The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1248, 29 June 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 maintain, Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain.

TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 1880. » In our last issue we reviewed that portion of the Civil Service Commissioners Jleport, which dealt with the Railway and Public Works Departments, and we promised to pursue the subject. The Departments of Lands, Surveys, Customs, Post and Telegraphs, and others do not possess the same interest for the great body of readers, as those of which we have written, but they are nevertheless possessed of much importance. We do not, however, purpose to go into this matter in detail, but shall in a few extracts endeavor to convey a just idea of the nature and object of the report. After a brief reference to the numerous land laws of the Colony, and the consequent difficulty which the Commissioners experienced in coming to a conclusion regarding the Land Department itself, the Report says that as there is likely to be much less land sold in the future than in the past it would seem the number of the staff employed in the Crown Lands Department might be greatly reduced. On examination, however, they " found that though the lands sold " and amounts received are so much " less, the work to be done 1 has not " materially decreased. This arises "to a great extent from the fact " that sales have been made on •• terms which involve periodical " collection of small amounts from " the purchasers, as well as the " necessary supervision to enforce 11 the conditions agreed on. This " being the case, we cannot at pre- " sent satisfy ourselves that any ma- " terial reduction in the staff can "be effected, ..though it is possible 11 that some saving may ' be " made by amalgamation of offices." " The survey department," say the Commissioners, " has always been a " very costly branch of the Govern- ] " ment service, involving a total " estimated expenditure for last u year of £150,000. Having been " regarded from a scientific and tech- " nical rather than a practical point " of view, its management has, to a " large extent, been left almost un- " controlled in the hands of special- " iats. We regret to have to state " that we have formed a low opinion •' of the real utility of a large por- " tion of the work done. In what- " ever direction we have enquired " we have found evidence of serious " waste of money in making sectional 11 surveys of land which is of such " a character as to preclude the idea "of its being required for settle- " ment in the sizes of holdings into " which it is arbitrarily cut up. . . " Blocks have been uselessly cut up " into numbers of small sections. " This has been proved by the fact " that either no sales have been " effected, or they have been so " small as not even to cover the cost '* of survey, which has in a large " number of cases been from Is. 6d. "to 2s. 6d. per acre." This evil has also tended to the advantage of monopolists, who, by securing the key to a block are almost sure of obtaining the greater part of it, which is of little or no value to others. No more land should be surveyed without proper precautions to protect the interests of bona fide settlers against speculators. Greater care should also be taken in the laying off roads, in order that the burden of keeping them in repair, which will fall upon the Road Boards, should be as light as possible. In the Customs, and Post and Telegraph, the only recommendations made are that in the former the officers might in addition to their present duties, -which in small seaports are very light, ! act as collectors of other taxes and perform other public duties when j possible ; and in the latter that the two services should be united under one head, which, among other advantages, would necessitate only one inspection instead of two, as at present. In the Department of Justice, the Commission was unable to make any exhaustive examination, but they were "able to find that " the Department was unnecessarily " costly, and that appointments have 11 been made to it for considerations 11 other than those of capacity and "fitness." .... "In many "places, the District Judges' and

