TURNING THE FIRST SOD OF THE WAIKATO AND MERCER RAILWAY.

Waikato Times, 13 January 1874, Page 2

TURNING THE FIRST SOD OF THE WAIKATO AND MERCER RAILWAY.

The most important event that has taken place, as regards the Waikato siaoe the declaration of confiscation, occur) t\\ on Saturday, at Horotiu, a township on the east bank of the Waikato river, immediately opposite Ngaruawabia. The first step has been taken towards the con. atractioo ot the railway that is to bear the produce of the district to a goo/1 market, ami to the <lwr* af the settlers the nocessimt-s they require. Saturday, tbe JOth day of January, 1874. will always bn looked ijp<m by ourselvc* and those who succeed us as settlers as the commencement of Waikato,' real prosperity. The impoi-lnncu of Hie event was measured at its due value by the Provincial Executive. Their being so largely repießented on tho occasion lorbodes tliat they aie prepared to cordially assist the Colonial Government in carrying out the irreat work* of railway construction and immigration. Whatever oph'ions inny h.ive been held on these questions before their partial oo'iiMim mution, there are few of the most bitter enemies of the Government who would be bold enough to stand on any platform and express sentiments antatfoni-tic to Lhe policy which, in our opinion, and that of nearly every man in New Zealand, will raise our adopted country into" the Crst rank of tho Austra asian Colonies. It is to be ro .'retted that more time was not given to tho settlers for preparnton, a% had this been the case, there wpuld have been a very large ai tendance. Notwithstanding the shortness of tho not ice, there »«s a fair aprinkliiig of our settlers present, and ai ■liould be, where good work is to b" done, a considerable number ol ladies. The proceedings oommenred bv a speech delirered l>y lhe /'.on Dv Pollenrwho spoke at coma length, he was followed by his Honor the Sun.-Hnrendent A. full report ol" tlioir bpoeohos will be found below. After his Honor ha.l finished (.peakinsr, ho took oIT Ina cout, and proceeded in a most workmanlike manner to dig and wheel in the barrow the sodt, symbolical of much hard work in the luture. There were three, winch ho happily explained repicsented the nationalities, England, Scotland, mid Ireland Immediately nftcr he had deposited the sod#, he willed for three cheers for her Majejfy, the Governor, ami the prosperity of the Waikalo. It is ust less to write that each of tln-se w.i* cuthusiastieally responded to. An equally hcui i,v cluer was q ye.i for the Superintendent ; Dr Pollen ul»o received the upplauso that w«s duo to hit positiou. Mr Mackay was alao heartily ohwrpd.

It wouiu oc .ui^ojdiun. tor ua i.i «in.mji-, 4 co th j 3 e who were present. We noticed, however, Col. %on, Major Jackson, 11. H.R .; Major, T^#il«on, MfeC6opor, Major Mair, Me£»rBj..Sheehan^rjv'in%^c|!tw^%q. M. Reed, Frovincial .Treasurer J)& JJißiMfci, MJf.O. ; fCa^t. Brnckenbury; Ca.Jt, Steele, Captf Kiiyner. J P.ji Capfc. Ranciman, dut. iWre.^Capt. Dinraou, D.#. LuSkie.M.H.R ; 0. ONeil, i WLfL* W. Haj/MPo,'i W. N. ; l&aranoke. RM ; W H; Clarke, Re^ilent JSn^eor; Mn' tßreen, t Breen, C.E ; R. W. lUmmond,. J.P. j. S. T. Sell on, J>P. ; -R. R. Hunt, J P, ; u. Marshall, C. limes, Jamet Hume, 'J?. iUaullarlaiie, J. F. S ieil, 4". C. Gavin, W. Mitchell, Clerk to Provincial Executive. .There were also several natives of note on the ground,.;. we noticed Major Wiremu Te Wheora, Sub-In-•ptctor Hori Eukutni^ lijilm Te Kauae, Rewiti Waikato, KaraU Ngaliiwi, Awum • Patent, Kakiriwhi te Purewa, Eaorate Abaru, «ud,Jsev. Wiremu Putetio. Tiie Hon Dr Pollen taid : Ladies and gentlemen, we are nut to-day to celebrate t'm commence • cnt of a very im pirUnt work— import nit not only for the district ol W iki^>, but important for the colony of Now Z 'aland, us f drains a part of a scheme of works which it intended to c>nnect ik- North with the South. His Honor the Superintendent of the Province has boon good on* ugh to crnio this long di-tdiieo for the purpose of°being present at t ho ceremony., und with his own hand", assist in the beginning of that work by turning the first sod. (Hear, bear.) You know that in the lair se^ion of the General A»«embly provision was made for tho expenditure upon this work of making tiio line of railway from Mercer to Ngaruawahia, a sum I think of £118,000 or £120,000—1 am not quite certain at to the figures— was voted for that purpose. It became a question fnr the consideration of the Government m what way this work should bo carried on, whether in the manner in which the Auckland nnd Drury railway is supposed to. bo- carried