in the north branch of the Waimakariri on Friday. At a sale pf timber on Earl Fitj;william'a Wentworth Woodhousie Estate one. fine oak tree brought LIOO, and of the 126 trees felled 73 averaged LI 7 apiece. The collection of pictures at Hertford Hoiiso, which was left to the nation by the late Sir Richard Wallace, is valued at over L 3,000,000. ; The cxc-iirMOn train to the Timam Agri) cultural and Pastoral Association's Show to day conveyed 200 excursionists from Chrißt church and 50 from Ashbnrton. Mr Nairn's rtin in Hawke's Bay, consist! ing of 20,000 acre 3, is reported to'have been recently leased at LSOOO a yeur. The property is estimated to carry 50,000 sheep, besides » couple of thousand head of cattle. Mr M'Rae, of Mossbnrn, on opening a shag shot by him, found no less than «ight young salmon as well as a large quantity of partly-digested fish. One of the salmon vu only partly swallowed and was alive when the bird was killed. , One hundred and nine thousand orphans have been supported and educated at George Miiller's famous o'phanagc at Bristol, Eng land. Five krgrv houses capable of affording homes for 2050 orphans have been built, and 68 schools are now maintained. There ars now practically four cities in the United States with a million of popula tion each. According to the published estimate 1; of population on June l.at, New Yorkha3l,627,227inhabitants;Phil,'Hlelphiii 1,0.0,441) ; Chicago, 1,000,000; um£ Brook lyn, 938,671. ■• , In France an increasing number of women < are being employed in the postal and tele- ' graph services. The railway companies have in many instances put the level crossing* under the dvuge of '•vomen; and statiout mistresses i aking th s place of station masters on ;the branch lines have give full satisfac- j tion to their employers. Mental worry, says I)r Herbert Snow, o£ \ the Cancer Hospital, is the chief existing; : cause of concer. The most serious increase^ of cancer diving the last few years is due to the worrier, caused by the accelerated rush of modern, life. In 1864 the proportion ot cancer sufferers was 385 to the million i iit! 1888 it hud risen to 610. r M. Jules ,Simon, in.Lisa-tide in "L-* Temps," :tm.f esses to beingse .-iously alarmed, at t:i« progress of the depopulation of France; ' He sho//s oluit, the annual totil of marriages- ; has decreased by 13,000 in four years, and ! that a Frenoiirnan marries on an average at- i between twenty-nine and thirty, that is a. : jcar and a half later than the average Eng- I lishmim. ; The fear of the evil eye lingers in many j run I di-sU-iccs of Sweden. It ia supposed that a child Mill turn ill if a bad person sees it absolutely naked. To prevent the possi libity of this a thread is tied round the child's ivnn, even when it is being wished in a bath, so that it may, even in the^e circum stances, have something on. The following is a good rule to find the contrast of any colour :— ihit out a circular piece of the petal of a.iy flower and pub it on a white paper, lo >k at it fixedly for a few seconds with one eye, and tkni look oflf the color to a piece of whits paper and you will see a bright rinf of another color ; that, rhig or circle is tlie tight complementary colour or contrast of the petal. i Head waiter: " Hope you arc not goingtb forget the waiter, sir.", finest- "No, sir; I'rii not going to forget liim ncr forgive him, eith'jr. Why don't you go to work, «n<l quit begging ? Hang me, if I haven't half a mind to have, you arre/.ted for vagrancy." Head Waiter: "But, -sir, I have employ ment: the.proprietors of this hotel, sir, are my employers, air" Guest: "Then why don't they p»y you rncagh to keep you from begging? Haiig m-. it" I don't have them arrested, too, an accessories before the fact." A recent visitor to Jersey, where General Bo danger is now living in retirement and obsjuriiy, describe him has bcins; com pletoly disillusioned—devoid of hope, and the shadow of lv» -cornier self. His daily life is one of dull routine, and is spent at the villa of St Brelado, an hour's ride from St H^lier's. Madame De Bonnemain, the com panion of hi 3 ex^lo, who hopes to become La Gei erj.'.e, ia seriously ill. with a pulmonary con pi iinr, and the Boukuiger household is not ,i cheerful one. The monthly meeting of the Tinw.tld School Committee was held in the School room on Monday evening. The Master's report Bhowed for the month a roll of 69 boys and 54 girls—total 123 ; and the average attendance—boys, 60 ; girls, 44—total 104; which was considered highly satisfactory. Correspondence was received from the Board of Education drawing attention to the new Act; and also an estimate of cost of repairs to out-buildings. Accounts to the amount of L 3 7s 2d were passed for payment, and the meeting adjourned. Baldwin, of parachute notroiety, has nettled down in America, where he is living quietly on the fortune he made in England. He gained LIO.OOO in the two and a half years of his sojourn, in England. At ■■this Alexandra Palace he received Llso*for every ascent lie made. This was always paid to him in solid cash and he never went up until the two stout bags containing it had been brought into his tent in the grounds, where Madam Baldwin divided her thoughts be tween them and her intense anxiety for the fate of her husband. Baldwin himself never experienced a tremor in making hia perilous aerial journeys. On the evening of his last ascent he tore his balloon and parachute to tatters, and gave a champagne supper to his friends, and resolved to risk his life no more. According to life insurance statistics the average life of a clerk ia»about 34 years, and this is also the average among teachers, j Machinists are outlived by printers?—the average of the former being 331 years, while that of the latter is 30. Musicians live a year longer. The y«ars of life of an editor are 40, and of manufacturers, brokers, painters, shoemakers, and mechanics, 43. Judges live to be 65 years of age on an aver age, and farmers to be 64. Bank officers also live to be 64 on an average. The dura tion of life of coot era is 58, of public officers 57, of clergymen 55, and shipwrights 55, of hatters 54, of lawers and ropemakers 54, of Wackamitiis 51, of "merchants, calico printers and physicians 51; of butchers 50, of car penters 50, of masons 48, of traders 46, of tailors and iewellers"44. '

