The Naikato Times AMD THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2067, 6 October 1885, Page 2

The Naikato Times AMD THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

J'qual and riact justice to all mm, Ot ulnt<o< \ir state or pcrsuamon, religious or pnlitiral. Hire <hall thi- Press the People's ntfht m unt^iin, Unawed by influence and unbribcd b) Rim

TUESDAY, OCT. G, 1885.

It is "ratifying to know that the canvass for plating the new issue of shares in the Co-operative Association is meeting with success. Stockowners, such of them at lenst as have been appealed to, have shown a most praiseworthy inclination to help themselves, and to rely no longer on otheis. Some ot the " big men," the men with large estates and large herds, have been conspicuously liberal, and if the whole body of settlers only contribute in proportion, no difficulty will be experienced in floating the necessary shares. The new issue consists of 10,000 £1 shares, and it is proposed to call up only 10s on each share, as in the case of the first issue. The prospect, so far as Waikato is concerned, is very encouraging, and it now remains to be seen how the project will be received in Auckland. That it will be received with open arms by the butchers straight off, is a little too much to expect. Naturally it will deprive them of some of then present pickings. On the other hand, many chaiges which they have now to meet will be done away with. But before we can expect their entire sympathy it must be proved to their satisfaction that they will lose nothing, if they do not gain anything, by the change. Their policy will be directed in the first instance to determining the precise value of the innovation. Their hearty support, therefore, cannot be looked for for some time. But this should not discourage, but rather spur the promoters on to renewed efforts. In the end, we do not doubfc that that the advantages conferred by a dead meat market will be fully acknowledged. The improved quality of the meat, and the element of certainty which will be introduced, are bound to tell in the long run. We arc informed that the question of the site of the .slaughter yards is to be decided by vote. Each applicant for shares is desired to specify the locality whirh, in his opinion, should be selected. tty this means th<» convenience of the majority of the shareholders will be met; but we have every reason to believe that, once 'ffifr .industry is fairly established, slaSgliter-yards will be required in more than one jdiice. It is not likely tl.uX theie

will be, any more than it is desirable tli.it thete should be, any real "rounds for jealousy in connection with the n\ini*nf the site.

Tim: notification forwarded last we-k 1>) the Hoard of Kducation to tin' committees managing the District High Schools .it Hamilton and Cambridge, that in the event ot a liber, J yi.int in aid not beins,' accorded b\ the commissioners, these schools must be closed at the end of the M-.ir, is ,i very serious mattei. It mean-, simply tiiis, that for many years to come the residents of Waikato will be debarred from giving to their childier the advantages of any education higher than that given free in the State schools. Private schools, such as some time a^o suiplied some modicum of advanced instruction, certainly, at any rate, better than none, cannot exist side by side with the State schools. They are too heavily handicapped to have even a show for existence unless in the large centres of population. There private schools are found existing ceitainly, but not flourishing. From whatever cause, tht< higher education.il institutions in Auckland unhappily do not hold a very high place m public estima- I tion. one result, of this unfortunate | fact being that the wealthiest residents in the Waikato have been accustomed to send their children to the Grammar Schools and Colleges fuither south. Of course, those who are in a position to undertake such very considerable expense in educating their children are few , md far between j but there arc many more who are alive to the advantages conferred by the higher instruction, and these have announced their intention to send pupils to one or other of the existing District High Schools by-and-bye. At present, in the school at Hamilton, there are only about a dozen pupils, while m the Cambridge school there are not in uiy more ; but that these numbers will be largely supplemented within a reasonable time, we .ire cony inced, if the schools are but allowed a further respite. Whilst, however, we cannot, and do not, think the threatened action of the board either justifiable or judicious, we must say that if the schools be finally closed at Christmas, the people themselves will to some extent be responsible for so great a calamity. Many of them, from whose business ability and common-sense better might be expected, seem to be absolutely besotted in their devotion to the Standards, attaching a wholly fictitious, or at any rate a very greatly exaggerated importance to passing the fifth a'ld sixth. The->e must be passed before they can see their way to send their children to the High School, apparently forgetting that hitherto the High School pupils have been able to pass their Standaids so well as to satisfy the I inspectors in their other subjects of study. At the same time, although the people as yet have not availed themselves of the High Schools as readily and largely as they might have done, we contend that the Board of Education is not justified in demanding that the Waikato High Schools should be entirely selfsupporting. In actual fact the Cambridge School has been very nearly so, and that at Hamilton has not gone so very much behind ; but where are there any Grammar Schools or Colleges in either island flourishing unaided by the State? We know of none. We can scarcely believe that the board seriously intends to carry out its threat, but we recommend parents to realise the fact that such a calamity may befall them, and to guard against its happening by sending their children to the school in numbers and at once.

