The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, FEBRUARY 7, 1903. A DRAWBACK TO SETTLEMENT.

Gisborne Times, Volume IX, Issue 820, 7 February 1903, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, FEBRUARY 7, 1903. A DRAWBACK TO SETTLEMENT.

Reading tlie article of the Wellington j Post quoted by our contemporary on Thursday evening, one noed hardly be told that Mr W. L. Eeos is in Wellington. There is such a breezy atmosphere about the article, a sanguineness so seldom possessed by an ordinary mortal, an ability to handle figures and make them prove almost anything, such a glossing over of the actual position of tho Native Trust Estate, so characteristic of Mr Eves, that one is for the time carried away with his optimistic views and led to believe that we are on the eve of a more prosperous ora in regard to native lands. Rut tho poople of Poverty B ay have heard all those roseate prophecies upon so many previous occasions that they have ceased to be impressionable, and they now require something bettor than the mere ipse dixit of the solicitor of the Trust. What they require are deeds, not words, for the long delay has caused them to become .despondent, and to give up all hope of seeing the lands settled or the natives profit in any way from the administration of the native trust estates. All that they desire now is to see the lands settled, and the quickest and most expeditious way fer this to be done will be for the Banks to realise on their mortgages. The debt during the last ten years has grown from £(iB,OGO in 1592 to £170,000 at the present time, and a very large part of this has been for costs which have not been very beneficial to the Estate, ft appears to us that there have been three or four very sanguine men in Gisborne whose optimistic views have in a -measure proved detrimental to the Estates and to a great extent retarded the settlement of these native lands. We refer to the Hon. James Carroll, Mr Wi Pere, Mr Rees, and the Editor of the Herald. Mr Carroll has throughout o-iven an air of responsibility to the Trust, but as a member of the Board for many years he never devoted that energy and attention to its affairs that he might reasonably have been expected to have done. Mr Wi Pere’s chief mission seems to have been to harangue the natives. Upon Mr Rees the bulk of the work lias fallen, and we do not think he is likely to go unrewarded. The part our contemporarv has played the residents of this district are themselves well aware of, and in almost every instance it has been able to see eye to eye with the opinion of tho trustees, no matter how contradictory the views taken by them from time to timo may have been. Had a little more publicity been given to the proceedings of the Court in the early daj/s by our contemporary, and , the effect of,the .dealings by the Court been brought more prominently under public notice, tho present disastrous ; position of tho Ti’usfc x.btate imght j ; have been prevented. I he public of , Gisborne are aware of Mr Rees’ san- ] guine temporament and will therefore , make a liberal discount on his anticipations. We should have thought I that a paper of tho standard of the i Evening Post would have been en- ( dowed with more astuteness than to ; so freely accept the volume of censure f heaped upon Government officials f alleging against them tne miscarriage, p of the whole matter. It does not s seem to have occurred to our contem- j porary that it is no part of the duty of the Court to administer the land. For our own part we always thought and j we are still of opinion that it is the a business of the trustees to do that. § The Post also appears to have over* c

looked the fact that a large increase of the debt is flue t<> costs, and unless public rumor is entirely wrong this item is a very substantial one. It seems to us that the time has arrived when the public of Gisborne should demand from the Government some finality iu regard to these native land affairs, and we would urge upon the Chamber of Commerce the importance of at once dealing with the matter. Outside two or three people who are directly concerned in the matter, there will be a unanimous vote in this district in favor of capable business-like management of these lands, for in no other way can the natives expect to get anything. The Chamber of Commerce should pass a resolution urging upon the Guvernmeut the advisability of placing all these trust lands in the hands of men of known business capacity or things must be allowed to take their course until the time has elapsed when the Bank shall have a guaranteed title and have the right to sell. We are of opinion that in the end the latter will be the quickest mothod of solving the matter. At the present time the Bank can only be paid off by borrowing money on lands which are not liable for any part of the present indebtedness, and in justico to the owners of the blocks in question this should not be done. The temper of the natives in the East Coast district at present seems to he one of suspicion iu regard to the Board which it is proposed to establish to deal with the trust lands and also iu regard to the Maori Laud Administration Board. Some of tho natives go so far as to say that the Maori Lands Administration Board is a disguised attempt to obtain some of tho native lauds. Iu regard to tho Trust estates we, liko Mr Rees, aro sanguine, but not on tho same ground. We aro sanguino that in about eighteen months from now the lauds will be put on tho market by tho Bank, and that they will tlion bo settled under guaranteed titles. This we believe to be the only solution of the problem.

Wliitchouse’s Bioscope Company is to give an exhibition at Patutahi tonight. The dredge John Townlcy is to be inspected by Mr McGregor, Inspector of Machinery, to-day, after which she will undergo a slight overhaul. Captain Kennedy wired yesterday: “ Winds moderate to strong north-west to west and south-west; barometer rise soon ; sea moderate south of East Cape, rough in Bay of Plenty ; tides moderate.”

