ECHOES FROM THE CAFE

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1416, 30 July 1881, Page 4

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE

H"trl>ouV Board has decided fcli.it the: mode of electing its liiomb'jrs "-hould be altered, and it. is lull time that .in alter,fftiiotf JuftW«!ihflJla,"as' rtothinV 'tdtim |)fe Siib'ftUl&'fofl th.m the Wity <m_V\»hrch the j elections have boo* 'cortt!uo&!<i 'hrfchcvfcb: | The elector-, ate the ohiich ot shipping; aEud-tMtm Wlio h.tvo p,vi<l' tl'i'.fnd upVWids m harbour dues m the ye.v nnmcdi itely picceiling the date of the election Those p';*si-ased of the nceobiaiy qu.ihfioation ■ sissemble in a laigenipp' 1 ehtunbor "f the Hail lom' \Boav'l oiiiCes, and the election is made by a show of hands, the eha.ll man a id the soe)eUry of the JJoaul, (uunting the h.ui'K .md aetintr as serntiiieeis to pievent any unqualified peisou voting. It is almost impossible to imagine a more aTiMird way ot conducting .in election, and the Boaid very wis.-ly decided tint tlie elections ought to be conducted m manner proscribed by the Regulation of Local Elections Act. After this matter had been disposed of, Captain MeKen/ie moved that the secretary be instructed to apply to Messis Claik and Stanfield for information about their iron , floating docks, and to writo to the harbour authorities in varidua parts of the .world asking for information about do,ck accommodation. Ot course, the object of the chairman of the Central Committee was to cause delay, and to gain information. However, he was thwarted, as the Board passed ins resolution's, "but only on, the distinct understanding that there was to be no delay in the construction of a large dock, which had already been decided on. The wise van/a has spoken, or rather written, so wo may consider the mattar fin ally settled. "W. E. Sadlur, , the Solon of Poiuell, has wn^on a letter to the liatiJili.fXn which, he .'ays 'that he is , a Grcyifce, but Hi if. he docs not appiovo of Giey's Local Govvinment scheme. The only untoitunate p.iit of the business is that Giey does not read the newspaper-*, ;it least he s iy- he dots not and his eh.uactei foi yer.it ity is .so well-known that no one would doubt the .statement Ju>t fancy a man who never lv.ids the newspapers ! ilow can he know how the world wags? How can lie know what is being done in tlie countiy in whicli he tives, to &\y nothing about the rest of tho Woild?' Ho must be wholly dependant, on what is told him by his friends and followers. Just fancy <my m«i <, r ettinLt the news of the world through the medium of such men n& Seymour Thorne Geoige, Speight, Moss,, and Tole ' The idea is really too absurd, but Sir George Giey say* he never leads the newspaper 1 -, so that is the only way in which ho can leiirh what is going on beyond the pi ice in which he lives. This pi obably accounts for home ot .the great humbug's sayings and doinsrs 1 have always been a great leadei of uewspipers, and I think that the man, especially the public man, who says ho nevei lends the newspapeis must be either a gieat fool or a great (I omit the woid but it occurs in a passage of scripture m which we aie informed tint ofiendeis of a certain clan are consigned to a, particularly sultiy place "in the sweet bje and bye."') Mr Han is, or, as he dclurhts to be called, M a ior ILai is, wants an alteration made in the i ail way ticket system, foi the c-DCcial benefit cf one oi two small places in the ekctoial districts winch he Jias tho honoui to represent, or misrepresent, f am iiot quite sine which lio doe% so I pi ico the alteimtive befoie my readers, and they may use the woid which seems to them to be con err. What he wants ip that an exception may be mado in favour ot these places by extending tho time for which let urn tickets aie available. If Mr ILnria woie nob a very nauow-muidod man, hu Mould Hf»k that the extension of time fehould be granted throughout the colony to all places, say, twenty miles apait. 