The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1773, 15 November 1883, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal .mtl evict justice to .ill men, Ot wlntsocver state or persuasion, religious or politic il. Hcic «.h.ill tin- Press the People's riffV maint.iin, Unawcd by influence .md unbribcd bj if.im.

Till! USD AY, NOV. IJ, 1883.

After a singularly backward infancy To Aroha has, nevertheless, attained to vigourous manhood. Very few fields have had to struggle against such difficulties as have beset Te Ai'oha from its opening up almost to the present. Waikato people, and Thames folk too, need not to tax their memories to recall the incidents attendant on the opening of our newest goldlield. More than three years have elapsed since, on one liot, scorching morning, the western slope of the great mountain swarmed with anxious mortals, •some animated with hope, and some buoyed up \\ith still stronger feelings. What followed upon this is a matter of local history. The bright prospects grew brighter for a time, money poured into the district, claims were taken up, coin panics formed, a battery erected, and business was as brisk as a community of bees in December. 81owly the glory faded aw, ly, a dark reality of failure succeeded to the golden prospects of success, and the Aroha almost passed out of mind. Hut even in the lowest stage of its depression, the goldfield was not without friends, who believed in its ultimate redemption. The discovery of the big reef at Waiorongoniai seived to keep alive the interest, and the darkest hour of the night having passed, the dawn broke at length. Two years ago a few parties of prospecting miners were scratching the surface of the reef to see if it were auriferous ; to-day large companies are sending down hundreds of tons of quartz, over a tramway that is a triumph of engineering skill, to a battery unexcelled in the completeness of its arrangements in the Australasian colonies. This great change has not been wrought without manifold efforts, nor without the expenditure of large sums of money from public and private sources ; it is attributable to a bold spirit of enterprise, and to judicious administration of finance, following a reasonable confidence in the wealth of the country operated upon. Two things were necessary before the immense mass of gold-bearing stone in the bosom of the mountain could be made to yield up its treasure — a tramway and a battery ; and neither could be constructed save at considerable cost. The Piako County Council, with a public spirit which does infinite credit to the members of that body, came forward and undertook to build the iron road ; and Messrs Firth and McCosh Clark, two men who had already done much to render themselves famous in. thfir own province, undertook to put up the

battery and construct the waterrace. These works are now a thing accomplished, and their operations have given the fullest satisfaction on all hands. "What is of much more consequence, perhaps, the returns of the crushing are satisfactory. The stuff which has been put into the hoppers of the Waiorongomai I attery has not been carefully pick< d out, but the whole, just as it. comes from the reef, has been sent clown to be treated. The result, if ib lias not created a furore, has at :my rate come up to all reasonable oxpt-ot tions. Considering the case with which most of the mines can be worked, and the facilities which are afForded for transporting the stone from the mine to the battery, a yield of from two to three ounces per ton is a splendid return. For, let it also be borne in mind, the deposit of quar.'z is of enormous proportions, sufficient to provide material for steady industry for years to come. And here it is well to say that the Aroha is not, and cannot become a " poor man's diggings " in the ordinary acceptation of that phrase. It is not a place where a man with mattock and shovel for his capital can hope to run up a " pi W Plenty of work, and that too at good wages, will be provided there for good men, and the town and district will also give scope for the employment of labour on t> large scale. But rapid fortune-making such as was witnessed in the early days of the Thames will not, we think, be experienced at the other side of the Thames Valley. Wo have said this much with a view to checking any feelings of excitement which may be engendered by the sudden impetus which has been given to the mining industry by the late crushing, but wo hardly think much warning i>\ necessary. Our past experience of mining has not been a very happy one, and although the prospects of To Aroha are essentially bright, no virulent type of the gold fever is likely to break out in our midst again.