The prospects of the lady medicos are brightening liiore every day. The Medical Congress at Berlin extended a welcome .to no less then. 18 l*«Iy .doctors. A medical man of Glasgow hjnj just bequeathed L 30.000 for the founding of a college tor the promotion of the medictil and scientific education of women. The first bull fight that has taken place in Naples for two centuries was held in an aretia near the c lurch of the Carmine on Snnday, the 13th oi: July, in the presence of at lenst 10,000 spectatots.l This violent and savage recreation is-to he indulged in twice n week for the rest of the season, and only one -journal in Sorithern Italy, "II Fugnolo," iias yen tureti. to' raise its voice in protest against it. ... .. ■ Mr 0. W. Pilrnell addreased the clectorf of,, Ashburtou in the Oddfellowa' llp.ll on Tuesday evening. The weather on the occasion, was boisterous and stormy, but notwithstanding tlm about 100 persons put in an appearance at the Hall, and acaorddd the candidate a cordial jeception, and \a patient hearing. Mr Purnell spoke fluently for about an hour and a half on-the principal political topics of the'day, and at the con clusion of the address answered a number, of questions to the evident satisfaction of the querists. At the conclusion of. the address ;i hearty vote of thanks was accorded to the Candidate and the chairman. The Medical Congress at Berlin was marked by a tremendous orgie at the Ratli haus. It is said that IS.OOO bottles of wine were consumed, and more than a score of the guests were left on the floor at the end of the entertainment suffering from alcoholic "poisoning." Virch.ow was seized and chaired by certain admiring Germans, whip carried him from room to room j and then these enthusiasts fell .upon some distinj guished London medical men, and over whelmed them with kisses after the German fashion. The Englishmen present went to the rescue of their countrymen, jmd there was a wild scene. Virchow has pronounced the whole thing a disgrace to Berlin. As a proof that' butter can be packed in the ordinary way and carried Home in g^od condition, the " North Otago Times" states that Mr Atkinson supplied the ship Gany mede, on her last trip Home from Ne<v Zealand, with three cwt of salt butter. The captain of the G»nymede, now in pori, informs Mr Atkinson that when the ship arrived at Home the balance of the, butter not used onTthe voyage was as good aswheh it left New Zealand. The price of the butter was 7<l per lb in New Zealand, but the price at Home for butter for the run out was from lid to 1b 3d per lb. The packing was done in the ordinary way. in Pond's patent, boxes, packed at the dairy, and delivered djrect to ship It is not often in these latitudes that the phenomenon of a rainbow at night is to be seen. Last evening, however, was an ex ception, as at eight o'clock a most complete lunar bow extending from the south-west to the south-east attracted the attention and remark of quite a number of Ashburton residents. The circular arch, in the bright moonlight, resembled a phantom reproduc tion of the ordinary solar rainbow, the many colours being represented by gradations of light and shade, varying from a dark ring en the outside to a light misty white on the inner circle. The phenomenon lasted lor several minutes, and afforded, ample opportunity to those wio were abroad ait ihe tiiitie to take a full no'c of the occur rence. .

THE ELCTIONS.

A requisition to be presented to Sir Robert Stout, asking him to stand for Dunedin, has received over a thou3»ntl signatures.

CORRESPONDENCE.

(\Ve do not hold ourselves responsible for the ' opinions expressed liy our correspondents.)

THE LATE INQUEST.

I TO THE EDITOR. I . _____ - ' >!. Sir,—No one who is acquainted with the I' fac»s of the case can do otherwise than de !,' plore the sad circumstances which resulted • in the death of the late Duncan Gordon. 'When an official inquiry is held i;he public I inustacceptjtljn verdict as being OfHcially cor rect Bnt in this case, there is a verdict, which if not official, is still more in accor dance with the truth, as supported by facts. The medical evidence was that the deceased eame-byjhis death from apoplexy, accelerated by a fall. But the public are asking, " How <Vid the man come to fall out of the dray ?" There as plenty of evidence to show tljat the poor fellow had been drinking, that he had drink >vith him in the dray,, and alsd as to where he got the drink. Whatever the ver dict of tlic inquest may be, that of a much larger ji. ry—that of public opinion—Will be that the iife of Duncan Gordon has been sacrificed to* that traffic which is the curse of every ration where it is established, and which cla.uns its scores of victim? annually, in strong drink. I regret exceedingly even in Kew. Zealand —namely, the traffic that there is such pressure on your columns that the oublic have not had an opportunity of having r.he whole facts of the case brought out. —I am, etc., J. Nkwman Bcttle. , Ashburton, October 29fch.

PROCLAIMING PUBLIC HOLIDAYS.

TO THE EDITOR. Sm,~Can. you tell me how it is that public holic!ays are never proclaimed until about the night before the day set apart. The notice to close was only advertised the night before for the |late Trotting-.Races; and no notice has yet been given te the A. and P. Association Show. In the in terests of the farmers, I think it very care lejs, and, moreover, I think the Mayor should, refuse unless seven days notice be given.—l am, etc. Alfred Harrison. Ashburton, 29th October, 1890.

