SATURDAY, MAY 28, 1881.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1389, 28 May 1881, Page 2

SATURDAY, MAY 28, 1881.

The latest manifesto to hand from the seat of Government smacks of the revolutionary. Important changes, we are told, are contemplated in the formation of the Legislative Council — " sweeping reforms in the constitution of the Upper Chamber" being the conventional language employed. This is no new talk for New Zealand ; on the contrary, a good deal of political capital has been made of it in the past. Six or seven years ago Sir Julius Vogel, then Premier of the colony, was responsible for sounding it as a warcry, the surrounding circumstances being such as to reflect no credit upon his tact and discrimination as a statesman. "We allude to the Parliamentary session of 1875, when the Government, of which he was head, introduced a Provincial Borrowing Bill. That measure was designed for the purpose of bolstering up Provincialism, despite the fact that the best authoiities on the subject unhesitatingly pronounced its day for usefulness to have passed. Consequent upon the taste given to it by the " Public Works policy " of 1870, borrowing schemes were at that time immensely popular, and the Bill in question passed the Representative Chamber with a facility which proved how readily the public policy could be rendered subservient to the popular avarice. The pernicious influence at work was palpable enough, but woe-be-tide the representative of a constituency bold enough to denounce the fact. On reaching the Upper House the measure was ruthlessly destroyed, to the disappointment and dismay of the. other branch of the Legislature. A howl of indignation followed, Sir Julius being one of the loudest in the denunciation. The measure was revived under different auspices, and Sir Julius threatened the Council with all kinds of condine punishment in the event of its continued obstinacy. A rank and file of the Armed Constabulary were to be brought to the rescue, and a sufficient number of Legislative Councillors sworn in on the spot, to swamp the legitimate vote. The Bill, or rather Bills — for on this occasion they came forward as separate borrowing projects — were again thrown out, and, despite the threats of the then Premier, no further coercion was attempted. This, if we remember rightly, occurred during the session of 1875, and, as is well-known, the following year was rendered memorable in the history of the Colony by the passing of a measure for the complete abolition of Provincialism. The contrast between the procedure of the Representative Chamber on these occasions — both sessions occurring within a few months of each other — showed better than any given number of homilies could teach, the vast importance of a legislative function, removed from the sudden impulseof popular clamour, and clothed with authority to put a veto upon hasty and indiscreet legislation. After that exercise of its powers as a precautionary .measure, the' Legislative Council enjoyed a period of comparative respite, and 'nothing whatever was heard ' about , f ' sweeping jreforms in its, /constitution" until that great radical reformer,'

- Sir George Grey, took the fields Since then the proposal has been ! revived, and it is almost needless to j add that the Upper House and its malformations have become one of the vital principles of New Zealand's great liberal league. In the hands of Sir George Grey jj proposal of this kind was harmless enough. Like his 85,000 New Zealand serfs, it was bound to melt down into thin air ; and, like many more of his great reforming schemes, no one thought otherwise than that it would come to naught. The announcement, however, that the subject has been taken into serious consideration by the Government, places the proposal in a more serious light, and demands attention at the hands of the public. It is true that our authority for saying such a proposal is on the tapis is not at all definite, and although it has been from time to time repeated as a rumour, we cannot even yet bring ourselves to believe in its absolute credence as a policy put, or to be pat, forward by the present Government. Be that as it may, no great harm can be done in pronouncing upon the general aspect of the question. We have already seen that in the past the Council has rendered good service in the legislation of the country. On the occasion particularly mentioned above, there can be no doubt but that it saved the Colony from inextricable confusion. Instead of being a thing of the past, the probabilities are, provincialism would have been rampant as ever — two or three favoured centres pampered up to the prejudice of the Colony as a whole. Now, if, under the auspices of things as they existed seven or eight years ago, the interventions of the Upper House were of such moment, how much more so are these interventions necessary to the state of things as they exist at present. Five or six years ago representatives were not hedged in by a Triennial Parliament's Act. In the ordinary course of events they held their seats for a period of five years, and under such a term of office could afford to exercise some measure of discretion, even although their actions might clash for the time being with a pre-conceived opinion of the popular mind. They were in a position to feel that if they, so to speak, protected the Colony against itself, their term of office was of | sufficient duration to admit of the i popular mind calming down, and the true aspect of the case being matured and brought home to conviction. In a word, the more extended term of office enabled them to follow the course dictated by prudence and good sense without rendering themselves liable to immolation, before the wisdom of such procedure had become palpable to everyone. Not, so, however, under triennial Parliaments. Before a member can be expected to make himself complete master of the situation, so as to know and understand the pros and cons of New Zealand politics and parties, his term is well nigh expired — he is ready to go back to his constituency ; and if he has been manly enough to run contrary to the opinions of such constituency — however wise and prudent the step on his part may have been — it simply means in his case, political death. There may be, and no doubt there are, in New Zealand men honest enough to brave a consequence of this kind, but we are much afraid that the number is but few. At all events, the system as provided to us under triennial Parliaments is designed to exclude that class of men from the Legislature altogether, and supply their places with mere time-servers — men prepared to sacrifice political principle and opinion so as to propitiate the vote of the electorate. Such being the case, we repeat that, as a safeguard, the Legislative Council is more than ever essential to the well-being of New Zealand, and that so long at least as triennial Parliaments exist, any step calculated to interfere with the power and influence of the Upper House should be scrupulously avoided.

