The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2141, 30 March 1886, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

j'quul and exact justiue to all men, >l wha'soevernate 01 persuasion, religions or polilira) -lero shall the Press the People's right maintain, Un.iwed by influence and unbnbed by gain.

TUESDAY, MARC '£f 3O, 1886.

Wiiex a few years ago it was discovered that apples infected with the Codliti moth were being imported into this colony, a terrible outcry was raised. Where was the use, asked the indignant orchardists, of worrying one's self about selecting the best varieties and tenderly nursing the young trees, if, after all, the labour of years was to be sacrificed to the Moloch of the American export trade? There was a great deal of good sense in the query, and the protest which it accompanied was held to be valid enough to call for a proclamation under the hand, of the Governor, prohibiting the importation of such undesirable fruit. This, however, was not the only good result of the scare. A lively interest was at once excited in all mattters bearing upon the subject of the diseases afflicting apples and other fruit, and in the Nelson district in particular pomologists openly avowed that the introduction of the pest was to be regarded rather as a blessing than a curse. People who theretofore had paid but little attention to their orchards, who had been content to let things rip, so to speak, were driven to bestow some attention upon their trees, the result being atter making full allowance for tribute levied by the rapacious moth, an improvement both in the quality . quantity of the fruit. After this it may savour of ingratitude to concert measures for the extermination of the winged depredator ; but having learned our lesson we can easily afford to do without our instructors. Very well then. To return. A quiet observer cannot avoid being struck with the change which has come over the spirit of the orchardists, who so loudly railed at the Codlin moth on the Queenstreet wharf, and who calmly contemplate the intruder, and make very little fuss about his presense when they behold him on their own trees. Yet the danger is much more pressing • now than it was then. To be sure, grief and pain and danger are much more terrible in anticipation than in reality. We shiver and shake very often at the approach of some evil, the actual presence of which we afterwards manage to bear with tolerable equanimity. This may be very philosophical in respect of moral evil, but it is something quite difficient when the visitatiou takes such a vulgarly practical shape as the Codlin moth. Resignation to -one's fate under such circumstances is not the outcome of philosophy, but of do\vn- ? right indolence and nothing else. Orchardists are now face to face with a- very pressing danger. After years of careful labour' they have succeded in acquiring for Waikato a name and fame as an apple producing district. The exhibition of fruit in Hamilton last year and at Cambridge a. few days ago fairly^ astonished visitors to this district, and the opinion was freely advanced that no better show could be seen in any part of the world. It is sad to think that such a promising industry should be threatened with partial, if hot entire destruction, and those whose aspirations do occasionally rise above the earth should bestir themselves without delay. It is no secret that a number of orchards in the Cambridge district, and possibly some elsewhere, are infected. Though it is quite possible that some owners of orchards are quite willing to take things as they come, there are other people who are alive to the necessity for taking pron{pt> an&stringen^&cition. At the meStihK <^Jfchfrj'x>om«nittee of ' the Cambridge ■ Horticultural Show, on Saturday last, Mr Thomas Wells drew his fellow-committee-men's attention to the subject, and urged that the sooiety should at once take steps to deal with the pests, citing the practice followed in America in support of his contention. Mr Wells deserves great credit for his action, but we question very much whether the method he proposes will be found effectual. The society may be actuated by the very best intentions, but it is powerless to do any good without the active sympathy and the material support? of all those concerned. Now it' may be a harsh, thing to say, but we do not believe there over was :m effort put forth by anybody for the benefit of any p irticular class ■ which enjoyed the confidence and 1 sympathy of that class as a whole. , Bonce we find that the most benevolent legislation needs to be enforced. Is this not true of vaccination? Is it not true of education 1 Hecognising, as we suppose they did, this singular failing in human nature, the House of Representatives, in the session of 1884, passed a measure intituled the ! Codlin Moth Act, for the sole benefit and behoof of respectable* orchardists, who required; and still requite td v be protected against other members of their own class. It is to the provisions of this Act, rather

