The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1570, 27 July 1882, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equaljind exact justice to all men, political. Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Un.iwcd by influence and unbribed by gain.

THURSDAY, JULY 27, 1882.

It may safely be averred that at no time since the first settlement of "Waikato has the farming industry been so depressed as during the last twelve months, and though there are signs of a more prosperous future, it behoves us to consider well the condition of affairs, and with the approach of spring to be ready to take advantage of any opportunity that may occur for bettering the condition of the farming interest. While we hear on all (sides of the activity among the commercial community in Auckland, the generally prosperous condition of the citizens, as evidenced by the (steadily increasing value of land in the city and suburbs, — most remarkably illustrated by the sale of the late Mr Chisholms propeity at the AVhau — the erection of numerous buildings of a superior class, the ever rising price of (shares in the financial companies, the handsome dividends regularly declared by them almost without exception, and numorous other evidences of wealth and prosperity, wo cauuot but reflect on the causes of the stagnation among the farming community, and the course to be pursued to remove that depression. The great complaint seems to be that there is no proportion between the price obtained for the produce of land and the cost of labour and other expenses in carrying out the operations necessary to obtain that produce. A veiy little reflection will show that this is practically true, and to an extent which is sufficient of itself to account for the want of monetary success among the great body of the farmers. The difficulty and expense of transporting heavy articles of farm produce in this moist climate form, no doubt, another cause, for though in other countries the same produce is removed to market for far greater distances for a lower price than is obtained hero, there are usually compensating advantages, in some cases in the facility of railway communication, in the more lovel condition of the country, or in the drier and colder climate enabling transport to be carried on in winter, with a facility unknown on .our wet, quagmire-like roads, for months every winter and spring. These are many other reasons for the present condition of affairs, but these are sufficient for present consideration, inasmuch as we are not aware of any Royal road to sucQe^js in farming any more than in ariy other calling, and must content ourselves with accepting things as they are, and trying to improve them. Looking at the generally increased value of human labour throughout the world, there' does not seerii any reasonable hope of much alteration taking place which will improve the farmer's position in that respeofc,

Though we are a»vare the price of labour is out of proportion to the - price of produce, wcr- do not think it would be desirable or beneficial in the long run io the community as a whole, that that price should be reduced. Fanners sometimes are apt to compare the price of labour here with what they were accustomed to in the Old Country, perhaps forgetful of the wretched condition in which numbers of their fellow-creatures existed — for they could not be said to have lived — in many cases, -worse fed, worse housed, and less considered than the stock on the farm which was worked by their labour. We will not suppose that any of our fellow settlers would wish for a moment that such a state of wretchedness ever should obtain here among any section of the population, for, independen of the inhumanity and want of fellow-feeling, a sound view of our own permanent interests would lead us to consider the social state of the countries in the old world, caused principally by the miserable condition of the wages earning population, or perhaps, more correctly speaking, the labourers, as in some countries they do not seem to get any wages worth speaking of. While Fenianism has almost produced chaos in Ireland, Nihilism created a reign of terror in Russia, Socialism and excessive Imperialism are steadily preparing Germany for an upheaval as soon as the iron hand of the Chancellor is removed, trades union strikes continually disturbing and retarding the manufacturing industries of England, France, once the country par excellence of social emeutes and intermittent revolutions, seems to enjoy greater domestic tranquility than any of the other great states of Europe ; and this is no doubt largely owing to the numerous body of small landed proprietors, cultivating their own freeholds, thus leavening in a manner the mass of the rural population, and diminishing the evil effects arising from the very marked distinction drawn in Britain between the employer, and the labourer who simply gives a certain amount of physical labour for its supposed equivalent in coin of the realm. Considering the state of other counti'ies we do not, therefore, think that any change which would reduce the material comfort and wellbeing of the wages-classes would be advantageous to the community in this colony, or is likely to occur. Then we have to consider, is it probable that the price of farmers' produce will be sensibly increased, and we are bound to state that we do not see any grounds for expecting much improvement in wiito direction, ino auubo mo ouitivation of grain will enter more largely into farming operations, as a greater area of soil is gradually brought into a fib condition to produce it, for it must be remembered that, unlike other countries, there is no land, generally speaking, in Waikato in a fit condition to bear grain until it has gone through a course of cultivation to make it so; and this is another of the difficulties which our farmers have had to contend against, and which the lapse of time is slowly ameliorating. With improved agricultural implements and machinery, grain will undoubtedly be produced at less cost than formerly, but looking at the immense tracts of naturally graingrowing country continually being opened up in America, and the constant stream of emigration from the farming population of Great Britain and other countries occupying and cultivating these lands, there is no reason to think the supply will not be fully equal to the demand for many years to come. No doubt if the different processes of preserving meat should prove financially successful, the effect will be to steady the market for beef and mutton, though not, we apprehend, to raise the average price to any appreciable extent. Still, farmers will be so much, better off that they will have a tolerably correct idea of a certain price below which the value of these commodities will not fall. The cheese and bacon factories will probably h.ive a like effect on the market for their products. AYe are in hopes that the Waikato follmong-ery business will ultimately develope into a woollen factory, for which Ngaruawahia is eminently suited, at the main centre of inland water communication in the Noth. Island, on the trunk railway, and with perhaps the cheapest coal in New Zealand almost on the spot. It would be hard to find any locality in the colony more prominently destined by Nature to be the site of groat manufacturing" industries, and it would be well worth the attention of Waikato farmers to foster and assist by all means in their power the development of an industry which would be of immense benefit to them all, both directly and indirectly. But we think the labour difficulty will have to be overcome, not by lowering wages or increasing the price of produce, but by the adoption to the fullest extent of labour-saving machinery; by educating, so to speak, the labourer into a higher class of labour; employing him less and, less on work requiring manual strength anddexterity, and more and more on work requiring the exercise of the mind: to direct and control the operations .of machinery. We, are aware,' that much, lias been done in this "direction, but probably if fannera w,ere ,to make a practice^ to study ever opportunity offers, every improvement likely to take labour off

