THURSDAY, DEC. 7, 1882.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1627, 7 December 1882, Page 2

THURSDA Y, DEC. 7, 1882.

♦- To the keen observer, who makes it his business to watch and interest himself in the proceedings of the Natives Lands Court at present sitting at Cambridge, and who is conversant with the disposition of the various native landowners, together with the tribes to which they belong, and the relations they bear to the head of Maoridom, it is evident, from the circumstances transpiring daily, that the real close of the "King Question," viz., the survey and adjudication of the country along the west bank of the Waikato river, is near at hand. Many of the natives, of very high standing, and whose word is law among their own particular tribe or Artjm, who stood up at Tawhiao's big meeting at Whatiwhatihoe in May list as champions of the " king " cause, calling upon all present to cease selling or leasing ; to keep out roads and railways,; to eject the surveyor, and ignore the land speculator, may now be seen in friendly intercourse with the latter, and hanging about the doorway of the Lands Court. The moment the Court gets a case in the country above mentioned before it, all further occasion for negotiations for the opening of the King Country may be brought to a close ; for the Lands Court and the almighty, dollar are in themsclv«s the neverf ailing negotiators for the opening of native territory. ' '

Another step in Mr Bryce's progressive native policy is about to be taken in the occupation of the Government land at Kawhia ancl the opening of that fine harbour as a port of refuge. The Crown owns .some 40 acres of land on the south | shore of the harbour, , formerly in the occupation of the late Mr Charlton, abandoned during the war, and purchased by the Government from the executors. It is now proposed to lay off this land as a < township, to establish there a pilot and Custom-house officer^ and to buoy the channels of the harbour^ so as to make it safe for coasting vessels desirous of availing themselves of its friendly shelter. .The move efficiently to • these objects, Mr Bryce intends to visit the place himself in one of the Government steamers at a,n iea.rly date. It is also fetated.that, followingupon the opening of Kawhia, the Government will throw open for settlement a block of some 50,00,0 acres of Crown land in. the Mokau district* There is little room for doubting .that the contemplated action 'of 'the Government will tend' to increase the trade of the colony, 1 because' although 'the country lying around the shores of Kawhia, is unsuijte.d to the purposes of agriculture,! a najaye trade is certain to spring up. Flax of a superior quality is, we have it on the authority of our Raglan correspondent, abundant, IjacentUiille in time t to copij&.wlL \fy 'mado'tb yielcMp the' rich*' I mineral! deposits ;vhicl),it4s only' reasonable 5 . to ■ assumbf ' 'fegjrjj.ppas^v v&ffi^l froni the .commercial, ftspecVjtf^; cas'd is|W^yemtfie /moral^Mcfe/M

JBryce evidently does not intend to carry the outworkaitof the native position at the poinjrof the bayonet, ping the mpn|3|tion||jot' ajfioo. ex* olusivene^wifllbe fgmndtf|ne^fnuchj will remove the necessity of appointing a successor to the Native Office.

Lvß<Ji|landed prqjpriet<J>rl in the treeless? 'portions of this PtaviAfce cot v ild noVdeVote* their energies to a better purpose than the planting of large areas with forest trees. Everybody knows to what; ail je(ij/rjnous{o^ljc}s&|e valnejof la^djin thje ( Old Country has been increased by treeplanting., Jmme.Kse Jractsj^eviis co^t.v^ try h.ive bean transformed into mines of •wealth by this process. ', lii Scotland and Wales particularly has this been the "case." "Offf landownerS'lie're should 'take"" example by the nobleman referred to below. According to Land, the Duke of Athole is one of the most extensive treeplanters in the^vorld. at;e already vast woods anil plaritotiouiftn Athole and Dunkeld, artd as, of course, 1 fchey exist for use as well as ornament, large numbers of trees hkvc to be planted aiuuially to maintain the woods. Indeed, every year the Duke plants from 600,000 to a million trees. During this season a plantation covering 2000 acres has been completed. It may, be remembered that the Duke of Atholc's plantations were of 80,000 trees by the gale which destroyed the Tay Bridge. When the Planter 'Duke began operations on a large scale in 1774, the Dunkeld hills were almost bare. During his life the Duke, who may be described as a true benefactor, planted 27,000,000 trees, covering 13,000 acres.