than to the society, that we ought to turn for fc, remedy. The machinery provided by the Act is simple, Mie .tfUninistrators being no other than tjie loqal bodies having jurisdiction in!' the several districts. Clause 4 reacls as follows : — 4. #b« JBbrojiK'h or County Council in:iy, On th© receipt of a petition signe-i >jy not less tlitiii five portions who are occupiers of orchards within any pro posed dintnct^atating approximately the number of tiftes Qwned by such petitioners K'spe< lively, atjd praying thai any portion of the county described in such petition may be declared a clean or unclean district under this Act, causa the prayo: anrl substance of such petition to be published in the one newspaper published nearest to the proposed district; md, unless a counter petition, signed by omipiers of orchards owning a laige nnmber^of trees ifi this same portion- of the county than the persons praying such distiict to be declared, is received by the Borough or County Council within •thirty days from the- date of snch publication, the Borough or County Comicil may, by Proclamation, constitute and declaie the area described in such petition to be a district for the purposes of this Act, by some specific name. The terra " County Council" is taken to mean the Road Board in counties where the Act is not worked, and the term "Borough Council" comprehends " Town Board." " Tree" means apple* or" pear tree. Clause 5 provides tliat the owner of every orchard in an unclean district shall pay a sum uot exceeding one halfpenny for every tree per annum, such money to go into the " Codlin Moth Fund," which is to be applied in. the direction of abating the nuisance, for the payment of inspectors, &c. The rest of the measure is of a routine -character. Only by some such mode of procedure as laid down in this Act can the evil be met, and, if that be possible, finally eradicated. The Horticultural Society can render valudibje , by promoting petitions ""against unclean districts, and by spreading abroad information on the subject of the moth and its removal, but upon the local bodies rests the onus of tackling the difficulty in a comprehensive and determined manner.

Sports will be held at Tauwhare on Easter Monday. Particulars will be given in a future issue.

The Justices of fthe Peace in the Jury District of Hamilton will meet on Friday next to revise the jury list.

A special message to the Press Association d.ited London, March 27th, states that in the Reichstag Prince Bismarck referred .oruinoijsly to the present attitude of' France towards Germany.

Heavy rains fell in and around Cambridge last night, which were * relief to many householders who had again been carting water for domestic uses.

About 130 signatures have been obtained to the petition for the incorporation of Cambridge, and the document will shortly be forwarded to the seat of Government.

A ciindus sport; supposed to pc of the Cornish GillifiWer apple, has been left at our office. We shall be glad to show the same to any poinologists who may feel interested in the unatter, with a view to getting » name for the frujt. :

Several new buildings are in course of erection in Hamilton. Mr Wright, who recently, purchased fiveacrps of land from Mr Jolly, is now erecting a dwelling house thereon. The site is oue of the best in the neighbourhood.

The Siddall Family, of Scotch vocalists, , character actors and musicians are announced to appear in the Public Hall, Hamilton, on Wednesday and Thursday, April 7th and Bth. The family have received very high encomiums from the press.

The old mission house at Hopuhopu, recently burned down, was, it seems, insured in the Manchester office for £250. The stock (the building wa3 used as a general store by Mr McDonald) was' insured for £400, and the furniture for £50 in the same office.

Mr McOutcheon, representing Messrs "Webb and Son, the noted English seed glowers, will attend at the Ohaupo sale to-day. Ho will also be present at the sale of Mr J. S. Buckland'a effects on Wednesday, and at the Cambridge Cattle Sale on Thursday.

The members of the Cambridge Football Club met at Kirkwoods Hotel on. Saturday last. Mr N. Hunt was elected captain. It was resolved to arrange for n match, with Hamilton, to take place in six weeks, and challenges are to be sent to Te Aroha, Alexandra, and Eihikihi. Mr Kirkwood\Vas elected president, and Dr. Waddington and Major Wilson vice-presi-dents of the club. '

Several lists are in the hands of various gentlemen in Cambridge soliciting subscriptions on behalf of 'the family of the unfortunate man John Sutherland, and already 'ft good sum has been subscribed. This is a case which desires the atteution of the local musical or dn\tijjatic club 3, whb conld get up an entertainment for the benefit of . the distressed family. - ,-

A cheap thrke days' excursion to* Te Aroha has been provided fur by tho railway authorities. The train will leavo Auckland on Friday next at 2 p.m., arriving at Te Aroha at 8.35 p.m., stopping at various stations, and returning from To Aroha on Sunday, the 4th, at 4 p.m. The scale of fares is publistaßd-ißfjthe advertisement , , • y . .'

