THE BAY OF PLENTY TIMES. “The spirit of the times shall teach me speed.” KING JOHN, ACT IV. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1874.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume II, Issue 151, 14 February 1874, Page 2

THE BAY OF PLENTY TIMES. “ The spirit of the times shall teach me speed.” KING JOHN, ACT IV. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1874.

We have the pleasure to acknowledge the courtesy of the Honorable Donald McLean for the following telegram, received yesterday, in reply to a message from us asking for information regarding the location of immigrants in the Bay of Plenty :—“Be immigration: matters will be thoroughly gone into by the Premier when in Auckland.” The Honorable Mr Vogel is probably in Auckland before this, or, if not, may be expected daily from Nelson; and on the return of his Honor the Superintendent from his trip along the Bast Coast, as the Defence Minister states, “ matters will be thoroughly gone into.” His Honor is prepared to report most favourable on the suitability of this district for special settlement, and we have reason to believe that before three months have passed away we shall bo called upon to welcome a considerable number of wellselected immigrants to this “ new land of ours.”

We have much pleasure in stating, upon the authority of Captain Sellars, that the owners of the s.s. Southern Cross have determined upon building a more suitable steamer for this trade. At the same time the shareholders of the Cross desire us once more to call upon our commercial men to take shares in the new enterprise. They say, “ We are quite prepared to find

the necessary capital for a larger boat, but what security have we, if another steamer should afterwards compete with us, that our boat will _he supported by the Tauranga public ?” “ therefore,” they armae “ we want a substantial, earnest of such support from some of your business men, and we will at once give the order to the shipbuilder/’ This, it must be admitted, looking upon the transaction in a business point of view, is only fair and reasonable, and wo do hope that a few gentlemen will promptly come forward and take up the small number of shares remaining unallotted. Captain Sellars states distinctly that nest spring a new commodious passenger vessel will, if all goes well, bo running between Auckland and Taurauga, and this liberal determination upon the part of the owners of our little steamer should have the effect of promoting a desire in the settlers of the district to help those who are able and willing to help us. Although wehave felt constrained, in the interests of the public, to point out the unfitness of the Southern Cross for our largo and daily increasing trade, we are not unmindful that she has done good service in the past, and now that °her owners have recognised the necessity of building us a larger vessel, they deserve, and will, we feel sure, receive tbe*continued and hearty support of the people of Tauranga.

Information as to the exact date of departure from Auckland oi the outward English mail is of much importance to settlers of this district, but it is not by any means easy, as matters stand at present, to obtain such information for publication, in time to be of any service to our readers. On Friday last we applied to the Postmaster at Tauranga for an official notice of the next outgoing English mail via San Francisco, and Mr Sheath, with his usual courtesy, handed us in reply to our application “the New Zealand Postal Guide, published by authority of the PostmasterGeneral,” as being the only information upon the subject he was possessed of. On Saturday wo published the notice contained therein, to the effect that the mail would close at Auckland on the 12th ; only, however, to learn on roeeipt of our exchanges by the Cross that the time had been extended to the 16th. The Auckland Star of Friday, the Qth, contained a mail notice from the Obiet Postmaster of the province announcing the extension of time ‘ and, it appears to us it was the duty of that official immediately to have telegraphed such notice to country offices in Auckland. The public in outlying districts have a right to ootain such information as early as possible, and, we trust, for the future that onr Postmaster will be supplied with the same without unnecessary delay.

