TO-DAY'S MEETING AT ALEXANDRA.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 156, 21 April 1877, Page 2

TO-DAY'S MEETING AT ALEXANDRA.

The most hopeful phase in native matters we have heard for a long time is today's meeting at Alexandra and its ob. ject. It would seem that the love of isolation which has been the characteristic and main support of the King movemen is breaking up, The natives desire tha '> the railway should Be extended to Alexandra. They see the advantages to themselves in a commercial point of view, and from -what we privately learn are prepared to yield much to obtain them. We have reason to believe that it will be found that the natives will consent, if the point' of carrying the railway to Alexandra is conceded by the Government, to allow it to be extended through natiya teiTitdry; right on to Kopua.' • If thi3 coh- ; cession be obtained the Native Difficulty will vanish away: like 1 thin smoke, and the Maori, accepting the inevitable, will preparejhimself to enter side by side with the European'; into/ the enjoyment of the blessings of civilisation. The meeting of to-day is likely to be a large one, and to be attended by tha principle men of the King party. .

'Wi : give below the .text. of a telegram received' from the Defence : Mnlister at Wellington in reply to the resolution passed at the meeting held at Kihikihi. Dr Poll en is a master of fence and-doubtless thinks to overwhelm the whole agitation with ridicule when he states that the dismant-ling-the barrack accommodation stopped short at = the cook-house. We have to thank the meetibg at Kihikihi that it did So. ._ The telegraph works quickly, and the Government lots not a moment in repairing their mistake,' and the demolition stopped suddenly at the cook-house. But when Dr Pollen states that he is unaware of any intention to abandon the Kihikihi frontier, he takes up a position which he cannot mask with the secrecy of tho the telegraph office. V What but the abandonmsnt 'of the Kihikihi frontier is tie posting" of one 'half the men at Alexandra and the other half at Cambridge, Yet this is the oider of the Defence Offije. We challenge the head of that department to declare that it was not so. On this assumption the, Kihikihi settlers acted in passing their resolution and they were perfectly justified in passing it. The Defence Minister has a loophole of escape, however, and we trust he will use it. The Government can incroase the num-. ber of men of the A ,0 Force to be stationed in Waikato and place them at Kihi. kihi. This is the true solution of tho difficulty, or we should rather say difficulties —the difficulty of the colony in haying 'the defence of an important district left inefficiently cared for, and the difficulty of the Government in having perpetrated such a blunder. - Let the Defence Minister arrange thet (he Waikatb force shall be augmented by 50 men to be stationed t Kihikihi, and prove that the terms of his telegram published b_=Jow were correct, inasmuch us tho disposition of the force at the two stations of Alexandra and Cambridge to the apparent neglect of' of Kihikihi had refrence only to the existing force of 80 men and the blunder will be overlooked. The following is the telegram referred to : "Government Building, 4.30 p.m, I7th April. Andrew Kay, Esq., Te Avvamutu. I received your telegram yesterday reporting the uneasiness of settlers flt.lheabandoument of the Kihikihi station, and.the removal of the Constabulary bnildings, and I have to day received your telegram conveying the seutimeuts on this subject of a large and influential public meetincj held at Kihikihi last Digbt. The meeting had probably sources of information not open to me. lam not aware of any intention to abandon the defence of the Kihikihi f ion tier, or of any part ol the frontier that needs defence. Col. Lyo,» reports to me, with reference to the alleged removal of the Constabulary buildings, that ho had given directions to take down a cook-house which was in course of erection, and which ho was unable to finish. (Signed) Daniel Pollen."

At what time of the day was Adam created 1 A little before Eve. CoNnujjtAi, Bliss.—A henpecked husband declared that the longer he lived with his wife the more he was smitten by her,

Our Supplement published with today's issue contains much interesting matter on the Eastern qutation, and tho position of the belligerent nations. Mr John Knox's timber at the Hamilton landing place to-day. Ho will also offer for. sa.le|swp tons t>f pptatoepn lotito suit F ABATERS \' CliUB Willhold Aits regular monthly on Tuesday when pn ">Our. present- [systeni : of willi-be In an Edinburgh trial a witness was asked •* What do you consider excessive ,<oliteness to a lady not yourLWife ?" and ( he answered, •' When a gentleman attends -to a;lady glass and afraid she might break. Hus;baqds are riot generally'so particular:?',; * 'Answered. —Professor—' The ancient irthe'habirdf w ß a'3fift'6ing red-headed;girls-to flip devils/ .Auburn haired' SW4etff4V^ri(l?™ttey^6 ; With the " red-headed "boys ?'' "'Professor/ irritated by,the interruption—-,J fJJhey.,sup.posed? ■ they \ would go §&/ jiheir own a'ccordV '"' "'" "'--

ARRIVAL OF THE MINISTER op, Pubmo Works, the Hon. Mi* •Oi , mond,'arid the Engineer-in-Chief, Mr Carruthers, in Auckland, may': be', 'shortly.-.expecbed, ;as they left Wellington in the fl.s. Wanajta on Wednesday, last ;the 18th inst., ,for Napigr and Auckland.

