The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1535, 6 May 1882, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. Here shall the Press the People s right maintain, Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain.

SATURDAY, MAY 6, 1882.

Consideration of. the proposal to connect England and prance By, a tunnel under the Straits of Dover has assumed a phase hardly, we ! ihink, contemplated by the original, promoters of the scheme. 'It sTvas; 5 Tvas ; natural enough tliat il^should.Jbie' ■brought' face /y'toi i| ace -'^% s old world t prejudices' •' against [ everything >A %syr? ;J,; J , biu^'^t'jidl it, shauld, meet .-with, r a'\'ceEaTfl v degree"^ opjiosiuow'fl'o^' scieiitifio, men, no Wo of -nfhfm SQtM fa -^'

pected, under such, extraordinary conditions, to form a similar opinion. Much, room, for instance, exists for debate as to the formation of the underlying strata and its adaptability for the purpose intended, and questions raised upon this point cannot be definitely set at rest to the satisfaction of all parties, rival engineers and others, without the expenditure of enormous sums of money in mere unpractical experiments. Under the best conditions the boring will involve a vast expenditure, and shrewed business meu, well versed in such matters, gravely doubt whether the Tunnel when finished will yield a return sufficient to meet working expenses and pay oven the most moderate dividends to the holders of stock. These, we repeat, are questions which would naturally exercise the minds of the intelligent body in the community, and it is the plain duty of the promoters to encourage discussion in this direction. But opposition to the scheme on this head has been almost overshadowed by a protest from a most unexpected quarter. It appears that the period allowed for construction under an Act of Parliament has now expired, and the originators have consequently applied for an extension, the granting of which will entail the passing of a fresh measure. Against this the voice of a considerable section of the people (including generals, admirals, men of letters, poets, &c, &C.,) has been raised. And for what reason ? Because the Tunnel would destroy the insularity of Great Britain and enormously increase the chances of invasion. The results flowing from this, it is argued, would be the necessity for (1) the erection of costly fortifications at Dover, and (2) for placing the standing army of England on a par, in point of numerical strength, with those of the great Continental Powers. These arguments were pretty fully stated in the resume of an article by Admiral Lord Dunsany in the Nineteenth Century, published in these columns a few days ago. If the position taken up by Lord Dunsany and his high military authority (who, it is shrewdly suspected, is no other than Our Only General) is sound, we can appreciate the dismay with which the Peace Party would regard such a contingency, and understand how strenuously they would oppose the construction of the Tunnel. The advantages which would be obtained in a commercial sense would, indeed, be dearly purchased at the price. Thaiaks to the narrow strip of water which separates her from the mainland of Europe, England has been able to maintain her position in the Council of Nations with an army not one tenth as strong, in point of numbers, as those of her neighbors j and English taxpayers would be (what they are not usually) blind to their own interests were they to sanction the carrying out of any scheme which would multiply by ten the sum of the army estimates — this year amounting to about fifteen millions sterling — for the mere purpose of facilitating the carriage of goods between Great Britain and France, and insuring immunity from mat de mer to | a certain number of pleasure loving tourists. But is there any reasonable ground for supposing that these fears are well founded? We do not think so. The hypothesis with which Lord Dunsany starts out, namely, that the English end of the Tunnel could be secured in time of peace by a party of French soldiery disguised as tourists, presumes the existence of two unlikely things ; he implicitly assumes in the first place that France, a great and honorable nation, and at present our firm ally, would be guilty of a breach of the law of nations, and, in the second place, that the garrison of Dover, unlike the proverbial weazel, might be caught napping and be overpowered without resistance. Colonel Beaumoni R.E., consulting engineer to the Submarine Continental Railway Company, in replying to Lord Duns any, says that having been himself employed three years in the construction of the Dover fortifications, he is enabled to assure us that by the natural strength of the position and by the powerful works erected there at a cost of something less than a million, Dover may be regarded as "a first-class fortress, quite safe from any coup de main from without." He takes it for granted that the Tunnel will be commanded by guns and also under fire from the sea, and that arrangements will be made whereby the military can, from within the' fortification, flood the Tunnel. It is also intended that the trains on emerging from under the sea shall be lifted by an hydraulic apparatus to the surface. Hence, he argues, supposing a body of men penetrated the Tunnel by surprise, they could practically get no further than the bottom of the shaft at the Dover end, -because the small body of men which could, be raised to the surface at a time would be easily cut off. , Unless, indeed, the invading ' force could, first take -,Dover ; frp,m r , the,'- ,outside-fi"f|hey ■would be nitterly t unable, I,to-. 1 ,to -. coslrol the Tiin^elan'thej'sligKtest^degree." blocking thq.jun^el^|]igg;e;|t|j|y ; by ttie'talMt- cdK&el whichf nee^ , not V'

