The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1890. SIGNS OF THE TIMES.

The severe financial strain that has been over-shadowing New Zealand for the past few years has brought ruin and disaster to many private traders and public companies. There hais been a plentiful crop of bankruptcies, wind ing up of companies, and writing down of capital. While some have made ship wreck, others hare come through !tho ordeal so crippled and helpless that it will only be by careful nursing that anything-like-.former rigor will be wj stored. This period of financial up heaval, we are afraid, is not yet quite over, and its effects will doubtless be felt for many years. Trade has been pushed ahead too feverishly, and com petition has Iran riot. Company promoting and speculative finance has formed too large a proportion of New Zealand trading, and the re-action, as was to be expected, has been far-reach ing and destructive. But the causes that have brought about this disastrous commercial upheaval are disappearing one by. one. Trade is being re-orga nised on a more healthful basis. Weak financial institutions are going to the wall; improvident and reckless debtors are being brought face to face with angry and determined creditors; while financial institutions are facing their losses, and contracting their operations within actual requirements. Tn fact, a complete "financial [evolution has been and is taking place m this small colony of New Zealand which, were it to occur m many other countries, would produce a revolution. Fortunately the; majority of New Zealanders have not only unbounded faith m themselves, but they have also great confidence m the future of their colony, and they have set themselves the task, not only of pulling private business into a more healthful state, but also the finances of the -colony. How the people are succeeding is shown by the direct con trol brought to bear on the Legislature to cease all borrowing, and pursue economical administration. The policy of the State is being followed by the individual, and m a few years time, should this public and private resolve be rigorously carried out, we maj? ex pect to see, not the feverish prosperity bom of borrowed money, but a sub stantial era of progress built on a foundation of self-reliance. But m order to arrive at this much-to-be desired goal there must be no return to the extravagance of former years, either by State borrowing or business recklessness. A return to State borrowing will inevitably bring with it a return to reckless anct, speculative trading,andare-actionsimilartothe one now being experienced will assuredly follow. It is therefore essential, first ! and foremost, that at the forth coming election men pledged to a non borrowing policy "shall be returned to the House. Amongst the candidates now before the electors we obseave there are those who openly advocate further borrowing. These candidates are either members of the late Min istry, Ministerial foil")were, or new aspirants for political honours with strong Ministeri-i-1 leanings. These men, m most cases, fear that the oppressiveness of present taxation on present indebtedness will become so irksome that there will arise a cry for more equal adjustment of the burden, and m order to stave off this contin gency as far as possible, they -vould lighten the load temporarily by intro ducing more borrowed money. The electors, if they are thoroughly m earnest m the matter of pulling the colony through its troubles* should know how to treat these candidates on polling day. A borrowing policy must not be resorted to under any circum stances. Other candidates, while not openly advocating a borrowing policy, show untnistakeable leanings m that direction. The colony has become so accustomed to getting out of its diffi culties by authorising " another loan " that the force of habit re-asserts itself m some quarters; but we trust the electors Avill firmly set their faces against this suicidal step. One of the best and most healthful lessons that has arisen out of the late rigid re trenchment policy, demanded by the people, has bt*ea to bring the country face to face with the responsibilities of its burden of debt. This awakening to the true state of the colony's position is telling its own tale, and the people are slowly confessing the fact that what is wanted above all things is a larger population and closer settlement m the vast portion of the country opened up by an expensive Public Works policy. This must take place before more borrowing is sanc tioned to open up lands m the North Island for settlement, and expensive roads, railways and bridges are sanc tioned there or anywhere else. A con tinuation of the present drastic policy of reti'enchment and non-borrowing, we feel convinced, will result m the large holders, mortgage companies, and land agencies seeing that it is to their own advantage, and to the advantage of the colony, that their holdings should be cut up and offered to the public at reasonable prices. Several large holders have already adopted this course, and the result has been that many families now obtain a living upon land where only one family resided previously. Should the present tension be kept up long enough, others will doubtless follow this good example, aud there 1 will arise keen competition lor land, not opened up by the Govern ment, but gradually thrown upon the market voluntarily by large holders. The evil of large estates, if thus left alone, will speedily cure itself. Every day there is a less»ning of population, and with the departure of evejry colonist the burden of taxation be comes heavier for those who remain. Taxation cannot be heaped up to a much larger extent through the Cus. toms, and must eventually fall back upon real and personal property. When j this comes to pass, there will be no need to talk of burstihg-up policies or any thing of the kind ; self-preservation will po|nt a way out of the difficulty, and that way *vrLl result m the land t now occupied by ftfce few being thrown ' open to the mmj- i

