Telegraphic News.

Waikato Times, Volume XI, Issue 876, 31 January 1878, Page 2

Telegraphic News.

S ECIAL TELEGRAMS Alexandra, last night. Tawhiao is at Kopua with a large Dumber of natives. Pakeh’a strangers are not allowed to be presont at'the meeting, which will be held at Raraaramaapo. Sir G. Grey and party have just arrived here. The township turned o t to receive them. A triuinpha arch was. erected at Maugapiko A number of natives are down. he party will go on by canoe to Karnaramaapo to-morrow where Tawhiao wi.l meet them. Auckland, last night. At the inquest on the Newton tire evidence led to the supposition that the fire originated in a cupboard where a lot of matches were kept. Grahamstown. Two miners 1 named Meddins, living up Wiseman’s Gully, attended Dr, Somervilles sermon on Monday night after a hasty tea. When they returned at 10 o’clock they found their house of three rooms burned down. They had £3OO in notes in a candle box uuder their bed in two roils,, and cannot find any traces- of il. Some specimens from their plain,, the Powis Castle, were found i in the debris. This was all the money they possessed. Wellington, last night. The squabbles between the Supreme Court Judges and Mr Barton, barrister, culminated to-day in the sentencing of Mr Bar on to a month’s imprisonment for contempt, of court. Christchurch. In a pigeon race frera Ashburton to Christchurch, the winner flew a ’istance of 50 miles in 2 hours 5 secs. Sweet who recently levanted has fleeced the Midland Cricket Club of £75 and the Canterbury Cricket Association of £IOO. AUSTRALIAN CA LO GRAMS’. CPbess A^ency.l Sydney, January, 29. A ‘Gazette’ prod mation with draws the prohibition on s ook troni New Zealand. Sailed : The Hero.

ARRIVAL OF SIR GEORGE GREY AND PARTY AT HAMILTON. Yesrehdat the Premur and the Hon. Mr. Sheehan, the Native Minister, accompanied by the. Hon* Mr. Fisher, M.H.R., Mr. Brown, M.H.R, Mr. Dignan, M.H. H, Mr Reed, late editor of the 'Star,' Hrid other gentlemen arrived in Hamilton by the midday train otk. route for Alexandra and the King Country A goodly number of people were.collected in the town to welcome the Ministerial party, and among it them a number of natives from the Maori settlement of Tam here. At about 1 p.m. the carriages commenced to .arrive.

The first of them, a carriage with four handsome bays; provided by our old friend, Ben. Edwards, of the Hamilton Hotel Livery Stables, containing the Premier. Three cheers were °given for Sir George, who suitably acknowledged the compli ment paid him. Afur the Ministerial party had paid due atten ion to the refreshments provided for rhetri at the Hamilton Hotel,, a deputation was introduced by jJr

Sheehan, consisting of Messrs Vialou, Le Qnesne. Potter, Gaudin, McDonald and Gwynne. Mr Potter introduced the subject of the Hamilton Bridge, explaining that the purpose i-f the erection of

,he bridge had been one of the incentives to forming the two townwhips iuto a bo.-ongh. Three bou*and pounds had been p ac* j d on the estimates to assise the people ot ,Hamilton in this work, and it was poposed to >onow the remain jer; the tolls b.*ing sntihiont to provide interest and sinking fund. He would like to know how and in what way they would receive the grant in aid of £,30U0. The Premier : The £3,000 corues out of the loan, and is available as soon as the loan is raised, robubly in three or four weeks. The B'rough Council will have to supply plans and estimates, and the money would be ready for advance v Inn once such jl ms and estimates were approved by the Government The vouchers would have to be sent to Wel.ington. The Borough, he said, would have no difficulty in getting the money from the bank as soon as it was tvqu.red, for the money woul be banded over by the Government as soon as the loan was ruised.

My Potter as&ed, jf. it would b«

possible tor the Borough Council to specifications of tbtfT3ridge frbin the Survey Office, a-* he,, understood these hnd som< time fbeeii made for the (J^»vernmen.tj f ? fj -;V TJhe :' ;The Government would £ ; with tlr greatest pleasure. He would even, engage that the Government should send an engineer to make >hom, if not already ni*de, and would telegraph ; o Wellington respecting the matter at. orue. There was one tiling he would like to •mention, It had been said tha 1 ; tlu tolls of the proposed bridge would meet the in teres and sinking fund f the cost of it beyond the £3.000. He had understood and had hopeu mat the bridge would have been opened free ot any toll. He thought ihe sum necessary to be borrowed should be raised on the security oi the rates or otherwise than on the cnarge tor crossing the bridge, Hr did net know that he should have so warmly interested himhelf in obtaining the vote for the bridge but that he believed it was to be free ol all charge for tolls.

Mr Yialou said that this also was the wish of the Hamilton public, and that' it would be most desirable that it should be so managed it possible.

Mr Potter then introduced the subject of the reserves, asking that < hese with the town belts should be handed over to the borough. If this were done then there would be a means provided for meeting the cost of erecting the bridge which might do awayiwith the necessity of levying tolls. The Premier: "With regard to banding over reserves, the law limits these to 100 acres within the borough and 2000 acre* outside it. The deputation explaiued that the special reserves aud town -belts amounted to several hundred acres.

The Premier : It is possible that, in this instance, the town belt mny be considered apart from tbe 100 acres allowed by the Ai:t. It would be advisable that the authorities *r.ould wrii.e a letter, explaining the position of tho town belt and the circumstances of the ca*e, which would be ready for him on his return from Alex mdra.

The deputation thanked the Pr niier, aud withdrew.

THE RiIWAY STATION.

A deputation consisting of Meßsrs Vialou, N. R.' Cox, Morris, Knox, dimming,* McGarrigle and Martin were next introduced, and Mr Morris pointed .out the great inconvenience to which the traders and •shopkeepers of Hamilton were put by the placii.g of the railway station hj, mile and a haif from the township The inconvenience and extra expense was so great that goods were sent in pie'erence by river steamer. The Premier stated this whs -istra nge thing for he had received a telegram from a person in Hamilton praying on . behalf of the people ot Hamilton that, the railway staion . be not removed from its

j»reseut position.

Mr Martin would lie glad to heai he name of the par;y so telegraph

ing. • The Premier could not call the name to remembrance. Mr Vialou pointed out that by bringing in the ralway to the town the present traffic which now goes by water would not only be secured, but the traffic would be largely increased. It. was. bad enough for West Hamilton, but East Hamilton was almost cut off altogether, practically quite ao, on account of the cost of cartage te the station. Mr Knox said it was cheaper to :<et goods sent to Ngaruawahia bt rail, and toinship them into the river boats to Hamilton, than to gey them direct by rail to the Hamilton station. The Premier feared the expense of getting the railway into Hamilton would be great. There was always a difficulty in getting the House to agree to the construction of branch railways. He had' nob even been able to succeed in the case of Auckland. j

Mr Cumming explained that the expense could not be great. The line into the township was a dead level, and the Government could run the rails upon the high road itself, thus entailing no expense of compensation for land taken. Mr Morris said the distance of the station practically precluded the use of the railway for goods ti-affic. Some 200 tons of goods per month were imported into Hamilton, and but a small proportion came by rail. The Premier, said, if the deputation would submit their views on the matter in writing, they should

receive every consideration and at teutlin. Tlie depu l ation then withdrew. About hall-past three, the business being over, the party proceeded in the several conveyance? provided for them to Alexandra. The meeting with the King will take place to-day, not at Kaipiha or Kopua, as elsewhere stated, but a short distance from Alexandra — at Ramaramaapo.