41 Resident Magistrates' districts " might be" extended, and the nura11 ber of Resident Magistrates and " their clerks might be diminished ; fr Kut without more care and ex- " tended enquiry we are not pre- " pared to say whether the Resident " Magistrates' Courts should or " should not be abolished, and their " places supplied in one direction by "the District Courts, and in the " other by the appointment of ' " Police Magistrates and the assist- " ance of Justices of the Peace. The "existence of both the Resident "Magistrates' and the District " Courts appears unnecessary." The number of police is in many places too large. The number of small gaols in the colony are a source of considerable waste of public money. As an illustration, the Commissioners found that in Auckland there were 158 prisoners, maintained at a total cost of £30 13s, the actual cash received for each prisoner's labour being £9 7s 6d, and the estimated value of labour given to various public Boards was £15 7s 4d per head. On the other hand, at Picton there was an average of 5| prisoners, costing £107 per head per annum for food and superintendence, and returning nothing in the shape of cash for labour, and doing very little work for public bodies. At Arrow Town, they seemed to have a prisoner two days a month, and the cost of waiting on him was at the rate of £2,837 15s per annum. What has been done in Auckland ought to be done in other places. Speaking of pensions the report says: — "We are of "opinion that any provision for "pensions or retiring allowances " must necessarily interfere with " that free choice of servants which " every employer finds necessary in " order to secure vigilant and atten- " tive services, and that the uncer- " tainty which many circumstances " introduce as to its eventual realis- " ation prevents it from being valued ." by the possible recipient at its full "cost to the Government." The concluding portion of the report, in reviewing the whole position, contains many practical suggestions and hints in the direction of an improved and less costly service. " The first " step towards economy must be the " abandonment of all ideas and tra"ditions that now exist as to the " Government being required to " treat its employes on any different " principles from those which would "regulate a well-conducted estab- " lishment of any large employer ; "and chiefly that men should be " sought for the work required, and " not places sought for the men who " have been trained to expect them. "By far the greater part of the " work demanded from the officers " and clerks employed in the Govern- " ment service is of a routine char"acter, requiring no uncommon " ability, and the Government ought "to obtain men qualified for such " work at their market value. . . " Departments and heads of Depart- " ments have been multiplied until " the heads have grown out of all " proportion to their bodies, and the " cost of the Service has been made " excessive by paying high salaries "to officers who contribute nothing "to the efficient and useful power "of the Service. A necessary, and " only a necessary, number of offi"cers promoted to a commanding " position for their superior qualities "would be a most valuable "element in any Service, and "salaries sufficient to retain such " services must be paid "The large command of borrowed " money has placed the Government " in a position to fix a scale of pay- " ments quite independent of ordin"ary economic principles. When "we find that a thirteenth of the " adult males in the colony are in "the direct employment of the "Government, in addition to the " large number indirectly employed " through contractors and in other "ways, it will be at once obvious "that whatever rates are paid by " the Government must form a standard by which all those requiring " similar services have to be guided. " In this way a rate has been arti- " ficially fixed, not based on the law " of supply and demand, nor limited "by the necessity for making " a fair profit on capital invested." After pointing out in very forcible terms the absolute necessity for retrenchment, the report says ; — " The " number of adult European males "in the colony is only 136,915. " From these we have to deduct 659 " who are in prison, 694 in lunatic " asylums, 1368 sick and infirm, 3423 " above sixty years of age, leaving " only 130,501 to bearall the burdens "of the colony. When, in addition " to all the ordinary expenses of *" their own Government, it is borne " in mind that this small number of I " producers will have in future to " send annually to our foreign cred- " itors no less than £1,535,000, or 11 £11 15s. Id. each — or 4s. 6d. per " head per week — it becomes only " too evident that economy will in j " future be severely forced upon the " Government of this colony, and " that we are in no position to be " liberal either with the number or " with the salaries of our Civil 11 Servants. Howfarthisfull liability " will fall oppressively on our popu- " lation depends upon how much " our railways can be made to con- " tribute towards interest on the " outlay incurred in their construc- •• tion ; but the fact of so small a " population being really liable for " such large sums appears to us to " make it imperative on the Goycrn- " ment to adopt at once that econ- " omy in the Civil Service from M which the seductions of borrowed

•tmqnejrjiave led us so far away. «^lti 1874, when our goldfields were •^pouring j in their long hidden " Ir^al&i'e, the land sales were swell-. 4< in^bur revenues, an<J-the natural " blaze of prosperity was fanned by Cl the expenditure of borrowed " money, Sir Julius Vogel proposed! " that our Civil servants should par- " ticipate in the general prosperity Vof the, time— r-a proposal in which " hejwas supported with alacrity by " the Legislature, and a large special " vote was granted for that purpose. "It will be far less pleasant to ask M them to share in the depression of " the present period : but no reason- '• able body of men in such circum- " stances could expect that they and " they alone in the community should " stand unaffected by circumstances " that have greatly lessened the pro- " ductive power of the whole popu- " lation. With all the reductions " we advise, our Civil servants would " still command more of the luxuries " of life and enjoy shorter hours "of labor than the average tax- " payer.

This new time-table isssued by the Railway Department is likely to prove a source of great inconvenience to Waikato people whose business renders it incumbent that they should frequently visit Auckland. At present it is possible to leave Waikato by the first train, have a couple of hours in Auckland, and return home the same day; but under the new arrangements it would not be' possible to do any business in Auckland without a loss of three or at any rate two days. We cannot see why, if it be necessary to run only one train a day each way, such train could not leave Waikato in time to reach Auckland about 2 o'clock, returning as at present. This, we are aware would interfere with the mails, but would, we are sure, make up for this by the great degree of convenience which it would confer upon the Waikato travelling public, and we trust the Department will consider the matter before the succeeding time-table is compiled.