A shipment, of twelve hundred hags of maize is- being sent to Sydney this morning by the Loan and Mercantile Company. The order was cabled in the morning, and in the evening^.,Lhe maize was all ready for shipment. Gisborne people will be pleased to hear of tho success of Mr Edgar Thomson, son of Mr Thomson, engineer, who was formerly a resident of this town. Mr Edgar, who has been studying in Melbourne, has recently passed the final examination in his engineering course. The parents and family of the late Thomas Everton Kirk desire to express their appreciation to the footballers and public of Gisborne and Waikato for the kind feeling which prompted the erection of the monument which now stands in Hamilton West Cemetery.

Professor Lichtwark’s son, horse educator, advortises in another column that ho intends to give an exhibition of handling an unbroken colt. The performance will bo bold in Messrs Wyllio and Mason’s horse bazaar on Thursday, 12th, at 7.30 p.m. At St. Androw’s Church on Sunday morning tho service will bo conducted by Mr W. Dannefaerd, Director of a Mission to British soldiers iu Poona, India, and in the evening Rev. J. G. Paterson will lecture on the subject of “ Future Punishment,” its nature and duration. The Poverty Bay Rowing Club continued their double sculling competition last evening, when C. Priestly and F. Tate (Bsec) met A. Pritchard and Smith (scr), and A. Kirk and F. McKinley (lOseel met J. Webb and J. Klee (ssec). The firstnamed in each event won easily. “ We will have to stop this night work,” remarked the Chairman last evening at tho meeting of tho Haiti Road Board. “We are nearly as bad as tho County Council,” replied Mr Bridges. “It would be a good plan to sit in the day time if we have to deal with so much business in the future,” replied Mr Harris. The meeting did not terminate till 11 p.m.

On Thursday an accident occurred o n the Tiniroto road to a man named Thomas Nicoll, a driver for Mr T. King. Nicoll was kicked by. a horse ho was driving, and had his leg broken in two places, ivlr King drove out to his assistance, and with tko help of Mr Harvey, licensee of tho Tiniroto Hotel, conveyed him to town. Nicoll, who suffered great pain, bore the long journey bravely.

The Treasurer oi the Beautifying Association urges that subscriptions should be paid as early as possible so as to facilitate the work of the Society. The Association is to he ->oped that they will be further eneongratulated on excellent work alreanj accomplished, and it is to be ecuraged by prompt and substantial support* The s.s. Kent, which will be the second steamer of the New Zealand and African S.S. Company leaving from this port, is due bare about the 15th inst., and will be sailing on cho 16th for Capetown and Durban, via Fremantle. She has ample accommodation for passengers, more particularly in the steerage. Messrs Williams and Kettle arc the representatives of tho company for Gisborne. The ship Gladys left for Auckland yesterday in tow of the Union Co.’s Omapere. Before the vessel left notice of a claim for salvage made by the Harbor Board on account of the operations of the dredge John Townley was lodged with the master and agents. The sum claimed is .£3OOO. A substantial claim is also being made by the Union Company’s head office in eonseouence of the work performed by the Omapere. The cost of towing the Gladys from Gisborne to Auckland is understood to be £SOO.

Mr Wliitehouse has returned from liis trip up the Coast, and is now winning golden opinions from the residents of Ormond, Karaka, and Patutahi: he is paying a return visit to the two last named places, introducing his “ second monster programme.” He reports his tour a very profitable one, but says he shall also rcmember|Gisborne for its extortionate charges made for lighterage of his horso and trap, and the excessive, wharfage, which is thrice that demanded in any other place he has visited. At anyrate he has decided to paddock his horse for the present, and later on drive to Napier, calling at Wairoa, so as to avoid repaying in shipping to Auckland.

A serious accident happened at Messrs A. Clark and Sons’ warehouse yesterday, whereby Mr Fred Jeune, the well-known sailmaker, had a narrow escape from death, Some slight alterations to the hauling tackle yver.a necessary, and Mr Jeune was following Mr Hookey, the firm’s manager, to the attic for the' pur pose of having these effected. On passing through the trap door iu the ceiling he walked on to a large skylight, which collapsed under his weight. Mr Jeune fell amidst a shower of glass on to the first landing of the staircase, about 18ft beneath, dropping on his head. In descending he struck the balustrade with his shoulder - , breaking the fall to some extent. Dr Cole arrived promptly, and rendered first aid and superintended the patient’s removal to the hospital, where it was found that the fall had caused a slight fracture of the skull, besides sundry cuts and bruises about the body. Dr Cole considers that Mr Jeune’s escape was remarkable, but has hopes for his recovery,

Howlim: notes appear on the front page. Mr John Coleman has a four-roomed collage to iet.

Miss l-\ Somervell resumes music tuition on Monday.

The Gisborne Sheepiariners’ Fro zeu Meat Company advertise for a youth for the engine room. •V buggy.with shafts and pole. a pair of line black geldings, and harness are advertised for sale.