The Hon. P. A- Buckley, Colonial Secretary, was a passenger to Auckland, from, ftotorua, by yesterday afternoon's train. It' was intended that a deputation of the Borough (Jouncil should, in the absence of the Mayor, vt&it upon Mr Buckley, in, reference to the prapo3ed ( public' buflHrafes, btit'they unfortunately ' missed the, train. Mr Buckley leaves for Wellington this afternoon. . :

The Waikato Timber ComDany , (Limited) (appellant) r. Gwynneth (resi pondent.) It will be remembered that some time since ths apellants laid an information against the respondent for illegal ..distress, and the case wa?- dismissed."* Ttfo appellants appealed, and thfci case will come on for ~ argument on Wednesday, the 31st imt. Mr Button, of Messrs Whitaker and Russell, will probably appear for the appellants, and Mr Hay, who conducted the defence in the court before, for the respondent. !

A splendid sample of the Gloria Mundi appfe, grown Dy Mr C. J. StoPey, JUngiaohia, and weighing Ulba, has been forwarded to us. In appearance it closely resembles the two-pound monstor grown by Mr R. Poat, of Hamilton, whioh attracted so much notice at Cambridge, and Rained the first prize at the Auckland Show.Some doubt exists in the minds of orchardiats as to, the real name of thus apple. . Its right to l?e called Gloria Mundi haa been disputed, and it haa been set down as the Alanbank Seedling. So far as we can gather, however, we believe it i« a New Zealand seedling in' want of a dutiuctive appellation.

A special meeting of the Waikato County Council will be held At 2 p.m. on Friday, the 30th April, for the purpose of nuking a by-law by special order, whereby the county by laws at present in force for regulating the slaughtering of cattle will t|p repealed, and a new by-law made in tern* of section 20 the Sliuighter-houfes Act, 1877, by which a fee of five pounds fiye shillings sterling per annum will be charged in respect of every license granted by the Waikato County Council to slaughter cattle in slaughter-houses within the County of Waikato. A copy of the proposed by-law may be inspected during office hours at tho county office, section 261, >Kirikiriroa, for thirty dayp.

Sergt. McGrath a few days ago received a letter from H. H. Warner and Oo.'s Melbourne manacor in reference to Mr "Arthnr Morton. Mr Ives, who^e brother "Morton " represented hihwelf t&i \)o ip Auckland, thanks Mr MoGrath for' hftvingijjrought the. offender to juatice, .andf

is anvioim to know whether anything of v.iliid was found «[)<>n him, as when he left Melbourne he was posrtetSHud of .1 gold witch_ and a considerable number of yivereigns. Of course nothing was found on him bi>y(ind the, balance of th« money It h rowed from Mrs Gwynne. Mr Ive^ liplipvos " Morton's " real name to be Allen Billing.

A correspondent at Te Ror3 wi itos :— The crops in thii district this year hi vu turned out vciy f.ur, considering the <liy reason we have had, especially ho no of the turnip crop->. Mr Robin-on, one of the early settler^ of this district, has a 12-acie paddock of swedes woith going ten miles to huo.:— lt ii a great pity that we lnvo only :\ half-ttmo school in this district, for tho number of cluldien attending the school is getting up hill fuit.— O,ir T.H.D.O. are about to take step-< in tlie mattei of getting up ,i grand lull, winch 1-1 to t.ike [)lace about the end of Apiil, 1888.— The tnjii of the steamer up the Waipa river have been very lnegular of late.

WJiat might have been a serious accident happened to Mr W. Crawford, >\ho is employed by Mr Qualliougb. butcher, 'Hamilton West, on Sunday List. It appeals while he wa? riding after a »tr»yed .fcullock, the animal jumped the fpuce into the Hamilton We-,t gravel-pit, and Crawford chasing it ran the horse into a hole about eight feet depp. The horso was stakfed tfnHernoath the shouldpr, but the rider tortunately escaped with a shaking. No blame is attached to Crawford for the accident as/he did not see the hole, owing to the thick growth of furze, until be fell into it.

