The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1719, 12 July 1883, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Ot whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. Here shall the Press the People's righ» maintain, Unawed by influence and unbribed by jj.iin.

THURSDAY JULY 12, 18S3.

The conclusion come fco at the meeting held in the Hamilton Borough Council Chambers on Monday was that the discretionary power vested in the manager of the Auckland railways should be increased. It was seen on reflection that the real defects of the system are not to be attributed to any fault in the local management, but that they are inherent, and, so long as the present condition of things continues, ineradicable. An attempt has been made to work the whole of the railways of the colony upon a uniform plan, and nearly everybody admits that it has proved abortive. It has failed because the interests and circumstances of the various provincial districts are more or less dissimilar. It has long been patent that if the lines are to be made to pay interest on the cost of their construction they niust l#e conducted on commercial principles, that is to say, they must be run to sub the convenience of those who use them. That this object an be best achieved by the substitution of local for central management admits of little doubt. So long as the railway system remains in its present fragmentary state it is impossible that a central authority can satisfactorily carry out the details of management ; when the lines are Jinked together it may be different. Cases are constantly arising which, as they are by nature peculiar, demand exceptional treatment, and years of experience will be required before provision can be made in anticipation to meet contingencies of this kind. But while the grass is growing the steed will run the risic of starving. Until the central authority has acquired the requisite experience, the local managers should be placed in a position to take each difficulty as it arises, and deal with it in the manner which to them shall seem right, having regard to the separate interests involved. If the district managers presently in the employment of the Department are not capable of undertaking such responsible duties, then the sooner their places are tilled by competent men the better. Some years ago a Parliamentary Commission reported on the Auckland railway. After carefully weighing the evidence before them, and making full enquiry into everything connected, either intimately or remotely, with the subject of railway traffic, they reported strongly recommending the appointment of a local board of management. Mr Swanson was a member of that Commission, and so also, we believe, was Mr Eeader Wood, men not likely to form hasty and ill-grounded opinions, or to be led astray by the false inferences of others. However, nothing was done to give effect to the recommendations of the Commission. When Mr Johnston succeeded Sir ! John Hall as Minister for Public Works the advocates of the decentralisation of railway management gained heart. Mr Johnston was known to favour their views. But Mr Johnston the PostmasterGeneral, and Mr Johnston the Minis r ter for Public Works, differ in their opinions. The, expedience of a year or so has impressed the'latter with phe importance of keeping as much 'purer Sn.'h'i? <6"w;n handl as .'possible. This is \vhat, in other' words, he say's 1 in, the Statement -delivered in the House a few days, ago. There is, then, little, hope of,^effeptingsany change in the,,, rail wav . management,., this' , session^tßirt it^by no "< means i '<foUo,ws; i,wfq.t' } tti&' efforts'' of our J Parliamentary .reprgf sentative's sVould/tftfte account be, relaxed. l^ It is only (.by, , ihel 'persifr; t«<#iHbitibk.of.;theS aefecjbsW the; their,, rcntioyalj', o«nd{i'if'*i 1 3ffi^" i ' •yflyte succeeds' this yeari Wfair|iy j <.eJ^bsjin^'

Skttino aside ttqssBspmip^ttp\Y shall we manage our railways? ffynay*|pi'ofifc us •to re^ep^jfedti^tioh in the taria foK^aTgriciiltu raf^ prod.p^r.' There hrtve -Mm t ( Wo^r3^.iiotioHs||itt freight within ttfe^a^tyftttrjp^o.