The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1857, 31 May 1884, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equ.il ,'ml exact justice to all men, Otuhd sooier state or persuasion, religious or politic 11. Hero sli ill the Press the People's right mamt.iur, Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain.

SATURDAY, MAY 31, ISS' h

Thk session opens on the 6th of next month. In all probability it will bo one of the stormiest we lnvo had for many a long day. The; political sea at the present moment is comparatively caJm, a condition consonant with the behaviour of the* watery element itself under similar circumstances. Never, probably, lias there been in the Colonial Legislature such a s-ingular combination of parties as that which will confront the Speaker of the liouso next week. 3t is himply out of the question thai "\ve should foresee what the result will be, and the prophets have wisely retired from the business. That the Government will have, at an early period, to face a Want-of-Confidence motion is one of the strongest probabilities, but who the mover may be, whether he will lie Sir George Grey, Mr Montgomery, Mr "Wukofield, or Mr Dargaville is quite another matter. Each of these gentlemen has his personal following, and all aro equally assured of their especial fitness for the post of leader. Sir George, it is true, has not ]ed the country to understand that it is his intention to again sock the office of Premier ; he, indeed, soems at last to haves realised that his proper place is. to be with no particular party alt all, but to stand alone as the "People's Tribune." Mr Wakefield has definitely stated that he does not intend to take part in the coming scramble for office ; but the honourable gentleman is impetuous, and circumstances may arise to alter his determination. Both the member for Auckland East and the member for Selwyn are as much opposed to Mr Montgomery's jwiiey as they are to that of the present Government, and though they cannot, in the face of their oft-repeated assnrances, but aid in the downfall of Major Atkinson, it is not, for the same reason, to be expected!' that they will calmly allow the re us of power to fall into the hands of fclie member for Akaroa. Another probability is that in the evont of a defeat the Government will claim a dissolution^ in which case there will be tyro sessions o£ Parliament this, year, Thia

latter contingency is, however, somewl'at remote. A goodly proportion of the members on l»oth sides of the House arc known to be anxious on tho subject of their prospects at the next appeal to the country/ and miles** the) are suddenly seized with •i iit of patriotism they are by no means likely to vot- in the direction of shortening their Parliamentary c ireer, if only by a few months. * noth* r section of the representatives, also men of various views, an; honest in their advocacy of economy in the pub'ie administration, and they would spare the country the expense of two sessions if they could. Of practical legislation there will, in any case, be very little, though a groat deal may be talked aliout abstract questions and political principles before Parliament dissolves.

To-D\Yapoll of the ratepayers of Hamilton will be taken to determine whether the borough shall or shall not have control of the Public Hall. We sincerely hopo that the result of the said poll will be favourable, jind for these reasons : First, there can be no doubt that the present council chambers ore an eyesore to (he place, besides being altogether inadequate for the purpose for which they are mt nded. Secondly, it is desirable that the burgesses should have some suitable public place in which to meet for the discussion of matters of loeil and general interest; and lastly, it is necessary that we should have some building, centrally situ ated, in which to house the public library which everybody agrees ought to have been established long tigo. Now, there is no reason in the world why all these advantages should not be secured to the town without entailing any fresh burden upon the ratepayers. We believe the fear of a tax alone inclines many to oppose the scheme. Let these, if such there be, make their minds easy. All the money required to pay interest and pinking* fund on the amount t) be borrowed will be about A-40 ; this is no more than the ordinary revenue of the hall in the past; and the receipts under the new auspices would be largely incrcafeod. But even in the event of the revenue failing to meet the expenditure, the deficit could easily be made up without collecting the special rate. A singlo concert would wipe out any liability of this sort that is likely to accrue. Of objections born of local prejudices wo take no notice, because wo belie vo the good sense of the majority of the people of Hamilton has by this time caused them to forget the distinctions of East and West, and to think only of the general good of the place.

Commander Edwin wired at 1.26 p.m. yesterday :— " Hr.rd fuwt to-nigh 1 ;."

A poll of the burgesses of Hamilton will be t.ikon tn-d.iy, between the hours of 8 a.m. and (> p.m., to determine whether the borough -.ball bonow £.">OO to liquidate the existing debt on the Public Hall, and render it tifc for the purpose of borough chambers and public library.

