The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1916, 16 October 1884, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Ecjual and rxnrt justice to a'l men, OhilwlMiniM state or persuasion, religions or political. Here sli.ill the Press the People's rißht maintain, Un.iwed l>v infliienre and unbrihed by jrain.

TIIURSDA Y,'OCT. 16, 188 J,.

The arrangeinonl made by tho railway authorities in respect to the Hautapu and Fen Court stations have not given satisfaction to the settlers in that neighbourhood. Complaints aro already numerous, and those who complain have made up their minds that their grievances shall be heard in the proper quarter. The cfiuso of complaint this time is not the management. The almost unanimous opinion is that the Hautapu and Fen Court stations should havo been merged into one good station, and provided with a stationmaster. It has been pointed out to us that the Hautapu station is one of the most important stations on the line. All the produce of the Fen Court and Hautapu districts and the Cambridge outlying district will be forwarded from here, and not from Cambridge as the department seems to have anticipated. Consequently the provision made at tho station i.s not equal to requirements. In the first place a stationma&tor or some person to receive delivery of the goods, and afford tho necessary assistance to people sending- off cattle, harvest, produce, &c., is badly wanted, In the next place the goods shed i& altogether too small, and we are told has. aheady been filled by the goods of ono settlor alone. There is no cleik, but, nevertheless, a large office monopolise^ about a third oi tho available room insido the shod. These deficiencies liave caused considerable iuconvonience, and repiosontations ought immediately to bo mado to tho dopaitment on the matter. The means of ingress to the cattle yards, too, aro of su( h a character that cattle can only be induced to enter with great difficulty, and with the assistance of extra labour. The&o aro matters which, as they materially affoct, tho convtnienco of the settlers who use tho railway, should be carefully con&ideied and attondod to.

"Of course, natives don't know the value of money," remarked a gentleman addressing a certain meeting not many nights ago, " they are easily imposed upon by the crafty pakeha, and therefore it behoves us to make laws for their protection." This is something after the style of the Southern political aspiiant who when he wishes to go to Wellington in response to the usual " numerously signed requisition of my brother townsmen " to attend to and protect the interests of his struggling fellow colonists, to tax the unearned increment, to nationalise the land, and to save the unsuspecting savage from the ravages of the land speculator, holds forth from the public platforms to a credulous public. What stories of the depredations of capitalists and the demoralising effect of capital are gulped down by die unconscious constituencies of the South when they gather round the feet of those who seek to represent them. In this part of the colony, where every man has an opportunity of observing for himself, such hackneyed allegations against the " fittest " (in a Darwinian sense) are only used by those who, not having the intelligence to invent a theory or allegation of their own. continue to avail themselves of the groundless allegations ami theories of others. And so the cry is raised from time to time against the socalled curse of land monopoly, and its evil effects. Whatever the ultimate effects of land "monopoly" may be, it certainly cannot be denied that up to the present we are in a very great measure indebted for our prosperity to the extensive scheme of land speculation which has been carried on in this district for many years past. Nearly two million acres of native land have been opened up and are now in the market for settlement on easy terms, and can oasily bo obtained by men of limited moans. The theory of thriving families and shining homesteads on our waste lands was exploded long ngo. least the onco popular means of realising that great prospect. Had we by some means excluded tho capitalist, which, in point of fact, would have been impossible, our waste lands, which are now improved and stocked, would have remained waste for many years to come, if we had depended upon having them improved and settled by that rery desirable class of settler, the English farmer or small capitalist. But to revert to the question with which we set out. That the natives do not know the value of money is an assertion like those already referred to, which can only find credence in the rural communities of the South, and which anyone who has had even a limited experieuce in this district will not be ready to accept. The discussion which a few days ago took place at Otorohanga, respecting what price should be asked from the pakeha for the land along the railway line, will give a fair idea of the native estimate of the relative values of native land and English money. Ifc was then seriously suggested that the price should be fixed afc 15s per foot, where stations were to be erected, thinking that ns railway* brought in such a lot of money, wj©

pakohas would not stick at that price. Anyone who has travelled in the interior where sites aro to I>o soon on native reserves, and which cm only be shown by native guides, will readily concede that the aboriginal has a very kren appreciation of the value of money. The books of storekeepers in the border townships, the records of the Resident Magistrate's Court, and the cash-book of the unfortunate speculator, afford very ample evidence of the soundness of the native judgment on nutters pecuniary. In a commercial sense the native character is altogether undei -rated, and a little practical experience; to the sceptical will soon afford him just cause for thinking so.

