The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 561, 23 December 1875, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal and exact justice to ail men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religiou* or political * * * # # Here shall the Press the People's right maintain. 'Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1375.

The announcement that it was the intention of certain officials to change the name of Haarikan because of some sligbfc inconvenience that has arisen from the fact that there is a place called Hamiltons in Ougo has been, as we expected it would be, received with surprise and indignation by the public "Surprise that so contemptibly childish a reason should <be given for the proposed change and indignation at the manner in which offioial insolence sought to bring the change about. A public meeting of (he inhabitants has been called to consider the matter, and certainly the intimation of the intention of the authorities -ougktuotto be allowed to pass without an exprfssion of opinion from those most inieiested id the -change. The township and district of Hamilton in the Waikato is no new creation, but has been in existence s&veral years, Deeds have been issued for the town and district of -Hamilton, a district board created in that name, and lauds vested m that body for the public use. For years to come leUers from all parts of the world outside will come directed for re&identa here " to Hamilton," and all this confusion is to bo caused to please the whim of an official The very change, it seems to vi« for a long time *t

least, would -cause as much confusion as it would save to the officials, and a vast deal more to the people of the district. iJut if the change is open to objection, what shall be said of the manner in which it i« proposed to effect it. The people of the district are not to be consulted in the matter, but the postmaster down here is telegraphed to or written to by the chief postmaster, asking him to propose a new n&me for the district. If the people of Hamilton -quietly -tubmit to treatment of tkis kind, without entering a« protest, then we can only stiy that they deserve such treatment and that their ooses be held to the official grjndstone at the will and pleasure of every /ack m-office. Officials, whatever* their position, must remember that they are after all the servants of the public, whose work they are paid to perform. The questioa of the proposed change of name not only affects Hamilton but Newcastle and Alexandra alse. There is .just as much need of change in the one czse as in the other. If any confusion really exists it might be simply remedied by the posting of notices in nil post-offices in the •colony, requiring persons sending letters to be careful in adding the words " Waikato " or •'Otago," as the case might be, after the name of the post town " Hamilton " in the address.

Thx -District CoußT.^iThere will be a sitting ©f the above court in Hamilton, on the 6th of January next, for the Waikato district." Thb Alexandra. Contort, it will be seen, has been postponed until the 27th instant, A.s our readers are aware- -the entertainment is (o be given in ail of the fluids fer the liquidation of the debt on the Alexandra public hall. Flour Mill —We are glad to perceive that Mr R Lamb, Ngaruawahia has resumed business i having repaired the damage done by the flood j sufficiently to again commence operation. He is now in a position to supply order as usual. A I quantity of damaged wheat" is we •see offered for gale at a price that will suit feeders of pigs and poultry living «a«y to "river cwriage. Pfkerimu Electors.— We understand that the Colonial Secretary having been communicated with the matter of providing & polling place at Pukerimu, far the electors resident there who are cut off from Ohaupo by the destruction of bridges on ab least two oreeks, will be favorably considered and that a polling place will be gazetted. , Thb Art of Swimming.— We are desired to ■noiice that Mr Danvero will be at the river bank a ltttle above Mr Webber's house every Monday, Wodneaday and I\iday afternoon throughout the holidays, from half-past three ■to four o'clock, when ha will be happy to see any small fry anxious to learn the art of swimTiling. Thb damage to the Railwoucs. — The line betwoen Mercer and Pokeno is consideied in teo precarious a condition at present to allow of an engine being run upon that portion of it, as it is feared that any great weight might cause the embankmr nt >to giro way, ThoW S N Company have decided, however, not to charge the extra 10s per ton freight M lately advertised, as they have been able to get their goods from Pokeno to Mercer by pushing the truck by hand along the line, instead of carting it by the road, bo that charges will reve t to their original ra'es. Bkadshaw's Guide.