The Waikato Times. UNKNOWN.

Waikato Times, 22 February 1873, Page 2

The Waikato Times. UNKNOWN.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1973

The mails via San Francisco are due m Auckland on Monday next. That tho Road Boards throughout the country districts^ considering the difficulties they hare had to contend against^ have done their' wort, passably well is not to be disputed The chairmen on whom, as a rule, the actual work has devolved, were naecssarilp men not acquainted with roads further than the knowledge acquired in riding over them. Technical knowledge was not obtainable, consequently. the small modicum of information they had obtained, in the manner above related, has been all that they have been -able to bring to bear on the work they have been called upon to perform. Every man or body of men has a perfect right to expend his mouey in any mannner thought desirable; it becomes a different matter, however, when they arc dispensing the funds of the colony. An regards this district thore is no necessity that the present state of affairs should longer oxist. There- is a resident engineer with an osssistant. It is true that they liara- large go; eminent undertakings, to consider, yet wo believe that benefit would accrue by handing over the supervision of all work, undertaken in the district to these officers. They should also be- consulted as to the advisibility of undertaking every contemplated work, and their ach ice in every instance should be acted upon. "We have no desire to cast a slur upon any Board, but the members of Boards must remember that a man who is trained as a. professianal engineer must be more competent than they to direct the making of roads, bridges, &c. We trust that thogovernment will take steps to ensure that no work shall be undertaken- by Boards except under proper advice and direction. A meeting -of the- members of the Church of England was held at Hamilton, in the- Mechanic*' Institute, on Friday, Feb. 18, tho Bishop, of the. diocoso presiding. The following gentlemen were present :— Rev. F. G. Llojd, Colonel Lyon, Messrs. Leslie, Seddon, Searancke* Hammond, Beere, Beale, N. Leslie, Both well, Ac Mi- Seddon read the balance sheet for tho past year, which showed a credit of £5 3s 7d — total receipts being £52 12s Id, expediturc amounting to £17 8s Gd. The balance sheet was adopted. The following were then appointed to w ork as a Church Committee for the ensuing y Car: — Colonel Ljon (nominated by the Rev. F. C. Lloyd), Messrs. Seddon and Hammond by the parishioners. Tho Bishop then, having ascertained that it would bo in accordance- with -the wishes of tho Chusch Committee, informed tho meeting that as chairman of the Standing Committee of the diocese, he was enabled to state that the existing arrangment for the payment of the clergyman's stipend might continue till October 2', 157-i." Other matters were then discussed, and cordial votes of thanks were passed to tho church officers of the past year, to Miss Hunt for so kindly rendering her assistance to the church in the management of the music, as well as to all the members of tho choir. Mr Leslie then,- in a strong and hearty speech, warmly advocated the erection of a parsonago house. He said ho looked 'upon at as a disgrace to the members of tho-church that whereas thenmusters of all other denominations in tho Waikato were provided with residences, the clergyman of the Church of England was totally unprovided- for in. this respect. He, for one* expressed himself willing to share in the disgrace, but was anxious now to do all that lay in his powc-r to supply the want. He proposed that they should at onco form -a, committee to collect funds to purchase a suitable site for a parsonage house, and that the- committee should be authorised to take such steps as may be necessary to erect) a house for the clergyman of the district without any delay. Mr Seddon seconded the resolution, which was curried menu con.t A eomraitteo was then- formed of all presont — three to form a quorum. A vote of thanks- baring been passed to his Lordship for presiding, the meeting, resolved itaelf into committee, tho Rev F. C. Lloyd in tho chair. It was unanimously resolved to take immediate steps to procure a site for tlvc parsonage, and for the committee to meet! again when tho necessary information as regards tho cost of tho land, &c , had' bocn obtained. A subscription list was opened on the spot when the sum of £35 was raised for -the object named. The meeting then terminated. Otir.Uarapipi> correspondent, writing .on > the 2lat-, 3»ya : .The ciops m this district aie not turning out so well as expected on account of the rain coming so 'late in the Beaaon. The Bishop of Auckland and the Rev Mr Brady paiil us a flying visit a few day* back on their way from Raglan. Our Road Board is not shewing much' «gtt of vi tahty this season. I suppose the trustees are waiting for the wet weather to set in: it is a most remarkable thirtl, tout nevertheless » fact, tb.vt all liigUway boards we most active in wet weather ; they seem to have a liking for diity work • 1 am not speaking in tho figurative sense. Since the beginning of this year the postal authoritieahave altered ©ur mail from Tuesday to- Thursday, wb.icb.-waB very inconvenient, as all the Auckland newspapers-were nearly a week old before we received them ; wo are now to- ha y e a mail on Saturday from Auckland via Alexandra, to be brought from the latter place by the constable incharge of the stockade. The stranding of the barque Lion, Captain Necring, commander, laden with 12,000 feet timber, the property of J. S. Macfarlane and Co , and bound for Adelaide, occurred at Whangapoua on tho 11th Febrani y. On tho morning of fchat day the caqtain put to sea, and in working out of the harbour she took the bar. At the timo there was a very h«iwy bea. Efforts were made to float lrcrofF, but without success. The vessel wns then abandoned temporarily. Sho now lies inside the bar in a dismantled condition. Hopes are entertained of getting her off. The barque was fully insured in tho General Insurance Company, Sjdhey, and tho cargo in the ]Sew Zealand Insurance Company's office for £400 — Tho cutter Rosina, owned by Messrs. Henderson and Macfarlane, was also totally wreck at the same place on Saturday last. Sho had been chartered by a party of gentlemen, whoanchored her about a quarter of a mile from tho shore, whon a stiff breeze setting in from the N E , tho cutter broke away from her anchor and drifted on shore and became a wreck. She was uninsured. At the Resident Magistrate's Court at Hamilton, boforo W. N. Seara-nckc, Esq , RMI, and R. H. Hammond, Esq., JP. William Corregan and Jnnios Corregan, tw o brothers residing at Ohairpo, were charged' by Mr S. Steele that they did on Sunday night, tho Kith inst.,. rob-bis orchard of some tipples, which wvro found im then* possession. Oh tho evidence being taken, which was pretty voluminous, tho bench dismissed James Corregan, as ho had proved an alibi, but> sontonced William Corregan to three months' imprisonment in Mount Eden gaol, with hard labour. On sentenco being pronounced, Mr S. Steele bad John Corregan, feho third brother, wrested on a chargo of perjury, and he also was commit ted to durance vile. It is anticipated that, tho new Market-house at Auckland w ill be ready for occupation about the beginning of April. It is very doubtful, "however,. whether the structure will pay for many years to come. At th« present timo tho cost of carriage ii such that no margin of rrofit is left the producer, and until railway communication is oponcd. up with the various outlying districts these is very little likelihood of much country produce finding its way to Auckland. A special gazette was issued on Wednesday proclaiming the Hitntaift and VTangmnata blocks open for mining. Wo arc sadlj afraid the proclamation- baa como too Into in one sense, as latost accounts from tho- district concur in stating that little short of a stampede from thcro has set in, the general impression being that the diitriet as a goldfield is a "duffer." On the morning of the 20th tho Colonial ps. Luna, Captain ' Fairchild, with the Hon. Tonald McLean and Wi Tarata, M ll R , and several chit fs, arrived in Raglan harbour from Waitara. Mr McLean toik a walk as far as the Court-house, and after a short 6t;>y at the Royal Hotel went on board, and the Lima immediately btcaincd out again for the Mauukau.

