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Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue 1065, 22 April 1879, Page 2

No telegrams were received from Auckland last night, the line not ' being m Working order. . The following flattering letter of thanks has been received by Mr Pearce, of the Commercial Hotel : — " Accept our 1 sincere thanks on behalf of the companies we had the honor to command at the late Review at Waikato, for the general satisfaction given to them, both as regards catering and accommodation, and hope, should it be our lot to attend another Review at Hamilton, that the same good fortune may attend us again. —We are &c— W. Dey, Lieutenant No. 1. T.S.V., J. Watson, Captain, No. 2 T.,S.V."— Grahamstown, April 18. Mr W. T. Jones has arrived m Waikato, and is prepared' to undertake the tuning of pianos. A handsome present was made to St. Andrew's Church, Cambridge, by Mr Joseph Harrison, plumber and tinsmith, m the shape of an elaborate and handsome reflector for one of the chandeliers. The reflector was made by Mr Harrison, and is lined with glass, on a white ground, with tin outside, painted blue, and ornamented with gold loaves.' It is an excellent piece of workmanship, and reflects great credit oh the skill of the maker. , A general meeting of the Cambridge f Athletic Club will be held at the National Hotel, Cambridge, on Wednesday, the 30th instant, at 8 p.m. Settling up for the late sports will take place. The Cambridge North Township Board has struck a rate of One Shilling m the £, payable on the 2nd of June next.

Mr Moses, of Hamilton, advertises somo cheap and varied lines m all sorts of Winter costumes and requirements. Dresses and feathers and trimmed hats for the ladies and ulsters to give them a masculine appearance, while the very necessary articles of lower limb continuations, as the Americans call them, for gentlemen are not forgotten. Tweed suits, boots, blankets, and a variety of general goods are being opened up from the new Winter stock of goods received by Mr Moses.

Pnoro-ED Borough of Cambridge.— A meeting of the' householders of Cambridge has been called for Friday after-/ noon, at 3 o'clock, to consider the desirability of taking the, necessary steps to have that township proclaimed a Borough ander the Municipal Corporations Act. The extended powers which ; would be thus conferred upon Cambridge would be of great benefit to that township, and more especially m enabling the local body to deal with the valuable reserves and town belt which arc at present comparatively inutilised. But for its creation into a Borough Hamilton could never have entered upon the undertaking of bridging the Waikato, nor would m all probability the extension of the railway into the town have been so soon proceeded with. There are many directions m which Cambridge may. be able to turn the extended powers a Borough will ensure to advantage, and therefore we may look to an unanimous expression of opinion at the meeting on Friday afternoon.

Tenders for painting the Cambridge Bridge, particulars of which may be obtained at the office of Mr T. H. White architect, of Hamilton, and at the Cambridge Town Board's office, will be received up to noon of the Ist proximo. Tenders will be received up to noon of the Ist May, by Mr T. H. White, for removing the Waikato County Council Chambers, lining the same, and erecting a verandah. ° Again we have to commend the en°-ine driver of one of the trains on °the Waikato-Auckland line for his extreme caution m avoiding collision with an animal strayed upon the line. Our attention yesterday was called to the short sharp, and quickly repeated notes of the whistle as the up-train for Auckland at 2 p.m. neared the Hamilton station The cause was soon apparent. A fine black horse was to be seen cantering easily m front of the train, which had slackened speed, and was then passing through the curve some three hundred yards from the station. In spite of the threatened danger Jthe horse would not leave the line •—the growth of thistles on either side the rails makes an animal unwilling to do so even if hard pressed— and ran ahead of the train till ifc reached the cattle guard at the station yards. We trust this matter will receive ■ due attention during the next session of Parliament The leaving a railway line unfenced m a thickly settled district is simply a disgrace to the colony. , *? A3B ?£ oara is further prorogued to the 10th of June.

i Dubino his recent visit m Waikato, while preaching at St. Peter's, Hamilton, the Bishop, of Auckland alluded »to the disgraceful conduct at a neighboring settlement which had obtruded itself upon his notice. The sequel of this is to be found m tho Hamilton Police Court. Wm. Nichols and Timothy O'Callaghan, charged with fighting m the public road at Ohaupo, were each flued £2 and lis costs ; and O'Callaghan, Daniel Hartman, aud Alex. Craigh, charged with a broach of the Vagrant Act, 1860, and Amendtnont Act, 1869, by making use of profane and obscene language on the public road at Ohaupo, were each fined £5 and costs. The last and second Concert of the Hamilton Harmonic Society was, as our readers are already aware, a most unqualified success, both from au artistic , aud financial point of view. Le Quesne's Hall was crowded on the occasion, not even standing room being procurable at one period of the evening, and by an evidently pleased and appreciative audience. We k were, especially gratified at tho marked progress of the members m the execution of the concerted pieces, which class of music should certainly, we think, form the piece de resistance m any programme undertaken by a Bociety bf the kind, solos being quite the exception, save of course m. such cases as occurred at this concert whei-8 lady and gentlemen amateurs not being members of the society kindly assisted, for we should indeed have been sorry to have missed the delightful solo " Non Ever," sang by a young lady from Grahamstown. Of the choruses the glee, "Hail, Memory", by Battye, and tho two choruses from Masaniello, " Behold how brightly breaks the morning", and "The Chorus of Fishermen" especially desire notice ; and the solos "Lo, here the Gentle Lark", Non Ever", "Waiting", and "Little Nannie", by lady amateurs, and " I fear no foe", by a gentleman amateur, were deservedly applauded and encores demanded and accorded. Nor must we omit the novelty m Hamilton of the assistance of so fine a band as that of the Thames Scottish, which made the performance of the overtures not what it often is, a mere pretext for keeping the audience quiet till the performer^, are ready to begin, but really a musical enjoyment. On ' the whole we may sincerely congratulate the society on its advancement, a fact m great measure due to the painstaking care and real musical knowledge and ability of its conductor, Mr Culpan. The first sale that has taken place of lands forfeited for noil-payment of rates 'under the Rating Act, 1876, took place at Hamilton on Saturday last. The vendors were Newcastle District Board, and the lots all fifty-acre sections. The vendors fortified themselves with a legal opinion as to tho validity of the title they could give, but a general opinion witeheld that only by the Supreme Court could the original Crown Grant be set aside. Hence the ridiculously low prices the lots fetched. There was a good attendance, and the sections realised as follows -.—Parish of Pukete, lot 97, £14 ; 114, £14; £134, £36; 145, £12; 169, £1£ ; 192, £15. Horotiu, lot 5, £22 ; 22, £80 ; • 42, £28 ; 44, £33 ; 60, £16 ; 129, £23; 134, £18; 144, £52; 123, £21. Parish of Tuhikaramea, lot 30, £23 ; 67, £30 ; 68, £41 ; 70, £42 ; 71. £33 ; 73, £70. Parish of Waipa, lot 7, £21.

