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Waikato Argus, Volume V, Issue 373, 22 December 1898, Page 2

The crushing returns of the Thames mines for this month are considerably ahead of those for any previous month. A meeting of the committee of the Hamilton Athletic Club will be held at the Royal Hotel, Hamilton East, this evening, at 7.30 o'clock. The Hon. J. McKenzie has considerably improved in health, and states emphatically that he has no intention of resigning in the immediate future. Tho principal portion of the Mohikinui coal mine, together with 150 tons of coal and a quantity of machinery, were sold by auction at Wellington yesterday, the purchasers being the New Zealand Government. The price was £4500. In regard to the proposal to conuect the iNew Zealand lighthouses with telegraph stations, tho Government has decided to consult Admiral Pearson as to which he thinks arc the most important connections to be made from a strategical point of view. At a representative meeting of the delegates of the Milk Suppliers' Union, held at Hamilton yesterday, it was resolved to accept the mandate from the suppliers and proceed with the cooperative movement, and several subcommittees were appointed to proceed with the business,

Mr Ward was entertained in Sydney by Parliamentarians of both sides of the House, and has left ou a visit to Melbourne.

By an advertisement on our third page, it will be seen that the Committee of the Caledonian Sports, to bo hold at Auckland, on Monday, 2nd January, have arranged with Captain Lorraine, " the daring parachutist and serial trapeze performer," to give an exhibition on the day of the gathering.

Owing to the Christmas holidays it will be necessary to forward cattle, etc., intended for the sales at the Newmarket Yards on the 27th December and January 3rd, on the Saturday previous to the sale. Messrs Hunter and Nolan intimate that they will provide grass paddocks free of charge till the day of On Sunday next (Christmas Day) the services at S. Andrew's, Cambridge, will be semi-choral, morning and evening. There will be no Sunday-school on that day. At Ohaupo, by the kindness of the Rev. J. Marshall, there will be morning service at 11, with celebration of Holy Communion. At Tamahere there will be evensong at 7 o'clock. We notice that Mr Bright, of the Hamilton Hotel, has removed from his temporary quarters into more commodious premises in a portion of the new buildings now being erected for him. MiBright will, no doubt, find this a great convenience, and h's patrens wdl, we are sure, appreciate the more comfortable quarters provided for them.

Mr A. Casey; who recently disposed of his farm at Tamahere, to Mr Milne, has, we understand, secured the farm at Claudelands, formerly occupied by Mr Mclnnes, and known as Edmonds'. Wo are glad to learn that Mr Casey_ is not leaving the district, as we can illafford to lose settlers of his stamp. The transfer was effected through Mr W. T. Davidge, of Hamilton.

That the holidays are at hand is clearly evidenced by the erratic manner in which the various trains are run, the usual thing now being for them to be from a quarter of an hour to an hour late. It seems strange that with the experience of previous years the Department does not take some steps to prevent a recurrence of these delays, which are often a serious inconvenience to the travelling public.

Among the votes passed during the last session of Parliament was one of £250 for alterations at the Hamilton Post-office, but so far no steps have been taken to carry out any work therewith. Time is running on, and it is to be hoped that it i 3 not intended to allow the vote to lapse by delaying the work until after the end of the financial year. Some improvements in the building are sadly needed, and the department should be urged to take the matter in hand at once.

The action of the Hamilton Brass Band in rendering a programme of sacred music on Sydney Square a few Sundays ago, met with very general approval, and we understand that His Worship the Major will request the band to kindly give another out-door performance on Sunday afternoon next (Christmas Day) when, should the weather prove fine, there is sure to be a large attendance. The matter will be brought before the members at the usual practice this evening.

The following items have been authorised by Cabinet :—Te Aroha Sanatorium, £335 ; Te Kuiti-Awakino Road, £IOOO ; Rotorua-Te Teko Road, £SOO ; Mokau Road, £6OO ; Whaugamomona Road, £250 ; Herekino-Whan-gape Road, £300; Mongonui Point Road, £340 ; «Kaukapakapa Bridge, £3OO ; Akarua-Waikirikiri, £3OO ; WaitahuniAotea, £4OO ; Tauranga-Ruanga Road, £3OO ; Alexandra-Kawhia, £250 ; Pairangi West, £SOO ; Waimana Road, £450 ; Great Barrier Island Road, £2OO.

At a meeting cf the Hamilton Domain Board last evening there were present: Messrs W. Dey (chairman), H. Tristram, S. Davis, W. Crawford, R. J. Gwynne, T.. Slade, C. Tippin and D. Salmon. An application from the Waikato Amateur Athletic Club for permission to charge for admission to Sydney Square on 30th January and to have the use of one of the dressing rooms was granted. It was decided to agree to the transfer of the lease of certain domain lands from Mr J no. Steadmau to Mr Juo. Milne. Thje Secretary was authorised to pay Mr Coyle's accouat for repairs at the pavilion on the certificate of Messrs Tippin and Slade.

