The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1979, 14 March 1885, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

hqual and exact justice to all men, Ot whatsoeicr state or persuasion, religious or polttic.il. Here shall the Press the People's nyht maintain, Unawed by influence ami unbnbcd by gain.

SA'IUIiDAY, MARCH U h 1885

The financial position of the Piako County Council is still engaging the attention of its membeis. The indebtedness of the council, including an overdraft at the bank of New Zealand of nearly ,£7OOO, amounts to considerably over £10,000. The council lias made several strenuous attempts to rid itself of tin's pecuniary incubus but as yet none of the many devices which the members have conceived and which have been laid before the public have enabled the council to get out of the unpleasant situation for the liability still exists and the numerous creditors, particularly the little fellows, who are invariably the most persistent and unreasonable in such cases, continue to pester. It is really .surprising how inconsiderate some creditors will become when some person or persons endowed with more enterprise than discretion owe them a few paltry hundred pounds. The Shortland Saw Mill Company, one of the creditors of the council, actuated by some stupid motive, has actually intimated its intention of taking legal proceedings for the recovery of some paltry £G0 which has o:ily been owing about two years ! With such petty annoyances it is not to be wondered at that public men should seek to be relieved of office or only h°ld it conditionally

that they bo invested with more extended powers of administration. It will be remembered that the council nvide fin attempt some months ago to clear off its liabilities by raising a loan, to sanction which, a poll of the ratepayer was taken. But the poll unfortunately did not come up to expectations, as the proposal was negatived by a very decided majority, or at least by hardly any one voting at all. The non-success of tins effort was attributed to the prohibitory nature of the law on the subject, which required that the proposal had to be supported by a \ ote of no less than two thirds of the entire votes exercisable in the county. The unreasonableness of this condition was brought under the notice of the Government, through the member for the district, and it is expected that next session the proportion of ratepayers required to sanction a loan will be reduced to, say, two-thirds of the votes exercised, instead of exercisable, as at present. It has been further argued on this head, and indeed it is now pretty well understood by the council, that even were a loan proposal unanimously sanctioned by the ratepayers, the proceeding would not be legal, inasmuch as such loans can only be raised for works contemplated, and not for works which have already been carried out. In the case under notice, the loan sought to be r.used is to clear off the he,i\y liability incurred by the construction of the tramway. The loan proposal lioa ing failed, the council agreed to stiike a general rate of Jd in the £ throughout the county, and advertise its intention to do so. But at a subsequent meeting, on the representation of Cr. Firth, who strenuously opposed any such proceeding, adducing forcible reasons against such a course, the proposal was negatived on the easting vote of the chairman, there being four for it, and four against. The question was again gone into m committee at the meeting of the council, on Wednesday night List, when after a prolonged discussion, it was geneially agreed that the only course to adopt was to strike a general rate of jd in the £, to clear off pressing liabilities. The idea of raising a loan was to all appearances abandoned. At the next meeting of the council the matter will be once moie gone into, and finally dealt with. Every member will, it is understood, support the rate proposal unless he is able to offer the council some better solution of the difficulty.

I "Echoes from the Cafe" will he found on the fouith page. I

Archdeacon Willis will hold service to inoriow at Taotaoroa .it 3 p.m.

Several letters to the Editor are unav oidably held o\ei.

The Rev. H. R. Dewsbury. of Cambndge, and the Rev. John Duke-, of Hamilton, will exchange pulpit-* t<> inoriow.

The Cambridge Brass and Reed Band will play iv front of the Public Hall this evening.

The full programme of the Roman Catholic conceit to bo held .it Hamilton on Monday night 1- punted in another pat I of tin-w-ue. The enteitamment pronu-es to be thoroughly succe—fill.

The programme of the Taupiri annual hoise laces and sports to bo held on S. Patrick's Day appears in another column. The day's nmu-eniL'nt will conclude with a concert and dance m aid of the Koman Catholic Church.

The private match to take place between Air Whepl.ui's Kildare and McSweeny'i Grand Duchess to d.iy is put off till after S. Patrick's Day, when it will be run on the Cambridge riicecoiiihe for £'."> a aide.

Mr Gibb, who returned from the Chatham Island* a few d i\ s ago, has left at urn oihee some veiv nice samples of wool fiom that place. One of the specimens, taken from a Lincoln bheep, is 14 I inches long.

A tea meeting in connection with the Pie-byten in Church w ill be held in the Public Hall, To Awamutn, on Thursday, the L'lith nist. The piogiamme will consist of \ocal and instrumental selections, liitcr-'pei-ed with addre-nCs by ministers and other-..