on ju»t now— by contract;, — or whether it should be done br men employed as daily labourer*. The experience which, I thmk, the people of Auckland ha* had of the manner in which tho works on the Auckland and Drury railway line have been carried on, it not entirely of a satisfactory character. '(Hear, hear.) I think, and'l am not. tpeaking now a* condemning the tiling in any official capacity, but simply tpeaking my own views as a simple citizen, expressing opinion* which I have heard enunciated by yery many others, that a great deal more energy might have been «hawn in carrying on the workj of that line, and a great deal more expedition alio might have been used in carry ins? it to a conclusion. That being to, it was determined to try the experiment which is now about to be tried, of carrying on this work by hired labour, the Government themselves in that case taking the position of the contractors. We found that there would be no difficulty in obtaining tie necessary amount of labour. I was surprised myself at the rapidity with which the list of volunteers for this work was filled. It was filled up indeed so rapidly that the usual time was hardly allowed to, the Government for making the formal, so to say, social preparations for the inauguration of a work of this kind. We f^und that we had a couple of hundred men on pay upon our hands, and that it was necessary to employ them immediately upon the works, and so we have been rather more hurried in the commencement of our undertaking than under other circumstances we should have been. This will account very much for the »tato of un preparedness in which we find ourtclves today, and also, I hope, will excuse the apparent want of hospitality and tho absence of the usual festivities which generally distinguish occasions of this nind. I can only offer you a very heaity welcome to such entertainment as we can give you ; and I am quite sure that, in consideration of the importance of the work about to b* commenced to-day, our shortcomings in that direction will not be very hardly dealt with. (Hear, hear.) I hava a word to say about the organisation which will be anparent Amongst the workmen upon this contract. The Government, in dealing with a number of men, is necessarily and properly in a different position from an individual dealing with a number of men, and it was thought better — and will be found, I have no doubt, very much better — that amongst the workmen to be enguged on this work there should become kind of organisation — some authority established which can only be established and maintained under the sembl.nce of military authority, which enrolment in the militia gives. With that view tho men who are to be employed on these woiks have been enrolled in the militia: they are armed as militiamen, but their work is in no sense of a military character. They know and w ill prove lam satisfied by their industry and attention t) their work that they are workmen and not soldiers in any sense. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) It has been said that this work was got up in a manner secretly. Well, I am myself personally responsible for whatever has been done, and all that I can say about it is that I have mada no secret it all of the procedure — that every person who c;lio*e to enquire or ask a question of me was fr.inklj informed of the whole purpose of the arrangement. There couLd be no possible end lor concealment and centninly theie was no pin pose on my part to conceal anything. The whole thing, as everyone kuows connected with it, was done in a very great hurry; done somuuhmoie rapidly than I expected" that I nmagrecalty surprised that, within a week from the inception <if the affair, we are in s position to commence the work here. (Cheers.) Upon tv« general question of railroads. gentlemen, I have very little to say. The whole question is settled. The policy of the country ir railroads and immigration, and it iv most gratifying to me to be able to announce to-day, and to be certified in that annoiuicsiaent by the presence of his Honor the Superintendent and his Executive, that iv that respect, so far as the Piorince of Auckland is concerned, we shall now have henceforth the hearfy concurrence of the Provincial Executive in tho prosecutiou of public woiks and iv the still more important wo:k of immigration an I the settlement of immi_,ran • upon the lands of the province. (He ir.) That is the teal and most important work of Government upon this occasion, and that work, without the hearty and complete concurrence- of the Provincial authorities cannot be successfully cauied out by any Government. lam