We learn that Dr. Kenny, Surgeou Superintendent of the Waikato Hospital, has received the appointment to the Rotorua Smatorium. Dr. Kenny since he took charge cf the Waikato Hospital has by his skilful treatment of many difficult cases secured to himself the confidence of the residents in this district. His departure will be a great loss to the institution. No matter how clever his successor may be, it will take him some time to attain the reputation which Dr. Kenny enjoys. We are sorry to lose his services, but nevertheless wish him success in his new career.

At the meeting of the Auckland Military Tournament Committee it was decided to give the £275 surplus to local charities. Tho disposal of this surplus has caused a good deal of agitation, one party being in favour of giving it to tho Children's Hospital, and another that it should be applied to the Queen's Statue Fund. The tickets contained the intimation that the surplus would be devoted to any purpose the citizens of Auckland might direct. A public meeting was held, when the supporters of the Queen's statue proposal claimed that the vote was in their favour, and it is pro bable that the matter will now be taken before the Supreme Court.

A sad fatality occurred at Gordon Settlement on Tuesday, whereby Mr Gillander, creamery manager, lost his life when bathing. He went into the Waihou River with some schoolboys, and got beyond his depth. Some of the boys noticed his peculiar behaviour, but not until it was too late did they realise that he was in difficulties. Two of them went to his assistance, but found he had been caught in a snag. In their efforts to free him they were nearly drowned themselves, as deceased pulled them down with him. They only released themselves with great difficulty, and were unable to free the body, which has not yet been recovered. Mr Gillander's relatives reside at Ngaruawahia. Several of our Waikato farmers (writes our Ohaupo correspondent) are now fully alive to the benefit ot planting a few acres of potatoes early ; of course they have to chance the frosty but certainly the game is worth the risk. Mr E. Robinson, of Te Rore, has now a couple of acres of splendid potatoes ready for digging. I don't know that 1 ever saw a better crop, in the Waikato ; the variety is American Whites, a large fiuc-skinncd tuber solid' and heavy. Hundreds of them weigh over lib each, and Mr Robinson says it takes no time to fill a sack and that it is quite a pleasure to dig them. To show the yield, out of six drills five and a-half chains long he bagged 1| tons of marketable potatoes, which, according to calculation, would yield about 13 tons to the acre. The time of planting was the first week in August, on grass land that had been ouce ploughed and disced. The amount of manure used was half-a-ton to the acre, viz., oewt. of Challenge bonedust and scwt. of Depass superphosphate. Even suppose the yield above alluded to amounted to say 10 tons per acre, and at £6 per ton a good profit would result on an acre of potatoes, and from all I can learn there will be a good market down South for the next two mouths.

The llev. Walter Smith, of Te Awamutu, in the course of his sermon last Sunday on "The Mystery of Human Suffering," said it would be unwise to forget that much of the pain and suffering existing in the world cau be traced to human, and, thereforo, to preventible, causes. The skill of man may delay the progress of such causes, as decay and death, but at the last it must own itself beaten. But it does undoubtedly lie within the reach of every man to prevent much of the suffering entailed, wittingly or unwittingly, on himself and on others to whom he is related through the family or the community. No man lives unto himself, and no man sins unto himself. No man sins without bringing the consequences of his transgression upon others who are innocent of it. The law of sooial life is : If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it. There are sufferings which are the unwelcome progeny of human folly and which might have been prevented, but when once called into existeuce must perforce be endured. When you think upon the large amount ot suffering which has its source purely in ignorance and thoughtlessness, the conviction grows upon you that everyone ought, of his own accord—or, if need be, in cases where the sense of duty is wcals or inoperative, by compulsion—to become acquainted with, and pay a due deference to, the laws of health. With the progress of education many of the ills that flesh is heir to will doubtless disappear. At present we seem far enough away from such a desirable goal; but we are coming nearer to it. In the realm of medical science wonderful progress has been made in the century in which we live. Remedies which were practically non-existent for our forefathers are being continually and abundantly discovered. It is the faith of an eminent scientific authority that the time will come when for every ailment and disease under the sun medical men will be able to produce an antidote. The discoveries of science will, doubtless, do much to palliate or remove the incubus of human misery and suffering ; bub it must not be forgotten that much depends on individual prevention. The violation, in one way or another, of the laws of health, constitutes a most fruitful source of misery. That such violation is oftener than not wrought in entire ignorance of the relation of cause and effect argues the ueeessity of men in general being put in possession of knowledge which is at present confined to a class. The acquisition of, at least, the elements of medical science should be made a compulsory part of education, since to refrain from all that is contrary to the inevitable laws of physiology is incumbent on every responsible moral being, and that not only in the interest of himself, but in the interest of the many to whom he is related by family ties or by his work and influence in the world, So connected and inter-con-nected are we by social ties that the interests of each meet at every point, and no one can bring suffering on himself by infringing the laws of the God of Nature without bringing the consequences of his transgression on others who are innocent of it. The discoveries of science have amply testified to the truth of the law of herediiy, bearing testimony to the stern Mosaic edict that the sins of the fathers should be visited upon the children.