The Zifltellon Town, m an urticle on the ftnluro of the immigration sjstem sajs :— " r lbo time is evidently fast approaching, if it has not armed already, when the Government will hwro to look imily m the faco the question of the atww of. Uic Agent-Geuoral for the dutiw of lua post With the fullest, desire to do justioo to that officer, and with every wish to avoid u precipitate conclumon, we confess that our confidence m liih ability and judgment lessons e^ei'y day. Tho study of his oorrospondenco reveals a character the reverse of what we look for in a man of business. Take, for instance, his treatment of Messrs Shaw, Saville, & Co. The confidence with which, at the outset, he contemplates the total extinction of that all-powerful confederacy, is only equalled by tho abject dejection which must recently have led to tho transmission of the message that unions an extension of their present contract was granted for two years, the whole scheme of colonial emigration, must fall to the groundIn one casa he evinces want of avcrago caution and capability of calculating the strength of his opponent, in tho other ho displays a complete, absence of perseverance and of those latent rcsouroee which men of ability always display iv times of trial. Hut this is not an isolated case. In most of his arrangements for conducting the business of tho colony, Dr Feathorstono exhibits a striking absence of the qualities required for the office. Want of method in the despatch ol business and in the conduct of correspondence, which may b« comparatively tm ml and harmless faults in a Superintendent of "Wellington, become fraught with serious consequences to the public when displayed by tho head of an office so important as that of the Agent-General These alone would be sufficient to disqualify anyone for tho office, but when they are coupled with an apparently settled determination to ignore all instructions, not in hoiaiony with private preconceived opinions, they form a whale that sooner or later must prove dangerous to- tho Government and the country." We "(Taranaki Htralit) learn that Mr W. 11. Xortheroft and Mr If. Morrison, Sub-Inspectors of the Armed Constabulary, were, a short time since, ont duck shooting on the shores of Lake Taupo. It appears that a duck- was shot, and, having fallen into the water, was drifting away with the • wind. No . dogs being with tl-em, Mr Northcroft stripped and went into the water after it ; but 'vhen about four hundred yards from the- shore, and he had possession of tho duck, he turned to come back, when, he found hit legs helpless from cramp. Mr Northcroft called for assistance, but the wind blowing from the shore, Mr Morrison did not hear him ;, he, therefore, threw himself on his back, and waved his hands in the air. Mr Morrison, who had also undressedjfor a bathe,'.thinking something was wrong, then swam out to Me Northcroft^and learnt the btato of affairs. lie told him he could save his life if he was cool, axd being informed that he was, Mr Morrison went close to him, Mr Northcroft turned round, and placing his hands on his friend's hips, he was brought safely ashoro ; but the exertion nnd excitement was so great that, on landing, Mr Morrison fainted We have not seen tins occurrence mentioned in any of the paper-,, but such a daring acb like it ddserves recording, and wo have, accordingly clone so~ It. is well .worthy of tho Ilumano Society's medal. Our Tlrainci morning contemporary says :—": — " The proposed railway via' Win Thames Valley, from Shortland to Waikato, has not, we are glad to see, entirely escaped the attention of the Govc.mmo.it. Mr D.vniel Simpson, engineer, of this place, yesterday received a telegram from Mr John Blackett, the Colonial Engineer, engaging his services to make aiv exploration and preliminary, surrey of the proposad line of railway, and to report on this and t\\o improvement of the navigation of the Upper Thames river. We consider that Mr Blackett has made a wise selection, for there are few mon in tho community ao thoroughiy conversant with the distiiet through which it is proposed to construct tlm railway as Mr Simpson -, and, from his experience in Fi nilar surveys, we are sure that his report will bo satisfactory." Tha Right Rev. Dr. Crckc, Catholic BUhop of Auckland j accompanied by Father Paul, arrived at Nsjiruawahia-last evening, We understand that the right rev. prolate will conduct service at Hamilton on Sunday jiext uud at Alexand on the Sunday following