The Waikato Times. "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1875.

Waikato Times, Volume V, Issue 415, 12 January 1875, Page 2

The Waikato Times. " OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA." TUESDAY, JANUARY 12, 1875.

Jt has seldom if ever been onr lot to clironicle so many horrors as are briefly narrated in our telegraphic columns, Almost the worst fatality that can possibly overtake humanity has befallen a large number of those we had hoped to welcome as fellow colonists. It is useless to harrow the feelings of those who had feiends on board by attempting to depict the scene on the 19th of last November, the brief outline is sufficient to enable the least imaginative to draff" a picture of horrors seldom depicted, either with the pen, brush or pencil. There is little room for hope that any but the three known Survivors are still of this world, it would, therefore, be cruel to even hint that such could be the case. Railway accidents, muiders and horrible crimes and sudden death fill up the chapter of horrors. Xiong distant may be the day when it will be our duty to again wound the sensibility of our readers $o the extent we are compelled to da this morning.

A meeting was held at Mr Gwynne's Hotel, J^EarßT 1 ' • yesterday afteynooru for tile purpose of |6rmi', a gun club. About a dozen, gentlemen wece r :'esent. A club was formed and christened #10 W&ikato Gun Club. It is anticipated that the Hamley Gun Club will challenge the new club to a ■jaatch next week. There were twenty-eight head of fat cattle yarded ;or Mr J. P. in^l's lnouthlv sale at To Awamutu rjield on the b\h in«t Tvp-"tv-fho were sold at <ivico3 vhi'i ii 1 -^" f ''"i ' } ''"- * ' -7s Q'l Per lOOHip. 'A I XL' liV/ifAe vravio cittl '.veif 1 alva \>.idfd i">ill

vellefs,--and, fc* op«fc the fcountiy through which it passed. The following are the names of the nominated immigrants per Copatrick. Married — Nominated at Auckland, Dalton: Charles, aged 50, Ellen 49. Cousins : William, 20, Mary 22. Thompson j John 38, Barbara, 26, Euphemia, 7, Lachlan, 5, John, 3, Sarah 1, L. Whyte ; William, 37, Isabella 27. Single men, nominated in Auckland, McQuillin, Michael, 22. Schwatz, Carle, 27. Whyte, Robert, 25. Andrew, 19. Single Women. Nominated at the Thames— Whyte Mary, 58, Janie 32. Wood : Mary, 35, and cliild, John, 3. Nominated at Auckland': Ellen Dalton, 17. It appears that Constable Tanner, when he met with his accident, was assisting Constable Feoiian to capture the man Dilly. He was in the act of removing a slip-vail, and as he was desirous that no time should be lost, he did not dismount. His' iorse became restive, swirved round, and jammed ds rider's leg against the post and broke it. Tanner vhs then thrown with considerable force over the ence, the horse remaining on the other side. He vas at once removed to Hamilton and placed under be c»re of Dr Carey. Upon exo urination it was ' mnd that he had sustained a compound fracture. Considerable dissatisfaction is expressed by those who are compelled to pay the Education tax, --even when they are to a certain extent participators in the benefits accruing from the tax. The settlers about Te Awamutu, however, have good -cause for complaint, there being no- school-house in their settlement ; the consequence is, that settlers are compelled to bring up their children in ignorance, or send them severel miles to school. This is trulf a just cause of complaint against the Board j it is preposterous that in a diatrict like Te Awamutu there should be no school-house. There are two bridges on the road between Alexandra and Te Awamutu in such an utter state of decay that it is almost miraculous that a number of serious accidents have not occurred. These bridges were v originally built by the Government. They have been patched up for a number of years by the Manga piko Road Board, it has now become impossible to do so any longer. Finding that the meagre funds at their disposal would be insufficient to render these bridges safe, the Board wrote to Government requesting them to take the repair off their hands. This the Government has not done, although they stopped the usual subsidy te be applied to that purpose. The Board then closed the bridges, and apprised the Government of the fact. They were subsequently opened by settlers who were compelled to travel over them safe or unsafe. It would be surprising in any other country that a Government should so long delay doing a necessary work they had undertaken to perform. Messrs Clarke and Allright have " looked " at the bridges a great many times, but unfortunately even staring at them is not likely to mend them. Nature has, no doubt, says a correspondent