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Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 778, 12 June 1877, Page 2

The Ohadpo Cattle Sale takes place to-day, when Mr A. Buckland will also offer the stock from Welland Farm, Alexandra.

Hamilton Football Club. — A meeting of members of the above Club will be held at the Hamilton Hotel, on Thursday evening next, at seven o'clock.

Thb- Annual meeting ' 'of the Waitoa rat epaj era for tbe appointment of officers and to hear tlie annual account aud balance Bhoeb, will Be held on the 7th of July, next, at Mr A Crawfords Btore'

The Waikato Steam Navigation Company, as will be seen by their altered time table, are desirous of providing a daily steamer to -Hamilton for the travelling public. Tha Waikato and Delta will run alternate trips, thus ensuring comfort and despatch. .

The Cambridge Catalrt Volunteers are invited to contest with the carbine for seren prizes on Saturday the 7th proximo, the only conditions beiug that every intending competitor shall have attended at least two practices prcviou3 to that date. Such practices will take place every Saturday at 2 p m.

Waitoa Highway : District Election.—The 30th Inst. is appointed the day for the nomination of candidates for the office of trustees of the Waitoa Highway District Board, and should a poll be necessary, it. will be taken on the 7th proximo. Nomination papsrj and all iniorointion will be supplied by the Return-; iag Officer, Mr A Bi'emner.

Blacksmith for Ohaxtpo. — A hotel' a church, and a blacksmith's, shop, and you have at once the nucleus of a future township. The rest will follow. So at least; say our American cousins, and Ohaupo, it will be observed, has so far reached this stage of development as to have added a blacksmiths shop to the other, named, institutions. Mr Prince, of Alexandra, will open his new shop at Ohaupo on the ISth inst.

Footbail Accident.— Wo learn from the ♦Hawkes. Bay Hearld' that an accident of a Berious character has occurred at a football match m Nelson to'Mr J Firth, the. captain of the college team. St-.ictly m accordance with the rules of this dangerous game, the' gentleman was charged by tha player on the opposition side and thrown violently^ The force of the fall may be gathered from the fact that Mr Firth wa9 unconscious for some time, and eventually had to be taken home m. a cab. It was also reported that some of the sufferer's teeth had been loosened by a kick accidentally administered dur ing the game.

Melanghollt Accident.— -It is with rogret we have to record the melancholy accident iv Auckland which has led to the death of a Waikato settler, and member of the Hamilton Football Club, Mr Predk Pilling. Full and authentic particulars of the sad affair will be found m our telegraphic coluinus. On (Sunday, the sad intelligence of lm precarious condition was telegraphed to his family, near Hamilton, and yesterday morning Col. and Mrs De Qiiincy, and his sister, Airs Peacocke, went down to Auckland by steamer, the intelligence of bis death not, of course, having reached Hamilton till some hour and a half after their departure from ib.

English Officers ordered Home. — As bearing closely, says the ' Herald,' on the facts which point to a warlike issue m which England will be involved, we may remind our reader that officers of the army on leave m the colonies were recently ordered to join their regiments; One of these was so recalled,' and left Auckland a few months ago. Within the last few days telegrams have been sent by the War Office to other officers occupying official positions iv Australia and New Zealand, ordering them to hold themselves m readines to join their regiments on active service. All this, mtii the recent circumstances and the intelligence conveyed by late telegram*, point to one issue, and that issue, we fear, is war.

The following paragraph, clipped from the *N, Z. Reformer,' shows that the writer dares to use strong language when he feels demanded of truth to do co :— Sir Arthur Guinness, the Dublin brewer, lately sold his share of the busiues3 carried on his name for one million of money. We wonder has he ever reflected on the number of happy homes transformed into hells, of the amount of plenty substituted by want, of fulne?B by hunger, of peace by fiendish contention, of love, hate, or virtue by criminality; of the number of broken hearts, of souls lost, of the vast accumulation of human misery caused by the gain of his ill-gotten and blood-reeking million [ Better be diseased, be licked by the dogs, be fed by the crumbs of charity, and die guiltless, than go down to the grave with a million gotten by the offering up of human sacrifite!