glad to say that we have nnw secured the general concurrence of the provinces, and thtre is reason for congi atulatiun upon our part, and I think upon the part ol the public generally, that we hiive at length «ecurred the hearty concurrence of the Government of this province. (Cheers. ) The question of immigration is onet.f the very last importance. It did not, I am *orry to say— it did not appear to impress those pusons who are interested in the success of that policy with the weight which it nec-ssaiily deserves. But they have come no\y — not now, but very so.n after they came to understand its importance. Tho Pi ime Minister of the Oolony, Mr. Vogel, has himself taken that department into his special charge ; and knowing, as I do, the interest which he has taken in it, and the energy and ability which he brings to any work oi tmt kind to which lie sett his mind, I am quite sntit>fied th it whatever i* possible to be done will be done by him for tho furtherance of immigration, with the assistance of the Governments of the various irovinces and of this province — for the settlement of immigrants upon the land immediately after they arrive. 'He will be here in Auckland in the course of anothtr month or so, and I think ho will show then that, representing as he does the whole interests of the colony, he is not unmindful of the special demands which are made upon him by the fact of his representing a conslil uoncy in Ihe Province of Auckland. He has, lam advised, tome project* which, with the concurrence of the Superintendent, he proposes I o carry out for the settlementof Hawke's Bay land, and lands in the Tauranga distiict, and lands in other places. And lam pleased to find— and lam quite sure he will hinnelf be delighted to find when becomes — that he will be met with an anxious de«re to Co- ope rate with him in the work which he has in view. (Hear.) 1 think that I need not longer detain the meeting by remarks which are simply preliminary to the business of the d&v.but I will call up m his Honor the Superintendent to commence the work of making tho railway fc.ua NgftruuwaliLa to Mercer. (Great e)i<wing.) ; Hh Honor the SiKierintendeut said iDp Pollen, Mr ; Chairmii), Indies nnd gentlemen, I hare been invited by tlie ; hon. the Colonw) Secretary, Dr Pollen, my old friend, i to come here to-day to IwkV part m an undertaking which I behpve lo be of the l)ij>}>ri?t importance to the commercial < a(iv»ntii>!i> of Auckland ami Ihe pence nnd security of its prewnfc i»l)»b>la»fs ami those whom we hope te we amon&tb us not very long hence It isan undertaking — although now actively held in hand by the Gcneinl Government, long ago contemplated by the Provincial Autlionties of Auckland. When coal w"ns first discovered at Dnirj, tho Provincial Council believed tlmt that, discovery would li-ad t> vary important, results, nnd it wns then that they, out of t ieir limited finances, set apart u sum of money, winch was placed at my own cfi^posnl res Superintendent, and which I tlien held in ord^r to mnkc a trial survey ol the line from Auckland to Drury. The old members of the Provincial Council who are here may recollect that there was a willing-nt-sf., a unanimous consent to that undertaking. Then it was merely des : gnated the Auckland and Drurx Railway. Surveyor* were nent out ; a line was struck across the country ; but, gentlemen, as we have progressed in settlement and in imporhiiioc in those districts, even although that Auckland and Drury railway has not yet been completed, it has become desirable that we should extend that railway to Mercer; nnd now, gentlemen, we are here to-day, u Ivancins? another stnge in tins mireh of progress. We are hero to-day to commence o work which will comev the blessings and advantages of the rnilwny into the hrart of the Waikato count ry. I trust— and I am hopeful of it, that b. fore long we shall advance another stage, and that that, stage will carry us right ii|> to the borders of Tttranaki, and that from thence we slm 1 approach that centre of New Zealan I which is known at Wellington as the seat of Government (Cheers.) Gentlemen, if I thought that, this work would lead to unlnipp\ consequences, dia liters or dislurbnncea between .he nitive inhabitants and ourwlves, I t'lould, for on*, hesitate toeneourigc this undertaking; hut. I frel njsnred tlmt as the inhabitants— l mean the native inhabitants of this part of the Wuikato— are disposed to a<*si«t v\t> in tin* good work now, to the n itives farther on— in the Delta, and higher up the country, will bo prepared to assist us in conferring upou them the advantages which this civilising operation will bo

