COMMENTS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1750, 22 September 1883, Page 2

COMMENTS.

The N.Z. Gazette of the 13th hist, contains an Ordcr-in-Council, bringing the recreation reserve at Hamilton East, generally known as S\d bey Square, under the 1 pro; visions of the Public Domains Act, ,«lßBli' ; and verting ! th9 same in the -Hamilton Domain Board. 4?his ' grountl,M>y hioh vii

a kind of Ginx's Baby. It now has a legal guardian, which it liny he hoped will see that its ward is properly looked after. A short time ago Mr H. Steele obtained promises of -subscriptions, amounting in the aggregate to about £25, towards fencing nnd planting the square, and ho promptly brought the matter before • this Domain Board, That body having no jurisdiction over the reserve could afford no a-sistancc, but they at onoe adopted means to place themselves in n position to do so —with the result noted above. It now remains to be seen what measure of hi'lp the board is prepared to give in the work of enclosing and ornamenting the Square, and so rendering it. fit for the purpose it was originally intended to fulfil. The board is not paiticularly flush of money just now, but the expenditure required will not be large — quite within the limit of its means. Before long, then, we. trust to see a recreation ground worthy of the Dime, and worthy of the town, occupying the place of the open common now doing duty as a grazing ground for the stray cattle of Hamilton East.

We liave stumbled over a most delicious piece of flunkcyUm iv the columns of the New Zealand Times. Our Wellington contemporary need not ruffle up its spirit : no one would think of accusing him of snobbishness. The appetising morsel is contained in the advertisement of an entertainment to be civen at the Oddfellow's Hall, Lower Hutt, "under the patronage of Sir Wm. Fitzherbert. K.C. M.G., and the surrounding gentry ." And this is in a Democratic land where men oft kneel and pray that they may never be cursed with Feudalism and all its attendant evils ! Who aie the surrounding , gentry? The dictionary tells us that the word "gentry." means *' people of good birth and good breedina; the class of people between the nobility and the vulgar." Does Mr Yellowplush call the squatters the gentry, and if so, are they all people of '•birth and good breeding?" And if they are all this, who, may we humbly enquire, are the nobility, and who the "vulgar," betue<n whom those "people of bi'th and pood breeding" take their stand? Diila-s and marquises have not taken root in New Zealand yet ; wo have, alas, no n >bility • but so long as the Oddfellows of the tower Ffutt continue to patroni-c tins co'ony wo snail not be depiived of "the vulgar."

The Hamilton schools broke up for tho Michaelmas holiday-, yo-,teiday. Hcho-u duties will bo resumed on Monday week. !

The annual meeting of the shareholders of the Kihildhi Town Hall will bf> hold in the lull on Wednesday ne\t at 7

p.m. The Rev. H. R. Dawsbury will pi each in Trinity We»leyan Church, Hamilton, to-i)]orrow morning and evening. The Rev. J. Dukch will occupy his pulpit at Gamin ldgo.

Mr Pope, the Inspector of Native School*, ai rived in Hamilton by Tinned ly's. tiiiin, and immediately proceeded to Wsutotunn to inspect the native school at that

The Cambridge footballers have (Ijclhiod to accept the challenge of the Alexandra team to play a match at the Litter township to-day.

The long continuance of frost has seriously injured tho fruit blos«.om->, besides stopping the growth of the glass, and tho advent of lnciro genial woithor U an\iously looked for by tho farinorh.

The Hamilton branch of the New Zealand Evangelistic Association (Mr Akliiflgo's congregation) will colebivito their nr»t anniversary by a soiree on t)io evening of tho l->t" proximo. Mi- Goo. Biown, of Auckland, will Uj pieat'iit.

The usual weekly meeting of the Cambridge Sk.iting Rink was held in the Public Hall <n Wednesday evening last. Tlieiew.is not bo l.irjje .an .ittond.uico of iiiombei-s -vs might h ive been ox])jctcd. An enJDyable evening v/.u, hovo •er, s])ont by thot'O \\ ho attended.

Mr O'Connor, C.E. Public Works Department, and pj/ity, .we ;it pie^ont enga<jod in making u complete suney of the Auckland- Waik.itn rail\\aj',*jmcl carrying out certain alterations, including the bti.iijhtenm^of the tlangoioiis, ciuves bjt\\ eon rolcciv) mid Tuakau.

The "Lyttelton Timei' thinks that if the people of Samoa knew a little more c >:iceining our mode of li eating tho Miioi ir*, they would object t.> bjing .ui'ioxed t > New Zealand. Jhoiybody. it i-> u.iid, i. 5 i insane up >n h >me one subject, <uul we know i what Mitt of <i boo inhabit-) tho bonnet of | cvi Chi iitchurch contempoi.uy.

Mr J, S. Buckland's sale at Matairata on Tim i October LStb, pi iuiUo* to I c well at;eiubd. The machinery and cittlo t be dispo^d of bhould unsure much I c nnpetition, the class of niachinei y boinj nt pii a jut much in domand iv Waikato. Mr Firth will provide excellent accomodation for visitors a-nd their hoises on the occa-

won. Our Kawhia correspondent, writing on the 22nd inst., hays: — A petition ife now being circulated heie foi signatures, hiving for its object the establishment of a mail service, or rather a continuation of the mail her vice from Aotea to heie. _ After it lias been .signed by the residents it if to be s jnt to Mr Bryce for presentation to the Postmaster-General.