The San [Francisco papers by the last mail contain a complaint filed m a libel suit to recover 50,000 dollars damages against the. Enterprise Publishing Co. by Mr D. Dalziel, who, with Mr E. J. Creighton, formerly of New Zealand, haa established an evening paper called the 'San Francisco Mail.' The statements made m the complaint show to what depths American journalism has descended. The newspaper published by the defendants stated that 'If the editor of the ' Mail ' is not a convicted /and transported English thief, ho has never shown m the papers any proof |o the contrary,'

And, 'Before D. Dalziel, of the ' Saa Francisco Mail/ make 3 any more appeals to gentlemen, wo suggest that it would only b> fair for him to publish what 'his rightiiaino was m England and what ho was for^' Mr Dafziel wfea formerly connected with a newspaper m Melbourne, and was for some time resident m Auakfaod and .at the Thamea.

" Lat)Y Editors. —Sirs Carried Thomas, editor of tlie'.. *' Novtfy York ' Temperance"" Times," has just been burned out, sued for libel* and held to ICOOdol. bail; but Bbc is "game,"' as wionoss this : "Scorched -by -fire, deluged by water,^ and indicted by tho grand jury,, we still live, for we are", oii tho aide of, God and: and all righ|, n-nd it is impossible to crush us. We- went to R Chester notworth a penny, and returned worth 1000 rjols. As our fighting- editor" weighs just 721 b, weighed by Mr Fuirbunk's scales at the Centennial, and 1,000 divided by 72 equals U3 86v;.we are worth 13.86d01s :per -pound." "Mrs Editor Harrow,'- of tha Eldorado, Indiana, " Herald," undertook to cowhide Bob McßHde of the rival Ledger the other day. Bob took the little woman under one arm, the whip under the other, and marched down the street, to the amusement of an immense crowd.

A Pica job the Spabbow3. — A correspondent wri es" Biking if we have notioed how very free*'- from 'caterpillers and crickets the djsi^ict has been during the season' just passed, and whether somewhat of this may not be due to the well abuae.d. house - sparrow, which may now be seen-in "flock m many parts ofthe Whikaijk. **$Ke have certainly been -hard »upott tiieitgparrdnr, for he is a notorious garden thief, and withal a mighty ravager of ripening grain, but ia fair play are bound to acknowledge that the matter is worth enquiry. It may be possible that, at certain Beasons, as now, when there is neither fruit nor grain for him to plunder, and not even the newly bo wn grass land for him on which to tithe the seed bowe, tho sparrow may turn his attention to the larvre of caterpiilors/ crickets and other worms and insects, and become exemplary and virtuous from necessity. A few sparrows shot away from the township would soon prove what food they are now living on. , Even then, however, it would become a question whether other small

birds ef the soft billed kind could not be acclimatised 1 wiiibh would do all the good without .doing tfee harm that the sparrow does. ' ;:

Signs of Improvement m the age are not wanting. We learn from a London correspondence letter to a Paris journal that the more intelligent classes at home are abandoning that most senseless of all ammusementa so called, dancing. 'Somehow,' says' the writer, * London .seems tired of dancing. When the Shah was here, no remark he made was more relished than his question to the. Prince of Wales while the dance was going on, ' Why don't you employ servants to do this for you?' The perspiriug Prince could hardly explain, but society generally seems inclined to relegate dauoing to the corps de ballet. This has been especially, the case this season, when the new fashionable skirts have gone to an extreme from the liberation of the ballet. A lady was recently heard to cay with a sigh, 'What with being tied aroun-i above and tied around below I havn"t had a good square sit down for threa months.' When a large ball is. given there is an opology for dancing, a few mincing stops are taken, but presently . the company falls to admiring each other's dresses, and it all ends m music and talk. Dancing bids fair to '-ecome a 'survival' as the antiquarians say. Even apart from any other entertainment, the great revolutions which have taken place m dress make the English drawing-room far more attractive than it formerly was. The room itself has become more beautiful and lets flaring. Unobtrusive, quiet walls, and stuffs, rich but of subdued tints, supply good " backgrounds for the' 1 superb and artistic raiments m which the ladies are how habited. I feel quite sure that the English ladies are not only wiping out the stigma upon their taste of dress, but wjll ere long be noted as the best dressed people m Europe..

