Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1411, 19 July 1881, Page 2

Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal and e\art justice to all men, Of wli.itc\cr state or persuasion, religious or political. Here sh.ill the Press the People's 1 itjlit maintain Unawed b> influence and unbnbedby £am.

TUESDAY, JULY ID, 1881.

The Roads Construction Act 1 SSI is the short title of a measure which has made its appearance before Parliament in the interest of the proposed new scheme for local administration. An outline of its proposals has been already shadowed forth in the Treasurer's budget speech, but of course the information left much in the shape of detail to be provided. The bill in question supplies that deficiency, furnishing

as it does a bird's-eye vie w "of the' project as a whole. - l*arfe*l deals with the constitution of the Board of Works, which it declares" shall consist of the Minister of .Public Works and three members to be elected by the House, who shall only hold oitiee from the time of their election until the election of their successors, which shall take place in the next session of Parliament after the one in which they were elected*;, the election of the said three members and any future election, whether Qn,,tho meeting of a session of Parliament or to lill casual vacancies, 'shall, it is provided, be made by ballot taken on such day and in such manner as the Speaker shall prescribe. The constitution of the Board as proposed last session was that its members should be nominated, or rather that they should be members ex o/fioio, in virtue 'of certain other offices held by them. How far the elective proposal will be deemed by Parliament a wise concession, is doubtful. The proposal, aS it stands, seems to be at first sight cumbersome and inoperative ; and we are not. by any means sure that, when it comes to be considei'ed, the legislature will not do wise to return to the original proposal. This constituted, the Bill proceeds in part 2 to define its purposes, main roads being the first subject dealt with. To supply funds for that purpose clause 11 enacts "in order to give effect to this part of the Act during the financial year commencing Ist April, 1681, there shall be placed to the credit of the Board to a separate account in the Public Works fund, to be called the " Main Roads Account" out of the monies raised under the New Zealand 1 oan Act, 1879, the sum of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. Then again, all monies received from the sale of Crown lands shall be charged with the sum appropriated for the expenses of surveys, and the administration of Crown lands, and if, after defraying these charges, there remain a surplus up to the sum of £150,000, shall in each case be paid to the main roads account. So much, then, for the provision to be made for main roads expenditure by the Board. Its distributive functions are defined by clause ] 5 and subsequent clauses. The Board is empowered in the fir.st instance to declare by resolution published in the Grnrite the roads to be considered main loads for the purposes of the Act, but .such resolution is to have no effect until it has been confirmed by the House of Representatives. Over roads thus constituted main roads, County Councils hold such powers and authorities as if they were county roads as defined by the Public Works Act of 1876. Councils desiring aid for construction of these roads, are to cause estimates of cost, together with plans and specifications to be prepared and submitted to the Board, together with an application for the sum required. Jf the Board has sufficient funds at its credit then the application is to be granted, .subject to the following provision: The Council shall take a poll of the ratepayers in the county, and if the result bo in fa\our of the proposal so to construct such main road, the Council shall proceed to levy a special rate sufficient to repay one-fourth of the total amount of .such grants in aid within ten years, by twenty equal half-yearly payments, without interest ; or if the Council is prepared with the one fourth of the cost, then the Board is authorised to pay over the thff e-fourths which shall not be repayable to the Board, and in respect of which it .shall not be necessary to levy a special rate. For district road and river works proposes £ 100,000 is to be granted to the Board out of the loan, to be placed to an account named the " District Roads and Rivers Works Account.' 1 To keep this account supplied in funds the PostmasterGeneral, Commissioner of Annuities, or Commissioner of Public Debts Sinking Fund are authorised to lend the Board out of the funds under their control any sum not exceeding £100,000, so that at no time the Board shall be indebted for more than £100,000, and the Board is empowered at any time to repay the whole, or part, of the amount so < borrowed. 1 -ocal bodies desirous of operating upon such account must furnish estimates, plans, etc., as provided for in the preceding part, and all the provisions thereof are made to apply to this part of the Act, save that the whole grant from tho Board is repayable, and that the special rate to be levied in such case shall be sufficient to pay twenty-seven equal half - yearly instalments, each being equal to £i 10s per cent, on the whole amount so advanced to the local body, thus repaying the said amount and interest at £3 per cent. Respecting the order in which the Board is to grant applications, it is provided by clause 32, "the Board shall apply the funds at its disposal equally among the local bodies applying for aid, and if there are not funds to satisfy applications in full, the Board may grant aid in each case pro raia, in such manner as the Board thinks equitable, provided that applications in cases of extraordinary damage, shall t .Save priority over other applit&taons ior aid to construct main, or jother roads, or river works, and the Board shall be the sole judge as io the nature of the work and the necessity for priority. From this it

