ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2037, 28 July 1885, Page 4

ECHOES FROM THE CAFE.

Thk great sensation here just now is the proposal of tho Government to guarantee the syndicate who propose to construct the East and West Coast Railway in the Middle Island, the payment of something like £100,000 per annum for twenty yeai s, in addition to giung them two million pounds wortli of land. The giving of the land, though it was vigorously opposed by a 1 irge section of the Hou«e, is defensible on the ground that it has little value .it pro sent, on account of the difficulty of access to it, and that tho construction of tho railway would give a large \aluo to tho lemaindei of the land through which the railway would run, which would still remain tho pioperty of the colony. But what re turn should we receive for the addition to our burdens of £100,000 per annum foi twenty years? That is a question which even Sir Julius Vogel, with all hm sophistry, it unable to answer. Experienced men, well acquainted with the country through which the railway would pass, say that for years tho earnings will not be sufficient to pay the actual working ex penses, to say nothing whnteves about interest on its cost, or the maintenance of the rolling stock and permanont way. If all tho members looked at the matter honestly and dispas-uopa^ely, solely with a view t<> the real interests of the colony, not one would be found voting for the proposal, but, unfortunately, local interests aro too often thought paramount to those of the whole country, and for this reason the Canterbury and Wast Coast members will je found supporting it. Hawcver, they are not a majority of tho House, and, if tho North Island and Otago members combine to protect the interests of the colony, the job will not be perpetrated.

It is asserted that the Canterbury Member* are attempting a piece of log-rolling in connection with this matter and are offering to support tho renewal of tho Kan Francisco mail contract on condition that tho AuckRepro«entatives assist them to perpetrate the East and Wost Coast Railway swindle, but it is to be hoped that our membeis will not so far forget their duty to the country as to enter into such an unholy alliance. They would do well to cntorinto a compact with tho Otago members to checkmate the Canterbury people, whether wo lose the San Francisco mail service or not. This service in of great linpoitance to us and to all tho North Island, though the Wellington Chamber of Commerce fail to sco this, but tho loss of it would bo a meie bagatelle compaied with the loss to us as well as to the rest of the colony which would be tho result of guaranteeing £100,000, per annum for twenty yearn for the construction of a line of railway which will probably not earn enough to pay for giea->o for the carriagewheels. Of course, we should be extremely sorry to lose the San Francisco mail service, as it is the fastest and most reliable we have or are likely to have, to s*y nothing of the advantage of being in direct communication with the United States of America. What valid leasons can be given for the discontinuance of the aar\ ice Ido not know. We get our mails mor« quickly by this route than by any other, and the speed can be considerably increased, while the cost to the colony is a mero bagatelle, only about £3000 per annum. The main objection of the Wellington Chamber of Comineice, which decided that the contract should not be renewed, seemed to be that Auckland re iped more benefit than .any other place in New Zealand. If Wellington ueio made the poit of arrival and depaituie, no doubt the Chamber of Commerce of that city, would veiy materially alter its views.

* There is at present in Mount Eden Gaol a man named Dunn, who was charged on Monday last with committing a burglary at the Oxford Hotel at about half-past two o'clock on Sunday morning', and was re manded for a week. He was lecently ieleased fiom Wellington Gaol, after serving fourteen yean' imprisonmpiit for burglary. Since his arrival in Auckland he was committed for trial on a charge of stealing a watch and chain, but the case broke down through the man who was robbed failing to identify the stolen property, and Dunn was acquitted. Fiom that time till Saturday nipht he was "shadowed" by Detectire Herbert, who was ultimately rewarded for his trouble by catching Dunn in tho act of escaping from the Oxford Hotel after having committed a burglary there. Now comes tho extraordinary part of the story. Dunn nays that Herbert "chummed up" with him and suggested to him that he should commit the burglary with which he is charged. Of coime, theie may bo nothing in the statement, or Herbert may simply have made a pretence of friendship for the pui pose of pi eventing crime, in which case his conduct was not only peimissiblo but most praiseworthy, but if the assertion be true, the sooner Mr Herbert is with his " chum " in Mount Eden Gaol the better for the community at large. At any rate, it is absolutely necessary that there ■hould be a most searching enquiry into the whole circumstances of the case. Some years ago a youth was chaiged with setting fire to a waiehouse for tho purpose of obtaining a lrward for discovering the fiie, but this is the first time that we have had an officer of the police foice charged with instigating a crime so that he might have the honour of ciptuiing tho perpetrator of it, and the public will not rest satisfied unless with a mo-^t thoiough investigation is made.

