AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2000, 2 May 1885, Page 2

AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal nnil cxart justice to ill men, Ot vvh itsopver it itc or persuasion, religioin or politiril. Hero sh ill tlio Press the PonjiK '<: ntrht miintam Un.iweil by influence iml unbrilx d 1)> gvn

SA TURD AY, MA Y J, 188.').

It is just possible tliiit, in the hubbub and excitement of the preparations to meet the Russians, the Government may lose its head. "We do not mean by this that the hon. Rob^i't Stout's life is in danger, but rather that all the Ministers exhibit just the shadow of a tendency (we crave pardon for using the vulgarism) to go " off their chump." It is of course their plain duty to put the chief ports of the colony in a state of safety, and to organise such a force as will be sufficient to man the defences. To do anything more than this is simply to waste the revenues of the country. There is not the remotest chance of a Russian army landing with the idea of subjugating New Zealand. Before Russia can capture the colonies of Great Britain it will be necessary to conquer Great Britain itself. At present the " little spot " is pretty safe, and so, by consequence, are we. The visit of a Russian cruiser, on the other hand, is a contingency not at all unlikely to arise, and it must be met. We think the Government has done all that can be done with the moans at hand to meet it. If the hc.-uy guns now in position are inadequate, it is ridiculous to suppose that their places can be filled by militiamen, even though they be dressed in moleskin and dungaree, of which jesthetic materials we are informed the uniforms are to be constiuctrd. A cruiser's shell will go through men just as easily as they will penetrate the corrugated iron roofs of tho city warehouses. The duty of the defenders is to keep the enemy's \ essels at a safe distance outside. What th" !io\ eminent ought particularly to guard itself against at a time like tho present is the creation of a class of military barnacles, which it will not be easy when calmer counsels prevail to cast oft 1 . Drilled men we must have, of course, but these we already possess in the Armed Con•stabularly and volunteers. Let the Government by all menus encourage \ olunteering. The volunteer force is effective, the system is wholesome, and the cost of maintaining it is trifling. There is not the slightest necessity for creating a huge military establishment in the colony, with its commander-in-ch lef, stafl's, and parasites innumerable. Each port will have to look .itt<T itself pretty much, and each ought to be self-reliant. Were a Russian cruiser to .succeed in .silencing the batteries on the Waitemata, it is hardly likely that the skipper, polite as Russians may be, would consent to lay oft" until we had sent for Colonel, or General, or FieldMarshal Whitmore ! If it did not im olvc such a waste of money the warlike preparations of the Government would bo amusing. As it i.s, there is much in connection with thorn that must deplore and deprecate.

The Ngaruawahia Birthday Race Meeting will bo held »n the 2">th mst The pi ogiainme appeals in anothei column.

The local option poll at Ngaruawahi.i resulted in favour of an mciease of licenses by 6 to nil.

People who are in any way interested in the electoral 101 l »f the Cam budge Town Dintnet can now inspect it at the office of tho boaul.

We understand that Messrs Hally Bros' bieweiy, Canibndgc, will shoitly change hands. A southern man is the piirahasci.

The Government have made ariangements for stacking 1000 tons of coal at Peniose, to be kept 111 readiness to supply lii itinli crniucrs in these vvatei-s.

The local option poll for the Caml)iidge town licencing distnct will be taken on Knrlay, May 15th, at the olhce of the Cambridge Town Hoard. Tho poll is not likely to evoke much interest.

It will be seen from an announcement 111 another column that the Piosbyterian church services at Hautapu, which have been discontinued foi the l»»t month, owing -o removal of tiie building, will be recommenced by the Key. W. Evans, next .Sunday aftei noon.

The Piako County Council has received permission fiom the Telegraph Commissioner, to eiect sign boaid* indicating the distance on the telegiaph posts between C unbi idge and Taupo. When thchO are elected it will be a great convenience to trav oilers passing over this dreaiy tiact of country.

A meeting of shareholders of the N N.Z.K Co-opeiativo Association, and < l hers interested will be held at the Public II ill, Te Awamutu, on Monday evening. Addic^cs will bo delivered by Messrs W. A. (Jrahatri, J. (Jane and others.

The pheasant shooting season commenced yesteiday, but though a number of people wont out with dog and gun we hav ¥ hoard of no remarkable bags. Birds .in repotted to ba shy, and pukokocs and quail ue le-torted to to make a bag.

The annual meeting of the Austiauan Mutual Provident Society was hold on the 30th.. A resolution was pa^ed providing that future Homines shall become avoiliblo after the policies have endured two ye.us, and smiendor values be paid after a. similar peried has elapsed.