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Several large failures are reported m New I York and Pittsburg. I Air Thomas Bracken is again making aj lecturing tour of New. Zealand. A Catholic priest has recently been mobbed near Holborn for speaking against Mr Parnell. Unsettled and stormy weather is predicted shortly along the West Coast of New Zealand. A man named Teale, residing m .Sydney, is said to have fallen heir to a sum of twelve millions which has beon locked up m Chancery: '<■■ The Ro> E. A. Scott will conduct Divine service m the Seafield Schoolroom on ! Sunday next at 3 p.m. Father Chastagnon will celebrate Mass afc Rakdia on Sunday next/ at 10;30 "a.m. Vespers m the evening at Ashburton. The frequent changes of school-books is • being taken m hand by Mr Habens, of the Education Department, with a view to cur tailment. Contracts have been Aigned for the con struction of a tunnel a mile and a half m length at Niagara Falls m furtherance of a big scheme to- develop water-power. There will be ah eclipse of the shn on December 12th, visible here m the afternoon aa a partial eclipse of some magnitude, only a crescent of the sun remaining unobscured. At Gisborne on Tuesday a man threw a handful of paper into the fire quite unsus pecting ifc contained dynamite.' A great ex plosion occurred, inflicting fearful abdominal wounds on him. '■* ! '* The revenue from' tobacco • last year Of- France was £16,000,000, representing no less a sum than 6s 6cl for every man, woman, and child of the population. A Japanese paper speaks of a native ftt Bizon, aged 40, who has married and divorced 35 wives, and is now married to the thirty sixth. .. . ' ■ At the meeting of Mr Wright's Com mittee on Tuesday Mr Mac Lean Dunn, the general secretary, wrote resigning his, position, owing to the demands tipon His time caused by the near approach of polling day. The resignation was accepted with regret, and we learn that Mr F. Ferri : man has: been appointed m his stead. It is estimated that the area of land now open for settlement m the Wellington dis trict is about 170,000 acres, of which a con siderable portion is rather rough country. The next Government land sale will pro bably be held about two months hence, when I a block near Fahiatua is likely to be cut up } and offered. While shaving his pastor one day a Scotch barber who had been drinking freely the previous evening, had the misfortune to inflict a gash on the minister's chin. "Ah Donald," said he, "look''at! the .effect of whiskey ;itis a terrible thing." " Aye minister," responded Donald, " it makes the skin awful tender." Telegrams received to-day state that a strongnortherlygale,accompanied with hfiavy rain, set mat Wellington la st night. The inclement' weather: interfered very materially with the attendance at the show. At Timaru a strong southerly breeze is blowing, promising a mtich-needccl rain. The Ashburton Patience Coii^pany wil play at the Theatre Royal, Timarn, on Wednesday next, December 3rd. They travel by special train, aud will pick up passengers at Orari and Teinuka, dropping them on the return journey. The Company % ill also play at Rakaia at an early date, not yet definitely fixed upon. Dr Ferrari, of Paris, is believed to be the most enthusiastic stamp collector m the wovM. He has abundant means to gratify his whim, and will pay almost any price for a specimen he does not possess. He has speut about 4:80,000, and has* a' collection which numbers ovnr 100,000. Dr Ferrari employs constantly four secretaries to handle new issues, res'ise and re-arrange the old ones, and assort, mount, and cata logue the stamps that [are constantly pour ing m. * The , usual fortnightly meeting', of Cottrt A.O.F. was held last evening, wiien there was a good attendance of members. Votes of thanks were accorded to Bro. J. L. Htggs for his excellent painting which waV given as'first'prize iii the recent Art Union, and also to Bro. T. Toppin for framing the jsame. After the usual ; business of the Evening had been gone through, theC.R., Bro. J. Baker, closed the Lodge m the usual way. '■■ The Star of the East Lodge, 1.0. G.T., iheld the weekly session m the Templar Hall on Wednesday evening. After the routine business of the lodge had been dispensed with, Bro Dowle read a well-prspared essay on the temperance question, which met with general approbation. Several items Were then contributed by members of the Lodge, and a pleasant evening was brought to a close at the usual hout*. " The ,mayoral elections, which took plac® 'onWednesday resulted as follows:—Christ' church, C. M. Gray; Lyttelton, J. B. Mil" som; Kangiora, E. R. Good : Dunedin, J- Carroll; Wanganui, H. Nathan ; Masterton* C. A. Ppwall; Wellington, A. W. Brown 5 Nelson, Francis Trask ; Blenheim, G. Holds worth ; Greymouth, A. Matherson ; Inver cargill, H. Hall; Kaiapoi, JR. Blakely. . Mr G. E. Rodes, of Christchurch, was on Wednesday united m marriage at Timaru to Miss Perry, daughter of Mr Arthur Perry. The bride was attended by a single brides maid, Miss C. Turnbull-Perry, and a couple of pages, Masters Wright and Pitman. The bridegroom was attended by Mr Grigg, jun., of Longbeach, as best man, and Miss Perry was given away by her father, Mr Arthur Perry. The subject of dummyism had a place m the speech given at Wyndham by Mr Richardson recently and one story that he related greatly tickled his hearers. A man who wished to secure a piece of good land adjacent to his own got a neighbour to put m an application^ and lodged the necesi ary money at the Land Office, the neighbour drew the section, "and," continued Mr Richardson, "he must have had a scrap of conscience left; for, when he fonnd he had secured the land, and that it was remarkably good, he came to the conclusion that it was a most wicked thing to be a dummy, and he has the land, and, they say, the money also." —" Invercargill News." The following are the payments made on settling day by the Ashburton Racing Club : —Messrs M. and C. Hobbs, £76; Mr W. Russell, £71 ss; Mr W. Macfarlane, £66 10s; Mr T. Daly, £52 ss; Mr P. Butler, I £42 15s; Mr V. Harris, £33 ss; Mr P. j. J Henley, £33 ss; Mr M. Sherwin, £28 10s • Mr S. Binuey, £23 15s ;■ Mr Kerr, £23 15s; Mr H. Lambert, £910s; Mr H. G. Pitt, £4 15s; Mr T. Stewart, £4 15s; Mr T. J. Murphy, £4 15s; Mr J. M. Reid, £4 15s. The Lyttelton Harbor Board yesterday accepted the tender of Mr W. Smith, of Christchurch (£2964), for the erection of a building for the cool storage of dairy pro duce. The Board decided not to engage labor for their sheds through the recently fprmed, Stevedoring Association, but to adhere to the present system of the foreman hiring any men he wanted. The Railway- Commissioners having refused to give up possession of the grain export shed the Harbor Board have placed the matter m the hands of their solicitors—Harper and Co.