SPORTING

[PER HIESS ASSOCIATION.] Melbourne, October °,8. The following are the acceptances for Tub. Melbourne Cur.

j st. Ib. ! Carbine ... 10 5 ' Melos ... 9 7 i Cuirassier ... 9 0 Sir William... 8 11 \ Richelieu ... # 11 : Singapore ... 8 9 Chintz ■ ... 8 '4 The Lawyer 8 4 TJenzon ... 8 3 Prince Consort 8 1 '.'The Queen. .... 8 0i Tantallon ... 7 13 ... 713 Chaldean ... 712 Whakawai ... 7 12 Tarcoola ... 712 , Titan ... 7 11 ' The Admiral 7 9 Tourbillon ... 7 8 . Carrington ... 7 8 Jebusite '... 7 8

fit. Ib. Muriel ... 7 6 Whimberel ... 7 5 Ernani ... 7 5 Gatling ... 7 5 Correze ... 7 3 Annesley ... 7 2 The Spot ... (i 13 Loyal Stone.., 6 12 Hat-bor Light 611 Copenhagen ..'. 610 Rich Ruby ... 6 10 Venireance ... 6 10" Lapstone ... '6 9 Little Bemie 6 9 Highborn ... 6 8 Mantilla ...'6 8 Plenty ... 6 8 Emancipation 6 8 Esmeralda ... 6 8 Enuc ... 6 7 Firelock ... .6 7

fr-'Last night Enuc was backed to win £20,000, and is now favorite for the Cup at 100 to 10. Melos and Carbine are at 100 to 9.

THE MARKETS

I [tfax press association.] . Sydney, October 28. Wheat—Chick 3s Bd> milling 4s to 4s Id. Oats Is lOd to 2s Id. Maize ?s 10d. Barley—Cape 2s nominal, English feed ing 2sf6d. BranTd. Pollard 6fd. Peas- Prussian blue 2s 9d. Potatoes £2 5s to £2 10s. Onions £12. Butter—Dairy maclo 6d, factory Bd, separator 7d. Cheese, loaf size, 5d to 6d. Bacon, machine cured, 5d to 6d ; hand 6d to 7d ; roll 7d to 7M : NeAv Zealand 9d. Hams, New Zealand, lOd to Is 1 Melbourne, October 28. Wheat, limited sales at 8s 9|d. Flour quiet; litone makes, £810s ; roller, £9 10s. Maize, 3s 3d to 3s sd. Bran, 9d to ■9*d. Polhrd, 9d. Peas, 3s. Adelaidk, October 28. Wheat, 3s 9d ; flour, roller makes £8 6s to £9 5s ; barley, Cape, 2s 3d to 2b 6d, English malting 2s 6d to 4s j bran, 8d to 6id; polUrd, ?d. ' '

THE ELECTIONS.

MR C. W. PURNELL AT THE ODDFELLOWS' HALL.

Mr C. W. Purnell, one of the candi dates: for the Ashburtqn seat in the general election of Members of the House of Representatives, addressed the electors in the Oddfellows' Hall on Tuesday even ing The boisterous weather no doubt militated against the attendance at the meeting, which was not large, not quite 100 people being in the room. ■- , The Mayor, Mr D. Thomas, was chair "niati, and introduced the candidate in. a. short speech. He said that any one who tffimc out on a night such at that to listen to .1 political speech deserved well, both of his country find the candidate he came to hear. He regretted, '■ however, that a larger audience was not present to hear Mr Purnell. PRELIMINARY. Mr Purnell said he had coins forward as a candidate mainly in order to giro the (doctors of the Ashburton district an opportunity of saying whether they approved ef the financial policy which the present Ministry had pursued since they had been in office or whether they wished the colony to revert to that disastrous linaucial. system of wliich Mr Bsllance wad the exponent. That, after all, was the principal question at issue. Other important questibns required considera tion, ;but When the battle was over and tlm result of the poll made known, the country would simply look at whether a majority of the successful candidates were deolnred supporters of the Government or of the Opposition, and the Ministry would ..remain.' in or go out of ;■office accordingly. He ventured Mo think that the political views of the people of this town' and county had been greatly mis represented in Parliament during the last year or two; and that the people of Ashburton had no sympathy whatever with Mr Ballance or, confidence in "him as a political leader. The perpetual lease system wag an admirable way cf dealing with the^waste lands, but Jib demurred t» tihe proposition that Mr Walker, was to have a kind of • perpetual lease of this constituency «imply because lie,was "a goodsorfc of a fellow." The rent was not high enough. If they asked one ■of Mr Walker's adherents why he, was support ing that gentleman, seeing, that Mr Ballance's policy Was obviously detri mental .to the interests of a constituency of this kind, the! answer you got was "Oh/ I don't' beliave in Mr Walker's politics, but I intend to vote for him for personal reasons." Well, if they were to keep on re-electing Mr Walker for personal reasons, irrespective of his political views, Parliamentary repre sentation, so far as this district was concerned, would .become a farce, and they had better ejscfc Mr Walker for life, and have done with ir. THE LABOR QUESTION. He should first deal with a question qf absorbing interest—the labour question. He felt the greatest possiblo sympathy with the object; of those movements Which Were now taking place amongst large masses; of the laboring classes, our fellow coUritrymenj in Great Britain, who were striving to ameliorate their own condition in life. Ho dul not profess to approve of all tho steps which had been taken to achieve the end in view, but in move ments of this kind errors were suro to be committed at the outset, and he felt so much faith in the strong common-sense possessed by the English people that he made no doubt these matters would come out right in tho end. Important change.l? were, he believed,.about to take place in the relations between capital and labor throughout a largo part of , the civilized World. A peaceful revolution would be effected, and although .he. did not aspire to be a prophet, he believed the change would be largely beneficial to the laborer. It was right that our nation should lead such" a movement. The English people had enjoyed the proud, distinction of having been the first to teach the world' the principles of civil, political, and re ligious liberty ; and it would be an addi tional gem in England's diadem if she could lead the way in these great labor movements, and show other nations how the lot of the laborer could be materially improved, while no injustice wag inflicted upon the employer. Ho believed firmly that problem would be worked out soon ; and when it, was solved, our nation would have risen one itep higher in the scale of civilization. But to come nearer home and to the'labor troubles in New Zealand. He believed thoroughly in the principle of Unionism ; and the employers of this colony would be wise to recognise Union ism, frankly and freely, as an accom plished fact. The manner in which a large number of working men had re cently thrown up their employment — risked their means of livelihood—in a cause in which they had no direct per sonal interest, but simply because they believed that Unionism wm in peril, proved iriiat a strong hold ifc had upon their minds. Mistakes had been made, due to the inexperience of their leaders, but Unionism would survive them, and the Unionists would learn wisdom from experience; He'did not^ indeed^ profess >to think that Unionism had been much wanted in the past in this colony, but it would be useful in the future. At the same time, if Unionism was to benefit the workmen, and yet not throw impedi ments in the way of trade and carrying on of the industries of the country, the Unionists would have to modify their programme somewhat. They must be willing to grant the same liberty of action to employers as they claimed for them selves. They must grant equal liberty to non-Unionists. It was perfectly legiti mate for the members of a Union to say to an employer : " We will not work ex cept at a certain wage ; we will not work for more than so manyhoursaday ; we will not work alongside non-Unionists." But then they must, on the other hand, con cede the right to the employer to reject their terms, and to carry on his business in such manner as he thinks fit; they must".concede to the non-unionists the inalienable right which every man possessed to dispose of his own labour as lie pleased. They had no right to boycott an employer or Jv non-unionist for doing what he had both a moral and legal right to do. That was an attack upon personal liberty. Unionists were not entitled to 1 attempt to ruin an employer because he would not accept their terms. And supposing they did succeed in ruining him, how would the workmen be bene fited ? They would simply be killing the goose which laid the golden eggs. By ruining onq employer or forcing him to carry on his business upon unprofitable terms, they would cause other employersto contract their operations, and deter capitalists from embarking upon industrial undertakings whish would give employ merit to artisans and laborers. It would be particularly likely to deter persons who might otherwise come from Great Britain to embark in such enterprises. It was a pressing need of this Colony that persons, with money of their own, should como here '.and start new enterprises, and so open f reih avenues of employment to the labourer.; But if the idea once got afloat thata permanent antagonism existed between tcapital and labour in New Zea land, we might bid farewell to the hope that "any....such influx of capital would occur. The world was wide, and there were plenty of other fields for the invest ment of capital besides New Zealand. He hoped it would be many a long day before we had such another strike as had just taken place. In the ordinary course of things differences between master and man 3 were sure to arise ; but, surely a highly ci Vilixe4 people like ourselves ought tobrrite-tQ tavlw" tome bettor method