fwouldrap"]Seaf i <ths,t JP-P prspaution whatever, exists agajnsji thg; undue competition which is felt to "exist as between wealthy districts and poor, and populated ones. Ih'announcirig'tlie abolition of the subsidies, we were led to understand, the injustice perpetrated in that way would lie carefully guarded, against in any future scheme for local administration. The neglect in that respect is a weak point of the bill, and , we are not at, ail surprised to learn that popular feeling has been strongly manifested against it on that account, -and we shall expect to iind material alterations 'in this respect before the bill passes into the law. Indeed, the bill a3 a whole is not one which recommends itself very strongly, and its total rejection, or, at all events, material alteration would not, we opine, be greatly deplored by the northern counties.

Some qurious information regarding the nature of the occupations and the modes of living of the inhabitants of New Zealand is to be found in the Import arid Export returns for the year 1880, which have been laic], on the table of the House of Representatives this session. The total value of the imports for that year was LG, 162,011, while the exports for the same period amounted to LG,352,692. From the list of items under the head of "imports" we should gather that we are at any rate a well-dressed people, no less a sum thanLlB6,62o having been expended in the purchase of ready-made clothing or "slops," and L 770,479 in general drapery, L 98,629 odd in cotton, and L 86,652 odd in woollen goods, to say nothing of the clothing material manufactured in the colony. The amounts given above represent the value of the goods as imported, to which must be added the amounc paid in duties before we can arrive at even the wholesale price, and the retail value would reach a very much larger figure. For instance, the amount of the duty upon slop goods was L 28,530 ; upon general drapery, LI 18, 297 ; woollen goods, L 12,789; and upon cotton goods, LI 2, £33. That we are a clean people may also be inferred from the fact that the value of the soap imported by us during last year was of the value of about L 4,000, which, taken together with the annual product of our colonial manufactories, is respectable enough. IS 7 or are we, as it has been supposed, a nonreading people, no less a sum than L 95,866 having been sent out of the colony for books last year, while the amount paid for printing paper reached nearly L 70,000. But if we are well-clad, and our bodies are clean, and we consume a fail- share of mental food in the shape of books and newspapers, we do not deny ourselves much in the shape of luxuries. Last year the smokers and chewers consumed something like L 235,000 worth (to them) of tobacco; those who indulged in the more aesthetic practice of cigar smoking did so at an expense of L 31,634, while those who prefer the noxious weed in a milder degree spent L6OOO in " cigarette " tobacco. Snuff-taking is, we are glad to see, by no means an institution in New Zealand, though somehow or other this form of tobacco was consumed to the extent of LI 000 worth. The amount paid wholesale, that is including the duty, for spirits in 1880 was L593J25, but this sum does not of course represent anything like the amount annually spent in strong diink in New Zealand every year. To say nothing of the enormous extent to which adulteration and " doctoring " are carried on, an immense profit is of necessity made by the retailers on the prime cost. But the sum we have set down is alarming enough in all conscience, representing as it does over twenty-five shillings per head of the whole population of men, women, and children. Whatever it be owing to, New Zealand colonists are terrible people for liquid of all sorts. The wholesale value of the tea imported into the Country in 1880 was something over L 300.000, of coffee, L 23,000, and of cocoa and chocolate, L 20.000. Nearly L 20,000 was paid away for lollies and confections, while jams, jellies, and preservws cost wholesale) about L 45,000. Coals of the value of L 169,55 0; bags and sacks of the value -of L 158,19 1; hardware of LI 20, 288 ; and other ' iron of L 319,101 were imported during the year. Of agricultural machinery the value imported in the same period was L 65,000. The value (without duty) of the sugar imported last year was L 577.734 ,, of gunpowder, Li 7, 406 ; ; linseed oil, L-15,291 ; starch, L 7826 ; " silks, L 12,473; earthenware, L 24,117; butter, L 5,629; 'cheese, L 106 5'; bacon and hams, LI 5,000 ; boots and shoes, L 97,788, brushware, L 4907 ; candles, L 57.22 2; canvas, L 14,750 ; cement, L 86,00 0; chemicals, L 12,190; cutlery, L 10,000; drugs and druggists wares over L 50,000; fancy goods, L 54,803. The list is much too long to reproduce here, and we have given therefore only the most prominent items. The value of the rice imported last year amounted ! to L 39,695, and sevei*al thousands) were spent on other grain,-princi-pally wheat and maize. $v Nearly L 30,000 was apent jri kerosene* while the value oT the paraffin imported' was only L 1,552,, 552, and petroleum Ll3B. Considerable sums are sei agatnsfc $u(jfr items as railway and waterworks plant, stationery #m.beF>