The importance of the interest involved in the question raised by our correspondents " G.M." and " Live and Let Live," renders it incumbent that we should return to a brief consideraton of the labor question. We are more inclined to do so because one of our correspondents, " G.M ' has apparently misapprehended the intention of our former article in Thursday's issue. We then stated ;— " The conditions upon " which the harmonious co-operation "of employer and employed rest " are primarily two : first the era- * ployer must obtain a reasonable " profit ; and, secondly, the laborer " must receive a wage sufficient for "his and his family's support. " When either of these conditions " is broken — when the farmer re- " ceives too little profit, or the " laborer a wage insufficient for his " maintenance — a collision ensues." How such a proposition as this could grate on our correspondents ears we cannot imagine, unless it be, as we suppose, that he has altogether misunderstood our meaning. By " iupport" we most centaialy do nob mean support " for the time being," but use the word in its widest sense, meaning that the wage should afford the means of living^ which it could not do if it were only sufficient to keep body and soul together while health and strength lasted, and while work was to be got. It is however a matter invested with peculiar difficulty to discover what amount is actually sufficient to " maintain" a laborer and his family. To speak with the strictest moderation, we believe that five out of six working men would spend all they had, no matter whether it was 7s or 20s per day. In this they are no better than their fellows placed in positions socially higher. While, however, it is no easy matter to say what a laborer could spend, it is infinitely harder to tell what a farmer may earn, to whom every cloud and every breath of wind are sources of anxiety, and who is harassed by the almost capricious fluctuations of the markets. There are certain subjects upon which working-men are but ill informed, the study of which, if it did not return actual, tangible profit, would at least much conduce to their comfort. We mean that they should strive to obtain an intelligent notion of the laws, immutable as the laws which govern the movements of the planets, which affect them in their relations with their employers. By so doing, they would perceive the justness of what we urged when we said that in times of depression wages cannot remain as high as they are in periods of prosperity. " G,M." conceives that in " such times as these " the employer should " economise in the "expenditure necessary to secure "his present ease and pleasure," fcut, if he means this to apply to the farmers, he knows very little of them. It is only by the strictest attention to the principles of economy that farming in Waikato can be made to return even interest on the money invested. But, even were it otherwise, it is only just to conclude that in times of adversity economy should be practised by all classes alike. Nobody can be less wanting in sympathy with the working classes, than we are, but we are lovers of right and justice, and we would urge all classes to act in the same spirit when the time comes, as it inevitably must, for a re-consider-atioa of the wages question.

The Chief Rewi Maniapoto has accepted the invitation to be present at the opening ceremony of the railway to Te Awamutu, and has requested the commit* tee to extend the same courtesy to other important chiefs, fiiends of his, to which request the committee have wisely acceded. As the 'great chief will shortly take up his residence amongst us, in his new house at Kihikihi, no more fitting introduction to his future neighbors could well have been devised, and the circumstance must be exceedingly gratifying to those who have brought it about.

The Waikato River Navigation appears not to have' been improved by the partial cessation of steamer traffic. The steamer Waikato grounded several times in trying to get to the wharf at Huntley, on Saturday, the sand bank having shifted to opposite the landiug. It is thought that the continual traffic used to, prevent these banks from filling up the channel.

Mr Harris has commenced to make improvements to the hotel at Huntley, which he now occupies The improvements consist of several additional rooms and a passage leading from the hotel to a large refreshment-room and bar to be erected adjoining the station grounds. Mr T. White is the architect for the alterations.

! Mrs James Gall of whose serious illness we apprized our readers on Saturday died the same afternoon after two years of severe suffering. • >

Fat Doran's Variety Troupe leaves Cambridge for Auckland to-day, after a very meagre recompense for their clever performances. They did not advertise verbtmsap.

A special general meeting was held at the Criterion Hotel, Cambridge, on Friday evening last, to discuss the amalgamation of the Auckland and Cambridge Coursing Clubs, when it was resolved — " That the club be called the Cambridge and Auckland United Coursing Club, and that the head quarters of the club be at Cambridge." This will be submitted to the Auckland Club for their approval. The financia statement was laid before the meeting, and after paying a debt of £11 3s 6d standing over at the October meeting, (hey had a small balance in hand, which was considered very satisfactory. It was further stated the Club had now 20 members, with every prospect of the number being increased at an early date. It is the intention of the Club to hold a meeting in Auckland, at Mr MoLaughliu's on the 27th July next, and arrangements are being made to have another meeting in Cambridge some time in August.

The body of Mr Nichols son, who died last Thursday morning, was duly interred at the Cemetery at Ngaruawahia on Saturday. Mr Evans, student (son of the Rev. William Evans, of Cambridge), who is the resident Presbyterian minister, performed the service, and there was a very large attendance of friends and Bettlers wishiug to testify their sympathy with the bereaved parents.

