The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 534, 17 February 1876, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Ot whatever uttttP 01 persuasion, rehgi ju< 01 political • # # • * Here nball the Fresi the Pbo pile's right maiutaia, Uuawfcd hy mflt'eu^e and unbabt-'d by gain.

THURSDAY, FRDSUAIiY 17 1876.

Not a month passes but iv one part of the district or another the public are called upon to assist some unfortunate family left destitute by the sudden death of the bread-winner, Such a case haa just occurred in Hamilton, and it is satisfac tory to find that tho cause of the widow aed tue fatheile^s has found active sympathisers, and already we learn, some -lew pounds have been subscribed to assist them in their necessity and distress. Five shillings iron? one and half a crown from anoiher soon amount 'up into a useful sum, and there lire, thank God, in a colony such us this, none, who, on the plea oi inubility, need refuse to give something, however small. Indeed, tor the matter of that, -it is their duty to give. If we are lree from poor-rates — aud may we long continue to be to — we can at lease affoid to voluntarily provide for extreme cases which iv an older couutry "vould be relieved from snch source. The subject is one, howover, which calls for more than passing remaik, and our present obiect is less to urge the well to do to liberally respond to such calls when made upon them, as to ehoiv to tho class from whence and for whom they are made, how easily they might be rendered unneeehfcaiy. 11 y tLo exercise of a very little provision, and self-denial, working men might not only leave their v/idows and frmiliefl comfort ible, but save them the bitterness oh well as the discomforts of poverty by pLicrig" them independent of the charity of their neighbours. And it is well that tho working -man should seriously take this matter to heait. lfitheito in this District we have bean a small community move or le.->s known to each other, and from thedG reasons the moie disposed to help at such times of necessity, as the one which has so recently occurred in our midst; but during tho last two or throe yea is u largo number of Blra.igers have been introduced into the colony and ohicily of the working class, and a?i a coiiseqnoucu such appeals will become too numerous and tha suiferei'B be too tittle personally known, for their necessities to be -bo heartily lespouded to as) they hitherto have been, ftclf.hclp is after all the best kind of help, tho most manly, the most independent, and the most satisfactory. -There e;m 'be no ieeliug more batisfactory to ihu husband and father than to know that, let sickness and death oveitako him, his family will neither bo sul.joeted to piivation, nor left to the charity of the world, anJ vAiy ehoulil not the working nun realise- this equally with the better off classes. The means are open, to him if ho wfll only use thorn. The poorest laboicr cau afford

