OUR AUCKLAND LETTER. (From our Own Correspondent.)

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 668, 31 August 1876, Page 3

OUR AUCKLAND LETTER. (From our Own Correspondent.)

Iv » wcalc moment, almo«t tt instantly regretted, 1 lound I :had again given my content to become the Auckland correspondent for your newspaper tha WaikatoTimeb. Now Ire ill j,know nothing of the country which your paper it presumed to represent in its belt intereara l never was in the Wailrato myself ; and 1 only know it by report m having •jmethui 4 to do with a great swamp case which evoked a large amount of debase during several sittiugs of the present «enion, and if I mu »ke not, dunng * part of the lath tesaion of the old Parliament. 1 hare never bought or »old a swamp inys»lf and therefore am quite unable to •ay whether the Government or Mr Tuo.nas Ru«ell and his friends h»d the bat of the bargain. I take itfor granted thifcy u ha»e dispoted of the uffiir and )i »v» let jour reaner* know the right* of I know also that the Waikato is connected in «onw way with s Maori King <a!l«d T*whi»> who wants tin laod^irh eh h** b •m confit 3 >t«d to be unionfl seated, that it may revert back in him, which I vi»h h» iuay gv it. I belie** hi* Majesty is par.ii* 1 to ru a on ths flrat, deg cc ; and to su^ar anu fl >ur in the svcoiid degree ; ai d to a plurality of wivra in some ifier degree 1 hwe read of finite paid him by Su G.o»ge Bovr»n, wh), by his ip eche* be.onDini» forae'hin« in this wise: ' O, my in- nd j, the Qu -un, her most gracious Majea y ferlt for you like unto a mother : lie obedient unto her bsh -ft* and she will bleat joulik* Unto as her own c'lildren." Sir Gfo-gel know i* ftrttcUat at ?u hing. I never knew a Governor gush us he could. Hare Ino ki own him wlien I wh a resident on the Welt Uoatt of the Middle Island I fol owid him on -c from Greymouth to Hokitikij from Hokitika to R>m; from Ros» to Wrtfp'rt and he gmhed in preoiaelf the taune words in all o! theie c»ntrrt of an intelligent people. In each pUco be oal ed up fie landlady of the hotel ha stopped at and failel not to tell h r how the waa the belt and moat ob'iging landl idy h» liad erer met with. lie alvraja told all the landladies the tame tiling and all the landlords, and all the Mayor* and Councillors. Th*n he would go hit way lr»ung bii hotel bHi to be fcetled by the local bodies ; corporations, ruad boar I* and the like ; and tlio^e badu-a would quarrel over ths hotel bill afier th» honor had pa«»ed by and the eitiiu and dnnking'wtre all done when it u*ualy happened that the h >tel keaper di3co»erecl Ihit he had had the honor of feeding and •lee ping • Gorernor »t hn own expense. It waa told me at the time of h s interTiaw with tha King, that Sir Georga Bo wen had ex,jre*<ed Lit willingness to be tatooed if i ; would be likely to hare any rffeit in oonciliatins; the natives. J pannot »ou«h for the accuracy of this but I was told a» much upon what, in new&papn language, is termed "reliable authority" . I hive been informed that the Waikuto district i« one of the most promising mid using of all the districts in the two is an la ; but I hare ?i-ited or hire been a dweller in many dutnets in both islands and I ha»e heard tha very same thing osiidoftlie particular district I have hap-p-ned to b« in at the time. I have hftrd ugiin that although the Waikato boaata of a mignidcnt noil and it is a well watt-red country, that farming wont pay ; fiat th« farmer live* from hand to mouth ; • hit hi* land » c cunbered with liens, or mortgages, or whatever may be the I 1 »ht terms to use when » roan borrows money U| on his land. I hiv» heard when land isrentdd and not owned that landlords demand exorbi'ant rents ; that m-n let their cattle break through fen.ea and A your crops without their being adequate rodress or competition obtainable. Now nil thete thing* may bequ t- trua ; for I know no'h n^ whatever of funning rajself. 1 renvmb r many years ago in Vicoria that far twelve months I edited 'an agricultural G zott* and was nev*r once bowled out. I think this wat effected by a clever system I adopted of pumping tho'« who were well informed upon matters ngncultural, leading them to the belief th*t I might impart superior informal ion to th sin in return. I know that 1 was once taken s impwhai aback when riding through the Bellerine on the Western district, in corap my with a farmer, tint I remarked what a fine crop of turnips we were passing when 1 w«s told the fl«ld waa oaU; and on another occasion I miatook mangle- wurt«le« fovotohe* my frwnd, though 1 ; I- was chaffm% him when 1 w*s really speaking io utter ignorance But I never did in tny life hear a ColoM«| »ny that fiimnn^ i-avl h ( m l'ln- muo'i I do know, ami that in when J uioet the