LAND TENURE AND LAND SETTLEMENT

Apropos to the question of the present distribution of land m New Zealand, the Hon. Mr Larnach, m the course of a speech to the electors at Sonth Dunedin the other day, gave some very interesting and pregnant figures com piled from the report of Mr Spcrroy, the late Property Tax Commissioner, jfhe figures m question have reference to the property m land held on the 31st March, 1889- Mr Larnach said (we quote from the "Evening Star's" report), that there were on that date "18,805 owners who had between them areas of from five to 100 acres each, of the value of £6,479,104; 16,753 owners had between them to-eaft of from 100 to 1000 acres each, of the value of £17,359,864; and 1834 pwners had between thorn from 1000 to 10,000 acres, .valued at £13,228,940. There they saw there were 37,192 jowners holding land to the value of 11£37,067,908. Then he came to & very striking feature. He came to 223 pwners who held between them from 10,000 to 50,000 acres, valued at Then he came to 27 owners-who owned from 50,000 acres each, valued, at £5,192,049. These 250 persons owned land to the value of '£15,507,295, or nearly two and a-half times as much as the 18,805 owners whom he first spoke of had between them. The?© 250 persons—that;, tras, the 223 and the 27—owned nearly two and a-half times as much land as the t18,805 owners had between them m their small-holdings. Again, these 250 ownels had land to the value of £62,000 each ,on an average, against 37,192 owners who hftd land of the value' of £37*067,908, or an average value of nearly £1000 each. Or, again, 35,558 settlers owned land of the Value of £23,839,968, equal to an average'of £670 8s 6d each. And this report?made a further revelation, anda very 1 startling one, to the effect that five individuals owned no less than 489,708 acres, or close ujpon 100,000 acres' each, or equal m value to £1,000,000 of ;money—in air proba bility more." Proceeding to discuss the question of how best to deal with this landed monopoly m the interests of settlement, and at the same time with a due regard to equity m respect, to the. rights of private owners, Mr Larnach suggested that an Act should be passed, to take effect three years thereafter, enab ling the Government to take private lands at a valuation, paying for them m interminable debentures (redeem able at the option of the Government) bearing 3£ per cent interest, the land so purchased to be resold to settlers on deferred payments, the unpaid balance of purchase money bearing 5 per cent, the cash .payments to be applied to redemption of debentures, and the 1| per cent difference m rates of interest to defraying the cost of surveying into subdivisions and other expenses of working the scheme. This, he said, "was the only system he could see which was likely to produce settlement and to give an impetus to settlement, because "the lands would be ready at hand. The Government would have it m their jpo'.ver, after the three years' had expired, to take up lands m any particular district where they were asked to do so by a body of men who said they wanted to buy laiKl for settlement. The management of the system could never inconvenience any Government, and the colony would have at hand a ready and fair method Jof dealing with 255 landholders, and would have the power of reducing their present holdings from 12,989,703 acres, of the value of £21,507,295, to 5,100,000 acres, of the value of £8,444,219. By this first step at the .end'of-'three years the Government would bring m 7,889,703 acres of the best lands of the colony. ... : Let them see further what the result would be at the end of five years. Under the same Act the Government would be able to deal with the same 255 landed gentry, for they were the only people who held over 10,000 acres. They would bring m by this further reduction to 10,000 acres, 2,550,000 acres of the value of £4,222,109. So that altogether at the end of five years the Government would be able to bring m nearly 11,000,000 acres of the best lands of the colony, and throw it open for settlement m small holdings. He. did not really know what better policy could be pursued." Neither do we; certainly no better scheme has yet been propounded, and we sincerely hope that Mr Larnach will follow up his ideas, if returned (which we have no reason to doubt), and that during the ensuing session something 'prac tical may be done m the direction which he indicates.

