The Wikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1749, 20 September 1883, Page 2

The Wikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Kqu.il .mil c\ ict justuo to .ill men, 01 wli.itsoi-M'i st.Uo or persuasion, religious or political. Here sli ill the Press the People's ritfhf maintain, Un.iwTtl bj inilucnoc and tinbnbcd l>s' g.iint THURSDAY, SEPT. 20, 1883.

Tni:Governments of the Australasian colonies are evidently in earnest about the Annexation question. The stand they have taken up, if coldly ■witnessed by the Imperial Government, is emphatically approved by a large and influential section of the English Press. Lord Derby's it ply to the Agents-General is almost universally condemned. But if the colonies can agree upon some common course of action, and are determined to carry their point, they will succeed in spite of all that the Secretary for the Colonies can do. Whether the anexation of New Guinea and the Pacific Islands is a matter of urgency or no may, we think, upon general grounds, be open to question. It is quite certain that in the event of war — and war is by no means a remoco contingency — the Imperial authorities and the colonists would find their hands full in protecting what Britain already possesses in the South Seas. Any accession of territory in such circumstance would involve additional responsibilities and burdens, without affording adequate benefits in return. The annexation of the Pacific Islands, if it be carried out in spite of the protests of interested foreign powers, would have to be followed up by effective measures for their defence. If the colonies are prepared to do this, well and »ood ; if they are not, it were better they should defer the work of annexation. No one can doubt the purity of the motive actuating the advocates of annexation. Their aim is to consolidate into one vast foderation the whole of the South Pacific islands, and the realisation of their dream would be an unspeakable good. Under wise, beneficent laws, such as the groat Anglo-Saxon race has fashioned, and is daily fashioning for itsolf, the condition of those bright sunlit isles of the South Sous, which our forefathers were wont to regard (with what little warrant we know) as the^abode of happiness, will melee// be true " isles of the blest." Meantime, have wo not got enough to occupy our attention nearer home? The people of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and Now Zealand, have plenty, to do; without going out of doors, i,Noc'4"si

of the Pacific islands running away, or bein/ gobbled up by anybody else. Neither France nor Germany can steal them unknown to us. Britain is bound to have a voice- in the matter, should the subject of their disposal ever crop up. Further than this, it is beyond ;ill question that the Australasian colonies arc not in a posi'ion to colonise these islands, and it is almost as certain tliat as a field for emigration they would not be rated very high in any country. While the broad lands of America, while Australia and New Zealand themselves, can hold out substantial inducements to immigrants, none but the real lovers of adventure will care to brave the manifold dangers and diltioultios'of settlement in countries wlioro the natives and the climate aro alike hostile to the Europeans. That eventually those islands will form an integral part of the groat Australian nation, we unhesitatingly believe. Whatever phases of existence they may pass through before that timo arrives that is the goal at which they will certainly arrive. Whether it is wise to "force this issuo timo alone can determine.

The Roman Catholics of Cambridge contemplate giving another concert at an early date in aid of the building fund of their church.

A grand concert will shortly be given by the Wesleyans of Cambridge in aid of their new church, which is at present in course of erection.

The latest addition to the trades and ptofessions of Cambridge is that of a chimney sweep. The natives look at this knight of the broom with a somewhat inquisitive leer, and think Ills brush a soit of magic wand. They are very eager to know the object of his mibsion.

No settlement has as yet been arrived at in the Pukekura and Puahoe native diiliculty, in which Mr E. B. Walker and party are concerned. Mr MauDonald is, we learn, coming up fiom the .South in order to ariauge matters, if possible, with Mr Walker.

A most wanton piece of mischief was perpetrated by some of the larrikins of Hamilton on Sunday ni»ht. The feed pipe of the watering trough at the east end of the traffic bridge was twisted until it biokc, and was thus made useless. It is a gieat pity that the offenders in this instance cannot be caught and punished as they deserve to be.

The Native Lands Court is arlanged to re-open at Cambridge on the 2nd prox., that being the date fixed upon when the adjournment was made in June last. No information has up to the present been received to the contrary, so we presume the couit ill at as lixed. It is not expected that the sitting will be either a long or an important one, but it is generally thought that an^ early adjournment will be made to Kihiluhi.

The Tauranga correspondent of the New Zealand. HewiM wires on Tuesf y a | : — Advices received from Mr 3. Y. •Stewait by the English mail state that the 1 ail way company from here to Rotorua is ' being floated must successfully, and there "is no doubt of the project being accomplished. Letters from Mrßodell .also state that the construction of the railway is a certainty, and that the s.s. Northumberland, 2000 tons, leaves direct for Tauranga this month, and will be followed by a sailing vessel of GOO tons bringing navies, linmigiauts, and material foi the railway.

