The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1225, 6 May 1880, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal and cvact justice to all men, Qi X "whatever $tate or persuasion, religious or \ > political.. Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, gnawed bj influence anf! tml}ribc4 by gain.

THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1880.

We have been favored with the perujsal o| a very interesting communication addressed to the Colonial Secretary by Mr Albert Potter, of Hamilton, on the subject of a permanent exhibition for New Zealand products in London. If we recollect rightly, the project is not a new one ; but, though he cannot lay claim to originality, Mr Potter throws much additional light on the question, and does not fail in bringing* forward almost every pei'tinent argument which Gan be adduced in favor of the scheme he advocates. The letter commences with a brief reference to the part which New Zealand has played in the different Colonial and, European Exhibitions, and without wholly disparaging such displays claims that the good' results accruing are not sufficient recompense, for the money expended upon them. "We have," the writer points out, " forwarded our products " tot national exhibitions 'at a great " cojst^and^ doubtless such exhibi- " tiims have had a beneficial effect. " They have brought us as, a colony " prominently before the worlds — we " give other people by such displays "an opportunity of drawing their " own inferences as 'to our capabilities ;•■ but beyond that the " question" arises,- to what extent " have 'we practically benefited % \ " Excepting as regards England, " have; we increased our exports in " any degree to those States in con- " sequence % Have we become larger " manufacturers of' any particular " article ? ' Have we reaped an " advantage by an influx of capita- " lists settling amongst us, either as " agriculturists, manufacturers, or "in any other capacity ? Have we •"• received any benefit in the shape ■"•of labor forwarded by those States? "Do they exercise any influence " upon our monetary arrangements — " loans, securities, banks, or other " kindred institutions ? Do our. " stocks rise or fall at their will or " caprice in times of peace 1 If, sir, " these questions cannot be answered " in the affirmative, then I submit " our energies in, this direction and " the money expended are not spent " to such advantage as would war- " rant us in continuing to support " further a show,pleasant doubtless, " but for all practical purposes " fruitless." Mr Potter then goes on to say that although the displays an the New Zealand Courts of the European exhibition were in every way J worthy of the Colony, and, as he seems to imply, such as would by themselves. clraw_ much attention, they were almost extinguished by the variety and brilliancy of the surroundings, and thus the real object of the colonists in contributing to these exhibitions, namely, to bring prominently before the world the excellence of New Zealand products and the advantages which it offers as a field for bo na fide capital and labor are in a great measure defeated, the result being instead of a material gain an actual money loss. There is much cogency in this argument, for there can be little doubt that with our utmost endeavors we can make but an insignificant show in a great international exhibition, and yet it is to the older and more advanced countries that we must look for support. The question then naturally enough arises : How are we to appeal to these people free from the disadvantages adverted to above. ? " For an exhibition " to be of any practical value to us "as a colony, I submit, it must of " necessity be always on view — " under a responsible and supreme " authority, and in the midst of a "community from which we can " draw these resources, strength, " vigour and force to aid us in pro- " secuting and maintaining those " effoi'ts for which such exhibitions " were designed • the development fl of the resources of the Colony.' " And what, Sir, I ask, is more ", suitable, more appropriate, more *• in unison with our relationship, " in any- respect than a New Zea- " land Exhibition in- London r per- " manently established under the im- " mediate supervision and control of " the Agent-General of the Colony % " With . the assistance of complete colonial statistics, capitalists and money-lenders would thus be in a position which would enable them to draw correct deductions regarding the use to which the borrowed capital of the Colony is put in opening up the resources of the country. " From our mineral Resources, the " Admiralty would* be able at once " to recognise the vast deposits and " quality of our coals, as attached " would be the reports of those com- \ " manders and captains who had " tested their value ; the ease with " which the Royal Navy could be " coaled^their charts showing the " advantageous position we hold for " such purpose. It would also " witness the fact of our actually " warehousing ' grain of the finest quality, and our ability to supply " meats by the frozen process, and «'thus our ability to victual the

