The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 622, 16 May 1876, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal artd exact justice to all men, Ot suite or peisuasion, religious or political • • • * • Hero shalltliePresi the People's right maintain, Unnwcd by influence and unbribod by gain.

We need scarcely, we think, enter into the question of the necessity that exists for a bridge over the VVaikato river at Hamilton, whether considered in the interests of the two townships and the Hamilton district generally, or in that of the VVaikato district aa a whole. I'ublic opinion was pretty decidedly manifested on that point at the largo public 'meeting alluded to in Mr Potter's letter, which we publish in our correspondence columns of to-day. The interest theu taken in tho matter was not purely local, but was shared in by the people of Cnnlbiidge and other parts of the Waikato. What we have now tocousider is the feasibility of tho schemo as suggested by the letter before us. The matter is not one of such plain sailing as our • correspondent seems to suppose. In the first place, tho consent of the Government has to bo obtained to the handing over of certain unsold, confiscated lands around the township of Hamilton East as a source whence tho interest and sinking- fund on tho amount required for tho construction of a bridge may be lovied. But granted tbih achieved, theamountreqtiired for thoactunl • construction of the. work must be boa rowed and if so, security must be forthcoming to tho tune of some £0,000 or £10,000, for a substantial bridge, wo take it, could not |be orceted at much less cost, It would bo necessary, therefore, that tho GovornI mont should bo asked not merely to hand •over tho lands proposed as endowments to tho Hamilton East Town Hoard, but to furthermore give that body, or any other in which the trust. migLt bo vested, tho power of issuing debentures on tho same, and a special Act of Assombly would be necessary. in this caso as it lias been to enable the corporation of Auckland to deal ma similar manner with its reserves. Wo do not of course mean to say but that the same powers may bo got in the one oasoas tho other, but the fact that, they have to be first obtained must not be lost sight of. Now tho cost of a substantial bridge over tho Waikato at Hamilton may bo put down at not less, wo suppose than £9,000. Tho increased tiaffic would doubtless cause a very much lower taiiff of tolls than now charged at the punt, to return an equal annual net revenue, or say .£lOO. Suppose then the sibovo amount wcio raised on debentures tcrminublo in -» years, inteicst and sinking fund would amount to something liko £900 a ycur, or putting the net value of tho tolls at £200 per aunum, tho Juuda would bo charged

with an annual rent of i.'7UO. There must, to rai.«e this amount yearly, ho something further to come ami go upon than the relit of tho 500 acres com pi using- the town belt of Hamilton Rust. A gLiuca at tiiomap of the township will, howovur, show a souice of possible inconvc, not touched upon in the letter of our correspondent, and that is tho unsold allotments in tUs township itself. Independently of the special reserves there must be a large number of single lots in the hands of the government yet nnaTienated, and these, if they wonld .not lease, would sell readily. Of special reserves there is a considerable area, pet haps sixty acres altogether, end ! some portion, such as that for a public square on the main. Hamilton and Cambridge road, nearly opposite Brvrke's Hotel, the military reserve, the forago reserve, and another reserve of some eight acres situated between the two, of considerable immediate value. It ig quite possible that these lots, and the town belt cut up into small film seotions, would sell fora considerable sum, and the more readily that a bridge was to be constructed, with the money so obtained, while there would not bo a lot in the township sold or amongst that which would be available for sale, that would not be largely enhanced in value by the bridge. That the holding back of those and other knds in the vicinity of tho township from sale, h a great hindrance to progress will be readily admitted, end if no other way could be devised for obtaining a bridge than tho. parting with every reserve in Hamilton East, the property holders and residents, not only now, but fur the timo to come, could not do better than let them go for such equivalent. But let us not deceive ourselves. There is not the money -for the construction of a bridge iv the leasing of these reserves, though possibly there may be in the sale of them, and to this view of the question thoso taking the matter in hand will havo to aeldres»s themselves. In a new country where land is cheap men will not invest their capital in improving tho land of others, even though the leases be long ones, except, indeed, in case of city nnd town properly. Our correspondent could hot, however, have taken a more opportune time for laising the question, in \iow of tho official visit about to bo paid to the district, uud the speedy meeting of the Assembly.

Tb Awimttiu Djumatic Ci.t;B.—Tbe Queen's birthday n, we sec, to bo coaimomorrvled by nn entertainment girou on the iiyht of tho 2Uh mat, bv the Dramatic Club, in aid of tho funds oi tho Public Hall.

Accident.— Wo regret to learn that a somewhat sorioub accident occurred to Mr Hart Hicks whilo engaged ploughing on Saturday. The plough met with -an ob3ti notion, and the horses becoming lestire, the stilfci of tho plough wore Tiolenlly jerked out of M> Hicks' hands, *nd one of them itruck him violently on the back of the neck.

The Cambbidge Road.— Wo understand that a portion of tho Kotomahana road party, »omn fifteen altogether, under command of Captain Watta, will at o/ice bo plucad upon tho road works about Marfcyns Bridge, now being under taken, so that ai littly delay as poasiblo may i take place in throwing open to public, traffic tho road which is now clos«d.

Daiby-fbd Bacok.— An error crept into tho advertisement of Mr W Johnt, in which ho oflers ISUUJb of dairy-fed bacon at lOd per lb to tho inhabitants of Waikato, delivered at any of tho towiuhiiJß. By austako tho word " fat" ■vraa printed instead of " dairy-fed," a verj important znistako, as to be vory fat in fu from being n recoinmcnJatiou in bacon, whereas to be ' dairy.fed is the best character it can hare.