Addington Stock Market

Christchurch, November 26 There was a small entry m most de partments to-day and the attendance, probably owing to shearing, was much move limited than usual. Storjß Sheep.—Only about five hun dred were penned, of .which the following, were the principal lines I —Shorn two tooth crossbreds brought from 8s to 9s j crossbred ewes and lambs, all counted, brought 4s 5d ; and a line of better sheep fetched 12s 5d per couple. Some woolly ewes, with fair percentage of lambs, sold lit 13s. Fat Lambs. —There being no demand for freezers a small supply of about 300 hung fire, the best price obtained being 10» 6d, and some of the best lines were withdrawn. Fat Shkep.—About 3500 were yarded of which there were some very nice sheep, but owing to the freezing works being closed the demand was considerably lessened, and prices did not remain as firm as even last week. Best crossbred wethers, shorn, only reached 13s 6d, and some heavy weights m wool only realised 17s 3d, or fully 2s 6d and os respectively less than same sheep would have brought a month to six weeks ago. F-at Cattle.—: One hundred and forty nine head of very good sorts, but no heavy "bullock's, met with a dragging s^le. Best beef did not realise more than 17s 6d pet lOOlbs, and there was very little demand for inferior sorts*. Store Cattle. —rThere. was only a medium; entry, and business done was of Ijfctle iniportance, very few lines changing hands. Pioij. —Very small lot of porkers and a few stores were yarded.

"PATIENCE."

The opera was produced again last night to a fairly good audience.', and any little fault that may have beon' apparent, m the first performance was carefully remedied. "Patience" (Mrs 0. M. Byooke) vm ia excellent form »n4 voice,

and wr» golden opifltons for her iuperb acting and singinjfc.^Her-, duet "He was a little boy " with Mrs/ Williama was a finished performance from a soprano point of view, but Its value would have soiiiusly deteriorated without Mrs Williams' matronly archness. The latter lady was rpally ather best m the secundo she* took with the heroine, and the fair duettiats hud to sing agaiti to an encore that would' admit of no refusal. " Bun thorne " and "■''Grosvenor." had also to respond to encores, and had time per mitted every principal wcnild hayel received the same honor. The male choius, too, was m good form, and we feel that it is only right to mention the sturdj;,, soryice given to the Volume of sound "oy Messrs G. Andrewes, E. Higgins, ■ H. Oraighead, and Brooking, whose voices are now so well-known that the special characteristics of each were easily noted. The splendid orchestra were^"better/ if 'better could be, thin on the first appearance, and the cymbal effects m tha hands of Mrs Tippett sand-Miss Trephena Butler, wore telling to a degree. The music-loving portion of Ashburton are indebted to the Company for the entertainment given by them, find we understand that at an early date the opera will be repeated.

THE ELECTIONS.

[PBK WIESS ASSOCIATION.]

Wellington, November 26. Mr F. H. D. Bell and Mr Robert Winter were to-day nominated for Wei lington City, making up to the present, eight candidates for this electorate. Mr George T. Loudon was nominated for the Hutt seat torday, making the third candidate. :'■ "'■''. '■"■}' .■ 'The'election for Mayor to-day paused but little excitement, the result being Mr A. W. Brown 927, Mr C. F, Worth 639.

