ALEXANDRA

Waikato Times, Volume I, Issue 7, 16 May 1872, Page 2

ALEXANDRA

[FROii our ows Correspondent.] On Sunday, the 12fch inst. divine service "was ! held for the first time in the new Catholic Church ! at Alexandra. The dedication service was un- j avoidably postponed until the return of the Most ! Rev. Nr. Croke from Australia, when he intends j re-visiting the Waikato for this and other objects, i I here is great credit due to the managing commit- I tee for the energy displayed in collecting the | necessary funds, and it is no small tribute of grati- ' tude they owe chiefly to the members of other de- i nominations for the generosity evinced by their I and liberal aid. It may he lawfully ! asserted that the greater amount of the monies : came fiom the hands of the Armed Constabnlarly forces in and about Alexaudra. The contractors, i Messrs. Hughes and Thompson, of Cambridge, who ! were the designers and builders, have given urv * bounded satisfaction, both for the despatch and ' elegance with which everything has been done. This church and that lately erected at Ngaruawahia for the same denomination are satisfactory specimens, of the building talent of the Waikato, a benefit not ohe least to be appreciated in our midst. MINING OX PRIVATE LANDS. j The Coromandel Mail says : "Every individual in ; the community who has the future of the district! at heart will sympathise with the cry for reform I in the present state of the law in regard to mining ; on private lands, but all will agree that it is exceedingly difficult to suggest any kind of reform ! which does not lead by a direct and natural road to connseation. We believe the desire on'all kands i

m TH— IWII.i I _|J U . ■ .. 111 tmm [lL __ _ I IS substantially t„ gi Vo HU |}} C t ont }j| xirt , I n, inino an paym, damages osaotoeri by Homo in. ! < u,tM 1 tribun ii but not aufliciont liberty to mite i Upon lands and t<i.ke out mineral wealth withou I compensation buing given (a the ,»vnm „ | la ? Boii--<joinpeuiMit.ii»n n&jtfsse.l in proportion to>t!u j \ ilug of the surrounding (Mirii'erous country. (hi' A norland con temporaries, hive eaclt drawn nub'i. . attention to the (jucstion, niul the fipvdfct of Wed j uoxd&v hist jmt the whole matter very fa ; rl\ ! More tlie public in an article from whioh we mak", the tollowing extract , . . 'We think flu ; private individuals should he protected , and wo agree with our contemporary that - miu ! tribunil should lie created to assess" dama"es in ! <>ases whero t,l ° owners and miners cannot l«rc.v j But we .still hold that the Crown is the owner oi | the minerals, and if this were clearly defined by ! law, and power given to miners to work on private | 1 inds on the payment <>£ properly assessed damages, i W . (J , slloa!l1 n "* * u future experience those great : difficulties that have been felt, in opening up 11 ,c < oroinaiiiud field. Js it not., we would" ask, a notorious fact that the prineipil can so of the delav in opening Ohineinuri is through certain Kuropeaus tampering with the natives, and etidcnvouring to secure as much as possible ere the nuuer obtains a footing in the field ? If these gentlemen were once made to understand that gold is a roval mineral, and that the law did not permit them'to put a stop to mining enterprise by exorbitant demands, we should probably soon s-* e an end of t ie mythical * native trouble ' as lvjardim' Oliiim.

