The Waikato Argus. GEORGE EDGECUMBE. Proprietor. THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 1899.

Waikato Argus, Volume VI, Issue 448, 15 June 1899, Page 2

The Waikato Argus. GEORGE EDGECUMBE. Proprietor. THURSDAY, JUNE 15, 1899.

It is possible that the reason so little has been done to instruct the Maori people in what are termed in our elementary schools " The Laws of Health," is that it has been accepted as a foregone conclusion that all aboriginal races must decay consequent on the advance of civilization. That the Maoris have very seriously decreased in number is unfortunately only too clearly proved by statistics, and it is equally clear to all who knew them in the early days that they hate not improved in morality or manners. Mr Thornton, the head of the Te Aute College, in Hawke's Bay, has contributed a paper to the Christchurh Press, in which he points out that a movement is on foot to check the decadence of the race; this has originated in the college of which he is the head. A number of the yeung men have banded themselves together under the name of the " Te Aute College Students Association." The object of the Association is to arouse and develop Maori public opinion. Reform of any people, unless the movement comes from within is all but hopeless, it must be inculcated by the example and teaching of men of their own race, who have had the ad> vantage of instruction by teachers of a mors advanced people. There is every reason to hope that the young men who have banded themselves together to preach a crusade against habits injurious to physical health, and customs contrary to the code of Christian morality, will achieve good results. The Maoris are a much too intellectual people not to recognise that their mode of life is less rational than that of the race which has established itself alongside of them, and they are also too intellectual not to aspire to better things. The work of the Association will be to make all their people dissatisfied with things as they are. When this stage is reached their task will be more than half accomplished. The objects of the Association are set out as follows : 1. Social— [a) The discouragement and abolition of objectionable and pernicious customs in connection with Maori meetings of all kinds ; (b) the suppression of the drink traffic ; (c) the extension of systematic agricultural and pastoral pursuits. 2 Sanitary— (a) buildings ; (b) drainage ; (c) the right use of European clothing. 3. Intellectual- («) The fostering of the desire for education ; {b) the higher education of the Maoris; {c) industrial and professional employment of the edit-, cated Maori youths. 4, Regigious—(«) The impression of tho true nature of practical religion upou the Maori mind as opposed to the mere form of it ; (b) the needs of the Maori Church and the methods adopted to supply them ; (c) the raising up of a Maori ministry, and the advancement of the organisation of the native Church. The Maoris are fully alive to the fact that their race is dying out, births are becoming fewer and deaths more numerous. Mr Thornton states that at the funeral of Major Ropata there wa. : a large gathering, and Mr Ngata took advantage of the opportunity to address the assemblage ou the objects of the Association. The replies of the chiefs may be thus summarised : " We are of the old order and each day finds us lagging behind in these days of perplexing innovations. We sent you to the college to learn the wisdom of the pakeha, not for your own benefit, but for tho good of your people. What you sea is for our good you should tell us, and you may not find us unwilling to hear. You are young, but you will be men, and the now generation will not be as this is. There will be other views, other ous-

toms. The customs of the Maori must die, though not rapidly, yet surely. And you will think as the English think, live as they live, and till your fields and keep your lands as tbey do. You must prepare for that time and perhaps hasten its coming.^ There is a sum of £7OOO per anaum set aside in accordance with the treaty of Waitaugi to be used in the interests of the Maori race. It appears to us that a portion of this sum could not be better applied than in helping the Association to prosecute the work they have undertaken.

