Telegraphic News.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 967, 3 September 1878, Page 2

Telegraphic News.

EUROPEAN CALOGRAMs, LONDON (undated). French Government have postponed' the distribution of exhibition prizes until 21st October, in order to secure the attendance of Members of Parliament and other ominenfc visitors. Great discontent in consequence pre vails amongst exhibitors. Deputations have requested that the awards may be published immediately, and the matter is referred to the Minister of Commerce. ,• The report of the Rohadope Commissioners confirms the fact that the worst of outrages were committed by by Russians and Bulgarians. The British, French, Italian, and Turkish Delegates were agreed on the report:, but the Kussian and German Delegates refuse their signatures. The Austrian representatives were absent through i[lness, The war ship Dakal is ordered from the Cape to Australia. It is probable that a compromise will be made vecession of Batoum, the people paying tribute to Kussh, and maintaning present institutions and existing officials.

[REUTER'S SPECIAL CABLEGRAM.I LONDON. August 24 The London «Times' adrocates adoption of a concililary policy towards the Ameer of Afgunisstan. and the rectification of Yacoob Kahns frontiers.

SPECIAL TELEQEAMS. AUCKLAND, last night. A meeting- of citizens, (his afternoon, adopted a congratulatory telesrraphio address to Lord Beaconsfield. The Secretary to the Acclimatisation Society reported two thousand fish in tho pond ready for distribution. CHRISTCHURCH, Friday. The recommendation of the Minister of Lands, to reserve lands in the vicinity of the proposed railway lines, lias already been given effect to in the Provincial District. The fact became known yesterday at the Land Office, to the disappointment of mati.y intending purchasers. Some of these had made application several days ago, but were informed that the lands now being reserved could not be given them. PARLIAMENTARY. WELLINGTON, last night. The rumour that the Governor removes to New South Wales is contradicted.- ' Mfijor Atkinson is expected to make a big speech on the financial proposals to-night. It is expected Mr Wakefield will attack the Government finance and

taxation to-d.ty, and will probably conclude with moving an amendment that all subsidies whatever be withdrawn, and full power g%g£? local bodies to impose direct tnxappH to iiiojs the rotj liremonts of t|jir respective ~- / v ' ( .r. W£ ■ Sir George improved of late, £f P; • ' Wi ' It is reported tjitij a motionJ\lill be brought down'-'■■•imposing %: all property, i-ioluding improvements. " •■-.... / "■-''" . -r' ''"'*_"" " ',"".'''.".'"'lT'OmnaVL!. ' '"'■ •?''nw.trr THE DISMISSAL OE RESIDENT MAGISTRATES. "*:""** Alexandra, September 2. The quite unexpected ..announcement of the sudden dismissal of Major Mair, lour' respected Resident Magistrate, from the Government: and the; appointment of another person in his stead, has caused great excitement, and jstrong expressions. - of disapproval are heard from'all sides. When, the fapjt was .first notified here, it Ava's determined to call 'a public meeting of the settlers on the following day '#o take the matter-into ai.d a deputation waited /upon* the) Chairman of Our' District Board, Mr :ilexander ■ Grant, •requesting him to convene a meeting for the purpose,on the ensuing day (Saturday •last.)::" v.! .':..i.. : L. /,.■ a'-. .: -.-.: ! THE MEETlN&r;;:t ■■■<..■. : i ..,.., Took place in our Public Hall, and, considering the very short notice that had been given, was very well attended. t On the motion of Mr John Aubiri, ; seconded by G: V.- TisdalV Esq.; J.P., Mr E; L. Hope Was called to the chair. The Chairman, buying, read che notice convemng the meeting, said it was quite! unnecessary, for him to remark on thel object pf the as, : he was well assured that all present deeply sympathised with Major Mair; ! sally respected in the district, .and wl?-0, during his long residence amongst thein, had 7 earned their entire, confidence. He (the ' speaker) considered' that }ttf dwell upon the injustice done r to Major Mair would'be unnecessary, biit lie :; would call upon any. gentleman wbq had a proposition to bring before the meeting. ' -i' Mr- John Aubin, im rising,- .said: The reason of: our meeting here to-day, Mr Chairman and gentlemen, is well understood. It is to shpwtp Major Mair, our respected .Resident, (Magistrate, the syinthe settlers,arid inhabitants of this district, feel forhiih, arid to use our best endeavors -with the Government to get them'to reconsiderr their detarmiuav tion, and! retain Major Mair in the office of Resident Magistrate, in Avhich capacity —by his upright, courteous manner ana unquestionable.honesty—he had obtained the entire confidence of ttiVwhole of the settlers of:the'distridtj ■■>'.' -\ /

