The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1192, 17 February 1880, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. Here shall the Press the People's right maintaiu, Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1880.

The repeated mysterious inuendoes of the Herald's correspondent at Waimate noth withstanding-, we fail to see that jhe progress of events on the^Waimate Plains is other than highly gratifying and calcnlated to inspire respect for the Government in the minds of both races. The action of the Government throughout the whole basinets stands conspicuous by the absence of that vaccillatiou which ever sine* 1 the native office has been in existence, to the best of oar knowledge and belief, has been the leading feature in all dealings with our colored brethren. From the moment the Government had made op their mini in a particular line of action, that line of action has been persistently adhered to ; with the result, that road making is being rapidly prosecuted in the district from which a few short months ago Government Surveyors were ejected, and in the immediate neighbourhood of which settlers were iv a state of terror, and many absolutely removing their famiaes and goods. The difficulties of the situation were much aggravated by the utter inaction of the late Government for nnny month* : months daring which the native,*, seeing the Government was making no sign to replace their Surveyors ow the ground and <o extend the survey of the Plains, naturally enough jamp-d to the conclusion that theii bounce bad carried the day, as it invariably i had done, and that the Government were checkmated. On the advent of Mr Bryce to office the native obstructionists who were prisoners in Wellington were removed from there aad <«Ucod in the ordinary gaols of the c .ucir ry a frw soi disa??t " philanthropist* "—Save the amrk—exclaircii'g »g«tttf the enormity of ane^.eeratiog Britkh sntycts without a trial. Honest |i«W»e opinion boffefor, wiwwith the $'wMq ; and

the whining of these #< philanthiopioal" nuisances drowned in the hum of public approval. The Constabulary on the West Coa9t was next placed in a bettor state of organization, its numbers augmented ; without any unnecessary ostentation it was moved on to the disputed territory, where it now is in tranquil occupation, opening up road communication with the interior, The result of all this is that the discomforted natives feel themselves treated in a firm manner hitherto unknown to them, and recognise that they have been checkmated ; of ooutse they are angry and sore at this : it is absurd to think that they would fool otherwise, and the wonder is that their feelings have not been more strongly marked. Indeed they are proving themselves to be wise in their generation ; they are making the best of the position, and by all accounts evincing- a deBire to fraternise with the Constabulary, a matter we regard as a geod omen, and not as a matter of suspicion as it would seem does the imaginative special of our Auckland morning contemporary. The public must make up its mind to hear empty rumours of " snspioious circumstances v from time to time : such a rumour was that telegraphed all over the colony on Friday last, to the effect that the telegraph wire had been cv*-, the fact being that some awkward bullock driver had run his dray against a telegraph pole, the concussion injuring the insulators. There are u penny a liners " attached to every newspaper, and for ourselves we always take the communications of unknown " specials " cum grano salts. That no distuibance will occur on 1 the West Coast may we think be regarded as certain. In the first place the leading generals among the Tdranaki native 3 are comfortably lodged in Her Majesty's gaols, and in the second it is a foregone conclusion that the Taranaki natives would not dream of fighting without the support of the Nga*imaniapoto, who, we happen to be in a position to »t*te positively, evince no interest whatever in the W<dm tte FUins affairs.