sure to bring to them and to tjieir o iildren. (Hear^ear.) . lam proud to- f lay in liavin^bee/ KUnd apojEl JdJtS)>e a part in this proceeding. G Mnli'm^|^lto(ni>yiMrtsjnionttis ago since I visited this distriutjmnd 1 taffetbdyjftViLlign what was j^t electioneering swiping arigtoro^nyT— I tt'S'ircd yon tfifen thaffit was iriM desiri tojjß* Uiiicjtark carried up n> the^STrtikato |dfnd Ijltve to hanjiwe Genial G >vernim-nt' this d f ay for jfavingjlerinitt I ,jnflo tajie.'fliis prominent part onUnis oc<ttsion,rlhtt:l) i idict|<n thfcfwfilmont of my own ; desi»ei-4- ny own non ist ana eonpeientious desires expressed "Jon !shat occasion,. YCuVrs) For, gentlemen, I cau assurWou now, on this the nrst tima that I have had *n opportunity of ad dressing you after my eleofcion, that whether you' had chosen me or not to be placed at the head of the Province of Auckland,. l .should not have relaxed one whit in my desire to see. .this, work, carried out, and, whether as a private citizen or sTpuWic officer, t should have endeavoured to iiave secured thu gr&it desideratum for you ; for, gentlemen, on public, grounds, apart from your iminedi ite advantige, and on colonial groan Is, no greater, no more important, work could be undertaken by the people of 'the colony than the openiug up of these distric sto commerce and to civiliz ition. (Chee 9.) I Must that the work" we are now about to begin will have the effect of stimulating the settlers who are here now and of enco ir-igiug many othei's to come herd and i ake up their abode amongst you —th.it, instead of seeing people coining here and going away from these districts daunted ana alarmed, we shall have security that w e skill possess the advantage of permanent settlement conferred upon us by this gi e*t undertaking. (Cheers. ) And is it not so in all other countries wherever opportunities for speedy transit of goods an.l merchandise have been given to the people, that it has ■ more than anytning else ttached them o their own couutry , many of the American States are now dependent lor means and opportunity of reaching the seaport towns upon the railways that have been established throughout that country;,, and look what these things, this machinery of railways have dme for England, and for Ireland, and for Scotland. Tlie benefits and advantages which we have lett behind us why. should- we not enjoy nero ? and the results winch have been seen to flow from them there why should they not flow to us here? Should we wait for centuries to copy the example of our fathers at home ? No gentlemen ; there is a desire, .. and I am proud of it at a colonist, to emulate the home country, in carrying immediately along with us hand-in-hand the great civilising powers tliut we have left behind us. Look, at our country now !- (com end to. end almost approachublein minutes of time by the telegraph "ires. By the telegraph wires we me brought into communication with tach other (rom the one end of the coluiij, and I hope shortly to the other end of it. We ha\e also ttiamers running along ourcoHsts. lam old enough a set tier to recollect that when the first steamboat was established on the West Coast there was a. hesitation on the part of some of the old settlers of Auckland to believe in it or in the advantages of it. But, gentlemen, look what has grown out ot it. Along iho coasts the settlers are becoming accustomed to the benefits of it, and I say that any Government that would attempt to deprive lite scattered settlements of this country of that advantage would meet with a very "sorry account of' themselves at the next general election. We nmst keep pace with our people at home 5 we. musl bring t» our own doors, the advantages which they are enjoying, if we hope that the people of England will come out and take up their abode - among us. We want railways we want telegraph communication,, we wish to point to our coastal steamboat serv cea,. we want education, and all those other advanta.es to be able to shew to tuem that they have beforoahem intelligent and thoughtful'men who have been placed over the atlairs'of this, country. Gentlemen, 1 snail say no more to you, but 1 can tell when I tirat visited this district, thirteen years ngo, and attended a, great meeting of the Maori, inliubitunU on the flat opposite, 1 little thought that wit Inn" such a brief siuieeof time I should be called upon to take part in the great, work which we are abont to accomplish this day. 1 need not say any more to you, lor you aie not, ignorant of the advantages of this work. General and Provincial Governments are weak without, tbe co-oporatuoni and