^ef.last having.beenimadef as' wena'vi'^sard, a short tiij|e > ag^fßef6t'^th^ttrstrbf these redilutions* the freight per ton from Auckland to Ngartiawahia was 13s Bd, to Hamilton, 14s 7d, to Ohoupo 15s 4d, ami to To Awamutu ifls JOd. ■ The second scale to which allusion*, has jjjeen made gives the amounts as , follows :—: — To Ngaruawahia 12s 6d, Hamilton 12i fld, Olmupo l.Ss 6d, and Te Awamutu 14s. The last reduction, as will have been seen by advertisement, gives the amounts, respectively, 9s 4d, 10s 3d, lls, and 11s 6d. The return freight change is in each, instance Is 8d more than the figures last quoted, and this sum represents the charge for delivery in Auckland ■at any point within a radius of one mile of the railway station. Thus consignor* are i protected against the imposition of carters j who might charge extortionate rates for delivery. Agricultural implements will be carried at the following rates per ton : — Auckland to Ngaruawahia 23s 9d, to Hamilton 24s 4d, Ohatipo 27s 4d, and Te Awamutu 29s 4d. These reductions will confer a boon on the settlers of tlm district, which they will not be slow to recognise. Regarding the local management, the numerous complaints which have reached us for some time past have led vi to make some enquiry into the cause. We find that in the great majority of cases the person aggrieved contents himself with growling at the Department in private or, it may be, writing to the newspapers, when a reference to head quarters would probably set matters right. In writing thus our obi jeet is not to justify the management, but to offer a plea tor fair play. Railway managers are about as fallible as ordinary mortals, but this circumstance only provides an additional reason why j they should receive justice. J

A meeting of those interested in the formation of a rowing club will be held at Gwynne's Hotel, Hamilton this evening. A large quantity of local matter, including a letter to the Editor nnd Mr W. L. C. Williams' paper on Arboriculture, is crowded out of this issue. At the R.M. Court, Hamilton, yesterday, only a few unimportant civil cases were disposed of. A debt ease, in which the parties were natives, was adjourned for the attendance of an assessor. A meeting of the trustees of the Hamilton Volunteer and Public Hall will be held at the Hamilton Auction Mart on Friday evening to elect a trustee vice Mr R. Gwynne, deceased, and for the transaction of other business. A poll of the ratepayers of the City of Auckland was taken on Tuesday to decide whether a new loan of £200,000 could be raised. The result was in favour of the proposal by a majority of 239. The members of Lodge Sons of Ulster, L.0.L., will hold their usual meeting at the Victoria Hall, Hamilton, tonight. After the meeting the members and visitors will sup tegether at Gwynne's Hotel. Messrs P. A. Whitaker and J. P. Campbell announce that they have entered into partnership as barristers and solicitors. The business will be carried on under the name of Whitaker and Campbell. The inauguration meeting in connection with the Gospel Temperance Mission and Blue .Ribbon Army will be held at the Public Hall, Hamilton West, on Monday night. Short addresses will be delivered, interspersed with singing. The public are cordially invited. Through an unaccountable error, the nomination of candidates for the the vacant seat in the Piako County Council, which took place at Taotaoroa on Saturday last, will have to be pone into a second time. The date of nomination is advertised in another part of this issue. Mr T. Gemmell, blacksmith, of Cambridge, intpiuls erecting new premises on his present site in Duke-street, Cambridge. The new building will be a somewhat extensive one, and will be in keeping with the present advancement of Cambridge. The annual meeting of the Hamilton Ladies' Benevolent Society was held yesterday in the Hamilton Public Hall. The annual report was duly adopted, and after discussing the advisablenes3 of continuing the institution it was decided to wind up the society, as owing to the provision made by the authorities in connection with the relieving officer's department cases of an urgent nature could now be dealt with, thus doing away in a great measure with the necessity for such a society. A full report will appear next issue. The " Timaru Herald" opines that the creation of a new portfolio for railways has been conceived with a view to getting Mr E. G. Wright into the Cabinet. Mr Wright was some time ago offered the Postmaster-Generalship, but indignantly declined it, as he had been led to expect the Public Works portfolio. It is supposed that the new office will suit him, while his accession will not interfere with Mr Johnston. The Herald considers Ministers [are making a false move. A person named Hugh Rea was a party to a small court action in Waikato some time ago. The constable of the court was a Milesian of marked accent, and iv the usual course of business was asked to call out the names of the parties to the action from the door of the legal sanctum. He did so, calling loudly "Hoo Rea, Hoo Rea, Hoo Rea," giving additional stress on each successive ejaculation. The