The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 583, 15 February 1876, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal and exact justice to all nien, Ot whatever stataorpenuasion, religious or political Here sliallthe Pi em the People's right maintain, Unawed by influence and unbribcd by gam.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15. Wl6.

It would appear, from what certain Cambridge correspondents say, as if there were another vide to the question of the treatment of the immigrants by the Government aud that much that they have to complain 1 of is > due to themselves. The desire of this -journal m the matter is simply to elicit the actual facts of the case and as it has been stated that the whole truth- hasnotbeen brought forward, weshall lose no time but at once institute further enquiries into the matter with the view of placing our readfers and the public in full possession of such facts as we are able to obtain of a trustworthy and authentic character. It may possibly be that there are faults on the part of the immigrants as -well aaon that of the Government and if these can be substantiated we Bhall certainly not spare them publication, but, be this at it May, there are still certain damaging- facts which cuuuot be contradicted. The chief points of the charge -still remain, namely, the over-charge of rent, the over-crowding of the houses, the absence of medical attention and the generally unhealthy position of the cottages in question. These were all makers that ought to have been reported to the authorities long ago. It is simply disgraceful for the Government to charge an extortionate rent of four shillings per room for three 100 ms out of the four in 'each cottage and then afford a cluster of seven cottages on one acre thus let not even the use of a common well. It is not true, as stated by a correspondent, that there was such a well and that it was filled in by the immigrants because they quanelled amongst themselves, neither is it true, we are credibly informed, that those now in the cottages are less U3eful immigrants than those more fortunate ones whose health enabled thorn to secure work. Their idleness is enforced aud is the result of fever and £111 ness brought on by the neglect of all sanitary precautions: on the part of the Government. The ground on which the cottages stand slcpea to a comtnou centre and theie the drainage of the houses filters and remains a stagnant pool until evaporated by the sun. Christopher Greenway, himself, of Auckland back-yards notoriety did not even leave his tenants ho uncared for as this, and he at least provided water for them. If the Goveru'mcnt had let these poor people have hous>e room free, or at a moderate rate even, we should have thought they might still have provided a wall of pure water, but wheu a rent of twelve shillings per cottage is charged it becomes simply disgraceful that for 'the «vbo!e seven of them not even one well of water is provided. No woudtr a.3 Wo naid before that fever has found it a congenial home, aud this i* why I the unfortunate men now living there in destitute 'condition are unable to obtain work Tttey are too weak to work or they wtfuld gladly do so, for there is plenty of work to be done in the Cambridge district now that the fine weather has set iv, and at a good rate of wages.

Cambridge is one of finest, agricultural districts in the Province, and the action of the Government in causing this scandal is -throwing a slur upon the district with which it cannot fairly be charged, ranking it to appear that the destitution among these immigrants is the result of the poverty of the place rather than of sickness ■which has been caused by settling these people down in an unhealthy swamp without cren a well or the conveniences for decency which every landlord is supposed to provide. It rs a pity that the good people of Cambridge did uot show the matter up earlier, Imt noue can say they have sot acted the part of the good Samaritan whan called upon -both individually and collectively to do so It is not now for the -first time we learn that from the people resident in the neighbourhood such of the immigrants -is were in poverty or in sickness received a large share of kindness and care. They themselves, as will be seen on reference to the sketsh of our apeciil reporter, stated as much to him, instancing the name in one case of a settler who had done much for {hem. That this assistance "has 'been gene Val we are only teo glad 'to learn. At the same time the necessity for it goes far to prove the statements of the immigrants them--as regards their destitute condition. On Saturday, we understand, a public subscription waa raade and some pobnds were raised by the people of Cambridge to en■able the more pressing necessities of these sick people to be cared for. These facts speak -for themselves, and sh*w clfearly enough that we raised our voice in their behalf against the neglect of the authorities not One bit too soon. Many of the settlers have for some months bean kindly caring for the sick, but the simplest plan Hn& the best would have been at the santo time to have sel the matter strongly before the -Government with a view to its being at once remedied. "We neve-struck to the loot of the abuse and we are much mistaken Tf the fiutterings in official dovecotes caused by it will not soon bring forth a beneficial result.