to put by a shilling 1 a week out of hits i earning*, ftiul a man of tlurty ye.«Vd ol' i Hi>e by simply d"ing Ihis may seeuiv to bis wife aud family the payment of £100 at bis death even thr.ugh ho died within cue •". etk ufter nuking payment of the first shilling. The eoluuy of New Zealand owes much to the statesmanship of Sir Ju!ius Voj/el, und not the least useful of tbo n. ensures w iiich ho introduced was that foi tiie establishment of a Life Ass ri.i.oo Defwitm^nt, in connection with, and having the giu-rnntee of the iNew Z°.vland Govp. >iment The working of this liihtuaßue Dopirtment has year by year been improved upon, *o i\n to render it more convenient and useful to the public, aud tbo U> f, aud, perhaps, the most useful of these improvements lias been the graining 1 t>f life policies in connection wilU benefit societies. Thus the member of a bene6t society, Odd'ellovva, Good Ttniplars, or any other is peimitted the privilege of insuring 1 his life for * less bum than £100 *iud it be does so cf paying his premiums not quarterly aa in ordinary cmses but weekly, In the case of a man, say of thirty years of age, h« can by the \Veekly payment of one nenny secure to his family at death the sum of £7 lUbor by a weekly payment of twopence a Bum of £15 12s, and oo on, till for payment of one shilling per weeK he would secure the sum of £93 12s. Now what working 1 man with oppori unites such as this should hare his wife and funily unprovided for or dependent on charity? A. II trouble in the matter is taken off his handy. He simply pays in the weekly premium to the Secretary of tile benevolent society to wLicb he belongs, Snd the Utter arranges all uuch pavmfnts with'the local agent of the Government. And while we would Urge apou the work, irig mau to do this — to save sixpence or a shilling a week Irom his wages for this purpf)3o whatever else he tnay deprive himself of -we would draw the attention of Benefit Societies to tba desirability of urging upon their members tbe adr&ntdges thm afforded of insuring their lives for small amounts by weekly payiuontof premiums — nay tnoto, via would urge "upon them to facilitate mitter* by uudmtAing for working mt'iubevs temporarily thrown outof woik, the I'nyinentoffeuch premiums, to a certain extent, from some fund pro. viilad for the purpose, so that there shall be no fear ot a policy lapsing 'when once made. But every working 1 man doei not, and some upon principle will not belong to a soL'KMy, and cannot avail themstlveaofthe fttcilitiea fur weekly payment of premium which Can only be done through a society. Well, for all such there ia the rery best of Associations, of which thoy may make themselves members without cost, without almost any trouble, and without in any way compromising th»ir principles — we mean the Government savings bauk. They may open an account bj depositing only a shilling and thoy may nvike additions to their uccount by depoetts ac low as a shilling at a time afterwards. Insuring his life for the working man can provide for his quarterly payment by a series of small deposits to bis savings brink account aud when the quarter coraes due he has simply to authorise the Postmaster to effect the necessary transfer of the amount from hits savings bank account to the insurance agent and the matter is done without further trouble. A man say '35 years of age insuring his life for £100 would have to pay Us lid quarterly. If he was called upon to pay this in a lamp he might very likely fail to do so, but no working man iti this colony is so ill off that he could not during the preceding, three months hare paid in the amuunt, a shilling at a time, aud a balnuceat the back of that also, as a stand bye Of course if a shilling a week is more than he feels he could save, let him j oiu the Good Templars aud avail himself of the weekly payment syatem and pay iv his twopence or threepence a week and so secure £15 or £20 instead. We have addressed these remarks to working men. More propeily, perhaps, we should hare addressed them to their \vi\es. It in they who are the most deeply interested in this matter, It is they who may best induce the huabind to make this provision, cr, failing to do so take the matter in hand aud themselves do it. There are fevr such women who not cr cannot contribute in some part to the weekly earnings of the family. Can thej not spare a single penny, u few pence, a shilling a weak, to render the loss of the husband that may happen at any moment, less bitter to them in its consequences, tf he neglect, they at least can keep up the premium and save themeelves fiom a po-jition, than which nothing can be moie terrible to a woman with helpless little ones depending upou her.

Tn« Immigration Otficor in Auckland, has, we see, replied through the " Cross " to the ch.irges made against the Department by this journal with respect to the iinmigiants' cottages and their treatment Ilia rfxeuso amounts simply to this ; that the Corernuient have had uo immigrants on hand in the Waikato or elsewhere out of Auckland since the 2nd December list — that there have been no immigrants in any of the depdt cottages since that date having any claim upou the Department. " Lninigrant'B," this officer's explanation states, '* despatched from time " to time to the Waikato not actually " under engagement, luive five day*' ra"tioiiß allowed them after reaching the " district, aud one rnoath's house aesoni- " inodation, if necessary. If invalided " within t!ie terui, medical attendance is "allowed, but where employment lips " been obtained, no furthor obligation is " acknowledged." Referring to the state »f the cottagci he says : "If »*Bes of cick- " ness arihe among the free oocupauts of " the cottages at Waikuto, it i« no more <- than occurs elsewhere, and the respon " BiUility in such cases, if it extsudd be- " yond the p.irtiws immediately concerued, " csrt.tinly does not lie with the linimgra- j " tion Department, but with the load | " authorities, whoever they awy be, as th« " persona usually chargeable trith the " health of the district, and the relutf of I " destitutioa wlierever it may b« found " !

