The Waikato Times. "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA" TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1873.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 205, 2 September 1873, Page 2

The Waikato Times. "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA" TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1873.

A bill was read a second lime in tlio Llouse on the 30th July--" Justices of the Peace Disqualification Dill;" in other words, a bill to disqualify any person holding 1 a publican's license from beiuy n Justice of the Peace. We perfectly agree with the hupporiern of the bill, that for publicans to sit on tbe Bench to itHjudicate on the cases that are most frequently brought before them, \\i. t those of drunkenness, places thotn in -i position that they hhould not hold, and we feel confident that no rr.specrablo licensed victualler is desirous of occupying a position that would outail upon him the necessity of punishing a man who became inebriated at his own bar. As regards the licensing power lu-ld by a bench of Magistrates, common deccnev would com) el any publican to lea\o (ho bench when any question was under dtscuss.on that involved the gi\mting or Hivj>cn<>ion of Ira or any fellow-

tradesman's license. We admit tli.it the <li inliin-r propensities of the people are the greatest deterrent to the advance of this colony, but we remember at the same time that a large revenue is derived by the payment for licenses. The publicans occupy a legal position ; they pay heavily lor the privilege of catoting for the public and are therefore not entitled to have a slur cast upon tliera. Licpusea are presumedly granted only to j i expectable men, and we maintain that a man is j icspectab'e so long as lie conducts himself properly in his own station. Before such an Act as the one under discussion can just'y become law, it must be proved that the occupation of a licensed victualler \*/>erse disreputable. On the score of inconvenience probably publicans should not be on the roll of justices; there are others, however, who are now entitled to put the handle of J.P. to their names vho are utterly incapable of fulfilling the duties of he office they sought, or which has been thrust ipon them. Wo believe that Mr Steward vould have conferred a benefit on the oolony had he introduced a bill to make it compulsory that every f.P. should, before assuming office, be called upon o prove that he h capable of writing and underlanding hid native language ; also, that befoie >eing appointed he should be obliged to convince -ome authority ho has a little more knowledge of he law than the culprits that are usually brought uefoie Justices. Some glaring cases of incapacity liave been brought to our notice from time to time, md we trust that the Governor will be careful in luture to make inquiries as to the mental capacity ot a man, as well as the number of acres he has, before placing him in a position that should only be occupied by intelligent, conscientious, and painstaking men.