A case of typhoid fever is reported to exist in Hamilton West. The transit of Venus across the sun's surface take place this inornin;,', concluding about seven o'clock. The cricket match between Chri&tuhlU-ch and Auckland ay.is wm-> eluded on Tuesday, and resulted in a victory for the former by 27 rnn&. "We are sorry to hear that Capt. McPherson lias been so indisposed dining tlio lust few days as to pi event his attending to his usual duties. He is. suffering from an attack of sciatica. The cause of the railway collision near Melbourne is said to bu a mispi hit in the time-table. Over, one-hun-dred person were more or less injured. 1 It is understood that Mr J. E. Rechiiond, M.i 1 . for New lioss, Ireland, and one of the leaders of the Irish National League, is about to visit Australia to raise funds for the League. We are pleased to learn that Mr Gaudin's little daughter, who met with' so serious on accident on Saturday last, is progressing rapidly towards recovery. She is now considered to be quite out of danger. '

The inquest on the body of the unfortunate woman Crowley, who was murdered by her husband at Turanga, near Howick, on Sunday morning last, whs held on Tuesday. After hearing the evidence the jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against the husband, James

Crowley. The Rev. G. H. Somerset "Walpole, M.A., who arrived in Auckland on Tuuv day, by the mail steamer Australia, was formally inducted the same uvening to the incuinbcncy of S. Mary's Parnell. by His Lordship the JJi&hop. Sixteen members of the Te Awamutu Troop, W.C.V., passed through Haniilton on Tuesday, m matt to Waiuku, to compete in the rifle match with the Waiuku Cavalry Volunteers. The con-

tost took place yesterday. The following are the individual scores of those members of the Cambridge Cavalry Troop who competed for the district piizcs on Monday :— Trooper A. Forrest, 02, Sergt.-Major Fisher, (V2, Corporal Ferguson, 39, Sergt. Howie, ,->7, Trooper Garland, 50, Trooper Rhodes, 41.

Mr Geo. Lovegrove, of Hamilton, the claimant of the Derwentwater Estates, proceeds to ' Auckland to-day, en loutc for England, to prosecute his claim. By the last mail Mr Lovegrove received very satisfactory intelligence, and he anticipates that lio will expeitenco little dilßcnlty in obtaining Ins rights. We join with his friends here in wishing him success. At the ceremony of laying the foundation of a church at Hautapu tomorrow, the following hymns will l>e sung • — 215, 39-t, and 383, A. and M. A collection will be made towards the building fund. The Bishop who will arrive from Auckland to-morrow, is advertised to prcacli on Sunday next at Cam-

bridge and Ohaupo. The foundation block of the Tamahere Church will be laid by Bishop Cowie at ."(.p.m. to-morrow. The soiree takes j»l,ice in the Hautapu school-house at 6.30. Tea will be provided by th«i ladies of the district, and will be followed by a concert. The price, of the tickets has been fixed at one shilling. -

The question of starting dairy factoiiesin the Blueskin and Edendale districts Otago, is claiming considerable attention. Fanners have held meetings for the purpose of forming companies, and in the Litter district a company has; been formed to purchase the factory" started by the New Zealand Land Company. It is stated • that cheese sent to Brislvme by this company realised 13d

The public of Hamilton have during the last day or two got it intotheir heads that the Government contemplate 'putting i down, a third cylinder in place of bracing the present structure of the Hamilton raihvay bridge, a provision that would enable 'to be arranged fqr ciiryymgsTsM§}<4s)Q v now or at; a, future date * .^ne^lt&afcibn ,has,:cert.iinly," a great deal to commend it/ r inasmuch a* the present traffic Bridge* jyill require renewing entirely before twenty years.

