LOCAL AND GENERAL

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 540, 4 December 1890, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A private telephone wire has been erected between Messrs Common, Shelton, and Co’s store and their new office in Gladstone Road. Mr Arthur has been sending out circulars requesting certain e'edtore to favor him with their vote and interest. Does not this sail pretty close to the Act regulating elections ?

It is understood that Mr Arthur’s committee have deemed discretion necessary, and that the sweet voice of the Conservative charmer will not again be heard from ft Gisborne platform prior to the election. The horse atiaehed to lhe night eart bolted this morning on the fire alarm, but beyond an awkward predicament for the man at the head ot affairs there were no serious consequences. An o d bachelor says that giving the ballot to women would not amount to anything practically, because they would keep denying they were old enough to vote until they got to be too old to take an interest in politics. Mr Arthur will please take note. At the Police Court yesterday morning E, Burch was fined 10s, costs 7s, for being drunk and disorderly. Dunoan Campbell, alias George Carrill, was charged with the larceny of £l5, belong to H K. Irwin, who is in the emp'oyment <-f Mr Irvine, of Te Arai. The case was remanded till the 9th Inst.

In the shooting contest on Saturday laet between the Canterbury Mounted Infantry and the East Coiet Hussars, the former scored 529,and the Hussars 551, thus beatine their southern opponents by 22 points. The Herald has been suddenly converted. It acknowledges that banks and kindred institutions hold an unfair proportion of land, and are retaining it until fools st. p in and buy it at fictitious prices, leaving themselves without means to develop the land. But, says the Herald, the evil of land monopoly is gradually lessening. Why not go on, though, and tell the whole truth ?— that had it not been for Sir George Grey and a few other earnest men. New Zealand would now have been almost the sole property of about a score of monopolists. A parliamental y return shows that there are in New Zealand 200 persons holding no less than 4 988 950 acre", each being over 10 000 acres, and the value of th" 'and is returned hv the owners as £7,686 191, although it is believed to be worth considerably more. Besides this there are 81l companies owning between them 2,260 000 acres returned as worth £4,322.180. There are 43 absentees living p-rmanently abroad who own 1,027,399 acres of the value of £1,635,289. One estate alone comprises 99,465 aces, and one absentee alone draws an average of £85,000 per annum from the colony. Mr Greenwood, a candidate for the Eden seat, Auckland, iu his address, quoted a specific instance of a capitalist being frightened away bv the Property Tax. He asserts that Mr Wilson, the Broken Hill silver king, was desirous of investing £2OO 000 in mining property in this country. Whe•> he heard that the Property Tax was levied on the nominal capital of a company and upon all machinery upon 'h- ground, and imaginary values given to property, he deo'ined to invest, for although but a few thousands might have been expended on the ground io pre'iminary work and machinery, yet the company would have to pay property tax on the whole nominal sum,, besides po«siWy it might ba twelve months before the mine was properly started. Just after 2 this morning the nightwatchman rang out the fire alarm, the house of Mr Douglas, upper Gladstone road, being in flamee. The house, of four moms, was horned to the ground, and that occupied by Mr Fagan, adjoining, was much damaged, but the Brigade (who turned out smartly) prevented its total destruction, while they also saved the other cottage near hv. Mr Douglas is up the Waimata. Mrs Douglas had been out for tea, but on returning had lighted a fire and made porridge to feed lhe dog, before going to bed. She was awakened by the dog barking, and found the place full of smoke, and could save nothing but a box containing articles. She was alone in lhe house. All her jewellery was lost. She does not know whether Mr Douglas had any insurance on the house and goods. She can only account for the fire by the supposition that some ttnquenched embers had fallen from the fireplace.

Mr Hogg, of the Wairarapa, thus sums up Government retrenchment ; —The retrencnment of the Government throughout h’d been a fraud and a sham. All the Premier and his col'eagues had done was to change the billets for a few of their friends iu the Civil Service in a way agreeable to the per. sons operated upon. Tills was especially the case in connection with the Public Works department. That department was to be swept away, bat how woe the sweeping performed ! Mr Blackett, the working b ad, was stve.pt to London and manufactured into an inspecting engineer at £9OO per annum, although > he Government hud teased borrowing and had not a penny to spend on any kind of machinery exeep’ stoats arid wease's. (Roars of laughter.) Mr B.ai' had been promoted to Mr Blackett's position and a gentleman named u’Connor bad stepped into Mr Blair’s shoes. (Renewed laughter.) This was the way in which the Public Wo ks Department had been abolished. Some of the ioferior slaves of the department had been turned adrift, but the top blossoms remained more vigorous than when the Premier began to cutthom down. (Laughter.)

The Om&pere arrived a* T urauga at 1.50 fest rd ly afternoon, from Gisborne. At Mr M. Hall’s sale at M kauri on Tu fllay, d-iiry cows ranged from £2 to £5 2 6d, ind calves were fo d at 8s each. The furaitu e also brought a good price. “ What is the meaning of tha word tanlai'iig?” asked th' teacher. “Please, air,” sa d Johnny, •' it means a circus prdeee-' | sion passing the schoolhouse and the - not allowed to look a' it ” The Wellington Post is very rough on rail sitting politicians, and trimmers. It says the Government, is pledged to go out unless it has an assured majority, among which the rail sitting gentry are not to be counted It is stated, upon very good authoritv, that Mr W. 0. Walsh’s grny horse -Paid leaves for Auckland, ny the first availab'e boat, to tak p irt in the approaching Auckland Baaing <Jiub‘a Bummer Meeting. Fairlv treated by the handicapper, the son of Merlin—Lady Grey bhould uphold hisrepuia ion, and annex a few of the plums at the meeting. Mr Arthur says a’l men in their turn become capitalists. Let him read this paragraph from an English paper, showing how whie slavery id carried on by capitalists In England:—“The women in Englvh steam laundries work from twelve to sixteen hours a day, frequently standing in several inches of mud and waler, and receive from 10s to 18s per week I” The supporters of Mr Arthur have got so frightened at the result of the poll that J* they have turned on a correspondence tap in the columns of the Refrigerator, but the handwriting bears the trail of the Committee room. They are working onmligipusßeeling as a trump ch rd. al i hough Sir. Jfjbn.RaHi Sir, Harry Aikinsou, Captain Buss.jL jtfpl other leading men warmly PykeV Bill, and say it will make the system truly national. The election dodge, is.Z too transparent to deceive those, who know that Mr Graham, who voted f r thq 'Bill without being questioned, wa« supported by ' the very people who are now using religious feeling for political purposes. The following London market telegram has been received by the L. and M. A. Company, dated 28th November. Wool.—The sales progress fairly well, but there is much irregularl yin the bidding. bines the dore of last sales the lowing djaxuiptims have declined: Greasy', Id per lb; boated, Id to IJd per lb; fine greasy, ji per lb; fine scoured, Id per lb; coarse crossbred, J<l par lb ; c-»sr<*e scoured arwa-bred J I to Id per lb. Wools of f tulty character arc neglected. Ths total qjaiui v catalogued to date is 29.000 bniew and the total quantity withdrawn is 5000 bales. Frozen meat.- Mutton market firmer. The price of mutton has advanced & 1 per lb since last report. Tallow. —There ia good demand ; best mutton 26 s, good beef tallow is worth 25a per cwt. The following telegram has been received under date Decern* ber 3 ;—Wool! bines the opening of the sales competition is increasing. Market b firmer for superior scoured merino and superior greasy merino. Other descriptions uu« changed.