of settling trade disputes than strikes and lock-outs; which seemed to him very crude and unsatisfactory ways of deciding such differences. Tli|.^uccessful party in a strike or lock-out was not necessarily in the right. Generally the whining, side was the one which could stand out the longest. It was something like duelling, whore the innocent parly was just.as likely to get killed or wounded as the guilty. He did not know that the Legislature could do much towards the prevention of strikes and lock-outs, al though it might do something. He re gretted that MrDownie Stewart's Strikes and Board of Conciliation Bill did not receive better treatment at. the hands of the House last session than it did ; and lie more especially regretted, that the : pre tended representatives of the labor party in the Honse should have "sat" upon the Bill as though a measure of that kidd ought to be hounded out of the House as quickly as possible. The Bill may have been faulty in its construction ; but he ventured to think that some of the mem bers of the House would have been mucli better occupied in putting the Bill into working shape than in olwtructing the Government business in the manner in which they did. The Assembly would, richly deserve the thinks of the country if it could assist in the creation of «ome tribunal for the peaceful adjustment pf trade disputes, and which' would possess the confidence of both eniplpyers and em ployed. He hoped to see the Labor Bills which were laid before Parliament last session again introduced. He did nst, indeed, anticipate that they would pijo duce any startling revolution in the present state of. affairs, but thoy were, useful measures of their kind;. The Bills, would, however, require some..amendment, Under the Building Lien Bill^for- example, the owner of say a half-acre of land, might employ a builder to erect a cottage for him ; he. might pay that builder in all good faith ; and having done so, 'it might turn out that the builder had failed to pay some of his men or his timber merchant, in which case the innocent landowner would have to pay over again, or ejse his house and land would be sold. THK LAND QUESTION. , He now Came to a question which was an evergreen question with them all—th 6 land question.' He considered that the present land, law;, whbh gave intending settlers a. variety of tenure to choose frov, was working satisfactorily, although some amendment was required in the shape of a better check against dummyism. There Seemed td;beloophblesin the Land Acts by which their "provisions could be evaded in this respect, >nd these defects should bo remedied.' At the same time, the evidence, taken by the Select Com mittee of the House of Representatives last year showed that very little dummyism had actually occured. A large amount of bona fide settlement was taking place ; but of course this. was rapidly absorbing the waste lands at the disposal of the Govern ment, and before very long we should be brought face tp face with this.problem : People would be crying out for lands for settlement; the Crown lands would be all gone, and yet in various parts of the country there would be great private estates, well fitted for cultivation, but which were merely occupied as sheep runs. What, then, will have to be done 1 Let them consider the problem a little more closely. They must bear in mind that New Zealand was a small country. He did not think people always compre hended how small it really was. The other day he read a leading article in a newspaper in which the writer advocated that we should give, the Crown lands away to all persons who would actually occupy them./ The writer seemed to imagine that we possessed scores of millions of acres of waste arable land, as the United States did 40 or 50 yean? ago. Thefact was, New Zealand was only a little larger than Great Britain, i.e. Ore it Britain proper, excluding Ireland. A large part of the country is occupied by mountains, or it is of so broken* nature as to be useless for human occupation Then, we had large lakes and, in the North Island, extensive areas which were mere pumice tracts. Even of the level, or comparatively level land, a good deal was only fib for pasturage, and when they camn to make all these c'eductions, they would find the area of arable land in New Zea land a comparatively limited quantity. In Canterbury, the Crown had disposed of virtually all the good agricultural land ; and in Otago, there was no great quantity left. In the North Island, there Vas still a very considerable area of agricultural land which had not yet passed into the hands of the colonists, but the bulk of it belonged to the Maoris, ■ The day, there fore, was not far, distant when the Parlia ment of the country would have to decide whether the immense private estates, which were now to be found in many parts of New Zealand, when used simply for sheep walks, and fitted for agricultural purposes, could be permitted to exist, jfj they were really required for : genuine settlement? He was not;going to bore them with figures on the subject; because it had been no threshed out on the public platform and in the Press that they all knew that a very large area indeed of New Zealand was embraced within these great estates. He had always held that a gigantic blunder was committed in ever allowing private individuals or corpora tions to accumulate as much land as their purses could buy. If no other reason existed against such a policy, the country was not big enough to allow of it being done without injury to the public interests. When they considered the magnificent possibilities which lay before the founders of this colony, if they had only treated, the land question by the light of modern knowledge, one could almost weep at the thought of the splendid chance which they had throwu away. Still, they had allowed these great estates to be bought—hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of pounds had been spent upon their purchase and improve ment, immense sums of monjy had been advanced upon mortgage of them: most of the estates had changed hands more than once ; the Government had issued Crown grants for the land—the highest title known to the law- and he entirely deprecated all projects and arguments which treated the large landowners as public enemies, whom they were entitled to subject to penal taxation, and to hunt, out of the country as though they were persons who had knowingly broken the law and done some grievous wrong. He declined to permit his mind to be befogged by discussions about the abstract rights of the State to the land. They could not get over the fact that the law—an unwise law—had in the past permitted, and even encouraged the acquisition of large estates, and the large landowners, in purchasing them, had only been investing their money in the way in which the law invited them to do. Well, then, they would ask, wer« matters to be allowed to remain as they wero at, present 1 His reply was : No, decidedly not. When they found one of these great estates used merely as a sheep walk, arid not for agricultural purposes, and it was actually wanted for settlement, they must buy it from the owner fairly and squarely ; and if he declined to sell at a moderate price, they must take it for scttlementpurposjes ) just in the same manner as tliey took private lands under the Public Worits Acts, when required for railways, toads, fortifications, or any other public work and in the same way he would pay tlie owner fair and reasonable compensation for the land of which he had been deprived. In short, he would extend the provisions of the Public Works Act softs to enable the Government to take those large estates for settlement purposes^ After all, it was only a question of money j and if they were to err at all in this Hwtyorj w» it not bettor to err on the

