COMMENTS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1968, 17 February 1885, Page 2

COMMENTS.

OxF.of those people (.ill honour to thorn) who are always on the look-out for new markets for our commodities, or new commodities to send to the markets already opened up, recently lighted on the idea of sending picberved horseflesh to Pans. 11 u argued (1) that the French people weic very fond of horse, and (2) that in New Zealand we have a plentiful stock of animals of this species fit for little else than the butcher's knife. We are fiee to admit that the notion favourably impressed us ; so much so indeed that we at once commenced to make enquiries on the subject. But at the onset, our ardour has been effectually damped. We started with the conviction that Frenchmen prefeied hon»eflc»b to beef as an article of diet ; but such is not the case. They eat the foinier because its cost is only about one quarter that of of the latter. Here is an extract from a Home paper which we discovered a day or two ago :— " During the siege of Paris hippophagy was a matter of necessity. Since 1871 the consumption of horseflesh has gone on steadily increasing. Sinco 1R74 the number of horses slaughtered for food in Paris was 4,<382. Ten years liter the consumption was more than double. 1833 Paris ate

8,48") horses, 307 liases, and 40 mules, ornotshoit of 5,000,000 pounds weight of hordes, tis?, and mule meat. The explanation of this increase is the hi^h price of beef .md mutton in the French capital. While the artis in can tnuehisi •v hoiae atcaU at less thai 1- cents a pound, he has to pay three times as much for a cut ot beef or mutton. Among the hippophnjjists of Pans the llesh ot tin- a-»s oi the mule is esteemed more bitjidy tli.ui that of the horse, those delicacies* fetching a juice 15 to 20 per cent higher tli.iu simple horse Hosh." In the face ot this we fe.ir theic is no opening for tinned hoise Asses might paj , but in foni footed animals of thu descuption the colony is not lich enough to wnrrant any sptcinl ai range nu'Ut for an export traile being cnteicd into.

Tfih Honouial)le Member for Mount Ll.i, Mr M. J. S. Mackenzie, ought to be taken into the Ministry at once. Oi I. tiling this lie slioulil seek employment uudci the Butish Foreigli Olhee. He is .1 born diplomatist, if .1 little too frank. In the couise of a speech lie dolivcied to Ins constituents at Nasony the other day he mnaikcd :— " A special settlement is made at Cvtlin's River, and 10 acres arc to be granted to any Highland crofter who cornea out. Some of you may know that I suppoited that clause, and may be stu prised at it, seeing th.it it proposes to give to strangers what it denies to our own citizens I had four specific reasons, which I shall state to you seriatim. First, lam a Highlander myself, and had a fellow-feeling for my unfortunate countrymen ; si'condh, Mr Macainlrcw, who took up the question, is a very kindly soul himself, and I was loth to damp his ardour; thirdly, of all the crofteia who come to this country not one will settle at Catlins Rner under the Act ; and fourthly, no crofteis will come here at all unless it be in the way of oiduiaiy immigiation." It has long been held that a man cannot serve two masteis, but the member for the classic distiict of Mount Ida has at last contrived to giatify the gioat Micuulrew and the uttr.i Otrgo party, without doing any \iolence to his own conscience, or running oountei to the " Young Colonial " pre jndices of his gold digging constituents. Mr Mackenzie >■» a " coming man."

