The Waikato Times "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1873.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 230, 30 October 1873, Page 2

The Waikato Times "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1873.

I>uniNO the la.-.fc .session was presented to Parliament the report of Mr Andrew to the Chancellor of the New Zealand University on affilliated iustitntionsj It is to a considerable extent gratifying. He speaks hopefnlly of the futu:e, and is careful not to be tmjußfcly critical of the present. Naturally there is room for complaint in the fact that the standard of education has been low. In regard to this he .-iys — "it is to be regretted that more advanced pnpils do not exi«t, X may say not only at Auckland but also at other ohii-en where University evening lecture* are eivm : but the only -way to secure a supply ol tiu he in Juhire is to encourage and make the most of such beginnings ns we possess." He point" our by way of giving ns hope that the teaching- origii.all) in the Universities carried graduates lit- ie it »ny beyond what a public school boy "^ the pr< tr f»i t day is' supposed to know. As }tfc, JSew Zealand has drawn her governing ability fi^ni hon,e or the other col*niei?. With one

exception, i.ut a single JNevs Zlmlm inter Ims taken his seat in the legislature ; and ifc is to be regretted, although hardly to be woudered at, that ho has not shone with greater brilliancy. The day has passed when it shouljd be necessLry to import men to fulfil offices which, if the duties are to be satisfactorily performed, v trained miuds >ive required. If this colony is to rise to greuluess, the work will have to be done by those who reg ird it as their country, and by men who have forgotten the rneauing of the word ''home" except U 9 applied to it. It is the duty of the Gloverunietit of every country, and therefore that of every citizen, to the best of their ability, to prevent the importation of necessaries ; and, with- j out fear of contradiction, we assert that the con . pulsory importation of the required ability to conduct its own affairs, is one of the greatest deterrents that could be perpetuated in any country. Imported ability may be greater than that of home manufacture, yet its possessors are necessarily wanting in patroitism. Their ability is principally devoted to the acquisition of power for the sake of the emoluments of position and money pertaining thereto. It may, and will, no doubt, be said that an University education will not necessarily fit a man to fight in the political arena for the good of his country. We admit this, but maintain that the more a youth's mind is cultivated the better will he be to solve the difficult problems that are coustantly staring in the f.ice those who undertake to legislate for others. A man's education in mundane matters may be almost said to commence when whatis usually termed his education is ended. In order to illustrate our case we will ask a metaphorical question ; Which is likely to produce the best crop : land that has been been brought under careful cultivation or that which has been untouched or only imperfectly manipulated ? The answer is obvious ; no man can doubt that lhe mind is as capable of cultivation as the soil. Our University has already made itself felt ; it has stirred iuto greater activity those who have the duty of educating our children; it has established a standard of excellence, low, it is to be regretted at present, but capable of being raised from year to year. Many parents aro struggling to save ivhafc is termeJ a competency foe their children. We point oufc that the leaving of property is not their prinoipal duly ; Jeavo less property at«l give your ohMdrea as high ulaSB &n education as is compatible with your means, and more good will as a rule accrue to them, and most certainly to the country in which they will have to spend their lives, and their children after them. A man is no worse a farmer for being able to read Greek. It is the half educated man only who is ashamed to see himself between the handles of a plough. On our University depends very much the future of this colony, and we trust that no enlightened man at any rate will fail to give it and its affiliated institutions every support in his power. The sons of every man who can afford it should be able in years to come to look back with pride on their Alma Maier.

