TUESDAY, SEPT. 27, 1881.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1441, 27 September 1881, Page 2

TUESDAY, SEPT. 27, 1881.

Like many, too many of its predecessors, the session of Parliament which has just closed has not been productive of as much good as we had a right to expect. Valuable time has been thrown away in the useless discussion of measures never destined to see the light, and still more in pointless attempts to retard useful and necessary legislation. There are those who are ever crying that the session has been barren and empty, and there is often more truth in the cry than people are disposed to allow ; but after all it seems to us that a great deal depends upon the position we occupy in taking our survey. So long as Parliament remains the generous parent whose pocket is at the disposal of his spendthrift sons, and does not become the stern and just father, the guardian of our morals and the corrector of our faults — so long indeed as the legislature of this country continues to exercise the functions of a Road Board on a grand scale, instead of those which, as its title indicates, belong to it, so long will its acts have a different significance accordingly as they arc regarded from various standpoints. Adopting this view we are bound to admit that, so far as we in Waikato are concerned, the session has not been empty or barren or cold. During the past few weeks I an Act has been passed of much moment to one, at any rate, of our Waikato townships. We mean the Town Districts Act, so long familiar to us under the unsatisfactory title of a <% bill." Under this the local governing body of Cambridge will be enabled to assume all the more necessary powers of a Corporation without the expensive and cumbrous machinery of a borough, and will be placed in a position to prosecute much needed public works. Another measure, having an important bearing the well-being and progress of the same locality, and through it upon a large portion of the whole district, is the Railways Authorisation Act, in the schedule attached, to' jwhich appears! the name of, the , HamiltonCambridge Railway. .We*' need sc'arce'ry recount 'thY advantages which the construction of this line

» of railway, so long 'desired and so earnestly and persistently fought for, will bring to the country which it touches. !£hs. story .has been told offen' enough, and hitherto' wh^n there was pressing neod for its recital. In addition to these, voces have been passed for the extension and completion of necessary roads, such as that to Rotorua and Taupo ; for rendering the Waipa river fitter for the purposes of navigation, and for many other works of a like nature. Within a few months the operations in connection with the erection of a massive iron railway bridge at Hamilton, to link the Cambridge and Thames railways with the main line to Auckland will be commenced, and before two years, have passed trains from Cambridge and Morrinsville will meet each other at the junction at Tamahere. Nor is the Railways Construction Act a measure of less importance than these we have enumerated. By its aid, and partly by that of the District Railways Act, a work of great moment to Waikato and the southern portions of this provincial district will be constructed — a railway which will connect at the Piako the vast plain of the Upper Thames and the Lake country with the port of Auckland, and so inaugurate a new era in the progress of the north of New Zealand, constituting it the rallying point for a large proportion of that class, partly invalid and partly pleasure-loving, which in our fathers' time sought relief on the shores of the blue Mediterranean and under the cerulean skies of Madeira. On those far - spreading prairie lands we shall see also smiling homesteads, green pastures, and flocks and herds, where now exist no signs of European civilisation. We are not exaggerating in the least. We are saying nothing but what we believe to be hard and stern fact in repeating that a bright and glorious future is dawning upon this part of the colony. There are some measures among the unhappy crew consigned to the limbo of the shelf which can ill be spared, of which one, a bill for providing the more efficient carrying out of local public works, would have proved of much value. For the present we must perforce be content with a continuation of the system of subsidies, and await its passage in another session. We have indeed so much to be thankful for that we can afford to do ] this. We are not likely to admit that we have received any favors, or indeed anything which does not strictly belong to us, but while asserting this, it would be ungraceful not to acknowledge the valuable services which have been rendered by the members for this district. Those who have followed closely the current of events need not to be reminded how faithfully our representatives have worked. To their exertions, we in a great measure owe the passage of such measures as the Town Districts and Railway Authorisation Acts; indeed, in the case of the former, its very introduction in the House this session would have been doubtful but for the strong representations made by Messrs Whyte and WniTAKER They have now brought back the talents with which three years ago they were entrusted ; to what extent they have justified the confidence placed in them let their constituents consider and decide.

Owing to the paucity of the attendance, the annual meeting of the Cambridge Cricket Club, called for Saturday evening, did not take place.

There will be service at the Roman Catholic Church, Cambridge, every morning at 8 o'clock during the, current week.

The members for Waipa and Waikato, Messrs ¥. A. Whitaker and J. B. Whyte, were passengers to Hamilton by special train on Saturday night. The Hinemoa arrived in the Manukau too late to catch the ordinary train, and as a trip had to be made to Huntley for coals for the Government steamer a carriage was attached for the convenience of the members, and brought on to Hamilton.

It was intended to complete the coursing match at Fen Court yesterday, and Ivanhoe and Blackboy, the two remaining competitors, were taken out for that purpose. They could not, however, obtain a course, and the owners decided to divide the prize-money.

The Hamilton Borough Council would do well to complete the formation of Victoria-street near the railway station while the contract for the formation of the line is under weigh. The Public Works Department will not leave the roadway in a proper state, and much money might be saved by finishing it before the gravel is laid on.

Mr Matthew Walsh, the contractor for the extension of the railway from the Hamilton Station to the river, is making good progress with his job. He has ten men engaged in levelling the reserve, razing the old native pah, filling up the ballast pits, and holes, etc., preparatory to forming the line. He expects to have the work done in a little, over six weeks.