W.itk'ilo fanners in Auckland i* is general I V at the " Metropolitan," or (lio " British" or further up Queen-street ; that thy invariably .isk me what) I will hare to dri ik und that I invariably Imve it. They always appmr to me sociable and j >lly and never by any means eb >rt of money. They are wel 1 clothnl, loot well led, a ud in rol)a«t health ; bi'r the why i hey talk of hard times ; a corrupt government ; tUc high railway charges; the diicenl crops and the low sute of tin markets n so much in contrast with their general appearanoe that it h quite a matter for me to look sympathwnif or melancholy or to ondolo with them, or indeed keep my countenance cJOtyossd. 1 suppose th b grumbling is part of our nature*. Becauße I ktow that it whs only three days ago a tradesman met ms in Queen-stn-et, and when I mked liovr things prospered with him, lie saiJ thing* were awful — never aaw the like of them before. Nothing doing; store* full <V goods. Overdue bilU floating about in all direct om 2fo sign of money anywhere. He didn't kuow for the life of him what things were coming to. Then ho look me into the Occidental Hold and we had two glasses of sherry each when he informed me that he w»o jast going to make an offer for a bugiy and a sweet trottiag niaro. I learned that lit* bud been to the new theatre three nights running ; that lie had the aftern iou preTious lost fifteen shilling* at billiards ; and then La left ms reheratug that thing* were never to bad — never. I hope in what I miy hare to say in, my future communications addressed to jou that 1 nny be allowed to s ea'< my mmd. I do not know what your politics may be but jou are not bound to identify yourself with ai.y opinion! I may hippen to rxurens. The fact it my opinions are of a m<zed sort It comes about this way : A* a prominent newspaper correspondent I h*v« written for many journal* and have had to comply with my instruc tions. One paper wilsay Mr Correspondent it is requisite you wri c up the present Miuistryand more particularly oir respected Premier; the Government give us all their support Another proprietor will request me to show all th» weak po'nts in the miuUterial pr igramms, as the distric s in which that, particulir paper circulates have % "down" upon mot 4 ; leading government measures, With one paper 1 am apro.incialirt, with anothes a csntralitt, with a third a separation^, till 1 often come to wonder whit I really am or whether my opinions are my own or somebody pises, w ii;h I hays heard expre sed and have f >r^otetn 1 want to fi-el that 1 am c mnected with at least one journal where I shtll be allowed (o preserve a fair m^ntil eqni eHrium. I ■hall not trouble you much with politic! of any kind; certainly not with political denunciitionj. I shtll oontent myse f with recording passing events, givio? yoa the gossip ot tb.9 lay, and what I may hear at the corners of streets and in sly places. Auokland, at I take it, is growing out of all proportions lo the trade that rs doing. Suops increase aud multiply, rents riir, ost of living is greater month by month and all becmse people will locate themselves where there is a crowd instead of going iuto the country to become producer! instead of consumers. Thsre is much social misery, much of makeshift and scheming among a oerk tin set of peo,>le to keep up appearance* with so very little iode«d to keej> them up with. Tradesmen complain of the large amount of credit tiny we compelled to gire and the number of bad debts they make. The great fanlt of the present dayappeirs to be the desire to becoma nCi by making a dash fjr something b>g without considering the consequence* when the dash bits nothing and turn* out a failure. Stady ploiding is about one of the ecarcat articles on the home market. lfet there U one thin^ which puzzles me not a little. The new theatre is crow led ev^rj night; hotels are wull fllled ; billiard tabl?s are ia full play ; little dinner* and suppw are constaolly being giren ; carpet danoas are erery night and lamps and lights shine «t many drawing-room windows until the sma'lh>u» of the morning. Is all thi« art fi ial life fast coming to an end or is it the outcome of a subjtautial pr jspe-ity ? The country around about Auckland is lookiug splendid ; and we hare liad some magnificent weather audi as is not ofteu seuu out oi our own p o '.n -c.