Messrs A. E.G. 'Rhodes and S; Bux ton have been nominated for Geraldine constituency. Mr Bryce was to-day returned unop posed for Waikato electorate. This is the fifth time Ma Bryce has been returned without opposition. MrE. J. O'Conor has been returned unopposed for Buller.

Upper Ashburton Road Board.

ThG usual monthly meeting of this Board was held m the Board's Office; Tinwald, on Monday, November 24th, 1890. Present: Messrs McLeatt (chair man), Harper, Campbell, and Stitt. The iniriutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. Carrespondence was read as follows:—From W. F. Somerville for warding a written undertaking to keep m repair for the space of two years the two small cuttings into the shingle river-bed of the south branch rivei? Ashburton, on the line of road now opened up tpconnect with the Hackthorne :road.—From the Waknnui Road Board stating m reply to this Board's letter re the amount per hundred to be paid for birds' eggs this year—that they had decided to pay the same as last year, vi?, 2s 6d per hundred to be reduced (:o 2s per hundred, should the adjoining Boards not agree to the first mentioned price.—From the Long beacli Road Board stating m reply to tho same question re price of birds' eggs that they had decided to pay the same amount aa last year, \i%, 2s per hundred. It was resolved that this Board pay the same amount as last ye ir, viz, 2-3 per hundred, the Clerk to notify the Wakanui and Longbeach Boards, of their decision.— From the Sergeant of Police stating that he received notice of a horse on the road near Digby's Bridge with a broken log, and that he had had the horse destroyed and removed at a cost of 10s. He also stated that th» police had not been ahle to find the owner of the horse. The Clerk's'report was.received and read. The Clerk was instructed to write to Mr Wil son re the bad state of the ford ab the junction of the IJackthorne .with the Valetta road, and ask him to havo it repaired as the state of tlie ford is owing to his private race. It was resolved to advertise that, after this date persons camping on the public roads m the Upper Ashburton road district, without the per mission m writing of tliG Board will; be prosecuted. , It was also resolved to sue for all arrears of rates at once, and the Clerk was instructed to prepare a list of all arrears for next meeting'of the Board for the purpose of balloting for a portion to be sued for. Accounts amounting to £4 9s 5d were passed for payment and the Board adjourned. •

SPECIAL MEETING

A special meeting of this Board was held m the Board's office, Tinwald, on November 24th, 1890, at which the follow ing members were present. Messrs McLean (chairman), Harper, Campbell, and Stitt. The meeting was for the pur pose of striking a general rate of three farthings m the £ on the rateable value of all rateable property m the Ashburton Forks River District, m accordance with a Special Order passed by the County Council. The following resolution was proposed by Mr McLean, seconded by Mr Stitt, and carried:—"That a general rate of three farthings m the £ be struck and levied on all rateable property ,m the Ashburton Forks River District, the same to be payable m one sum on the 15th day of December, 1890.

Ten Months in Taranaki.

[A.C.M.]

Who has not heard of the " Garden of New Zealand V surely no fitter name could have been given to a country abounding with magnificent bush and sparkling rivers, with a.noble mountain tor a background and the bluest of skies for a covering. Emerson m one of his essays, speaks of " the poetry of nature " meaning thereby those beauties m the world which appeal directly to the hearf, which raise us above ourselves and lead our thoughts away from every day cares. If anyone wishes to drink his full of this sublime poetry, let him spend »; few weeks m Taranaki, and if he does not profit by his visit the fault will be his own. Wishing to see the country on my way up, I went by train from Wellington to Waitara. This was a long journey, but I did not regret having chosen this route. Pleasant fellow-passengers, the novelty of the scenery after the monotonous plains of Canterbury, and a beautiful summer's day were sufficient compensation for four teen hours spent m the train. Wp passed thromgh a great number of tunnels after leaving Wellington. At firsfc the country was very irregular, but at length we reached a sort of plateau and kept on this for the rest of the journey. The bush extends on both sides of the line almost the whole way. Occasionally we obtained glances of Maori pahs and their lazy in habitants, and now and then upon emerging from the bush, found ourselves close to, the sea. At length the district .of Taranaki was reached. Never shall I forget my' firsjt glimpse'of Mount. Egmont. The wearir ness and monotony, of the journey, were beginning td make themselves felt but were quickty forgotten m the pleasure ex cited by the hi»gnificeij,t sight of a lofty siiow*cap|>ed peak; which the twilight of a foeautifuji sumnier's evening revealed to UV"' '■ '■ :, • •' ''■" "', ''' , '■' V.. ■ We reached ,our destination about 10 o'clock and here riiost of my fellow-pass: engers hurried off to catch* the steamer for I Auckland. Waitara is about 11 miles from New Plymouth. It is a queer lifcble town at the mouth of the Waitara river. A steamer trades regularly between it and Auckland, and this helps o keep the town