The local option poll for the M mgapiko district will be taken on the Jls! mst

The annual meeting of ratepayers in tho Cambridge and Taotaoioa road bond disLiut-i, will bu held to day at Cam budgo. The meeting of the T.nitiuioi i itepayers will be held at the Duke of Cimbiidgc Hotel at 11 o'clock, md the meeting of the Cambridge i.itepajers at '2 oYWk at tlie Ciiteuon tlotel

The local option poll at Canibiidge West was decided in favour ot th" teinpci.inco pirty by a good majunty Wither p.uty took a very active pait m tlie matter, and thoievvas not th it excitement and bustling aftei votes w Inch tisn illy characterises licensing pnllh in this quartei U'e have not ■set loceived tin; lesult of tho p ill at Ohaupo.

Mining business does not seem to bo p.utienlaily Houiishmg at Waioronßo in n just now. Many of the mines aie not sending down quilt/, and the county council comphiin, of not being able to get the tiamway ficight money out of the coinpimes. Tho manager reports that the tl iiuvvay is p>nly winking- half time, and the hinds are veiy much dissatisfied, it not fitting sufficient wmk. It is expected fi.it in tho completion of the new luttery, a change f<n tho better will take place.

The Cambridge Town Board is bent upon cnfoi ung the law against propoity holders who persist in allowing goi/u to ov oi mu the toad in fiont of their propeily. Of late the gorze has become a gient nuisance and an eyesone in certain parts of the town, .-tud the board would ceitamly be overlooking its duty did it allow it to continue any longei. The board notifies that its older in tins matter must b' immediately complied with failing which the penalties undei clause 98 of the " Public Works Acts, 1«7(> " will bo onfoiced.

When the matter of the alteration of tins time-table was being discussed by the Piako County Council, at its meeting on Wednesday. Mi Would* great trouble wan that as the train did not arrive .it Moiiuisvillo until night had .set in, tiavollers passim; thiough to Te Aioha would not bo able to .see tho tow n. This view of tho situation reflects vciy creditably upon the thoughtfulness and ingenuity of tho mind that conceived it, and u>> doubt Mr Mould's noble sentiments will ie ceive duo lccogiution at the h mds of the residents and piopeiry Imldeis of that impiutint and lisin centie.

The main road between Te Aroha and Waioiongoniiii is at present being gravelled and put in a thoiotigh stite of repair. Those who had occasion to pass over this load last vvintoi know what a frightful thoioughfaiu it was. Fiom one end to the othei it was an impassable qu.ij^iinie over which wheeled tiathc in any form vvas an almost impossibly. It is now expected that before wmtet sets in the load will bo put in a sufhd'iitly good c oidition tovvithstwid the softening influence of the coming winter.

We learn that Mr J. Vereker Bindon, M. V , has wntten to the Hamilton Kast School Coiniiiittt i", offcini^ to take evening classes fiom 7 to 5.30 o'clock each evening. In case thu committee accept tho otfei, of emu so a sin ill chat go will be made to covei expenses, but Mr Bindon, we hear, declines accepting any remuneration himself. There must be a gieat many young men about Hamilton who have been forced to leave school at an early age, find have had no <>ji|xntiiinty of getting help in H'lf nnpiovenient. To the.se the opportunity now otfeied is one that ought not to be neglected.

The following special messages to tho Press Association, dated London, April 2tlth, have been published : — The tnal shipment of Adelaide grapes, .sent home by the steamer Shannon, have arrived in a rotten condition. — Sir Saul Samuel, Agent-General for New South Wales, ontei tains Lord Curringtou, the new (Governor of that colony, on the !)th May. Tho Dukes of Bedford and Manchester, the Karls of Kimberley, Catnperdown, Belmore, Carnarvon, and DalhoiiMo ; Viscount Bury, Lord Derby, Admiral Sir Astley Cooper Key, Sir William McArthur, Sir AndrewCl.uk, Su Daniel Cooper, Commodurc Erskine, Mr Fan fax (Sydney Morning Herald), Mi W, K. Foister, Admiral Wilson, the Bishop of Bithuist, and ;i l.uge nuiubci of colonists have been inviterl.

Says an Exchange :- For its area thiMi' w jnnliiblv nut ,i hi»M ciuntiythan Xi u 'A m! mil, It h !■■ h li l»tm -., good land, a splendid cliiiiatf, and h tcomin^ with miiici.il wealth. It could suppnt m mukoil comf'ii; I^OOO.OOO.pf p....,1.., and vet h ilf .i-million can haidly "nibon"in it TT p pvv n-lnjM aio tleciving, ti.ider-. "pushed, ' Innks gambhug with buirowcd money, and a huge piopoition <if thu lahouriug and aitisan classes arc out of employment Why ? ltocnttHc of mtemperance and land monoply. The first gives us disease, befogged brains, and ciitr.e in return for weiilth; the latter causes agricultural land here to be dearer than in England, and town lots in country villages to bo fivo times dearer than building lots in f.i>lii<iitable suburbs nf London— Wimbledon Paik and Wandsworth, where building land was selling two months ago .it £300 per acie. The i>erson who paid t'37"> the other day for a quarter-acre section at Hastings, a Southern town, soino distance from the railway station, could h.ivo purchased a second-cl.isi passage to Kngl.ind and back, and an acre of land ni'.ir London into the bargain, foi the same sum