The Waikato Times. UNKNOWN.

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 129, 4 March 1873, Page 2

The Waikato Times. UNKNOWN.

'JLI'F.Sn YY, MARCH 1, 1873

The telegrams we publish in another olumu, ai.nounce the fact that Mr Fox has consented to fill ttjaporarily the gap caused l)y Mr Waterhouso's resignation. The people of tin's colony :iro more than justiS.cc] iii being satisfied, in the present emergency, with tbe Picmier that a combination of circumstances has again called into office. The antecedents of Mr Pox should be sufficient to convinco the public that he would not have taken c/fice had mafcteFS assumed a sufficiently serious aspect to justify Mb Watei house in taking the almost unprecedented position he has. We must not Li'get however, that he lias only done so till a full meeting of the cajjinet can be secured. Mr Fox is well known to the people of this colony ; he haa served then:, ?png. Mr Waterbou^e brought a reputation, with him from iSoulh Australia ; b_e has, from his sent in the Legislative Council, delivered 6peeph.es that led the people of this colony to beJiere tijafc he held- very exalted notions as to political morality. lie was, consequently, by the voice of the peop'e, mildly forced iuto the position of head of the Ministiy. To talk platitudes is easy, and to gain a political position with the aid of competent advi-.eis scarcely more difficult. The action of Mr Waterliou.«e, with the paucity of facts in cur possession, is calculated to make us behave that we have been mistaken in our man, and that in place of rJftkinsf his own reputation, other people must have done it for him. Left by himself, he seems to have been quite incapable of meeting his colleagues as in'ellectual equaJs. Mr Hall appears to have liCen the minister upon whom he depended for .ulvipo and assistance ; he retired, and the man of straw felt himself unfit ior the office. These remarka are, perhaps, a little severe, but with the information to hand, or rather from want of morp, we can arrive at no other conclusion. It is just hinted by a ministerial organ that Mr Vogel lias perpetrated another commercial, postal, or some other eccentricity in r ew South Wales. There is more than a shadow of probability that such is the cage ; otherwise, why Mr Waterhouse's anxiety to have the Ministry gazetted as non-existent. Hl3 only object cou^d have been to prevent the final signing of a treaty, or rather to render Mr Vogel's signature no longer binding on the colony, as at the tim^he affixed it he had ceased to boa Minister qf the Crown. If this is tbe cause to be assigned by Mr Watei house for; his untimely resignation we shall be prepared to withdraw every word of censure that ne have vritteu or implied. To get a meeting of a scattered Cabinet ia a matter of time and difficulty It mnsb not bs forgotten that at the termination of the lasi session it was distinctly understood by tbe- House that the late Piemier wou'd immediately retire if he could not manage his rather unruly team in a manner satisfactory to himself. It was, of> course, understood that he would not do so for agy but substantial reasons. It is reasonable to think (hat the grounds do not justify the act, as both His Excellency and Mf Fox a-e of that opiniou. The one recommended bim btrongly to pout hue in office, and the other has not feared to takp the responsibility of the office upon himself. It appears clear to us that Mr "Watevhouse in the dilemma his resignation had brought about was not justified in, refusing to recommend the caliin<>- together of the Assembly ; oornmon sense suggests to us that this would have been the proper coursa. Had he disagreed with the Governor on some political principle, thaaction he has taken wonld have been the only course open to him,. This, does not, however, appear to. have been the casa Mr Waterhouse took office under unprecedented circumstances, and it would perhaps have been only natura.l to expect that he should retiie in a like manner. 1$ conclusion, we can only say that if Mr Waterhouse can justify his action, he is entitled to the thanks of every man in the colony ; if not, he should retire into private life, and never again raise his voice in the senate. IJo is either a great ram or less than a little one.

The catastrophe llmt hai latch lmpponcd to the ITamilton punt should bo sufficient to suggest (.ho propriety, if not absolute ncceasity, of having a goed substantial boat owned by the Board, and let with the punt, roa/ly for any emergency that might occur. In the event of Lhelin,o rfWTjirjgawnv there would be nomeans of stopping the punt till it reached, some place 0,1 thi; riror where a b:>at and men to mm it Implied to be on the spot. A boat, well manned, could alw&js taw the punt to the bank and thus prevent its further pi-ogress on its voyage to«ard< the heads. Further, the boat would to ■omo extent, in the event of a breakage, supply the absence of the usual means of cronsing the rivsr. Tlw apjironchin^ Inhibition of the Society of -lrtihls in Auoklandu likely to be HucccMßful. There are already over >aO paintings entered.

