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Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 13 February 1880, Page 2

It will be observed that Mr Whittaker has just addressed his constituents at Hamilton, and in tbe course of bis speech be congratulates the Colony upon the liberal land laws of the present Government, and »he prudence of Major Atkinson in declining to convert Ihe iand fund into revenue. No doubt this is juat what Mr Whit* taker should do. If there la any man in New Zealand to-day who has reason to be thankful for the *' libera ity " of the land laws of the Atkinson party, that man is surely Mr Whittaker, as through the agency of that party and fha*.' liberality r he holds at the present time ona of the richest estates to be found in the whole of the Auatralian Colonies. A good deal has been said with regard to the Piako Swamp, and most people are pretty well versed as to the manner in which Messrs Wbittaker and Co. became the possessors of it. It is not necessary, therefore, that we should now inquire further into the question of the purchase of the land, but we have before ua some information as to its present value, which will Berve to show what the Colony has lost by that one stroke rof liberal land policy. The price paid by Whittaker and Russell to the Government f or the Piako Swamp was ~<£18,250, which taking the area at 90,000 acres, was something less than 3s per acre. The " swamp " consists of 80,000 acres of flax and peat land, the balance being: beautiful rolling downs, including 8,000 acres of magnificent forest. Its owners, who are known only to the public as The Piako Land Association, are the Hon. Thonas Russell, Hon F, Whit taker, Captain Steele, Mr D. L. Murdoch, (managing director Bank x>f New Zealand), and Mr H. Reynolds. The property has a large frontage to the navigable Waikafco river, as well as the Taupiri railway, and in addition to these advantages the Thames-Wai- : kato railway will run through the [ estate. The land has been drained . and its value is now computed at j half a million sterling. It is proposed' j to submit to sale a block, of 14,000 , acres, the proceeds from which will not only repay the entire purchase of t the estate, but also cover the amount expended by the " Association " in j drainage and improvements. -Kofc-a r bad result this for three years operations under the liberal land laws of tbe Atkinson Government. No woni dertbat Mr Whittaker should find , much to admire in such a land system, , for it is one winch any man would be prepared to admire upon the same terms But this is only one of many similar land transactions perpetrated , during the same reign. Some day -we sh ill probably learn the history of the enormous acquisitions of the New Zealand Agriealtural Company. This company hold 800 000 acres of land on the Waimea Plains (Southland), unimproved blocks of which are now being offered to the public at the modest figure of £15 fer acre. This would bring tbe capital value of the whole estate up to four and a half millions sterling ! Is there any person who will believe that the Colony has had Value for that estate any more than the Piako land ? But it is idle to dwell upon these transactions now. They have been completed and the State is the poorer. Our only reason for referring; to the subject at al, is the occurrence of a rumor which is mentioned by the Lyttelton Times, to the effect that at the present time tbe Government have on hand another of t'ip«e Ijtth land transaction", involving the disposal of 300,000 acres of land, this time in »he Patere district, the full particulars of which will no doubt reach the public— at the proper time.

The sitting of the District Court will be held on Monday nf xf, at ID a.m. Mr John M'Gaffin announces an auction for to-morrow, at 2 p.m., of be tding, bedsteads. &c,, and also a choice collection of books. Comparative gtatioties . have recently bten published of deposits in the hands of English banks, and stocks of sro'd hoarded at various European capitnls. The aggregate deposits in banks of all descriptions in the United King dom, exclusive of Bank of Enaland, amounted in tde auttinrm of 1878 to £520. 000.000, and at present they are estimated at £480,000,000, showing a reduction of £6o, 000,000, in twelve months. At the Bank of England, however, the tendency is in an opposite direction. In the autumn of 1878, the deposits at that institution were ahout £24,000,000, against an average of £37,500, [ 000 in the eorrespondi"? pe"iod this year, being an increase of £13 500,000, or a net dpcrense in the deposits of all the Banks of the kingdom unitedly amounting to £36.500, 000. But the inquiry respecting the reduction of banking deposits in this country is invested with additional inte-est when the process of depletion to tfhiuh stocks of gold have for some time been eubjented all over Europe is ■ taken into ncfount. The aggregate value of gold held by all rhe several nntional Banks of | Europe in 1&76 amounted to £146 795.000, and "at present it is estimated a* £117.400. 000, being a total denrease of £29,395,000 in three years. Afc the some time the stock of 1 gold in the Unired States has increased in the 1 sams period £10,000 000. Among the Europpan Banks, the Bank of France has been the greatest loser ; the latter institution since ihe brginning of July aldne having pn-ted with £7,478,000 in din and bullion for abroad, and t i% e drain continues. * The reduction of gold stored at a Bank is either a favorable or an vn f avorable symptom, according to dream* stances. It may bo caused by the balance of trade being abnormally adverse, but it may also arise from the requirements of a found expanding commerce. It is to be feared that the simultaneous shriiifaage of gold supplies at European centres' in to a large extent attributable, however, to the adridged production of gold throughout the world, and the consequently growing disproportion between the availablfi supply and the increasing demand for that metal — arising not only from the extension of its use for ornamental purposes, but abo in connection with the coinage requirements of countries favouring adoption of a gold standard, and the rafural currency exigencies incident to the improve- . ment of ti'ade. ,• Mr Whittaker addressed his Hamilton flonstitueuts the other -day.- Ec reviewed the List session, and declared it impossible that Sir George Grey could succeed, as from the first his party was disorganised. Mr Mac* i andre-vr was the other alternative, and Mr ' Hall's Ministry waspreferable, as the country i required good administration. He praised I Major Atkinson's financial policy as sound, particularly in not treating the land fund as revenue, and as calculated to restore con- ' filenee in the minds of Home capitalists. Hi' ' prrised the liberal electoral reform and litnd ! laws made by the present Government, and [ urged the necessity of self denial and econ- . omy by the people of the Colony, without , which any restoration of the equilibrium of finance was impossible. He beiieved ihe present Government contained the best ad« ' tninistrative talent in the country, which was i" the main thing. A.t the conclusion Mr Whit* ; taker received a unanimous vote of confi- ! dense, The Rey. Mr Talmage condescends at last to reply to tbe charge made by Dr. Parker, that while professing to take a lively interest in tbe cause of temperance, he dr.mk wine at ■ his dinners in London. In his denial, Mr Talmage uses the form of expression which has more than once brought reproach upon his name as a clergyman. He says s•• I don't believe in denying slanders as a rule, fo" they spring up like dragon's teeth. Why, there's a factory right hers ia Brooklyn where they turn out lies about me of any kind as fast as a button factory c^tti make buttonslies round, square and oblong, black, white and yellow, single wraps and double nnd twisted, patent lever, reciprocal balaice, never need winding up but once to run for ever. What's the use of denying 'em ? Yet I don't mind telling you the facts about this one, you have taken so much pains about it" Mr Barton, late of Wellington, has commenced business in San Francisco. He has issued a business card, in which he says he was the leading practitioner in New Zealand, and was personally acquainted with the Principal sate.-men, merchants, and Lawyers. On the back of the ca-d are rsferences from Sir George Grey. Macandrew, and Messrs Btout, Sheehan, Proudfoot and Mackay. Mj 1 Oswald Curtis, late M. H. 11. for Nelson City, has been appointed secretary to the i Nelson College Governor?, haviog first resi<jnfd his posi ion a 9 Governor. The College has commenced this term with a greater uumber of students than ever before ; the boarding accommodation being taxed to the utmost by the influx.