The Rev Messrs Dewsbury and Dukos will exchange pulpit, to-niotrow. The subjects ot the hcnnons will be found tidvciti >o(i m .mother column.

Cambridge footballers will again as-,pirible for practice in the Government paddock this afternoon. An attempt will be made to le-oiganise the club for the «eason .after the pi actice. A full attend. ince of all footballers is particulaily requested.

An extraordinary meeting of the fch.-treholdctb of the North New Zwl.ind Fanners' Co-operative Association will be held at the ofhee of the association, Grantham-itreefc, Hamilton, on Tuesday, the 17th .Time, at J 1.30 a.m., for the purpose of confirming the resolution altoiir.g the system of voting.

The members of the Piako County Council ba>e lefused to countenance the proposal of the T.unahere Farmer's Club for tho destruction of small bird-. Tlio matter was brought font aid and discussed at the meeting of t!ie council on Wednesday last, a full repot t of which appeals elsowheie.

A meeting in connection with the distribution of prizes tv the children of S. Andiew'a Sunday-school, Cambridge, will be held in the school-ioom ne\t Wednesday evening. The .attendance of parents and friend-, u much desired. Some music and readings will be provided. There will be no ch.uge for admission.

Some gentlemen from the Home Country aimed in Waiknto on Thursday evening, en route for P.itctere. They havo come to the colony with the view of spyinpr out suitable country for settlement, nnd with this object they' arc about to take a trip through I'atetere to acquaint themselves with the nature of the land there.

We understand that some Cambridge readouts who have objected to what they consider the pollution ot Lake Te Koutu, by the draining into it of the .surplus w.iter of the flat in the vicinity of the church, have taken steps to represent the matter to the Crown lands authorities at Wellington.

The New Zealand Football Team played their hist match in New South Wales on Wednesday at P.uamatta against the County of Cumberland team. The visitors won the match by 33 points to nothing. T. Ryan secured one goal and Millton three. Roberts Robertson, O'Donnell and Lecky each obtained two tries, and Taiaroa and W. Y. Milton three each.

The following special telegrams to the Press Association, dated London, May 28th and 29th, have been published :— <V severe outbreak of small-pox has occurred in the East End of London.— The South Australian gunboat Protector tails via Malta about the middle of June. — The Royal Geographical Society hits voted £250 to assist Mr H. O. Forbes in his exploration of Mount Owen Stanley and the ranges in its neighbourhood (New Ciuinea).

The Te Aroha Football Club has challenged the Hamilton Club to play on an early Saturday either at Te Aroha or at Morrinsville. It is proposed to go out to the latter place ab soon as possible, but for this it will be necessary that^all players on both sides of the river roll up to practice on Saturdays at least, if not on Wednesdays also. Last Saturday's match showed that there is no want of talent in Hamilton, but in a match it would be wasted by forwards playing only for themselves and in many cases g»'ng out on the wings for a show (?) at a run, neglecting their own duty in the scrummage, and interfering with their own quarter-backs. Forwards are useless unless they play forward and together. Last Saturday, for instance, two men did almost all the work in the scrummage for the East side.

Quite an army of small boys assembled round tho residence of Mr Neal, photographer, Cambridge, on Wednesday evening last, each armed with an old kerosene tin and a couple^ of improvised drumsticks. Arrivnging themselves in front of the house, they at once .entered upon a prolonged musical display, wjhjcty if not very .sweet and harmonious, was ,' decidedly strong 1 . iThreq or four -* heavily-boarded mortalSj'whbse names we will not publish at present, wore to be scon instigating the musical onslaught of tho juveniles, and seemed to* thoroughly' gnjtfyi sthe result. The fury of. tho storm, "however, soon abated on the arrival of the local constable, who had the pleasure of informing tho ringleaders that -their presence would be required at a levee to be, held by N tha B.M. attra early dute. It seomedtMi Mr Nenl

had been from Hoßie on matrimonial bu#CnesH, and someftfierson having circula^d the story tliab^io^littd returned, the^abpvfe demonstration waarfcot $$ in his honour. The gentlemen who inaugurated 'the detmuistration will no doubt be disappointed ti> learn that Mf"Neal was not at humewhen they called.

