The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1236, 1 June 1880, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

, fiAual Jin_-exhct jukticfrte all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. , Here shall tKd Press the People's right maintain, Uhavvcd by influence and unbribed by gain.

iif USD AY^ JUNE U 1880.

'T^HE second Session of the seventh ' Parliament of New Zealand, opened on Friday- lasb l?y His Excellency the Governor, in person, will be full of anxiety and interest to all having tne ultimate welfare of New Zealand at hearty The Hall J^inistry, since taking possession, pf the .Treasury Benches, have pursued a bold independent policy, not only as regards native affairs, but in connection with all Departments of Government. Their policy has, we believe, generally commended itself to the rightthinking portion of colonists; that ii will be assailed, and that bitterly) by a section of the House is without !, doubt. There is one part of the Ministerial policy which on all grounds' is to be especially commended, though it also naturally has bitter opponents, who have axes of their own to grind: we refer to the general retrenchment apparent in all departments, and especially in the matter of railway* extension. J?or years past the number of political railways constructed has been legion ; the consequence being that many of our railways are not paying working expenses. The present Government have, wisely determined that before proceeding with any railway, or portion of a railway, it shall be demonstrated beyond dispute that such line will not only tend to open up and permanently advance a district; but will also, directly it is in working order, pay a fair percentage over working expenses. This policy will be adhered to throughout the Colony, and has indeed already in this Provincial District, in Nelson, Canterbury, and Otago, caused much irritation to, and much adverse criticism from, those who care not to look beyond the present hour. Those, however, who intend making New Zealand their permanent home, and who thus regard its future and lasting prosperity as well as the present, recognise in the policy adopted a step in the right direction — a desire on the part of the Government to carry on public works on a sounder, safer, and more legitimate basis. Many, no doubt, will feel aggrieved that bertain works, which they deemed would have been taken in hand at once, will have to stand over for some timer— .very possibly for years ixy come — but the Colony has now arrived at a point in its financial position when a partial suspension of public works is indispensable, to enable the finances being somewhat consolidated. Additional taxation must be the natural sequence to the prosecution of public works, and additional taxation is a matter not to be thought of. All further steps in the direction of new public works must be taken most cautiously,and most asisuredly willbe so taken by the Government. The burden of taxation is at the present time very heavy, and must so be for many years yet. We have been living far beyond our income, and must curtail many luxuries, or metaphorically shall find ourselves in the Bankruptcy Court. The sooner people recognise this fact — that a nation like a family, if living beyond its income will sooner or later come to grief — the better. The recognition of this fact would conduce to more integrity in public life, would prevent the grasping and log rolling, now the rule, and generally tend to elevate the public mind. The deitermination- of Government to curtail expenditure all round, and to endeavor to live within our income will, as we have already said, be assailed by members in opposition, very possibly by some Government supporters, who have pledged themselves to obtain grants for certain works in their respective constituencies; but we believe the Hall Government will stand or fall by the principles they have laid down for their guidance, and that 'they will carry all their measures ,and command a substantial majority in the, House, and the respect of tie country outside.

It will be remembered that some time ago we commented on the very wretched accommodation afforded the public at the Post and Telegraph Offices, Hamilton, and suggested that the Postal and Telegraph windows should be entirely separate. It affords us pleasure to announce thr.t acting on our suggestions the necessary alterations ore now being affected. The present delivery window is to be enlarged tQ double its dimensions

and will future be entirely dovoted to the receipt&f Telegraphic messages. The Postal window wiH be on the right of the main entrance doors, and u entirely distinct from the Telegraph Office. The delay and inconvenience hitherto experienced will thus be obviated and despatch ensured. The alterations are in the hands of Mr. Thorpe, builder of Hamilton East, and are being expeditiously and faithfully executed.