— Mr Gelling, of Hamilton, is the ag*n± for the sale of this very us ful publication, and his just received, from the rmblishgrs, Mesur3 Dalgleish and Reid, «f Wellington, copies of the last Dumber issued since the Into alterations made in the Auckland and Mercer time-tables. Bradshaws N«ew Zealand Kailway Guide not only contains the time-tables of the several New Zealand railways, but a Jar^e amount of geaeral, useful information, «uc'i as official directories of the G-enaral Government aid several provinces ; tariff, mail notices, steam packet services, &c , &c. It a a LAN and Waipa Road. — At his meeting at Raglan, Mr Cox hit out a plan which if it can be worked should speedily set at rest the question of tha eonstractioa of the Raglan and VTaipa Road. There are he states some 16,000 acred in Raglan district, available for settlement and which would be made valuable by the construction of the voad. He propose* that such of the land as can ke sold at a iair uptet price be at ence put apan tLe market and the proceeds of the sale tis far as required be expended on the corwfcnfction of the road which sheuld bo at once Commenced. Snould the land sold be insufficient to defray the cost, any balance of th« niontj expended might be mado a charge upon proceeds of futuro sales of the land. ,*; Spabb Produca—- We were yesterday ghown a lettuce, the growth of a resident in Hamilton, and which with some herbs was for sale at the shop of Mr Ripley, watchmaker. It is satisfactory to find that some one is spiritedly going in for a supply of vegetables for the Hamilton market. The return of fine weather is making quite a stir aiho among the poultry. Lovers «f fresh laid eggs for breakfast will bo agreeably surprised to learn that we have been credibly informed that Mrs Smith's speckled hen has re-comme&ced laying. A mortgage -of half-a-pound of tea was successfully negotiated by that lady yesterday with one of our local storeLeepers on the first dozen of eggs yet to be laid. Business generally it will l>e seei is looking up. The I.<ter-Protincial PiOKW Maich — Auckland, Canterbury and Olago will take purt in the proposed match, hut it is not ai yet certain that Wellington will do so. The feuggeslion made by rbis journal, that tbe siiooitog need not necessarily lafce place en the same day will "be carried out. The match will take place during the Christmas, that n next week, and the Slsfc of December has been fix<d on as the day on which the Auckland team will sboof, the place jelected will very likely be the Ellerslie Race Course -ami not the Queers Redoubt, as proposed ,if the Waikato portion of the team aro agreeable to the change. The committee appointed ior the purpose, Messrs Hay, Marks, . a. »i Brown have made tbe following selection: Messrs Ai.ken, Middletoii, A E Cox, (W) Boosie, Bishop, S Morun, J Steel, (W) Anderson, (W.) las Russell, Wynyard, and C C Woo I (W.) The mat-ch will be shot under the Hamley Gun Club riiles wiuh some sljfjbt modifications- The Southern men have beei some lime chosen und have, we are iaforanid been prnotisiug regular'y. No doubt our owii team wi'l do tke came now that they aro A Maori Candidate and Sir George Cnfiy.— Wi Maihi te Rangikaheke, the Maori caudidate contesting the Kusl coast district Bgttitist Messr3 Kelly, Mo-ris and Wilbod, is rather hard in his address at Tauranga, though few will say undeservedly so, on Sir George 'Grey. Be made a good &peech and was listened fo patiently. He stated that much money [ had been unnecessarily spent in presents to natives, but that Sir D. McLeans policy generally was very good. As regards Sir George Urey, he Ibeugbt he was behiod the age, and too old. lue Auckland « Star "is indignant at tli is, but tbe Maoris sliofc is not beside the mark. Sir <jreo»-ge Grey must be content to be judged by h'n public utterances, and those of the last twelve months but too truly warrant the expregs;on of opinion ef Maihi te Raagikaheke. Sir George is but the wreck of what he was. Age ba« impaired has iaoulties, and his present political career promises to become the grave of his once great reputation. Tbe eloqnence is still there, but the keen logical power it wanting. He is flowery and inconsequential, where he was once terse and incisive. His arguments are no longer logical deductions, but ad captandum appeals to the sensibilities and prejudices of those to whom they are addressed. It was not to be supposed but that such a man would be useful, especially as a leading member of the Opposition— in the fact that he was the actual leader lay the great strength of the Government party — and he has dove good service in exposing many glaring cases of jobbery and corruption. It it painful, however, to see the once favorite for the Derby iv the • hafts of a hansom cab, and it could have been wished Bir George that had never invited comparison* so us&wr&hlo to bit fomer f reatneif.