A paddle-wheel steamer, says tlie Herald, is in course of building nt Oncluinga for Mr F. Scherif '3 Waikato transport service. This steamer is built on the same principle as the Takapuna, on a larger scale. Her length is 100 feet, beam 26 feet, the sponsons being carried round. She has six feet depth of hold, and her draught of w ater is only two feet. She is composite built — that is, iron frame and wooden planking, the latter being four inches and the former three inches in thickness. She is constructed so as to be specially adapted for navigating the Waiknto nvor, and is built with live watertight compartments. Should she snag m any one of those, she will still float, and her draught will not exceed three feet In addition to this, the engine will pump out any compartment, besides which tu o pumps are availablo. Tho steamer i« (lat-bottomed, with round bilges suitable for shallow rivov traffic. The vessel contains a spacious saloon, w'th ladies' cabin, Jand capable of accommodating fifty passengers. The cabin is aft, under a raised poop. There are four houses on tho sponsons fore and aft the paddle-wheels. Her starting gear is on the bridge, from which she also steers. She has v double-cylinder geared engine, working up to 25 horse-power Her paddle- w heels are 13 feet in diamater, and the floats are rounded at the bottom with an angle from the ship's side, which is expected 10 bo an improvement upon the ordinary floats. Mr M. Ross, formerly Duthio and I'oss, is the contractor, and Messrs Shailer and Wright are fitting up tho cabin, &c. The steamer w ill be launolied on Wednesday next. We observe that Mr Samuel Morgan has written a letter to the Herald, primarily in defence of Mr Mackay, and secondly for the purpose of abusing our contemporary's special correspondent at Alexandra Gratitude for small favors is iv good trait 111 a man's character, and wo congratulate Mr Morgan on tho possession of that virtue. It may not be known to all our reader, we will therefore inform them, that when Mr Mackay first arrived in this district he employed his champion as po*t-boy. He is kind enougli to attribute to u> the insertion of scurrilous letters ; this, it is needless to say, is a wilful deviation from the truth. We can feel for Mr Morgan having lost Ins situation of " concoder of sensational telegrams'' for one of our contempoinrics. Tho plain and unvarnished truth is very detrimental to the above business. Alexander Oleeson was brought before two Justices of the Peace, yesterday, at Ngarua«ahni, charged with a breach of tho Master and Servants' Act, in having left tho employment of Mr Harris, in whose hotel he was cook, without giving the required week's notice. He wns sentence'! to It days' impiisonment with hard labour in tlie Mount Etlim Gaol. We are glad to notice thnt one employer has taken the initiative by bringing this man to justice, us the custom of leaving employers without notice has been very frequent of late. We recommend tho nbo\e soutencc, which is a very light one, to the consideration of those who ore in tho habit of committing tho snmo offence. The Auckland Turf Club held its adjourned meeting on Saturday afternoon at the Occidental fiotel. About twenty gentlemen \.ere present, nnd Mr Wynyard win voted to the chmv. The Jockey Glut) hnvmg declined tho loan of the use of the Ellersheroursp, it w intended by the new club to hold its mi eting on Mr Potter* eoinse at Epsom. Tho rules of the Victorian ■Racing C M ut> were adopted, and Messrs R. Wynyard, S. Momn, T. M. Dalgleish, James Russell, Thomas Browne, James Bnnki, T. Morrin, Richard Claude, Jos Bennett, J. B. Hay, H. P. Barber, Maloolm Banks, J. M. Dargaville, and Major George were elected a committee. Ov v eighty nu'mbm luvvc joined the club. Tho South British Insurance- Company we notice has been in existence over tw elvo months, and during the past halfyear there has been a steady increase in its business. The profits of the company »vill give a dividend of ten per cent The investments amount t0 £13,000, and the further investment ot an additional £6000 is contemplated. At present businesg relations havo not been opt ued up with London and Australia to any extent, but it is confidently expected that during the forthcoming year the insurances effected therewith will form no inconsiderable portion of tho income of tho company From an Engli.'i paper we Icmi n that a Miss Robeitson, daughter of nn English clergyman, lim created a sensation in the south of England by her musical performances at a concert. The lady's voice is said to have a higher range than that of any living singer. She can touch the Ban octavo above tho B reached by average professional singers, while for several seconds she sustained the upper G with a power and clearness which produced intense excitement among the audience. Thenot«"» mentioned tiboveare higher than were ever sung in public by Jenny Lind, and other celebrated vocalists. We learn that Mr Dargaville has withdrawn the action entered against the Herald for libel. Tim is a wise pi oceeding on his pait, as an action for libel is very difficult tobiingtoo- successful is^ue. He hns adopted tho wiser course of abnsin » everybody connected with the, to him, obnoxious newspaper. We have not taken the trouble, and pi esunie very few people have, to trace the scrimmage to its source. Mr Kennedy Hill nrl\erti*pg his monthly sale of horses, cattle, and sheep for Wednesday next, at Oliaupo. Mr Hill will aloo sell on tlie Gth instant, at Puterangi, the furniture and effects of Mr Cook, who is about to leave the district. Tenders are called for the construction of a tramway at the Rahuapokcka coal mines. Wo notico that tlie Cambridge Minstrels purpose giving an entertainment on rimrsday next. The proceeds are to be devoted to tho aid of tho hinds of tho local church ; thi 1 * fact, in addition to the excellent programme should draw a large audience.