■ It was thought by some.of the gentlemen present that a'petition t'o the Minister of Justice, stating the case, would be fairly considered by that gentleman, and, as a natural, result,, the district woidd retain the valuable services of the Major, which he has so longhand faithfully rendered. A draft of a petition had been drawn up,,and was read, by Mr John aubin as follows: —

[ ; "To the' Hon. Minister of Justice, Wellington : Your petitioners, having learned with regret-that Major W. Gr. Mair, our Resident Magistrate, is/jibout :to.be removed front this district, Avould humbly ask you to re-conslder your decision, for the following reasons during the many years that Major Mair has acted as Resident Magistrate of this district he has given universal satisfaction by the impartiality of his- judgment and uprightness ._pf his conduct. That your petitioners Consider him eminently fitted to fulfil the post of Resident Magistrate, from his long experience in that capacity. That, as Native Commissioner, he has done great,-service to the country, for under his beneficial influence drunkenness and the thieying propensities so common amongst the natives have nearly disappeared, and a good feellihg has been effected amongst 'tis. ' There has been a feeling of security amongst' the 'settlers, and a freedom from panics, very common before. I'or.these,.and various other reasons, we. hope that you will not dismiss from the public service an old and valuable servant, and your petitioners," &c. a. Y,: Tisdall,. Esq., /J.P., in rising.to' second the adoption of the Petition to the Minister of Justice, as read, said he could personally endorse every Avord in the petition as being "The--truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." He well remembered-the periodical panics which so retarded the advancement of the district hi old 'times', when ; settlers were compelled'to leave*their farms, not knowing whether they were, safe, there or not< from the various., reports circulated, and uo one of authority to appeal to as to the facts of the, t scare. Major Mair \v;as sent up here at that time, and since hisjadvent amongst Us, nothing, of the, kind had occurred; the natives, from being' surly and distrustful, had, by his influence, become 'friendly,' -trading with us and giving us the benefitoonf n their labor in the

busy seasons, ,to the inutaal advantage of both races. (Hearj hear.) Major Mair had also, by, his uprightness of character and fairness of his decisions, secured an amount of confidence of the settlers, that no stranger could hope to acquire for years. And there was little doubt lie had that of "the The 'drunkenness and petty thefts at one time so common amongst them, were now, comparatively, unknown. He also thought that, to oust an old and faithful servant of the Government, without any fault or neglect of duty being alleged against him, and the appointment of a young man, a stranger to the settlers, and comparatively unknown to the natives of the district, Avas not justice. He thought that, to deprive the Major, with a wife and young family, of liis means of livelihood by such sudden dismissal, was to be deeply regretted, as from the Major's long service in the Government (lo years) to a certain extent would incapacitate him from following auy ether means of making a livelihood for them in any other occupa tion or profession. He had great pleasure in seconding the resolution, and adopting the petition as read. On being put to the meeting, the resolution was carried unanimously. All present having signed the petition, a committee was formed to obtain signatures, and a vote of thanks to the Chairj man terminated the proceedings. THE NATIVE OPINION. One of Tawhiao's near connections, and one of his advisers, was in the township at the time the meeting was going on On being informed of its object, he, at once, asked that he and his people might be allowed to sign the petition, and said, " What do the Government wa:«t to send him away for? He is the only one I know which does not speak untruth. He was always a just man." This native, and his people with him, then signed the paper.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS.