right side ? Had they not better put themselves in such a position that the colony could not hereafter be reproached with having violated the rights of property —those rights which all civilized" people, respected, and the preservation of which was as important to the poor man with hia cottage and quaHer-acvo of land ax it was to tho rich man -with liis broad acres ? rj)Uf!ATIon. Ho cordially acknowledged that our present education system had done a great and valuable work; but lie could" not. ndmit that ir wrw perfect by any means. .Every imliassed parson must perceive that modifications of ib were desired by large sections of the population. A largo and constantly augmenting body of people ask that gr;m'-s-in-aid for secular results should be made to private schools ; othor.s ardenlly desira that optional .Bible-read ing should, be allowed in the Government schools. These demands ought not to be disregarded, for, after all, the parents --- i not the Government—were primarily re sponsible for the children's education, and if the parents desired to choose their own teachers, instead of placing their children in the Government schools, or if they desired their children to hear a chapter from tho Bible read daily, why should not tho Government endeavour to satisfy these wishes so far as it c»uld be done without impairing tho stability of our education system ? The existence of these discon tents whs a source of weakne.S3 to the ! system, and the system would become 1 more stable and strong tho more it was brought in harmony with the views of tho , people. Moreover we couid not gel over ; the hard fact that whether a parent sent i his children to a Government school or a I private ,one, he had to contribute to the I taxation just the same. Our education , system was based upon two propositions— j (1) That it was the duty of the Oovern -1 menttq see that all the children in the i country were educated ; (2) That it was the duty of the Government to do the work of education itself. Ho admitted the truth of the first proposition ; but the second proposition was false. He thought it was rather the duty of the Government to encourage the establishment of private' schools than to suppress them, and" we should have got.a cheaper and more efficient system of education if the Go vernment had confined itself to. supple menting the efforts of the private schools. In the rural districts ho doubt the entire work of education must practically be done ,by the Government,; butinthelargertowns it was only necessary for the Government to have established schools for the poorest elassesof the population. Private enter prise would have done all the rest. Whit, he would do was this:—lnthefcownshe would give grants-in-aid of a moderate amount to all private schools which could pass the ordinary Government inspection for secular results; in other words, the Government would not recognise any religious instruction which might be given in such schools.; the scholars would be presented for examination in the same subjectsas were prescribed for the Govern ment schools ; and if the Government In spector was satisfied with the result of the examination, the school would, get its grant, but not other wire. He would con fine these grants, to schools in towns, be cause he doubted whether the system would work'satisfactorily in country places where the population was limited. In such a district, the denomination which was numerically the strongest might es tablish a school where its own religions doctrines would be taught, and all the children in. the district, would virtually be obliged to attend it because its establish ment would draw away so many children from the Government 'school that tlio latter would have to be closed. It; wjjs usual to resrard this ?is a question affect ing tho Catholics alonry but he did n<fc view it in that light himself. Tho large mini b'.«rofP J "(> 1-es tan tprivr^oschoolsinNcw Zenland proved thfca very considerable b-xly of parents, not Catholics, were dis satisfied with the Government schools. /Even in this comparatively small town of Ashburfcon I,hey had two 1 or three private .schools besides the Catholic schools, and the same thing might be found all over the colony. It was estimated that about 13,800 children were attending private schools in New Zealand, of whom about 9000 attended Catholic schools ; but al though this estimate was probably correct as regarded the Catholic schools, he believed it understated the number of IT children attending other private schools A large body of the members of tlie Church of England, which was numerically tho strongest denomination in the Col|ny, were anxious to see grants-in-aid for secular results given to private sch6dl|s. They must remember that the system &f , grants-in-aid had '"already been tried in New Zealand with satisfactory results. It was formerly in force in' the province of Nelson and worked well there. Be sides satisfying those parents who desired the daily instruction of their children to be permeated with religious teaching, it would tend to improve the present educa tional system by creating a healthy rivalry between the public and private schools. One great fault in our public schools was that the teaching in all; the schools was upon precisely tlie same lines; no allowance was made for the natural bent of the children's minds; and the mental faculties of the children were nob really cultivated. If the public could be brought into competition with private schools it would be of immense advantage to the former. It could not be disputed that a very large number of parents, whose cliildren attended the public schools, wished for optional Bible reading there. He had never been able to under j stand why such violent opposition should be offered to this change. He could heartily appreciate and sympathise with opposition to compulsory Bible read ing,; but if the householders of, say,, the Tinwald school district wished a portion of the Scriptures to be read in their school daily, without comment,. why should out siders object? He proposed that the matter should be entirely optional. It should be left for the School. Committees of each district to decide whether it would permit Bible reading in its school or not; the reading should be without conurent; it should take place at some convenient hour ; and every parent should be at liberty to say whether his child should attend the reading or not. If this were done he was unable to see whose con science could be oft'ended, and in matters of this kind we should give and take a little. PROPERTY TAX. The minds of many of the electors seemed to be much exercised just now upon the subject of a, Land and Income Tax as against the Property Tax. The weak part of the arguments used by the advocates of a land and income tax was that they entirely failed to show how much revenue could be raised by this means. Ih^ Colo"y was this year raising £305,000 by the property tax, every penny of which was absolutely required j and the first and foremost thing which the advo cates of a land and income tax had to show was that we could raise an equally large sum by this means without pressing un fairly upon any particular section of the population. So far as a land tax was 'concerned, data were available upon which a reliable estimate could be formed as to what such tax if imposed upon im proved values would produce; but lie believed he was justified in saying that no reliable data existed upon which we could calculate what sum could be raised by such a tax if levied upon the unimproved values of land; while, as to an income tax, it was a matter of pure speculation what such a tax would yield. From this point of view, the proposal to abolish the Property Tax in favour of a Land and In oome Tax was altogether premature. Ho also supported the Property Tax beoauea under it every mm pai<* in pro-