man and accomplish the same end by t^^use °f machinery, thus at the s*me timo raising the status of the labourer, by making'his occu 4 pation at least as much of H;h6 milid as of the body, much more might be achieved to the mutual benefit of both employer and employed.

Waikato may be congratulated on the results of the meeting of settlers held on Tuesday, at Ohaupo, and not alone Waikato, but Auckland also. A great evil has worked its own cure. The establishment of a slaughtering and butchering company has become a necessity, if Waikato farmers are to continue in profitable occupation of their farms. Messrs Roche and Steele, at Ohaupo, adduced a fact only too well known, when they showed that meat is as often as not produced at a positive money loss to the grazier, independently of the value of the grass and other food used for fattening the stock. On the other hand, while the farmer is receiving an utterly unremunerative price for his cattle, the general consumer continues to pay the same high price as in the days when fat cattle realised from 30s to 35s the 100 lbs. As Mr Roche tersely put it, the producer and the consumer were paying the piper, and the middleman was doing all the dancing, This is roally the state of things, and the establishment of a slaughtering and butchering company in some central place Waikato, with retail shops of its own in Auckland, is the only means by which the difficulty can be met. As far as we can learn, the proposal is to form 'i company of some 0000 shares of one pound each (2000, have alroady been subscribed for by a few leading settlers), and to purchase an improved farm of about 100 acres in some central part of the district, connected with the railway line. Those who profess to know say that no more than £2000 at the most, need be called up to work such an establishment, and therefore, as regards the raising of the necessary capital there can be no difficulty. Nor will tlore bo any difficulty in procuring experienced management. The scheme will pay, and pay handsomely, both directly and indirectly. Few persons are aware of the large profit which is made ont of the offal of carcases. It is not alone the difference between the prica of the beef paid to the grazier and the price per lb, at which it is retailed, (great as that is) which constitutes the whole of the profit. Our readers will understand this, when we tell them that the monthly proceeds of one butchering establishment in Auckland for offal alone amounts to .£5OO. -A- Waikato slaughtering company, too, in purchasing an unimproved farm would be creating a valuable property, for, with the manure of the cattle and of the pigs kept, the land wauld soon be brought to a high state of fertility, and for this reason it is desirabU that a freehold, and not a lcaseholcj, should be secured for the purpose. We quite agree with Mr Roche, that the intelligence recently received from home of the high prices ana ready sale obtained in London for the New Zealand frozen meat — grandly as it speaks for the immediate future prosperity of the agricultural interests of the colony — should not be allowed to interfere with this movement. The necessity for a Waikato slaughtering and butchering company exists all the same. Without it, except to large companies such as the Waikato Land Association, the middleman would still keep the lion's share of the profit, and it would make no difference to the producer whether the middleman sold the meat to the retail shop or shipping company. The producer would still be in the same position as now, and could command no better price. Mr Samuel Steele made a very sensible remark when he referred to the probability that, in the event of the scheme being carried out, and ships with freezing apparatus' calling at the port of Auckland, a receiving store where the meat could be at once frozen, would be erected in Auckland. There the company's meat, in the carcass, could await for months if necessary, the demand of the mai'ket both for local consumption and exportation, and so not only secure the company against loss by the fluctuations of the market and any possible attempt to rig it, but against loss by weather in the summer, and thus furnish the consumer meat in the best possible condition in the hottest weather. To go -a step further, there will be no difficulty in bringing the freezing process nearer home, the railways providing a freezing compartment, as oh English lines, for the reception of the carcasses immediately on their leaving the slaughtering yards, and, with a night train running, the meat could be killed, frozen, and conveyed to town between sunset and sunrise. " Heaven helps those who help themselves," and the settlers of Waikato have done well in ceasing to pray to Jove and in putting their own shoulders to the wheel. But if they mean to get the agricultural r waggon out of the mire they must' "not release , their efforts. ' A great responsibility rests on the committee of management appointed on Tuesday, ,but from our knowledge of the men names are "placed 5 upon if, we have reason to hope for and good, counsel. -j^Vith^the^ frozen meat exportation^ drawing' aw^y the beef and mutton now; iro-i