Newmarket having becomo a Boiough, and having got a real live Mayor and a Borough Council of its own, is going to float a loan for the purpose of piowding drainage and a water supply. Foitunatcly for the ratepayers, the amount that it is proposed to boirow is only £(>,OOO, but if I weie one of the burgesses I should stiongly object to the pioposal. Why should wo, individually and collectively, h"continually Loriowmg' The teal lne Mayor said that, if the property in the Borough were faiily valued, tho rates would lie doubled, as there were large blocks of land m it now assessed at their value for gia/ing purposes, which should be assessed at their value as building sites. I believe the statement is mibstantially correct, and that it shows that there la no necessity to boriow. The rates paid hitherto have been found sufficient for street maintenance, &c, and there is no necessity for an increase in oidmary expenditure. If the Borough Ctuncil were wise, they would decide that there should bo no more spent in that way than hitherto, and expend the increased lates received through tho increased assessment and Sir George Grey's fiiend, the unearned increment, in canying out their drainage woiks and pioviding a water supply. By doing so they would grt tho work done moro economic illy, and though it would take a longer time to do, when it was finished they would h.ivo tho satisfaction of knowing that, the winks belonged to the burgesses, and not to their creditors. However, I supposo there is no uso in offering tho Borough Council any good advice. They live, in the Great Loan Land, and in older to show their nationality and their patnotism, they miuthave a loan. * #

* Talking about Newmarket reminds me that one of the loed vendors of milk, or what is sold by that name, is accused of ha\ ing mixed carbolic acid with the fluid supposod to come fiom the cow. Cubolic acid is a very useful substance, being especially valuable as a disinfectant, but we liave yet to learn that it nnpro\es null; when mi *ed with it. Of course, tho \ endor of the hcteal fluid asserts that ho did not "mi\ his liquors'' so, and tho question arisen, How did tho carbolic acid get into tho milk ? Perhaps the cows were gra/.mg too near the Hospital and eat grass which had been saturated with the acid, or they may have had sickness among their calves and used it as a disinfectant, and accidentally upset it into the milk-pails, or, learning from the statements made in tho borough council that tho diainago was defective, they may havo put it in for tho purpose of preserving the health of tho burgesses. \t any ratt, it is a matter winch requires tho careful attention of W. (t. Garrard as soon as he has got the unemployed off his hands. * •

By-the-way, William (i. did not have a very pleasant time of it at the meeting of the unemployed the other evening, nor did the convenor of tho meeting. The larrikin-, were not satisfied with the way in which the matter was being consideied, and undertook to "run the concern." They intenupted the speakers, the result being that tho meeting broke up in confusion, and the convener of the meeting was so jostled by tho larrikins that the police had to interfere for his protection. Garraid, acting on a suggestion made by the Star, to the effect that it would be better to hold tho meeting in the daytime, mo that thoso who aro not unemployed should not attend, has convoned another meeting, to bo held between 10 and 11 o'clock in tho forenoon, at which larrikins or city Arab 1, are kjnueated not to attend.

There h i-> l>een a great outcry in the newspaper lately about excessive chaigi s alleged to have been made by th« Auck-

land (4as Company, and suggestions have been m.ule that <i new company should be foimod or that the corporation should erect gas-works for tho purpnso of brcikuig down tho present monopoly. Unfortunately, neither plan is practicable at present, as the company is too stiong. For yi\irs past they have been making large I >i (»fit*«, and, m addition to fifteen, and latterly scxcntcoii percent, to Hbaieholdrrs, they have b'en spending large sums m extending their mams. The rosult is that it would icquire a \eiy large amount of capital to enable .1 new compuiy or the corpoiation to compete with them, and h.iwug so many miles of mains already laid and paid for, to ,i laige extent nut of piohN, the oMstinu company could afford to leduce the pnee to a much smaller amount that any opponent could charge and still make a handsome profit. lam afi.nd th.it tho only tiling foi the con-umeis to do is to pay and look pleasant. Sr. Mungo.