" same vessels. This would also " a PPty to the* mercantile navy ; and, !-' if applicable to the marine of " Britain, is it not equally so to all " nations with whom we are at "peace? The twenty-four Ambas- " sartors of Foreign Courts resident " in London would not be slow to " represent to their various Govern- " ments our producing capabilities " in^ these respects and the advan- " tages our position affords. In " respect to wool, our chief export, " under a more judicious system " than" the - present, the large manu- " facturers of England, > France, " and Germany could' there select ".from samples of flocks the staple M suitable] their requirements^ The vahle* oi such an institution taken in conjimctidn' with the energetic efforts put forth by the colony's immigration agents as a means of inducing a desirable class of settlers to transfer themselves to this country would, Mr Potter contends, be incalculable, and there can be little doubt that what he says ia based on an accurate preception of probabilities. The numerous .and^practically inexhaustible * • resources of New Zealand, together with the benefits of climate analogous in the northern part to, that of Rome and Montpellier, and similar to that of Jersey in the south, if fully demonstrated, as they are almost certain of being by the means suggested by Mr Potter, cannot fail to attract to our shores the class of people most wanted. He does not conceal from himself that in all likelihood the example of this Colony wouM be followed by others, but he adds, in conclusion that we need not be jealous, need fear no competition, " our geographical posi- " tion, aided by our secure and deep " harbors, with the advantages of " our mineral, animal, and vegetable " productions, carrying us superior "to all." The subject is one of the first importance to us as possessors of a country as yet only thinly peopled and comparatively undeveloped, and we cannot afford to lose sight of it. Whatever steps the Government may take in the matter, colonists as a body should set their minds on a thorough examination of it.

When Sir John Coode, the eminent engineer, was in New Zealand some two and a-half years ago, among the harbors he visited, at the urgent request of the Local Governing Bodies, was that of Tauranga, a magnificent sheet of water, capable, with a comparatively small expenditure, of affording shelter to a much larger number of vessels than are for years and years likely to seek its refuge — the only harbor on the East Coast between Auckland and Wellington, and the highway to what is, and ever must most unquestionably be, the port for the whole of the Bay of Plenty and the inland districts. Sir John arrived in Tauranga by the G,S.S. "Hinemoa," accompanied by the Engineer -in - Chief for the North Island (Mr Blackett, C.E.), and other authorities, took soundings, inspected charts, and in every possible way elicited the necessary data on which to found his judgment. Some weeks after, the Chairman of the Tauranga Town Board received from him an intimation of what further details he would require; and that gentleman, after a deal of persuasion and haggling with some of the members of the Town Board, who could not see an inch beyond their noses, succeeded in obtaining a grant of money from the Board 'for the purpose of affording the information so solicited by Sir John Coode. Mr R. 0. Jordan, a gentleman well known as a remarkably | able engineer and of large experience, and who at that time was the authorised engineer to the Town Board, was instructed to proceed with the survey of the harbor, in the matter of taking soundings, Szc. Owing to a change in the personnel of the Town Board, caused by the | resignation of the then Chairman and the lamented death of a leading member, the engineer's report so furnished was not forwarded to Sir John Coode in London until the middle of last year. On its receipt Sir John appears, from what we can gather by the Bay of Plenty Times of last Saturday, to have lost no time in making his calculations and sending out his opinion. He recommends certain measures, with which, however, we have no concern, and — which is where the shoe pinches the good folks of Tauranga — also encloses his "little bill" of one hundred guineas. Now, ,we are much surprised to find that our Tauranga contemporary considers this sum high : our contemporary says : — Sir John Coode appears to have laid it on rather heavily in charging one hundred guineas for work that we have been told occupied no more than two or three hours, but then on the principle of ' ' the more cost the more honor, " we suppose he thought his recommendations would have the more weight if they came freighted with a heavy bill of costs. We know on good authority that " a prophet has no honor in his own country," and hence the opinions of our local engineers were of no consequence — we had to go to the other side of the globe to learn what was wanted to make our harbor all that it should be. We agree with our contemporary in saying that " the opinions of " local engineers were of no conse- " quence" in comparison to those of Sir John Coode ; most certainly they are not, and the sooner the Tauranga people recognise the fact that local opinion is not the world's the better for a district, which has every natural resource, which is dreadfuify behind M neighbours, and