Judge Fenton's work of allocating land to returned rebels .under the Waikato Confiscated Land Act, is, 1 says the . Herald, progressing favourably, the only, difficulty which has cropped up, owing to the large number of applicants, being the scarcity of realty suitable places for Maori settlements. The bulk of the Waikatos have done well in seizing what was probably the last opportunity of getting back the lands of their ancestors for themselves.-, , "" , „ >

' A . meeting ,of the Hamilton Domain Board, was held last night, but, the only matter of importance brought forward Was a letter from the Lands De parting Jo.'Mr/J; B. Whyte, M.H.R., intimating that the sum.of £50 bad been granted by the Government .towards Ithe construction of Seddon's drain. The i chairman and,, secretary, (were authorised to arrange \#h,Mr. Seddon ,as to the payment ot the'balance;of 'tlte'expense/ 1 -Mr Von Sturmer gave notice of motion to >apf>bin't {a/cdmtnittee tyj; ftoilaidef What, atterationsVeretoeceWry iv 'the leasing' 'regulations for the v benefit of^the.l board's

i At the, meeting of the Puniu Domain Board at Te Awamutu on Saturday; last, only three tenders were received' for the lease of, the y '{tyto'Vi tbem>;ere W Kihikihi, 1 !and that,. ' of .Messrs Berry and Neill at4os P?c Wf #, Te Rahu

'The Forbes banquet at Dunedin onTffuos™y evening, &iyGl\jß!r^S*Jm&\& iyGl \jB!r^S*Jm&\ außnces 01 the Caledonian Society atnujded hy 60 or 70 Kgfcntleffran. | 8^ mß"*?^ jfflfeßßPt wei'^Riho--BBti. WffiKeyW ls, SSJessft Bathlita li.ippy speech, refening to the ninny gifted men of the Fovbos family for generations past. Mr Forbes, in reply, made ff liumoroUs /pec^h, pv\ilvh. \fa,s grc'atl/a(jplaudeilr r * v f I >/■ ' / Cimbritige niul the Lake Country have within the p,isfc few months hail their wiitits arltninistcrerl to in the nhape of half- way nccoinodation, in a manner '■vyhioli.niakesithp journey /easier aiijl jcitfely more' V'tetat "Sometime ago 1 Mr Raynes took the Waotu Hotel, and had it completely -r renovated, and furnished. The house has now fallen into tho, hands 5 of Mr Robt. Miller late o^f the ' National' Hotel, 'Cambridge; 'Who, like ins preileceasor.^makes. the convenience, of the travelling public a study, by keeping a well provided aiid comfortable establishment. Mr Miller shortly contemplates, the posting business, so that travellers to Waotu can have saddle horses on to the Lakes.

The arrangements which have been made during the present Lands Court for the accommodation of the natives attending it are miich superior to those of previous courts. They are all well housed and in a healthy situation ; whereas during previous courts, with the exception of tents there was barely any, house accommodation whatever. \Ve are glad to notice that intemperance amongst the natives does not exist to such an extent as heretofore, though the intelligent public of Cambridge are still treated to an occasional orgie. Public-house 1ml <ts are fast becoming obsolete, and (nints seem to be a tiling of the pasb. Scarcely an intertribal quarrel has occurred since, the opening of the Court, and the people appear , to have settled down to the fact, that angry altercations t outside the Court lead to nothing, and j that individual squabbles and misdemeanouis lead to the whareherehvre.

The ordinary fortnightly meeting I of the Hamilton Borough Council took place last night. Owing to' the lateness of the hour at which the meeting concluded, tliu report, which is a somewhat long ono, is held over. The principal business transacted may be summarised as follows :— ln the matter of the proposed drainage scheme, it was resolved to icfer the question to the ratepayers for their decision, in the manner provided by law. A recommendation by the Works Committee- to employ a number of evtra hands to repairthe streets was referred back to that body for fuller particulars ns to work proposed to be done, the cost, &c. It; was resolved to offer for sale the leases of a. number of borough endowments. The tender of Mr S. Pascoe being the only 'one, was Accepted for the valuation of property within theborough.