Mb F. E. Thomas, a settler residing far down the Kirikiriroa district takes exception to the statement which appeared in I this journal that, were a ferry established at Pukete, some thirteen children from the East side the river would attend I the Pakete school. This he says would not be the case, as parents having a dread .of the river would not allow their children to cross, even if the school were close to the river bank. Others of the thirteen, he says, live six miles back. We can only say that the I Chairman himself of the Pukete School Committee was our authority. And i until the Christmas holidays, the parents had no suchdread of the rivor for they allowed their children to cross in a boat, not now available. Oub obituary announces the death, on Saturday last of Vava tfertha, youngest daughter of Mr Bell, who has lately come to live in Hamilton, from the l'names. Yesterday her remains were laid to rest in the cemetery on the West side of the river, a large number of friends being present at the ceremony. The body wa« taken to the church at 5 p.m., and laid in front of the altar during the first part of the service, the little coffin cove ed with the "children's white pall," on which were laid some large white lilies sent for the purpose On leaving the church the coffin was carried to the carriage by four peung girls dressed in white. These with four others, who acted as pall-bearers, were pupils at the Hamilton East and West Government schools, to which Mr 'ell has been lately appointed singing master, and the faofc of their volunteering this little service testifies, not only their own goodness of heart, but to the estimation in which Mr Bell is held. The same eight carried the body from the cemetery gate to the grave, where other children had already assembled, and just before the close of the bu ial service, with the blessing, the hymn 402, from " Hymns Ancient and Modern," "Tender Shepherd, Thou haat stiil'd, now Thy l little lamb's brief weeping " was sung in a soft and subdued way, which could not fail to bring the beautiful and appropriate words home to all who heard them. We have been shown by Mr Pearce, of the Commercial Hotel, two splendid samples of apples grown respectively by .Vl r Vincent, at Hamilton East, and Mr Davis, Hamilton West. The apple grown in Mr Vincent's orchard is known as the " Beauty of Kent," and the sample under notice weighs 11 ounces and threequarters. The specimen from Mr Davis orchard, the name of which we regret we are unable to ascertain weighs 12 ounces. vV*aikato can grow fruit with any part of the colony, and it is to be hoped that orchard planting will occupy mort of the attention of settlers than hitherto has been the case. The Free Lance has always something that tickles on-ss fancy : the last number in the "wanted " columns has the folio winsr: " Wanted — A boy to learn the act of printing." Mb D. A. Tolb, Chairman of the Waste Lands Board, writes to the Thames that the " Land Board have recommended the Governor to set apart three thousand three hundred acres of the Te Aroha block for selection on deferred payment. Price not less than two pounds per acre. Should this area be readily taken up, the Boar! will, I have no doubt, be induced to deal similarly with a further portion of the block." The Messrs Manders are making good work with the commencement of the Whatawhata road from Edgecumbe's corner to the bridge near Stokes' farm. The contract was taken at a ridiculously low price, bat the contractors were willing to work for little or no profit, in consideration of the advantage of having a road to their farm. Labor, however, has been considerably economised in the work by the use of the plough and horse-scooo in the formation of the roadway. These scoops ar coming into general use in road work, gathering- up the soil by horsepower and depositing it where required, find will be of great service to Highway Boards where wages are not only high, Ibut labor is often scarce. The bridge at Stokes' is being repaired, though to make a good job of it it would rpquire to be taken down and built afresh It has sunk fully one foot in one corner, and thou?h it cannot be raised to its original level, \ the timbers that are now being put in will prevent its settling lower. Tke break in the weather which took placo yesterday will bo welcome through- ( out the Waits ato district. For five weeks no rain has fallen, at least to such an extent us to benefit tho soil or promote

growth eveu of grass, and the pastures have become quite brown. Land, too, required for turnips and autumn sowing could not in many instances be broken up, and where ready could not be sown. Had the drought lasted another two or three weeks it would have come too late for the grass, as with March we may expect cold nights and an occasional frost, ihe only danger from much rain now would be to the potato crop.

The Pdkete Ferry. — We had thought from the reports of the meetings of the Hamilton Borough aud Waipa County Councils that the question of placing a ferry on the Waikato River at Pukete had been satisfactorily arranged. iSuch, however, we regret to learn, is not the case. Mr Morris, the Chairman of the Pukete {School Committee, has received a letter from the Secrecary of the Waipa Council stating that as there is no road to the crossing at Pukete the Council cannot take steps to place the punt there. We are informed by Mr Morris that a good road exists, and that if it is desired that the road shall be farther improved on either side for the use of drays the Pukete 1 settlers are quite willing to do the work themselves rather than that the Waipa County Council shall have an excuse for depriving the inhabitants of the district of the use of the punt, which is required more for foot passengers than any others, and especially to enable the ohildren of settlers on the east side of the river to attend the school.