1 think the whole system of i.uhvay return tickets should bo altered, and tho American system adopted instead. In Ameirca a railway return, ticket is available at any time, which seems, to mo but right and proper. If a man goes from Auckland to Hamilton, ho pays lis ior a single ticket, oi 21s ioi a r etui m ticket. Supposing a poor man, to whom a, saving ot 7s is a matter of console labl' 1 importance, has to goto Hamilton on business, which he supposes will occupy tv o days, he p lys 2!s foi a letmn ticket. He finds that his business is not so speedily settled as he imagined, so he is detained a work He is not only put to extra expense foi boird and lodgings, but lie loses 7s, ns ho has to take a fresh single ticker, m older to ictiun. Tins is manifestly a liaidslnp, and I think the system should be alteicd. ]f a nun pays tora letuin ticket lie should be allowed to return witnout being compelled to pay foi anothei ticket It makes no difference to the railway department when the holder of a l etui n ticket uses it, so it ought to be ,'u.ul.ihlo at any time that the holder choo-e-. to use it. Tlie gcncial election will soon take pi ice, and if all the membei-j who au> i etui nod weie pledged to make this altoation it -would .soon bean accomplished fact. Mr Sheehan has Ins faults, and who has none, but he has Ins virtm-s also. Among bib vntnes is one w Inch is, unioitunatcly, lare among politicians — lie can see tire good that his opponents do, and he has the honesty and the manliness to acknowledge tliat good. V\ lien Mr Moss ndiculed tho importance oi T.iwlnao's visit to Waikato, Mi Sheehan piomptly "nibbed him down with a buck," and admitted that it was of tlie most \ it.il impoi tance ; that he had been cndca\oiuinjr to biing about so satisfactoiy aicsulfc, and that he could not allow paity prciudico to prevent him admitting tho success of what had been done. Bia\o Sheehan ! Mr Moss, if he was sincere, whicli I doubt, must h.ue thought the Waikato settlers very foolish to be so very jubilant over the visit of Ta.wh.iao, if it had no political significance, 3 1 is not such a l.ue occun'oncp to see a large number of Maons-in the Waikato townships, but it is a great tnumph for the present Ministry, and for Major Man. that the acknowledged head ot the disaffected ' natives m the Wsiikato should vmt the piincipal townships, and that he should command his armed follow era to lay down their arms as an acknow lodgment of the supiemacy of the Queen. Yes !itis a great triumph for the Hall Government, and I -a,ni,not,at all surprised that Sir George Grey and his tail are filled with chagrin that thejr opponents have accomplished what they could not effect. ' The present Ministry cariied what were "kaow.n as the Great LiberaJ Measures, in spite. of the opposition of the i Belf -styled Liberal Paity, ami now it seemb as i,f the Government will lequirc to guard one, at least, of tho Great Liberal Measures from being repealed by the .members of that same seli'-styled Liberal Party. I allude to tho triennial Parliaments BilK Homo of the Honourable ,(?),, Members, who weio elected pledired to support that Hill, knowing that their chances of rp-elpction are the very slightest imaginable, aro anxious to CGjt^he.^ill repealed, and quinquennial Parlia,mpnt«' re'-.qsia'b'lis'hed, but Mr ,Hall' told them 'tnat he would 'oppose the motion. ' In the 'present state of affaif<y I think" that the nooper Parliament is cijfesblvea' the better, as'the majority of the AticUi laiid ineniDerH i aro suc|i anppdy, sekty s ( e£, of profe&^onal'politicnrih, ' that a 1 cnalige can hardly fail to be for the better. Take our three 'city members, . for 'in^taheeV-r-,' Mdfiws.' Speight, Wallis,' aiid'Hm«t.»o: fib' not think that either of them ia. likely -to he re-elected, and we cab hardl!' make 'a-

change for the .worse. Speight, especially, is totally unfit'& ? 9&p?&snt a commercial constituency. Indeed, ho has not tried to do so, but has- pimply r been ,Hn exfra I'hiitnes, repres-en^rttive. . - Bjr- V nll, meHOsj, lot tliis PiirKiuneVifc be diaholyod,' fiua .let lib have a change. r . ' '' \ " , '