The silver Epergno presented to Mr A. Cox the other day may now be seen m the shop window of Mr McLernon, of Victoria Street, Hamilton, where it has been sent to have the presentation inscription engraved upon it.

Amongst the passengers by train yesterday was a young man named Vincent, remanded from Wellington on the charge of failing to maintain an illegitimate child.

Educational. —An application for certain, improvements to the school, to build a porch at the north end. and for fencing, was received fr jmHamiltonEast. The matter was referred to the Executive Committee, with an instruction to obtain a report from the engineer. The Ngaruawahia committee asked for authorisation of an exchange of school site. On the motion of Mr Peacock, it was resolved that the Inspector of Schools and the Engineer should confer with the local committee on the spot. An application was also received to proclaim the Puniu district a school district. There are from 25 to 30 children m the district, between the ages of 6 aud 12 years, who live four miles distant from the nearest school. Consideration of the application was deferred. '

Wi Mahi te Rangikahake ' writes, contradicting tlie statement made m a telegram, that " should MrR. Graham be prosecuted by the Government, the chiefs have said that all the European residents at Ohinemutu will be driven away."

Hamilton Choral Society. — The present is a favorable opportunity for joining the Choral Society, as the Society is about to start on a new lot of music. The May Queen a Cantata by Sir W. Stemdale Bennett will be practised on Tuesday next.

The late Review at Hamilton .has been the theme of much comment m the Thames papers. Amongst the rest, we find: " Hamilton must be a prosperous place. Mr Le Quesne has just finished building a large brick hotel, which he intends to let at £14 per week * ' * * * There is not a single empty dwelling house m Hamilton, and three and fourroomed wooden housss let for from 15s to £1 per week. Mr Blank is a, nice old gentleman with several pretty daughters, and lives near Dawson's Hotel, Hamilton East. During the recent campaign, an old friend of his from the Thames went up to see him and his 'girls. After the first greetings, the Thames man asked after the young ladies. " Oh, you'll no' see them," replied Mr Blank, " I heerd the ker-recter of these Navals of yourn, and when I was told they were goin' to stop at Dawson's, I sent the dear gals off to Te Awamutu to keep them out o' harm's way."

Waimate Difficulty. — Mr Mackay, m his report to the Government on the Waimate trouble, recommends the appointment of a commission to investigate the nature of the unfulfilled promises re Waimate with authority to issue Crown Grants for such reserves as are to be made for the redemption of the late Sir Donald McLean's promises, which are found on investigation to be bona fide. Ifc is stated m the Maori mind an offer is equivalent to a promise, and Mr Mackay pointed this out to the Government thus : If an officer of the Government offered the original owners of a confiscated block 5,000 acres they would consider this as a promise, but at the same time would endeavor to obtain 10, 000. In the written instructions given by Sir Donald McLean to Mr Parris and Major Brown re Waimate, the following occurs although the language is net precise : — " Although the land, on Waimate is ' nominally' confiscated, you will see that ample reserves are made for all the Hapus on the Plain, and a sum of money, not more than five shillings per acre, be given to the original owners of the soil for such portion thereof as shall bo held confiscated." The Hon. Wi Parata says he was quite unaware that such an understanding prevails, and adds that he believes that if the promise had been adhered to the " raruraru" or troubles of the surveyors would not have taken place. The Hon. Native Minister and Captain Blake have also reported on the difficulty, and it is .understood that such a commission as recommended will be appointed. )

The Thames' Volunteehs. — Incidents of the trip to Waikato are variously dilated upon m the Thames papers. The writer of the following, considering that the road from Hamilton is a dead level, and a hard metalled one to boot, must certainly have been one amongst the stragglers referred to "at the several little stations'' when ho says : — "On the road to Hamilton the train stopped at several little stations for the purpose of allowing a little "liquoring up." Immediately a stoppage was made a rush was made for the nearest hotel, and it was a difficult- matter to get all the stragglers aboard. The march from the station to Hamilton proper was about two miles long, and there are few men m companies who will forget it for a long time. We wore all worn out, none having had a wink of sleep since we left the Thames; the road was ankle deep m dust, and the greater portion of the tramp was up hill. We were glad when we reached Hamilton. After the Mayor's address, three jcheers were given for him and the people of Hamilton — not exactly 'correct for Sunday afternoon some thought — but the \ truth was,., that the excitement of travelling had made many forget that it was Sunday. Very few attended service m the evening, though some volunteers and others inquisitively peeped through the church windows and m. at the door. Some of these were detected by the dapper little Church of England parson, the Rev. Mr Calder who, m the middle of. service, ordered them away, aud informed them he was ashamed of them.