COMMENTS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1813, 19 February 1884, Page 2

COMMENTS.

Tnrßii will be plenty of excitement in Auoklaud, to day. The occasion is the election of licensing committees for the ensuing year. The foicesof the teetotalleis on'the one hand, and the Licensed Victualler on the other, have been uudeigoing incessant training for weeks, ,md the kittle promises to be a tough one. Of course the lattei w ill come off victoilous— -not because their cause is a righteous one, nor because their partisans arc better gencrallctl. They will win simply because the majority of the community do not take any particular inteicat in the questions at issue, and will, as people in the lump aie prone to do, vote for the candidates possessing the most agreeable manner — for the people that bother th-nii the loast. Unfortunately the teim teetotalism has somehow come to be resided as synonymous with biyotiy and intolerance, and the genuial inn of Enulish people ha\e a wholesome hatied of anything smacking of these qualities. The"" model ,ite" men, on the contiaiy, are not labid— if they do take then glass they have no wish in the world to tovue the liquor down the tluoatsof those whodiiler tioni them. Hence the eyes of the multitude aie blind to the real issues involved, legaului" only the accidental uirou instances of tlic hour. If the " refouneis" could act with les? vehemence, if they could promulgate their cieed with a less offensive display of bi«of-iy, witli not quite so palpable an assumption of self righteousness— if, in shoit, they could be hi ought to regard their opponents as being, alter all, men like themselves (though possibly not so pel feet), instead of hounding them down as though they wen- emmissavies of the devil, they might, we think, easily win over a much larger shoie of popular sympathy. We do not under-estimate the propoitions of the evil which these people have braced themselves up to fii»ht against ; nor do we pretend to say that itought to be handled with velvet "loves. The canker of intempeiance will not succumb to gentle breathings ; we know it must be cut out. But if we have to choose between a lancet and a woodman's axe, we should prefor the fo-mer instrument. The social jeformeis ba\e plenty of work to do in Auckland, and for the matter of that in all our large cities, but they ought, if they wisli to leap an eaily harvest, to be moie careful how they deal with so delicate a thing as public sympathy.

Lioevmn'o matters in Waikato are not attracting any very large amount of public attention. Some of the elections have passed, and more are approaching) but if we except Kihikihi, where the contest is appaiently only one moie of a series in which the strength of parties is to he tested, the inteiesb felt in the annual election of the committees m Waikato is precious little. Nor need we he snrpjised, or shocked, or alarmed. The fact of the matter is that in this district theic aie really no opposing parties. The public houses close at ten o'clock, theie is not very much drunkenness, and unless the hotels are closed up altogether— ■■which, of couise, is not likely— we do not see how any change could benefit the fiiends of temperance so far as the sale of liquor is concerned! ; and these good people have very wisely i ef rained from interfering with the present condition of things. They have set themselves a task; they desire and endeavour to win over the weak and the erring by moral suasion, and if they have not been as successful as they anticipated well it is to be deplored, that ia all. So far as Waikato is concerned, there is really nothing to fight about.

It is, perhaps, not to be wondered at, that among all the friends and foes of Mr John Bryce, there is not to be found one ready to excuse him for cutting off the pension of the old chief Rewi. From one end of the colony to the other public opinion, as reflected in the Press, condemns the act of the Native Minister as not only spiteful, but positively mischievous in its effect, inasmuch as it will tend to rob the Government of some of that prestige, which, thanks to the poliry of Mr Bryce himself, they have acquired in the estimation of the Maoris. We are firm believers in the wisdom of the general policy adopted by the present Minister tor Native Affairs, and we have loyally supported him ; but for this bns.in.ess of Rewi's we confess wo can find no palliation. When Mr Bryce comes to coneider the matter calmly and dispassionr ately, we believe he will be sorry for what he has done, though it is not at all probable that he will acknowledge his en or ; he has no weakness of that sort. Qn the other hand, it is not likely that Rewi, though he were as poor as a church mouse, would consent to take the annuity again.

Our cable messages inform us that General Gordon h*s arrived at Stanley, a station a hundred miles frojn Khartou n. The rebel* tre threatening Tokar, au4 it is expected an attack will be made on that town before the British can arrive. Tho rebels are said to be very active. Further intelligence from Sink* 1 ; irtatea that the rebels massacred 400 women and children besides the garrison,

