Untitled

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1661, 27 February 1883, Page 2

> 1 *ij ) m 1". II » Visit of the Hon. Native Minister. Ix my last communication, I mentioned, that the Hon. to'dUte 'Miniitetf had ' been paying,* WS ty *•&* W°h f& l $T the principal locnLbQdjeB,in r ,j»ference to some of the feqWeWtFof the place. As oneof th«.re3hljt»oi Wa!,yf»itr^o (^sOft 1 erant for the Kaglau and 'KawMa road f a VieimW^lJatfely^expeHea'^^aori i labour, altogether exclusive of European l&howfi'to'tct be employ^ <upon-JK/ Thifc has given considerable dissatisfaction, , but when itjs takettjn'to consideration that (ftp rorijP^oro. Getnaj completed will haveTolj^taKeK Shrongh a large portion of native territory, such action SwUbYapfcrtMf tM£GoVdrnTneiftflMlhb« more readily, uqdewtood. .Beta* . Kawhia is reacheri4 l mileT v 'bf A Madri n ?ountry must be crossed. Some of it is very brbfcen, anffit will've^viire'ihe'iSxdfeiscrof no small amount of-jeugjneering skill to find a good line of road over it. Several large' bridges wilMmve-to^bejCOUstruetecl; *and the wliflle t .woi;k, ,<wiH incnr a great outlay of public money. It,w»a at one time i intended, ,to - conduct the road by way of the Makaka 'ahdjthe Wesleyan. Mission property at A,qtea, and by the establishment of' a ferry 'near the entrance of> Aotea ; harbour, Jhus reach JCawhia. This route would, however, have opened up little new country, and this circumstance influenced the Government inithe adoption of /the one. Thousands of acres of very fair lan^ will be render eft f accessibte 'by it,' atid* this, of course,, will prove a grea.t advantage. At present the Maoris 'offer' no I 'opposition t6 the 'WoVWj.'bn.tlie, contrary,' /, they- itold Mr Bryce that he was at liberty to deviate the foufrline&vh'irevfcl' tile bftst gradients were^-most^ likely to oe Site otTttttgtaph'Jliffe.frim Hamilton to t Raglan* sihelinformed^he deputation that he, / was strongV ,of opinion that it .would Jje found advisable to have" 'a' ttftegrapii' 1 constructed to Kawhia, and he would also promise them -that tlie question of having oneto Ragli&h would be carefully considered. «. i Meta "Karakai' and al'few,a 1 'few, influential Maori chiefs, made, application, ,tq have a Land Court held in Raglan, as they were desirous of, putting ; several large blocks of land through it, , Mr Bryce said, if such wwavs v the case he saw no reason ,why their request should not ,- be granted. # ' ,Mii Bryce, who was accompanied in his travels through the, district by Mr W. Duncan and Mr E.G. MoMnni, expressed himself very 'much' pleased with its appearance towards Aotea, and felt certain that a good future was before it. 1 „ , Rabbit Nuisance. , , The provisions of The Rabbit Nuisance Act, ISBU have j iist been put in-operation here. Nearly all the settlers who own land, as well as 1 absentee owners'of land, have been served with notices to kill all th'e'Tabbits on their' p'ropertie's.' I can write disinterestedly 'on' this' question, as there are no '' bunnies " ' on my land, and am of opinion that rabbits arc never likely to increase* to an injurious extent here, the district- being most unsuitable for their burrowing. Their, numbers have decreased considerably during the last few years, and still keep on doing so. The Hou. Mr Chamberlain has been sued by,, t thc , rabbit inspector for not |»k.ing steps to destroy those on 'his pfbpferty, and many moreniay expect similar treatment. ' It would, I think, have' ; been better if £he ( Acfc had, beeii framed so that the' Governor would have had' the power to discontinue the operation of it r in certain 1 districts. 1 £a'rdon of Te ( Ko6ti. A widespread feeling "of contentment in regard to the native policy of the present administration has been manifested by both tlie Maori, and European; population in this' district since the pardon pi ;Te Kooti by Mr Bryce. The Maoi is especially appear to consider it a graceful and politic act on tlie part of the Native Minister, and there can. be little doubt that it' will serve to still further increase the respect entertained towards him by the Maoris in Kawhia as well as here. Wetere's pardon is also very popular with them, as they are generally of opinion that he bore but a small part in the murder for which be is accused. The strictures placed upon Mr Bryce's action by the Lyttdton T'inwi> and some other papers is considered by those' well acquainted with Maori politics • and 'characters to have been both ill-timed and unjust, and is regarded i>y all classes with general disapproval. No $ative Minister has ever done so much* "to settle the' native question in this colony as Mr Bryce, and with' all his firmness and decision towards the Madris, they still accord to" him more respect than they have' ever previously given to anyone holding the aame position, ' t ' Miscellaneous. The Harbour , Board have been infqrmed by, the,' Marine Department that it is 'their intention to buoy the harbour at an early, ddfce. ' „^.', , „ The Raglan Jockey 'Club ( afe to' hold a race meeting on the Papihua course on the Jo'fch prox. .There will be several good money prizes tp run for. Owing to the dry season the potato crop in this district is a complete failure this year. ( Th'p diamond prospectors are now here, but I have not yet, heard anthing about a find. , Mr Wilson, of Okete, has one of the best, crops of apples I have ever seen. The Ruapuke School Committee voted for Messrs Goldie, Luke aud.Lawry to fill tlie vacant seats in the Board of Education. The Mata School Committee voted for Messrs Goldie, Luke and McKenzie. Rumour says that a Cheese and Bacon Factory is to be started somewhere in the district. t A new steam service between here and Ouehunga will soon be instituted, and is being patiently, waited for by the residents. A splendid iron buoy, in good condition, has come ashore at Takitahi, in Kawhia. It is supposed to have come ,frpm Port Waikato or Manukau; Five small whales were seen disporting themselves in Kawhia harbour lately. \ ,Mr Edgecumbe ,will complete the surveying, of the Kawhia .township in about a fortnight. — (Own Correspondent.) ,' i i , „ !