alive. Tho principal buildings are some large freezing works, which—have been closed for sometime. However, I see that a company is being formed to work them again. This will be a great boon to the inhabitants. There are three hotels m the town, and at first one wonders how they all manage to exist. But daylight ramble through the town, and a sight of the Maories "hanging about, clears away the mystery, There arc, or wore, two schools, one at each end ox the town, & pretty little English church, and also a Wcsloyan. Chapel. A neigh bouring pah supplies an unlimited num ber of loafers. •New Plymouth is a pretty (ittlc town of between,, four and five thousand in habitants. Its situation slopes gradually down to the sea and this makes drainage an easy matter. It enjoys two healthy wind*—one from the sea and' the other tho Mount Egmont. The town is pro vided with an excellent hospital, and the ofcher buil lings worth noting are the Alexandra Hall, the banks, the High and public schools, and the English and Wesleyan Churches. The recreation grounds aro well worth seeing, but seemed rather "scraggy" after the well-kept grounds of Christchurch. In the ceme tery were several monuments to soldiers killed duiing the war, and also one to the Rev ,1 ohn Whiteley and the victims of the Whiteclifls massacre. And now for the country. It seems impossible to describes the beauty of true Taranaki scenery. The only way to gel an adequate conception of it is to take a ramble through the country, and see hill and dale, plain and mountain, river and rivulet, pleasant field and rugged forest, each m its own true grandeur, with earth, ; ocean* ■ and sky as smiling as we could wish And yet over all there is a sameness — a monotony, of hill and dale and fern— ;for this is the land of fern, flax, and fungus. But m front of all this monoto» nous fern-clad Country there ia the' relief afforded by the sublime grandeur of the mighty ocean, bearing to our shores the produce of distant, lands; and telling us that we, although a mere speck on the surface of the globe, are of importance to i mighty nations. Behind the belt of country—fern clad, ;but interspersed with cultivated farms, ejuiefe, homesteads arid half-civilized Maori Tillages—there is the mountain; beautiful m its solitary strength. Rising with a gentle slope from the level, and yet abruptly from the adjoining range of hills, covered around the base with distinctly ■seen bush, girdled often with a belt of clo # vd—its summit capped with snow, I dazzling m the purity of its whiteness — its abruptness—its loneliness--its beauty of form—these seem to be the elements that go to make up its grandeur. What ; better emblem could there be of almost every attribute which form's a nations '^greatness than this noble peak, standing firm and erect, disdaining all foreign sup port—the Very " beau idaal" of strength, purity, and constancy. ; Beside these two—the mountain and i ocean—there is no real grandeur, but ;-much beauty and much to please both eye [and ear. Continuous with the mountain and 'marking the southern and easternhbrizori is a low range of hills that appear like a against the blue sky ; but as they ■recede into the distance northwards, they 'gradually pass into, the pale blue color ■that beautifies all mountains. -They sweep along the coast like a bltie irregular ■bank bounding the ocean, which m turn ;throws up against their bases its silvery Jspray m graceful motion. i When we leave; fhountain and ! hill aud ocean, and travel'albng the stony channel of one of tho many rivers that flow from Mount Egmont, we find its banks some times rising perpendicularly from deep - water —sometimes steep—sometimes slop ing gencly—and even level. Everywhere are clothed with evergreens, and ■here and there the sides are covered with 'treeferns—whose fronds wave m the twi ' light like feathery plumes. Some of i these rivers, such as the Waitara, are boating rivers, and, very beautiful indeed ■ tlie banks look frntu a boat on i moon light night, the dark forest throwing its shadows upon the clear water, while the glow-worms glisten on the trees by the river-side, while from over the cliffs, springing, sparkling, and leaping water falls hasten to the river and blend their music with that of the rapids and the birds, and so composing the music of the woods. As we leave the river-bed and enter the bush, a new kind of beauty enchants us— a finer beauty—that of delicacy of form and exquisite finish. Mosses and ferns m all directions clothed with their soft velvet; verdure the ground and the fallen limbs of trees; climbing plants inter twine their branches around and overhead and hinder our progress through the forest. Here, too, the ruggedness of deep ravines that intersect the back country qanbe «oiltrasted with the finer beauty of the woods. Here may be seen the fine fpliage of some lofty pine, knaka groves and clumps of tapitap, rivariva and fungus, m varied and pleasing succession, while ever and again ,tbe symmetrical I nikau outspreads its fan-palm fronds to the sky. Leaving the woods and mounting to some lofty eminence, oh three sides of us we may see the ocean washing up m the distance to the ever-memorable White Cliffs, taking our thoughts back to the Maori Wars with their' revolting massa cres and no less blood-thirsty reprisals, and reminding us that Taranaki, though the " Garden of New Zealand," has also been its battlefield. Such, m general, is Taranaki scenery.