The end of November is fixed for the holding of the Federal Convention. The icpresentatives ot the whole of the colonies will meet at .Sydney and discuss questions bcanng dnectly on federation —annexation of New Guinea and other Pacific Islands. The number of delegates is not yet ti\cd. Victoua, New ■South Wales, and Queensland are favourable to bending four each ; whilst New Zealand, Tasmania, and South Australia aic disposed to limit the number to two. Fiji lias been invited to join the convention. Western Australia will send one delegate.

The following items of European news, under date, London, September ISth, are contained in specials to the Press Association :— The lecent act cancelling seventy-live millions of the National Debt, exchanging it for annuties, is being put in force.— The Special Resilient Magistracy in Ireland is being abolished. —The French operations in Tonquin have been suspended awaiting reinforcements.— The awards for the Amsterdam Exhibition have been proclaimed. They include diplomas of honour to the King of Hollond and the Prince of Wales in the extra class, an award to Sir Saul Samuel, and ordinary diplomas to the Governments of New South Wales and Western Australia.— I Egypt is nearly free from cholera,— Frozen mutton, ex Cuzco, has realised s\d per lb., and New Zealand mutton by the Opawa from the Bluff GUI.

The second part of the annual festivities of Cambridge AVcst -chool was cclcbiatecl on Friday evening last, and took the shape of a children's tea party. A few weeks ago the teacher intimated that he would be glad of the assistance of the children's parents in providing luxmies for the evening's entertainment, and almost all responded most liberally. Including a few adults, about one hundred sat down in three sittings, commencing with the little ones at half past four. At six o'clock the room was cleared, and the young people amused themselves with all kinds of Rames, some in the room, and some outside in the moonlight. During the evening Mr Hyatt amused and puzzled many of those present with some sham mesmerism. Although many tried, no one could discover how it was done. Shortly after nine o'clock Mr Hyatt called the children together to sing "God Save the Queen," and after some hearty cheering for the teachers, and also for the ladies who provided the tea, the party dispersed, all having thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

The usual weekly meeting of the Cambridge Mutual Improvement Association was held at the Court-house on Tuesday evening last. The attendance was not unusually large, and the chair was occupied by Mr J. P. Campbell. Mr J. H. Wilson delivered an essay on "Macbeth," reviewing the principal characters of that tragedy in a very masterly manner. The essay, which was one of the best yet brought before the association, was favourably criticised by the members, and the essayist warmly complimented on his effort. The remaining 1 portion of the evening was taken up with "Impromptu Speaking" which was fairly successful. Before terminating the business, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded Mr M. It. Keesing for the very creditable manner in which he carried out the arrangements of the social entertainment of that day week j also to the various other gentleman who so kindly assisted by lending objects for exhibition. A hope was expressed that another entertainment of a like nature would be held at the close of the session.

" Old Footballer " writes to the Editor as follows : — I was very much surprised at learning on Saturday evening last that the accident which befell Mr Hardy while taking part ju thefopt'-' ball contest, Alexandra v. CJarnbridge, on Saturday last, was the premeditated "act, of the person who caused it. Though big play was generally, considered' somewhat rough by the onlookers, I am sure none of us ever contemplated * thj^ his Subject? was a malicious one.. I have, aihae'lneard! that the person 5 ' )vho"Hhrew'^r|Haw^ nas publicly; boaBted;6f, havirig^btie^so,') 3<a Tth^T^^l^M^fl^

the ground, though he was not successful in achieving the other and, I presume, main object—victory. I say, sir, if foothall 13 to be made a channel for giving vent to'personal malice, the sooner the game is 'discontinued in our midst the better. If what I have said is incorrect, and I have been misinformed, would the person to whom it refers be good enough to publicly contradict it?"

Mr Dodd. the South Australian fanner who recently purchased 700 acres of the Land Association's property at Tauwhare, has returned with 1 his family from Adelaide, and settled down upou his new farm. The land comprises some of the best in the district. Mr Dodd is one of a class we should be glad to Hfc more of in the colony. He is a thoroughly practical man, and cannot fail to influence for good those around him.

Says the " Denver Inter-Ocean " : —Matthew Wobb, Blondin, Sum Patch, Sergeant Bates, the Jeanette crow, Professor Donaldson and all the other foolhardy creatures w ho tempted fate, belong to a list which has grown alarmingly this century. The men who dare, with the hope of accomplishing good, are benefactors ; but the men who simply desire to show what fools men can be, deserve no pity in death. There is much difference between Christopher Columbus and the Jeanette mariners as there is between Bacon's philosophy and the fifteen puzzle.