Now, throughout, the defence is diaingouuoua. As landlord of the tenements the Department lias no right to expect tue " locul auUjoritits" to diain the land on which the bosses aiB built, to supply ,i will, and closets for the use of the u mui is. Yet the absence of these roquiremo its wua the ciufie of sickness and death in the cottagtss at CNinbridge, and is vow tie rau&e of men fetill living in them too weakly to undeitake the work they could easily if in health obtain. Whether the immigrants now in Waikato are conRideied as having any claim upon the Department or not, the fiicta above stated as regards tlie Cambiidgo cottages cannot be t-uutradicted. The two deaths which occuned at Cambridge 'from th» causes mentioned, the oue "from typhoid, the uther from colonial fever, occurred previously to the 2nd December. So too did the sickness which struck down so many of the occ\ipanta of those cottages, and which still lingers among- them. How wiU the immigration officer if ply to this? Again, in another part of his defence, he u>yh, "A suialL(eic) rental is imposed after " a given time — piovided the cottages aW " not immediately required £>r the more '* legitimate purpose for which they were "eiected. The outside rental charged is " \'{)-i per week for a cottage of four "looms; but only in one instance has " more than 8s per -week for a single cot- " tags been paid, and tliis usually by two " families. No one is compelled to occupy " more or less loom than he lequires, " and if there is crowding in any iubtdiioe, " it is purely voluntary oa the part of " these temporary teuants." Now this misBtutement coutaini just so nnichof truth in it as to lender it <*11 the more dangerous. The rental is not charged for the cottage as a cottage, but for each room as a rootn. The Cottages are four-roomed, having three family rooms, and a kitchen for the common use of the three families, and if omy two families occupy one 'of these cottages, the overcrowding is just the samtj aud the rent just as as if the three family room* were •ach occupied, for the Department in Che former ca&e, carefully locks up the third family room, so that the two families uamjj fehe other two rooms shall have no benefit from it unless one or other of them choo3f»s to pay an additional 4s "per week. If there is crowding in. any instance, says this official, it is ' puVely voluntary. It is nothing of the sort. 'It is the dog in the manger policy of the Department, not the voluntary aet'of the inmates, that causes the overcrowding complained of. The extra room 'is there; the De{ ai tment needs it for no other immigrants, yet carefully locks the other'inmates out of it. It is not a .question of will to occupy — but of power to pay ! for the room thus locked up from them — that causes overcrowding by the inmates, and is it nob disgraceful that any official depal tment should sanction a course so contrary to the laws of health and decency, i as to allot one sleeping apartment crtly to the use of a family 1 The thing speaks for itself as simply disgraceful. Had the cottages been divided in half, giving two rooms to each family, and the same 'rent now charged for a single room (4s a week) been charged for the two, the requirements of health and decency would have been complied with, and a fa'l value in rent have been received, and even then sudh conveniences at are absent in the Cambridge cluster of seven -cottages should also be provided. The explanation of the Immigration Officer in no way clears the Department of the charges made agaiust it. It in fact only more firmly establishes and defiues them, and the public will not accept it as a defence, but will lefuse to rest satisfied till tho abase itaelf is remedied.

"Gr*Cß' before meat i» tha castoiu aunngst al civilised christians find it u said thiL Sir George Qroj, obsorvsnt of thd custom referred to, has lent bis avant courier to ths "Waikato en route for ihe King couotry, to mako n-ady t'u« way for him. Too gentleman ia question was in lift in lton on Mouday evening on hit wnj to Alexandra, but we doubt very much if so important a mat or would bo entrusted 'by Sir Georgo to to young ani inexperienced •» man. Sir George would more probably have tent no lets a personage than tha well known C O Davis, the worthy squire of » worthy 'Knight, on this oiiision. What iudeed might w» nob look for a* the result of the negotiations of these two loyal gentlemen with the King ! To rub rfoiei ■t the tame meeting with two suoh worthy actors in Anglo-Maori history "during the last quaiter of a oeutuiy, could not but toften the heart of a far more obdurate man than Tawhiao. At presant, however, the Tisit of Sir George would be premature, and 'we muat therefore be allowed to doubt whether the arm*! of the gentleman alluded to kts reference to, auy intended visit of Sir George Grey to effect the extradition of the murderer Winiata. Although wo suggested tbe other daj that Sir George should make an effort to Capture the murderer, we had no with to lead tho worthy Knight into acting so precipitately in'th* matter at is generally reported that be hat done. We ■poke of cjune of his coming up in the erent only of Winiata havingalready armed at TaKuiti, whioa be has nit. It it very fluttering, howeTer, to find that tho suggestion! of tha Waikato Trass are reccired with tuch Mijtoetful attention b/ Sir Georgo. Could wo hope for tho sime measure of farour frooi his worthy friend »nd fellow worktr, Mr 0 O DaTii, our cup of b»ppiuevi wowld be full.