There will be service in S. Peter's Chinch, Hamilton, to inonow (Ash Wed-ne-day), at 7.30 p.m. There will be semco cveiy Wednesday evening during Lent. Mr Joseph Karl, of Ohaupo, has, up to the piesent tune, secuied mci eight ton- "f honey, the bulk of which has been sent to Auckland. We understand that a London fiini has offered to take all the honey from a well-known apiaiist in the Waikato at O"> per t<m delivered. The weather during the last few days has been excessively hot. On Satinday afternoon a veiv welcome thunder shower paved out the distnct, and did a laige amount of good. Richard Hackett, on remand for a vaiiety of offence--, was hi ought up at the Hamilton Police Couit on .Saturday and further remanded until to day. No owner lias yet been found for the stolen horse. Messrs W- P. Chepmell, A. W. (Jnbbins 1! Pan, .T. 1' Smith, and John Tiirnbiill have l>een elected a Licensing' Committee for the W.uto.i distuct unopposed. A meeting of the members of the Hamilton Lawn Tennis Club will be held on the court tin-* aftei noon at 4 o'clock. A full attendance is icquested as tho business is nnpoitant. The Parliament of the Hamilton Legislative Associ ition, has been fuitlier pioiogucd from Tuesd ly, the 17th Feb limy (todiv), to Tuesd ly, the 2lth of Match, pro\. The Rev. R.O.C Biggs, paid his usual monthly vi-it to Taupui, Huntly, and Xgauuwahia on Sunday. His place at S. I'etci's Hamilton, was filled by the Key A. S. Fox, who preached two eloquent pennons to large congiegations. At the morning sei v ice piayeis weie said by the llev. U.S. Davies. The anniversary services of the Baptist Chinch, C.imbnd^e, on Sunday weie largely attended. The Key W. E. Hice, of Wellesley-stieet Chuidi, Anekland, pieached at bath soiucos, and the set moii'* weio of an ini[)iessive and appiopiiate character. On Saturday last the town clerk, Hamilton, bold tho lease for a penod of six months of the domain land lately in the occupation of Mi K. Bradley (24 acres). The upset price was £7 10--, and the lea*e was knocked down to Messis l^ualtiough and Hatrick for £10 2s (id. The hon. secretary of tha Kawhia Lawn Tennis Club has opened up negotiations with the Hamilton Club foi a match to he played sometime in Match. It is intended to play a tournament at Hamilton, commencing to mot mw, for the pin pose of selecting teams to play in the match against Kawhia and others, for which auaugements ate being made. The Land Court re-opens at Cambudge today, when it is expected Te Whetu No. ti will be bi ought forwaid, it being ne\t <m the (» i/ette. It is also expected that something will be done in the mattei of the alleged bnbeiy of the as»et>soi Tepa, in the Maungatautaii case. A young man named John Dillon was charged at the Cambridge Police Couit, jesteul.v\ inoining, bi'foieMr Wells, with being diunk while in chaige of a, hoisij in the stieets. of Cambridge, and also with violently assaulting and resisting the police. He pl< aded guilty to both oh.uges. His Woiship administrated a repiim.uid, and inflicted a line of 4j."> in each case, with costs, in default, one month foi each olfencc. The adjourned meeting of householders for the election of a school committee forPukeiimu, will bo held at the schoolroom on Monday evening next. It docs not speak well for the educational enthusiasm of a distiict that the householdeis are so apathetic an not to think it woith their while to interest themselves in the election of a school committee. A task —and indeed, such it would seem— which only troubles them once a twelvemonth. Such a »tate of affaiis is ceitamly not cieditiblo, and wo trust when Monday evening anive«, parents and others ill' tetestud in tho welfare of tho Piikoiimu school will not forget the duty which is iequned of them. Cambridge presented an unusually lively appeal ance on Satuiday evening. The band, under Mr Cuitue, tinned out, and played a number of selections in fumt of tho Public Ha)l. Tho leudeiim; of the various piocoi was faiiltlen* ( and affoided stiong evidence of tho grow ing proficiency of the member*. Theiewcisan unusually large number of people in town, tho gi eater poitionof whom had gatheied in fiom all paits to hear the famous champion of Blue Uihbonisin, Mr Booth, expound the principles of temperance. As Mr Booth did not hold foi th as expected, those who had come long distances to heat him weie veiy much disappointed, Tho excellent music of the band, it is to hj hoped, was a »iiHicieut solaco to their injured feelings. Reference was made on Sunday in the Cambridge churches to the death of General Goidon. The Rev Mr Dew shiny in the evening, at S. PaulV, pieached a very eloquent sermon. The text was from S. John's gospel, " Lovost thou mo nioro than these." The piopoxition which ho undoavmmid to establish was that lovo to Christ ought to be the supreme affection of the soul. In illustrationofthe sermon, touch ing reference was made to tho gallant efforts of our soldiers in the East, who at the present hour, in tho vindication of our national iionnm and righteous vengeance for the diabolical a*snh*j nation of Geneial Gordon, tho giand Christian Wo of l(ha}'fcQum, were breathing their Jifo out <m tljo burning JCgyptian desoit, The Cambridge Town Board has made up its mind nol to be Kutisfiud with Mr Blackett's leply in lespuot to tho formation of the Viotoiia road. Mr Blackett seoms to think that all that wan required w.i* t<> »ati«fy tho tiavelling public, and thus by tuaK'uig a ciosbing opposite MrTayloi'* pi«>i>erty, the w|>o)o matter waHsatiHfactonly dii>poBod of. But th»no are other interests a« well aa those r>t the travelling public to bo considered — tho interests of propurty holders who by the consti notion of tno line have boon dopuvud of their valuable frontago, Between Taylors crossing and the town tljo load Is impasitablo ; in point of fuct tlieie in no ioad whatever, and tthould tho frontage be allowed to remain in its pro»ent condition,