Football. —Wo learn from the ■'Herald,' that a meeting of football players, fo consider the proposal of the Dunediri Football Club to hold a football tournament at Wellington; during the present season, was held on Friday erening at the Thames Hotel. Nearly all the.-, principal clubs wore represented, and Mr T Henderson, of the Auckland Football C;ub, was called to the chair. — The Chninnan stated briefly the object for which the meeting hat been helJ, and, having i*ead the letter from the secretary of the Dunedin Football Club, which has already been pnbl'shei m these columns, invited remarks thereoo. — Mr B Burgess sai Ihe would endeavour to. make the meeting as short as possibls, as they only had one question to consider, and therefore proposed the following motion :— ' That the Secretary of the D.F.O. be informed that Auckland declines to ssnd a team to' compete m the proposed tournament at Wellington, but will be happy to play thorn, or the beet t> am m eithor Dunedin, Wellington, or Nelson, or a team selectod from tlis three teams, provide the match be played m AuckUud.' Mr Carter seoonded the motion. Mr Nolan proposed as an amendment, ' That the words following the first mention of Wellington be struck oat, and .others -jiddi <1 to the effect th*t Auckland would be" hippy to meet Dunedin at Auckland.' The amendment was seconded by Mr Gudgeon, and carried. A suggestion that Auckland should, contribute £50 towards the er. penses of the Dnnedin : men, provide they come to Auckland, failed to meet with a sepoader. The general feeling of the meeting seemed to be that as Auckland had already, under considerable difficulties. s?nt teams both of cricketers and football players round the colony, the least Dunedin conld do would 1)3 to return the visit. Besides getting, the best fifteen to leave home for a fortnight or tbree weeks, the unfttness of the Wellington ground was also commented on. The meeting then broke up.

Dedication op Si Marys Hbw Catholic Church, Hamilton East.— On Sunday last the ceremony of the dedication of the above Church commenced at eleven o'clock, by the Rev. Father Fynes, V.G\, assisted by the local pastor, the Rev Father Golding. After the ceremony Mrbs was celebrated by the Vicar General At the first Gospel the very Rev Coiebrtnt preached an eloquent and instructive sermon, explaining the nature and object of such eeryices, pointing oat thajt religion aa coming from God wag good for mankind both m this world and the world to come. In oonneption with the dedication service he also raised the question of the invocation of Saint s, which he explained very 'u>idly and exhaustively. The sermon, though a long one, was listened to throughout with marked attention by a large congregation, amongst whom were members of various denominations, and many of the faithful from various parts of the district, and no doubt maoy more would have been pro* Bent but for the threatening apiearanoe of the weather, The building wai very much admired for its style, and the thorough finish of the workmanship, which reflects most creditably on the WQlutoot, Mr White, and. tUe contractor,

Mr Price. The Hey. Father Fynes, we understand, leaves Waikato for Aucklandthismorning. His personaV, atteiidatfee and. servioe on this occasion have been greatly valued and appreciated by? : th'e members of his church in;Waikatp; ; and a Very general wish is expressed that they may before long again have to welcome him to the district. The TRojnaii Gatho-lw.-body of Hamilton; may well feel proud of. the bjuilding^hich will 'afford them ample accommodation; for, tfi'e Berviaea of their churoli for some yeara to come The 'collection at the close of the service amounted to the sum of £17 13s.

lbe- flawke's Bay Herald 1 ofthe 30th says :— " We lenru that 93 pairs of hawks' feet were brought m yesterday to Major Scully, and that on receiving the £418s — the amount of the reward at Is per pair of fe e t— the person who fcilied the hawks, : Mr Harrison, stated that it was. the last money he would receive on that account, as there were no more. hawks to kill. If :this be fact it will be good news for the Hawke's Bay Acclimatisation Society " '