the assistance of the people, and we trust to tou li>pthat co-operation and assistance. When I say thus mueby 1/ would wish to be permitted to«ay something to' the representatives of the Maori people who are here now. Laeeinv old friend,, oneol thu most loyal chiefs in New Zealand here, Mr William Burton* He has, throughout the difficulties and troubles that have overtaken us 111 this-«ountny, maintained his loyal* allegiance and laitliful seiwcei-to Lee Miijeaty the Queen* I ask you, gentlemen, to allow me to addreu the&u Maori people now, and through them, to address the Maori inhabitants who have been for a long time our neighbour in. the upper districts as well, and I would ask my friend MrMackay to interpret whut-Lsuy to them/ I;niu glad to.findon coming up here to-day, that there were a number ot my old Maori friends to bid me welcome. I did not accept that welcome merely for myself. I desired that it should be g<v«ft. not to me and my friends only, but to the work wlnct we- r are about to commence to-duy. I gay then to the chief*, here present, — Salutation* to you ; greetings to you^ con- - gratulatiom to you, upon the commencement of this great - work. We are about to forsake the old paths, the narrow tracks of the country, which e\i*ted when the Europeans > came here. We are about to forsake and abandon these oldwar paths and war tracks for the paths of peace, andof ' commerce, and of usefulness. Foolishness w>i9'at the bottomof the proceedings of the Maoris as of the Europeans in the • old time* ; but now, wisdom is devising Wb^s of pkaxantness and paths ot peace for us all, which we may enioy us good neighbours, conferring advantages upon you as well as - upon ycur European neighbours, i trust no Maori in the country will consider that in undertaking and carrying out these works there is any other motive actuating the Europeans than that of peace, a. id a desire for a reconciliation with you. (Cheers.) Why should there be-any lurking of « suspicion in the mind of any Maori, from he who is called ' the King downwards, with regard to these movements ? • Why should they consider thai we- intend evil towards them by bringing to their doors the means of conveying the pro- - duce of their labour and industry to the market town- ? Have not you old men, who have pasted away, borne testimony to our good will towards jou ? Have we not expressed our sympathy when such men as old Wereroa, of Wangaroa, in the North, died ? I was present myself on the occasion when all ibe Europetn settlers in tlie country, . who had been friendly with him assembled at his burial. And then we bad Tamati Waka Nene. Go to the Buy of " lslan I?, and you will see there a beautiful monument erected by command of Her Majesty the Queen, and of Her Governor, uncovered by Sir George Bow en before he left, indicating their good will towards him, and in commemoration of t e services which he bad rendered to the Europeans. And then we had Patuone, his brother, whose death was also recently commemorated by the present Government and a 'monument erected to his memory indicative of our great respect for him. also. Then we oomeup to your own district, and we can point to the tomb erected to the great Potatau— the man wlio was frit elected by the Maoris here to be their king — the greatest chi -f here, regarded- by the Europeans and our Governor of the day at- the friend of Europeans ; and we «how d to the Maori people that w# were well disposed towards him too. We can point to these things as evidence of our good will towards you. We have received great friendship from those old chiefs, and good service done by them, . which the Queen of England has appreciated, and which, we as your immediate neighbours must have appreciated, . and do so still thoroughly appreciate. And the work which we are about to commence to-day is another proof of our desire to allowyou and to afford youthe opportunitiesof participating with us in those great advantages which we desire for ourselves If we did not think so — if we did not heartily believe that advantages would thus be conferred upon yu* as well as upon us — if mj friends here, the Governs ent of^ Auckland, considered thab they were about to tuke part in anything that would lead to » breach of the peace of tbe countn, and to cause disturbance a-oongst us we should «ot ' be here to-day. (Hear, hear.) And in undertaking my sharo of it here to day, I wish the wlmie ol the M bod's to understand that I believe in my heart that lam about lafcing. part in tliat wliiali \v\ll' confer a lusUng advantage upon jou and your chi dVen and your children's