of the Cross, done a great deal for Mercer, but much has been left for man to do. The wharf erected by the Wkikato Steam Navigation Company is, doubtless, a vast convenience so far as it goes ; but from its unprotected state, and abutting directly upon the open read way, it may not have been, but no doubt will be, the cause of many cases of drowning as traffic increases, by strangers walking over it into deep water on dark nights. There are no life buoys or drag provided, which ought certainly at once be seen to by the Provincial authorities, and the recent unfortunate proceedings in connection with the drowning and burial of Miss Porch point to the necessity of a boat being placed at the service of the constable stationed here. No less than thirtytwo deaths by drowning are reported to have occurred in this district during the past twelve months. There is some ground for complaint, therefore, t?hat the appliances above-mentioned should not be provided.' — In the matter of the railway no rapid progress is being made,short sections are being levelled here and there ; but the rock work in the short tunnel impedes operations somewhat, although two shifts work daily at it, from 3 o'clock in the morn ing till 8 at night, and shortly three shifts will be at work. None of the culverts have been commenced ; but the stone it in process of being carted to the requisite positions. It is surprising that the residents here have done so little towards improving the approaches to their business places ; but a change for the better, initiated by Mr Wells, the energetic storekeeper here, is now observable, and it is to be hoped the example, will be speedily followed. The feeling of the settlers seems to have been too much, hitherto, of temporary residents — short leaseholders of properties, but things are now changing, aad it is to be hoped a better condition of affairs will prevail. Mr Wells has purchased his extensive store buildings, and Mr Hancock has bought the Point Russell Hotel, and new life is to be infused in the place by Mr Higgins succeeding Mr Campion, who leaves to commence business again in Auckland. The roads now are in capital order, and there is abundance of good metal to keep them so, obtainable at the quarries on the Paparata road. The funeral of the late Dr J. R. Nicholson took place yesterdaj- afternoon. The deceased gentleman held an important office in the Order of Good Templars, and fulfilled the duties appertaining thereto in an eminently satisfactoiy manner. A very large body of Good Templars— upwards of" a thousand attended the funeral of their respected brother, who to the time of his demise, filled the office of W.G.T. in the Provincial Grand Lodge Representative members also attendod from the Thames, Whau, Onehunga, and Poverty Bay Lodges. The deceased was medical officer to the Volunteer Fire Brigade, and the members of the Brigade, about 40 in number, followed the coffin. The tire-bell was ako tolled slowly as the .procession moved along. Many of the members of the medical profession and a large number of citizens, including his Honor the Superintendent, J. Williamson, Esq., and the members of the Executive, attended to mark their respect for the deceased. The funeral cortege was comprised of upwards of fifteen hundred persons. The body was first conveyed to St Sepulchre's Church, and after a short service, was removed to the grave, where the funeral service was read by the Rev Mr Dudley, and the remains committed to the earth. The Templars' service was not read, as it was understood to be unusual, if allowable, for any other service than that authorised by the rubrics of the Church of England to be readat interments made in the cemeteries of the Church. The Templar authorities also provide that the service shall not be read when offence may be thereby. — Herald, Monday. There is some mismanagemnt on somebody's part as regards the transmission of Immigrants to their destination in the Waikato. There we some recent arrivals living in the cottages at Ngaruawahia, who arrived there last Thursday evening from Auckland, they are bound for Alexandra, but will not be able to start till next Thursday evening, when the steamer leaves for that place. It appears that those people were given 15s for each family to pay their expenses to their journey's end. It is of course impossible to keep a wife and family on 15s for eight or nine clays, consequently those who have got no money must be fed by the Government, whilst waiting for transit or live on charity, [t matters little ■ whether new .irrivpl?: arc fed in Auckland or iv the Wciikato, bat what v*> desire to piinf out is tliit : p r.Li ,n >.. h-. r< , >•■> h- fm t\yrr