By an advertisement in another column it will be seen that the Railway Depaitment has aiianged to nin a chea|> exun-iion tiaiu fumi Waikato to Auckland and back on Tupml.iv, the 21th nist. The faies ;iio lemarkably low, and the tiain will doubtless be well pationisud.

No less than thirty-five tourists left Cambiidge on Thin-day moining for the Lakes in Mr W. K. Caitei's co.iches. A laigo number of visitor- went up on the piewous da}. Tlie oveiland loute appeal -• to h.i\e much gieater ehaims for globe tiottei- and tiav oilers of all sorts than that via Tam.inga.

The first meeting of the creditors of Thomas Hoy, butcher, Cambridge, called f ' >r yehterday, at the office of the deputy *--ignee, "The Waikato Times Buildings, Hamilton, lapsed for want of a quorum. Tno liabilities arc set down at £19(5 2s !)\d and the assets at £2."»5 4s 7d, book debts, estimated to pioduce about £100.

A meeting of the Hamilton Choial Society was held Lust evening, when twenty one membeii weie pi cent. It was unanimously resolved, inter ali.i, that the stuetaiy be instructed to wiite to Colonel Lyon, asking him to accept the ofhee of Piesident of the society. The general biiMiiet-s of the meeting Living been disposed of, some good choral piacticc ensued undei the conductor-hip of Mr Templer.

As usual, the Catholic concert at Cambridge, on S. Patuck's Day, promise !tobe a success The public are promised a I very excellent enteitainment and one that fully deserves their patronage. The programme for the occasion will consist of some of the best amateur talent m the district, and there should be no lack of variety. The committee are making eveiy offoit to ensure a successful evening. The progiannne appear- elsewhere.

The annual concert in aid of the funds of the Catholic Church, Kihikihi, will be held on Tuesday next. It ptonuses tobeagieat success, as all the best local talent has been secured. The iaces <m that day will be attractive, the To Awamutu band having been engaged. Coaches will bo put on to meet the speci.il tl.im at To \wainutu, and will drive visitors round the district or to the races.

The cricket match, Te Aroha v. Cambridge, which was arranged to be played at Cambridge to-day, has been postponed. The Cambridge Club, it appeals, did not get sufficient notice, and informed the Aroha Club to that effect. The match will doubtless, however, couio off next Satuiday. The return match Can.bndgo School v. Hamilton Schools will be played at Cambi ldge to-day.

A large number of Natives have assembled at Whatiwhatihoo to attend the meeting now being held there by the oidor of Tawhiao. The principal business appears to bo the consideration of amendments to the Native Laud Laws and the disposition of the Pukekura and Puahue blocks of land when they aie given back to the owneis.

The ordinary monthly meeting of the Tamaheie Road Boaid was held yesterday afternoon at tho Tamahero hotel. Present: Messrs James liuncimnn (chairman), Edwaid Rhodes A. T. Wheeler and J. Dodd. The business was simply routine, the only correspondence being from tho

Auckland Agricultural Company requesting tho board to build a budge on the Victoria ro.vd whore tlie big drain about to be cut would cro^s Mich road. It was agreed th.it the budge should be built, when certain amusements weie made with the company, as the drain would be the means of keeping the load dry .md would save a large .uiiiuiut in inaiiiten nice. Accounts to the amount of E370 were p.issed for payment.

The Public Works Department has invited tenders for mounting one of the (it powder guilt*, which have been )ji 1^ at tho North Shore for .some year-*, on the North Head, Auckland. This may be taken as in easnest of the Government intention to entry out a scheme of harboui defence.

A lawn tennis match between K.iwlm and Hamilton will be played on the comfc of the Hamilton club, Victotiistreet, Hamilton, on Tuesday ne\t (S Patrick's Day), commencing at 10 .HO a.in The game will consist of six single .md three double sots. The teams will lunch at Hally's Hotel at 12.30 p.m. The following gentlemen will represent Hamilton • —Messrs W. Macgregor Hay, \V. A. Yon Stunner, B. C. Mouinei, T. Wallnutt, A. W. Pearson, and T. Pearson. A general meeting of tho members of the Hamilton club is called for this evening, at eight o'clock, at Hally's Hotel, for the transaction of important business.