The Monavale-Rangiaohia swamp road is stopped for traffic, owing to two bridges being in a dangerous state.

Our Auckland correspondent telegraphed, last uight, that Judge Gillies had ri anted a new trial in the divorce case, .Moulden v. Moulden.

It is notified that wheeled traffic will be suspended on the road between the Tamahere railway station and the Piako main road, pending the re-constrnction of Ormeiod's bridge.

A typographical error crept into our last issue in our report of the proceedings of the Cambridge Town Board It waa stated that the board was £477 in debt. This should have been £377.

Mr Samuel Vaile writes to say that he will be in the Waik-ito some time next week, and that if the settlers desire he will deliver a lecture on the subject of our railway management.

In some places in Cambridge gorge has been .allowed to over-run the street to a considerable extent. Tho board ia about to take steps to remove tho same at the cost of the property holders.

We are requested to state that the person referred to in the report of tho Cambridge Cricket Club meeting as the def ault'ng member did not occupy the office of Secret.iry. He has since removed from the district.

At the usual fortnightly sitting of the R.M. Comt at Hamilton, yesterday, the business done was of no public interest. Only two small debt cases were sot down for hearing, and in one of these judgment was confessed.

A meeting of the subscribers to the Hamilton Public Library was held at the DDiiis last nipht. A li->t of magazines to be obtained was dr.iwn up, and a comimttou of management of si\ was appointed. The business befoic the meeting \v<it. chiefly of a routine character.

The contractor for the erection of the C.vnibi idge Daily Produce and Bacon Factoiy has commenced work, and is at pre-ent petting the material on the giouncl. The building is expected to be ieady for the machinery in about a month.

In a local published in our Tuesday'-. is«ue respecting the number of shares anil .shareholders of the C.unbiidge Dairy Pioduceand Bacon Factory, we omitted to say tli.it the numbers given were merely thoie contained in the articles of association. The entire ntnnbei of shares of tho company ia 2000, which are nearly all taken up.

Mr W. M. Hay, solicitor, left Hamilton by yesterday's tram to Piako, en route for the Tbamos, where he goes to defend a number of Waikato shareholders in the Aroha Quartz Crushing Company (the old Buttery Company), who have been sued for calls which they do not consider they are justly liable to pay. The case comes oif to inonow.

The question of the prices charged pupils, attending the public school for school utationery was brought forward at a recent meeting of the Cambridge School Committee. One gentleman said he paid about 3os annually for school requisites for his children, which could be bought at any stationer's shop for about 7s\ The head master reaped all the benefit from this over charge. Another gentleman said he had gone into figures on the matter and had come to the conclusion that the Lite head master, Mr R. D. Stewart, h.id m;xde no less than £23 profit dining the tost year of his services, fioin this .source alone.

The Cambridge School Committee held its usual monthly meeting at the Ciiterion Hotel on Monday evening last. It was decided to hold a children's concert on the 28th November, and a committee consisting of the chnn man, Messrs Hosking, Thomson, Forrest, Hewitt, W. Simms, and A. J. Evans was appointed to make the necessary arrangement*. It was decided to have the water-tanks .at the school cleaned out, to have additional hat-pegs supplied, and to have the sanitary condition of the school attended to. The question of school stationery was raised by Mr Forrest, who objected to the price at pie-.e»t charged pupiK under thit> head, bufc no action was taken in the matter, some of the rnembeis thinking that the charges made were reasonable enough.

The American correspondent of the Ofcago Daily Times st,iten that the sympathies, of Americans are with the colonies in their objection to the refuse of the French %i\oU being pouted into the Pacific. Re'cidivi^te.-, naturally sugge.it Federation and Annexation, m> Mr Creighton, <as an old colonist, has something to say on tho^e subjects as well, and he. puts foi ward a proposition which will certainly meet with the ready approval of home of our legislators. " Boldness," he says, " canies the day everywhere. The example should not be loit on New Zeai land. Let Australia take care of New 1 Guinea, and gravitate towards Federal Union ; and let New Zealand boldly demand the constitution of an inter-insular dominion, with itself as the centre of authority, and the splendid audacity of the proposition will commend itself to the British people and lead to its accomplishment. In thin poligv you will have the moial fluppoil of the Unitod States,"

A number of the former members of the Cambridge Brass and Reed Band met a few evenings ago, and after some dis-cus-sion decided to resuscitate the institution. A few yeai^ ag<» the Cambridge band was one of the leading musical institutions in tho piovilice, both in point of number and pioficionoy, but tho bandmaster leaving the district it became diwrgantaod, the member* gradually dropped off, and the concern fell through. Several attempts were since made at resuscitation, but in vain. Tho pie^ent attempt, however, is likely to prove successful. There are about twelve of the old members willing to re-join, and all the nqpossary instruments, music, stands, &c, aro fetiU in hand. An appeal will be made t<> the public iov subscriptions towards the to expect that the mcmboi'a should provide annual maintenance, nnd wo have no doubt that their call will be readily responded to. The want of a band has been much felt of late at all public gatherings and entertainments, and the public should therefore join with the members to make the present attempt am-ccssful.