Guand (Jo>cbbt Cambiudge.— What with the Cavalry drill and the Native Lands Court and local eipnt, there ihould bo a bumper home at the School-room, to-night, on the occasion of the Concert K iren in aid of tiio Organ Fund of St Andrew's Church, Cambridge, dome really o the very begt amateur talcut of the district hu boon eecured for tho occasion, and the entertainmoot promiies to be an cn jO yable ono iv ererv respeot. '

Camusidge Catalby jmactic*.— The »Ohnv bridge corps wore put through their drill again on Saturdaj. They are somewhat new totu« ■word exeioise, but •■ a l>odj of horsemen ,it would be difficult to find thoir match out of Waiiuto, vliether at regardi Iho woight and mettle of the horses or their management. The cortw paraded on Sunday and atteuded dirino Sertioe. 10-doy the corpi will be reyiewod by Maior Jackson. ' J

.Native L^nds Court.— Tho Xatire Lands Court juat held by Hi. Honor Judge Afonro nt Cambridge) has been concluded, »ar*r*l important a»d intricate cue* lumn< been ' brought forward for consideration inrolring tho throwiiiß open of a considerable amount of land. Although there have beou many Maoris in Cambridge awaiting the i-.su 0 business, we are told 1* not moro than ueualJj briak, the natiyes having little or no uionoy left to spend. I

Mb Wimshibb, the Vi:dsst%us.— A telepram was receded yesterday by the editor of this journal «ij;ned J L Wiltshire, asking "Who are the men pioparod to by against Wiltshire doing Danrera 1 fe»t, and what amount! 11 It scarcely comes withm the manifold functions of a newspaper editor to arrange matters of this kind, but wo -publish a copy of the telegram ia t order to give those who bollovo tho feat cannot bo beaten an opportunity of taking the matter up. Mr Wiltshuo may bo addreised at the Yici torta llotul, Auckland.

ExPhCTKB iMaioiiiinß -The •Immigration Olbcer in Auckland furnishfa u« with a list of of the immigrant* expected to arrive by the Jiebington, from which we find that among the 'married 'men with fainilieu there are 10 iarm laborers, 7 general laborers, 1 carter, 1 ploughman, and 1 woggoner. Amongst tho married men Without families : S.f.irni laborers, I general laborer, and'l sbopbard. Tho list of aingte mon includes 25 farm laborers, 6 general -kbow.i 2 ploughmen, 1 agicultural implement maker Amongst tho single women are four dairy-maidu : aau a milkmaid.

JavhML, E«TSETimiENT.-Tho entertainment last Friday ovomng in aid of the funds of the Juvenile .Lodge, I O GT, though nob ,up to ilio standard of tho last Good Templar ontortoinment pawed off rcrj satisfactorily, the room being wel r fillad, and the uuduncc thoroughly satishod. Tho ontcrtainment consisted of sereral part songs and choruses, well rendered by tho lonic Sol-Fa choir, recitation*, roa«IW and solos, and tho exhibition of dissolving yiewa which included some aploudid scenes dn tho arojot of Mont Biane, giving a graphio ids* of the dangers oncountored by tourists m Alpine travelling. Tho various scenes wero ably described by Mr Johne. We must not forgot a rocitat.ion oy one of the Hiss Trewhoollar's, " Which do I lovo best,' which wai dourly aud dittinetly giTcnund elicited loud applause; but undoubtedly the moit pleasin)? part of tho por/ormanco was tho nngine of Mr and Mrs Culpan, ally the duet " Tho Miuato Gun at Sea," wJiieh rocoivcd as it desorvod au outliusiastio encore. Iho dcsonptiro songs lung by Mr Culp» n to tho buid eecnoß in the dissolnn^ viewo wore also cupitally renderod, but in our opinion tk» gom ot tho evemni! was the long " Excelsior," also sung by Mr Culnan. Tlioro wa« moroover a reading from Mark Twain by Mr Johns, tho terminution of which was hailod b v tho audionco with the greatest satisfaction. Tho pflrforinanco concluded with " God Baro tlio Queon," tho masic lantern wlshiug all good rn^ht. ,

LO L.— An Oran/io Lodgo f 0 he styled "No 21, Willinm Johnston, L 0 L," will be opened at Cumbndgj with all due ceremony ou Saturday next.

Paymwt ran isj-URTRc.—Tlie liobilities of Highway nud To>m Boards, or of contractors, wli«ro work ii sotiken, for injuries inflicted on the pubKe through negligence, hag been afllrmed in the District Court at Auckland in the action SUunlon t Wifcon, triad ou Monday last, nad has resulted in » Terdict for the plaintiff, with damagei £45 and £10 15 Court oosts, against the d«fendattf, and should operate as a lalutary warning to contractor! employed on street cut» tingi and other works, who leare these places unprotected by «ecur« fences or lights to prevent accident. According to the jury, a moveivble railing ii inadequate to acquit ft contractor from re§pon»ibiHty on account of any accident that may occur. The complaints that hara been mad* of tha unprotected state of street worki "hare been Tery frequent, and tlie remonstrances hare been Tery positive anft preanng. Stm -no sufficient precaution was taken. A great many •mallmifhapi occurred, but the -persons to whom they befell did not think it worth while to take legal ,proeeedingi. Contractors would do well to ponder the e T idenoe given, for it opens th whole quastion of their responsibility- Tho jury appeared to take a very determined view of tho matter, and endeavoured, with greit pains, to ascertain whether the evidence offered in mitigation affected tho plaintiff's claim. The damages were laid at £100, which they reduced to £45 j but this sum, with the Court costi, 'is a TieaTy penalty for any kind of negligence uraVed in tho omusion of ordinary precautions.

TUESDAY. MAY 10, IS7C.