The following gentlemen will play for Cambndge in tho foithcommg lawn tennis in.iti h with Hamilton :— Messrs Fit7gerald, I flint, Simm- and Edgar. The ordinary meeting of the Hamilton J)i.mnn Hoard, convened for last night, was .iiljMuiicd, owing to the press of business in the council. We would remind our sporting readers th.it entries for the Hunt Club Meeting, to be belli on the C mibndg<> raceLoin<eoti S.ituid.iy, tlin 17th inst , close on Thursday next, the Mth inst , at 8 p in. The usual meeting of the Hamilton Legislative Assoei ition will bo hold at the Public Hall, this evening Tho chief business will be the debate on the, financial poliry i>f tho dovernnient, and a full attendance of member* is anticipated. The milk suppliers of the Pate rangi Chee-e Factoi y, which is woikedon tho co-operative pnnciple, have jmt received a fuither di\ idend of one h i IF penny per gallon, miking the total amount received up to the present, 13d pei gallon. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Hamilton WMcyan Band of Hope was held in the <- c hoolronm last evening, Mi (1. French in the chair. There was a very good attandancet the building being fiacked from platform to door, and a long and v ,n led programme wm creditably given by members and friend*. Mrs Qox ably provided at the harmonium. The fortnightly meeting ot the Hamilton Young Men's Mutual Improvement Annotation was held at the Waikato County Council Chambers la«t night. The chairman read ft very interesting and inntructive paper on " The Year IKM.V 1 Atthe next meeting, on Monday, the l'ltli, Mr A, Sw.arbrick will Uelncr a lcctuie on "Water," A gentleman who is at present on a vi«it to the Arohi «</ld ( ield writei to a fiiend in Waikato —"Tin- goldheld is looking very well justnow, and everywhere tl.ere are indications of r revival of pniH. pwity, I would say, judging f i om what I have Been miico I came heie, that dull times me n thiitfir of the past to this very promising young goldndd," The weather still continueg un•pttled and cold for the season of the year. Fortunately tho heavy wrpiallH which ha\e paused over the district have not don* much damage* to tho fruit or grain crop*, though we hear from Canabndgo that a heavy hailstorm on Sunday produced some ill effects. There was a perceptible chans-n yesterday, though tho temperature ntllt continues low. Messr« Eeid and Gray, the wellknown agricultural implement makers, have inserted the following letter in tho Dunedin Htar, of the 2*>th Hnpt :— Sir,— Having been a«ke<l how it in that o«r name, which usually figure* ho cnnspicuously ih pn/e li«ts of agricultural niaclnnery, is P<* even niontioned in the lint of awards just published as having been made at th» Wellington Exhibition, wo would intimal« for the benefit of tho curious that, although our p\hib\ts occupied the largest space in the Exhibition, and were most favourably commented upon by Ilia Excellency Sir William Jervois, they wer« ali marked »nd entered ai "not for competition,' 1 heii£» oiii name docs not appefti in the prize li^t. —We .lie, etc.