The return of Sir Julius Vogel to the Colony has already been followed by the assumption by him of his natural position of Premier in the cabinet ot New Zealand. It will be m our readers, recollection'that the position Vas resigned by Sir Julius previous to the last session, when the question 'was raised whether the office of Premier could be legally held by one out of the colony. The ' doty feU to t>r Pollen as th« most suitable holder of the office, but the appointment Was not Without its loss and inconvenience to the mm. istry -vhich could ill afford to have its premier a member of tho Upper House, a •disadvantage even to the strongest ministry. Out telegrams speak df a reconstruction, bat that fcerin is always used when even a single change takes place and probably en this occasion no more is intended. Therehave been rumours of late, however, of a strong coalition rainisLry to be formed of some of the loading -■members of the present cabinet, and others of the Abolition, party, but whatever form it may take Sir Julius Vogel as Premier, and Sir Donald McLean as Defence Miuister, unist be the foundation oF auy reconstruction. As we sfiid before, however, the telegram in all probability simply means that in resuming the Premiership Sir Julius will resign the positioc he ntaw holds of Postmaster (Jeneral and Commissioner of Telegraphs for that of Colonial Secretary, the office at present held by Dr Pollen. The real reconstruction, if any, wouldecarcely take pfe.ee till after the meeting of Parliament.

tToTicK'To Hi.Tiip4.rltM. — Tho Collector of the RangiaohU Highway District gires notioo that defaulting ratupayerg will after the 19th inst, be proceeded ugaimt for th« recor»ry of rate* due.

MP3ICIIi AITD DRUIiTrC EITTKBTAmifRNr. The member* of the I 0 G T purpo*e, we leo, ginng'a grand musical aud dramatic entertainment on tlio 24fch inst, the programme of which will appear in our iisuo of Tuead<vj next. CiMBBiDaE Impbot«MBnt3.— A petition has been got up and nuftt»rotnly nigcfoi bj the ratopaybrs dt the Oaoibridge North Town«hip, requesting the Board to' tako into comideration the advisability of making the road at the end of Duke street, leading to the rirer, as the trafllo is liablo to be stopped at any moment, the road at present mod running through pmate property. The eitimatod coit it two hundred pounds.

Yvzlic ENTEKTAtifMBVT. — The Hamilton Amateura are, we hear, goitfg to £ive knother of • heir monthly entortainment« ia the Court House, on the evening of the 23rd instant, wlien if it is ho)d on that evening, whick we trust it will not be, they will it is to be hoped haro finer weather thtn they had on the last two occasions T e Uouie is a cipital room to nog in, especially for vo\ces of nnderate force and compau, but, for all that, we could wish that the' Public Hall Company would put on a littlo steam and erect * building suitable for this and other purpose*. We might then have a conjunction of vocal and instrumental tnuaic with atnatear theatricals, aud «o render these entertainments more genorally attractive, The want of a stago in the building at present kmJly lent for the purpose preronta this, and if tlio euter%a>nni»nt were held in the gyniHmium, the singing must bo sacrificed, whiah \vould again be t drawback the other would not compensate, gome time mnce it was announced that the Sreater portion of the sharos in the Public Hall Company hid been »übfcrib3d, oud that a meeting to take stops for calling for pinna and specifications of the intended building would bo held, but nothing further has come of it. If the mat' ter was really so far advanced as was md, it u a thousand pities it- should ha alb wed to fall through for want of a littla further pushing, A» regards the entertain inonts to whioh we' alluded in the commencement of these remaiks, they have, we believe, iv re§pect to attendance' been moderately suocessful, but tub wt> can say, that fdr want of being properly aJvor.HOd they have not been so hrgely attended as they otherwise would hare been, lhey ahould be adrertiaoil for at least a week before they ocmo off, aud in t)i » issues of tho paper lnimodiatoly preceding thorn something like a programme (without of course the uiiun of the perform r») should "be published. We haro only the we.fure of the society in view in mentioning tins, for wo know from eipjrieuoe the difference of the receipts ia the caeo of a woll advertued publiu }>erformance, aud ouo which tulcea plucc— half the town knowing nothing about it till tho day after. We have sail iha evening of the 23rd would bo an ill-choaen ono, and for this roa»on, that tho gyro match between the Waikato and Hamlo> Gun Clubs will tako plaoo oa that dny, aui the Waikato men will witortntu their visitors at dinner in the evening, an event which would bo likoly to inteifjre both With the flllißg of the house and the presence of porforuiera at jthc entertainment. If held oa tho evening of tho 22ud there would Lh> no dashiujj of «vouti.