ported into Auckland, leaving the .supply of our own local markets to our 6wn settlers, with the fornmtiop. of such a company as that about to be formed, assuring a fair sljare of the profits to the producer, and with the establishment of cheese and , bacon factories in our midst, there is a bright and prosperous era in the immediate future for Waikato settlers, Waikato townships, and our working classes. We have, we believe, come to the turning in the lano at last.

A number of the A.C. Force lately stationed at Cambridge, left Waikato yesterday, en route for Wellington, to join the newly formed artillery corps. The new peal of bells of S. Andrew's Church, Cambridge, were rung together for the first time on Tuesday evening last, and the result was very satisfactory. The dedication ceremony will take place early next month. The weather during the last few days has greatly improved. After three frosts rain fell yesterday, but it was of short duration, and there is every prospect of our enjoying a month of fine weather. There was a large attendance at Mr Vialou's clearing sale yesterday, and the lota submitted fetched good prices on the whole. There was no bid for any of the landed properties offered. Mr J. S. Buckland was the auctioneer. The usual weekly meeting of the Hamilton Literary and Debating Society, will be held at the Court-house this evening. A debate on the desirability of Government entering into commercial speculation will be held. Messrs Sloane, Bridgman, Stitchlnuy, and Andrews, of Te Awamutu, have agiecd to close their stores in future at 7 o'clock in the evening instead of 8 as heretofore. Perhaps other townships in Waikato will follow this example, and thus secure to shop assistants an extra hour's recreation in the evenings. At the inauest held on the body of the child ot Sarah Johnson, which was found buried in a hole at Cambridge, on Tuesday last, the jury returned a verdict of died from natural causes. The accused, as soon as she has sufficiently recovered, will be bi ought befoie the Resident Magistrate, and charged with concealment of birth. The service of song at the Presbyterian Church, Hamilton, entitled "Christie's Old Organ," was repeated last evening, but we are sorry to record that the attendance was again meagre. The rendering of the musical part of the entertainment was fully equal to that on the previous occasion. At the close of the proceedings a hearty vote of thanks was proposed by the Rev. D. Fulton to those ladies and gentlemen from other choirs who had given such timely assist ance in carrying out the programme on each occasion. The pupils of the Cambridge Public School will give a concert in aid of the school library in the Public Hall, Cambridge, early next week. For some time past the more musical pupils have been undergoing a careful training at the hands of their tutor, Mr T. A. Bell, and judging from the rehearsals we can safely recommend the juvenile concert to the general public. The object to which the proceeds of the entertainment are to be be devoted should sufficiently •warrant public patronage. The Cambridge Mutual Improvement Association will hold their usual weekly meeting at the R.M. Court this evening, when readings and recitatians will be delivered by the Rev. Mr Willis, Messrs Williams, Back, Cotton, and Forrest. The public are invited. The committee have arranged the sessional programme, which consists of lectures, debates, essays, evenings with Sir Walter Scott and Shakespeare, original tales and sketches, and "sharp practice" evenings, t The return football match, Civilians v. A.G. Force, will be played at Cambridge on Saturday next, in the Government paddock. Kick off at halfpast two o'clock. The Civilians will be represented by Messrs Wood, Grierson, McNicol, Graham, Yon Stunner, Ring, | N. Hunt, E. Pilling, Cussen, Higginson, Cotton and James. The remaining three will probably be Verity, Sheath and Hinton, with Palmer and Mathews as emergencies. The Cambridge Musical Union concert, which was postponed on the Monday previous on account of the weather, came off in the Cambridge Public Hall on Monday evening last. The programme consisted of solos, part songs, and choruses, and was of a quality deserving of a much better audience than that which favoured it. The songs of Mr H. W. Moore, Mr 0. Garland, and Mrs Dick were as usual well rendered and well received, and the part songs, which were rendered under the leadership of Mr T. Bell, exemplified diligent rehearsal. In our advertising columns will be found the prospectus of the Mutual Fire and Marine Insurance Company of New Zealand, a new company which is being established in Auckland on the mutual principle, as the name indicates. The success which has attended , the two already existing insurance companies having their headquarters at Auckland, has been remarkable, and this new venture may be taken as evidence to show the healthy commercial state of the northern capital. We have no doubt that it will meet with a full measure of prosperity. The prospectus contains the fullest information, and we direct our readers' attention to it. The House of Representatives sat until 1.35 a.m., on Monday morning, discussing Mr Smith's motion on the wages of rai lway employees. The motion that the debate be adjonnied was negatived, and the original motion to go into Committee of Supply was carried on the voices. The motion to reduce the item in the estimates for six sheep inspectors was lost. In the Legislative Council, on Tuesday, the Private Tramways Bill was read a first time. Mr Wliitaker said the Government were paying £25 a-year towards the education of Taiaroa's children. The Affirmation in Lieu of Oaths Extension Bill was thrown out, and the Mining Company's Act, 1872, Amendment Bill was read a third time. The House of Reprosentaives met again at 7.30 p.m., on Tuesday, when Sir George Grey gave notice of his Affirmation in Lieu of Oaths Bill. Mr Johnston said he was prepared to make the advance in the wages of railway platelayers as recommended. Mr Moss asked the Government for an opportunity of expressing an opinion as to the propriety or otherwise of contracting fresh loans. An Imprest Supply Bill of £250,000 was passed through its first stages. Mr Macandrew quoted evidences" of the general unreliability 'of* r the Treasurer's figures in regard to the Grey Government. In Committee of Supply? several items were considered »nd retained, and a, few reduced., '* ' - ' . At the. ..Resident Magistrate's Court,' Hamilton, ; yesterday, Sefofe, Mr t E;;W:;tf orthcroft: ,R.MV tWUttleA boys named-Hugh j^and /Matthew <■ iuaa^aged' reapedn^eiy.^abp^ ■years/'were^charg^^^ { $hjsfoisp t s*pp b>^,^lif^pperty of ,