portion to his means ; while the man who lived in the town p<tid the same as the ninn who lived hi the coiintiy. That would not bo so with a Land and Income Tax. Suppose two men 1.-inded in Lyttelton, encli with a capital of £5030. Cne determines to betake him self .to a town life, thu other t* a courtly. The first settles in Christchnrch ; the other buys land at Ash burton with his £5000 and farms it. Under Hie Property Tax e:ich would pay the Rnmvs amount of tax to a penny—each would pay Ihe tax on £4500. Under a Land and Income T.ix. however, the man in Chriitclrireh would only pay a'tax upon tho Jinn rial income which he derived, from tha £5000; his capital would not be taxed at nil. "Whereas tho man in .he co.m'ry would first pay a tax upon the whole amount of Ida capital, in the shape of a tax upon (he land lie had bought; and secondly, he would havo to pay an income tax upon the income*, which he derived from his" land. The cry for the abolition of the property tat and 'the nubstitution of a land find income'tax in its place fi.st arjse in chw I-'-rge towns, and was in his opinion -in attempt to shift, a part of tho taxation now justly borne by the residents in the cities upon the shoulders of the people in tho country districts. ■■•■". REFORM OF PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE. The mode of conducting business in th« House of Representatives vas, extremely unsatisfactory. What struck one most was the excessive amount oi time that was consumed in discussions of no practical usefulness — discussions upon motions relating to every Subject under the sun ; discussions arising but of questions put to Ministers ; discussions upon all »»rts of faddish Bills. There seemed a perfect mania for legislation in the House. .-What did they want with so much legislation ? It: was rather difficult, to, ascertain precisely how many statutea wore in force in New Zealand, but- so .far.as.he could discover, there were rather more r than 1300 statutes of one kind and another in force. In addition, they enjoyed the blessing of a vast mass of what was known as "case law"—i.e. the decisions of'the Judges upon legal questions, which were enshrined within the covers of. hundreds upon hundreds of. volumes of law books. The man who was not. satis fied with this huge accumulation of law must be a ' perfect > glutton for law. Why should we not' have a spell from legislation 1 Why could the House of Representatives not conduct its .pro ceedings in a simple business-like fashion as our County Council did ? Why should not the Treasurer's Budget and the Esti mates be laid before the House immedia tely after the session was opened, 'be dis cusspd, and any other absolutely necessary business disposed of, and then members return to their homes ? Ho really did not see why a session should, on an average, last more than a month, instead of being spun out for three months every year. Might we not go. farther; arid ask whether it was indispensable that the General Assembly should meet every year 1 Why should it not meet every second year ? In the United.States there wap, in addition to the Federal Congress for the whole Union, a .separate Legisla ture for each State, and _ these State Legislatures had, in many .instances; the control of the affairs of millions of people. Now, some of these Legislatures only meet every second year; and the practice seemed to have worked well enonghi Was it not worth trying in New. Zealand ? THE MINISTRY. If elected, he should support the present Ministry so long a3 they continued their present financial policy, l.ut no longer—in other words, it was their financial policy lie should support «nd not the men themselves. Beinsr a new man, he .should onter the Assembly free from party ties and associations ; but while tho l arty system existed, it was mere folly for an individual member of Parliament .to try and play alone hand <here ; and as. ho would apparently have to choose between the financial policy of which !bir Harry Atkinson was the exponent, and that with which Mr Ballance's name was connected, he should unhesitatingly choose the former. When the present Ministry took office the finances of the colony were in a deplorable condition. Our credit in the London money market was at a very low ebb ; there wae a large deficiency in. the Treasury chest; and the Stout-Vbgol Ministry proposed to levy additional taxation to the extent of a quarter of a. million sterling without making any cflbrfc to reduce the cose of the public services. Now, what had the present Ministry done towards reinstating the colonial finances ? They had restored our credit in England, and our bonds were now quoted pn\ } th© Stock Exchange at a satisfactory 'fijuta ; they had effected savings in the public expenditure to the extent of £291,000 a year, while, had the retrenchment'pro posals which they originally laid before the House been adopted in their integrity, a saving to an even larger amount would have been effected. No doubt Mr Ballance and his friends have latterly pretended ,an excessive zeal for economy, but what lie wanted to know was I why did they not display the. same zeal.when they were in office? The Ministry,; of which Mr Ballanco was a member, simply pooh-poohed the" idea that any material economies .could be effected. He ,(Mr Purnell) did not stand there to defend the Ministry or to say that he approved of all their actions. ■He dare "say they had made mistakes, but so did their prede - cessors, and' so would their successors. But he did feel that it was of' vital importance to the colony that - its finances should be restored to a sound condition. He felt that the work cf reinstating them was* only half completed, and he would support any Ministry which was able and willing to complete the work. It was quite possible that, after the elections, new political combinations would arise. In that case they would understand that he would support whatever Ministry would carry out his views njjon the financial question. He did nofc care who the men were so long as they did the work. He knew that financial sub jects were not interesting, > but ho felt strongly that we could not hope thattwsd© would expand,, industries ' flourish, em ployment become plentiful,. and wages hierh until we had pulled the Sfcate,chariot out of the financial quagmire in which it had been floundering for so long.' The 620,000 colonists who inhabited New Zealand owed ninety, millions of money, I principally to outside creditors; the 1 annual interest upon this immense sum was the first charge upon' their industry ; and until they could succeed in some way in lightening the oressure of this tremen dous burden they could not expect the colony to make rapid prej*ress. They Mere now paying the penalty of past ex travagance and riotous living ; but having sown their wild oats and learned wisdom from experience, let tliem manfully re deem the errors of the past, put. their shoulders to the wheel, and start the i colony once more upon the; high road to prosperity. QUESTIONS. ' \ In answer to questions, Mr Purnell said he would favour any. scheme of taxation that would touch the owners of large estates x*. proportion to the mtenfc of these estates. Under existing Uw there were provisions by which thret&inir machine owners could, protect,thouttelros against loss w'^en threshing grain over vuicn there was alien. There was only one colony in which the elective principle was adopted in regw.l to. tin* Upper House,—Victoria ; him! that was the only colony in which there, had been a.ctfm liict between . the two Houses.. -The Upper House should be a xprisin*' Chamber, and should represent the matured intellect of the colony. On© defect of the nominated system was that t was impossible to get rj4 of ray

