The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 577, 1 February 1876, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal and exact justice to ail men, Ot whatever Mate or persuasion, religious or political ***** Here »hall the PreM the People's right maintain, Unawed by influence and unbnhed by gam.

TUESDAY, FJSBBUA'tY 1, 1876 ' :

The man -hunt for Hare Winiata the murderer of Packer at Epsom, has been carried on unremittingly by the settlers and police around Auckland, and still he is at large. On Friday a place was found in the high grass in Mr Patons field aljoining Mr Cleghorn'B farm in which ie was clear that a man in a crouching position had stopped all the previous day, and probably till late into Thursday night, so that it would seem that the murderer did not break cover till tho night of Thursday had well set in, and all reports previously received of his having been seen on Thursday morning early, directly after the murder, must have been unfounded. Opinion seems to be very much divided as to whether he Ikh made north or south, to his tribe the Ngapuhi, or to the King country. Ho would not havo much difficulty iv making either, despite the police and patrols which a,-e scattered about, for he knows the country well and could travel by night in a line, swimming- rivers nnd crossing rough country, where neither horse nor foot patrol would be likely to go. The minder too was so deliberately planned that it is Lardly hkely but his after movem«uts were pre-arranged and provision made for necessary requirements on the journey. It seems, too, to be forgotten that he was a sailor, anil that from the vicinity of Auckland escape by water is just aa practic ible as by land, wind and weather favouring, and that vessels theroare always plenty to tho hand of any despn*ate man. It is ques'ionable, however, whethei if he did arrivo at the King country he would be sheltered by Tawhiio. The deed was one of cold blooded murder committed for gain and possibly actuated in some measure by levenge, and as such will excite a« much horror in the native mind a3 in our own. It has no pohtiu.il significance- whatever, it does not even involve a question of land, nor is it even a murder according to tho old Maori code as utu taken for a giievance, for it is absurd to bupiXMie that a man twice convicted of theft, would have keenly felt the accusation of stealing his money made against him by Packer shortly before the murder took place ; neither in Maori jurisprudence is death the measure of such utu for such offence. In all probability Hare will strike southward and is now either iv the King country or not far from it. Considerable apprehension has, we understand, been felt by settlers in exposed situations, lest th*>ir homestead should be visited by the ruffian in his flight, for the purpose of obtaining either food or arms, for it is felt that such a man under such circumstances would stick at nothing. As far as the Waikato goes, the country is being as thoroughly watched as it is possible with the men at tie command of the authoiities ; though, as we have said, in the case of an intelligent active Maori such as this man— thoroughly conversant with the lay ot the country and every swamp, creek, and line of track, as ho must be, having been all through the Waikato with the troops, it is almost impossible to draw a coidon which he could not steal through. The Government, we see, has issued a reward of £100 for such information as may lead to his apprehension and conviction, which willduubtles bo read to extend to the act of capturing him dead or alive, at any rate should the settlers instead of the police come across him such would be their version of tho notice. Hare, however is scarcely likely to give them the chance, and we must look for the second act of the tragedy to bo played out at T<i Kuiti. The " Cross," we see, recommends that should the murderer escape the police and reach the King country, Mr James Mi>ckay should be sent to explain matters to T iwluao and demand his extradition.No better man than Mr Mackay could, we U'liove, be found for such a mission, but we much doubt whether the Maori King and those wilh him will need any such spur to their plain course of duty in this case. The King has, as our readers are aware, just promulgated a code of laws amongst whnh murder, theft, and revenge, are ordered to cease, and Winiata in his killing of Packer has boon guilty of all three of these. The late proclamation of Tawhi.io was cither a reality or a sham, a piece of genuine good intention or of liypocrifcic.il dcccit — ho is either a King or a puppet — which of all these is, or is not, will be seen by the action he may take in tho mattev, should the murderer Hare Bucceed iv reaching tho King territory.

Wn constantly hair complaints at the Auckland end of the lailway that the line in not managed in the interests of the public, and doubtless when in another five months the iron horao with its train of cars rattles daily into Hamilton wo shall know where the shoe pinches, unless tnrantiine a saint's nicho in Heaven, or gome other government billet on earth, than that

he now holds, falls to the lot of Mr Pai»« more. Waikato oven now, howevfr> haft its grievance, though as yet, it has not found publio utterance. Why, we wot»ld ask the manager of the railway,* cannot the up train for Auckland leave Mercer at 1.30 instead of 3.30 ? As it is, people get down to Mercer by river boat long before the time for the starting of the afternoon up train. An hour or two spent in kicking their heels about in Mercer would be far better ntilised in Auckland. The river boats could easily be ran to reach Mercer a little after 1 p.m., and if the up train left at 1.30 or even 2 p.m. many a Waikato settler could transact his business in Anckland over night and return to his home next day, instead of as now getting into Auckland at seven o'clock in the evening and not returning till the thud day. Nor would this alone convenience the settlers in the way mentioned, it would increase the traffic returns also, for it would caus6 many to visit Auckland who do not now do so. We have very little heart, however, in advocating this alteration, for we know how little the railway authorities care either to consult the convenience of the public or work the railways financially to the best possible advantage. In Now Zealand the railroads are not made for the people but the people for the railroads.