j "WOOL (iKOWiNG IN AMERICA. | _ From the •• Sydney Mail." | Fur opinion of American woolyrowers is now n matter jof some importance to u». The demand lor Australian | wool on the pure of tho in mufaet-irors of New JWluiid j depends on the nature of tho home production, ,-tnd tin: magnitude. and character of this honi') production of course aliects ou • market. It is of importance also for in to know what is tho opinion of the American wool growers; with respect to a Customs duty upon foreign wo .1. If we alien 1 to tile proceedings of the National C invention ol Wo.dgrowers and lainuf acturers recentlv held at Syracuse, iu New York C.nuity. we may learii S ) nethtug of their views. At, all events, Jet us give so-ne attention to the President's open in* address ' In in iking a brief'survey of the history of the woollen industrv and of the legislation pertaining to ii daring the last ten years he stated that in ho h respects it had undergone a considerable change in the tim.e of the eiistit itional struggle. Tue war and the resulting ciJiith of cotton vastly increased, the consumption of' w .ol in the N irthern States, t'l.is correspondingly .stimulated its production in those states in the foreign, woolexporting countri s. Tho influx of foreign wools, upon wluch a very small duty was charged, was' lame j Buenos Ayres. which to 1862, had not contributed more I than ii.oo »,000<lm., suddenly sent in 17,0 »(J OOOlbs . and j by 186t. it quadrupled its original amount. The annual import from the British possessions in Africa within the same year rose from 4,00'.),0 0 to 14,000.000 lbs. Before the. war th se I'-uemH Ayres or Me.stiza "wools averaged 13 cents per lb. ; during tho war I hey reached 10-l cents per II). in gold. The port charge's, export duty, and other expenses on these wools wu, fiV,7 cents per lb. The duty under the tariff of ]BGI on woolcasting less thin 18 cents per lb. at the place of export' was 5 per cent ad valorem, that is to say one cent per lb ; thus when wools were high in Buenos Ayres they could he delivered in New York, all charges 'paid, at a trifl • over 21 cents per lb. Considering tile ill e mdiliou in which they were and the loss the American manuunstained owing to the weakness of'!he fibre tile President considered that they stood the Amencnj manufacturers at fu'ly .'SB cents peril)., instead of 21. The cost of growing clothing wools iri the Northern Sta es of tho Union was then reviewed. Before the war, that is to say from 18 »7 to 18 i], fine and medium' qualities corresponding wit.'v Me«tiza averaged 4(> am! a-half cents. It wis shown also from 1840 to ]Bf>o that she .'o oil v increased 20 and a-half per cent in number' whilst, the population increased 8 > per cent. The demand for foreign wo ds under these eimimstivioi's more than do .bled which is allowed not to look well for the wool industry of the United Stales. POTATOKS F)R STOCK FEED. TVk extiact the lollowing from a, late American ex-

c 1:1 n r ! f> : — A 7 ot 0110 farmer in fifty realises the true value of potatoes for stock. Tli-.-y are not only pood f :)r horses, anil cattlc, hut for hogs, calves and poultry. As to their value for milch cows experiments have proved them toexcecd that of any root. Our readers will remember the statement made by Mr. Jt. A. Hunt, of E-iclid, Ohio, some months ago, in regard to an experiment mide. While quarts of carrots wore fed, >32 pounds of milk were received daily ; with the sime amount, rmc-half potatoes. 36 pounds of milk were received. The roots wen; cut and fed raw threo times a cLij, in messes of 1 quarts each. Jhe above is heavier than is necessary, hut very plainly shows the value of' th s vegetable as a milk-producer. We believe from experience, that they are a profitable feed for the making of flesh and the laving on of fit. As a feed for calves they make one of the best substitutes for milk, containing as they do Ifl per cent of starch in a natural state and 6 ) ppi' cent in a dry state. They should be boiled as lor table use. the skins removed, smashed throughly and put into milk. Calves eat them in this way greedily and thrive remarkably well. They will not cause scours, as grain food does, and tend to keep the appetite regular. As food f>r horses in winter time, the potato possesses rare qualities as a regulator ; they may lie given once or twice a week, say in messes of a few quarts. For hogs they should be boiled, mashed, and mixed in the swill barrel with kitchen slops and milk, with a liberal quantity of wheat, bran, or corn meal added. This mak'is one of the cheapest as well as some of the best early feed, for swine, ani puts them in a healthy and thriving condition for fattening and wonderlully saves in pork-making, when compared with eirn feeding alonp. Potatoes are profitable as a sprin" fe.Q for sheep, and especially for ewes raising lamb*"; they give health, strength, and appetite, , and produce milk abundantly. For sheep they should be cut and fed raw once a day. One of the best methods is to cut fine and mix with wheat bran, or ground oats. Asa choice for breeding ewes in spring we would prefer to have fifty p"r cent of the feed potatoes by weight than to have the whole amount either oats or corn. Potatoes boiled, mashed, and mixed with corn meal and fed hot are excellent for chiokens in winter.