Thirty tourists arrived in Cambridge from Rotorua on their way to Auckland on Friday evening last. A poll will be taken at the Kiliikihi Town Hall on Saturday, the 23rd inst., for the election of a licensing committee for the Kiliikihi town district. A road known as the WhitehallBridgewater road was closed by a meeting of ratepayers called for the purpose at Cambridge on Saturday last. A Native Lands Court is gazetted to open at Cambridge on the Ist March. The business set down for hearing is principally succession claims. The Carabridge-Tamahere, and Taotaoroa road boards have agreed to take united action in the matter of abolishing the small bhd nuisance on the basis already referred to in these columns. Mr J. H. Maraden exhibited his patent atmospheric gas generator, in the premises of Messrs Lewis and Simpson, Cambridge, on Saturday night last. The exhibition was witnessed by a large number of people, and affoi ded great satisfaction. We regret to learn that Mr Nichr.lls, telegraphist at Ngaruawahia, is still confined to his bed from the effects of his late accident, and will have to keep it for some weeks to come. Mr Nicholls still attends to his duties, with the aid of a cadet in the office. Messrs W. P. Chepmell, A. W. Gubbins, S. Seddon, F. Strange and G. Tuinbull have been elected a licensing committee fortheWaitoadistrict, unopposed. The tii st meeting will be held at Morrins\illoonthe 25th inst., and the quarterly meetings on the first Mondays in March, June, September and December at the same place. Mr Hunter's horse sale at Cambridge to-morrow promises to be well attended. There are in all eighty-four horses of all kinds and classes. The whole have been in the har.ds of natives for Rome time past, and were seized by the Sheriff of Auckland on the Pukekura and Puahoe Blocks a few days ago, under a writ of the Supreme Comt. The sale will commence at one o'clock sharp. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Hamilton Wesleyan Band of Hope was held in the schoolroom last night, Rev. J. Dukes in the chair. An intoiesting and instiuctivo progiaiume was very eieditably gone through, consisting of loadings, notations, song*, duets, and riddles by tlu> childien and by seveial fiicnds. There was a large attendance of pai cnte and f 1 lends. We have to acknowledge the receipt of "Graham's Guide to the Hot Lakes of New Zealand, Pink and White Tenace-1, Wanakoi Geysers, Huka Falls, and Waiwera Hot Springs. The brochme is compendious, and, so far as we are able to judge, lehable. It contains two useful map-i, and should prove of great service to those contemplating a visit to the places treated of. The team which will represent Hamilton against Ngaruawahia next Satm day will be chosen from the following :—Fui rest, Stevens, Yon Stunner, Seddon, Kirk, Barton, Gray, Bindon, Pedder, Hunt, Pilling, Napper, Allright, Puttie. Gentlemen who can play are requested tci send in their names to the lion, sec, W. Yon Stuimer, 8.N.Z., as soon as possible. Play will commence on Sydney Squ.ue at 11 sharp. The Right Rev. the Bishop of Auckland adniiimtoi ed the rite of confirmation to fouiteen young persons at S. Peter's Chuich, Hamilton, on Sunday. Theie was a very laige congregation, the church being crowded. The service was said by the incumbent, the liev. It. O'C. Biggs, and the Bishop delh ered an address beaiingonthe subject of confirmation and the necessity for leading prayerful lives. Dr Cowie left for Auckland yesterday. Tenders were opened at Cambiidge on Satin day List, for works on tho Cambridgc-TiHiranga, road, between Manga w hare and Tu.uapaiMmiahaia, when the tender of H. Millei was accepted, at the following prices :— Cuttings, Is per yd.; heavy siding, £3 15- par chain ; light siding, 1!K (id ; load drains and forming, s) ld per yard ; outfalls, (Hd ; fascines, 33s per "100 ; carting earth on to swamp, Is 3d per yaid ; timber, 31s 6d »3V luO feet. Rejected.— Geo. Walker, jmir.: Cuttings. 8d per yard ; siding, 7d per yaid ; siding, 30^ pei chain ; drains, lOd per yard ; outfalls, 8d ; fascines, 20s per 100; carting eaith, lOd per yaid. The bulk of the contract was in the side di ains and siding. Mr J. C. Firth has been very unlucky in his effmts to intioduco the humble bee into this country. Regarding the second impoitation by the Doric, his bee manager, Mr Hopkins, writes on the 9th mst. :-— "The humble bees ex Doric quite dead except two, which weie liberated to-day, after feeding well. Both flew away quite stioug." We understand that Mr Futh, undeterred bv his want of success hitheito, intends to take stops to obtain a third shipment of the useful little insects under notice. Th 3 Tamahere School Committee met at the Tamahere hotel on Friday, loth mt-fc. for the purpose of deciding in favour of those candidates for the Education Board which they deemed most suitable. The Committee also discussed the propiiety of holding a concert in the new school-room at its opening, and it was decided that each committeeman should canvass amongst those likely to give their assistance -and report to the next meeting to be hold on the 28th inst. It was also decided to ask the boaid to ad\ertise for a teacher without delay The contractor expects to complete bis contract in .six week* from the present tune.— (Correspondent.) The following special messages to the Pi ess Association, dated London, Feb. 13th, have been published :— Telegraphic communication has been restored with Khaitouin. The several tiibes through the district which General Gordon passed on his way to Berber have received him with great couhality.— ln a speeoh in the House of Commons, Mi W. E. F»i ster expressed the opinion that the English Government were responsible for the Sinkat disaster.— In reply to the question of Mr Stuart Wortley, M.P., the Hon. Mr Chamberlain, President of the Board of Trade, stated that no complaints had been received regarding the overciowding of emigrants on board the Warwick Castle as stated. Garnet Walch, writing in the Melbourne Argus on Madagascar affairs, says •.-— " I must say, however, that, so far as' I can gather while at t Taraatave, the French have no idea or forcing the running. Theno is at present a waiting game. They have a mere handful of men, and next to no funds at all, available for operations in Madagascar. All they can do is to blockade the ports and harry a few villages. Their men-of-war may as well be at Tamatave as at any other station. Aureste, they enjoy the game of besieging Hoyas, who are miles away up amongst the hills, and who aye affected by the blockade in about the same extent as a mosquito impedes a rhinocerous. The people who are suffering are the unfortunate traders on the coast and the planters, whose crop of uugar cannot be cut for want of labour. ' We have been requested to give publicity to fche following statement regarding the recent examination fop scholarships at Hamilton as concerns the Cambridge Public School: -Tho conditions of examination were that each candidate had to make half marks in every subject to gain a scholarship or certificate. Eight candidates were presented by the Cambridge School, and of this number two gained certificates. The sk who wore unsuccessful gained the following marks out of a waxu mum ol 1050 :— Eveleen Dillon, 663 ; Caroline Nixon, C) 3 2; Henry Wilson, 596 ; Sarah Pavies, 595 ; Blanche Carnachan, 573 ; F. Hosking, 508. It will therefore be seen that with the exception of one candidate all iuooeoded in making half marks in the aggregate. E. Dillon macla a larger aggregate than one of the candidates who gained a certificate. It might also be noticed that for the eight candidates sent up by the the Cambridge School, the other schools of Waikato only sent up a total of six. Our Maori neighbours (says the Aroha News.) ayq evidently of opinion that " the harvest is past, an 4 fclje. summer is ended," At any rate they seem to b.e tiped of the vagaries of that mythical individual the olark of the weather, and are determined to wait r,o longer for tb§ annual I crop of "herrens" and " hlcfcapenntes ' which their peaoh gvavea hvlnu them in, In despair they have comraenoea to gather the fruit in an unripe state, and large quantities of it in this condition have during the week been hawked about the town. Perhaps the recent visit of the irrepressible Te Kooti with his numerous followers has left them impecunious, and necessitated this premature strippinK fif the trees. We* are informed that the calls made, ugpn $b,e hpsSitnlity of some tribes by that notouou| fn« jvi<iiwl we lwwiipjj ntihwr bw^mproej