the-.<> people will not only I>j subjected to tuucli inconvenience, but likewise to .1 very iii.itcii.il loss. The polling for the election of a licensing coinmittt'O for tho Hornugh of lr.iinilton, took place yesteid.iv, .md le- ■ Milted .is follow -j- Missis K. Po.it. .Si! : W. l)ey, .r>;\V. \. Giah.un, 33; G. White, :W ; ( J.-o Kdgecnmbe, 30 ; Y. Scott, 10. Tho fiiit hvu w eroded tied duly elected. Our correspondent "Billy" writes fiom TV Aw ainii tu -"The C i\.ili v Kind's lull took plnco in the Public 1 [.ill on Fuday nierht last. The hall was tastefully riecoi.itcil with fionds of fein stuck about in giaccful di->nrdei. The music vva-i good, the ]>io<^i.iuiuic generous, and the committee of management scoied a success by the inannei in winch they conducted the affair. From an eaily lioiu in the uvoninir to ii late one ne\t mi>iiiin<r, the echoing Hour icsponded to tlie i > tlnn <>f wait/, quadiillu, md all tin- othei dance*, the names of winch I cannot spell, and winch I am too 1 i/y to xcl up •irid hunt form the <liction.i?y. The ball w.i-. Mich a siicco--* that J think To Awatnutu would become a. leally nice pi ice if one wa-> held e\eiy month. It would nnuiisli sociability and act as. -in antidote to exclu-ivones*, so suicidal to advancement Tlie ladies who provided the suppoi, decor i.ited tlie tables, and attended to the wants of the guests, desorve great praise and many thanks. To name them without their permission would Vie rude, therefoie I refrain fiom doing so, although kind efforts such as tlieiis ought to bo known foi example's sake." The following special messages to the Press Association, dated London, Febui.iry lttth, have been published :— Kngl.iiul will re consider the question of the allotment of the cost of the New (Juinea piotectorate. — Mr Reginald IJiett will m.iiiage the London bi.mclt of lv» Vm titcitl Company, no debentures in winch will be issued for the present. — Tio National Zeitung stateh that Germany will not yield the Huon Bay, New Guinea, which England recently annexed. The Daily Telegraph is of opinion that Germany is ceitain to disavow the recent seizure of land in Samoa by Dr Stubel, tho German •Consul there, as hucli seizure wa.s merely the act of a subordinate. — Mr Foreman, who is the Austialian delegato nt the Postal Convention, is at present in Lisbon, watching the course of events in connection with that Convention. — The Connnis-'ionois on New Guinea affairs and tho claims of German subjects in Fiji, meet shortly in London. — Tlie death i-> announced of Herr Godelfroy, of the (unman firm of that name. — Colonel J. Fletchei Owen, the now military commandant at Adelaide, will Hail for Austiaha in March. — Captain Rhodes, subm.vime mining engineer, has l>een nelected for the same employment in Victoria. — Mr J. C. P>iay, evPremier of South Au-<tialia, accompanied by his wife, are at present fho guests of Loid Kosebeiy.