auc^toQjls. pi- alLkiiwUu The- wine co nsiun eel ,ixk"tfa c ? colqnyr cos 4 w itliout'' the duty,' considerably over" L 50,000. The grass and clover | seeds impound amounted to 41,344, j bushels, "valued at , X47i785. The value of the specie imported was : r gold, L 91 ,000 i ; silver, L 73.849. The export table contains a large number of items, but the total is made up chiefly by' some dozen' or so"representing the chief natural productions of the colony. Of cereals, for instance, the va'ue of wheat exported was L 632,943 : oats, LIG9,GG2; barley, 1,84,783; bran and sharps, L 15 ,9 56 ; and oatmeal, L 13,490. The value of the potatoes exported was L 23,194 ; and that of timber of all kinds, over L 30.000 ; of meats potted and preserved, L 38.591; New Zealand flax, L 10,617; hides, L17,653'j sheepskins, L 32,59 8; rabbitskius, L6G,976; leathex-, L 26 )f 507 ; gold (specie), L 120,078; tallow, LU6.535 ; and kauri gum, L 24,2817. Then we have the lai'ge item, L 1,220,263,, 220,263, for gold ; and lastly, that of L 3,199,300, 19 9, 300 for wool, which, is our staple product. These figures are interesting enough in themselves, but they acquire an additional value as a means of examining into the questions of the colony's requirements and capabilities. To that end we shall again refer to this matter.

A concert and dance is advertised to take place in the Ohaupo Sohool-hoiibe ou Thursday, August 4th. We would draw the attention of the authorities to the dangerous state of the approach to the bridge on the new road to Hokonui, on the Hamilton aide. A few days ram will render the road quite impassable. A full report of a meeting held at Cambridge T e3t on .Saturday evening, n the formation of a new township, is unavoidably held over. The usual periodical sittings of the District Court will commence to-day in the Court-house, Hamilton. ' • At the R.M. Court, Hamilton, yesterday, before H. W. Northcroft, Esq., R.M., Eruiti Houpapa was charged on remand with having on the 23rd May last unlawfully and maliciously wounded one Haunanu Kahino, by striking him with an axe. Mr O'Neill appeared for prosecutor, and Mr Hay defended. A good deal of evidence was taken, from which it appeared that the assault arose out of some dispute about the property of a deceased native, which both parties claimed. Defendant had agreed to give the plaintiff a horse in payment for the assault and to keep his wife and children until his injured arm got well, but this arrangement had not been carried out, and hence the present action. The case was further adjourned till Thursday, bail being accepted. The present winter has been so far, notwithstanding a few heavy downpours, of a very mild character. The other day we noticed that some apple trees in Mr W. M. Hay's orchaid had borne fruit a second time, and yesterday we were shown some remarkably Hue ripe strawberries which have been grown in Mr J. B. Whyte's garden. They are in every respect similar to the fruit produced at the usual season, and it is hard to account for them at so late a period. The last rains have done considerable damage in the Piako and Waitoa districts. A portiou of the swamp road between Missen's and Te Avoha has been carried away, and the coach had to be carried over the gap yesterday morning. There is little or no communication between the two places. The rivers are also very high. The roads all over the Waikato are al&o in an exceptionally bad stn te.

