The Waikato Times. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1878

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 988, 22 October 1878, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1878

Equal find exact justice to all men, Of whatever stato or .persuasion, religious or uoliucal. ' Here shall the Press the People's right maintaiu, Uhawed by -influence and xuibribed by gain..

Although the number of entries for the Cambridge Cattle Show, which takes place on Thursday next/ is not, with the exception' of holies, so large as on the previous occasion, there is every reason to believe that the exhibition of 1878, will be quite equal m character to that of last year. A number of valuable animals have been added to the horse stock of the district since then and the show m horses, which last year was a credit .to any rising, upcounti y district, will be remarkably good. Indeed, the stamp of farm horses m present use m the district has bee.i greatly improved even during- the past year, as was evidenced by the presence of some really splendid teams on the ground at the late Cambridge Ploughing Match. A large and good horse exhibition is, perhaps, one of the best signs of the advancement of the district, for it is nofc till agriculture has reache.l a certain point, that the farmer, can turn ;his attention to and- become particular m the breed of horses. The entries for cattle on the present occasion are within one of those of last year, -' and here, too, we msy look for excellence as well as number. The show of cattle, last year, was a marked improvement on previous local exhibitions, and we shall v be much mistaken if on Thursday the same progressive advancement m. both pedigree . and grade stock is not apparent, and the competition keener. . ■

It is m sheep that there appears to be the chief falling; off In the number of entries, there being only two-thuds of the entries m this class! This is tho more surprising, as, of all classes of stock, VVaikato stands pre-eminent m its muster of-well-bred sheep, for its settlers possess some of the purest strains of Lincoln blood m the colony — sheep, that m fleece and carcase cannot be equalled m New Zealand. It is quite possible, however, that the decreased number of exhibits may be more than . made up for m the increased excellence of those present. The season for holding the show renders ifc almost entirely an exhibition of cattle, which is m soma respects much to be .regretted. It is quite true that if held m autumn, the cattle would not be' in such fine condition and the sheep must be shown shorn of their fleeces, but we cannot help thinking that an occasional autumn show would receive much more support from the settlers generally. As it is, the show of stock comes from a comparatively few large farmers. In the other case, we should have a large number of various interesting exhibits of farm produce, other than stock, which, cannofc possibly be shown m the' spring, and m tho production- and exhibition of which a much larger number of exhibitors would compete. It is as much to the interests of the district to show what its lands can produce m roots and cereals and i other. products, as it is to show the weight arid growth of its fleeces and tho aymetry of its sheep.' One should not bo altogether merged m the other. The Show, on Thursday, "will be held, as on last year, m the paddock belonging to the Club, and facilities foe reaching Cambridge have been provided, both by the railway authorities and the river company; The steamer Delta runs a special trip between Ngaruawahia and Cambridge, on Thursiay, while, f for the convenience of Auckland visitors, sing-Ie tickets will be issued from all station* on the line to Hamilton and Ohaupo, on Wednesday, available for, return up . to, and including* Saturday next.

What has become of the apparatus provided by the New Zealand lasurance Company for the protection of the town of Hamilton from fire? A. 'month or mow ago wj noticocl the arrival of n consignment of one of Merry weather's portable firepumps .m pail, canvas -bucket*, and a fire ladder. ..Capt.. Be'ilre, the ageut of the >* aw Zealand Company, has within the J.a.Bfc few clays reeejv«d a loog ladder fr.pa; flj?

head oiiico, and informs us that he docs not know what to do with it, .haying- no suitable place where it could be hunrr U p {l t the branch |gffi^e at Hamilton, and being- ui> pilling that it should be stowed j^vay^ut; of sight and use. We l^ould|giaggesf,'as a moat central and sfiifciible spot, that Mr Gwynne. should be asked to find room for it under the balcony floor of the Hamilton Hotel, where it would be protected from the weather, and could bo easily got at from the public street, and be close upon the spot, on the west the river at least, if needed . And this lead* us naturally to ask : What has been done with the apparatus sent up some six weeks since by the New Zealand Insurance Company?- To whaj; of f-ugetfuhless has it Jbe|tt;^onsig ted ? We pointed put at-*tlie> time that if it was to be of any use at all some personsmasfc.be trained anddiscipl.ip.ed m the use of the engine and; the keeping up a cantinuous supply of water to it— that m fact we had ,need to organise a local Volunteer ilro Brigade, or when the emergency comes there will be an indescribable scene of confusion, and the eugine and apparatus will be valueless. Nothing has been done m th 0 .matter, and nothing we suppose will be done until Hamilton has been wakened into activity by a fire ; then there will be bitter things said and just blame attributed to those whose neglect prevented the only means available for grappling with it from being carried oat. After the New Zealand Insurauce Company has gone to the expense of providing the town with these requisites for the prevention of the spread of fire, ib is, small gratitude and scant courtesy to take no step 3 to render them practically available when unfortunately they may be needed,