Messrs llainon and Smith advertise fif’v sacks ol grass seed for sale at a eheaj price.

Three unfurnished rooms, with use of kitchen, arc advertised in our wanted column.

To-day is the last day of the New Zealand Clothing Factory's stocktaking sale, and goods of first quality are being offered tit low prices. •Startling bargains art* offered by Messrs Cure and Ambridge, at the Kconomic drapery establishment. The firm are now holding their halfyearly stock-taking sale for fifteen days, and great reductions hire being made. Mr iff. P. .Joyce, who lias had thirty years’ experience in the district, notifies that persons wishing to invest would do well to communicate with him. Reliable information will he given free. He has several lirstelass investments in hand.

A lecture that will be of great interest and should attract a large attendance, will be given on Tuesday evening by Mr N. Dauuefoerd of the Soldiers’ Poona Mission. The lecture will be illustrated with limelight views. The place at which it is tu be given will be notified in a future issue.

At Wesley Church on Sunday Bov. B. F. llothwell’s subjects are : Morning, A Lost Glance at tdo Ascending Christ ” ; evening, *■ The Light and Lightning of God which will cimito the Sultan of Turkey under the Fifth Bib : Hot popper in store for the Assassin.” Sankoy’s hymns ; anthems by the choir,

Last Wednesday evening an electrical disturbance was witnessed in tho southeastern heavens, which for extent and maguifieeuce exceeds anything of the kind that we have seen. It began about six p.m., low down on the horizon, in the form of lightning dashes darting upwards at an angle of about 45dcg. like discharges from a mighty piece of artillery. Later on the electric fiuid Hashed right and left, and upwards and downwards continuously till after 10 p.m. Many people remained out for hours looking at tho scene, which, had tho night been darker, would have had an added magnificence of untold brilliancy.—Wairpa Guardian.

The Native Appellate Court, now sitting at Wairoa, has been engaged all tho week in connection with the hoaring of appeals lodged against decisions of tho lower Court iu connection with tho Waipapa and Ilereheretau B Blocks. The decisions in these cases were delivered on Wednesday and Thursday, when thero was a largo attendance of Nativos interested. Tho business of the Appellate Court is expected to occupy only a few days longer, after which the judges will sit as a Native Land Court. We understand that tho Mohaka and Arapaoanui cases will be the first taken, and that thero is every probability of their occupying some little time, as the cases are said to be likely to be keenly contested. —Wairoa Guardian.

At the Theatre Royal last evening thero was some slight misunderstanding on the part of the audience as to whether the play had ended. The general impression conveyed from tho pieco was that it had terminated, but a number of those in the gallery persisted in calling out, “ Koep your seats, there is anothor act.” Tho pianist twice played a verse of the National Anthem, but many of the audience still retained their seats. Tho explanation was to be found in tho fact that thero was a slight typographical error in the programme, one of the scenes of the fourth act being made to appear as belonging to the fifth act. Iu justice to tho management, wo might stato that they wore entirely froe from blame in the matter, and we might also mention that the programmes were not printod at the Times office.

The offer of Mr J. Hunter Brown to soil his property to the Government under the Lands for Settlement Act (says the Wairoa Guardian) has been under the consideration of the Board in Wellington. That body made cortain recommendations to Cabinet as to the purchase, which have been considered, and the Premier, iu reply to a wire from Mr Fraser, who, with Sir William Russell, has been advocating the acquiring of this land, states that until the action inssigated by Mr Baldwin on behalf of certain natives has been abandoned, or decided by tho Privy Council, the Government, however desirable, cannot conclude any negotiations. This practically means that the matter will be hung up for possibly six months, which will bo a great disappointment to residents of this and the Napiar district. However, tho Government’s chief policy at present is to open up land, and tliereforo, with tho assistance of the Hon. J. Carroll, Sir R. W. Russell, and Mr Fraser, we can be assured that Wairoa in this respect will not be neglected. In connection with the Whakaki estate, it might be added that the Government are not to blame, for as guardian of the colony’s dnauce. it would not be desirable to purchase a lawsuit, however visionary the prospects of the natives are of success.

Holy Trinity Church. To-morrow (Septuagesima Sunday) : 8 a.m., Holy Communion ; 11 a.m., Morning Prayer ; 7 p.m., Evening Prayer.—Rev. W. Welsh. St. Andrew’s Church. To-morrow (Sunday): Morning, Mr N. Daunefoerd ; evening, Rev. J. G. Paterson, lecture “ Future Punishment; Its Nature and Duration."

Wesley Church Services to-morrow (Sunday;.—ll a.m., “A Last Glance at the Ascending Christ ” ; 7 p.m,, “ The Light and Lightning of God, which will smite the Sultan of Turkey under the Fifth Rib ; Hot poppor in store for the Assassin.” —Rev. B. F. Rothwell. Roman Catholic Services, to-morrow (Sunday). —Gisborne: Mass, 8 and 11 a.m,; Vespers, 7 p.m. No service in the country.—Rev. T. Muivihill. >