The following special messages to the Press Association, dated Xjondon, October 13th and 14th, have been published { The meat by the Tongariro is now selling at O^d to 7d per lb., and the prospects of the market oppear capital for all arrivals before Christmas.— The share list of tl c ne\y Oriental Bank contains no Australian si}bsGpib<Hs, TJ}e new bank is offering deposits receipts in e^gh.ft»^e for those belonging to the old bank on special fcapm.*.— The Melbonrno Gnu Company's loan of #194tQ00 at 5 per cent, has been placed in the market with the minimum at par. Thetonders will be opened on October 21.— The new gunboat recently constructed for the Queensland Government will leave for their destination if? November. The Patumah will bo under the oomroandof Lieutenant Richards, and the Gayundah will be in charge of Commander Wright— Af-essyu, Hirsph, Spindler, and Co., merchants, of Lonflfon and Sydney, have bean adjudicated bankrupts.—Eight Nihilists, including Vera Filipava, who were arrested for being concerned in various Nihilistic plots, have been sentenced to death.

A egjrespondent ". writes :— Four gentjenjstf, iyh# announced themselves as hailing from ft* '•' Ww/ P assed tl)ro "S h Cambridge distFJQfc, QH tyoflday, «)n , an amateur hawking expedition, Tney Vf biiiw a number of settlers' houses alone? the roa 4 and offered to dispose of some " Marine cloth at prices more than reasonable. They said they had just a limited stock in ha#cj, and as they were " travelling they wished tf} di^pqso of it at any sacrifice. They ajso impw*§<4' ypW tih*VP ?? u stoiners

that as thoy wore runaway sailors from a man-o-war in pint, they would do them a kindness by keeping thoir visit quiet. I tliink, sir, that this runaway sailor bu-si-uavi is about played out now. We have on previous occasions been visited by this class of traders, who not only deceive their cuitomei'. into sympathy by their falsehoods, but sell them a class of article of tho worst possible kind. If these " travellers " cannot do business in the usual legitimate fashion, the sooner the police form their acquaintance the better.

The ordinary meeting of the Hamilton Legislative Association was held at the Public Hall on Tuesday nights Despite the miserable state of the weather, there wero nearly thirty members present, but the ladies'" gallery was not well patronised. In tho absence of the Speaker, ! the chair was taken by Mr A. Swarbrick. On the motion of the Premier, seconded by the hon. member for Ftankton, Mr John Knot waa unanimously elected Chairman of Committees. The debate on tho Address -in - Reply was resumed by tho Premier, and the hon. member for Woodlands having spoken on the Opposition side, the mover of the address, the hon. member for Kirikiriroa, replied, and the motion was carried. In reply to a question, the Premier said it was not the intention of the Government to decline tt) employ men on the railways over the ape of forty, or to discharge those who had reached that age. The following bills were introduced and read a fir.^t time :— A bill to provide for the teaching of swimming in the public schools (the Colonial Treasurer), a bill to amend the Education Act, with a view to provide State aid for denominational schools (the hon. member for Woodlands), a bill to amend the Electoral Laws (tho Attorney- General). The second reading ef the Rating Act Amendment Bill, to enable local bodies to sue for five years' arrears, was moved by tho Minister of Public Works, for the Speaker. The bill was opposed by the Leader of the Opposition and the Premier, and the motion for the second reading was lost on a division by 23 to 5. In the absence of the hon. member for Raglan, the second reading of The Women's Franchise Bill was moved by the hon. member for Kinkiriroa in an interesting speech. The Colonial Secretary strongly opposed the bill, which he said, would tend to create general confusion. Women had plenty to do already, and should not mix in politics. The Colonial Treasurer and the hon. members for Woodlands and Frankton al&o spoke against the bill, and on the motion of the hon. member for Pirongia the debate was adjourned. The Hou->o rose at 10.13 p.m. until Tuesday ne\t.