Mr Samuel Vailk is of the stuff that makes true reformers. He has found out that the railway system of the colony is radically bad. This is only what many others have discovered before him, but Mr Vaile, unlike the rest, who can only rail at the existing state of things, has not himself to find out a remedy. He thinks he has succeeded, and he has induced quite a number of people to think as he does, and whether he is right or wrong, it is quite evident that the subject of railway management in Now Zcalvnd is bound to come under the review of Parliament before long. Mr Vaile never loses an opportunity of ventilating his views ; in season and out of season, he is always at hand to speak and write upon the shortcom ings of the system presently obtaining', and on the advantages of that which he himself has bpon at such evident pains to elaborate. At a meeting of the Auckland Institute on Monday evening, our indefatigable and irrepressible railway reformer came forward with a paper on railway management, which seems to have created somewhat of a stir amongst the members of that useful but retiring body. He proved pretty conclusively that the loss made on the railways — that is, the difference between receipts ?vnd interest — is increasing at an alarming rate, and claimed that the railways had not been productive of benefit to the public proportionate to outlay, because of the prohibitive charges and bad management. Mr Yaile's panacea is to be found in the abolition of mileage rates, and the details of his scheme are pretty well known. He argues that under his system a greater number of ppoplo would travel on the lines, facilities would be given to the circulation of labour, the growth of inland towns would be fostered, the acquisition of all social advantages through all parts of the country would be promoted. The results of these advantages would be the creation of easily accessible markets for labour, and the cheapening of produce to the consumer. On this subject a letter from the pen of Mr Newland, Ngaroto, with some interesting enclosures, is printed in another column. Without committing ourselves to an advocacy of Mr Vaile's proposals, we must frankly admit that there is much in them which commends itself to us. Mr Yaile has certainly proved that the present system is rotten, and that, in itself is no inconsiderable service to have rendered. Whether his scheme would, if put into operation, remedy all, or even the majority of the palpable evils under which we at present groan, is a question which cannot be decided off hand. We fear Mr Yaile over-estimates the increase in the number of the travelling public which would result from the adoption of his plan, not so much because people would not travel more if fares were cheapened, as that there is not, in our estimation, a sufficiently large population to work on. This is a point, howover, on which Mr Vaile speaks with decision, and it would be well to put his views to the test by a practical experiment. Some change must inevitably be made, and that, too, in the direction of affording greater facilities for the settlement of the country, and the advancement of our rural industries.

A very sad case of distress has come under our notice. A poor woman, whose husband is a thriftless, drunken vagabond, has been on the very verge of star vation, at our very doors— under our very eyes. The man who promised to love and honour her, has deserted her once or twice, and is now no one knows where. But at best he could be no help, so perhaps it matters little what has become of him. The poor woman is respectable and hard-working, but the care of a large family of small children, aggravated by delicate health, has worn her down, and so great was the poverty to which she was ultimately reduced, that she and her children had to sleep on the bare floor, with eackfj for coverlets vlwvi<

table people found her out at lust, and ministered to her wants, supplied her with food and clothes, and finally raised the means for sending her to Auckland, where she had obtained promise of employment. It is melancholy to think that such a picture could be drawn in this district ; to think that such abject poverty should exist in so young a community. We have exaggerated nothing, the whole circumstances of the case are ascertainable without difliculty. True, such misery as we have depicted was not allowed to exist long. Whatever we in this colony may lack, there is no dearth of kindhearted Christian souls ever ready to hear and answer a cry for distress ; but there ought to be some more efficient oiganisation fur tlie relief of human distress. We do not disparage individual effort, and we can easily conceive how much more grateful private charity, held out in a spirit of lovingkindness, must be to the poor and afflicted, than public relief, doled out by officers, who are either too busy or too callous to cultivate a spirit of compassion. 13ut private charity is after all uncertain, often sadly misdirected, nnd its exercise makes too much demand on those who are benevolently inclined. Let it, by all meaus, go hand in hand with a national system, performing offices which the latter is, by its nature, unfitted to undertake, but it should not, and indeed it cannot take its place.

To-day the hon. the Defence and Native Minister will come up from Auckland to Te Awamutu on public business. His progress with the natives over the line will be anxiously watched both near and far, mid it is to be hoped that he will succeed in doing something really definite with regard to the opening up of the country by roads and railways. The proper season for exploring the country is now coming on, and it is to be most sincerely hoped that another summer will not be allowed to pass by without gaining the desired iufoi motion ai to the best route southward for the main trunk line. ;

The total cost of the Cambridge Baptist Tabernacle recently erected was £097 2B2 B Bd.

A supplementary English mail will bo despntched by the s.s. Australia, which loaves Auckland on Monday next.

A correspondent writes that the Cambridge cricketers are confident of defeating Hamilton in the match on Saturday.

Quilp.the Waikato steeplechaser, will not hi able to run at tho Cambiidge races. A few days ago he was bitten on the leg by a pig, and now 1 tins lame.

The tenders for Rangiriri road woiks, which were leceivcd yesterday, will not bo opened until the annual meeting of the council, which takes place on Wednesday, the 28th inst. Tonckus foi Kiiikiihoa works are due to-moirow, and foi Cambridge works on Saturday.

The wife of Mr Dashwood, of Ng.iruaw.ihia, and formerly of Poll W.iikato, died somewhat suddenly on Tuesday evening. We nuclei .stand that an inquest will be held to-day.

At S. Stephen's Church, Tamahere, on Monday e\ cuing next, there will lx) a united practice of the Hamilton, Cambridge and TamaJieie Anglican choirs. Mr T. A. Bell will be present to conduct, and the music practised will be that selected for tlie Choral Fes'tivnl to beheld in Cambudge on S. Andrew's Day.