Mr Thomas Jolly, Fraukton. It appears that the boys chased the sheep and relieved them of the bells. The Magistrate delivered a M'holesome lecture to the youthful offenders, warning tketn^ of the consequences which' persistence in such practices would produce, and then^ discharged them. His Worship gave judgment in the case The Police v. W. Cumming, for "permitting drunkenness. The case would be dismissed as he did not think the defendant wilfully supplied the liquor to Browning, and, moreover, defendant's barman had already been fined in connection with the same offence. An assault case, J. Crawford v. I. Lovett, was struck out, there being no appearance of either party. From letters received from Oapt. Runciman by the last mail, it is probable he will leave America on his return journey next month. He expresses him self as being greatly pleased with the results of his trip so far. Many of our Auckland citizens (says the Herald) will regret to learn that Father Nivard, formerly stationed on the Thames goldfields, was, according to intelligence recently received in Auckland from China, in a dying condition, and could not live many clays longer. It will be remembered that he was a member of the Franciscan Order, and by direction of the General of the Order was transferred from the Thames, greatly to the regret and against the will of his Catholic flock, who desired to retain his services, to a station several hundred miles in the interior of China. Father Nivard was highly esteemed and respected by men of all creeds in this district. He was the model of a Christian minister, earnest, devoted, self-sacrificing, tolerant of the views of others, knowing that Truth, like the diamond, is many-sided, and has numerous facets. His death, if it has taken place, will be a loss not merely to Roman Catholicism, but to the Church Militant.

An Ohaupo live stock sale is advertised by Mr Buckl-ind, for Tuesday, Bth August. Mr John Knox announces an important sale of town allotments in Hamilton, on August sth. Mr John Knox, auctioneer, advertises an important sale of general ware, fowls, &.c, at his auction mart, on July 29th. Also, a sale on the same day, of fruit and other plants. Tenders are called for ballasting and permanent way on the Kawakawa railway. A sporting dog has been found at Cambridge. A reward is offered for a gold ear-ring, lost near Cambridge. Mr R. llathbone, of Ngaruawahia, advertises carrots for sale. Mr J. S. Buckland's horse sale will be held on Saturday, 12th August.