We again remind our re.idtrj that the Te Awamutu Agn- j cultural Show \mll take plaeo on Thursday ucil. Great] preparations aro bcmg made in all ports of the district to j render this exhibition a credit to the Wo-iWo, "We arc glad to loam th.it Cambridge and Hamilton w ill be represented, bo that our earnest and often expressed wish that the n hole di.-trict should bo represented wity be partially realised. In our telegraphic columns it unannounced that His Excellency will visit the Wg,ikato. We trust that a suitable address w ill bo presented- to him on the occasion of his last j \i-iit. Tins will bo the third occasion on which he has visited this district ; he has marked its progress, and no man more | thanlio hp 3 displayed his readiness to speak of cho Waik,;to in woll-memed terms of eulogy ! Tho Hamilton Town Bpard fia3 sent a number of men \vith tlie iieccwAry appliances to the present icstin^ place cf their j,unt. It ii anticipated that tlie first st-'imrr that pn-wes up the rv r will again place it in its original position. Wct.-ust there will be as little del.iv as possible, as the absence of means of communication, independent of inflicting great incomenience, also subjects a «i:mber of iphabtants to con,siderable pecuniary loss. The letter of Major Wilson's which appeared in our las,t issue points out thoroughly the injustice -that resident settlers are suffering. In the district there are included 28,15-0 acres; of these 17.9U4 pay rates. The oanera of 518(5 cannot be found, and about 5000 acres of town, suburban, and country land belong to the Clenerp) Government. Theaboyo Ftiitement is poveiiully suggestive of the necessity of making tho land of non-residents liable for tho same proportion of the r.itea paid ty struggling resident settler*. It should not be fc-igolten £l the tame tuna that the contributions of settlers towards tlie nuking of rop»da, bridges, &,,c, balance tho selling vjiluo of die Cfoi ornment laud; when tho Government refuses to sell such laud to bpna fide settlers they aro inflicting a hardship on those who are struggling and making the country. It is vory quest ionablo, under these circumstances whether the GoYcrnment land should not pay its fair proportion. Thi3 is a question we shall be called upon to consider at greater length on a future occasion. A case of concealment of allcgod child-birth, is saiU to have occurred at Whiriwhiri, near "Waiuicn, on the part of a married woman A ths wife of a settler. Tho daughter of the j accused gave birth to an illegitimate, child, which is said to I have bcc.n healthy by the woman who attended the confineI moat. The woman subsequently visited Wauiku for tho purpose of proem ing certain necessaries. Upon her return j she was surpwsed to learn that the child was dead, and shortly afterwards it was privately Juried. Suspicion was aroused, and the n.othc<i of *iic girl wa3 arrestod on the charge of ha\ uig caused the death of the child. The result of examination is not yet known. Tins Eoemnq $tar of Saturday satirically remarks in connection with the persecution cariied on by the police towards tho shopkeepers :—": — " One more bye-law ia required from the City Council and then tho Corporation Act y> 41 be commie to. It ia to prevent Maor^e, from expectorating on the pavement, which to say the least ia a very reprehensible act, and should be put down with the strong arm of the law. Leakage from verandahs during the rainy weather ia already provided for, and three omnibuses mu^t not stand in Queen street at one time, and the Maori ought to be ma.de tp spit in. the gutter, or be compelled jto garry a pocket handkerchief." His Konor tho Superintendent, accompanied by his son, had a very narrow escape from a serious accident. on Friday morning last. As they were driving into town along tho Kjljer Pass Koad aJrijy coming in tho opposite direction ran into the buggy, and overturned it. Neither Mr Gillies nor his son were hurt, although the vehicle was shattered to p\ecea. Singular to siy tho horse escaped with only slight injury. Tho driver of the dray who caused the accident it it reported oocly projeedoil without attempting to rendejs any assistance. Sheep fanners in tho South are determined to improve their brcu'j and wealthy Canterbury is opening her plethoric purse. At the ram iair held at Christchurch more than 40 guineas a head were paid for some Leicestershire rams. A good tloccc en a, goad carcase — these are thg wise objects of judicious woolgrowers. If farmers generally would pay a like attention »o the rules of good- husbandry, and do justice to their land as these sheep-farmers are doing to their wool, we should hear less of the difficulties of- agricultures, and more about its profits — C'r<Ma> It is reported that the flourishing (hit trader is not keeping in view tiie requirements of the future. Flax it w said is steadily being cut clown, and none planted. If this continues for a few years scarcity must follow. Tho flax plart should always have its >cung shoots left, apd planting ought o program as cutting goes on. — Ibid. The General Government has declined to remit the fines imposed on Messrs. Wells ar,d Walker for breaches cf the Stamp Act. It will be remembered that these fines were inflicted at ihe iustrjice of l^r Georgo Staines, who informed in tho matter, and arose out of a disputed account re the Young Men's Christian Association. Mr Ilqrsley's panorama will be exhibited in Ngaruawahia on Thursday and Friday evenings. We have not had the pleasure of witnessing tl\o exhibition, but correspondents inform us that it has given very great satisfaction in the townships it has already visited. We Lave, therefore, no hesitation in recommending all to attend. The Bank of New Zealand shipped seven boxes of gold, valued at £13,291, by the barque G-lcnlmntly, which left for London on Thursday hvst. The duty amounted to, £l,oGB ! 4s Gd.