The Gazette notices will be found in our fourth page.

On Thursday (Ascension Day) the usual services were held at S. reter's Church, Hamilton. Holy Communion was administered at tUe morning ser* j vice. j

In consequence of the breaking oat of scarlatina in Hamilton Went, the public school was closed yesterday by the Committee, and will not be opened until Monday week. The two children reported to be suffering from scarlatina are Mr F. Gaudin's. Fortunately, the disease was discovered before they removed from their parents late residence, Hamilton West, to the Waikato Hotel, on the other side the river. They have now been placed under the. care of Drßeale, and are reported to be recovering.

The comet referred to by our Auckland contemporaries as having been first observed by Captain Farquhar, of the Rotoraahana, between Auckland and the Thames, was plainly visible at Hamilton last night, between 7 and 8 o'clock, shortly after which it disappeared below the horizon. It appeared m the eastern heavens, the inclination being towards the north. With the aid of an opera glass the, tail could be seen very , distinctly.

A fire broke out in the stables on Mr Barugh's estate, Wartle, yesterday afternoon, which resulted in tae total destruction of the building and offices adjoining. It appears that Mr and the Misses Barugh were away from' home °ab ' the time, an& Mr Barugh jun., ttad Mr Pickering were aome distance avrayi at i work, and although when they' observed the flames they made haste to the spot, they Were too late to save any thing besides 'the wratenjts of 'the office. 1 * number of saddle's and harness; machinery and a quantity" of corn were destroyed/ The stable Vas only ibput 40 feet from tlie residence, aad' the Wonder iu-that the

'flamei ,-did not corntnunicatg wich it, The building* destroyed Vere,' we understand, insured, but the contents were not covered by a policy. Mr Barugh estimates his loss at about £100. There is not the slightest clue to the origin of the fire.

A correspondent sends us the following : "Three gentlemen left Hamilton on Tuesday morning for a day's shooting to Te Awamutu, returning on Wednesday with the following bag between them : — Fifteen brace of pheasants, 9 brace of ducks, 8 brace of pigeons, 4 brace of hares, and 10 brace of rabbits."

The following business relating to this district was transacted at a meeting of the Crown Lands Board held on Thursday : — The Chairman reported that the chief Surveyor had forwarded the survey of the allotments in Ngaruawahia, with reserves marked for school site, &c, and recommended that they be offered for sale. Agreed to.— Tie Chairman of the Ngaruawahia Town Board applied for certain sections as a tite for an office. A previous application had been received from Messrs Brown and Campbell, for the same allotments, as they adjoined the firm's other property, and were required. — It was agreed to offer the two allotments for sale, and recommend the Towa Board to select some other site. On the recommendation of Mr Roache, it was agreed to re-offer for sale certain lands of Pirongia, Waikato, which had not been sold on a former occasion. A considerable number of applications for land under the immediate payment, the deferred payment, and the homestead system were received and dealt with.

The incoming English mail steamer Zealandia is due in Auckland on Tuesday next, but being a fast boat may be heard of on Sunday or early on Monday morning.

Special services were held at the Wealeyan Church on the eveninga of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday last by the Eer Mr Slade, of Raglan, who preached very impressive f-ermons upon each occasion. The rev. gentleman, also conducted Dirine service in the same church on the evening of Sunday last.

A gentleman informs us that while out shooting a few days ago in the neighbourhood of Humilton he saw a fair number of pheasants, but they were mostly at & distance, and he only succeeded in bagging a brace ard a- half.

