The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1811, 14 February 1884, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Kqt. >1 .uid c\,n t jusl ii o to .ill men, Ot \\i itsmwr state or pi-rsu ision, religious or polllK ,ll Mi'ic ~-\\ ill the Ti l"»s I lie l'eopk 's ntfli' mnint.nn, Uii.u\(dln liillium o mil unbribrrl by ij.un.

THURSDAY, FEB. l> h ISSJ+.

It is now pretty evident that 'iiwlirio, the titular King of the Maoris, intends to pay a visit to England. The; natives have subscribed freely and th« funds necessary for such a tiip are in hand. Tawhiao is to have about a dozen travelling companions, selected from the various tribes in the North Is'and, so that the expedition will bear a somewhat repi osentative character ; but why his staff should 1)0 so composed, -why it should be necessary to have so extensive a body guard, or why tho old chief considers it expedient to go to the mother country at all, are matters far beyond our comprehension. If tho journey is merely intended to bo a pleasure excursion, well and good. Te Wheoro and the other chiefs who may accompany the son of Te Wherowhero, will learn a yood many tilings useful to them before they return ; they will have opportunities of .studying the English character, as it is before it is subjected to the man fold influences of colonial life ; they may, if they so chi ose, study art, and give themselves up to the con temptation, of the wonderful specimens of architecture scattered over the tln*ee Kingdoms. They may thus enlarge their ideas and return with minds open to the reception of more liberal" ideas than any they have hitherto entertained. But if their object is to secure the interference of the Imperial Government in the native affairs of this colony, the embassy will find themselves egregiously mistaken. They may wait on Mr Ohesson, and that gentleman may introduce them to Ids colleagues, and under the kiud patronage of the Aborigines Protection Society they may posture as much as they like ; but the right of tho colonists to manage their own. affairs is too tangible to be meddled with. The sooner Tawhiao and his evil counsellors begin to appreciate this fact $c better, „ ,". ' „"\ ;//.

The fatal and serious occurrences which have taken place in the Cambridge rlistiict within the p.ist few days arc of an oxticuu'ly sad character, and aeivo to show but too clearly the necessity for the exeieise of c\oy possible cite when riding. It is needless to say that in this particulu 1 pastime, duty, or exercise, as the case may be, an amount of culpable recklessness is displayed by a large numbei of the horse riding public, who not only S"om to lly at a buak-neck pace along datk butnmch-frcqucntcdthorough-fares at the risk of being launched into otemiiy by the meiest tiiHe, but also to the danger of other equestrians and foot pabSfiigeis, of whose safety they never bponi to entertain the slightest fear or reg.ud. Almost at every turning, of an evening, incidents of thio kind are witnessed, and on this account there are many people who are reasonably afraid to be about after datk. It is a practice veiy characteiistie not only of youths and natives, but of many grown up men, from whom much mote might be expectep. We have frequently drawn attention to the practice so prevalent among native* when on a visit to a European township of indulging in \iolent gallops through the principal thoroughfares, indifteient to all possibility of accidents to the public. When natives come amongst us to enjoy the "blessings" of civilisation, they seem to have a regular progiamuie to go through, and they generally go through it with peculiar zest About' a dozen of them, say, enter a a town together on horseback, and, picking out the most verdant unenclosed spot to be found, tie up their weedy animals to feed. They then make diiect for the nearest public house, and invest their spaie capitil in what is familiarly termed "a detei mined chunk." Having succeeded in then* object, they entertain themselves and those aiound them with the most objectionable features of a duuiken orgic, the women give vent to their exubt'iant spirits in a series of repulsive exhibitions, the men abuse each other to the verge of assault, and the whole detnonstiation generally comes to an amicable tei initiation by an indulgence of both sex'o* in a. seiies of skilfully modulated how lings, which make the neighboiu hood ling. Such occui rences, we are fully aware, gi"e satisfaction to minds of acliss, but we think, for the sake of convnon humanity and decency, such should not be tolerated where they cm be pi evented. Ha\ ing thus enjoyed themselves, our native visitors are generally wont— if the condition of their untoitunatc steeds is not too wretched to peinvt of it — to ehaigo thiou»h the sticets on thcii way home, regatdless of the .safety of passcis by. This continuous bieach of municipal law by natives will have to be suppressed, and we think the police only lequiie to make a few oxamples to ensute a discontinuance of the piactice.