CORRESPONDENCE.

(We dp not hold, ourselves responsible for the opinions expressed by our correspondents.)

TO THE EDITOB. Sir, —The annual meeting of the County Council which should have taken place at noon to-day for the election of Chairman, anil other general business, was, for some reason best known to some members of the Council, adjourned prior to the time when the meeting was called. It appears that Mr Wright, the mover, and Messrs Brown, Grigg, Cameron, and McMillan thought that the re-election of our old and respected Chairman, who has held that high position since the formation of the County Council, might prejudice the return of the other two candidates, also members of the County Council, and without giving the other members, who ,did not arrive until the appointed hour, an opportunity to express their views, left the Council offices before the hour of noon. Why this political element • should have been imported into county business at such a tin c, when very considerable and pressing work was waiting to be dealt with, and to the great inconve nience of ratepayers who had attended to' interview the Coancil from considerable distances, is" somewhat hard to understand^ It may aiso be pointed out that the non election of a Chairman necessitates an appeal to the Governor i». Council to appoint a (lay. All this delay means serious inconvenience to settlers on some of the parched up plains who are clamouring for water races, not taking the expense the Council has been put to into consideration.—l am, etc., C. J. Habpeb. Hackthorne, November 26th, 1890.

THE LAND-CUM—INCOME TAX.

TO THE EDITOR. Youy correspondent " Land Tax " takes a farm of 300 acre*?, capable of producing 30 bushels to the acre, which he states is worth. £15 per annum- total £4500. The Property tax on £4000 is £16 13s 4d. It may fairly be assumed the unimproved value of the land is £7 per aero", but, :,anyhow, that is quite high enough for taxation en the property m question. The total of 300 acres at £7 equals £2100 —taking the higher rate »t i|d m the £'

£13 V* Od as against £16 13s 4d Ido i ofc agree with these fibres, as if the pro perty would sell for £15, I cannot see why it should bo rated at £7 ; but lcfc that pass. "LjuhJ Tax" then states—"The fact must not bo lost sight of that those who advocate the Lund tax also advocate the imposition of an Income tax, so that all those who do not possess Jaud should contribute to tbo revenue from, their in come " "All land is to bo taxed, no exemption whatever." Now, as a farmer, L fear, if this Land--cwm—lncome' tiixis* once imposed it will be found, thai- all incomes are to be taxed, as well' as all lar.d, and we farmers will probably find, that after paying Land tax' we Shall also"' Lave to pay Income tax. Now, taking the figures as given above, and taking ,the value and product of the land at 3$ bushels per acre, a ,farm of 300 acres acres would yield 9000 Kushele of wheat;" 1 which, at 2s lOclper bushel equals £1275, which is the farmer's income, and we shall probably find the Property Tax Commis sioners will base their calculation on this. Now, taking sixpence m the £ (which is, I believe, the rate charged m England at the present time), the farm would pay— ", ' Land Tax (as above . .... , £13,2 6. Income Tax ... . .., ' 3i 17 .# or ... „. £45 per annum As against £16 13s 4d ander, the present Property tax. It may be urged the tax would not be levied? on the total income received—the cost of earning it should be deducted. To tret at this point, take as example 1, a clerk, ,"a bloated head* ;<£ department-," whose salary is to be'cut; down m a Government billet, and getting £500 a year. Of course it may cost him the whole to live,- keep his family, and earn it; but is he to be taxed on the total income £500 a year,'or wKat he eaves? We at once say on his-total income, less any exemption that may. be' accorded to all. Now, I take it, if that is the ruling with a Government clerk or a bond-holder m receipt of an income, I expect ,'lltt farmer will also h»ve to pay on his in.cont*,< too—not what he saves after deducting all expenses. No farmer should vole for thjt. Laud and Income tax. The Property tax is bad enough, but m all probability, if ever imposed, the Land and Income tax will be found very much worse.—l am, etc., Speed the Plough. -

PROPERTY TAX v LAND AND INCOME TAX.