It will bo seen in another column tbat the Waitato Steam Navigation and Coal-mining Company has ceaaed to exist in its entirety ; it remains " Tho Wmkato Steam Navigation Company." It is now to bo under different management. We cannot, however, allow this change to take place without expressing the opinion that the company has done much good for the Waikato. Necessarily in starting a company m a new district, the chenpest materials and those easiest attaintblo had to be utilized. Our Ueet may not be, in an architectural point of view, beauties, but they have done their work passably. It would be unjust in us did we not allude to the late manager. The faults that caused so much bitterness against him were, to an mfimte.tmal degree, his own ; where is the man who has none? He had indifferent material to deal with ; the steamer* broke down, he was blamed ; an accident <if any kiirl happened, he was blamed j the Directors made obnoxious regulations, he was blamed. The settlers have only looked at the question from their own side. "We can only say this, had we a business that required to be irdrked faithfully by a third party, we should not hesitate to ask Mr Hunt to assume the position, and we have had better opportunities of observing of than the majority of those who havo cast stones on account of some petty grievance. The man, we earnestly believe, has not yet .been born who could have held his late position and not made enemies, and dozens of them. It will be seen that Mr Hunt has taken over the Ngaruawahia Flour Mill. We wish him every success iv his new undertaking. The advertisement informs us that Mr Seherff will bo tho Secretary of tho company : his business capacity is too well know in the Waikato to require any comucnt from us. Mr Rayner takes the position of traffic pnannger, and from what we know of that gentleman, I we believe that a more fit appointment could not have been made. The following will be the tariff of charges to the public for messages from one station in New Zealand to any other, on and after the Ist November: — For the first ten words or fraction of ten words, Is ; for every additional word after the first, Id per word. Ou Sundays double the above rates. No charge will be made for address and signature up Jo ten words; every word over ten will be charged for at tariff rates. In tho case of a telegram requiring to be delivered beyond one mile from the station to which they are addressed and transmitted, or on shipboard, or on tho water, or across the water, further charges will be made as provided by the general regulations and conditions for the time being in force in relation thereto.' Tho following charges will be made : — for the copy of every telegram, Is ; for every search, 2s 6d ; for every hoar after the first hour occupied in any search for telegrams, 2s 6d. A correspondent from Grrahamstcwn to the Herald refers to the three candidates for tho Superintendency in the following strain :—": — " Tbo election inflammation is spreading. The symptoms here are favourable in the case of Williamson, though his speech ad the hustings at the nomination have lost him a good many votes. lain not in favour of hia benevolent and church Utopia. It has been tried, and found wanting. The day is past for denominational teaching 5 but it finds many supporters who cling to old ways and superstitions. Mr Dargaville's symptoms show that a burst has occurred in hit political abscess, and nothing will save him from defeat but a retirement from all active prosecution of his dreams, otherwise a terrible collapse will be his fate. Mr Luskyon the other hand, has hardly been able to count Ms pulse' ; but. lately, through tho zeal of good nursing, he has been enabled to stand up, and will make a decent appearance at the end of the race. The candidates for the Council connot be eaid to be placed, so I will not comment on them. Ihe latest rumour in regard to the Suporictondency, says yesterday's Thames Advertise)-, is to the effect that a strong •flbrfc will bo made by some of Mr Dargaville'a friends, on his return from the North, to induce him to retire from the contest in favour of Mr Lusk. The friends of the latter gentleman assert that they havo already gained many of Mr Dargavillo's supporters, and Unit they can convince him that he has not even a chance of securing second position on the polling day. But if we may judgo from the utterance of Mr Dargaville himself during his recent canvass, it is scarcely likely that he will be induced to retire in favour of either of the other cumlitiatcs. A case of seeds of the sorgum sacc7taratum was forwarded from Wellington some few days ago to the Superintendent of Auckland for distribution amongst settlers. The seed is from a supply of the best quality which has been obtained from America. The object of the distribution of this seed is to ascertain whether the plant when grown in New Zealand, will 'hit vo the same valuable sugar- producing qualities that it hus eNcwhere. Agreeably with instructions forward <l with t!io -red, his Honor has distributed a large portion ol it toso.t'.-rj in the districts of Knipara, Tauranga, and V nikato T.tore is still a small quantity remaining at the l'.ov «f»i 1 '..overnnient offiuo*, which can be had on application i>} persons willing to cultivate the same. Printed directions 1 especting the planting, fertilisation of the soil, and cultivation are given with tho seed. — Herald. We never remember to have received a worso publication, except from the rendon of halfpenny accounts of executions in London, tlum was brought to us from the Post-office last night. It indulges in the name of Mosquito. We presume it was rent to us to be reviewed, wo tlieroforo undertake the task. To commence, it it abominably written ; the jokos. like bad puns, are excruciating ; the "cuts are as vulgar in appearance as they are in their allusions ; to conclude, it is the worst 6d worth of "wit nnd humour" that has ever boen offered to the utiblic. We wish that ltd life may l»e short and its death hard. Ach ! — wo hare become inflvtcJ.

It is reported tliat T.iwlnao is about to visit Ngaruawaliia. It. is impossible to ascertain whethor tho report is foundod on fact, or as is usually the case, is foundod upon nothing, O3 nino out of ten of similar reports are. Tho Sawka's Bay Times, tho publication of vrhich was temporarily suspuu Wvi, .* nanr-iaed to reappear 'about the commencement <>/' >'.» vein bar. It » to be the siro of d) c leading Now Z.-alaud dulio-. The paper will still bo under tle management of Mr Ila/ding. Tho Timer was always consistent, oven when consistency meunt monetary loss. We wish that our old fneud m its now shape may live long and flourish. This will make the third dailr in Hawkes JBay. We arc informed (hut a requisition is in course of signature b> Mr T. Mabin tomand for one of the seats in the Provincial Council for the W.iipa. Tho movement originated in Alexandra. .Mr ifabin being a resident- in Auckland could attend to the dunes of membership at little inconvenience. H«j is largely mtoivsUd in the progress of tho district, and, from what we kno<.\ ofhim, nr,) of opinion that he will, if elected, ably represent tho district. We regret, in one ben*e. and we aro glad in another, tb.a"v Mt* Ltu\ nor hus resiijnod his position in tho telegraph an I postal dt-partmeuts. W© wgret the fact because the Waikuto ha« lost a long tried aud valued public servant ; we are glad because hi* leaving the Q-overnment service has uol necessitated his departure from the district. It is only natural that any man who can secure a situation of any description should leave the employment of the Q-overnn ent of .New Z •uluiul, more particularly if he happens to im 1 his « ay mtJ a Telegraph office. There are few men worse paid in proportion to their responsibility. We are glad to notice from the reports in tho columns of our Hawke's Bay contemporaries that at the local Agricultural and Pastoral Sliow, tho credit of Auckland breeders has been maintained by Messrs E. and R. Maclean. In our next we shall give some details of the above exhibition. Rain, which was very much wanted, has been falling copiously during tbe last 48 hours, and during the early part of yesterday a strong north-west gale was blowing;. The New Zealand Agricultural Society* Annual Cattle Show for horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, dogs, &c, will be held in Mr Buckland's Paddock, Newmarket, on Monday, November 12.