thirty-thousand men on the Kentish coast, there would still have been time to flood or block the Tunnel or to destroy the ventilation and the hydraulic lifts ; the enemy, if he had command of the sea could bring troops and supplies as well without the Tunnel as with it, but if England regained the command of the sea the Tunnel would be of no avail to the enemy. He suras up his arguments thus : " I submit that absolute conditions of safety are secured if, in the coiistruction of the Tunnel, the following conditions arc observed : (1) The mouth of the tunnel to be outside the fortifications of Dover and under fire of its guns. f2) The entrance to the tunnel, whether by lift or inclined gallery, to be under command of fire from the sea. 3. The works to be capable of being flooded, or otherwise stopped, from a point within the fortifications." These arguments, to an unprejudiced mind, appear to be conclusive. It is quite possible that they will fail to convince some of our military men, and that our poets (for these gentlemen have given in their adhesion to the opponents of the scheme) will cling to the old traditions connected with the " span of waters," and still exclaim What power is there ! What mightiness for evil and for good ! But wo fool sure that the people, as a whole, will come to regard the Tunnel in its true light, — as a now highway for the growing commerce of the world.

Tin? intelligence that Hikoki, the murderer of McLeax, has at length met with his deserts will be received with general satisfaction. The majesty of the law has been outraged so often and so persistently, in the case of Maori wrongdoers, that it produces a feeling of relief to find that to some extent it has again asserted itself. The capture and condemnation of Hiroki affords us some food for reflection. We can now see plainly that at no time did the cowardly assassin receive much consideration at the hands of his own countrymen, and that at aiay time a little display of determination on our part would have caused them to remove their protection from him allogether. The king natives, it is s vid, regard the affair with the utmost indifference, and are, apparently, perfectly satisfied at the result. May not they have been, and may they not be equally indifferent concerning the fate of other criminals of the same stamp, and ought not the law to be vindicated in their cases also 1

It appears from a telegram sent to an Auckland contemporary that a young man named Fisher, a surveyor, well-known in Waikato, has again beeu concerned in the capacity of principal hi an " affair of honor," at Ohinemutu. Our Cambridge readers will remember particulars of the other little episode.

The man Conway, or Connor (as the name has been erroneously given,), accused of horse stealing in the Napier district, and about -whose pursuit and capture so much has been heard, was brought up at the Hamilton Police Court on Thursday, before His Worship the Mayor, and remanded to Napier.

A gentleman called at our office yesterday, and showed us a copy of the Kidderminster (England) Sun, of October 15th, in which is reprinted, under the heading " Orangeism in New Zealand," the whole of our report; of the Orange meeting at Cambridge, published on the 14th July last. It is gratifying to find that our circulation is so extended.

A meeting of the ratepayers of the Cambridge Highway District will he held at Camp's hotel, Hautapu, on Monday, the 22nd inst., at 2 p.m., for the purpose of electing two trustees in the place of Messrs Fautham and Selby, resigned.

Paddy Doran and his troupe of minstrels are entertaining the public at Alexandra and the natives to a series of amusing performances for a short season. They have succeeded in drawing very good houses, their exertions to entertain the public being very successful. This excellent combination are announced to appear at Te Awamutu on Tuesday evening next.

A squabble arose in the bar of Mr Finch's Alexandra Hotel, on Thursday last, between two natives. It seems an argument arose between both parties as to the translation into Maori of the New Testament, and one individual finding that he had lost the av^ vnent in a moral sense, went in for a victory in a physical sense. He struck his opponent several 1 times on the face, and was afterwards with some difficulty conveyed to the lockup.

A large number of sheep have lately been worried by dogs on the "Rotorangi estate — about a week ago not less than thirty were worried in one night. Dogs belonging to the town are in the habit of following rabbits into the country, and missing their game recoup themselves by worrying sheep. The nuisance has become so intolerable of late that Mr Grice has had to take the precaution of sending out two men nightly with guns, in order that the destructive curs may not go away entirely unrewarded for their trouble.

Many people in Waikato will learn with regret that Mr C. D. Mackintosh, of Cambridge, is about to leave the district. For very many years Mr and Mrs Mackintosh have occupied a very i prominent place in the musical circles of ! the district, and their departure will leave a gap not easily filled. We heartily I wish them God speed in their new home in Wellington.