TO THE JSDITOE. . Sir, -It places a writer, who is ftc .cusiomed to sign his name to his produc tions, m a somewhat unfair position to reply to a letter from an anonymous news paper correspondent, but, inasmuch as fallacies promulgated with the view of influencing, an election ought not to be allowed to pass unnoticed. I should life* to answer the letter of your correspondent " Land Tax." " Land Tax," m the illus tration which he giveK of the effects of «r Land Tax and the Property Tax re peclively upon the owner of a farm worth £4500, starts with the assumption that the farm is unencumbered. Unfortunately, but few of our farmers are m that enviable position. Most of the farms m Canter bury are mortgaged; m numerous m stances close up to their selling value; ' and, m considering what would be the actual working of a Land' Tax, we must Lake this fact into account. Now under. the Property Tax, the mortgagor and morta«ee contribute towards the tax m exact proportions to their respective interests m the land. If, for example, a farm worth £4500 is mortgaged for £3000, the mortgagee pays tax upon £3000, minus the £500, exemption, while .the farmer pays upon £1500 minus the ex-' umption. If the land ismortgAged to its fuß value, the mortgagee P*vy3 the whole tax, and the nominal owner of the laud goes scot free. Nothing could be feirex. lam aware, indeed, that the AsJxbuiipn theo rists assert that the mortgagee does not really pay the tax, and that he adds it on to the interest upon his loan ; but farmers know better, and one of tha arguments used by the opponents of the Property Tax m other parts of the Colony is that it deters persons outside the. colony from' investing their , mpney m it, Under a Land tax the nominal owner of the land would pay the entire tax ; the. man whose land was deeply mortgaged would pay the same tax, as the man whose lane was lightly mortgaged; while the mortgagee would got off with a tax upon the income which he drew from his mortgage. Where would be the justice of such a system of taxation 1 Let us, however, take the rare case of a 300-acre farm worth £4500, being unencumbered. Under the Property tax the owner pays £16 13s 4d. Your correspondent, *iri order to show what the owner would pay under a Land tax, first assumes that, the improved value of the farm is £15 an acre; and, secondly, that the unimproved value is £7 an acre. "Land Tax," does not give us the grounds on which he arrives at the conclusion that the unimproved value would not exceed £7 an acre. Like most of the Ashburton supporters of t, Land and Income tax, lie seems to assume whatever figures he finds convenient for his theory, without any respect for autho rity or probabilities. Arguing .upon this assumption, however, he makes out'that, under a Land tax of a penny m the £ the owner of a farm worth £4500, but .having;, an unimproved value of £2100, would pay £8 15s, and under a tax of l^d m. the pound £13 2s 6d, instead of the £16 13s , 4d which he pays by way of Property i tax ; and " Land Tax' thereupon trium phantly points out that jbhe farmer, would thus save from 20 to 40 per cent, of taxa- ' tion. " Land Tax," however, fails to show how enough revenue is to be got m this! way. He calmly assumes" it, without venturing upon figures. Now, the only figures we can really accept m this matter are those given by the Colonial Treasurer^ It is all very well for Mr William Snooks, of Napier, or Sir Jerempr Diddler, of Ausk land, to evolve startling figures out of their own lively imaginations,-with th« view of befogging the electors; but the Colony must needs look to its responsible statesmen for guidance m this matter, and Sir Harry Atkinson's figures have not yet been refuted. Now, Sir Harry reckons' that a land tax of one penny m the £ on un improved values might produce'£l.4o,ooo,, and art income tax of sixpence injthe £ on incomes over £150 might yield£74,ooor As the Property-Tax yields £355,000, t will be seen at a glance that a land tax of twopence m the £, with an income tax of sixpence, would scarcely realise £355,000, and inasmuch as we want every penny of the money, and the .actual' yield from a land tax on unimproved values and an income tax would be quite a matter'^6f speculation, I apprehend that the Trea* surer would start with a land tax of 2±d m the £, so as to be on the safe' side. Now, a land tax of 2d m the £ pn £2100, which "Land Tax" reckons to'be the unim proved value of his imaginary farm, would amount to Ll7 10s, and a tax of 2^d tq Ll9 13s 9d, m place of the. Property Tax of Ll6 13s 4d, Of course, if the farm were mortgaged, the loss to the farmer would be far greater.; I demur, however, to your correspon-i dent's assumption that the unimproved raiue of an ordinary farm, five miles from town, valued at Ll6 an acre with improve ments, would not exceed L7 *n acre. .- It is impossible to lay down any general rule, because improvements'on farms yary so much m character, but I should say that, on an average, LlO an acre Would be a fairer estimate for the. unimproved valuer and let us see how a lanc^ tax oi\ ihjer imaginary farm would work 04k upon that basis. The taxable value of the '300 acres would thus be L3OOO, »nd a twopenny tax on that sum would come to L 25, while a 2^d tax would reach L3l ss, or nearly double the amount of the Property-Tax, " Land Tax " further assumes that fir*

THE ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1890.



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