The usual monthly meeting of the Kirikiriroa Road Board was hclil in the Waikato County Council Chambers, Hamilton East, yesterday. There wore present :— Messrs Primrose' (chairman), T. S. Runciman, Lovell and Swarbrick. Mr T. Q. Sandes, engineer to the board, submitted tlie plans, &c., for the works to be constructed out of the loan under the Roads Construction Act, which wfro cuvfully inspected and approved by the board. The Engineer also laid on the table plans ami specifications for road-making, &c. , on portion of the unformed road between Hamilton and Taupiri, and the bo.ird resolved to invite tenders for the work forthwith. The engineer was, empowered to engage labour to open up the ontfsill to the la-goon at Tauphi. The following accounts were parsed for payment : — E. John-son, £9 ; Engineer (on account), -CIO; J. Davis, -eS 10s Od; Waikato Times, £1 7s ; P. Delaney. £3 18s ; G. Jackson, t'2 8s ; secretary, £G 5s ; Jos. Coombes (Ual.inee of payment for gravelling near Johnstone's Lake), £65 l(>s lOd. The boird resolved to hold their next meeting on Wednesday, the 20th inst., to receive tenders and pass accounts. This was all the business.

i The native Hori Huiatahi, who was' arrested on Thursday last at Cambridge for the theft of a watch valuodatU. 1 ) lOrifiom Mr Wm. McMillan, and who was remanded at the sitting of the R.M. Court on Friday last for eight days, was brought before Mr W. N. Searancke, J.L\~ves.teiday, and admitted to bail, in his own sniety, by depositing four times the value of the stolen property, viz: £23. It may be stated that after the arrest of the accused lie admitted to Constable Brennan having stolen the watch, and agreed to go with him and point out where he had hidden it. On going to the whare w.hei:c accused said he had left the watch it was discovered that some other native, finding the stolen property where it had been secreted, had re-stolen it. On hearing, however, that the police were looking out for the missing article the person who stole it last brought it back to the whare from whence he took it, atid hid it under the fern, at the .same time ; sending word to the police by a geutleI man who was said to have had a dream ! which told him that the watch was not in I the roof of the whare, but under the fern on the floor. The dream proved to be' I correct, as the watch was found by Constable Brennan in the place indicated.

A correspondent writes :— At t]ie I present time few public wocks> seem to 1 engross the attention of the public unless the design exhibits some engineering peculiarity. Nothing of a commonplace ! nature seems to attract favour iiow-a-days, but M-ho.tev.er the idea may, be, so lotig as ifc presents something bordering on" the ridiculous, in the 1 way of a physical impossibility, popularity is sure to be its reward. Sometimes these peon linr schemes excite favour by their | being .1 few pounds cheaper in construction than the natural and rational plans,; I and this no doubt to a great extent accounts for their adoption. In laying out the Cambridge-Hamilton road,; I have often wondmed at the object the sU>| voyor had in view by making such an angle at Fanthams corner*; There possibly may be an excuse for his making a light 'ahgle| but why" he should have made it an acute one" is 'more than any coniihon intellect'can coiriprehend; ; Probably he did 'not • see the gully ' until he got close alongside it. ,If 50,,, I can excuse him ;'thouglv generations to come may bless his menWy. The sad accident of last week, though the first which may ever have happened' here, may not' be the last, and I am surprised more accidents of a like nature have /not <■ had to be recorded in the past. " Never too late to mend " is a good old .maxim, and by the members, of that august body, the Cambridge Highway Board acting in, accordance with itj would -be proving to the travelling public that they possess some wisdom. Now that they have gone .in forjbqrrqwing< aijd r improving . their |roads; I hope'they* will not ■forget -to" imj prove upon the > part pf;tho road to which 1 1 have drawn attention, for by letting it etfisi units present state fcliey are •' gililfcy ! jof nothing more bi? less 1 than a neglect of !duty, T [ln the. ''good old days" sur- t .yeydrS, p.M so ' much ' per! angles [Out c« P (Meitf is right. The •road\bqard, ! Q}ight i tp. take^Btep8 y to, cut, off ;the daiigerqus cdrner.jref erred to^ — Ed.]