By the s.s. Waihora, at the Bluff, we have European cablegrams up to the 9th inst. From these we learn that the latest intelligence from Annatn is that the 15,000 Chinese troops, who were recently reported as having crossed the frontier, are now advancing on Haiphong, one of the French garrisons in Annam.—The National, a political journal published in Paris, has expressed a hope that the French war vessels, the Brust and the D'Estrees, whfch sailed from Noumea recently for New Hebrides, will prevent Australia from annexing those islands.—An investigation has been made into the poisoning of a number of laboiuers who were working in a field in New Ross, County We\ford. It now appears probable that the poisoning was the result of an accident.—The Marquis of Hartington has expressed the opinion that France has not satisfactorily explained the action of Admiral Pierre in detaining the captain and officers of the war vessel Dryad at Tamatavo. Tie thinks a further and fuller explanation should be insisted upon, — The severe weather which has recently prevailed in England has destroyed onethird of the hop crops.—The Government of Russia has decided on a series of of reforms to be introduced into Ronmania. —General Hicks, leader of the forces who have for some time past been engaged in the campaign against El Mahdi, the false prophet of the Soudan, is now advancing his troops with a view to re-capturins El Obeo, the capital town of Kordufan, Central Africa.—The antiEuropean feeling which recently manifested itself amongst the Chinese residents in Canton is rapidly spreading to other towns in China. At Hong Kong the Chinese have assumed a menacing attitude towards the Europeans, and the situation is so alarming that a complete panic prevails in that town. Englishmen in Hong Kong are loud in their expression of indignation at the absence of a British squadron, as they consider the presence of war vessels essential to their protection.—The Times, refen ing to the action of France in relation to the New Hebrides, appeals to the Fiench Governto avoid a repetition of the outrages perpetrated by Admiral Pierre at Tama* tavo.

Lord Ronald Gower, in Ms " Reminiscences," has the following concerning an old acquaintance of New Zcalanders whom he met in Sydney :— " What paints Sir Arthur Gordon to the ground is a story told of him when he was Governor of New Bruusw ick, wheie he is said to have repiovcd the clergyman for not subsituting in the prayer for the Queen 'Thy servant Arthur !'for 'Thy servont Victoria !' .... I can hardly imagine anybody quite such a superior poison as Sir Aithur appears to think himself. ' Thy servant Arthur' shakes your hand as if it were truly trap d'/ioiiniiur, in a limp fashion, which, were it not so comical, would be almost insulting."

Mr Wilfred Powell, who has spent eight years of his life on the coast of New Guinea or the islands aiouii'l, believes (says the North ]}> Utsh Advertiser) that no island in the world is its equal for natural pi oducts. Among the pi oductions are tortoiseshell pearlslulll, ivory, nuts, gum, sandal wood, camphor tree, &ago, arrowroot, ginger, sugar-cane, cocoanuts, ebony, and birds of paradise plumes, while tobacco is grown in large quantities. As the island is opened up, minerals he says, will be no doubt be found in considerable quantities. Gold is know to exist, and he has seen fine specimens of copper, and black sand that contained tin, brought from New Guinea. Although the last t"> be developed, this island, he believes, will be found to be the most favoured of the beautiful islands of the Malay Archipelago.

The Paris correspondent of the Melbourne slrrfiis, says :—" Miss Booth though young, and,i said not at all ugly, does not allow of marriage. Marriage is a vanity, and her mission is to thunder out against vanities of every kind. She has taken refuge in France, with the bulk of her army, after her misadventure in Switzerland, and is now giving in Paris public lectures of a somewhat theatrical style, in which the Protestants are no better treated than the Catholics, and in which she professes a course of trancendental morality. She lives with her sister, " the Colonel," not; far from the heights of Belleville, on the third story of a house. The private soldiers of the army, the Salvationists— those, at least, who have sufficient fortune of their own, live as they please ; the others dwell together, and are supported by voluntary gifts and collections. Miss Booth is, indeed, one of the attractions of the moment, and for' a time has thrust Louise Michel into the shade."

