The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 597, 18 March 1876, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Ot whatever tuteor persuasion, religiout or political Here ahull the Fresi the Pboplb's right mtmtftin, Unawed by influonce and unbnbed by gam.

SA TUR DA 7, 'MA HCH 18, 1576.

In less than a 'fortnight the period "will have passed by fcr another' twel veeaonth in which person * entitled 'to have their names placed on the electoi'al Toll of the district may Bend in their claims to be so registered. The Constitution of New Zealand gives a vote to everyproperty holder and householder. Virtually we thus enjoy the advantages ot universal suffrage without its disadvantages, and it were a thousand pities that any, through ignorance or neglect, should deprive themselves of a right which in England and other countries where the poor man's nose is still held to the grindstone is so dearly coveted pud prized. Here, in New Zealand, Jack is as good as his master, and the pedigree of a Lincoln rum or prize bull is of -far more importance than " the blood -of all the Ko »vartb." The ru • k is but the guinea's fttntnp, A irmn'd u m\n fira' Urif ' And long 1 may this he.|.py phase of republicanism prevail anirmgsD us, that a man shall be esteemed for what he ia rather than for what he has, cr for what his fathers, who are dead arfd gone, were before him. But, if the freedom from old woild prejudices and old world nonsonsicalitios is to be maintained, the people of New Zealand must be true to themselves. Tha power of the people lies in the ballot box, and eaoh man must qualify himself to exercise that power. Waikato must do its part with the rest of New Zealand. The Waikato districts must be no longer pooket boroughs |Eitherto the number of electois has been so small, large as has been the actual population, that an election could be worked bv influence and money. This should no longer be, nor could it be if these entitle I to claim to be registered as voters saw that their names were placed upon the roll. Every freeholder, every leaseholder, ev^ry householder, and every lodger who holds a separate key ia entitled to a vote. Let no man neglect toexercise this right. The roll of electors is made up yearly and claims to vote are lecbivedduriny tho mouths of January, Febmary, and March in each year by the Registration Ofhoers of the several districts. In the-cjueot Waikato there are two electoral districts, Waikato and Waipa, the Cornier lying on the east the latter on the west side of the main or Waikato fiver Jn each oase the Resident Magistrate, Mr Searancke is the Registration Officer, and applications to havy their minion placed on either electoral roll must be sent in to him, either at the Court-house^ Hamilton, or at his private residence N^atuawahia, and must reach him before four o'clock, on tJic af/ernoan of the 31st March inst. -Forms of application can be obtained at this office and when filled in must be addressed to the Registration Offioor of the electoral district of Waikato, or to the Registration Officer of the- electoral district of Waipa y as the oase may be. It must be Waikato or Waipa — not Waikato East or Waikato West. The two latter designations are not -acknowledged and applications so headed and addressed will simply bo thrown into the official waste basket. There is another matter, too, to which we wonld call the attention of applicants for registration. The name of the applicant must appear three times in the form. The schedule is first filled in containing 1 the Christian and surname at full length, the place of abode, nature of qualification, and place where property is situate and name or description of same. Then follows the deolaratiou "I, so and so, do hereby, &c." Now in very many oases, we are informed by the Registration Officer, Soaud So thinks he baa done quite sufficient in filling 1 liis name in as above, and doe 3 not again append it at ths end of the declaration, after the words "Tn the column" above end in front of the bracket which encloses the space for the signature of the witness, who must either bo an elector of the district for which the applicant claims to vote, & J.P, or the Registration Officer himself. Several applications not sufficiently signed have already been received and will be treated as bo much waste paper. We write thus fully on the matter as we consider it most desirable that the electoral rolls of each Waikato distriot should contain the namea of every man qualified to exercise a vote. Tho power of returning a member to the Assembly should not be held in the hand of any one man or of any clique or class of men. Tlie men who make our laws, who give tho twist or turn to the young tree of Btute in its early growth must be The people. And that it may be so we call on every man who bfti the right to claim

it, to see that his name is added to the electoral roll of the district, and to do this before 4? p.m, of the 31st of March, now close at hand.

The question of establishing a local boiling down establishment for Waikuto sheep, mooted in our last issue by ' Alento,' has, it will be seen, drawn forth adverse comments from two correspondents, one of whom goes into figures to show that the fanner would loso by th« transaction. Merc figures like those given require, however, some little proof that they are correctly stated before they can be xeceived as authoritative, and we leave them accordingly for ' Mento,' or those better acquainted than ourselves with the subject, to deal with. As far, however, as our .experience of the local results of boiling down has gone, it has rather served to decrease than to raise the price of meat. The legs of mutton are sold as euch, and as sheep are'lrilted in considerable quantities at a time, these are sold cheaply. A leg of mutton for one shilling would certainly not be to the • disadvantage of the working man, or any other man. Between the local prices for fat sheep and the price of tallow, at home, there is a large margin, aitd we -are inclined to tfcink with ' Mento' that there is a chance here for the farmer. How it may affect others lie has no need to take into consideration. No one can blame him if he take that course which returns most money to him for his produce. And while on this -subject we would suggest that there is -room for another local industry besides that of tallow making We should not only&eep the tallow for manufacture here, but the skins of all sheep killed in the district, "should be treated hero instead of the wool in skin being J bent af/ay. A locally established fellmongery on a small scale could find ample scope for business, even at present, in the Waikato. It would be all so much money saved to the district, if the wool were tlrus saved and made the most of locally, to say nothing of the benefit to any township, in a business point of view, whioh would accrue from the Establishment in it of an industry of this kind. The timo will of course come when we may tind a tannery and fellmongery establishment in each of our principal townships, but even now, there is, we should think, sufficient encouragement for at least the commencement of the one.