At Mr Buckland's sale of Mr Clemunt's horses, &c, at Tauwhare on Thurbdaya large muster of people appeared, and fair prices weie obtained for most of the lots. The drays brought £12 10s, £!1 10.--, £7 10s; waggon, £22 10s. Ploughs: Single furrow, £i l(h ; double furrow, £13, £l.i, £10, £18 ; di^.c harrow.s, £9. The ptices obtained for sixteen horses ranged from £12 to £29, the average being about £22 (*. The . harnenties bi ought about £1 12s per &et.

At a rscent meeting of the claimants to the Mangatautavi block, which was oiiu of the many cases set down for hem ing at the court which closed at Cambridge in June last, the question of the most Mutable and convenient place for heai ing the cn.se was discussed and decided. TLere are about ninety claimant-, to the block, and we learn that on the question being put to the vote at the meeting referred to, seven voted in favotir of the case being heard tit Kihikihi, and the remainder Toted in favour of Cambridge.

Dr Hadfiold, the Bishop of Wellington, has enjoined the clovgy of his diocedo not to solemnise any nuriiaya between a man and his deceased wife's hister, on the ground that it 1.1 " contimy to the law and custom of the Church." The Right Roy Bishop's injunction is not likely to have much effect. As the N.Z. Times remarks, if people wish to gut married to the bisters of their deceased wives they will simply keep clear of the Anglican Church, and get the ceremony performed elsewhere.

The drain pipes running down the bank of the Lake at Cambridge, and which were constructed for the purpose of draining the low lying flat about the English Church, though washed away some considerable time pa3t, have not as yet been repaired, nor, from Avhat we can gather, are they likely to be for some time to come. Here, ture enough, the Cambridge Town Board have scattered £100 of sterling money to the winds — we might more appiopriatoly say the water — without any visible benefit to the ratepayers.

Regarding the announcement embodied in the advertisement which appears in another column, to the effect that it is the intention of the Piako County Council to strike a rate of three-sevenths of a penny in the £ in the Aroha outlying district, under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act, wo have been requested to point out to those concerned that this rate is in lieu of that struck on the 18th April last ; the Government having been advised that the last mentioned rate was informal, having been struck previous to taking the poll of the ratepayers as required by the act. It will, therefore, be understood that the council is not levying a second rate,

At; the Timaru Police Court yesterday, "Captain" Reuben Smith of the Salvation Army was fined 10s and costs for Causing' an obstruction in the streets. The Captain; of the Skeleton Army was mulcted in a like amount.

At the R«iideqt Magistrate's Court,' Cambridge, yesterday, before -Mr Northcroft, R.M., James Stuart, «b%pgf4 with negjectirigrto provide*ff>r his four'cnildroo, ,waf/oraerecl % to 'contribute 30a per' week'towa^da' their,, Bitpp^oii!, \;ln t^ v ca*©,

suited with costs, having neglected to put tho rate book in evidence. A number of other civil cases were disposed of,

At the Hamilton Police Court on Thursday, before Mr Northoroft, R.M., Andrew Browning, charged on remand with being drunk and disorderly, .was fined 10rf and costs, and ordered to pay the cost of hii maintenance during tne time he was locked up.

The pupils of the Hamilton West school, assisted by the Hamilton String Band, will give a musical and literary entertainment at the Public Hall on Tuesday evening next. The programme, which is published in full in our advertisement columns, is an excellent one, and should be sufficient to provide a first-rate evening's entertainment.

The adjourned meeting of the promotuis of the Waikato Rowing Club, will be held at Gwynne's Hamilton Hotel on Monday evening, and, we trust, will be largely' attended. Final arrangements regarding thj purchase of boats, &c, must be mads on Holiday, and all those who have the interest of tho club at heart should strain a point to be present.

The Hamilton Domain Board calls for tond< sKs for fencing, clearing, ploughing, and sowing with grass, five acres of the dom tin 1-inds, bordering on the Lake. This work it is intended shall be done out of the money voted at the instance of the Rowing Club, and the spot selected for improvement is that where the club's boat shed is to ba erected.

The Wellington correspondent of the Auckland Herald telegraph-) on Thursday: — Mr R.illeston, Mr Olner, and Mr Bryce having arrived at Wellington, a Cabinet meeting was held to-day, which lasted beveral hours. A large amount of business was transacted, but no decision was arrived at on the principal subjects set down for consideration. Most of the time was spent in disposing of a mass of routine work, which had arisen out of the session or since Parliament prorogued. Nothing was settled as to the Loughurot case or with regard to the Sydney Annexation Conference. The Herald further states that the Hon. Mr Whitaker is expected to return to Auckland iv about a fortnight, with his family. By th.it time, the arrears of ordinary departmental business which have new ued during the seosion \v ill have been disposed of, and cho neco^sary arrangements made conseiuent upon rocent legislation.

Not a little surprise was created on Thursday, when it bjcame i uMicly known that Mi James Daley, storekeeper, Victoria-street, Hamilton, had sailed for Guam by the last 'Frisco mail boat, without bidding adieu either t) his family or hi-s creditor.-. Befoie leaving Auckland, he executed a power-of -attorney iti favour of a solicitor in Waikato, who, however, from what we can loam, does not intend to act upon it. In a letter to the .same gentleman, lie expresses a desire t > bj d^claied b.mkiupt, and this \vi>h will be Satined. Mr R. K. Davis arrived in dtiiilt jii, yesterday, and took charge of the premises on behalf of the creditor*. In our adverti lenient columns, Mr ]>avis leI quests that all claims against the e.-.tato bs j fonvaided to himiu detail without delay. I Daley'-s liabilities amount to about tIGOO, but the vahu of the assets has not yet been asceitained. Daley was formerly tollkeeper on the Hamilton bridgj, and only a few w eeks ago his clwelliu<?-hou:>e on the Hamilton Ent djmaiu lauds was burned down.