Cattle Wandebing on Railways. — Instructions, we understand, have been issued to stationmastars to confine all cattle found wandering on any part of the railway in the station yards, and send for the police to take charge of them. \ more uncalled for persecution of country settlers than this could scarce be imagined. It has been bad enough that hundreds of valuable cattle have been destroyed through the neglect of the Government in leaving the lines of railway unfenced; but now it seems that this loss is to be further aggravated by putting the owners of cattle which escape the engine to loss and annoyance for the commission of a trespass against which the owners of oattle cannot guard. In one instance a settler near Hamilton, as is well known has been literally ruined by the destruction of his cattle on the railway, and his case brought to the attention of Parliament, but vainly. But recently the branch extension into Hamilton was constructed through iVlr Jolly's property and the town belt, and the Government or their officials have made this branch line a complete oattle trap. Being worked by horses, the oattle guards are boarded over, and the consequence is that cattle getting on to the line, and there are some four open crossings, can walk from one end of it to the other, and from it on to the main Auckland line. Cattle find their way in on to the line also from the run, and thence into Mr Jolly's paddocks at the private crossing, bo that bis farm is literally thrown open as much as if it were unfenced by this mismanagement of the branch line — his cattle getting out on to the railway line, and other cattle wandering into his fields. At first the private crossings were fenced and had gates put up, but subsequently the District Engineer had these taken down— though not for use, they lay close by for months, and possibly may do so still. We cannot, of course, say why the gates were taken down, but we can say that the effect has been loss and annoyance to an individual. The whole question of fencing the railway lines is one that must be again forced by our members upon the House.

Inspector Emerson, who visited the Te Aroha part of his district last week, informs us that part of the road from Te Rereatukahia over the ranges is very dangerous for both man and horse, some of the declivities being exceedingly steep and obstructed by a large number 6f toots and fallen trees. Prom the top of the ranges to Te Aroha the traveller is obliged to dismount and walk, and several of the ascents he has to clamber up on his hands and knees using the projecting branches as a support. He thinks that if the work was entered on during the summer, a passable bridle track for horses might , be formed at a small outlay, but to make it fit for coach or dray traffic would involve a very heavy expense. The whole distance across the ranges is about eight miles, and on reaching Te Aroha a splendid stretch of country is presented to view, of rich, deep soil, and covered with rank grass and clover The Waihou Eiver runs right through the block, and there is direct steam communication with Auckland and the Thames, a store for the discharge of steamers having been built near O'Halloran's hotel, where there is also a Government punt for the accommodation of the public. From this place to Hamilton is a fine, broad dray road. The population number about 1,500 Europeans, and 500 Maoris, and, within a radius of five miles from Campbell-town there are three public -houses. The land is to be cut up into sections for sale, and already a fine public hall has been erected, Te Aroha Mountain to O'Halloran's there are five swampy crossings on the road, but Mr Emerson thinks that a good track could be made for an expenditure of aboat £100. By the way, this would be splendid amusement for the members of the A.C. Force, some of whom seem to find time hang heavy on their hands. By employing them on this job the Government would be killing two birds with one stone, affording these gentlemen something to amuse themselves at, and at the same time getting a very desirable improvement executed. This road would open up communication between Tauranga and the "Waikato, which would be a matter of great importance for the country in the event of any unpleasantness with natives. During Mr Emerson's visit he selected a site for a police station and other Government buildings. Mr Hugh Campbell, the owner of the ground, very generously gave two sections for this purpose as a free gift, which Mr Emerson considers in every way suitable, situated as they are in a very convenient position, contiguous to the public hall, and near the site of the l ail way station and proposed township. The settlers in these places are put to great inconvenience through the want of a Magistrate in the neighbourhood, persons having declarations to make being obliged to go to Hamilton, a distance of 45 miles. It would be a great boon to the district if the Government were to confer the Commission of the Peace on one or two of the leading residents there. — Bay of Plenty Times.