We were present for a short time on Friday evening last at the first practice for the opening services of the new church of 8. Andrew's Cambridge. The choir numbered some twenty voices, more being expected at the next meeting. Several members of other choirs have kindly promised their services for the opening day, answering most readily the invitations sent them by the clergyman and organist. We sincerely hope that by punctuality and regularity at the practices, those who are to take part in the singing on that day will try to secure the musical part of the service being such as shall be worthy of the occasion. We understand that for the convenience of some who otherwise couldnot attend, the practices, which would otherwise take place on Friday evenings, will m future be held on Thursdays at the same hour. On Saturday, at the annual meeting of ratepayers of the Waitoa Highway District, opportunity waa taken of the gathering to present to the Chairman ot the Board, Mr W. P. Chepmell, J.P., a handsome gold watch and albert eluin, as a slight token of appreciation of the services lendered to the district by that gentleman during the last four years, during the whole of which time he lias performed the duty of Chairman of the Highway Board, to the eminent satisfaction of the ratepayers. Mr Gould, in making the presentation, paid the highest compliment to Mr Chepmell, and testified to the very impartial and fair manner in which he conducted all their meetings, and to the very great amount of work he performed in the interests of the district, and hoped that Mr Chepmell woukf live long to wear the watch. Mr Chepmell, who, was much affected, responded briefly, thanking his many friends for the gift which he was quite unprepared for. The watch, one of Rotherham's gold-hunting lever keyless watches, and a massive 18-carat albert chain and seal were purchased from Mr McLernon, of Hamilton. The watch bore the following inscription :— "Presented to W. P. Chepmell,' Esq., J.P., by , ratepayers of the Waitoa Highway District, as a alight recognition of services rendered to the district.— A, D., 1S81." • • The following are the chief clauses of the Bill, introduced by Sir George Grey, intituled au Act to further enable Affirmations to be taken in lieu of Oaths : — Whereas cases still exist in New Zealand where persons are required to take or subscribe an oath : And whereas it is expedient to extend the admission of affirmations to all suph cases : — In all cases where any person is now or may hereafter be required to take an oath, but who shall object so to do, it, shall be lawful for every person so objecting:, and he shall be required to .make his or her affirmation or declaration in the words following^ that is to say, "I do Jxuly affirm ( aud declare," &c, which affirmation or declaration shall be of the same force and effect as; such person had taken the said oatlu And every 'person,! : required, authorised, or qualified by any Act or law "in force ' in New Zealand or otherwise >to take or administer such i 1i 1 an oath*, ehall permit and accept ?n )ien thereof the affirmation or declaration aforesaid. The same penalties forfeitures, and disabilities which are new in force and are attached respectively to the negjecs, refusaji, $nd false or corrupt taking or subscrjbjng £b,o patft aforesaid, shall attach and agply in }ike manner in

respcct_of the neglect, refusal and false or corrupt RiakiHg >"ofr fiubsqrlbin^ of '|Ko said'affirmatiompr declaratibu. ; The latest phenomenal histrionic innovation "ntay be credited to Greymouth—Claude , Melnptte in a belltopper !, Not* »n amateur £nspißation < be it remembered, but evolved from the inner consciousness of arr old professional. A bell-topper, a dress coat, and a sword of the Middle Ages—thus /accoutred Claude did his spooning by the Lake of Como, and-three years' after, in stage record, so caino back from thu wars. The bell-topper is said to have suffered somewhat under the influence of strong (■•motion —" iWnodeus, ?in the JS y ew Zealand Mail. I

The Dunedin "Star" hears on good authority that Sir George Grey has ottered Ins propci ty at Kawau at the Government valuation under the property tax — £16,000—and that his offer is likely to be accepted, as Sir George is understood to be desirous of taking a more active part in public affairs, and purposes residing in Auckland City.

