The Waikato Times. "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." SATURDAY,DECEMBER 20, 1873.

Waikato Times, Volume IV, Issue 252, 20 December 1873, Page 2

The Waikato Times. "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." SATURDAY,DECEMBER 20, 1873.

Tin: speech delivrml l>y hi-5 Honor the Piiperintc.ident evidences tli.it the affairs of this province w.ll, under his rnaim^emonfc, be conducted as well .is its financial position will admit. We are gbtd to find that onr present head fet-ls the necessity of cu-oprrnting with (he Colonial Government for the pio->t cation of the Immigration and Public Works scheme. We agree with the Supei hitendenfc in thinking th.it he and his Executive should be consulted as io tlu i class of immigrants required, f.l-o ns to the laud thai; should be obtained under the different Colonial Acts bearing on tho question. We are sorry, however, that his flonor has been silent us to making proviMou that no land owned by th& province shall pass out of the hands of the people, except on n guarantee of immediate and cimtinned occupation a»d improvement. The alteration of the financial term of the province is a wi^e suggestion ; hitherto a threat proportion of the public works have necessarily been executed during | the winter months, with the natural results of greater cost and compaiatively indiilcrent work, j The questions of education and immigration will be brought forward for consideration during the next sitting of the Council. A3 regards the former, we trust that no' attempt will be made to introduce a system of denominational education, and if it be, that the good sense of the country members will prevent any sash" catastrophe being inflicted on the scattered population of the proviuce. The taxing clauses of the present Act undoubtedly require modifying; and unless a greater amount is to be realised from the school reserves tharv we anticipate, or the can find means to give assistance out of the oidinary revenue of the province, the sura raised by direct taxation v.ill have to be larger than that yielded by the £l house-tax, the sum at the disposal ot tl'ie Educition Boaid being manifestly inadequate to supply present educational requirements. His Honor naturally called attention to the almost culpable delay thab has taken place in the construction of our railways ; admitting the fact that c-iutiou was uecessary in order not to absorb too much of the labour usually applied to other industries, we are of opinion that the length of time given for tho construction of tho line to Mercer savors moie of timidity than of discretion. It will be the duty of the Council to pass -such resolutions in reference to this matter as shall leave no doubt on the minds of the colonial Executive as to the opinion cf thepeiple, — undue hurry no reasonable man wants ; but what wo justly complain of is, that during the winter months, when labour is most plentiful, little or nothing has been done ; three or fonr men have been at work here, and a tew more Him c. Wo oannnt binme tlie contractors ; they naturally are trying to make as- large a profit as possible from the work they iiave undertaken. As we have before pointed out, it would be judicious to offer a premium to the contractors for each month they complete the work under contract time. As regards the Road' Board question, undoubtedly some modifications of the present Act are necessary, the excessive limitation- as to the powers of taxation are simply premiums offeied to 11011-iesident landjobbers to hold land from use with fthp prospect of ultimate profit consequent on the exertions of the legitimate settler. Th« colonial Government should be urged to take over the management and keeping in order of the main postal ronds, as it is utterly impossible, in the thinly settled districts, for the different Boards to keep them and the bridges it* propei repair. The majority of the bridges iv this district require rebuilding ; and it must be self-evident to auy man who takes the trouble to look into the matter, that the building of one bridge would, in many cases, more than swallow the rates and subsidy. In this district, we have to look to the colonial Government, as the colony Jms derived all the benefit that has nccraed from the sale of the confiscated lands ; in others, differently situated, the keeping iv order of the main roads should be the business of the province. There is another important question with regard to the working of Road Boards: at the present time there ia no means of marking the land liable for the rates p&yabfe upon it ; if tho owner be absunt, and no personal notice can be served, it is impossible to make his laud liable for the rates. Ai> Act was passed by the Assembly for this purpose, but; on account of some legal'technicalities in the first, place, and want of funds 00 the part of the province in the secon 1, it is useless. The Council will b.ive to put the Boards- on a proper footing in this matter.

"Want of space lias compelled us to hold oVer the lucid statement of Mr Shcehnn with regard to tlio intentions of theProvmci.il Gowrnment. in reference to education. We sball piint hisremaiks m full in our next issue. We regret to have to announce that Dr W. W. Jones has died in the hospital of the Auckland gaol. His death in such a place w apt to convey a wrong impression as to the character of the man. Those who knew him in the Wwkato are aw .re that he wirs only sent to the gaol on account of its being the only place, under the evwtindaw in which he cou el be taken cue of. He iierei shoukf h.iv«' known the iiwde ol a gaol -a lunatic asi him specially set a*ile for those who pn> the greatest oinount of revenue was the plan* for him. W li.-n sober he u.na .. nn whose xoeiety wou.d be courted by the enlightened When under the influence oHna overwhelming weakness it was otherwise. The ninn is (lend, and the manner ef his death is a reproach to us nil. ' We learn flint steps are boinc tnken to organise a cricketing team ... the Wnikato to vis.t Auckhnd and the Thames iwth Hie object of tr TinL r the -tirnmli of the district in the national game «- ccmpaird w itli tl.o above two larja centres of population. We tru»t that the scheme Mill be carried out, and Hmt auccvw mil mi end the eflorts of the selected eleven \-, .land at pre.ent holds the colonial blue r.bbon und ii « i hi* a bru/lit featlier in the nip* of Waikato crick. '. ' tiiej- could succeed in bringing it home with them Ii mil 1.,, seen that it is purposed to havo sports in Hamilton West on Boxinp-day. Since our last i^uo so>ie of the energetic residents in that towmhip have taken the matter in hand. Considering the short time the subscription list *a« been open (yesterday morning only) the sum already collected, 130,, n, consulcmble, and must bo looked upon only as a bin all portion of the amount that will bo forthcoming for distribution amongst the athletes who compete We understand that Mr Bush will deliver » lecture at Raglan «hortly,hehn< elected " Maori Traditions, Mann. n and Custom* for t|,,. occasion. Jl.s intimate acquaintance with Ins subject cannot fa.l to innke the lecture interesting and instructive Ihe proceeds will be devoted to the Church Harmonium Fund.