An impudent theft was attempted. on Saturday evening in Mr Gwynne's Hotel. While the attendant's back was turned a young- fellow who was in the. bar coolly appropriated a bottle of wine on one of the shelved, and put it in his pocket. Missing the bottle, the attendant accused hhn of theft .and pointed to tho bottle in his pockqtr ,m hpwe>er,f*tputft- denied the juaficVol *flfre"' i acctMfais6ri, boFwhen Mr Gwynne was callrd he gave up the bottle and begged to be let off. ' Mr Gwynne, however, sent for the police, and the thief was dealt with y«sterday by the R.M.

We understand that a movement is on foot with a view to obtaiuiilg helmets for the Waikato Cavalry. The cap at present has long been felt to be both inconvenienfc Snd "ungrac«fulj and a:ohange in the proposed direction Vould'be very desirable.

William Craig; Plumb©*, <&£ begs to thank the" inhabitants of the Waikato for their patronage during the time he has been in business in Hamilton, and, as he is about leaving the district, respect* fully requests that all accounts due to him may be paid forthwith. — [Advt.]

The Resident Magistrate gave utterance to some very sensible remarks on the subject of drunkenness at the Court on Saturday. Addressing one of the delinquents, a man who had made his appearance in the dock rather frequently of late, Hi» Worship -asked him what he and his class thought they would come to. They wont on drinking for the greater part of their lives, and in their old age they found themselves utterly destitute and a charge upon their fellowmen. We are much afraid that such. remarks, just as they undoubtedly are, are entirely lost upon those benighted beings whose only beacon is the nobbier, and whose ideas of happiness can only lift them high enougb to contemplate the bliss of drunken unconsciousness.

We learn that Mr W. Gumming has sold his unimproved farm of 600 acres at Tamahere to Mr Ormerod, a recent arrival in the Colony. The land is of excellent quality, and nearly all dry and fit for the plough.

The Railway Commissioners (Messrs Oswald Curtis, E. G. Wright, J. M. Clark, and Pearce), have returned to Auckland from their inspection in Waikato and Upper Thames districts. At the Thames, as we prognosticated, they received a quantity of evidence tending to demonstrate that a line of railway between the Thames and Waikato would be one of a highly remunerative character. Dr Kilgour show 3d very clearly that previously to the Government taking up this Hue, a number of capitalists were prepared to construct it, and that the local bodies both of the Tnames and Waikato were prepared to guarantee a percentage en the outlay.

The City of New York, with the English mail via San Franoteco, is due in Auckland to-day.

Last night Professor Goldberg opened at the Hamilton Hall, with his exhibition entitled Sphinx, or the Talking Heads. There was a large and fashionable attendance, and several valuable prizes were distributed amongst the audience. To-night is the last night, and we would advise those who desire a good evening's amusement not to miss the last chance. In addition to the exhibition there will be a dance at the conclusion.

Last week five boys ran away from the Training School at Kohimarama, and made in the direction of Auckland. Three of them were subsequently captured by the police and taken back to the school. One of the two remaining at large is the boy Murray, who was convicted at Hamilton for stealing pumpkins. It is probable that by this time these two boys are also on their way back to the school.

The body of the boy Jackson, who was drowned on Tuesday last at Huntley, "by falling out of a boat, has not yet been recovered.

The Secretary to the Wesleyan Waikato Circuit having notified to the Secretary of the Hamilton Choral Society that the Wesleyan chapel in Hamilton is no longer available for the practices of the Society, a meeting of the Society was held last night, when the Secretary gave notice that the next practices of the Society, pending further arrangements, would be held at The Lodge, Hamilton, Mrs Ross- Watts having kindly offered the use of her schoolroom.

A meeting of the Cambridge Fanners' Club was called for 2 o'clock yesterday, at which it was supposed Mr Williams would read an essay, and at which arrangements for the annual ploughing match were to have been made. At the hour specified, however, the only members present were president, Mr Maclean, the senior vice-president, Captain Runciman, Mr Holander, and the secretary. These gentlemen waited patiently until nearly 3 o'clock when they took their departure, the meeting lapsing. The smallness of the attendance was due to a number of the members being otherwise engaged. The next meeting of the Club will take place on the first Monday before the full moon in the present month,

At a meeting of the Comus Dramatic Club, held on Saturday evening, it was decided to put a fresh piece in rehearsal at once. The parts have been cast, and the members are already going heartily to work. New scenery will be painted by members of the Club.