The Alexandra Chubcd Coxomt.— We would remind the settlers of Alexandra and oth -rs that the Cburch Oonoert and spelling bee takes place to-morrow evening, in the Pnblio Hall, Alexandra. The Appearance of thb Timbs.— We hare to apologise to our reader* for the discreditable manner in which our itiue of Saturday was presented to them, the paper presenting a blurred and blotched appearance as though it were printed with bid ink or type only fit for the melting p?t. The circumitance, however, wai entirely duo to oarelessness in the mechanical depart tent and we have taken such steps a* /rill ensure our readers from being again annoyed j with a r petition of it. Rechkct of the Ballot. — Many persons suppose tbat the scrutiny of the voting papers Gives an opportunity to certain officials to learn the manner in which electors hare voted, but that such is not the case Colonel Balneavis the Chiei Returning Officer for the Pronnee. hns clearly shown at the declaration of tht Wiiitema'* roll. All the voting pipers are numbered according to the roll, and the consequence is that when any person rotes twice, the number or hiit paper appears twice, no tha*. the nnme in not disclosed. Only the number on the outside is visible, and consequently this is no violation of secrecy. "It is proper, says the " Herald," referring to the matter, that this explanation j *lu>ul<i be widely known, for the object of the b. pilot would be entirely frustrated it tb*r« were any doubt on this point" The Pigbon Match— Waikato v Attcklakd. — The following is the eoneet report of the shooting mutch which took plncn at E lerslie Grirdenn on Friday between Mr Xe-inedv Hill, of VTakito and Mr MidMleton of W.iroa The condit om we>-e ten birds each, to be sbot for, Hocordmg to the rules of theHaraley Gun Club A good number of sporting gentleman »ere nnd a great dr>«l of interest seumed to be taken in the match. The birds ro»p well, nnd afforded a good opportunity for tlifl compntit >rs to display thoir skill. Thp following it ibe score: — Mr Hill, 2 2 10 2 2 0 0 12; total 12. Mr Middloton, 22202 2 202 2; total, 16. At thtt conclusion of the match, a trial at arms took place between Mr H (a well known sporting gentleman of this township) and Mr M . One bird each ; the bet £1 Mr M. shot first, and brought down his bird in a innnner that showed h« was not untied to weapons of a warlike nature. The other goutlmu'U) failing to hit his bird, Mr M w s decl-ired winner. Mail huuvicE vjk thi Piako, — Some li'tle time ago we drew attention to the need by the Piako settle™ of the MUblirhment of « regular weekly mml between Hamilton and Pinko We dul wlint h journal could in bringing the matter before the notice of the authorities and poiuted out to the Sftrleie themselves where their part m tha matter la?. We find, however, that though sosiis) of them arc t.ilking about the neglect of the authorities and the desirablenew of the undertaking, nothing practical has been dme by them. Heaven helps those who help themt'-lvrs, and m great deal more is got by the sturdy beggar than by the meek and easily browbeaten suppliant. The discovery of tho philosophers stone has been left, for the latter half of the nineteenth century and it is comprised m the one word "cheek." Cheek turns everything into gold now-a <Uyt, and without it a man is nowhere. The Piako settlers want a little more of this commodity in their composition, liet them call a meeting, maka out a good caio and forward it first to the Chief Postmaster in Auckland, and if they can do nothing with him represent their oi«e at head quarters at Wellington, but dont in any case let them tike no for an a swer bat persevere till they get what they want. There is no doubt they deserve all they ask :— a weekly post, but the simple fact of deserving it is not enough. The officiitl mind is obtuse and even when lb is got to roe a thing it is slow to more. Nothing i<. however, »ot by sitting down to grin and boar, and certainly lo>iat of all from the Post. Office department in Auckland, Bis dat gui eito dat in certainly not its motto in the ca»e of pubho requinmonts asked for, however much they may be needed. Vfu Kvkrt MoLian'i FABurira Essay.— Mr McLeans ifssay which bus been republishoi from our columns into thoss of the Auckland papers seems to have given rise to considerab c discussion "one of his gamblers" writing to the "Cross" on Wednesday says: — "This essay starts with a description of the land in the neigh* baurhood of Cambridge, and the writer then wants to know if that district is to be immaculate or become peopled with the same kiml of gam* blorg and over-reachers that are to be found in other parts of the province, totally forgetting the fact that up to la<t year those so-called gambler*, &c, supplied the settlers of Waikato with what was aim jit their sole source of revenue. I refer to store cattle afterwards fattened on their luxuriant clovers. Mr Maclean ought to be awaro of the fact that when a settler got* to Waikato his tirtt objoot after building a place of residence is to opt rate upon the virgin soil, which will only grow clover with any degree of success, and it would be as well in many cases to throw tho money into the Horitiu as to sow wheat where the land is new. Mr Maclean can teach tho Waikato settlers very little indeed; t hey know as well as ho does that the man who buys a store benst at £4, and by grazing him makes him worth £7, oontnbutis £3 worth of food towards feeding the community, and is equally as great a benefactor to hi* locality as he who grows £3 worth of wheat ; in fact, more so, for we are importing fat cattle by the hundred erery yenr, ami everybody knowj hour much aaier it is to import grain than live slock." Then in refcicnoe to the charge that settlers waste too much time and spend all their energi s in tryiug to ovofieach one another at the cattle markets, the writer goes on to say :—": — " It is true thit oat-settlers are occasionally victimized at the sales, and I will cive you a ca*e iv point : Mr A Buck'and advertised a pedigree cow on one occision (I think her name was Sybil). She had a calf witti her and he was pure. A gentleman made some disparaging observations about thodo cattle, and put some absu. dly low value on than bufoio the sale came off. I believe Mr Madcan could have bought that C3W and her ea f for about £31 10s, only u gentleman present bid up to something like £84, at which sum they we.c purchased by Mr Maclean ; and I think that bull calf has giowointo the voW celebrated bull Colonel Trcgontsr."