THE ABHBITRTQN GITABDIAN, WEDNESPAy, OCTOkM 29, 18^0.



We clip the following important testimo nial from the " Ulawarra Mercury " (KS. W. of the 30th March. It needs no comment:— " Mr John Loveday, of the Bulli Mountain, writes to us that after suffering for four years with a?ute gravel, he has experienced almost complete relief by using Sander and Sons' Encalyptic Extract. He says :—"Seeing the said Extract advertised in the * Ulawarra Mercury,' his intense suffering induced him to obtain a bottle cf the medicine from- Mr Hosking, chemist, ■of this town, and that the use of it gave him great relief at once. He states that between 10th March inst., when he obtained the first bottle of the extract, and the 10th, the use of that medicine continued to afford him relief, to which he had been a stranger for four years. Mr Loveday wiitcs also that lie has found the Eucalypti Extract •» cure for rheumatism as well as'gravel; He-requests us to publish this information through the' Mercury.' We have much pleasure in complying with Mr Loveday's request, whose word cannot be doubted, and who can have no object in view other than * pure desire to benefit suffering Jjunvwity.'MAdvt/) 8



Public Notices FOR SALK : [TWELVE McQORMICK WIRE I BINDERS. All in perfocj; work ing order. CHEAP. 10*144 FRIEDLANDER BROS. JAMES BAKER, TIMBER MEBCHANT, HAVELOCK STREET Opposite Harrisons Auction Maet, TXAS IN STOCK Largo {Supplies of— Building Timber, Stakes and Posts, Galvanised Corrugated Iron, Builders Ironmongery, Turnery, Furniture, and Fancy Goods IN ENDLESS VARIETF. FURNITURE MADE TO ORDER IN ANY DESIGN AT SHORTEST NOTICE Sole Affent in Ashbnrton for Clegg s Perambulators. STEPHEN* TYROS. TEPHEN« J3.UOS. MARKET HOUSE TN Order to be enabled to solicit the favours of Stationholders and Farmery we have just'addad to our stock POWDERED & LUMP RADDLE, RED, BLUE, & BLACK BRANDING OILS, . RAW, & BOILED OILS, TURKEY OIL STON ES, LAMPBLACK, ETC,, —ALSO THE NOTED— MX SHEEP SHEARS So well known, and admitted by all experienced Shearers to be the best. We have also replenished our stocks in Watohea, Clocks, Pocket Knives, Table Cutlery, Spoons, Pannikins, Billies, Kettles, Pots, Pans, Crockery, Straps, etc. ALL ORDERS by Post or otherwise Promptly despatched. SATISFACTION is our Motto. STEPHENS BROS. MABKET HOUSE ASHBUR TO N. Spring and Summer, 1890. TRY THE NEW ZEALAND CLOTHING: -FACTORY FOR Men's Colonial TWEED SUITS, Boys' and Youths' Coloni*! TWEED SUITS. HATS.—We keep the Largest and Bewt Selection. Hats made to measure. SUITS MADE TO MEASURE. Besh workmanship put in every garment, ii perfect lit guaranteed. Large Selection of Boys' Knieker Suits. Ties, Shirts, foliar?, Braces, &c, in' Latest Fashion t.nd btyle. BtstfT Value for Cash in Distiuct N E W KE AT AND CLOTIIM FACTORY W. II WEBBER, Manager