s An Eng^kpaper, says tfcat some ' figures wliidlrhave been puluislied showing the ;iucrase'Ujh^hef growth and, consumjition;o^coff§e) we^Mery •$ striking. iPive-and-twenty years ago the quantity of cwtfeeigVoV)! wiis^itfnia^d at ? 3SS,OOO toiis, jthe incw&se £^^'1878^0 1870 aloj^ ;nißnf4l>eem^eoia'2(^OO9't6nBi=vThe|r

l^llmg'tq^fltofair prices for goodwill of PS™ ucJifflP^Pußine«ses at present for dispol u?(pwy hen oja the above subject it may b&iiifetei'esting to notice that,, from J |it'|^ienwy return just Issnea* yin H}^ m^iH. 1 S a^ 0113 ot P 1 ' 00^ /spirits Mere Mstill^pn the United Kingdo^, $j>t Ayh^lo^pJ,Bos wor« from Engla^ $$,998,4875pm, 998, 487$pm Scotlaud, and 9,642^10 s froifej^|pm. Duty was paid iu^fhe same year, at the rate of 10s per # a M° n > to the amoiuit of L 14,855 712 10s lid, upon 2!) 771,420 gules, of proof British spiritsr aii?l *25. 730,719 T^allonsf weie loniunefl, ' 17,014,|)6'7| of Ahem £ boing /' despatched " in EagUiml? 5).G6'2{259 ia Scotland, and o, 12,3, 493 in IreLind.

The enormous power of cell Growth was strikingly illustrated a short time since in a grain elevator, at Buffalo, , N.JST. \ The ajjp"^ llodrliij* Uyas;pvet'j a foot thicjc, in two ' layers, the* first of which was seven inches thick; laid " hot 1 , r "Vollett do"wn, and" thoroughly cooled four years ago. Below was an old lloor of tar and gr.ivcl six inches thick. A curious bulge in the floor was first noticed, covering- about a square floor which was burst open, and a perfectly-formed mushroom, with a stem two inches through, and a very wide cap, made its appear.vice. Elsewhere the -floor is smooth ami unbroken. —Pubho Opinion.

The Chicago Time?, in an article on die notable men " on change '" in that city, says of one of them, John B. Lyon : — For years he ranked as the lavgest handler r of grain ,in the world. Two years a^b tie received find moved 35,000, 000 bushels of corn, I o n which he netted a profit of half a cent per bushel, or 175,000 dols. in all— a big roll, but sm.ill enough when th« risk is considered. This is to say this one merchaut passed through his hands about twice as much grain as New Zealand produced last year, and if only wheat is reckoned, a good deal more than all the , Australasian colonies produced. But his rate of profits ! - . .

An amusing story of how a member of Knox Church, Dunedin, who was opposed to tlic introduction of instrumental music was brought to sco the ci ior of bis ways, Ims reached the Witn -as. The individual lefencd to the ofcher Sunday Mas persuaded by a friend to accompany him on a visit .to a church provided with an organ, and the music he heard seemed to greatly attract his attention. ' Altai service was over, lie caught hold ot JiU friend by the arm, and pointing to the organ, anxiously inquired, "Is yon a, kibt o' whushles'?" On receiving a reply that the iu&trument was sometimes known by that name he said, " Kh, mon, but it's a gran' instrument, it plays such hca\ en ly music. I never saw ot he.it d one like it before. If there's no more hairm in a kist o' whusslcs than that, I'll go and vote for .'it at once." • i

A novel expedient for imparting tranquility to an agitated theatrical audience was (it is said by the "Kia") recently used by Mr.Jack ILirrris, the lessee a nil manager ot the Thalia Theatre,' ot San Antom.i, Texas, United .States. It would appear that one evening recently, the auditorium being crowded at the time, faoiuc. disturbance arose betweeu the acts of the piece is representation, and, tar from subsiding when the curtain was drawn up, increased in boiiterousness to such an extent that the actois, unable to make themselves heard, quitted the stnge, Upon tin's Mr Harris came on and ads auced to the footlights, holding in each hand a weapon ot the class known throughout the Union by the name of "navy revolver.'' As he stood their bowing and smiling, obviously animated by a desire to address the audience, a slight lull in the storm set in, of which he took advantage to appn.-e his "friend-* and patron^," with e\ymsitc suavity of ' mauner, that, if order werenot restored in 1 all paits of the house within two minutes, he should "just shoot around anyhow." Perfect peaeo, amounting in fact to ; breathless and tairor-stricken silence, having resulted from the gootl-imtnred 1 warning, Mr Harris giae«fully retired, 1 and the pei formancc was resumed without further delay.