The following appeared in the Irish Times (Dublin) :— " It ia not generally known that the country people along the line of the electric railway make btrange uses of the insulated rails, which are the medium of the electricity on this tramway, in connection with ono of which an extra? ordinary and very remarkable occurrence \w reported. People have no objection to touch the rail and recehc a smart bhock, which is, however, harmless, at least so far. On Thursday evening a ploughman, returning from woik, stood upon this_ lail in older to mount his horse. The rail is elevated on insulators 18 inches above the leiel of the tramway. As soon as the man placed his hands on the back of the animal it received a shock, which at once brought it down, and falling against the rail it died instantly. The remarkable part is, that the current of electricity which proved fatal to the brute must have passed through the body of the man and proved harmless to him/

The Lyttelton Times, referring to the report that Major Atkinson was to be knighted, thus speaks of the Premier : — He has always woiked for his conception of the public good. Of the results of his labours there are two opinions. Of the intelligence, courage, energy and singlo-mindedncss which m both portions of his career, the military and the civil, have gained him a high position, there in but one. When a statesman of whom this much can be said is honoured by his Sovereign or spoken of as likely to be honoured, the weapons of political strife should be laid aside. It is the hour of truce. Abolition, Centralism, Nation.il Insurance, are, with other;* war erie« and .shouts of raillery, himhedf. For the moment the voice of criticism is silent, and the memory of statutes and tactics bleeps profoundly Both sides join together to offer congiatulations to the good citizen who has borne himself well. At present theie are tin ee hides in the Parliamentary duel, and Heaven know* how many moie outside. They can all join, and are, wo feel sure ready to join in congratulations as soon as the rumour of the coming Birthday honour is onfirmed. The world outside will only know that in conferring honour upon the colony the usual precedent has been followed of selecting high responsible office. Within the I o indarie* of New Zealand we all f A t iat the merits of the man are equal to the tnerita of his office.

Says the British Medical Journal : — So much illness is directly traceable to chills and colds contiacted dining railway travelling in this, veiy changeable and trying cluiiato of oin-., and so little has yet been done by our lailway companies to introduce a bettor method of heating the caiiiages, that we are glad to &cc the mattei is attracting M>me attention at the hands of the Caledonian Rail way Company, and some considerable progie^s has been undo in supplying this long-felt want, The idea is to utilise tho c\haiist steam from tha engine, winch at present passes into the atmosphoie through the funnel, and to carry it into pipes which pass underneath the frame of the carriage, and sue then led tin ough the floor of tlio c.irlinge to coils placed underneath the seat in each couipaitinent. The connection between the can iage-> is by mean*, of flexible tube-*, Mich as those Used ii tho continuous air-brake, and thus the licit is earned throughout the whole train. In the case of a trial recently made with a train leaving (Glasgow for one of the adjoining towns, very satisfactory results were obtained ; and we hope that, when means are fortl.c lining for better regulating the heat, we shall see this .system generally Adopted, as it will be a great boon to the travelling public.

According to Public Opinion, a police inspector at Odessa, wliomj name, Dobriiiiißky, deserves in spite of its dissonance to be mentioned on accm-.t of his cleverness, has discovered a new use for the telephone. One d.iy a policeman brought to the station a Jew, having in hi-; po-,set,-sion a quantity of silver believed to be •stolen. This silvei was in a semi-molten condition, and had none of its original features remaining to assist in its identification. Hcnco, as the Jew stoutly declared the metal to bo his own propeity, the police inspector was put in a fix, fiom which all hi-> cross-examination of the presuired thief failed to extricate him. At last a bright idea struck him. He went to the telephone in the adjoining room, and, mentioning to the officials in the policnmister's office what had happened, iastiucted them to utter in solemn tones, on a signal being given, the words: — "Its no u«e Suiolian««ky, it will be better for thee to confess that thou hast robbed somebody, otherwise thy punishment will inevitably be more .severe. Afterwards, summoning the Jew into the room, he pointed to the instrument on the wall, and told him that it really did not matter whether he divulged his crime or not, as the machine would do it for him. At this the Jew laughed outright, while the inspector placed a sheet of paper on the table and prepared to take down the confession. When everything was 1 eady, he told the Jew to put the tube to liis ear, and decide whether he would confers himself, or allow the " machine " to do it for him. Then, giving the signal, he returned to the table, when a second or two later ho had the satisfaction of seeing the Jew's face turn deadly pale at hearing the solemn advice my.steiiously conveyed to him by the " in lohine," and of noting down directly afterwaids a penitent confession from the thief's own lips.