The ordinary meeting of the Hamilton Cemetary Trustees was hold last night, tlie in.iynr, ch.iinu.in, providing A letter \\ .\s received from Sersreant \Lijm McUovern, statins that he hid nude nil enquiries as t<> the graves at the Hamilton Eist Cemetary being wantonly deseeiated, and that diligent enquiries would continue tv bo made in the matter. Mr S mdomoved a resol.ition dealing with Hie in vtti i, which it was thought would be effects c. The tendcis fur leasing thy ten acus of l.vnd, Hamilton Eist Cemetary, were not deilt with, it boing decided to sell the liM-e by public auction on Satm day next, .it the auction unit, .Hid to altei the con ditions to prowdo for gn/mg only, mil not for ciopping, so as to cons >lid.ite the land and keep the fcin down. A letter was leoeived fiom Mr Jones, lequestwg tint the Hamilton West Coiiktiry bo drain "d, and tho matter w.-s referred to a committee to repot t on the l")th inst. To the Editor —Sir,— As most of your readers are no doubt unaware of the high estmntion m which MrMofKtt is held by 3 this little community I deem it necessary t> wnto a few woids in reply to your editorial paragraph of tho 3rd inst suggested by Mi M>>tfitt"s communication. The town bond when deciding the small affair in which Mi Moflitt seems to take ho much interest should no doubt have been mHii enced by his well-known reputation for f lltilling contracts no matter how much under value taken, but being lavish of the public funds they actually accepted a tender one, shilling above Mr Moffitt's. As regards Mr Moihtt's allusion to storekeepers I have no no doubt contractors of hm calibre have often found them a convenient institution. I remain, &c , E Fn/r\riucK, Chairman Ngamaw.ihu Town Hoard.— [The para gi .M >h referred to was not suggested by, but contained tho gist of, a somewhat long and rnmbline communication from Mr Moftitt.— Ed ] The directors of the Cambridge Cheese and Bacon Factory met on Fnd.iy e\euiug, when se\eral matters of interest in c iiiuuction with the faetoiy were considered. Tlie mvtter of butter-making was gone into .it Mime length, and it h quite possible that the necessary mnchineiy w ill soon be obtained. In caso butter-making is undei taken operations in this lino will not be commenced before next April, when the milk supply will ha\e fallen too low- for choose making. The directors also decided to send a ton of cheese to the forthcoming Agiicultuial Show at Auckland for competition, and, we ha\o no doubt, judging from the quality of the article produced last season, it will take a leading pl.ice in tho exhibits under the head of dan y produce. As a sufficient supply of milk is not yet forthcoming cheese making was not commenced yesterday as intended, and tho opening of the season has accordingly been postponed till the mamger is assured of a supply of 1.10 gallons daily. All intending suppliers should at once send in their names with tho probable amount of their supply. Special messages to the Press Association, dated London, October '2nd mid 3rd, hive been published as follows:— ft having been suggested that the crew of the missing ship North American ma> have been cast away on .some of the islands on the mute of ocean going \e-sel*, the masters of all vessels have been urged to keep a shaip look-out foi them.— The New South Wales loan is already quoted at a premium of 13s Id per cent.— Some anxiety is felt for the safety of the Australasian Shipping Company s ship Antiope, 1413 tons. Tho vessel was under tow, and the hawser snapped. The vessel began drifting on to the Irish Coast. Owing to the heivy weather the tug was unable to get hold of tlie vessel .igun. Steamers have now been de-patched to render any possible assist ance. At tho tune of the accident the Antiope was under manned. -- M xjor Kitchener leports from Cairo that the f«ill of Khartoum was not duo to treachery, as alleged, but th.it the, city was m a state of starvation, caused by the delay of the e\ pedition sent to its relief. — Mr Berkley, tlie Att uney General of Fiji, leives by the steamer K.u-ar i Hind. The system re cently introduced of sixpenny telegrams has proved a great success. The Wellington correspondent of the Herald telegraphing on S Um day siys : —Professor Kn k's report of the condition of the fiuit-tiees of the colony his been issued fiom the Government Punting Office. It is an interesting paper ; I quote the following from tho repoit as to the condition of the peach crop-— "The peach is liable to tho attacks of numerous fungoid and insect enemies, ci pa hie of effecting a soiious diminution in the yield, and of exhausting the energies of the tree, but the total amount of injury caused by those unwelcome parasites during a long series of years would be but trifling when compared with the wholesale destitution that his overtaken the peach throughout the colony, and to which the trim peach blight is generally applied. Thousands of acres of peach orchards and plantations in tho Xoith Island have been destroyed. The grand peach groves of tlie Maoris in the Hokianga, Kaipara, W.ukato, Napifr and Wangaum distncts are things of the past, and tlie peach itself, once the most common fruit in the colony, has now become the rarest. It is no exaggeration to say thit by the destruction ot the pc icli trees the food supply of the colony has been diminish ed to the extent of several thousands of pounds " The paper is full of practical suggestions for the fruit-grower and the gardener. There are very few districts in Waikato that have flouiished so rapidly, from an agricultural point of view, within the pist fsvv years as the thri /ing district of Pukekura. Compared with Pukeiimu and Cambridge, the cultivation of the Puki kiir.v land is of recent date ; but, nevertheless, thn excellent crops which it has been yielding of late, and the rich pastures that an; to be met with on all hand* piove beyond doubt tho great excellences and und mbted fertility of the soil With another two or three years woiking, it will be unsurpassed by any land in the W.ukato countiy. Though the wheat crop of last year was, generally speaking, profitless, still Mr Seabiooke, one of the new Mottleis, did rem.irk.ibiy well with a crop of about SO acres, which averaged 3"> bu'hels tf) the acre, and for which he got 3s (id a bushel. This crop, theiefore may be coiiHideied to have pud handsomely. There is a very good acetage of vvhoit in thin yoar, almost as large as last year, but there is ntill ft larger acreage of oats. On the farms of Messrn Reynolds, Allen, Sea brooke, Hicks and others, in fact on about every farm in the distnct, tho young crops are coming up well, and looking thick and liitiilthy. Everywhere the eyes turn they an* confronted with htiong evidences of prospeious cultivation, truly encouraging. The pastures, the oarlln6..sj of the season notwithstanding, aro looking really magnificent, and every acre is well stocked. Some of tho farmers are now putting in thoir potatoes in large patches in some placen. Homo of last year's crop was dispoied of the othor day to tho Co operative, at £3 a ton. Mr McCoy'* farm of ],">Q acres changed hands the other day, .Tudgo Hognn buying it for two young nephews just out from Home. Tho puce has not transpired, bljt is thought to bo about £8 an ncre.