Some time ago the Otago Daily Times " expressed a hope that when Te Whiti and Tohu arrived at Ohrlsfcchurch, the authorities would show them over the place, in order thatjthey might gain some idea of the nature and extent of European civilisation in' tKe' colony. This hint appears, according to our telegrams, to have been'acted" on. ' 'Both chiefs have beep shewn the lions of the place, whereat they Have ? expressed gVeat surprise.". ! >'•'- I"' ' ■!'\ ) - '

$\M J^Firtfris^about to' 'esiab-jlM'a^ee-'fa^Ma Very exteiisive\scale, ; -WafteHjc«fte%i?M-Jjilyinext;f4C)pera;-4f

rian bees now in Mr Hopkins possession, but it is intended to largely increase this number as soon as practicable, and to enter upon the production of honey in a systematic manner. Mt 1 Firth has always shown a commendable promptitude in advancing new industries, and we hope his latest venture will prove a success.

A telegram dated Ohinemutu, Thursday, says -.—The Rotomahana block is still before the Native Lands Court here, and is expected to occupy another fortnight. The other case, if not adjourned, must detain the Court here all the winter, and a better location than Ohinemutu for the Court could hardly be chosen, looking to its central position in the Thermal Springs district, and to the good accommodation the place posseses for Europeans attending the Court. The natives are contemplating returning to their several settlements leaving theiv representative men only to watch their interests in Court. It would be well if they would initiate this sensible couvse. The present custom of the whole tribe attending the Courts for weeks and months is such a waste of time and money that it results in general impoverishment.

The usual weekly meeting of the Hamilton Literary and Debating Club was held at the Court-house, onThnrsnay evening, the president (Mr James Hume) in the chair. There were twelve members present, and a very enjoyable evening was spent. The debate, " Should the Chinese be admitted into the colonies," was ably opened in ih-i affirmative by Mr Robert Bradley, who was supported by the Rev. D. Fulton and Mr J. M. Murray. The negative side was taken by Mr Smith, supported by Messrs John Knox, J. Palmer, and R. F. Sandes. The debate, which was a very animated one, lasted till nearly 10 o'clock. On a show of hands being called for, the voting was as follows : — Affirmative, 3 ; negative, 9. On Thursday next the programme will consist of readings, recitations by the members, and on the following Thursday the Yen. Archdeacon Lush will deliever a lecture on " The Moabite Stone." The public are cordially invited to attend these meetings.

A correspondent writes:— It would seem as if the law dealing with cruelty to animals has become obsolete in many pai-ts of the Waikato district, particularly so in places frequented by natives ; or else in other words this very luuiuuiti law does not apply to aboriginals. At any rate they take a secret delight in 1 violating it in every letter, It is not an unusual thing to see natives riding into some of the border townships on halfstai -ed horses galled from the tail to the mane, or perhaps lame in every joint. They are galloped at a steam engine pace through the principal thoroughfares, urged onwards by the perpetual application of spur and stick, and then when riding is no longer possible they are turned loose to feed on the gravel of the roadway. This story is in no way exaggerated, indeed, it is a very tame illustration, and notwithstanding, how often do we find the unfeeling owners charged with the ofFence ? Never ! I would ask those who have it in their power to make an example of those who violate the law in such an inhuman way to make an example of some one, whether Maori or European. Indeed the latter are in many cases as bad as the former in such respects. In Alexandra at the present time native horses are fearfully abused, but some how or other the owners remain unmolested by the officers of the law."

Tenders will be received up to 4 p.m. on the 10th inst., for the erection of a hotel for Mr J. W. Walker at Te Aroha. Persons found trespassing in pursuit of game on the property of the Waikato Land Ass>oc uition will be prosecuted A concert will be held in the schoolroom, Paterangi, on Juno 2nd, in aid of the school funds. On account of his leaving the district, Mr C. D. Macintosh, Cambridge, desires to let his house. His piano is for sale The abstract balance-sheet of the Piako County Council for the half-year ended 31st March, ISB2, is published in our achcrtisir? columns. Mr J. S. Milne of the Commercial Hotel, Hamilton, notifies that he intends to apply for a 12 o'clock license at the next sitting of the Licensing Committee, on June 3rd. Mr W. White, Hamilton East, offers a rcwaid for a Hereford cow taken off the run. The Chairman of tho Pnkekura Highway Board, notifies that the bridge on the Cam-bridge-Ohaupo road, near Cowley's, will be closed for repairs until turther notice. He also intimates! hat the bridge over Walker's Gully is unsafe for heavy traffic. Robert Stewart, laborer, Cambridge, has filed a statement of insolvency. First meeting of cicditors will be held at tho Court-house, Hamilton, on Tuesday, 16th inst., at 11 a.m. Mr J. S. Buckland will sell at the stables adjoining the Hamilton Hotel, at 1 30, to-day, the whole of the hvcry plant belonging to the lale Mr P>. Edwards. Immediately afterwards ho will sell 6 dairy cows at their profit. Information is requested of the whereabouts, or death of John Roberts, formerly of Shorcditch, in the county of Middlesex, England. _______________