The Waikato hounds will meet on Saturday next at the front gate of Broad meadows. Mr Justice Edwards is still incapable of taking his seat on the Bench, and the criminal session of the Wellington Court has been postponed till July 3rd. The Waipa Council Council, on our third page, publish in exlenso, Bylaw No. 7t dealing with the registration and licensing of all vehicles plying for hire within the county. The tenders recently received by the Cabinet for an electric lighting plant and work in connection- -with the projected drainage system at Rotorua have been declined, and fresh tenders are to be invited. We remind the electors of Waikato that Mr F. W. Lang, M.H.R., will address a meeting of his constituents at the Public Hall, Te Awamutu, tomorrow evening. The chair will be taken at 8 o'clock. The Auckland Elders' Association have requisitioned the Rev. Walter Smith, of Te Awamutu, to deliver a lecture before their Association at an early date. We understand that Mr Smith has given his consent, and will lecture on "Christianity and Socialism." Mr W. J. Hunter has received instructions from Mr J. Lee (who is leaving the district) to aell on the farm, Paterangi, about the second week in August, the whole of his choice dairy cows and heifers, horses, implements, furniture/ etc. Full particulars will appear in a future issue. To-morrow (Friday) Mr W. J. Hunter will hold a clearing sale at the residence of Mrs Myers on the Paterangi Alexandra Road (about three miles from Ohaupo), when he will offer, without reserve, the who'e of her cows, farming implements, furniture, etc , and the handy little farm of 15 acres. The sale commences at 2 o'clock. The Deputy-Registrar at Christchurch has (says the Lyttelton Times) received advice that instalments of pensions actually due to pensioners at the time of death cannot Le paid to their relatives. The Old Age Pensions Act requires the personal attendance of the pensioner or his duly appointed agent whan payment of an instalment is made. Mr Sanderson, the Government Veteriaary, is at present engaged in testing a number of cattle on the Woodlands Estate for tuberculosis. The testing is done free of cost, but, should the animal react, the officers may order it to be destroyed, when, if found to be suffering from tuberculosis, oue-half the v.iluc will be paid to the owner, or, if healthy, the whole value will be allowed. We have received a request from a correspondent asking us to unravel the following : —A man looking at a picture, says : —" Sisters and brothers have I none, yet that man's father is my father's sou. What relation is the man to the picture ?" We have no time to devote to the solution of such questions, but will he glad to receive the assistance of any of the public, We will publish the replies. There seems to be a fatality hanging over the steamers trading be tween Europe and Australasia. A cablegram from Monte Video states that the Mamari has been towed into that port with the loss of her tail shaft. The fire on board the Duke of Buckingham has only been extinguished by flooding the hold. The s.s. Wakool has arrived at Melbourne from London with several of her plates started and a portion of her cargo damaged, and the Perthshire is still floating helplesss about the ocean. It had been understood that in March last nine cases of apples had been placed in the Freezing Company's cool chambers for three months' trial, prizes to be awarded to those that kept best. A good deal of interest was taken in the experiment by fruitgrowers, but to their astonishment when the time came to remove the fruit it could not be found, and the Freezing Company say their stock list shows no record of it. On the other hand it is alleged the boxes were carted to the works immediately after the autumn show. Many of the inhabitants of the Waikato, and of Cambridge in particular, will regret to learn of the demise of Mrs John ifougbton, senr., which took place at Mount Albert on Tuesday, after a very brief illness. It is only about a year ago since we recorded the death of her husband, which occurred at the same place. For many years Mr and Mrs Houghtou resided in Cambridge and took part in all the principal functions in that town. They were greatly resspected and the memory of them will be cherished by a large circle of friends.

Quite a crowd—some twenty or thirty—of Maori lads and lasses took their places among the worshippers in the Kihikihi Presbyterian Church last Sunday evening. They behaved with perfect decorum, and seemed quite as interested in the service as the pakeha worshippers. Indeed, their behaviour was so commeudable us to evoke at the close of the service a well-merited compliment from the pastor, the Rev. Walter Smith. Mr Smith announced that he would conduct a special service for children next Sunday evening. " A Subscriber" at Tauwhare has a&ked us to draw attention to the roundabout way in which letters are sent from that district to Cambridge. The mails from Tauwhare are taken to the Tamahere stition on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to meet the train from Hamilton to Cambridge, by which the inward mail al o arrives. Ihe outward mails are taken on to Cambridge that night and back to Frankton by the train on the following morning and are there opened and sorted, so that a letter for Cambridge, although reaching that station on, say a Tuesday, is not delivered until Wednesday, and so on on the other days. This seems a very round about way of letter-carrying, and we are sure only needs the attention of the department being called to it to have it remedied.

Mr J. Kerr, of the Stock Department, on Monday afternoon killed a cow which had been running for some time in the Te R->pa district, and Mr Sanderson, Government Veterinary, who inspected the animal, pronounced it as being one of the worst cases of tuberculosis he had come across, indeed he said he had never eeen a case in which tubercolosis of the udder was so pronounced. So interested was he in the case as being a typical one that he took portions of che udder and lungs—on which the tubercles were plainly visible—to be forwarded to Wellingron to the Stock Department there. The officials of the Stock Department, are endeavouring to find the owner of the cow, but so far they have bem unsuccessful. They have asked us to request settlers and others who may have cattle come under their notice apparently unhealthy to report the matter to the local office, when the case will be at once attended to,

A sad incident in connection with the loss of the Union Company's Ohau is the fact that the wife of one of the officers, who has been a resident in Wellington, became demented at her bereavement, and was on Tuesday removed to the lunatic asylum. The wife of another officer also resident there is left almost destitute, with a family of four children. The Wellington dairymen have formed an association, which will be affiliated to the Trades Council. The accusations as to the prevalence of tuberculosis, and the insanitary condition of dairies is warmly denied, and a motion was passed sympathising with Mr Collier, the late inspector of dairies, and complimenting him ou the impartial way in which he carried nut his duties.