which h«&;its #WU settlers in fbjarge measur^^to thank therefor. - .The Bay ofty'Jpntif Times -whines at the cost like a^gliild f because "the report must remain a dead letter for years;" this was perfectly well understood and recognised at the time ; and it was also perfectly well recognised that years might roll ,on before such an, authority as Sir tlfohii again visited Tauranga, and hence it was' that "the" then Local Body wisely decided to acquire at a very — compared to the benefits to be- derived sooner or later from the datum supplied — small sum, the opinions of the first engineer of the nineteenth century. ,It is a pity that so long an interval has elapsed. smce 4 the visit of Sir John ' Cdode, , and the receipt of this "valuable report; but here again the Tauranga people have only to thank their own procrastination. Our contemporary concludes his remarks on ihe " little bill" with a slap at the Grey Ministry, and calls the employment of Sir John " a job " perpetrated by Sir George Grey's administration. This is a very mean way of endeavoring to justify evading payment of a just and reasonable demand : neither Sir George Grey or any of his colleagues foisted Sir John Coode on the Tauranga people : a special request was made by the then Chairman of the Town Board, by telegram to Sir George Grey, urgently requesting that the Hinemoa, on her way to Auckland from Wellington with Sir John, might be permitted to call in ,at Tauranga, in order to enable Sir John to inspect the harbor with the object of reporting on it, and to this request Sir Oeorge acceded, and' "the Government now in power" would doubtless have likewise acceded to such a request. We trust the Tauranga Town Board will riot try and evade this just demand, but that Sir John Coode's report, though doubtless circumstances will preclude the carrying out of the suggestions it contains for many years to come, will be most carefully treasured as a very precious heirloom for the rising generation of the magnificent Bay of Plenty district. If Local Bodies are to repudiate the transactions of their predecessors, a farewell may be taken of all straightforward dealing in local public matters. Sir John' Coode's "little bill" is, a legacy bequeathed to the honor of the present Town Board.

The favorable result of the potf mortem examination of Mr MpNicol's cattle on Tuesday last (for it can hardly be doubted that the opinion of Mr Naden will be in general consonance with that of the two medical men), will be received with great satisfaction. In the first place a very uneasy feeling will be removed from the minds of those 'owners of cattle whose properties adjoin the farm of Mr McNicol, and in the second place the apprehensions of settlers that the disease existing in the Swamp Company's herd had, by means of these beasts of Mr McNicol's, spread the seeds of infection broadcast through the district, will be dispelled. Further than this, it will conclusively refute the absurd and malicious report which has lately been gaining currency to the effect that the Company actually sold some of their imported cattle knowing them to be diseased with Scrtne object known only to themselves. Were we not assured on the best authority, we should have scarcely deemed it possible for anyone to have originated a rumor which it is an abuse of terms even to call "malicious." However, the story has been repeated, and for ourselves we are heartily glad to find it contradicted in such a practical manner. It is well-known that the Company sold only five of their imported stock, and now that they have been proved to be healthy we think there can be no doubt that the disease which showed itself at Cambridge cannot be traced to them. We cannot pretend to say how it got there, but its origin must undoubtedly be looked for apart from the five animals from the Swamp Company's property. It cannot be denied that in regard to these cattle of Mr McNicol's, a mistake has been made somewhci'e, and Mr McNicol, as • the sufferer thereby, may very justly consider that he has been hardly dealt with. At the same time we cannot see how, in the face of the evidence before them, the Board could have acted otherwise than in ordering the destruction of one or more of the animals with a view to setting the matter at rest. All who have seen "the cattle more than once concur iv saying that they have of late greatly improved in appearance. Yet, in the face of this, Mr Gerse reported, on Saturday, that when he visited them they appeared to be distressed, and Mr Storey, at the same meeting, said he had advised Mr McNicol to kill the beasts off as fast as he could. It may be — it has been said that the mere fact of the cattle mixing with others for a period of three months without spreading the disease was enough to demonstrate that they were clean; but admitting the force of this, we repeat that the Board had fair grounds for their proceeding. There was not, however, considering that the existence of pleuro remained to be proved, any necessity for making so stringent an order, which, but for the thoughtfulness of Mr Runcunan in suggesting a meeting of the Board, would have resulted in the wanton waste of much good food. It would have been wise, too, had the Board arranged for a meeting the same day at which the report of Mr Naden might have been presented and the matter dealt with one way or another, , instead of leaving it unsettled for the remainder of the week. We have little doubt that the Board will, on Saturday, act fairly in the matter, and endeavor to remove, as far as it is consistent with the safety of the district, the restrictions which at pr^seut press s.q. heavily q\\ \\w settlers,

