The Waikato Argus GEORGE EDGECUMBE, Proprietor. SATURDAY, OCT. 3, 1896. The end of the first stage in the

Waikato Argus, Volume I, Issue 37, 3 October 1896, Page 2

The Waikato Argus GEORGE EDGECUMBE, Proprietor. SATURDAY, OCT. 3, 1896. The end of the first stage in the

costly fiirco of the Banking Inquiry lias been reached. All the evidence which the tonus of reference and the persistent interference of the Prcmioi and Minister for Lands allowed to be taken, is now on record. The report is to be drawn up by a sub-committee, fiorn which Mr Hutchison, tin only member of the Committee, whe has made a real effort to arrive at the truth and the whole truth, has been excluded. It will be remembered that all the members of the Opposition refused to serve on the inquiry, as they felt certain that the preponderance of Ministers and their supporters would prevent facts damaging to Ministers being brought to light. The farce has been played without the two principal characters appearing behind the footlights—the Premier and Mr jViuuuay, the former point blank refused to bo examined, and the latter was conveniently in Australia, and answered in writing a series of questions put to him by the Committee, which included only two members not Ministers or ardent supporters of the Government. It has been claimed by the Premier that the Government was not on its trial in reference to the banking business. This, of course, they were practically, and it was in consequence of suspicion tnat all was not fair and above board that the agitation for an inquiry arose. There were rumours abroad with regard to Mr Maud's account to the effect that there had been writing, off of a very largo amount The Premier has been careful thronght the inquiry to immediately nip in the bud any question calculated to bring out the true facts of the case, This much, however, appears to bo the case, there have not been in the technical sense of the term “ writings off.” But the fact remains that Mr Ward is indebted to the Colonial Bank in a very large sum of money, which, by bis own confession, be has no means of paying. The distinction is, therefore, only as between voluntary and compulsory forgiveness. That this was the position must have been within the knowledge of the bank officials previous to the amalgamation of the two banks being brought about by legislation, promoted by Mr Ward. Under the circumstances it is impossible for all the committees in the world to get over the fact that Mr Ward’s taking part in the legislation was indecent. A report, as we and a largo majority of the journals of the colony pointed out, coming from a committee so constituted would he valueless, and wc have now no reason to alter our opinion in this respect. If the Government had wished to get to the bottom of things and take the public into their confidence they would have consented to a Koyal Commission being set up. This they refused to do, and much time and money has bcou wasted in consequence

October 11th being Labour Da)', will be observed as a holiday by Government ollices. Mr A. J. Leach, of Morrinsvillo, will preach in Trinity Wesleyan Church, WamiltoD, to-morrow, morning and evening. Mr J. A. Young, dentist, intimates that lit: will be absent from Hamilton from this afternoon until Wednesday. A. man named J. Hempenstal] was brought up for- drunkenness before Mrd. H. Priestley, J. P., at Cam bridge on Thursday, and lined 5s and costs. A man from the upper gallery of the New South Wales House of Assembly threw two stones amongst the members. Nobody was hit and the man was arrested. The poll tit Kihikihi on Wednesday to fill the vacancy in the Town Hoard resulted in the election of Mr M. I). Dinnecn, who secured 71 votes against 51 obtained by Mr \V. Vailc The Cambridge West Amateur Athletic Club advertise their spring meeting to lie held in the Government Paddock, Cambridge, on the Prince of Wales' iiirthday, the 9th of November. The programme is a good one and should command large entries. A cablegram from Brisbane .states that in consctjiiencc of the bad season and the ravages of the tick, 500 out; of 1000 hands employed by the .Meal Ex port Company have been discharged. II the present scarcity of fat cattle continues operations will shortly have to lie further curtailed. We understand that Mr W. Deavan has disposed of hi.-saddlery business in Hamilton to Mr M. A. Going, lately of Whangarei. Wc an: glad to welcome all new comers to our district ami trust tint Mr Going will meet with such success that he will never have cause to regret coming amongst us. The Manchester delegates, Messrs Jones, Stoker and Clay, accompanied by Messrs Smith, of the Civil Service, and a Grant District Traffic Manager, paid a (lying visit to Rotorua on Thursday, returning to Auckland last night. They hold a Conference with the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and others interested in tiade tjuestions today. The .steamer Cambria entered Albany recently Hying the Union Jack. The chief olliccr of the gunboat Katoomba boarded her, and iuf irmed the captain that he was liable to a fine of £SOO for Hying the Union Jack, but after confiscating the Hag the olliccr decided to take no further steps, though he administered a caution lo the officers. Mr J. I). Wictdifun (A. Tramp Esq.) hits paitl a visit, to the Waikato on business connected with the New Zealand Herald and Weekly News. He is lot king young as ever and is as full of jokes and go. liy-the-by, we often hear expressions of regret, from subscribers to the above papers that his au.using contributions have ceased to appear. At the last, meeting of the Waikato County Council, it was reported that, the 'lease of the .Model farm Reserve had not been signed by the lessees, and the Clerk was instructed to take some action in the matter. Wc understand the lease has now been signed by Messrs Vidua-,,and the matter completed. The delay was caused by some misapprehension on the part of the lessee i,