A case of considerable interest to settlers was heard at the Alexandra R.M. Court yesterday. About the month of October last Mr Pollock, of Alexandra, found an unbroken mare, which afterwards turned out to be tho propeity of Mr F. R. Foster, running on hi«i farm. Ho adver tised that the mare would be sold if not claimed withm 14 days. The maro was sold by public auction at Ohaupo in the month of December last, and Mr Pollock purchased her and broke her in. Mr Foster, when ho tacaine aware she was in Pollock's possession, demanded delivery of her, which was refused. Ho then sued Pollock in detenue for the return of the mare or her value, A!2O, and £1."» damages. Judgment was given for the return of the maieandt'7 10-*, with i'l.S o-t-,. Mr W. M. Hay appeared for the plaintiff and Mr (Jieshant for the defendant.

What might have been a fatal ac< idcut occurred on the f'nnti.il Hoad contiact, Taniaheie, on Wednesday. The men engaged at the budge below Tinne's had shifted the pile duvet .moss the old budge to du\e the piles on the opposite side, and when they got it across they attempted to hoist the monkey without fixing a stay fioni the top of the pile-driver to the giound. The consequence was that when the monkey left the ground tho whole structure came over (it was about 25 feet high), and fortunately struck tho top of the new stiucture, or it would certainly have killed one, if not two of the men who were below it at the tune. The pile-driving flame was bioketi in pieces, and the monkey w.u found safely at the bottom of the creek. The damage is estimated at between tJHand tlO.

The following special messages to the Press Association dated London, March 12th, have been published :—The dnectorsof the Austiahan Electric Light Company have refused to lesign their office —In replying to enquiries made by Mr W. Chesson, Secietaiy of the Aborigines Piotection Society, tho Hon J. B. Thuiston, Colonial Sccietary of Fiji, rebutted tho statements in ciiculation accusing the colonists of Fiji with perpetrating acts of cruelty upon the native inhabitants. —Sir Saul Samuel will give a bmquet to Lord Carrington, the new Governor for New South Wales.—Lord Carrington, Governor-elect of New South Wales, wails for Sydney in October.—Messrs Trubner and (jo., booksellers and publishers, sti and 4.), Ludgate Hill, have presented thiee hundred books to the New South Wales contingent for the Soudan.

The programme of the Autumn Meeting of the Cambridge Jockey Club, appenis in our adveitising columns. The meeting will extend over two days, and the ftrogiamme is perhaps about the most iberal that has over been atFoided on a Waikato course. The pi l^e money for the first day of the meeting amounts to 2.V>so\s. 130sovs of which aio for the Cup. There is a Handicap Hurdles of .">osov s , and a Maiden Steeplechase of 20sov«. The prize mutiny foi the second day's racing amounts to 220 soys. Of this amount the Autumn Handicap takes (i.")sovs., and the Handicap Steeplechase 5050% a. Nominations will be received by the Secretary at Cambudge, and by Mr Percival, Auckland, up to Thursday, 2nd Apnl. No doubt the number of the entiles will be a sufficient ie ward to the stew.uds of this flouiislung club foi their liberality and enteipiise.

In our last issue, a correspondent " King of the Pippins '' diew attention to the fact that 40 boxes of apples weie mentioned in the manifest of the 'Fiisco mail-boat, Australia, notwithstanding th.it the imputation of Aineucan apples had been prohibited. Tlu> hint conveyed to the Hotticultural Society was taken, and at a meeting of the committee held yesterday, tlie following lesoVution \\.\% passed:—"The society has learned with surprise thatcases of American appleshav c been consigned to firms and presumably landed ftom the San Francisco mail bo its, notwithstanding tho Order-in-Council prohibiting the same, and the secretary is hereby authorised to represent the matter to the Government, and to request the members for Waikato and Waipa to urgo upon the (Government the desirableness of stringently enforcing the rrov lsious of the said Ordet in Council.

Tne Sydney Mail of the 21st Feb, has the following:—ln connection with the approaching departure of oui colonial foicc for active service in the Solid,in, we may mention that tho Australian Mutual Provident Society has most generously decided to foiego all claim to compensation for the extra risks to which their members serving m Lower Egypt must necessarily bo exposed. This decision of the directors was conveyed to tho Colonial Treasurer by letter dated 17th instant. When wo mention that it is customary for Life Insurance othces, under similar circumstances, to charge not only a heavy war risk, but also a heavy extia for residence, the naturo of the sacrifice made by the society will be thoroughly appreciated. Wo trust that the other colonial offices whoso policies are not essentially indisputable will be led to emulate the spii it of generous self sacrifice which the leviathian Austiahan society has manifestad, and will offer similar privileges to their members.