An exchange gives these details about umbrella fliitation: ' To place your umbrella hi a, rack indicates that it is about to change owners. An umbrella carried over the woman, the man getting nothing but the drippings of the rain, signifies courtship. When the man has tho umbrellt and the woman the drippings, it indicates marriage. To carry it at right angles under arm signifies that an eye is to be lost by the man who follows you. To put a cotton umbrella by the side of a nice silk one, signifies " exchange is no robbery." To lend an umbrella indicates "I am a fool." To carry an open umbrella just high enough to tear out men's eyes and knock off men's hats signifies " 1 am a woman." The most costly house in New Yoik will bo that Mr V.mderbilt who is only outdone in magnificence throughout the States *>y the Bonanza King in the Far Weht. The house, together with two others adjoining, which Mr Vanderbilt is constructing for his daughters, will cost some L 300,000. The wood- work is to He " chosen from the choice woods of the world," and is to bo fashioned by the " most skilful Euiope and American carvers." During the Railway King's visit to Paris he bought som6 almost priceless ceiliuga, and -secured a raplica of Ghiberti's famous gates of the Baptistry at Florence the latter tor L 4,000. The following enthusiastic appreciation of the Bughton review by a French correspondent appears in the Clarion: — "I have just attended one of tlte finest sights th.it it is possible to .see in a free country. Twenty-two thousand citizens soldiers voluntarily sacrificing a holiday, their Easter Monday, to complete a part of their military duty, and behind these 22,000 there are 200,000 others ready to give their lives to defend their country against invasion, but who for the most part live too far from Brighton. They were therefore absent, but if danger were threatened they would all rush to the front."' The Liverpool correspondent of the Hiohman thu» contrasts the relative po-itious of Liverpool and Glasgow in poiut of population: — The completed return* for Liverpool and district were made up ou May 6, and are as follows :—: — City of Liverpool — Everton, 109,788 ; Kukdale, 57,768, West Derby, 67,703; Toxteth Park, 106,328; parish, 207,132; total, 545,(549. Tqg population of Liverpool and suburbs is 681,934. At the last census the town of Liverpool contained 198,797 inhabitants, and, with its suburbs, 581,278. There is thushhownan inciease of 49,852 persona in the city, and of 110,056 in the city and suburbs combined. Liverpool has thus beaten Glasgow in the competition for the distinction of being the aecoud city in the kingdom. The present census returns for Glasgow show its population to be 510,816, or 37,833 behind Liverpool. With its suburbs, however, Glasgow contains 704,436 inhabitants, or 22,502 in excess of Liverpool and suburbs. An athletic novelty was presented to the Edinburgh public on Saturday afternoon m the form of a "ladies' football match,'' ■winch took place in the Hibernian Park, Easter lload. The players were twenty-two young women — one half, we believe, being Scotch, and the other half English — Avho have formed themselves into an association for the jnu'pose of popularising football as a feminine pastime, and at the same time, perhaps, pecuniarily benefitting themselves. The event naturally occasioned some interest and curiosity in botii athletic and non-athletic circles, and the match was witnessed by an assemblage numbering close on two thousand persons. It was noticeable, however, that hardly any ladies were present, which seemed to indicate that by that section of the community, at all events, tho affair had been prejudged from anything but a favourable point of view. Shortly after three o'clock the players arrived al the ground in an omnibus drawn by four horses, half the competitors riding outside, their football costumes conspicuous [ notwithstanding ulsters, cloaks and jackets. The game was begun at half-past three o'clock. The teams appeared in a costume essentially similar to that worn by male football players, consisting ol jersey, knickerbockers, stockings, boots, and '"cowl," with a sort of sash depending from the waist — the Scotch team wearing blue jerseys and red sashes, and tho English red jerseys and blue sashes. Most of the players were well-built, athletic-looking girls, and the teams looked exceedingly picturesque in their bright ami tastefully arranged costumes. Some retained such feminine ornaments as frilling, bracelets, &c, but others, with arms bare to the shoulder, entered into the game with all the enthusiasm of boys. The match was played according to Association rules. Though the English team had appeared in public on the other side of the Border, this was their first appearance in Scotland, and the first time the whole association had played in an open field, their previous practice having been confined to a hall. It was not, therefore, to be expected that brilliant play would be exhibited. The game was ohe of two periods of threequarters of am hour. At first it appeared as if the English team were to have the best of it, but, after half-an-hour's brisk play, Miss. Lilly St. Clare kicked the first goal for Scotland, and thence-for-ward the Scotch had it nearly all their own way, hardly ever allowing the ball to enter their ovvn territory. Emperor William, on his 70th birthday, told his physician he would make him a count if he brought him to his 80th. He kept his promise, and now promises to make him a prmce if he brings him to his 90th birthday. A large fortune has been left to the Duohe.ss of Edinburgh by her father, the Czar Alexander 11., whose will has been proved. The personality consists of 48,000,000 roubles, lying to the credit of the Gzir with some London bankers. Forty-eight millions is a large sum, especially in roubles, and it is not an insignificant amount even in pouuds sterling. The amount may \>e put roundly at, £4,800,000. _ His late Majesty paid perhaps an uuco'nsoious complimenc to the stability of the English order of things when he f selected London' baiiltcr3 for taking care of 'his immense wealim. Fuoar St. Petersburg, under date April 17, we learn that no male Kussian, between the ages of 10 and 18, was allowed to go abroad without permission of the ; (jovepnm^nt. I