We understand that Messrs Small and Ooates, storekeepers, Hamilton Bast, have disposed of their business to Messrs Dey a&d French. Mr Dey is well known as a member of the firm of Mennie and Doy, biscuit manufacturers, Thames.

We are glad to observe that the hint which we gave regarding the dangerbrtV state of the bridge at JSteele's cutting has been acted upon, and the rotten portion of the planking replaced. While on this subject, could not something be done to improve the approach on the Cambridge side ?

The weather has at length, after repeated promises, fairly broken. The rain lias, however, come too late to do any material good to the grass, and this winter will witness a greater scarcity of feed than has been known for many yeai's. The showers will, however, materaliy assist the turnips, and those who are fortunate enough to have crops will, this season, feel the full benefit of them. The rain was hailed joyfully by householders, many of" whom have for months past been paying heavily for water.

Notwithstanding the great fall in the price of beef a. large number of fat cattle are being forwarded to Auckland. On Tuesday last about 1 00 hrad were despatched by. rail from Ohaupo, being from the Te Awamutu and Rangiawhia dis tricta.

The members of the Hamilton Comus Dramatic Club purpose giving their first entertainment this season on Wednesday, the 19th instant. The programme will consist of the comedy " All that Glitters is not Gold," and the comedietta " Cheokmate," and as the ladies and gentlemen of the club have been for some time assiduously rehearsing we may expect an excellent entertainment.

The charge against Constable Jonas Abrams, lately stationed at Newton now of Alexandra, of indecently assaulting one Catherine McDonald on or abont the 22nd of ' January ultimo, was heard at the Auckland Police Court on Tuesday and dismissed.

We have already drawn attention to the necssity for improving the approaches to the Narrows Bridge. In view of the bad weather this work ought to be attended to.

A rather enterprising shooting party started from the Thames the other day. They proceeded up the Waihou by steamer, having their own boat containing tents, provisious, &c, iv tow. Arrived at Omahu landing a waggron was procured and the wherry was carried overland to the head of the Piako. where the party embarked and floating down with the current, enjoyed some excellent duck shooting. They passed a night on their journey camping out on the river banks, and reached Grahamstown the succeeding day, crossing the Frith in their boat. We have not heard whether they got good bags, but they certainly deserved to.

The chief Paul, of Orakei, is at present on a visit to Tawhiao at Hikurangi.

A man named James Lee, a messenger in the Public Works Office, Auckland fell off the Queen St. wharf, on Monday evening and drowned.

The last report of St. Stephen's Orphan Home, Farnell, shows that there are 61 inmates ; the total income for last year . amounted to £961 : expenditure, £959 ; endowment contributions were £233.

We have been forwarded the "New Zealand Punch" of May Ist ; the only thing in it worthy of notice is a cartoon of Gr. M. O'Korke Esq., Speaker of the House of Representatives, and that is of I the roughest description.

It may not be generally known that the differences between Koman Catholics and Protestants extend even to the mode of spelling. Yet such is the fact. At the recent trial of Mr J. C. Younjr, Mr Abraham "Warbrick explained the discrepancies in the form and spelling of some of the signatnres by the f acb that sometimes a Roman Catholic would .sign for a Protestant and a Protestant for a Roman Catholic, and as the mode of spelling by the two creeds was different the same name would thus appear differently spelled. For instance, Paul was spelled Pauro by Roman Catholics, and Paora by Protestants.— Bay of Marty Time*.

During a violent thunderstorm at Ashlnirtou on Saturday April 10th, five horses belonging to a farmer named Sweeney, at Sheffield, were killed by lightning. They -were seen together on Saturday evening in a paddock on the farm, and found lying dead side by bide on Sunday morning. They bore no marks of violeuqe, and one had a bit of grass in its mouth indicating that death must have been instantaneous.