»^—__:„_ WANTED CASH Advertisements under this lieadinsr not excuedin SIXTEEN WORDS 1/-.; Addresses may be left at this Office. *-ri- ■ , ,  , t .„„„..„,, v | / ANTED KNOWN.—Wet practice ■» V' of Fire Brigade postponed until TJiursday, Nj^^Vher_l3tli. , 10 177 "^FEW Pianos and Organs just landed. _LN Best values in these at lowest cash prices, or sold on cany terms. H. M. JONKS. OWN make purest boiled Sweets. ' Importations selected from best majkors.-; -Fry's and. Cadbury's chocolate'?. Renton's Dunedin biscuits at H. G. Flowkr's, Enab Street. ' ' WANTED ~ luibwn^TFe: ~7rStr'o7ii. wear " Boot is the'best for Men, adics and Children.-r-W. H. Collier. ; YTTANTED KnowrT^l^li^Stocking' VV with Silk Toes and Heeltt m hlnck and colors. Is 6d per pair,—W. H. Cqlliek. •; - DOTS, BOOTK r' Keep yout fee Dry and save Doctor's Bills, have a splendid Stock in now. Try uy DoUble-s»led Shooters. Every pair Guaranteed. HonsKT Alcokn, Anhbur ton Clothins' Mark, Snunders' Buildings. vI"TANTEb"Known. - ForDressStu^ VV Prints^ &c , Trimmings tb match go to Melford House. Best valuci m town.—H. C Seqkrs. r ANTED "K"nown.~For~Sheetings" TaUinga, Calicoes, Quilts, Towels* Table Napkins, Tray Clbths, D'Oyleys, &c, go to Melford House.—H. C. Segkrs. WANTED every, mail m the County to have a suit of the Ashburton/ Tweeds.—Eobkrt Aixjorn, Ashburton j Clothing Mart, Saunder's Buildings. ANTED Known.—For. first-class Millinery and Drapery (marked cheap) go to Melford House. New Gocdi ust opened. —H. C. Segers. '\t f ANTED Known-^The Cheapest *■ Shop to buy Tinware and Gal vanised Iron goods in Ashbarton, is at \W. F. Hannaford's, Burnett Street. A arge stock kept on hand. Tin and Iron ware goods made and-repaired with dos



"I N CONSEQUENCE OF THE liiitc Strike, ttn utter collapse of the RETAIL BRA PERY and CLOTHING TRADES has taken place, and the business of the Wholesale Houses is paralysed, and their Warehouses Blocked with the Season's Shipments ; consequently any one in % position to Jbuy could have done so at Yh*ir •tvn l*rlc« unit Trrtn», Fortunately for thu undersigned, they, not being overstocked, were able to clear lines at prices which will convince our friends and the public of Ashbur ton, when they see the selling quota tions now marked in Plain Figures on our Goods that the foregoing state ment regarding the Wholesale Stocks Is perfectly reliable, itchelXj <X> JLurnkXv RAIAPOI HOUSE. Cfurter's* Celetwrated ■FIB' FOR SALE, cr, sEi^r."sr <& 00. Now Sliovrinj<— .■ jk FASHIONABLE LO 1 /\ of Spring d Summer Goods. " THE LATEST FASHION, REASONABLE PRICES, GOOD FIT, asd WORKMANSHIP, OWght to ensure a ready sale for these Goods. ;.' •■ Vontr ITsirly The Hit»h nt X*»*tt«« Our Cwstointrs may depend upon our promise, that tlieir orders will be finished up to time. //. & E, ~CRAIGH£AD, TANCRED STREET, ASHBVRTQN,



Notioca CJ. Thornton nndley LAND, ESTATE A^D STOCK AGJEN 161 Hereford Street, Christchnrch 1 have nums of •» liey to lend on. good security at low rates'of intoroit. Seycra Faraw for Sale •'JTNARKEST AFRICA, cheap; edition .!._/ now •.jrrived. First supply limited. New Books, New Stationery, New Fancy GooaS and Novelties all.ai? reduced prices. Large assortment of New Music of every description. Pianos on hire and for sale on terms. Orders received for Book - binding of every kind.—-L. F. Akdrewxs ' &Co ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ • ■ ALL Accounts against Wm. re Burton Wir,soy up to 7th October are requested to be addressed to Box 31, Post Office, Ashbnrton. 10H7Q W. De BURTON WILSON. TO THE ELECTORS OF ASHBURTON. ■ Hiving been requested by many pi the Electors of this District to offer myself as a Candidate to represent your interests in Parliament, I have much pleasure in placing my services at your dispel. I will arrange atari early"date to address you at every convenient centre of population throughout the District. I have the hone to be Your Obedient Servant, 10 147 EDWARD G. WRIGHT. (jT« X* Aj* OR GROCERY IMPORTING COMPANY, HAVE opened up n.-large supply of Seasonable Goods in those central premises in EAST STREET, formerly occupied by Mrs John Ranger (next Brooke, chemist) where they will SiSI-L. FOR CASH Cheaper than any house in Ashburton. GmOCEMISS and TEAS Of all descriptions, and guaranteed only of the very best brands and qualities, will bo kept in stock, and every-chance, taken, by purchas ing in the best markets and for CASH to break the record for quality and lowness of price. 01-.A.SS QHITSTA. AND For nil household purposes in great variety and lowest quotations. Note the addresß— G.L C. EAST STREET, ASHBV X T O N. 10+168