During the past few weeks several people, chiefly from the South, have visited Waikato with 5 view of purchasing land. Their attention has been, we understand, principally directed towards the Piako and Waitoa district", and it is not unlikely that we may hear of sales in these localities shortly.

Some very good specimens of the wheelwright art are to be seen at the establishment of Mr O'Gara, West Hamilton. One is a new bua which has been built to the order of Mr Ben Edwards, of the Hamilton Hotel stables, while another is a basket carriage which has been repainted in the best style. The bus with the exception of the wheels, (which however, could be manufactured on the premises) has been entirely locally constructed by Mr O'Gara, the workmanship reflecting the highest credit upon his ability. Mr O'Gara was for a considerable period in the employment of Mr Vialou, as wheelwright, and succeeded to that branch when the latter gentleman relin* quished it. The numerous examples of his skill in the district bear testimony that for work of the kind under notice orders need not be sent out of the district.

If we may judge from the following extract from a letter, written by a lady in a high social position at the Cape, to a relative in Hamilton, affairs in the South African possessions of Britain must be in a sad condition. The writer says, (the lotter is of very recent date) : — " Our poor colony is in a terrible state of commotion ; wars all round. Thi« Boer rising is by far the woret of any, and there is likely to be nraoh more blood shed before it is done with. England has disgraced tierself by the ignominious peace she has tried to patch up, and all through South Africa feelings on the subject are bitter. Our Union Jack has in some places been floating half-mast, tied with crape and with the Butch Ensign above it. In othera it haa been wound round the door mat. Some of the papers have put a broad mourning border ronnd the terms of peace. In Cape Town the British Lion has been paraded through the streets blindfolded, and Gladstone has in more than one instance been burnt in effigy. I think if he were burnt in reality, it would be better for oue honor which he has mosfc certainly tarnished for us."

With reference to the Tararua disaster the Melbourne Argils of May 2nd says : — Since the wreck of the s.s. Dandenong no disaster which has happened in Australian seas has created such a profound impression in Melbourne as the loss of the s.s. Tararua. The news first received respecting the accident was that though the steamer was lost, alt the pas* sengers and crew were waved. On Saturday however, it was found that the disaster was of a much more serious nature than was at first imagined, and before night it was known that out of 82 passengers and a crew of about 60, only about 20 persons had been saved. The office of Messrs. Meckan, Blaokwood and Co., and the Telegraph Office, were beaeiged with a throng of anxious inquirers, who feared they might have had triends or relatives on board the ill-fated vessel. On Sunday the list of passengers was posted at the Telegraph Office, where there was a constantly changing throng of persons, all eager to learn the names of those who had met their death." The Argus publishes several columns of telegrams, giving particulars of the disaster.

The " Montreal Gazette " says that New Zealand is successfully rivalling Canada in the quality of her oatmeal, and points out that New Zealand oats are of magnificent quality, and weigh from ! 451bs to 49lbs per Imperial bushel, and realise in Liverpool 3s. Bd. to 3s. 9d. per 451bs against 2s. Bd. to 2s. 9d. per 451ba , for Canadian. Several cargoes are now ' on passage to the United Kingdom. The oatmeal is reported to be f ully equal to the best home-made Scotch, and several parcels have been sold delivered in the United Kingdom at £10 stg. per 2240 lbs, which is fully Is. 6d. per 240 lbs lower than Canada meal can be exported for.

Messrs W. J. Hunter and Co. hold a horse sale at Cambridge next Saturday. Mr J. S. Buckland's next Cambridge Cattle Sale will take place on Tuesday, June 7. Mr J. S. Buckland's next Ohaupo Live Stock Sale, Tuesday, June 14. A meeting of the Waipa County Council will take place on Tuesday, June 14th, to con* sider the proposed stoppage of certain roads in the Pukerimu District. The statement of receipts and expenditure of the "Waipa County Council, for the year ending- March 31st ultimo, is published for general information in our Gazette columns. The Manager of the 1 Waikato Gold, Alining ( Company (Limited) announces in another column' the sale of forfeited shares on Wednesday next, at Hamilton, for non-payment of calls.

The little, girl Beed Iqlled ,ou the Inveroargill-Kingaton line last week was only 18 /months old, and was caught by the CQW-patcher, while playing ma bend on theijine. Strange to say,, the body ,^Sinos ; mnt?latea, or diefigured, a broken arm being the most serious ; apparent