A important experiment is about to bo earned out in London [liityuii't 'tn<j say&), namely, the establishment of works to' supply hydraulic power over a larce area, for tha working of cranes, lifts, and other machinery. The General Hydraulif! Power Company, Limited, which is being formed to, carry out this experiment, aa well as lo carry out similar undei takings in large towns, lias just obtained an Act of Parliament authoiiaing the supply of hydiaulio power in London over an area extending from Blnckfriars bridge to the Tower on the north side at the river, and to the Sun uy Docks on the South bide, the Company being empowcied to lay all< nccessaiy pipes, and to take, for a nominal term of payment, 1,000,000 gallons of water tUily from the Thames. The district tlms secured is certainly a most important one, containing as it does a great number of wharves and' wharohouses where hydraulic; pjwef con be weff tnrnei? Co account. , J,t is also proposed to employ t the hydraulic power to dih'e electric light machinery. Thn engineers to the company are Mr X \i. Ellington and Mi C. Woodall, the former of whom is associated with the Hull Hydraulic Pouoi Company, which has now been for boinc time working with very successful results. In the case of the London Company, it ia proposed at first to lay about 10 miles of' maun, and to erect hydraulic pumping engines of 500 hor&o po\yeiy provision being of course made for future extensions,, which we have every belief, will soon be required.

Notwithstandin? all tke moralising that has been indulged in about the izipccuniosifcy of the Duko of Hatmltoii, and the consequent sale of the art ti ensures of Hannltou Palnce, an English journal says it is as well that it should bo known that the ■DukoTof Hamilton is by" no means' in want of money, anil that his only object in selling the contents of Hamilton Palace is to realise unprofitable property,' and to invest the proceeds in j land. The noble, Duke is now in treaty for an estate in Lanarkshire,' for which he is to give something like £180,000. As a residence, Hamilton < Palace lias no longer become tolerable, much less attractive, in consequence of the growth ,of factpries and population about it ; but the Duke has two' other estates— namely, Broderick Castle, in 'tHe- island of Arran, and East Park, in Suffolk, which are amply supplied with costly and .beautiful pictures, statuary, and other works of art.

Concerning the False Prophet of the Soudau the Avym writes :— He is beinspgenerajlyiaccepted'as the Mahdy, the promised Redeemer, foretold 15y Moliatnmed. He threatens to conquer Egypt, ami afterwards to advance on Mecca, the sacred city of Islam, and fight the (Turks. 'Grave fear's are ce v x-/j pressed tiiat the" Egyptians composing J the expedition ,no\y, being organised ,by Baker Pasha would desert if, led against the.'Prophet.'jaiid that Khartoum, the principal cityof the Soudan,' .will be left undefefided. An, interesting /articio in> the September number pi Jilaqkwoofi on the " Coming of the Mainly " states that the expectation ia very widely, (Spread,/ among, the, Moslems. , According to tradition, the Prppliet predicted that a I 'deliverer should be born from,, his. descendants, and, iniany'., Moslems believe that I the present year (1300 of the era of the JHegira) is $16 , time. A pro phecy /concerning, pne ?/ of tho impostors who has assumed thia title is as .follows : -"'Onfoe'iifst month 'o"f 'Moharremi 'in| .the year|lSoo-(^ov.'- 12, f l882), will at)-* pearElM^dhi, or ' Messiah. He will be exactly^ 4o tyfifrs!' of &^o. and -of ndble '.'beaVihtf/^On^jiKiii will.be longer thah' HK6 l >btner^ !s H« T fathov's nawe >vtll iMoilam'mec^fana f'his ''niptherV 1 Fatitna,- ; wilfitfnidden foi^tiiHe-'pyeVioiis 1 in

thorn- by Alexander •Jb^e^Q^eat ; the loss of the Khali!?M§lhiMoili|ltwaHowed up by th^infidelif is oxpeotefii to follow j ami iu»he viciriit^jtjf Horns, 'or, accordins} tolSothei'sjj o^ Ale]W, the b^tile-^ißhe Mosl^rn^ Ariim<{edclon — is to bsJfou|at bptweeiHJhe t|i^ifiil and the fbitfeU j)qw r 4rs'|ra lidpfeiulonj. The I rajmlt olfylw baU|e|w'to be decided tlilfnippoafftiTfflgoFEl Mahdy, who will rally the dispersed Moslems, and ' put the infidels to flight.