The man Tilby, alias Thompson, who is at present in custody for the stealing of Mr E. Farrell's watch on the Cambudge l.icecomse on Fiid.iy last, and who was brought bofoie the bench at Cambridge on Monday last, will be brought up at the same com t to-day, and disposed of. Accused is an old offender, and ha-, many peccadilloes of a like nature to hi& cjedit. A correspondent, " Gravel Rash," wiite* :—As I hear that theie is plenty of giavel flying around ju->t now, owing to the pending'mayoial election, might 1 bo allowed to suggest that the Hamilton Lawn Tennis Clubs gi ound is sadly in need of a coat of the coveted m.iteii.vl. Can it not he managed ''. Seveial of the membeis have votes, you know.

The Rev T. McKenzie Fraser, of Auckland, will deliver a lecture on " Di Chalmers" at the Public Hall, Hamilton, to-night, in aid of the Piesbvteiian Sund.iyschool Library Fund. 'T'ioni the wellknown oratoiical poweis of the rev. gentleman, a most pleasant evening 1 * entertainment may be looked for, and as theiewill be a good moon on hand, a laige attendance may be expected.

Another large fire occurred on Monday night in Auckland, when the business premises of Mr A. H. Nathan were gutted, and a very laigo amount of property destroyed. The magnificent supply of water, however, enabled the brigade to contend successfully with the fiond, and the liie was confined to the buildmgo in which it broke out. Insurances to the amount of £10,000 aie held on the stock, and are distiibuted over the various offices pietty evenly.

An inauiry into the circumstances Mil rounding the death of Albert Harry I'ilhs, who committed suicide by taking \ 21-digris and nitric acid at Orakau on Friday last, was held on Tuesday, before Mujor Jackson, J.T\, and a jury of 13, of whom Mr Hutchin^un was chosen foreman. The facts ">t the case have aheady appealed in these columns}, and nothing tending to throw additional light on the sad occurrence wa» elicited at the inquest. The juiy leturned a verdict to the effect that deceased had committed suicide while of unsound mind.

The professional gentleman giving the name of Tilby, and who is now m the lock-up at Cambridge, on remand, charged with watch stealing, has had another charge of a wn urns nature placed on the comt charge-sheet for liim to answer. When passing through Tamahere on the 3id i inst., he called at Camp's Hotel, and is there said to have mistaken another person's overcoat for hi.s own, and taken it away with him. He was the last seen about the hotel when the aiticle vyat missed, and it was traced to his possession at Cambridge. He will answer the charge at the H.M. Court, Cambridge, to-morrow.

The following "Specials" to the Press Association, dated London November 12th have appealed in the N.Z. Herald :—The Marquis Tseng states that France will requiio a force of upwards of 40,000 tioops to oveiconie the Chinese Annamese, and Tonquiuese foices combined.—At a public meeting, held in London, Major Feiguson stiongly urged Stateaided emigration to Australia.—ln America the .Republicans have carried Massachusetts.—Maishal Seirana has accepted the Spanish Embassy to Paris.

The ordinary monthly meeting of the Tamahere Koad Board, postponed from Friday last, was held yesterday at the Tamahere Hotel. Present: Captain Runciman (chairman), Messts Barugh, Wheeler and Rhodes. The business was of a routine character. Mr Ormeiod sent in his resignation as a member of the board, owing to want of time to attend to his duties. The engineer reported that Crawfords Gully culveit was under weigh, and laying the concrete would be started in a day or two. The usual batch of accounts were passed. A long discussion took place as to the desirableness of borrowing money under the Roads and Bridges Coustructum Act for the purpose of properly making the road from Crawfords Gully to railway station, and it was finally resolved to adjourn until Saturday evening for the purpose of thinking the matter over.

The Cambridge Road Board invites tenders for gravelling on the Fen Court road. The Mangapiko Road Board invites tenders for load works on the Alexandra- Tc kwamutu frontier and lower roads. All claims against the assigned estate^ of a. Pascoe. Hamilton, must be sent to Mr Thorne, trustee's solicitor, Auckland, by noon of the 27th inst. Mr J. S. Buckland will soil at the Ohaupo Yards on Tuesday, tbe 27th November inst., 350 head mixed store cattle, sheep, fat ewes and lambs, &c. On the same day he will sell on account oi Messrs Cochrane Rros. (who are giving up contract work), draught horses, waggon and light harness do., hacks, ploughs, drajs, harness, tec, Sec. Life in the Bush— Then and Now.— It is generally supposed that in tho bush we have to put up with many discomforts and privations in tbe shape of food. Formerly it was so, but now, thanks to T. B. Htix, who has himself dwelt in the bush, if food does consist chiefly of tinned meats his Colonial Sauce gives to them a most delectable flavour, making them as well of the plainest food most enjoyable, and iristead as hard biscuits and indigestible damper his Improved Colonial Baking Powokr makes -the very best bread, scones, cakes, and pastry far superior and more wholesome than ve^t or leaven, Sold by all storekeepers who\|afl ob«