crowd outside thinking that some popular criminal had got clear, and that the constable was giving vent to his pent up enthusiasm, joined him heartily, and shouted " hurrah " several times in addition. The usual monthly meeting of the the Cambridge School Committee was held on Monday evening last. Present Messrs Hosking, (Chairman), Houghton, Sargent, and the Rev. H. R. Dewsbury. The" committee's vote in the Education Board election to fill the vacancy caused by Mr Dargavllle's resignation, was recorded in favour of Mr Theo. Cooper. A letter was read from the Education Board notifying that a grant of £10 bad been made the committee to enable certain repairs to tlu? divisional fence between the boys' and girts' playground, same to be carried out under the provision of Mr Allwright, who is now rrisitincj Cambridge., The chairman, the Rev. H. Dewsbury, and Mr Sargent were appointed ft committee to confer >with M,r, fUwright^and^he meeting then terminated. The usual, monthly meeting, of the Cambridge Mutual Improvement As* sociation was held in the Cburf>hou»e on Tuesday, evening, la,sfc, when there wa» a fair attendance of members. The' president, Mr W. L. C. Williams,, occupied the, chair. Some preliminary" business was proceeded with, including the election ##d 'nomination' fi? new members." There are now; jiirenty-fouf ' actual'mainben on the roll, 'Mr'W^.X, .C. Williams read "i, " yery "' interesting ' pgpgp , , pn sense,' ;tne'paper contained , mucfi useful knowledge, and ' many hintau , would ( ,bB found,! very 'beneficial to of; an agricultural jjjujwjjiL , Th'e f jjaper waa t^eraHy^iCnticisjßcl.'J' we might' •ftl^vwy, iavoibably,^; Al iC onsider- c

was blessed, ai maim kind parents are blessed, with a diagnedient and unruly soih One^ nnfil jalj^y^ Jinother until all meansucjf p^ah'raWl)^efe at n]h end. TlWd(ffilng pajent, Mention liot spoiling |Sie,MhiTd JbyspCFng^Jhe rod^ with a pjroTOp|wess which (foes oredit to^ his originalit&lbethpjight himself tof tying his mischievous scion to a- gatf post oh the public thoroughfare, deeming that exposure and a public knowledge of his badness would serve the desired end. The happy device was carried out in real earnests and accordingly the unfortunate youth was tied up and padlocked to. a neighbouring post on the roadside, with a sign-board over his head bearinotithe inscription, "This is a bad boy ; don't speak to him." A philanthropic publican, of bell-metal notoriety, was the first to ride past, and discovering the unfilial urchin bound hand and foot, with his epitaph neatly engraved over his head, he alighted and queried him as to the cause of such a proceeding. He lost no time, as may be guessed, in fishing up the aggrieved parent, at whom he | poured forth a secies of indignant epi- | thets, and caused him without delay to sever the bonds of punishment and ' release the victim. j [ Referring* to the scheme of the Minister for Public Works for rating j lands benefited by railways about to be made, the Lyttelton Times says: — "The proposal can only be stigmatised as petty, insufficient, and tardy. If made at all, it ought to have been made years ago. Millions of acres of land have been benefited by the railways made since 1871 ; yet these are not to be taxed or touched ; they are to escape altogether, and the Minsterial proposals are to apply only to the areas affected by the railways now being made, or authorised to be made. A sop to Cerberus more unsatis- \ factory could hardly be imagined, A \ Ministry which declares a moderate land tax to be unjust, declares that it will charge a certain fraction of the lands of the colony with a tax of fifty per cent of the value given to them by the Public j Works policy. "Why, if this principle ' holds good for the whole, should lauds, which have risen from, say, five pounds an acre in value to fifteen pounds escape j altogether, while lands which may posaibly do the same are to pay fifty per j cent on the increase ? There are a hundred objections to Mr Johnston's proposal. This is only one of them, but this ought to condemn it." The Rotorua correspondent of the Bag of Plenty Times furnishes the following particulars of the meeting of the Great Council on the 29th ult. :— " The new Chairman elected is Percrika Ngahuruhuru, and the adviser or manager is R. Whititera 'I c Waiatura ; the members consist of fifteen in number, exclusive of the above two officers. It was decided that the Council should ' meet once a month as formerly. The principal subject of discussion was in regard to the transactions of lands in the district between the Government and the natives, and