A BAD MISTAKE. Tjip. spring of the year 186— will be well remembered by the numerous visitor-* at liome as one in which the theft? and robberies committed by the natives upon unsuspecting travellers were unequalled in their number and audacity. No place of resort had proved more favourable to the practice than that most noble of all the ruined monuments of olden time—the world-famed Coloseum. Parties visiting it by dav and night, while their minds were fully occupied by the mighty associations which naturally crowded upon thein within its precmc's. «tre daily and nightly relieved of their purses watches, and other ornaments, by the quick-witted' light-fingered Italians, who look upon all forei<mers as their fair game. My friend, Mr. Antony Cox had not been left in ignorance of many tales of loss and robbery sustained by various member* of his acquaintance and o hers, but he did not chose on that account to forego the pleasure of a visit to the Coloseum by moonlight it being in those clays considered impossible that any one laying claim to a thorough knowledge of Rome should the city without making thin nocturnal excursion. He determined, however to keep a sharp look-out on his neighbours when he should arrive within the sacred wa Is, and to resist to the uttermostany attempt that might be-made to defraud him ofanv of his property. This, he thought, would be easyenough, as on the night of that particular Tuesday in. Holy week the mo m was just past her full. At ten., a cloc» p.m. he foun.d himself there in full enjoymerA

of tin- wonderful scene; the cold silver moonlight fitrik ing t.tif• olri Htori': walls, illuminating the greater }>;irt ( the building with a strange unearthly litfJit, and throw jug a melancholy pallor on the face* of the people as tit milled there, The dark nhadowH ojj the revorse.sid of the walls, mid UlCHtill deeper blackness under soni of the arches gave a f'fiNciimliori !o the whole Mx-m ■which t, i he thoroughly appreciated ought to he felt. Mr. Antony Cox had been Ktanding .some short spac of time leaning with his hack against a pi ee <f tin inter.or wall near to the entrance of the nrena, am was watching thfMlilferent groups of passers-by, making liis reflections on the various ways in which the seem appeared to impress them, when he was somewhat rudely jostled by a man habited like a priest, who aftot almost tumbling over him hurried on without apology towards the large crucifix erected in the centre of the arena, which ro good Catholic ever parses by without a genuflexion. Air. Cox instinctively clapped bin hind upon his waistcoat pocket. Watch and chain were both gone. To dart after the supposed prio-t and to collar him win the work of an in.it int. " Rendez-moi ma inontre (he could speak 110 Italian) or it will be worse for you." " r.'<in pnrlo Inglexi;," .said the priest affecting en( ire ignorance, and apparently in greit /'ear. M y friend was furious. " Jiv heavens you shall give me back my watch," pointing to bin pocket and shaking the priest violently all the while. Whereupon from beneath his cloak the miserable rufli 111 produced watch and rhaiii. Mr. Antony Cox inflicted a final shake, pocketed llie watch, buttoned his coat tightly over it, and hurried juvay from the Coloseum with greatly ruffled feeling, and making many good resolutions never again to expose himself to be practised upon by such a nation of Ihieves. Jie gained his hotel without further adventure, look bis key from the porter, ran uj. innumerable stairs lo his bedroom, unlocked his door—" Madri di Doll." What. Jay cnHpiejous <»n bin dressing-table r A watch and chain ! Whose watch and ehain ? Can it be ? Yes ! ,Surely no oilier, jliuow.v, Than what or whose has be got, now in his pocket r Jbat, priests. Out with it. Look al. it. He lias robbed the priest. Ihe man in fear of bin life hasgiven up hisown property. Ileis probacy at this moment, loilgi ng an information against, Inm. The police, are perhaps, on his track. To rob a prle t

in tins pricst-;.'ovcrned city? Twelve thousand monks and pre sis in (ionic alone" in his ears. This fact ]i:i<| hecii casually mentioned at the table d'hote that very evening. What shall lie do t Shall he try to make his 'escape from 1 {oni <; J'oit there are his things to Ik; packed, his hotel hill to settle, li is passport to he vised, No, he will he hrave ; he will go to the police, restore the watch, tell his story, and trust to Providence. lie confides his grief to the master of the lmtel who was a good nut tired Frenchman, speaking every language under the Min indilli rently well. Jie promises his help, goes with him to the au'tliorities, and em.hies liim to make a satisf •ct.oav apology for his unintentional raid on a member of the the Holy Church. Mr. Antony Cox is forgiven and thankfully retires from the excitement of Home to the peaceful monotony of a London life.—" Caswell's JNI agazim; "