<">ni> hundred .iiul twenty tliouHan<l pounds have been ov pendulhy the >>(■«• York licgislatuio upon an aa.ilum for inebriates, besides £8000, w bid i was spent iv the' first instiuvubv tlie oiigmator. The Luim, p.s., is expected to lo«ru for Taurnn-ga to-mor-row for the purpose of being tvndr to convey tho Native Mimstur 1" .m\ plate he may di-«iio. It is doubtful,, ho-u-o\« r, whether Mr McLean will t nvel b\ litr h it being more than probable Hint he will p«ve.\l owultudto Napier vra 'I'll n po. , [l i» |)ur]K)acil to hold the fbllowi'iii: religious services tomorion ii the Woikuto :— G'huidt of lCngLuid : Hamilton, 11 n.in. j INvurunwihia, 6\30 p.m. t Alexandra, 11 a.m. ; Te Auimmta, 3p m. Usilholiu • Cunlir dgt\ 11 a.m. Presbytei i.in : Cambridge-, 11 a.m. ; Hamilton Kast, 3 p.m. WesIcaoh Methodist: Cambridge, H a m ; Pukcriuui, 2 30pm ; HuniitcMi, G.M) p.in United Pivsln,(enau and Congregi* tioml : i'c Awamutu, 11 a.m. Mr Pii'iiell, of Poverty H\\, has recently imported a gra?s stripping intichino It is drawn by two iiorscs and is capable of stripping; ten to twelve acres per day It is furnished with a patent lever comb for uatluMiny mill stripping the seed of the grass only. .\ letter signed "James Ilnnnju," on the wasteful destruction of forests, is punlnlip 1 in tlie Southland Times Tito following is a portion of it — '• I believe the means to check thi* wnsfpftilnr^s nre both simple mil praetieablo, nninelv, not to <jr.int more than 100 neres at a lime, unless foi' --ppcial purposr*, uptil the followiu^ conditions havo been pomp'ne'l Hitli- -Krery limb of lotara or black pme, with he.u'twc^l (>l'si\ inches :•! di-imater npnards, to be cud into lengths of irom seven to ton feet, n't for post 3 lor n, stockvnrJ. crush, t;abcpost«, or fencing, the «nmo to be drawn out ol I lie bush to open )nnd and sold to the settlers, cither privately or by auction, the white nnd red pine logs to b© cut into rails and dealt with in a simihr manner ; and the forks to be cut into building blocks. Kvury tree lit for scantling or li'inrds to be utilised, and nny settler vri>hin{?t& dnaw Ihe like out of tlu? bush to.be olloned the use of tramway and tiuck as opportunity ofliwd on payment of («n\) one «hil- ] ling per cord. Wheu the Kiugcr has reported that t!ne 3.i\\miller has complied with these or other conditions, then grant him another 100 acres. If we shonld have three or four months during the summer without rain, an awful conflagration may be expected, owing to the larqc qnnntitv of dry tops of treea now in the bush. I would &iigj;o»t th-it tho bush land should hp given awny, in sections of from oO to 100 acre?, the conditions beini; residence, Icnciag with w ire, and planting a portion with lorest trees. On complying with conditions of these otf similar regulations, fhp Crown grant to be issued. Tho trees left standing by the sawmillcrs, such as boeico", boxwood* &c, would ftiford shelter for thebluegums, as tho latter will not thrive when exposed to the frost and prevailing winds." 1 ho complaints of teachers and those taking an interest in the conduct of our numerous Sunda) -school establishments ngninst parents for want of sympathy with and assistance in their labour?, is, we hnvo good reason to fear, too well grounded. Parents when sending their children to school upon Sunday — in too many instances simply to gpt rid of them, so that they may enjoy the afternoon iv quiet — seldom or over give a thought about the trouble and task they are imposing upon others. They not only do not give a thought about the matter, but they will not in the great majority of instance* contribute, the smallest mite toward* the expenses of fchc seiiooL The 'consequence ii the totcbeM are, in the lir^t plncp, unable to oft>r that stimulus in the shape of pm"s tn-it they would like to do, nud which is necessary for tk« rapid advancement of fcho«o who ar», an it were, only voluntary pupils, and. to meet current expended they are put to many «l rails to muoh trouble, and generally to no little person il <uit i i.v. This is ni\ us it should be. Those who m generously deny themselves in their spare- honr* upon Sunday, should nt lenst be eneonrag3il and assisted by thr parents and guardians whoso children receive the benefit of religious instruction so cheerfully imparted. There is much strife and contention amongst parents as to whethrr there sludl or shall not be allowed religious instruction in dayschool*; we never hear of them, honcver, troubling themselves to assits, pecuniarily or otherwise, tho^c who have the spiritual charge of their offspring— Herald.