Katepayebs who have sent in objec- I tions to the valuation lists on or before the loth inst to the Assessment Courts I must not forget that they have yet another duty to perform, that of sending in a copy of such objections to the office of the local body, against whose valuation they appeal, seven clear days before the sitting of such Assessment Court. This has not been done in some cases in time, ' and the neglect cannot be repaired. There are yet, however seven clear days in several instances, as in the Hamilton, Newcastle, Tuhikaramea districts and others. Very many of the objections sent in to the Assessment Courts are, we understand, informal, not being drawn up in accordance with the schedule to the published for the information of objectors. The real character of the leaders of the anti-rent agitation in Ireland is illustrated by their t-eatmeur of their tenants during the present hard times Although these gentlemen's inflammatory harangues have led some of their docjples to commit the horrible outrage of cutting oft a tenant's oars for p»»yingr his, landlord.

the rent due to him, tho Home Rule landlords, and notably Mr Parnell, still stickle for their pound of flesh. While nearlyall the Irish landlords have been allowing their tenants reductions in rent to the extent of from 20 to 50 per cent.' Mr Parnell refuses to abate more than 7i per cent., and notified that unless he was paid in full by a certain date writs would be issued against the defaulters. A deputation waited on Mr Parnell' s ag-'mt at his office by arrangement to ask tojhave the allowance inoroased to 15 per cent., but neither Mr Paraell nor his representatives put in an appearance, and the tenants were put to all the troule and expense of a useless journey. The following letter from the Chief Postmaster to W. A. Murray Esq, M.H.R., has been kindly forwarded to us from the latter gentleman for the information of settlers :—": — " Chief Post office, Auckland, 12th February, 1880. Sir,— l have the honor to acknowledge the rciept of your letter of the 3rd inst. with reference to tha mail service between Morrinsville and Hamilton, and suggesting the extension of the service to the Omahu landing. I beg io state in reply that steps have already been taken to place this service on a more satisfactory footing, and I trust very shortly to arrange for the mails to leave Morrrnsville at 6 or 8 o'clock a.m. and reach Auckland the same day. It will be remembered that when the department called for tenders for the service in question, I was unable to obtain a single offer and had ultimately to arrange with Mr W. Gr. Harp on his own terms, and he stipulated that he was to leave Morrinsville at 8 a.m. and be allowed six hours to reach Hamilton. Aa the bridge across the Wai - kato is now open for traffic and I hope to be able to obtain permission to use the road through the "Waikato Land Company's property I anticipate the contractor will have no difficulty in reaching Hamilton in time to connect with the train which leaves for Auckland at 1 25 p.m. I beg to add that the question of extending 1 the mail service to Omahu has already been considered by the department and it was decided that the expense did not warrant the outlay. As Mr Rowe has now made me a more reasonable offer I will again bring the matter before the Postmaster General, when I trust your suggestion will be approved. — I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, B. Biss, Chief Postmaster. We regret to learn that Mr W. N, Searanoke is lying seriously ill, having been seized on Saturday night with an attack of cholera. Unfortunately Dr. Sandes' services were not procurable on Saturday night, as he was out of Hamilton with a patient, and Mr Searanoke had to wait for medical assistance until next day. There was a large attendance yesterday at the funeral of the late Mr James Purvis. The deceased was a member of the Orange lodge, and a large number of the brethem were present. The hey. Mr Bull, Wesleyan Minister, to which denomination the deceased belonged, oonducted the burial service. The concert given at Hautapu on Friday evening last in aid of the school funds was thoroughly successful in a musical, and fairly so in a pecuniary sense. The attendance was only moderate, bnt the audience was a very appreciative one. The chair was occupied in the absence of the chairman of the School Committee by Mr Maolaurin. A programme, consisting of solos, songs, readings, &c, was then gone through. Mr Mackintosh of Cambridge contiibuted two of his always popular clarionet solos, and very materially assisted to make the concert so successful.

The Managing Committee of the Te Awamutn Public Hall have decided to got up an entertaiument on Friday, 27th instant, to help the funds of the hall. At present there is a debt af £50 on the building. The treasurer has rather more than half that amount in hand, and the committee hope to raise enough to pay off the debts After which they hope to be able to make much needed improvements to the building. The entertainment is to be musical and literary, with probably a dash of the dramatic, and as a large amount of fresh talent has been imported into the district since an entertainment has been given, it is expected that the bill of fare for the occasion will be of a high class. At any rate the committee arc determined to spare no pains to make it a success, and have already enlisted the assistance of friends who will help largely to that end.