The Adelaide correspondent of the 'Australasian '■} has the .following :— " The rapid advance m the value of flour is telljng very considerably upon the price of bread, much fp the consternation of householders with large families. During the past month the 21b louf has risen from-.3d fc) sd, and if fljur happens to touch- £20 per ton, which there seems to be every probability it will do before long, I should not be astonished to see the bakers demand 6d, for those tradesmen have a convenient knack of quadrupling any', increase 'which -the' millers may charge them with. A lively correspondence his' taken place m the daily papers on the excessive price of bread as compared with the coat of flo.ir, and it lias been pointed out that we have to paj 25 per cent more for a 21b loaf here than' it is s.pMfor m Melbourne, notwithstanding the fact that flour is £1 per ion cheaper here. But the indignation of householders is of little .avail. There is at present a combination among the master bakers, and wa have no mean.3 of resis ing the demands, however unreasont ble they may be. The statistics of our Blocks,, m hand. reveal tho fact that wo shall be uttedy unable to meet all the retirements of our customers this season. Wo have already exported more than one-half oi our surphu 80,000 tons. It is computed that m addition to what we have already sent, New South Wales will want 27, 500 tons, and Queensland 16,0C0 tons, so that upon the lowest computation those two colonies will require all our available surplus, and at least 5,000 tons besides. Then South Africa, Western Australia, New Zealand, .and possibly Victoria, may appeal to us for supplies. In view, therefore, of those contingencies, 'lliß rapid advance m the value of wheat from 6s 63 to 8< per bushel is easily understood, despite altogether the condition of the English market. Under such circumstances, alao, wo cannot look for any .reduction iv the staff of life, however much wo may lament the prospect."

Tree Planting— The Tree Leech.— Now that the season for planting fruit and ornamental trees lia3 set m, we refer our readers to the advertising notice of our Waikato nurseryman to be found m another part of this journal. Lidepeudently of other considerations, such as the desirability of keeping money iv the districtand encouraging a local indnstry, ib would be to the purchasers benefit 10 buy Waikato grown trees instead of sending for them to Auckland. One of the mojt dangerous parasites of the tree and most difficult to eradicate, is the tree leech, and iv the Auckland district its ravages have been very great during the past summer. The- tree leech is small and slug shaped, about three^quarters 1 of an inch m length, and. attacks many ornamental and all fruit trees, excepS the peach. Many of the orchards iv the iin. mediate vicinity of Auckland havo been dev.ißtj.ted.by it last season, and whole lines of quick-set live fences destroyed, the plants being eaten perfectly bare ot leaves. The tree leech is supposed to have been introduced m some trees imported from Australia by Mr Justice Gillies, and has spread rapidly about Auckland. In the Waikafco ib is unknown, and our beat way of keeping it so is to plant locally grown tress, and as these can now be provided m any quantity from our local nurserymen it would indeed be folly to run the risk of importing such a pest into the district by seeking oiUside it for trees which are Hallo, to- bear aboui them the larva) of ih<3 tree leech.

The Pbickley Oomfuey as a forage piaat has been exciting coiu-iderable attention of lato, especialy m Victoria, yot strange to Bay wo hear of no measures being taken to introduce *the .-e3d or plant into the colony. AMr IJolroycL writing to the Governor of Victoria on tha subject.says :— 'lf we take into consideration the quantity of it 3 produce, there are fovr plants capable of yielding so niuoh of greon food as the Coraf'rsy.' According to Professor vVilson, the average returns to the acre jvre about as follows :— Turnips 25 to 30 tous ; oibbage, 40 ; comfrey, 30; mangolds, 50. The main advantage m growing comfrey would ba in its" beiig ape enuial plant- This is what Martin Doyle 3ays about it ;— 'The reports of its weight per acre are, m some instances, almoust fabulous ; but that of Mr Grant, of Liwisbam, (who brought it into notice fourteen years ago), is molerate—3o tons per acre. Mr Grant cut it thrje itimea m the year, and thus suras up hii character of it m a It tier to Lord fa^ti borough. 'It will] grow m all : .aoila and t-icualioas • It may be planted by the side of ditches, m any waste corner of fields, gardens, or orchards. It is a vegetable that no one can lose by as the only expense is the purchase of a few plants m the first instance. It may soon be increased to any quantity, and when onoo established, I believe it will last for ever. 1 never knew a plant to die, and I know some that have stood twenty years, and are as fall of vigour ijow as thgy ever have been."