The road improvements in Cambridge are rapidly approaching completion, and in a few days there will be a good gravelled road from the Government paddock to Hewitt's corner. The slope of the cutting has been sown with grass and turfed.

The British and Foreign Bible Society have opened a depot in Cambridge, under the charge of Mr A. C. Hughes, Duke-street. Bibles and Testaments can be procured in English or Maori, and in variQus styles of type and binding, in prices ranging from four pence to ten shillings.

Pomare conducted Maori service in the Public Hall on Sunday morning to a very attentive audience. On Friday afternoon last a serious disturbance took place in lower Duke-street, Cambridge, which, but for the timely arrival of Constable Brennan and Constabulary might have ended in a general riot. It appears a tangi on the child smotherd a few days ago was going on, when a pakeha interfered. The excited Maoris rushed him, and if not, happily, rescued it would have gone very sadly for him. The case will be brought before the Court on Friday next.

We are glad to notice appearances of renewed prosperity in the district. All alonsr the ensfc bank of the Waikato River, from Hamilton to Ngaruawahi.j, there are additions being 1 made to homesteads and new houseg erected,

r*v - On tl&^west baiik of the river, near PuketfeStatiao, ]we are glad to notice cleaiin^ .mid . turning pperations going

The discovery of sheep lost for seven years is certainly a rare occurrence, and one that shows the value of the New Zealand climate. Mf Qou^gh, pi the Thames (says the Thaucet Aavcrtisr) brought with him from England four prize Dorsetshire whito faced ewes and rams, which wore for a timo running in the Kauweranga Valley, and then suddenly disappeared. Years rolled on and jnp trace of the. little flock was discovered until lately, when Mr John Little, the well-known prospector, intimated quite | accidently that he had seen a flock of wild sheep in the rauge near Waitekauri, and lost some days in attempting to capture a ram, which was of enormous proportions, and covered with a tremendous coat of wool. Mr Gough offered the prospector £20 to be shown the sheep — which he' was told had increased' to a flock oOome 60" or a. ,100-r-and &\ per head for all they could recover. The two started out, and after two days' search 15 enormous sheep were fouud in the bush about three miles from the Waitekauri Battery. The sheep were lost seven years ago, and have not been shorn during that period. ' They have had abundance of feed, and are such as to be, worth exhibiting. They are in size equal to two or thr^e : ordinary sheep. No doubt more will be discovered after a few day's search. ;,

We understand (says a contemporary) that the New South Wales Government has preferred a request to that of New Zealand for permission to retain the celebrated Maori house in order that it might be permanently erected in the Botanical Gardens to supply another feature of attractiveness to that charming locality. The house, in fact, is begged as a gift, and very possibly might have been bestowed as one, only that it is pledged to the Melbourne Exhibition, and must be sent there. However, we can suggest a way out of the difficulty. If our Sydney friends are really bent upon constantly gladdening their eyes with Maori carving md quaint architecture, they can be gratified by ordering the construction of another such house by Native artificers cunning at the work. There are plenty of idlers about Parihaka who would jump at such employment, and then Te Whiti would have the glorious opportunity of carving the walls with texts of prophecy, and handing his name down " for all time " to the posterity of New South Wales.

In a London Newspaper we come across the following instance of death in a man from pleuro-pneumonia. ' ' Yesteryay Mr Collier held an inquiry at the London hospital, on view of the body of Charles King, aged 22, a dock labourer, employed at the Millwall docks. At a quarter past two on Wednesday the deceased was engaged at one of a gang wheeling bones from a barge to the quay along a plank, 11 inches wide. He was returning with the empty barrow, when he stumbled, and the barrow slipped off the plank, and dragging the poor fellow with it he fell on to another plank beneath, crushing in some of his ribs. These pressing into the lungs caused plenro-pneumonia, of which he died. The Jury returned a verdict of "Accidental death," and added that they considered all planks used for such work ought to be wider.