We find the following information in our mail files regarding the detects in the construction of the Tay Bridge :—: — Richard Baird deposed tliat he was a moulder, and had been employed at the foundry which the contractor for the erection of the bridge put up on the south side of the river. There the columns were cast horizontally. Cleveland iron was employed in their manufacture, and it was of most inferior quality. It gave off a great quantity of dross, and occasionally the columns were bracketed, or were not cast complete. The columns which witness cast were in the part of the bridge which had fallen. Salt water av,is used for damping the moulds, and in this way impurities were introduced. James M'Uowan, who was also employed as a moulder, said the metal used for the columns was the worst he had ever seen. He remembered some ba«e plates coming from the west of Scotland." They were not required for the work, and were broken up. He assumed they had been made of Scotch metal. They intended to mix the plates in melting with Cleveland iron, but the manager said that must not be done, as they could, when the job was over, sell the metal at a good price. The columns which witness cast were used in the bridge south and north of tho great girders. The foundry at the south end of the bridge wa"& specially built lor the casting of columns for the structure. The work turned out at it was inferior. Other witnesses, however, deposed to the sotmdness of the materials employed and to the proper construction of the bridge.

"The Railway Journal" an American newspaper, containing the latest intelligence with respect to home and foreign politics, the money market, Congress debates, and theatrical events, is now printed and published daily in the trains running New York and San Francisco. All the news with which its columns are filled is telegraphed from different parts of the States to certain stations on the line, there collected by the editorial staff travelling in the train, and net up, printed, and circtdated among the subscribing passengers, while the iron horse is persistently traversing plains and valleys, crossing rivers, and ascending mountain ransres. Every morning the traveller may have his newspaper served up with his coffee, and thus keep himself informed of all that is going on in the wide world during a seven days' journey oovtringover 3000 miles of ground. He who pays his subscription at New York, which he can do at the railway ticket-office, receives the last copy of his paper on the summit of the Sierra Nevada. The production of a news sheet from a flying printing office at an elevation of some 10,000 feet above the level of the sea is most assuredly a performance worthy of

conspicuous record in journalistic annals, and highly creditable to Araerioan enterpribe.

Ifweateto.belieyea story which is current in Oamnru just now it would seem that the great sea serpent is not to have it all his own way. The North Otago Tunes, publishes the story as follows: — 'On my way home to-night, April 14, at six o'clock, I drew the attention of two of my fellow workmen to a sight we never saw beforo, in the shape of a monster bird, beast, or fish between the sea and the sky. It came in eight off the Awamoa Creek and passed through the air nearly to Kakanui. It then turned back, stopped half -way, and looked of immense size. Then it proceeded back to where seen fiisfc, and disappeared in the aea. It looked a huge black object — I thought a balloon, but I cannot form an opinion of what it was on account of its immense size. It appeared to be about two miles off, close into land, and say 200 yards high in the air. It was quite distinct to look at, but what it was we could not tell. The object was certaiuly wonderful in its appearance."

Among the many Qualifications necessary in a Bank manager in Victoria a thorough knowledge of fire arms appears to be one, if we may judge by the following, clipped from the Benalla /Standard: — "A severe reprimand was administered to a bank manager in this district the other day by his inspector. The inspector, while on his rounds, called in at the bank, and Defore leaving took up a revolver, which had been provided as a protection against the Kelly s. Upon examination the inspector found it to be unloaded, and immediately asked the reason why the weapon was empty in the Kelly country. The manager, after a little hesitation, replied that he had fired off the six chambers for practice, but confessed that he did not know how to reload the weapon. The reprimand followed close upon the last admission. "

The first report of the New Zealand Agricultural Company states that after deducting from the profits £.54,851 the expenses, &c, including the dividend of 2s 6d per share already paid, there remains an available balance of £12,942. The directors recommend that this be disposed of by placing £3000 to a reserve fund ; by paying a dividend of 2s 6d per share on £7 10s paid up, which including the dividend on the vendors' shares, will amount te £7348 ; carrying forward the balance of £2594.