Thi Lite Floods —The destruction of publio workfl in Waikato by the lat« flood* it, we understand, greater than was at tint orpeoted. Ihe cost of replacing bridges and repairing damage should fall upon the JVovmoial Govirn•ent, but though the Provincial Treasury his carefully absorbed the. land revenue, not a shilling is,' available froth that source for th« maintenance even of existing works, still less for the replacement of those that are Of «utrar»t we muit fall back upon our friend in ne«d— the Colonial Government, but "the fact" aptly illustrates the folly of keeping in existence a profitless sponge such as the Provincial Government, which -auoltJj us dry and us nothing in* oeturn. It was certainly very attentive on the part of 4he-Supenkite»dentto'»nd the Provinofai Engineer to visit the district, but it will be the Colonial Government that we shall have to tkaak for anything practical we may get." Ma Cox at Ts Awah*jtd\— Mr Cox addres*ed the electors at T*e " Awamutu, on Tuesday evening. There were about fifty peraons present. He was favorably received, and at the close of the meeting a vote of confidence proposed by MrfjoT Jaokaon and aeoonded by Mr Storey was carried. To give a report of the address would be superfluous. Our readers will need all their digestive faculties unimpaired for the coming Christmas* and Mr MoMton's last which will be found elsewhere, is about a» much as they can be expected to stand with safety at one dose. In reference to tbe report oi Mr Me Minn's speech at Ngaruawahia we are told that some of his supporters are width that it was not inserted in our Tuesday's issue. Considering that, ai we then stated, it reached our oftco very little before twelve o'clock on Monday night it "i« unreasonable to supple that it should hfve appeared, next morning. Briok3.— The first kilo of brick* made and burned in Hamilton West was opened on Menday, when as fine a sample of hard burned, well shaped briccs as need be wished for ' was found to bo ready for expectant chimney builders and well sinkers, or any other man, Indoed as much was to be expected from the workmaaship of Mr Hill who to the writers knowledge has been considered one of the smartest hands in some of the largest brickyards and pettery works in Auckland. The kiln will turn out some 40,000 bricks but as it all bniit ef new bricks the outsiders some eight thousand altogether, will not be sold but retained for building uptke outside of future kilnd. The work has been a tedious and a difficult one, as from the commencement of the building of the kiln Mr Hill has been harrassod with a constant succession of showers and heavy rains. The work however kas been accomplished and very successfully, and a much asoeded supply of a very useful »rticle will bo arailable io the sett lcrs o£;tbe district. Raglan and Wai pa Road Deputation to IKB StnrJtaTNTENDENT.— Mt T. B. Hi'l, «f RiVglan, and Mr 11. 0. Young waited upon his Honor the Superintendent yesterday (says yealerday's '• Herald"), and conferred with him respecting the construction of a road between Waipa and Raglan, and steam communication from Kxglan to the Manukau. His Honor coincided with the deputation. Mr Hill said that he had received letters from the natives of Low?* Waikato, stating that they had lost much of their crops by the late flojd, and ie would suggest that if the natives were assisted by the Government, an equivalent should be obtained from lh»m in labour. If they were employed in making the road, that would be of great advantage to the district His Honor said that he would telegraph to the Colonial Secretary calling attention to that fact, and suggesting that the natives and the Armed Constabulary be employed in constructing the road from Raglan to Waipa. as suggested in a recent issue of the Waikato Tikes. Total Eoiiibm, vibiml* in Waicato,— On Monday next th« penumbra of Boxing day wil I fall on this office, and the Milky Ways of the constellations Gwynne and Burke being in aphelion with the periphrastic circumbendibus of lire Little Finger the magnetic influenced of Ihe atmosphere will render our iron press unworkable. The consequence of this will be a total eclipse of thelocul luminary. It is possible, however, that the sun m*y rise on Tuesday morning next as usual, but the Waikato Tim us will not. Persons of nervous temperament need be undor