Elsbwmbi wo publiih the portion' of the lead' ing article froiu the Wellington Opposition journal, to whioh our telsgra.n* oi Monday night made reference, touohiug tho »«kheUty of Mr *F Wbitaltep'i election for Wukato. The matter hai oaugtsd iouio little anxiety atnonjjat bis constituent*, and Ire may thero'ore be eicuicd if we occupy ioinn portion of our spase in tbo di»cu«iian of tho iubjoot. At fint light tho argument iv ft»»our ot disqußlifiu-ation iicomi conclmiTe. Mr Wuitiker and Mr Taylor being pariuori iv the i»uie transaction the cuio of each w nommiUr but actually thc»ame. ifthen.Mr Taj lot '■ ocoapatiou of hi* ieat needed indemnifying n-H-cMaril.v thj •• ue aut of Mr Whitaker would need it too But ue uiUit reuiecdber that there wa»uo special not of indemnity passed for Mr 0 J Taylor, bat that tho Legislature— and the doiug «o was onu of the oriet aiod against the Governmeat ot tho kto elcotitm— lumped all

acts of diaijUaliictttion under one not of lndein* nity, Clatue 4 of the "Disqualification Act Amendment Aot, 1875, R«e general indemnity to sitting members of either Houm oollecuTclr wuo Lad renderei theinaelTes habits to tho proritiom contained in the Disqualification Aot of lb7o, and in doing this, in muring the Act r J»r to na particular caie, tut Legi*lature has not affirmed in any way any disqualifying action ou the part of Mr C J Taylor. Tt«mdemnifl<»»tion refers to any action of members generally that may hate been done m contravention of in* A;t of 1870, nud therefore tho argument uned by our Wellington oot«mp>rnry, that if Mr 0 J Tuylor in 1875 needed indemnifying Mr F Whitaker now is in a prrciaely simitar case, falls to the ground. Notlvng itwi the Legislature has done fire* infraotion of the l»v» «n Mr Taylor. Th; whole point of "the matter howerer rests in thia --vt*s that gentlomau. as a member of the Parliament of Now Zealand, erer in need of the pTOteotion afforded by the Disqualification Aot Amendment Act of last session ? We say unheaitatmgly that Le wa* not. 3eotion 9 of th« Disqualification Aot, 1870, dies not, we maintain, apply to any agreement for the pur* ohaae of waste lands, and this ii the eha-aoter of the contract with tho Goternment to which Mr Whitaker and Mr O'J Taylor are parties. The document for tha purehiso of the Ttako swamp i» either valid or intalid. 'Ifralid, section "9 of the Act referred to will b« fjund not to apply to it ; — ii inyalid, then the document purporting to be an agreement is so much waste paper, and there it no contract to bring rtie parties concerned within the meaning of the Act, In Mi T iylcr's case, if we r^colieit rightly, the Committee, which by the way had a airorig polit oal bias against him, did not Tenture eten bo iar bb tbexpTesa an opinion on the legality or otherwise of his action, but left that queition an open one and recommended further legislation. As aimply relating to the purchase of waste lundp tho agreement m question for the purchase ol tho Puko swamp doas n t, it will be found, crime within the meaning of the Act of 1870 «nd neither did Mr Taylors case need the Amendment Act of 1876, nor is Mr Whitaltor's seat for Waikato imperilled in the slightest degree from the fact th the is a shutreholder in the !Piako Swamp Company.