The programme for the concert in aid of the harmonium fund of the Hamilton Presbyterian Church will be found in another column. It includes vocal selections by some of the best known lady and gentlemen amateurs in Hamilton. The instrumental portion of the entertainment will be contributed by an efficient orchestra of two pianos, two flutes, violin, cornet, and baritone. The concert promises to afford a rare musical treat, and should be well patronised.

The Tamahere Highway Board ought, as soon as it conveniently can, to complete the road leading from the bridge at Hinton'a Gully to the Central Boad. Instead of being the; practicable road strangers would be apt to regard it from the fact of , the bridge being there, it is really a eul de sac. The road moreorer is < in a very bad condition and even so far as it goes is only fit for equestrians. !• ,

Considerable excitement ' was' manifested in Cambridge,' yesterday, on receipt of a telegram frorr^Major Wither to the A.C authpriti^.'enq'jiiriffffthe , number of men' ayajlaple in' case of disturbancemth/tne natives. It was .in- 1 ferred that ihe natives on the West

— ~Tp — <^1 — r^ Coast ha*d^|psen otft^iji 'rebqtt|bn, «wjd the course eWnts have b^en taking lately was ii sufficient ground for the surmise. Yesterday we telegraphed to a correspondent at Hawera, enquiring into the truth of 1 We'^uiTidqiyf abd "received 'a ' reply stating' that} nothing warf khowii of pny disturbance' It will be scon in our teleprraphic columns that Te Whiti has been deprecating a resource to violence, 'although tho settlers and the Government' are preparing for aiiy emergency.

~'Mt Reynolds of Cambridge is building a fine wooden shup on his allotment adjoining 1 ' MeNeish's billiard-room in t)uke-atreet for the use of Mr Y. Granville the enterprising fruit and .fishmonger. Mr Granville intends opuning a comfortable dining-room in the new building, retaining his present premises for his present business.

As the Consolation Handicap was underway at the Cambridge racecourse on Thursday last a very unpleasant scene was being carried on at the side of the grand-stand, which was almost entirely occupied by natives. A Herculean ivahinc, whose dignity had been aroused through a little riralry on the part of a female member of the same tribe, a matter which apparently caused her no inconsiderable umbrage, went to work on the face of her unfortunate rival, and as offence begets offence a scene of mutual resentment was afterwards enacted, which would cause cock-fiffhters to blush and make a human dog run away disgusted.

The cricket season in Hamilton will be formally opened on Saturday week, Bth Ootober, by a match between a picked eleven and all comers. Mr "Wood will captain the veterans, and Mr Tonks will, it is understood, raise a body of recruits to oppose them, and if only a little drill can be secured we are not at all suje that the ' ' boys, ' ' (the number of whom may be 30) will not pull off the game. Last year, partly owin^r to the opening of the Aroha goldfield, cricket languished sadly in "Waikato, but from the manner in which the different clubs are going to work there can be little doubt that a great deal more spirit will be infused into the game this year.

A correspondent writing from Cambridge, yesterday, says: — "The matter of "Wilson's riding Sportsman in the Hurdle Race at the late Spring meeting is now a general topic of discussion among the sporting public, especially those personally interested in the race. Those who backed Harkaway to carry off the race maintain that Wilson ran his horse almost in front of his opponent's, thus putting the latter clean off the hurdle, and that had he (Wilson) taken his own side of the hurdle and given, Harkaway room, the race would have been a certainty for the latter. On the other hand, those who backed Sportsman to win maintain that Wilson was perfectly right in taking the opportunity which the other jockey might have availed himself of, if not prevented entirely. "

We would draw the attention of the Cambridge Town Board to a very dangerous hole situated midway on the road between the Karapiro and the Waik ato bridges. The hole is square and is several feet deep, and appears to have been designed for drainage purposes, but there being no grating or other covering to prevent a horse from putting his leg into it, an accident is almost certain to take place, which will, perhaps, not only prove serious to the unfortunate equestrian who may stumble into it, but to the Board under whose supervision the road is.

About four months ago Dr. Edgelow, of Hamilton, was called in to attend Mrs McGlynn, the wife of the manager of the Waikato coal mine at Huntley He pronounced her complaint to be cancer in the breast, and wibhed to perform au operation. To this she objected, and shortly afterwards went to Auckland, where a medical man, high up in the profession, told her that the disease was not cancer, and advised her to poultice the affected part. Last week, finding herself growing worse, Mrs McGlynn proceeded to the Auckland Hospital, and Dr. Edgelow was requested to proceed thither also, to confer with Dr. Philson, who agreed that the disease was cancer. An operation will, in due course, be performed,

We are informed that the most strenuous efforts on the part of the members for this district; failed to secure the abolition of tho toll on the Hamilton bridge, by a grant of money equal to the nnpaid portion of the loan. The reason is now made pretty obvious. It appears that there "were about fourteen similar applications, and as, in the present financial condition of the colony, the Government found it impossible to entertain the whole, they determined justly enough to treat them all alike. Had the application been one for the erection of a bridge over the river, it is believed it would have been acceded to, but in the circumstances nothing could be obtained.