children. (Cheers.) And, gentlemen, Europeans uid imfives, I' snail now proceed, in the name of tlie Queen, to turn the first sod of the TVaikuto railway, and I ask you now to unite with me in doing this work, to say with me, thai in the name of her Majesty, we will commence this wort, and us soon as I" have done my share in it, I shall then ask you to ghe tlire* hearty cheers tor the Queen, and three heart v cheers for the prosperity 01 the Waikato, and for the prosperity of the colony. (Cheer* ) Immediately on the termination of the ceremony all present adjourned to the three fents erected to indulge in the good things piovided by tin Hon Dr Pollen. For a short time the scene was very animated :. every person was either opening a bottle or standing with something edible in oi.e hand and something drinkubie in the wther. Tbe rain, however, which appeared to have ceased on purpose that the reremony could be properly conducted, soon commenced to descend, and dispersed the merrymakers to fheir various houses and hotels, where they arrived rather damper than when they started. In the evening, a number of gentlemen were invited by the Hon Dr Pollen and Mr ftiatkoy, to dine with thrm at the Delta Hotel. Tbe utowl loyal and! patriotic toasts were drunk, also that of the " lbuccet.B to the • Kailwuy," "The Colonial Secretary," "Mr Muckay,*' and "The Press." Amthisdinnerwasofa private nature, we should not be justified in giving evun a cursory not ice of what was said. This much we may say, however, all who »ere present appeared to thoroughly enjoy themselves. The Superintendent, his Executive, and teveral other gentlemen, left for • Auckland on Sunday morning early. Their departure y^"* the Waikato was. the closing scene of the Turning of Wt^ First Sod of the Waikn|o Kail way. Mny it proceed rapidly and when completed bring prp#pority and happiness to the inhabitants of our diatriut. ' ,

Mr Grace, the great cricketer, «s* married at Brompton. on the 10th October, to Agues, daughter of William Day, &q.

It is -i little singular how well a pan of b.>otßcan be mad<s •r> fit at the stoic. You may I>e able to gt-t y° ur foot onl y i>ait way down the leg at the first Unl.but that is because your stocking is sweaty, w you haven't started light, and the shoemaker suggests that you start again and aland up to it, aud he thious fn * littlo powdei from a pepper-box to Rid you. And so joii aratut irp, and pound ilown your foot, and partly trip you i self up, and your tff*3 stick out in an unpleasant manner, and tveiy vein in your body appears to be on the point of burbting, And alf the while that dealer stands around and eyes that operation as intently as if tho whole affair jwaa peifectly n«w and novel to him. When your foot ha« finally struck bottom, there it a faint impression on your mind that you have stepped into an open stove, but he reino\ ea it by solemnly observing that he never taw a boot fit quite m good as that. Y«u tnay suggest that your too pi esses too*hard against the front, or 1 that iome of tho bones in the «ido of the foot are too much smashed, but ho says this is alwa>s the way' with anew boot, and that the trouble will entirely disapp ar in a few .lavs ''hen you rake the old pah- under ) our arm and start for home as animated as a reho of 1812, all the while feeling th .t the woil.l will not look bright and happy to you again until you have brained tint shoemaker. You limp down town the nes.td.iy, and smile all the while with your mouth, while your eyes look as if jou weie walking over an oyster bed barefoot. When no one is looking you kick against .1 post or other obstruction, and show a fondness foi stopping aud rating againsb something that will sustain jour weight When yo'ii net home at night you o for those ol I boots with an eagerness that cannot be described, and the enwrks that you make upon learning that your wife lwa disposed of them to a widow woman in the suburla, are c«iluula.ted to immediately depopulate the e,uth of women and shoeuukeiß generally. — Danbury News. A wealthy fiwmer of Fulion has this notice posted up in his fii-ld .— '" If any man's or woman's cows cr oxen gets in these a»r oat*, his or liar tad w.U bo out otf, as the case may. be. A man eje urn, and pay mi taies, but lonfoozilation to a man who let's his ontters run loose said eye." The personal appearance of distinguished persons it the first thing the i recent dly correspondent makes a note of mid speaks ot in l<is report. So one of them, the other day, who saw C'apta n Jack alter Ins capture, remarked that Ins iipiiearance »ould ha*e been improved if he had been washed before he had ben ironed.