Rumours, says an American paper, thicken and gather substance regarding coming trouble in British India between the resident English and the natives. The latter have lately been gt anted by the Home .Government several privileges of equality with Europeans, and other and more important matters tending in the same direction are now being considered by Parliament. In other words, the Home Government is at length tardily beginning to do justice to the natives by placing them on a, level with Europeans in their social and legal relations. But this does not suit the English local residents. They have already been accustomed to regard the natives as an inferior race, and consequently look with jealous indignation upon any scheme for their social advancement. The Home Government, however, appears to be firm in its resolution to carry out and extend the measures of reform which it has already commenced, claiming that its principle is that of impartial justice between Hindoo and ' Mahommedan, European and native, and declaring that no attack upon that principle can ever hope to win favour in Eugland. It will therefore be the fault of the "Anglo-Indian residents if trouble ensues, and upon them alone will' rest the' responsibility should their, selfish arrogance cause- an uprising of the,natlve population. LordRipon, the present Governor-General/ has, by his liberal recognition ( of the native' elejnept^ rendered .'himself, raa' popular y r itli i ,the;native,races',aB he.isun'■pbnui&r wifchj the majority .qf the English ' residents ; but beiqg heartily sustained, by^th^ HomejGoyernoientj <. be^is ,„ strong"

TKS 1 Paris Figaro's %balaiicpsSee,t; jirosrierity;-

from advertising. The expenses were only £136.040. Among the expenses are : —Composition, £6451; printing and paper, £61,200 ; ""- editorial salaries, £21,^00. Out of the profits the managers and others received £68,200, leaving about £33,6000, of which one half was paid iti a special dividend to the shareholders at the rate of £1 Is 9d per share. The capital of this paper is largely contributed by laundresses and servant girls, and they have grounds to feel proud of the paper which they have helped to create.

A Young Men's Christian Association of England (says the New York Tribiuie) has sent an accredited agent to America on a novel mission. His object is to arrange with reputable farmers in the United States, especially in the West, for the placing with them of youths from 16 to 18 yeais of age to be thoroughly instructed in practical farming. The young men are to be selected by the Association from among those who are not fitted for business, or have no cliance to enter business, and who have no other opening in life. There arc, in fact, large numbers of youths in England who, after serving an apprenticeship to a merchant, find that there is no woik for them to do. The Association intends to send as many such young men as possible to this country. They will only be sent to farmers who are well established, and who will be in a measure responsible for those entrusted to their care. It is believed that there are many such farmers who would he glad to have the services of respectable lads at a nominal figure. It is also proposed to provide homes in this country tor girls, as domestics, who are unwilling to take such positions in their own country, and many of whom rapidly go to ruin.

' "Civis" in the "Otago Witness" this discourses on the conduct of the students on the occasion of the presentation of diplomas to the new graduates :— ''The proceedings at the University on Thursday evening were of the usual lively character. Considering the small number of students attending the Otago University they contrive to produce a large volume of noise and to bieak a deal of furniture. Of course many will be of opinion that all this is as it should be : and the vice-chancellor, if asked to account for the fact that no assembly of unwashed roughs in Dunedin, or anywhere else, could behave themselves worse than those youths who had just risen, saturated with the study of the humanities, from the "feet of competent men," would probably answer that " boys would be boys," ami 'that he did the same himself when he was a lad. I confess to a gieat deal of sympathy with this way of looking at it; and I don't mind owning to having had my share in one or two noises in my "sallet" days. Most University students are at that particular age when animal spirits are at \eiy high pressure. Just emancipated from the disabilities of boyhood they have not yet acquired the sobriety or self-restraint of men. Feeling the rein loose upon their necks they kick up their heel 3 with the boisterous playfulness of young; colts. It is very natural that on the joyful occasion of a capping, when there floats in the air a sense of tasks done and honouis gained, these younp lads should express their congratulations in the forcible way chaiwcteiistie of the age when physical force is redundant and the sense of dignity nil. Nobody expects or desiies that they should bo prigs and sit as solemn as judges. The traditions of all old Universities sanction a good deal of boistcious conduct on such occasions as that on Thursday. But there is a line over which even students ought not pass, and it can hardly be denied that the students ot the Otago University went far past this line on Thursday evening. If the present mere h.uulful of students make themselves, so outrageously offensive and disagieeable, that ladies must think twice before they venture to the present at the capping ceremony, wlnt, it may be asked, will be the state of things when the attendance swells to fair dimensions). As a remedy for such disorderliness I would suggest that the students should not have a pait of the hall specially set apait for them, but should be inivod up with the general audience, each student sandwiched say, between two ladies Possible the ladies might object, but the students would like it, and boas demure as a maiden. This would of course be only a temporary arrangement. As soon as there aie girl students enough, seperate seats might be resumed—care being taken to alternate the sexes."