The Waikato Times. TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1878.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 961, 20 August 1878, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1878.

Equal and exact justice to all men, „ Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. • * ♦ *. .*..♦.. Here shall the Press the People's right inaiutaiu, . : Unawed by influonco and tmbribed by I gain.

The extension of the telegraph to Ohaupo has been urged upon the authorities for some time past, and the result so far is a concession on the parb of the latter that the line shall be extended, on condition that the settlers interested guarantee a sum of eighty ponnds against loss m the first year of its working. Now it is quite possible that this, guarantee might be obtained, but it is quite beyond question that the Governlneut should make any such demand. The exigencies of the public accommodation require that such convenience should be afforded, and there is fair and reasonable cause to believe that the expenditure will be fully met by the receipts. But even if they were not, there are three very good reasons why the settlers of Ohaupo should not be saddled with the chance of loss m working the new station. The tolegraph, like the postal service of the Colony, must not always be confined to services which directly return the cost of working them. These departments are not kept up with a sole view to the creation of revenue. The State, as a co-operative association, does for the people what they individually m these matters conld not do, even at any cost, and it has always beeu held as a question of sound policy m postal matters that the association shonld be worked on tlio mutual principle— not that tho

State should mako ptofir out. of r.hn work it does, but thai, fclm profits should bo shared by hhe public at iarge, m fcho .shape of doeioisod postage and message fees, and other incrofisod facilities for eomm-mica-tion. The gain to tlio Stato is m •the enhanced commercial prosperity, and, m a colony, the increased .-'settlement also of its lands which follow the increased facilities afforded', to the public for postal and telegraphic intercourse. In a colony, and the younger the colony the more the remark applies, the advantages m the promotion of settlement and commerce fostered by the extension of postal and telegraph accommodation, will becontinually making themsalves seen* and a wise Government will not be too nice or cautious m waiting till receipts will more than balance expenditure. The good and the bad must be taken together, and so long as the department, as a whole, ia Self-supporting, that ia as much as need be looked for. And, again, m this case there is another reason why the Government should not hesitate to undertake the wor\\ The railway is now extended m Ohaupo, and for some time to come that station will be the terminus. The want of telegraph communication from one station to another along the ;railway line is an evil which one day will make itself most unmistakably felt; but that the terminus of the line should be fully Leu miles from, any telegraph station is altogether wrong, and there is therefore we think some reason why the authorities should undertake the work without too close. a consideration of the questioa of direct loss or profit. But there is another and very fair reason why the loss if any should not be saddled upon the Ohaupo settlers. The wire at Ohaupo will be used largely by the whole of Waikato. On two occasions m the month and m relation to the business done on those two occasions the whole of the country settlers are largely interested. The cattle sales and the business relating to these sales will form the subject of a very large proportion of the messages to and from Ohaupo, and m .thisnqtthe^Ohaupoßetjblersonly. but . Me'- 'bettleig 'of^all :Waikato will be interested and ennvenienced. The truth is, Ohaupo. shonld long since have been upon the telegraph line, and had: the authorities foreseen the importance, of its central position m such a district, one part of the difficulty might have beeii met from the first for it would have been as easy to have carried the line from Hamilton to Cambridge through Ohaupo as across the river at Hamilton and along the road line to Cambridge. In the present case there is an opportunity, of making a very decided stop m the direction of securing a system of ielegraphic communication from station to station along the railway line, and that is by taking the Ohaupo telegraph line from Hamilton along the line of the proposed extension of the railway into the market reserve, and thence along tho line to Ohaupo. Both for l'ailway purposes and for public conve-' nience this is needed, and the sooner arrangements are made by which: each station along the railway line may be connected by the wire with every ' otter staton tW better will it : be for the public safsty.