Robert Walker, a bookmaker, for trespassing on the Canterbury Trotting Club's course on May 18, was fiiied 40s and costs. Richard Chamberlain, previously convicted of a similar charge, was fined £5 for trespassing on the same course on the same date. Several witneses in this case alleged that Parker, a private detective employed by the club, had accepted bribes to allow them to remain on the course. Mr Beetham made strong remarks on Parker's conduct. Last year the Wellington Marine Survey Combination forwarded a rt port to the Collector of Customs, strongly urging that the statutory freeboard of vessels trading to the colonies should be increased. In support of this numerous recent instances of damage and total loss were alluded to. The report was forwarded to the Board of Trade, and that body has now replied, declining to interfere, on the ground that no sufficient reason is shown, in which they siy they are supported by authorities appointed by them to assign freeboards." We understand that the work on the Kawakawa section of the Trunk line will shortly be pushed ahead with greater vigour, and as indicated in the Premiers' speech at Te Awamutu a few days ago, a large number of men will shortly be started on the works there. The roads from Otorohanga to Kawhia, and other parts of the King Country which have been recently laid out will also be taken in hand at au early date, and us it is intended to fell the bush five chains wide on them, a large number of men will be employed. The Rev. Dr. Hosking addressed a fairly-attended meeting of electors at Huntly on Mouday. The speaker went over the same ground as at Hamilton and Ragian, full reports of which meetings have already appeared in our columns. At the conclusion of tho address several questions were answered, and on the motion of Mr John Kay a voti» of thanks was accorded the candidate. Dr. Hoskiug will speak at Te Awamutu on Thursday, 22nd inst., and at Whatawhata the following evening. A peculiar feature of the wedding of Dr. Andrew and Miss Wood at Nelson the other day, at which, by the way, none but relatives were present, was the fact that each of the fathers was 77 years old, also that the e were present seven Woods, seven Hudsons, seven Bells and seven Andrews. Miss Wood is well known in Waikato, having spent many years of her childhood in Hamilton, where her parents, Mr and Mrs Browne Wood, formerly resided. A coincidence was also noted at a marriage on the West Coast recently. The contracting parties were Mr Black and Miss Green, the officiating minister being a Mr White, while the purveyor of the wedding breakfast was named Brown. T. H. Harrison sued the Hagey Cure Company, at Auckland, for £2OOO, which he had beeu induced to put into the Company on the promise that it should be returned .if he failed to establish a business in Tasmania. Plaintiff said he left for Tasmania, but before arriving had become suspicious and demanded his money back. They persuaded him to give Tasmauia a trial, and he went, but in a month secured no patients, and gave it up. None of the defendants appeared, and the jury returned a verdict for the full amount against all except Dr. Wolfenden, whose name did not appear on the agreement, but it appeared from the evidence, he had been joined in the negotiations. Among the visitors to Wellington at present (says the N.Z Times) is Mr Earle. who until recently resided for a considerable time in the Philippine Islands. During ths insurrectionary war he was attached to the Spanish forces in his professional capacity of veterinary surgeon, and naturally witnessed many stirring scenes—among them being the destruction of the Spanish fleet off Carite by Admiral Dewey. Mr Earle was on several occasions thrown into contact with Aguiualdo, the rebel leader, whom he describes as a strong-willed man of vigorous intellect, " but more like an ourangoutaog than anything else in physical appearance." As to the ultimate result of the war between the natives and the Americans, Mr Earle is decided in his opinion. "They wi'l never capture Aguiualdo," he ss>ys, " and to establish the Stars and Stripes on the islands they will have to kill every man, woman and child of the native population, for the Filippinos will never surrender," A meeting of creditors in the estate of Messrs McLean and Dobson was held at the office of Mr Thos. Wells, Cambridge, at 2 p.m, on Tuesday. The business was to consider the Crown solicitor's opinion re action against McLean under the penal c'auses of the Act. There were present : Messrs W. Souter (for W. Souter and C).), 11. Kerr, Thos VVells.,James Hally (-or Mr G. J. Hally), FJ. I> ooks ( f or Buk of New Zealaud) and W. b\ Bueklaml On the motion of Mr F. J. Brooks, >ecoiuled by Mr W. Souter, Mr Thos. W lis was elected chairman. The Official Assignee's notice convening the meeting was read. It was carried : That this meeting having heard the Crown solicitor's op'uion read, it be resolved (1) That the funds of the estate are not the proper source from which punishment should be dealt out to a fraudulent bankrupt aud declines to sanction expenditure for that purpose ; (2) that the proceedinas of McLeau in reference to the funds of the partnership were of a manifestly immoral nature and the creditors are strongly convinced the bankruptcy arose largely through the loose manner in which McLean conducted his business and especially from his failure to keep books of account ; they, therefore, request the Official Assiguee to report him to the Judge uoon these points. It was decided that the Official Assignee's attention be called to tho Crown solicitor's remark iu his opinion of 25th May, that " eight months have elapsed since filing," and to the fact that tho creditors' resolution in favour of prosecution was passed on 2,'lrd February, within five months from date of filing.