and it will not occasion much regret amongst them if he now retires to the wilds of the King country fnd vegetates there for the remainder of his existence. A week or two ago we published a telegram from Napier which stated that Mr W. Colenao had resigned the secretaryship of the Philosophical Society, giving as lm reason that Dr Hector had slighted him in not publishing three of his papers in the Transactions, and by only answering two out of eighteen letters. In the Hawke's Bay Herald of the same dato we find the following curious letter to tho editor, — a fuller statement of Mr Colenso'a reasons [ for resigning :— " A Knifegrinder's Lament. Sir, — You will doubtless be grieved, — as 1> i know all the People in HawkVa Bay will, — to learn that I have resigned tho secretaryship of the Hawke's Bay Branch of the* Knifegrinders' Society. I know that it will be a serious blow to the Society ; — but it was the only means I had of showing my Indignation at tho treatment I had received from the Man who works the Wheel of the Head Society at Wellington. — For the last ten years I have been the Life and Soul of the Society ; and but for Me it is very doubtful whether the Hawke's Bay Branch would have contributed its quota, to the Parent Society, of scientific investigations into the art and mysteries of Knifegrinder. The difficulty of finding a worthy successor to Me was thoroughly recognised at the Annual Meeting yesterday, when I give in my resignation, — and the Members went down on their knees, imploring me to retain the Office. But I was inexorable ! I told them they could not do without me ; — but I stuck to my resolve. And could I do otherwise ? The Man at the Wheel at Wellington had had from Me no less than eighteen letters ; — and beautiful long letters they were, too, — fully ornamented with Capitals, colons, and semicolons, dashes and parentheses ; — And yet these eighteen epistles only evoked two official communications ! ! Could it be believed ?— Then, as if that were not enough, three of my best ground Knives were rejected, (though no one living could have produced such models of Knife-giindery). — It was, in fact, presumption to reject those knives. However I will not dilate on the subject ;— it i& too humilating. I have my revenge, though : — I know there i* no one in Hawke's Bay possessing My qualifications, and my retirement leaves the Society poor indeed ! — I am, etc., The Indefatigable."