between private individuals — Messrs Stewart, Graham and Kelly arid the natives. It appears that the Government some years ago, leased certain blocks of land and paid the first deposit on them ; but since then no money whatever has been received by the natives as rent and they contend that, since the Government failed to fulfil their part of the agreement, the lease is null and void. The Government however, I believe, think otherwise, and hence their not removing the restriction, that they may, as it is whispered, be able to acquire the land themselves. These lands are those that the Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Co., are so anxious to procure, in order that the Railway may be constructed right through to here. It was ! therefore dscided that copies of all these j transactions be procured and submitted to a lawyer for opinion." The Proprietors of the Melbourne Age, in announcing that they have despatched Mr George Earnest Morrison to New Guinea for the purpose of exploring that island, add :— " Considering its proximity to Australia, and its great interest to men of science, it is extraordinary that no traveller has yet made any serious attempt to penetrate into the interior. Mr Wallace, the eminent naturalist, only visited the extreme northern portion of the island. Baron Macleay and Signor d'Albcrtis only landed for a few days at a time along certain points on the coast, but no one has yet carried his investigations inland. Th.it Mr Morrison possesses the stuff of which explorers are m uleisshown by his various pedestrian travels in Australia, his experiences on board a Queensland labour vessel, and his recent trip on foot from the Gulf of Carpentiria to Melbourne, Nor does Mr Morrison go to New Guineaaltogethor unprepared, as before leaving the nothcrn territory he paid a preliminary visit to that island with a view to the present undertaking, and has therefore a full knowledge of the difficulties to be encountered. Mr Morrison starts with n full complement of men, and with every requisite for such an enterprise. It will be Mr Morrisons endeavor to at once penetrate into the interior of New Guinea, and to traverse it from end to end before returning. Arrangements will be made by him, as far as practicable, to keep up communication with tho main land, in order thnt he may be able to send progress reports of his travels." A somewhat amusing scene was witnessed at tho junction of Viotoriastreet and Thorndon road, Cambridge, on Tuesday last, and one which afforded considerable entertainment to a few passersby. Since the washing away of the drainage pipes at the Lake, the town surfaceman, Mr Hamliu, acting under instructions from the board, had erected a temporary, dam on the road in order to divert the water in another direction so as to save the bank from getting washed away. But no sooner had the energetic surfacemen erected the dam and retired home for the night than some mysterious agency, supposed to be the omnipresent larrikin, undid his labour by removing the earth, thus diverting the water in a wrong direction. A second time the dam was erected, and tnany times afterwards, but each successive time ip was put up, immediately on the disappear' ance of the surfaceman from the scene of his labours, it was pulled down by the same mysterious agency. But the surfeceman determined to fathom the mystery, and accordingly concealed myself under the lee of a neighbouring cottage. In a few minutes the genius; of degtructiveness, armed with a shovel, hove in sight, and before many minutes bore down upon the dam for about the seventh time. ' The evil-doer turned out to bo an adjoining property bolder. A scene ensued. The shovels of both aggrieved and aggressor were brought into active play. One, shovelled one way, and the otheptjje other 'way.'. The exertions of the contending coupje' were stimulated with pious anathemas, sanguinary threats, and striking attitudes. Their efforts were next concentrated on covering each other with mud and wet sand, until the aggressor wai finally compelled to succumb, leaving the scene ejaculating many legal utterances and threats as he went. He has,' however, siuce received an intimation from the" board to tKe effect that £10 is the penalty for such misconduct^.

Professor Herbert, the illusionist, will' appear Jn tjje IJamiHon Piiliiic HalJ on' Tuesday lfercerjefr«*h'menbroorasi! .•< ; Tb© lißsttietlo jMins^plii request that' T.#Gem6ill^ f Cambrid"gej invites shop! '„'•;, ' jo ' o J,/ y^srs^;J.^nnter if tfndAjwHrtellf > -day, «fat Icows and litTO™^wjrf^t6re^cat|joj^*prjDginp' 1 itTO™^wjrf^t6re^cat|joj^*prjDginp' cows; !fat;