An electric girl is a resident of London, Cauada. She is said to be just 19 years old. She has been sick two years, but is now well. The doctors could not tell what was the matter with her, but since her recovery she seems to be a walking battery. Unless visitors" nerves are very strong, they cannot shake hands with her, nor can one place his hand in a pail of water with hers. By joining hands, she can send a sharp shock through fifteen or twenty people in a room, and she possesses all the attractions of a magnet. If she attempts to pick up a knife, the blade jumps into her hand, and a paper of needles will hang suspended from one of her fingers. She cannot drop any article of steel she may pick up. On entering a room, a perceptible influence seizes everyone present; and while some are affected with sleepiness, otbers are ill and fidgetty till they leave. A sleeping infant will wake at her approach, but with a stroke of her hand she can coax if to slumber again. Animals are also subject to her influence, and a pet dog of the household will, we are told, lie for hours at her feet aB motionless as death.

A Mean Man. — It is probably not generally known that the human jaw can easily be dislocated by an exaggerated yawn. Such, however, is the fact, and there are many cases in which this awkward accident is the invariable -sequel of a yawning fit, the consequence being that the yawner remains speechless with his or her mouth immoveably fixed wide open, until the dislocation can be reduced. It may readily be perceived how the knowledge of this fact might be used to the disadvantage of a too-garrulous interlocutor by a wearied and unscrupulous listener. It is painful to have to relate that this mean advantage is habitually taken by a gentleman who resides not a hundred miles from Wellington, and whose wife is gifted with eloquence and fluency of diction beyond the appreciation of her wicked spouse. Unluckily for her she is subject to this dislocation of the jaw after yawning, and the fiendish device adopted by her husband is, when she enters upon a course of impassioned oratory, to be seized with a persistent attack of simulated gaping. The sympathetic influence infallibly era long compels tha lady orator to follow suit, with the inevitable result that she is in a moment rendered speeohless and helpless, compelled to wait with mouth open to its widest stretch, a mark for the derision of her unfeeling lord until he choose to assist her. This he is not^ always in a hurry to do, preferring to enjoy while he may the peace and quiet thus vouchsafed to him. Such conduct cannot be too severely reprobated, and we earnestly hcpe that it will not be imitated. — Wellington Post. A Japanese proverb say 8, "A beaten soldier fears a reed." But it tikes a strap to drive terror into the heart of a boy. So many societies for the promotion of things are established, that Johnnie wants to know why some body doesn't get up a society for the promotion of the boys in school, without making them study so much.

Mr J. W. Roche, a gentleman for man}* years carying on a successful business in Te Awamutu, has disposed of the same to Mr J. W. Bridgman, also a. well-known and respected resident, ■who will doubtless give every satisfaction to customers. The Pakuranga hourds will meet at the Cambridge Jockey Club Grand-stand to-morrow at 11 a.m. Mr S. Bright will sell by auction, in the Constabnlary Paddock, Cambridge, to-morrow, at noon, certain Government effects and a troop horse. Mr Kennedy Hirx will sell, at an early date, a very superior lot of household furniture, the property of Mr E. M. Edgcurabe, who is giving up housekeeping. The Rev. Hv. Bull will dcli\ cr a lecture on "Temperance," at the Oddfellows' Hall, on Thursday night ne\t. Several ladies and gentlemen ha\e kindly \oluntccred to assist with choice musical selections during the evening. Ti-vm rs are invited bv G. Y. Hoskincf, Ksq., licensed suivejor, on bohalf ot the Newcastle Highway Hoard, for making a bridle track across Flcmmiiitf i and Ircthewrn'-* Gullies. Ti-ndi us will bo roceiviMi dv Samuel Srcele, Ksq., Ch.iirm.in H.tiniltriu District Highway Hoard, for draining and forming Hamilton and