Great preparations are making on all sides for the opening day of the line to Te Awamutu on Thursday next. The Committees are working hard, and are most desirous to have as large a turnout as possible. They expect the settlers — all, to a man — to be present, and to show, by so doing 1 , their appreciation of an event so important to them, and so full of promise for the welfaro of the country at large, by keeping the day a general holiday. The amusements for the day will, it is hoped, be such as will pleaee the most fastidious. The dinner will take place at half -past five, alter which there will be an entertainment in the Public Hall, and a dance afterwards, while on the ground at the station there will be a free lunch, exhibition of farm and dairy produce, and foot and various other sports. The Band of the Cavalry Troop will attetd, and enliven the scene by their spirit-stirring airs. Mr Lewis is making preparations to seat 100 at the dinner. Amoug the guests invited are the Mayors of Auckland and the Thamf s and the Resident Magistrate of the district.

The Hamilton Junction Railway Station is, and has been for some time, without a porter, and aa the inconvience resulting there from is great we hope such a state of things will not long be permitted to continue. Afc present passengers have to put their luggage into the van themselves and when ladles are in the case we need hardly say that such an office partakes of the nature of a hardship. Why an important station such as this should be without a porter we leave to the Department to say, but we think it would be hard to give a satisfactory explanation.

Pheasants are exceedingly plentiful in the neighborhood of Taupiri Two gentlemen went out on the 24fch shooting over Mr Hill's property, at the back of the Waikare Lake, near Rangiriri. They came across two pure white pheasants, cock-birds, one of which they shot, and it weighed 21bs 9ozs ; the other got away. A cook-bird of ordinary plumage should weigh 21bs 13ozs. In five and a-half hours, the two gune bagged thirteen and a-half brace. Sportsmen should turn their attention to the Taupiri country, for everywhere else in the Waikato we hear complaints of the extreme scarcity of birds.

The Bey. William Calder held Divine Service in Christ Church, Taupiri, on Sunday morning last. The musical portion of the Service was exceedinglybright and well rendered by the ohoir, Mr T. H. "White presiding at the harmonium. The attendance was very good.

A scratch match between sides chosen from the Hamilton football club was played on Sydney Square on Saturday afternoon. There was a very poor turn up of members, but some good practice was indulged in. It is to be hoped that members will take greater interest in the game if the club is to hold its own this season. There will be another practice next Saturday if a sufficient number of players can be got together.

We have received several specimienB of second crop apples and are informed that the circumstance is not so uncommon as we imagined. Last year there were many instances of the same kind.

A foot-ball match, the result of a challenge sent by the Light-foot club, (Mr. Murray'B school) will be played between that and the Albion Club to-day in one of Mr. Jolly's paddocks, to commence at 2 o'clock. We understand that the victorious Albions have their work cut out for them. The following will compose the respective teams :— Albion W. Yon Stunner, (capt.) Frank Jolly, T. Beale, R. Gwynne, T. Dawson, F. Dawson, E. Dawson, W. Vowless, C. Le Quensne, W. Le Quense, E. Th®rpe, C. Harris, H. L. James, H. Hume, E. Potter. Uightfoot Club ; R. Beere, H, Stewart, F. Stewart, W. Hill, M. Jones, F. Odium, A. Munro, A. Scott, E. Jones, J. Andrews, B. Brown, M. Devitt, H. Mofflin, J. Hunter, and W. Jone« (captain).

The necessity for a public analyst for the district has long been urged and was introduced at the deputation to Mr. J. B. Whyte, M.H.R., on Friday. It was pointed out that the salary of such an officer would be #wre than covered by

the amount which woukl be saved to the revenue through the detection of adulterated liquors. Mr. Whyte will no doubt give the matter his beat consideration during the Session.

A football match between Cambridge aud Ohaupo will, in all probability, be played in Cambridge on Saturday next. As the teams are not yet selected the merits or demerits of the player.i cannot be commented on In Thursday's is&ue we will publish the names.

The road from the Cambridge Town Belt to Arnold's comer is being gravelled and although it is somewhat late, the state of the road is bad enough to make any alteration welcome. A contract has also been let for gravelling the bad portions of the road along Messrs. Fanthams and Forrest's in the same district.

Our thanks are due to the foreman of works (Mr Peacocke) for the prompt ra&asurcs taken by him to remove the obstruction which caused the disagreeable waterhole in front of the Waikato Times Buildings. The nuisance was abated on Saturday.