Auction Salbs.-^t Knot will hold auc iom Miles to-day at NgiruawabU, and to-morrow, at Gvrynno's Hotel, Hamilton. To-daj, the sale at Ngtru iwahia will consint of the furniture, stock, book debts, groceries &c, in the bankrupt estate of Thos BlackmOre of that placa To-morrow Mr Knox will sell at Gwyunc's Hotpl, ft farm of 150 acres of land some three mile-) from H*nul ton, nnd abJiit ono quarter ruilp from the propo^eil railway slation, on whioh is a four-ronmo'l honao. A large portion of the land is in nra«it.

Value of Land m WAicvrt).— Wo barn hwl several requests to ascort&'ii if we kn>w of any more hi' mired acra farm*, m e<^d cultiration and with suitable buildings, wanting tentnts, hko thnt of Mr Fee'i, reported in our commercial newt of Saturday ai having been let for & yearly rental of £25. The circumstance it nerertheltst » fact, though such a chance seldom or never occurs a iscond time. The mattor of the leasing was more one of friendship than business, and must not of ooimu be taktfn ns any indication of the marketable value of an improved farm.

Tub KJv«r Strameb "Alert." — Th« announcenont that the " Alert "is to be fitted at once with a spark catching apparatui rimilar to that used on the p.r " Wuikato" will b« read with satisfaction by thoie who journe? up and down the river. Thii apparal us has beea preparing for the last fortnight and is »O\t ready, and will bo fitted to the vessel's chimney at onoe. With many the "Alert" has been a f-mmrite boat to traTel by on account of its «p«ed, and nowthat the fire-spark au^ftnoe, whioh has been worse of late «mc» the calm line wcatl.er set in, will be put a (top to, the will again be ohot en by many in preferrnc* to the larger *nd more commodious but llower reMel.

Baziab and Gut Atronow, AtBXiNDB*.. — We would remihd our Alexandra readers and otheri, that the long Calked of baztar, concsrt, gift auotion, and dance, undertaken with the riew of learning the debt on the Public Hall , Alexandra, will tak» place this evening, at the Hall in that township. With the prounse of fine weather and »7f» 7 f ull itooo, "stid Vfith the manifold ftttraotions pfesehted bj tht Committee of lailies rtnd 'othen who hare been indefatigable in their endearouri to make the coming affair in tverj respect n sudoesi, w« Ifctt tD iearn tbat the object of thl promoters has been accomplished and tbat an enjoyable erenrng hai brfon spent with the reßult of largly decreasing the debt upon the building.

Diuth ?rom Dtsintbry. — 'NVe regret to hare to record after the short illness of little 'more than ono week, the death from dysentery of one of the immigrant! living in the immigration oottages in Hamilton West. The unfortunate man whose name was Stevens died yesterday, incarnation t>f the towel* baying let in. He loir en a wife and family, one a baby three months old, entirely ifnprorided for. 'Sere is'antffcher ca*e for tho benorolent, for it is not because there hare been several such lately, that this poor lonian in her necessity should be left uncared for. We hare already to •acknowledge the 'receipt of 5s from " a friend " on bar behalf, and shall be glad to heat that th« mattetr Iras bedn aotitely taken up fey some one to whom we caa hatid it over witk anj other sums that may be forwarded to us for the same purpose.