Tim Wesleyan Church services at Patcrangi will in future lie liclil at .’1 o’clock on Sunday afternoon, instead of 2. JO p.iu. The service to-morrow will he at J p.in., not 2.M0 as announced in our list of church services in Thursday’s paper. It will ho seen hy announcement in another column that Mr John Knox will sell at his mart, Hamilton, on Saturday, 10th hist., the privileges in connection with the Waikato Agricultural and Pastoral Association’s Show at Claudchmds on October 29th and .'soth. There is likely to lie a very large attendance, so that the privileges should realise a better price than hitherto. In his annual report, Colonel Fox stales with reference to the Volunteer corps in this district : —The Te Aroha Rifle Company is inefficient. There is only one officer. The non-commissioned oliicers arc ignorant of their duties. The Hamilton Rille Company exists only on paper. Ho sums the position up in this manner : Hamilton Rides, useless ; To Aroha Rifles, very indifferent, of no value. With the approach of fine weather, the local bodies in the district will ho preparing for undertaking necessary road works. Taking time l.y the forelock, the Rangiaohia Road Hoard and Waipa County Council arc inviting tenders for several works, and as will he seen hy the report of the meeting of the Waitoi Road Hoard, that body will invite tenders to he considered at their next meeting on the .‘list inst. The total quantity of milk received at the Te Awamntu creamery for the month of September was 10,721 gallons, as against 7S for the corresponding period of 15!),7, or an increase of almost 100 per cent. This looks well for Te Awamntu, and if the supplies to the other creameries would only improve in a like degree, Messrs Reynolds and Co. should he satisfied with the increased supply in the early part, of the season, so often asked for hy them. Fast; evening was a pleasant one for these who attended at the Town Hall, Ngarnawahia. The occasion was a meeting of the local debating club for theii second Parliamentary evening. Mr T. W. Davies, the Premier, introduced the Ministry, and explained their policy. He was followed by Mr T. 17. Wells, Deader of the Opposition. A vigorous debate followed, and was kept up till ten o'clock, when the votes of all present were taken, with the result that a large majority endorsed the Conservative policy. The first lamb of the season shown in the butcher’s shops in Hamilton, was at Mr T. Qnallrough’s yesterday, the whole carcase being secured hy Mrs Gwynne. The season has been an early one, and the animal noticed (from Mr J. Murphy’s farm, Tumahcre) was in good condition. In this connection, we received from Mr T. H. White, of Ferndale, Taupiri, yesterday, a splendid side of lamb, showing that the Taupiri district is well to the fore in early fattening qualities. As Mr White says he has a goodly number of lambs equally forward, he should have no trouble in disposing of them. The drowning of Captain Lang of H.M.B. Narcissus, has caused much sympathy for his brother, Mr F. W. Lang, the highlyrespected member for Waipa. This has been more particularly the case with those who had the pleasure of meeting Captain Lang when he visited his brother sonic months back when on leave front H.M.S. Tanranga, which he commanded at the time. He was of the bust stamp of British naval officers of flic present (lay. Particulars of the sad occurrence have not yet reached the colony. The hare fact of his drowning is all we are in it position to give. The demand for houses in Hamilton just now is ahead of the supply, new comers having the greatest difficulty in procuring a decent house at all handy. To assist in meeting the demand, Mr Howdcn has purchased from Mr T. W. Maunder the house lately occupied hy Mrs Elliott, and he intends shifting it on to Ins property with an entrance from Hood-street. The house, although erected some ycais, is in good order, and with a thorough overbad will, no doubt, soon lie occupied. Mr Freer has also let his house opposite the Borough Council L'hamheiv, ami is building another further hack on the property he purchased some time ago from tiie Crown Lands Department, At the Presbyterian Church, Hamilton, on Thursday morning the Rev. A. Ross united in tiic bonds of maltimony Mr Irwcn, of Waitckauri and Mbs leanie Davis, eldest daughter of Mr Davis, of Kirikiriroa. The bride who was prettily dressed in cream cashmere trimmed with lace and wore the customary veil, handsomely embroidered, had as bridesmaids her three sisters and her cousin, Miss Henry. Mr T, Forte attended the groom its best man. There was a largo attendance at the church, which was very tastefully decorated for the occasion. After the ceremony a wedding breakfast was held at the residence of the bride’s parents and the young couple left hy the afternoon train for their future home. Our Waitctuna correspondent, writes ; —On Friday the 2.7 th September, the bachelors of Te Mata gave a dance in the Te Mata Schoolroom and despite Lite bad state of the roads and the heavy •ain which fell during the evening there was it large number present from all parts jf the district and all seemed to thormglily enjoy themselves. MrK Jerome aerformod the duties of M.C. in a satisaetory manner, and the dance music was supplied hy .Messrs E. Jerome and I. Nicholson. Songs were contributed it intervals during the evening hy Messrs 11. Jlouehen, J. Niehol.son, 11. Jackson. 1. Saunders, G. Miller, and Scaville and Mr Cuthhert favoured the company with i recitation. The catering was in the lands of Mrs Kcndull. and gave every ■alisfaction. Dancing was kept up with mimation till .7 o’clock in the morning.