"Easily Pleased" writing from Opotiki upon the subject of the Property Tax, and the extravagance which made such an obnoxious course necessary, says : — ' ' £590 (nearly) is the contract price for building a town constable's house in Opotiki. The h^use is now nearly finished, and is by far the best dwelling-house in Opotiki. The parson's house, the schoolmaster's house, and the commanding officer's house, all put together, did not cost as much money as this town conbtabL's house. The barracks near it, big enough for fifty men, did not cost a* much. It is a right good house. Many a hard-working man who will have to help pay for that house will never be able to get one half as pood for himself. Lest you should think this house -building joke must be an accident, I will ask your forbearance while I will show you a little more Government fun in Opotiki, which fun we have to pay for, and look pleasant if we can, when the Property Tax day comes round. What think you of surveyors at from £500 to £600 a-ypar ? We have lots of them —^oine with large staffs at theis service. Also, wo have ten constables and an R.M., with his staff, and paid Maori assessors, &c, very few of whom would be much missed, except by storekeepers, if paid off to -morrow. [ So much for ecenomy and the Hon. I Major Atkinson, with his Property Tax."

It will be interesting no doubt to the sporting fraternity to know that the Hungarian mare Kincsem has won 54 races without being beaten, she ran one dead heat, but won the run off. From the files of the Australasian we observe that the Duke of Westminster has not been long before he has reaped the reward of his enterprise in having bought the highestpriced horse ever known in connection with racing, namely, Doncaster, for which the Duke gave 14,000 guineas. Last year His Grace's total xeceipts were £16,293, and a son of Doncaster (Bend Or) has just won the blue ribbon of the turf — the Epsom Derby. It so happens that His Grace's colors are similar to those of the father of the Australian turf (Mr John Tait) — yellow and blrick. Ad " Honesfe John" is now in the old country he might perhaps have been in time to see his favorite colors borne to victory over the Doncaster town moor. The Duke's success should stimulate some of our wealthy colonial magnates to imitate His Grace's example and obtain the best blood and the best talent, and trust to Providence for the rest. We are informed on the most reliable authority that Pleuro still exists in the Auckland district. A diseased covr •was killed recently at Panmure, and another will in all probability be destroyed this week. Some literary men seem to be fortunate just now. The other day Mr. Huxley found a cheque for £4000 in his morning letters — the beque&t of a Bolton admirer. Charles Gibbon, the novelist (author of " Auld Robin Gray "), recently received a legacy of £1000 from a Scotch lady who had read his books, and wished thus to show her a})preciation of them. Mr. "Wrigley, the famous paper-maker, has just bequeathed £9000 to the wife and family of James Payn, the novelist, whose " Lost Sir Massingberd " is quite a modern classic in fiction. Mr. Cbarles Reade has been remembered in the wills of more than one admirer. We never hear of any Editors coming in for these windfalls !

The Christchurch Star publishes a statement showing that the various road boardsin the Canterbury provincial district had cash in hand on the Ist January, 1880, amounting in the aggregate to £345 063 12s lOd, and calls upon those bodies to provide work within their districts for unemployed, so as to do away with the scandal of having 1 a soup kitchen in their midst. The following- are the principal amounts shown in the statement: — Ashley Road Board, £10,157 ; Courtney, £17,751 ; Ellerslie, £16,600 ; Geraldine, £32,567 ; Kowai, £12,177 ; Lake Coleridge, £13,016; Mount Cook, £2-3,502; Rakaia, £26,191 ; Rakaia S-mth, £12,150; Springs, £13,516; Temnka, £13,867 ; Waipara, £19,633; Mount Peel, £39,068. The return also shows that the great bulk cf these funds has been derived from subsidies, and not from taxation.

The special Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton Times learns from what he calls reliable authority, that the following is the cost to the country of the Royal Commissions: — "West Coast Native Affairs, £3,000 ; Railways, £3,000; Civil Service, £2,500 ; Local Industries, £600.

Messrs Hunter and Nor. vv, instructed by Thomas Gresham, Esq., solicitor, acting for the holder of a bill of sale, will hold a. sale ot household furniture at Kihikihi, at noon on Friday next. John Sperry, Esq., Chief Commissioner Property Tax Department, notifies that the time for sending in the statement of pi operty required by the Act is extended to the 2nd August. Mr John Knox, in our advertising columns, demonstrates " what comes from having no interest and expenses to pay every week." A general meeting ot the creditors in the bankrupt estates of David Elliott and Andrew Kenny respectively, will be held on 2nd projwimo. Henry Reynolds, Esq., Chairman of the Taotaoroa Highway District, notifies that the annual meeting of ratepayers of that district will be held at the residence of Patrick Leslie, Esq., at 2. p.m., on 14th proximo.