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Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue 1040, 22 February 1879, Page 2

Taubanga to Hamilton m one day. — A well known resident iv Hamilton, yesterday performed the unprecedented feat of riding from Taurauga to Hamilton m one day. Ho started from opposite the Hotel, m that township, at ten minutes past six o'clock a.m., and>arrived at Gwynne's Hotel, Hamilton, at live minutes to ten o'clock, the same evening. L.O.L. — The members of the Star of Waikato, No. 17, Loyal Orange Lodge, are summoned for a meeting of the Lodge, on Friday evoning, the 28th inst., at tho Lodge-room, Ngaruawahia. Anniveksaey Services m commemoration of the opening of Trinity Ohnroh, Cambridge, will bo held to-morrow, when collections will be made on behalf the the huilding fund. A ooiree, m connection with the above, will be held early m April. All rate 3 due'to the Hamilton Highway^ Board, not paid before the Ist proximo, will be handed to a solicitor, for recovery. Mb J. S. Buokland's Horse Sale, at Hamilton, takes place to-day, at 1 o'clock. His next Ohaupo U>e stock sale comes off on Tuesday next. On Thursday, a barge coming down the river, towed by the p.s. Deita, ran foul of the first tier of piles driven for 4he Hamilton Oart Bridge, staving m her bows. She did not sink, but sustained a considerable amount of damage. TUNDBB9 for keeping m repair tho road to the Railway Station, from the Hamilton Borough boundary, at Jolly's Corner, will bo received up to noon of to-day. The tenters for the erection of Courthouses at Alexandra Te Awamutu, must be sent to the Minister for Public Works, by noon of Monday next. The meeting of the Delegates of the Hamilton Borough Council and Waikato County Council, with Mr T. MaofEarlane, of Auckland, the Commissioner appointed to hear and determine the dispute between the.-:o two local bodies, as to the grant of £110 said to be wrongfully expended, did not take place yesterday, but was adjourned till Friday next, m consquence of Mr Macifarlaue having been informed by the Council that the Chairman of the County was absent from Hamilton. Atlas writes: — The Prince of Wales and Dr Lyon Playf air were standing near a cauldron containing lend whioh was boiling at white boat. " Has Your Royal Highness any faith m soiouue ?" asked the Doctor. " Cortaiuir," replied the Prince. " Will you, then, place your hand iv tho boiling metal, and ladle out n portion of it?" "Do you toll mo to do this ?" asked the Prince. " I do," replied the Duotor. The Prince ladled out the boiling lead with his hand, without sustaining any inj ury. It is a well-known scientific fact that tho human hand may be placed uninjured m lead boiling at white heat, being protected from any harm by the moisture of the skin. Should the lead bo at a preceptibly lower temperature, the effect need not be des- J cribed. After this, let no one underrate j the courage of the Prince of Wales. At the Waste Land Board meeting, held m Auckland on Thursday last, Mr Jas. Shirley, of Rangiriri, asked permission to occupy a small island m the Waikato river, which he had discovered. -r-The Board granted the request, but declined to be answerable for the continued existence of the island, A. letter was read from the Hon. the Minister of Lands, intimating 1 that a temporary rssewe had been made at Kihikihi for the purpose of a public hall and library, and the request of tho Chairman of the Pirongia Board &*' peyiaissiqn to cut a road through waste lauds was raf erred tq the Chief Surveyor to report upon. From a private letter to tho Wellington Chronicle, it appears that Mr R. J. Ureighton was offered the editorship of the ' New Zealand Herald,' but declined the appointment. Mp Creighton will shortly visit New Zealand, but merely on . a visit. At a, meeting of the trustees of the Pnkekuva Highway Board, held on Monday last, the following teudera for i gravelling were received, namely : — Mespys Hughes & Cowley, No. 1 Section, Is lOd per yard— .fyo. 2 Section, 2s 9d yev yard ; Mr Qr. Kceley, Nos. 1 and 2 Sections, Ls lid per yard; Mr T. O'Brien, No. 1 Suction, ls 9d por yard — No. 2 Section, Us Sd por yard. On the motion of Mr E. B. Walker, seconded by Mr Gave, it was resolved that O'Brien's tenders for Hc/s. I and. 2 Sections be accepted, the work to be finished fn eight weeks from date.. Ax St. Andrew's Chursh, Cambridge, special thanksgiving for the present harvest will b 3 ottered up at both tho services to-morrow. CV^'nitON" for oasJi seems to bo tlic order of itlft d^y. Mr John Knur, storekeeper, of ifamiltqw, announces four cheap lines on thess terms— o/.its, fjLuur, cheeSb, aud potatoes.