no serious alarm It is not expected thot the river will rise as a conssquence, nor that it will seriously affect the potatoe crop, still lett that it will cause ill the subscribers of the Times to hurry in with their subcriplions for 1876 iv advance. The first contact of the penumbra with the daso of the luminary will taloe place immediately after publication «n Saturday moruiag, effecting a gradual obfuscat'on of the planet till a total disappearance takes place on Tuesday. On Wednesday early the outer rim will be seen and the shadow will gradually cle-ir off, till at the last coatact on Thursday morning the Times will again shine fepth in renewed splendour. Coming meteorological and-astronomical events are recorded usually -as a warning to the public and with this object we make the above prediction, that advertisers wishing to make known their wants early in the •coming week may scud in their advertisements at once iQ the manager for insertion in Saturday's issue, the last published till Thursday next. Siß D. McLban's Addbess — On Wednesday night the Defence Miuieters met the elect*?/ s of Wapier, We can oaly afford spice f»r a mere extract of the more a^font poiats ef (lie speech. Tbe <jrovernment of which he wa3 a member, bad taken an important step in inaugurating a piiblic works and immigration po-'icy, winch had ua vanoed tbe progress otf the Co'ony uuqueetionably bv many yea<-s. Thej were already seeing the flints of ii. 40C miles of railway were op<;n, and 300 were under oentract, and 2000 miles of roao * had been completed. Many able men in 1 ihe Co'ony previously said Ihey had contemplated such a policy. He and his colleagues alone had had Ihe courage to make it a reality. When he took office tbe native expenditure was at the rate of £350,000 per annum. In the firet year he reduced it "by £200,000. (Applause) They were directing their efforts to educate the Maoris. 1800 children were at school through the Island, and he trusted in time, when they were educated, that exceptional legislation would be unnecessary. (Applsu'd ) In regard to the abolition of the provinces, be and bis colieagnes felt in 1870 when public works started, that the doom of the . Provinces were sealed when colonising functions were taken from them, aud the boundaries were so annihilated by roads and railways as to be no lunger necessary. In due time last session the Abolition B'U was introduced, and carped by 3to 1. The majority expressed the sense of the country, as had since been verified. The question that now presented itself was, how were the provinces to be replaced P It was his view that the Co'ony should be divided into shires w»th Shire Cou'iri's, ceD9Kit?ng of aggregation a of Eoid Boards. The shices should have caabrol of the main roads, bridges, and other public works, and should have pewer to btrrow on the covnty races such at were necessary. They should m fact be the admiaisl rat ive bodies of the Colony, legislation being carried on exclusively by the Assembly. ' On the question of taxation, he said they must accept it as inevitable, if they wiehed to carry out the publio improvements inaugurated. He thought a la* sbou'd be levied on property which had acquired great increase of value owing to the construction of publio works. (Applause.) He hoped &ueh a tax would lead t« the cutting . up of large holdings into small ones. (Applause.) Iv regard to education, he thought assistance was nece&sary. In regard to the proposed consli< utional changes, their great object Bhould be to keep intact the unity of the Col my — (applause) —to separate would seriously affeot their credit at home. While they were united they would be strong — to separate would be a gross mistake, and one of which he would never bo a party. In answer to a question, Sir Donald said : — Taxation was inevitable, but was not immediately imminent. Tbe question as t* the precise form nould occupy the foremost mindaof the Colony. In speaking on the •übjeot, he had had in tie* the desirableness of taxing lands which had benefited by the public expenditure. (App'ause,) The following resolution was carried unanimously :—" That the electors of tho Napier district beg to assure Sir Douald McLean of their unabated confidence in him as their repreaenta* tivt, and resolve that no efforts shall be spared to place him at the head of the poll," I