Thl; question of women's rights has c opped up in New Zealand, and that too, not under the advocacy of a Victoria Woodhull at a public meeting, but in the Legislature itself, and with two such redoubtable champions as the Revd, Dr Waills

ami Mi' William Pox. The third volumt of ' Hansard' contains a full report of Uve debate, and we wish for ;t lady readers we speeches in full. a very wide and CO "? P M^ n - S wk aeiitlon f but on this | occasroa itsJ|lehaQipions addressed | llieUffirj» ml single phase of it, Vfc'ie deln-ajpty of granting the Dv Wallis towards the close of a loug and able speech is reported to have said : r—iiaving-sfcafced-all'these theoretical ments, I now go on to another part offlnf subject. There is another line of argu- | mentation to which I Would direct the |»Houße.--4-.would r in«the*nexlL.,place > pass from theory t9 experience and practice. i I would ask if fllerefare reasons for thinking that women, if they were invested | with 'political power; .-would-.be incapable power -rightly'or ably. I | can'adduce a large amount of evidence to "capable as men I are in'the political sphere. If history teaches one lesson more than another, that lesson is that women possessed of political rights, have used those rights as ably and wistely 'as' men' 'hlveluifed.'them. If we search liistory through, we shall find that women who. Jiava th&d an opportunity of exercising political power and influence have generally 1 ' 'used 1 ' with remarkably have:?been afforded to women«are,'ilikeiangels' visits, few andfar between:/ it admitt i that;vbut..l say that the few; out of a million.of women—who have been so fortunately circumstanced as to be able to take part'in political affairs, have shown' abilities-;ahd a power of managing matters as great as men have ever'shown; '■ ■ Considering ■ the few opportunities granted to women, it is astonishing'to find what-a vast number of most distinguished women have lived. Not one in' a" thousand = of male politicians and rulers-has ever, really himself ; but £,,. believe history shows that eyeiy; second.or, who has had PPEP^^^ fc y^'of o engaging in politics has distinguished herself, and tias attained to fames, and to honoj\ These are facts which historyyfurnishe J s,* , ahd i7 these facts go to prove—to use the language of Mr Mill—- " that the things that women are not allowed to do are the very things for which-4>hoy are peculiarly; qualified, and that their,,vocation; for government has made its way and become conspicuous through the very few opportunities given; and that exactly where and in proportion -, capacities i or government have been tried, in ithat 'proportion' have they been found adequate." W hen I placebef ore my iriMdall the bearing on the subject, I ask, do not these arguments prove unquestionably woman's fitness' for the exercise of political rights and privileges ? ■ (They■ seemto me to put the matter altogether beyond the possibility' 6f< dispute? >fWc have, therefore, not only the reasonings of theorists on the one side, but also, on the other, facts, experience, and history,: :tb 'prove woman's fitness for exercising the political rights and privileges which we withhold from her. (Thus, both reason and experience lift up their voices and proclaim her fit- , ness. Reason and experience lift up their united and cry to us to open the door of the franchise and let women in. And what have we to say against it? We 'have ; no arguement^that - will bear sifting for a moment against such arguments as I have adduced. Ihe only arguments I have heard addressed against it are these: " Oh, it has not been so of old.'' Is that, an argument ?• Or perhaps others may urge such 'an argument as this: Men are the "lords of creation," and the born rulers of Mankind. Instead of that, I would say that the ladies are the lords of creation, seeing it is admitted that they are morally superior to ourselves. Or perhaps there maybe brought forward : the widely-prevalent prej udice which the moping melancholy hero of "Locksley Hall" gave expression to, when he said to the fair Amy who had jilted him,— Wo'maii is the lesser man, and all thy nature matched with mine ; Is as moonlight unto sunlight, and as water unto wine. ~ , .-.: . , Poor conceited simpleton! No wonder that Amy jilted him'and preferred a Lord who had a seat'in Parliament! * * * *. * ( '' '■*'■ "-'4 •'- ■* ■ * * We have believed from time immemorial, and we have persuaded women to believe; that the supreme business of women on,.parth,is to be wives and mothers. Now', 1 "say 'that it is no more the supreme business-of\women to be wives and mothers than it is the supreme business of men to be husbands and . fathers—no .more the one than the other. Th ! at nature'did not intend all women to be wives and mothers is apparent from this fact, that in England ; alone there are eight hundred thousand more women than there.are men. This shows that they were iiot : all' intended for wives and mothers. We are in possession of supreme legislative power, and we have used that power to appropriate to ourselves the very best i employments in life. We have monopolized all lgislative'powers, and we have. debarredvwomen- : from the best and the most lucrative employments; we have left them only one resource, and that one resource is marriage. If we would only extend to them*'the Pariamentary franchise, and place them on the same level as we ourselves occupy, see what the result of that woukV be; Hlf the same enterprises and callings were open to them as are open to us, ,the moral effect would b« incalculably .great. If women, being educated as men are, had all employments open to them they., would be able to obtain their own livelihood; they be dependent upon themselves, and woidd not be obliged to accept the first offer that was s made for their hand. Women would earn their livelihood independently of men, and they would be in a position itb reject the idle man, the intemperate man, and the unclean man. See what a great effect that would have upon the morality of, the youth of the country. If women were enfranchised as we are, and if all doors of work and enterprise were open to them as to us, wives would • not then, be be. got for the mere asking. It,would not then be, " Whistle and I'll come'to you, my lad." Women. Avould then demand more intelligence and more virtue in the wife-seeker than they require at present. Such a state of things would be most favourable to the growth of industry, of temperance, of intellectual and moral culture among our young men. Being independent, women would.then, far more than at present, insist on character J and worth in the men whom they honoured with their partnership and co-operation in life. This is the moral argument that I would lay before Ministers, and I hope it will induce them to extend to women the residential fanohiso contained - in the Bill they are about to propose for the adoption of Parliament—that;the franchise should not be confined to women as ratepayers. Why should the franchise be confined to widows and lone women who pay rates ? That was a miserable mockery of a fran* ** chise, and the more I. think of it the moreW it seems to be an insult.