The Prince of Wales Theatre Harlequinade Company arrived by the Southern Cross from Auckland last trip, and have since successfully given performances at Fraser’s Hall each evening. The entertainments consist of zietite dramatic pieces, music, song, and. dance, forming a varied and very enjoyable bill of fare—such, indeed, that is seldom to be obtained in country places. Miss Vivian and Mr Hooper sing and dance very creditably. Mr Clinton is an admirable darkey, and his bones accompaniment is a gem. Fast, but by no means least, Mr Cullimore is a capital musician, and plays the piano “like a hanged.” This evening, the performance will be under°tho patronage of Major Roberts and the officers of the Volunteers. We expect to see a crowded house, this being “ the last night of the season,” especially as the prices have been reduced. There will be an entire change of programme, including selections from the glorious burlesque of “ Aladdin, or the WAnderful Scamp.” Immediately after the great huihui of Ngaiterangi at Whareroa. on the occasion of the Superintendent’s visit to that hospitable settlement, a young chieftess, of the name of Xawba, died. She was a person of considerable rauk, and closely connected with the hapus of Hori Ngatai, Whareroa, and Tareha Sibaroa, at Maungatapu. The body was removed on Thursday in great state to Maungatapu, where lamentations will be continued for several days. Yesterday, representatives from all the settlements congregated, and feastings, with occasional funeral dirges, were the order of the day. Mr Cullimore, pianist, is now on a visit to Tauranga. Those who require to have their pianos tuned would do well to avail themselves of the opportunity thus offered them. Mr Cullimore has deservedly earned the reputation of being a first-class pianoforte tuner. The following are the scores of the members of the Armed Constabulary Force who will represen t them at the forthcoming General Government Prize Firing, to take place at Napier next month : —Cavalry : Mounted Sergeant McCarthney, 73. Infantry : Sub-Inspector Gascoigne, 93 ; Constable McConnell, 92 ; Eider, 90. An account of the Niho o te Xiore races shall appear in our next. We are indebted to Mr E. Perkins, of Auckland, for particulars of the proceedings.

We perceive that the Army and Navy Hotel, Auckland, has changed hands. The present proprietors have commenced business with spirit—(pun), and arranged for vehicles to meet every steamer upon arrival at the Queen-street Wharf, which will be a great convenience for visitors, especially at night. The Patea correspondent of the IVanaanui Herald writing to that journp.l in a late issue says :—“ Captain Forster is ordered away to Tauranga. He has been in the district five years, and has always taken a lively interest in ail sporting matters, and, indeed, in all matters affecting the interests of the district.’’ Sub-Inspector Forster, we learn, is expected daily, and will be stationed at Opotiki.

In the last Medical Register for New Zealand wo perceive the name of “ Frederick William Armitago. Tauranga, Mem. R. Coll. Surgeons Eng,, Ibos, registered under Medical Practitioners Act, 1867.”

“Our own correspondent” from Opotiki writes:—“The plans and speciScations for the Waioeka bridge arrived at last. One of the conditions annexed to the specifications is, that the “truck system” shall not be allowed in the payment of workmen -—that is, the payment of wages in goods, &c. Now this is, in some senses, a commendable precaution, for nothing can be worse than making labouring men ‘ take it out,’ or draw the balance of their wages duo in goods only from the stores. Xhe plan, nevertheless, cuts two ways, for we cannot expect to have many capitalists in our small communities who could conveniently stand the enormous outlay necessary to meet the demand of paying a large number of workmen in cash especially under the present dilatory and highly objectionable system which obtains with the G-overnment of keeping the contractor out of his money for periods varying from three to six months alter the work has been satisfactorily completed and passed, of which instances even in this comparatively email district are numerous. Moreover, the workmen will all run accounts with the storekeepers from week to week, and there will be no guarantee that such accounts will be paid, but rather a considerable inducement for the men to squander their money in other and less desirable This leaves the tradesmen of the place liable to be victimised, perhaps by the very class of people whom they have been assisting for years by allowing them to run acaounts with them. And again, numbers of entire strangers flock to a work of such dimensions, and all these obtain a certain amount of credit from the storekeepers which they can payor not as they please, whereas by a much more desirable system the men can obtain orders for certain amounts from their employers, for which the contractor holds himself responsible. Thus the storekeepers and contractors mutually assist and protect each other, and benefit the whole settlement.”