Sal* o» Baoe Booths, G-atis, Etc. — Yesterday Mr X Hill submitted to nuction the gates, booths, &c, mt the Waikato Turf meeting, to be held on the 24t"h and 25th instant. The bidding vros not so spirited at on former occasions, and the prices realised were much lower, but then it mutt be remembered that the speculators last year btamt their fitfgers dyer it. Altogether the prices realisod were fully as high as ootold reasonably be expected, *The gate's ware purebasod by Mt Missen, of Cambridge, for L 43, and ths two booths, for the a«le of alcoholic aad other liquors, by Mr E KirkWood, the first for the sum of L2O, and the second for Ll7. The Tempeiance booth was purchased by Mr Eiisley for L 7 10»; the sales fenlising* sum of LB7 10s. The pri?ileg» of printing tho cards of Iho races was bought in.

Alex and BA Sc'bvol Committbi. — A m«eting of Ib 6 Alexandra School Committee was held on Wednesday Feb for ' the purpose of taking into consideration the diviiioa of the district as requested by the settlers of Te Awamutu. After considerable discussion it wai proposed by Mr Hill and «aeondea bj ifcr ICoSUaae that tlio amended botuidary thoald be a» follows -.—Starting from the S X boundry df »ection 20, Mangapiko, thonce by the Mangapiko oreek, thence by the V E boundary allotment 317, thence by ita eastern boundary to the road, then in a we»terl? direction by tho aUgle of allotment 212, then in a southerly direction following road, to the sou horn boundary of aeotion 213, thenot in a 8 E direotiou by allofcmenU 228, 229, 230, 232, ami I<s, ttienoo ia a southerly direction by th • RiXapaha'Cteet.

A silit bluKdbb.— We would kindly surest to the sub-editor of the "Auckland Herald" t l io desirability of purchasing a more powerful puir of apeotaclds, so as to read articloi correctly before criticising them. In its Jsaue of TTnduy v tlie "Herald," quoting the word appointment, says : — " The Waikito TiMKi, which deTotes a great deal of its space to tho Epaom murderer, recommends tho 'appointment' of bloodlnunda for tracking tha murderer, eridontly ignorant of tho fact that the bloodhounds kar« first to be procured, and then carefully traintd beforte they can bo of any service." The Article in the Times doja not oontain the Word appointment at all, but recommends tho "employment" of bloodhounds. Care in reading would hare enabled the hypoi critic of the " Herald to hare voided this error, but a larger quantum of brain would hive been needed to eufcblt him to see that the bloodhouudi were recommended to be used, not m this particular oase, bat sine* the Auckland detectives appear to be little more intelligent than aoine Auckland nub-editor*, in similar coses in the future. «

Obchakd PH.mitras.--l notice appefers in' our advertising column cautioning trespasser! on the Tainahero estate of the Messrs (Graham, that they will bo prosecuted after this date. It appeir* that tho Messrs Gralutn have been ihuch annoyed, especially sinoe the peach season commenced, by parties trespasiiag. Formerly there was fi. T»ry fine Orchard on the property bat •very tree moFeablu has been •tolen, and the few pc ich trees left are being rapidly destroyed by pillagers, who, not oouteut with taking the fruit, break down the branches and destroy the trees. The MoisraO-rabim stato thit fully a ton of fruit has boon taken wrongfully from their farm this eeason. Tins is not all, howoTer, tho»e trespassers bring dogs whioh worry fho sheep, aud they leave tho g»tes open allowing the sheep -to scatter, mixing th» docks, and causing the work of drafting to bo done over cgkiu. On Sunday three parties worn cauuhfc in tho act of peach stealing, two of wlntn had filled sacks and the third a kit, with the fruit. We scaroely wonder if after this it has been found necessary to pubhah the notiue printed ciia'whe're.