. The Hautapu people to have a teachers' residence provide:! *by the removal of two of the'n"6w k .'un.use'd immigrant cottages at Cambridge.': .Tenders,which will Be received up" to Saturday next, for taking down, "removing, and re-erecting the, same called .for'by the chairman of the Hautapu School' Committee, Capt. Runciman. t; Fbee GBmciSM.—Criticism ■is very free in the United States; The San. Francisco News Letter, describing the personal appearance of Mrs Tilden, wife of the .Democratic candidate for' the Presedency, says :—" &be is thought 1 to be a little knock-kneed in one leg, but as the other is canted out just a little the other way there, is no collision or anything ; all works right along smoothly." CONFIRMATION SERVICES. Bishop? Cowie will hold confirmation services r«t Hamilton and at Wbata Whata tomorrow. In the former place in the morning, and at Whata Whata in the •afternoon. At St. Peter's, Hamilton, there will be morning prayers at Bo'clock instead of at the 11 o'clock service, which will be confined to the confirmation service and the celebration,,of the. Eucharist. There are, we understand, some five and twenty candidates for confirmation at the hands of the Bishop tomorrow, at St Peters. •. •■■ THB New Stbamsr Waipa, made her first trip up to Cambridge on Thursday night. She is a handsome conveniently fitted up boat and an ornament to the river.trade, and will, when in full working trim, make quick passages. * On Thursday, which was really her trial trip the machinery naturally worked stiff, but though. she was delayed an hour by the lehsingof the key of; the paddle wheel she reached Hamilton by eight o'clook. It is expected she will make this point on the river by six in the future. Sbe had between 30 and 40 tons of cargo on board and drew scarcely over . twen'.y-four rnches, An elector at one of Mr Hutchinson's meetings in Wellington 1 is. stated by the 'iArgua • to have made, unintentionally, a Very funny joke. He referred to the question 'of religion and nationality, and said he did not like to see such questions brought up at political meetings. What did it matter what a man's nationality was ? For his part he was an Englishman, but he could have been*borh in Scotland or Ireland if he liked. It was nothing to do with ..This created a roar of laughter, in which only the innocent elector could not join. The laugh Was still more furious when he indignantly repeated that he was an Englishman, and his ' old woman' was an Irishman, but for all that it concerned no one.

Accident at Ngartjawahia. —On Thursday morning .about .7 o'clock, M John Gilmour, of the firm of Gilmour and Co. of that place, had procoeded as far as the outskirts of : the township on horseback when the animal shied and Mr Gilmowr was thrown heavily to the ground,, fracturing the ■ collarbone and otherwise severely injuring' himself. Through the kindness of fcho telegnphmaster ; nt NgaruaWahia, Mr ,JN"icols, a message ;was 'at once despatched to Dr > Waddington a* Hamilton, which reached him in time to allow that gentlemart to catch Carter's" coach, then about to start clown to Mercer. The fractur was reduced and other injuries attended, and we trust soon to hear of Mr Gilmour's convalescence.

BuBSTiNGt up the Estates.--A Correspondent of the Melbourne ' Argiis' writes as follows with reference to some, of the •' bursting up' agitation in Victoria :—' f learn, on authority of?a highly respectable estate agent in this city, that capitalists, are already taking alarm ab the crusade which is being commenced against lauded property in Victoria by the ' bursting up ' part. One gentleman connected with squatting pursuits in Riverjina, who was in treaty for the purchase of an estate near Castlemain has relinquished his intention of settling down here, and has purchased a -.property'for £60,000 in Tasmania, where he wilf spend the summer months. Another who was accustomed to spend £4OOO a year in Melbourne lias bought an estate which cost him £30,000 in New Zealand. In both instances the motive for investing the money out of this colony was the apprehonsion of confiscation. Selectors who wish to sell are already beginning to suffer from the same c?use, as the market value of their propel ty has declined in some instances 30 perceat.' The Reed Beotheks ' make their appearance this evening at Le Quesne's Hamilton Hall. Of their performances we can give no personal opinion, but judging from the tone of the remarks -made, by local papers where they have lately appeared, the entertainment is one well worthy of public patronage. We take the following from the 'Thames Advertiser' of Tuesday last:— "The Bros Reed gave an entertainment at the Academy of Music last evening, which was patronised by the Fire Brigades and Thames Scottish Volunteers and Band, and fairly attended by the general public, but not iu such numbers ae the skill aud generosity of this talented family warranted. There have been few entertainments for charitable purposoi wiiich they have not aided to tho best of their ability, and always with most uubounded success, so far as thoir personal efforts are concerned. Mr W. 11. lteed is a host in himself, and deserves all tho applauso which greeted his efforts lust evening. His command over instruments of every conceivable description wua ivally wonderful, and cuabled him to occupy tho stage for a very long period, aided ouly by his brother as pianist. His violiu playing was immense, and stamps him as a genius on the instrument.. His • an jo playing was equal to any of the most skilled professional performances, and hjs concertina, liAnnonican, and tin-whistle performances weic very clover, His brothor presided at the piano most efficiently, aud Master G. lieoil's performance on tho oornot was most loudly applauded. The local songs by M r, W. H. Reed were tho most attractive of tho evening." I