used With a Mai fall of 20 feet. Tbe driving of the first pile of the great railway bridge in th« Waikato will mark a period in the history of the district, we have not heard, however, that any public celebration of the event will take place. It is rumoured that the Government is offering land for sale between Rangariri and Mercer at 15s per acre, the land is utterly useless fer farming purposes* and would inevitably, even if given, ruin any man who settled upon it, provided he only' stopped long enough. This land could however be utilized in -a manner that wonld confer a lienefit upon the whole colony. It has been suggested by Mr Firth that tha country is admirably adapted to the growth of the gum tree (Encalyptus). If a large part of this land was planted with this tree, the prospect of good railway carriage and the existence of good water carriage makes it not difficult to predict that in a few years when our natural forests are destroyed, a supply of valuable timber can be drawn from land that is nearly useless for any other purpose. A launch of a barge took place at Ngaruawahia on Saturday. There was the absence of the usual ceremonies, no young lady graced the proceedings by her presence and participation in the hopes of future success, which are invariably indulged in whenever a vessel of any class first takes to its native element. The vessel was given the name of Marian, It has been built by Mr Ross to the order of Mr Edgocumbe, she is forty feet long and has a gross beam of ten feet, and will carry ten tons dead weight. She aits on the water very well and altogether is a credit to her builder. The assembled company adjourned to the Central Hotel, where success to the barge was drunk, also the health of the owner and builder. The proceedings, although somewhat irregular, were characterised by hilarity and eloquence. Our " Sporting Reporter " describes as follows a hunt that he witnessed when passing through one of our lively Waikato townships. It was a grand sight, there before us he stood close to a precipice, with eyes glancing round and limbß quivering with I fear, there was a moment of suspense ere the hounds were let loose for the chase : — would he then leap down the precipice? All the exoited hunters breathed heavily — for see, already the dogs are near their prey, but just before their hungry mouths could seize the trembling animal, he gave some astonishing bounds, which speedily placed, him at a considerable distance from his pursuers. The chase continued, and a deadly interest was felt in it, the question mentally asked was — will the dogs destroy the object of their sport before they arrived to give him the coup de grace, after the manner of their ancestors. In the meantime away go pursuers and pursued full cry. The steep banks of the Waikato are soon reached, and over tumbled all. Would he escape by swimming 1 No ! he stands at bay, and two dogs are already placed, for the time, hgrs de combat, from having been thrown several feet into the Waikato off the horns of the enraged animal, the remainder of the dogs gather round their would be victim, the circle is gradually getting smaller and smaller, His last moments were near at hand, when our excited and humane reporter begged the hunters to spare the animal's life, his request was granted and the goat lives to afford another evening's sport. A bishop, and a very wise one, none other than Dr. Fraser, of Manchester, thus expressed himself very recently on cremation :—": — " Philosophers have tried to trace our origin to *»ome tine granular atoms of matter as the primordial order of all things. But instead of going backw ards he believed in looking forward. Strange things too have come into men's minds with regard to what we ought to do with our dead, and that instead of our burying our dead we ought to have cremation. For his part he did not see that cremation interfered with the resurrection doctrine. His body would crumble to dust, and it was enough for him to know that his personal identity throughout eternal ages rested with his Maker. A surgeon might cut off his finger, but he was there still, whatever physiologists said as to the change of his body. Eye had not seen nor ear heard the things that were in store for us. To die was human, and to live was life eternal. All oi them ought to try and live for the life to come." The Wanganui Herald is responsible for the following singular story : — The writ of attachment against Mr Meredith, Clerk to the Resident Magistrate's Court at Patea, suggests the propriety of the Government enquiring into the matter. Mr Meredith is a subordinate in a department, and has been acting- strictly according to the instructions' of his superior, Major Edwards, who ought to be the respondent. The whole business is most extraordinary. A case came on in the Court at Carlyle, Major Edwards on the Bench, when judgment wag given for the plaintiff. The defendant, through his solicitor, Mr Hughes, appealed, lodging £20 to covet costs, and duly entering into the necessary bond to prosecute the appeal. The plaintiff, through hie solicitor, the late Mr Perham, demanded the .£2O which had been so paid into Court to meet the judgment, and notwithstanding the appeal, Major Edwards actually ordered the Clerk of the Court to pay over the .£2O to the plaintiff, and the Clerk obeyed accordingly. The appeal went on, and being maintained, the Chief Justice has ordered a writ of attachment to issue against the clerk for retaining the £20. The case is altogether unique. That a subordinate in a department, who simply obeyed the instructions of his superior, should be held responsible, is not a little surprising. That the Clerk had no other alternative than to obey, may be understood from the fact that Major Edwards addressed him afterwards to the effect that if he had not handed ovei the money he should have " locked him up." The proceeding in which money to cover the costs of an appeal, duly undertaken, was handed over to satisfy the judgment, is so extraordinary as to require a prompt investigation by Government. Meanwhile the writ attachment is pending. The following is from the Otago Witness :—": — " Not long ago a Mr Short delivered a very excellent lecture on " Happy Homes and how to make them." The chief object the lecturer had in view was to induce a number of young men to insure their lives. As soon as they had sent in a proposal, they were to go before a doctor and be examined. So far so good. It happened, however, a dozen of those gentlemen were athletes, and having recovered from a severe attack of measles they were very anxious to know from a duly qualified practitioner whether they were fit to go into training for the forthcoming Caledonian sports. To get the desired authentic information would have cost a guinea each, but Mr. Short's address put quite a new idea into their heads They filled in the proposal form eagerly, and next morning presented themselves in due course before the doctor who was all smiles at the thought of drawing twelve guineas from the Insurance Company as fees. The young men wei*e carefully examined, and pronounced as sound as belles, and fit for anything. Thanking Mr Short for his lecture, and pointiug out tbe advantages of life assurance so plainly to them, they left. 1 believe they have been in active training since, but I am sure none of them has paid, or evor interds to pay, his premium. We agnin remind intending purchasers that Mr Kennedy Hill will sell at Hamilton to-morrow the furniture iiud h fleets of Liout.-Col. Lyon, also some

thejflam of Petej^ » foreigaeir, form&ij wateriliMf in Auckland fc missing. He had be«k working 1a th« 3PWt& swamp. He left about Ohristmas -time, and wu£*fpen supposed to be in the ' Oiorrors> ~ I , Wo see by the, Bsoa<l{ drrtw that a dinner and testimonial w^re given ito . John Colman,of the -19tB Hossars. The paragraph goes on to state that he was about to leave for New Zealand to take the position of instructor of cavalry, I about to be raised there. News reaches us through strange channels, we learn, ftr th.c first time from London that it is contemplated to raise a body of cavalry.