THK PROPOSED NORTH ISLAND RAILWAYS. At a .'meeting at the Thames, on Thursday night, Mr James Mackay

s reported as follows : —He said : As agent for the Government at Waikato, in 1873 and 1875. he had been engaged wiih several Government engineers and surveyors in exploring the country southward of Waikato, with the objeot of finding o practicable route to join the nearest point of either the East Coast line from Wellington to Napier, or that from Wallingtou to Taranaki via West Coast. Their attention was first directed to the line from Waikato (say from Ohaupu) via Tokangamatn and Mokau to Taranaki Owing to the native difficulty it was found impossible to explore the 30imtry throughout, but he could speak from his own knowledge there would be no engineering obstacles of importance in constructing a line from Ohaupo to Te Viva, (four miles west of Tokangamutu), or from Alexandra to that point. The expensive portion of the line would probably be the descent. from the Mokau Saddle to the level of the bed, and after arriving at the mouth of that river again, ascending to the inland level of the White Cliffs

(Parininihi), and thense to the termination of the West Coast line at *\ Waitara. From Waitara to ' 'Wanganui ; was tolerably easy country, and the line already constructed from Wanganui to Foxton, on the r Manawatu . river, was an excellent one, with the exception of the steep gradients between the ' Turakina, Whangaehu, and Wanganui rivers. As regarded a lino, via Ohinemuri, Katikati, and Tauranga, as |proposed the other evening, anyone acquainted with the country would at once pronounce such a project to be an absusdity. He, with the Engineer-in-Chief and other officers of that department, had explored the country from Hamilton southwards to lake Taupo, and thence to Maurimotu plains; they found a practicable route to j Rakitepanui. There the Engineer-in-Chief left the party, and explored the country adjacent to the Whangaehu river, with the object of ,' discovering' a practicable line from that place .to the Wanganui and the Wellington line The Engineer-in-Chief reported this route as be^ng : difficult and expensive, but feasible. Captain Turner, District Engineer ,at Tauranga, and the speaker, then endeavored to find a practicable line from Rakitepanui to the head of Oroua branch of the Manawatu River, running parallel with the Ruahine range. They were not able to travel through the whole distance, but lately he had been informed by the Government engineers that the line from Foxp to the Upper Oroua River was not difficult of construction, and another engineer reported favorably on that from the Upper Oroua to Murimotu being practicable- Capt. Turner and himself had tried a line from Murimotu to Napier via the Ngaruroro river. This could not be constructed except at an enormous outlay. He would, therfore, advocate a lino through from Grahamstown to Hamilton or Cambridge, and thence by Taupo, ; Murimotu, and Oroua to Foxton.' This, probably, did not open up the most valuable countuy in the North Island, bub it had, in his opinion, the merit of being the most direct and most practicable route between Auckland and Wellington, and was fieo from any native difficulty.