St-George's Day.—Monday next is St George's Day—who knows and who cares, except, indeed, the stuffs of the several banking institutions in th.Ojgp'lony j Blessed are the clerks—yea, esteemed?: and gratefully i> tbe.naUi tlnv of/eachVorie of them to be remembered liolyi 8t George, St ArtdreWrW STOtricp hare due honour paid tho'ni, but tftjS •greatest of a) Saints, ;.' iliefSaiqtiwhofe' birthjday should the;mneteWth cenjjH'y, ahdie'speciailj by v nbanklii? fnstitqtionsi Samt • Mam mod* is 1 passed over unnoliced. This may bo, perhaps, that he is worshipped and venerated every day in tho year, and there* .{pre. thj!.rg > .Jg v speciil esteem on any particular' day. . Still, in the interest of the bank staffs, it might be as well to hunt up his history and. thei date ofhis; birth, whjph.oopurred somewhere about the time'wben tn'e first* bare-backed savage wa3 rich enough to indulge-in a second nose-ring while the rest of his tribe went ringless or could raise but one.- . >.-, ';-

v Caught Out by-A^ukb ' one of the moßt'novel patches'! {that'has ever bebn made oh a cricket field, the •' Hamilton Spectator! states, was.that 'w)i'iohrdispoaedof'frlr GfiandleV on Sa'turday in T the seoond innings at Cavendish. He was batting in "splendid form, doing 'fjrefcty .well as he lik'&d with the! bowling, when Captain O'Connor sent him in a slow one." This he got hold of very well, and sent it away' to. long-on—a low, skimming bit, that but for a strange accident must have been the means ofadding six to the .score. One of the Cavendish players (Mitchell), who "was standing at ipoid-on, made an attempt to catch it,, but missed, the ball travelling altogether too fast for him to hold it. Suddenly the leathern sphere disappeared ; none could tell where it had gone, those in the field' were nonplussed, the spectators wondered, and the batsmen continued to run. Then Mitchell recovered from the shock he had received, felt a lump in the body of hiß shirt, put in his hand, pulled out tho ball, and joyfully c.ried, r , 'How's .that ?' • Out!' Baid the umpire, and Chandler had to retire, very crestfallen at his bad luck. The ball struck Mitchell on'the wrist, ran up his sleeve, ripping it up as he went, and safely lodged itself in the body of his ghirt. '■ A Long-Lived American.—We find an account of a centenarian in an American paper, which is rather startling in these days of life at high pressure. Bujlskin Creek, Ohio,. is said to be the home of an old man over whose head 125 years have passed, and who has never voted :—Etienne Gauldinot was born in 1752 in a Canadian between the St Charles and Montmorency •Rivers, below Quebec. The great battle between the French and Euglish was fought near his father's cabin,- and ali though he was only six years old, he re-, meinbered it perfectly. Indeed, the urchin saw Wolfe after he was wounded. Id 1772, he, married a lass, and made a clearing on the west side'of Lake Champlain. The Commandant of Fort Ticondcroga employed him as a Bcout. In 1775, having come in from a scouting expedition down the lake, he was captured by Ethan Alien. He sent his wife, mother, and children to Canada, where they remiined until the close of the revolutionary war, In 1793 he trapped for furs in the vicinity of the Niagara River', and served three years during the war .of 1812, being wounded twica in tho battle of Lundlane, and being complimented by Greneal :Scott for his bravery. He does not appear to have taken a hand in the patriot war, the Mexican campaign, the civil wur, or any of the Ftmian raids.