The fact that the whole of the allotments of space to British exhibitors in the Melbourne Exhibition have been sent out, and that no more applications cm be entertained, proves how great is the desire on the part of the British manufacturers to make known their specialities in the Colonies. The applications in the implement and machinery class have been so numerous tho.t it is notcertain, we are told, whether they can be all entertained. It is to be hoped that space will be found for all who desire to be represented in this class — the most important of ail to colonists.

So pleased are the Dunedin Corporation with the fire annunciators lately erected, that six new ones are to be provided at a cost of £125. The signals at pesent in use have been found of great service — the Fire Brigade gear having 1 iv some instances been almost at the scene of the lire prior to the ringing of the firebell. In the case of a recent fire in George-street, says the Dully 2\mcb, the advantage of a speedy arrival was made clearly manifest, for although a distance of about six feet only separated the burning building from the next wooden one, the brigade were enabled to confine the flames entirely to the one in which they broke out. In another case, in which the alarm was given for a blazing chimney, the gear was returning from the scene when the bell rang. These facts show the utility of the new system of signals, and, unquestionably, expense incurred in extending the system will not be money thrown away. Coroner's juries, as we all know, are the most peculiar bodies existing, but the decision given by a Southland twelve will compare for oddity with the nlost unique verdict ever recorded. Several stacks of wheat had been burned either in or near a particular town, and it was thought necessary to hold a coroner's inquiry into the circumstances of the fire. After hearing evidence and giving the matter careful and long consideration, the facetious jury brought in this A r erdict : — " That the stacks were burned by some pei'sons unknown, and bcrra? the starts riyht."

A correspondent ofthe"Nachricten," Basle who subscribes himself " R. F. V.,"and dates from .Sycamore Brook, Long Island, gives a curious description of the latest and most incredible of the inventions of Professor l^disou ; for it is an old hoax in a very slightly altered form. The professor has perfected, we are assured, an apparatus by which a human being can be cast into a sleep for the whole winter season, like a badger or a marmot. The professor lias named his invention the dormitor. It is not a drug, but a species of electrical machine, the construction of which remains a secret all his own, which is guaranteed to send a man to sleej) and keep him therein for so many months, while he lies comfortably upon a sofa or bed. The length and sight of the electrification of the patient will determine the duration of his somnification. The duration must further depend, however, upon the zone in which the operation is applied. Thus if the patient makes his bed upon the shores of Lake Winnipeg, in the northernmost region of Canada, Mr. Edison can promise him four months of sound sleep, whereas in Philadelphia the sleep would be reduced to two months, and in Panama, where it is never cold, the machine would be absolutely powerless.

By private advices received yesterday by the Kan Francisco mail we le.irn that the foundation stone of the Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, will be laid by H.R.H. the Grand Master, E.C., on the 13th instant, with full Masonic honors.

"Enquirer" writes to the B«v of Plenty Tima as follows :—" Sir,— Could you inform me whether I can shoot or trap game on my own land, as I have sown a lot of oats ? They are a great nuisance to me." We advise " Enquirer" to feed them off, or plough them in for manure !

A mkhing of the South Auckland Cattle Bouid will be hold on Saturday next at 10 o'clock a.m.

MrT.T. Smith announces that he has purchased the Occidental Hotel, Auckland, where he will al\va\s be h.ippy to welcome old and new faces. The leading newspapers are kept on file.

"M \cr kan and Co. offer a reward of £$ for such information as will lead to the conviction of any person found destroying game on their property in the p.irish ot Ha.ut.ipu.

Thl Licensing Court, for the districts of Raglan and K.iwhi.i, for the renewal, removal, or transfer of licenses, will be holden in the Court House, Raglan, on Tuesday, the Bth of June.

Thl Cambridge Coursing Club's Puppy Stakes of £9i, runner up £2, aie advertised to come off on the 25th, and the All Dog Stakes, of £10 .and silver 1 up value £10, presented by Mr E. Hewitt, runner up £8, on the 28th and 29th instant. P.utiiuhus regarding entrance money, conditions, &c, will be iound in the advertisement.

A Dangerous Dog. — Smith — "I once possessed a splendid dog, who could always distinguish between a vagabond and a respectable person." Jones ''well what's become of him ?" Smith—" Oh, I was obliged to give him away I He. bit mo. "