Easily Plbaskd. — - Tho following | curious birth advertisement appeared iv the Wellington "Post" of last Tuesday : — "Ou tho 18th February, at Wainui, Oraata, the wife of D. Sinclair of twin daughters ; all well. Father dolighted.'' Tub Borough of Gisbobn ia coming out strong fov so small a place. The Council, on Wednesday last, passed a by-law, prohibiting the building of houses of any other material than stone, brick, iron, or concrete m the business and crowded portion of Gladstone Road, and prohibiting roofing with inflammable material m the Borough. Competition Amongst Insukance Companies.—These institutions have undoubtedly been making fortunes at the public expense for some time past, but we have little doubt that they are now going to tho other extreme. The public, however, will not quarrel with tho now . movement. The ' Herald ' says •' — For some time past a regular tariff for fire and marine insurance has existed m this colony, and the old companies doing business here wore supposed to charge iv accordance with tho fixed scale. In the chief centres of population, Underwriters' Associations wore formed, and any broaches of the oxisting tariff were duly reported, and dealt with by these associations. Tho natural result was (other things being equal), that the local companies, through the support and influence of their directors and shareholders, soon secured tho bulk of tho busiucss of the colony, and the foreign corporations found themselves steadily losing ground. Jealousies naturally arose, and m Auckland, a few months ago, one of the foreign companies withdrew from tho Underwriters' Association, then a second one followed its examplo, whilst two or three others opened agencies, and commenced a " cutting " business. The result has been a general bursting up of rates, and a strong determination on the part of each company not to be worsted iv the fight for business by any other competitor. Insurance rates have therefore been steadily going down for some months past, and to keep their business together, some of the local companies have determined to follow the example of the foreign ones, whose agents withdrew from the tariff agreement. To meet the competition, the ITew Zealand Insurance Company have arranged a tariff for themselves, the minimum rate being one shilling and sixpence per cent . The public will of course reap the advantage of the present unremunerative rates, but m the meantime shareholders will probably have to remain satisfied with gradually diminished dividends. The worst feature of the present competition is, that it is a direct encouragement to over-insurance, and consequently a premium upon carelessness if not upon actual incendiarism. When men are able to insure houses or goods to twice their value, at a mere nominal cost, it follows that fires are frequent, and the losses of insurance companies heavy. The announcement made of a general bursting-up of insarance rates, caused a great deal of talk and discussion iv commercial oircles, and m one or two cases applications were made by insurers, for long terms of insurance — three or four years — at the present ridiculously low rates. But the companies were shy, and unhesitatingly refused to insure for such periods, and seemed inclined to do as little business aa possible. The effect upon the local stocks was of course depressing, and tho only saleß effected were South British, at 595. Other stocks were offered at a reduction upon previous rates, but found no buyers. A Victim op Civil Skbvice Inadequate Sa.lv RIK3. — The statements of accounts filed iv the Supreme Court on Wednesday at Wellington m the bankrupt estate of Mr Amelius M. Smith, Assistant Undersecretary, shows the liabilities to be €3,240 10s 2d ; assets, £100 ; deficiency, £3,140 10a?.2d. __ _| — Ti^lmosT^TaTsin^'men~3o^iofc~^lways fall m pleasant places, at any rate. Mr McGee and a party of fifteen, returning to Auckland overland from Tauranga, found themselves cast m a particularly unpleasant place, being surrounded by fire on tho Wahi Plain, between Katikati and Ohiuemuri, and found a f asoine bridge ' across a swamp m flames, which was their ! only means of escape. Perfume, the celebrated mare, got burned ; Skylark got a severe scorching 1 , as also did R'orest Queen and a thoroughbred mare ridden by Mr McGeo. One arm and hand uf that gentleman, also, got singed, but fortunately the danger was passed without any fatal result. A racing mare belonging to Mary Taipari, also, was affected by the ( fire. . A couEEBFONDENT writes as follows : — " ' Common Sense,' iv writing to the Waikato Times a few days since, reasoned well why the hospital at Ngaruawahia should remain, but he did not mention, the following fact, namely : \\) You could not find a moro healthy locality, and (2) The , excuse made by the Government of that j day that they could not afford tho expense, is simply ridiculous, as ifc vow maintains iv tho same establishment a goaler without a, gaol and a warder without prisoners, at the expense of £330, rent and taxes free, and a paddock to keep their horses and cattle m, which, if let, Avould allow others to mako a living by the sale of milk and butter." Alleged Waiicato Ij;qeon1 j ;qeon Matched— We are requested to state that there is no truth whatever m the statement contained m a late issue of the Auckland ' Star,' that tAvo matches — between two gentle men of Hamilton and an Auckland resident, for 4310 a-side m each event — will come off on the same date and at the same place as the match between Mr Henderson and Mr Bishop. There is no Intention that such matches shall take place. Thb "Rpv. John Maeky, M.A., who has been ©fliciating for the last fortnight at the Presbyterian Preaching Stations of Waikato West, intends to conduct Divine Services to-morrow as follow: — Ohaupo, 11 a.m.; Paterangi, 3 p.m.; TeAwamutu, 7 p.m. The following resolution was carried unanimously at the annual meeting' of the parishioners of St. Matthew's, Auckland, "That the liev R. S. Hassard, M.A., • should return to St. Matthew's as soon as convenient, and that the parish should provide the cost cf his passage to Auckland," — sq that the rev. gentleman's resignation will not bo accepted by l\U parisioners, and the nominators will take no steps towards making any permanent appointment until his answer to the above resolution arrivesThe Thistle Hotbl, Auckland. — We woiild dray i*tfceutiQn to tho new advertisement, m double column, of Mr Littye r B Thistle Hotel, which, since his proprietorship, has attaiued a leading position iv f Auckland. This hotel is one of the best f and most centrally-situated houses m that I city, and, now that so many Waikato [ residents are availing themselves of railway facilities to pay more frequent visits ! to Auckland than heretoforo, the Thistle will no doubt n>ake for ilsbii' a name and reputation m this as h^ other country districts of the province.