To-day is S. Valentine's Day. The Rev. Charles Garter, of Auckland, will pieach at the Cainbudge Baptist Tibemacle on Sunday )ie\t, inoimug and evening. The Harvest Thanksgiving Festival will he celobiated in S. Peter's Church, Hamilton, on Sunday, tho 24th inst. The incumbent will bo glad to leoeive contributions of fruit, gram, floweis, &c. The Bishop of the Diocese will pi each in the Ngaiuawahia Chuicli on next Sunday inoining, and will hold ;i confirmation in S. Peter's Church, Hamilton, at 7 o'clock the same evening. Te Kooti, it seems, has now gone to Kihikihi without giving the people of Hamilton the pleasme an exhibition of his foatines would have afforded. The pardoned outlaw must bo tumbled with a most 1 estloss disp l&ition. To-day we hear of his being at one side of the island, to-moirow the telogiaph intimates that he has crossed to the otliei. The new playground of the Camin ulge East school has now been completed, and is both convenient and spacious, and should accommodate a huge number of cluldien. The necessary information concerning the election of licensing committees for the distncts of Rangiaohia, Hamilton (counti y), Newc istle, Mangapiko, and i'ukekuia will be found adveitised m another pait of this issue. Notwithstanding that traffic over thecuhoit at Ci aw fold's Gully has been stopped, sonic person or persons have taken hoises acios>, and damaged the works. The engineer, instuicted bytlicTamahere Road 130,ud, offei aicw.udof 62 for the com iction of the oifendei or offenders. It is, remarks the Auckland Herald, .i somewhat curious fact that it wa,s the same mod sheep sold by Mr. S. T. Seddon, at the Hastings Ram Fair, for seven guineas each, which took the second pii/e at the Auckland Agnculturai Show last yeai, while the same bied sheep, which t jok fh-t piize there, weie sold .it the recent Ram Fair in Auckland for 40a each. An inauest was held at Oxford on Tuesday, into the ciiciun stances attending tho death of Patnck McManus, befoie Capt. C'oibctt, acLing coionei, and of which Mi RobeitKen was chosen foreman. Dr. Cushiu'y deposed that death had been occasioned by a fractuie of the neck, and the jury letmned a \eidict accordingly. The attendance at the Cambridge High School has now come down to an extremely low ebb, there being only four pupils attending. Only two pai cuts have as vet paid then fees, these representing the abo\ e four chikhen. We are infoimed that tho defaulting parents have kept their cmldieu fiom school as an emphatic protest against the action of the committee in removing the pies^nt head teacher. A Wellington telegram says :— With lefeience to the detention of New Zealand letters at London which are not specially addiessed, the following cable has boon lcccived from the Agent-General : " I ha\e auanged that the decision of Mr Fawcett, Postmastei -General, will not apply to New Zealand until you have fully consideiedthe matter. The public aie very angry at the detention. All letters for Austi alia were sent on Friday by way of Bundisi however marked." it is astonishing, says the Troy Times, what laige farms in the United Stites aic owned by titled Englishmen. Of individual owneia there aio Sir George Reed, 2,000,000 acres ; Earl of Dunmore, 100,000 acies ; Earl of Dunraven. GO. OOO acres ; ])uke of Sutherland. 400,000 ; the ne\t laigest fauns are owned by Phillips, Mai shall and Co., 1.300,000 acies ; heirs of Colonel Murphy, 4,100,000 acres ;H. T)iston, 12,000,000 acies ; Standard Oil Compay, 1,000,000 acies and scores of others. Nine men own a territory equal to that of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Rhode Island combined. Then there are great laihoad corporations, whose free gifts of land fiom profligate Congiess amount to 200,000,000 acies. Eleven of these corporations have been given 120,000,000 acres. Tho Nothem Pacific load has leceived the biggest slice, 47,000,000, and the grants have ranged all the way from 1,000,000 acres and upwiud. The following special messages to the Press Association dated London February 11th and 12th, have been published :— Mr Fawcett, PostmasterGeneral, has decided at present to detain the New Zealar.d mails, unlen specially addressed " via Bnndisi." until the departure of the San Francisco mails. This has been done in order to allow the Governments of New Zealand and Victoria to negotiate as to the rates of postage. Thousands of letters and papers were detained last Friday when the Brindisi mail left. — Miss Nellie Foitescue (Miss Tinney), the well-known actress of the Savoy Theatre, intends bi inging an action against Viscount Arthur William Garmoyle, second and eldest living son of Lord Cairns, for breach of promise of marriage. It is reported that the damages will be laid at £50,000.— Sir Henry Bartle Frere is in a very critical state erf health. — A wedding party, consisting of thirty persons, have been di owned on the river Theiss, in Hungary. A correspondent writes from, Kihikihi :--" In the election of school committees, if bachelors and others wchild leave the controll of school affairs to those most interested — viz.. the parents, .it would be conferingreal local solf-gpvermint. . The head-teacher qf fhis school is ' in real suinpathytic accord with those thfjt have no children, but there is a great want , of sum?' pathvtic accord between, teachers, parients and scholUrs. At the late election 75 per. flons recorded their votes,-, pi 'Wjo\c\i nup\ ber only 15 bad 6hildrei^'.^n^c^l)Toll,| r H

child amongst the lot, were re-elected. Outside the district it is a matter of comment why those gentlemen take such an appuaruutly keen intrest in the education of other people's children. But the real fact mipfht as well be known— viz, : that they have been elected by the none-producers to hide and screen the teacher of his faults, and so fourth."

Taxation in China is limited to salt and gi.un. Out of eveiy sli shell koo (equivalent to 200 bushels) of wheat or rice, other kinds of gram being cheaper, a revenue of one tael, or $1 25 Amoiicati money, is collected, while the tax on halt amounts to one per cent. Until China was embroiled in foreign wars and convulsed by domestic strife the taxes wete paid in kind, for which purpose great canals weie dug throughout the empire, all converging towards the capital, and called " Yuen Leon Ho," or "'The aqueduct that floats the Imperial food," while great granaries were to be found in every city and town for the reception of the bulky revenue. The wisdom of building these canals, in view of the wants of trade, is apparent. In the event of the crops failing, the Emperor's revenue also fails, and he receives nothing from the soil that fails to return a profit to the husbandman, the system being to tax the property owner upon the basis of his harvest, and not of the acreage he may have cultivated. This may account for the extraordinary encouiagement which the Emperor gives to agi iculture, not only by words but by o\ample, he taking the plough in Ins own hands .annually to show his subjects that farming is the first' heavenly duty of men, women and childien. With this idea he has the indolent farmer thrashed, and the industrious one rewarded. The callings of merchants and other professional are regarded by the wise men of the country as vile and dishonourable, because the piofits aiising f i om them are largely due to lying and cheating. — Br. Trade Journal.