At the Auckland Gardeners' Horticultural Show, held on Friday, the fruit was the lending characteristic, ftupeOially *pplos. For many ye.ua Mr H. E. Sharp has been king of the roost, so far as apples are concerned, but at Friday's show he encountered a rival in the person of Mr Lippiutt, of Otahuhu, who secured the "cup with his rnagniticent collection of fruit, as they-wereTßtnarkably well developed, and possessed a richness of colouring which left nothing to be de?ired. So far as Waikato is concerned, Mr Geo. Edgecumbe secured a prize, second, for culinary apples, Mr E. Lippiatt taking the first ; and Mr Robert Peat got first prize for the largest apple. Messrs Forrest, D. Mclndoe, and J. Sharp exhibited twelve varieties apples (six dessert and six culinary), but there was no award.

It Wai reported in Cambridge, last night, that a innu had jumped into the Wnikato River and had disappeared. Percy Ewen was on the riverside, near the baths at about six o'clock, when he saw a man divest himself of hat and coat and dive into the river, and did not again see him reappear. Ewen came to the ' town and made the circumstances . known, and Constable Brennan accompanied by Mr dull, postmaster, and others went to the river to scarcji but it having become intensely dark no., traces of any clothing or other evidence of the report could be'found up to the hour of closing the Telegraph Office. The police ware making every endeavour to ascertain the truth of the report. The following special messages to the Pre*s Association, dated London, March 27th. have been published :— A Colonial and Indian Commercial Museum is projected in London.— lt is reported that Russia has occupied Port Lazareff. — The Payment of Members Bill, introduced into the Houae* of , Commons by Mr Howard Spenselj', M.P., proposes to pay members an honorarium of £300, the money to be paid from the rates. — Sir W. John Clark, of Victoria, has forwarded to the Lord Mayor of London a cheque for £250 for the relief of the unemployed in London.— Dr. Thomas, of Adelaide, is conducting an inquiry into a disease which is at present .>lfeotinp'ceran.l«. — Mr George Ploy dell has been appointed sole liquidator in connection with the affairs of the Commercial B ink of South Australia, and petitions presented for winding-up the bank have been postponed until June next.

. r, The Rqv. Mr Dewsbury preached his valedictory sermon at S. Paul's Wesleyan Church, Cambridge, on Sunday evening. There was a large congregation, amongst whom were many from the other churches, who hold Mr Dewsbury in high estimation. The reverend gentleman took his text from the three concluding verses of the XVI chap, of S. Pawl's Epistle to the Romans, and preached a powerful and eloquent sermon, in the course of which he spoke with telling* effect in defence of Christianity and the evidence of the authenticity of the Gospels, as against the assaults of Strauss and other sceptics. Mr Dewsbury leaves this district on Thursday, and it is needless for us to say how vuiy deeply his departure will ba felt by all classes, and. trait it will be a genuine loss to the whole community, for Ins earnestness and energy in all useful and Chriitum work, aud alto. tor his erudition, breadth of views, and liberality of sentiments as a pulpit orator and at social gatherings. Both in Mr Dewsbury and his very excellent lady, Cambridge society loses friends difficult to replace. What is our loss is the gain of the North. Shore, which is to ba the sphere of Mr Ddwsbu'py's usefulness for a term. Wo heartily wish them God speed. Th,e valedictory banquet to Mr J. S. Buckland comes off in the Public Hall, Cambridge, to-morrow night. Mr Buckland is about to leave the colony for Victoria, haying been impelled to take this step on account of the failing health of Mrs Buckland, who has been ordered a change of climate. There has probably never been in Waikato a more popular, a more widely esteemed man than Mr Buckland. In every corrirnuniny and among all classes he has made himself thoroughly accqptable, and the regret at his departure is universally, felt. Not only as an energetic and punctilious man of business, but an a lover and patron of all manly and out-door sports and pastimes, and as a leading spirit in social matter*, he will be greatly missed in Waikato. His face had become so familiar in the rostrum, in the hunting-field, aud at all places where men gather together, that his absence will be acutely marked. In his .own immediate friendly circle his will be felt more keenly still. In common with all who know him, we earnestly hope that the change will prove advantageous, and -tout change of scene and arrvill restore Mrs Buckland to her wonted health. The gathering to-morrow night promises to" be a numerous one, and we need not say that it will be enthusiastic. We understand that Mr J. B. Whyte, ,-M.rLR., will occupy the chair. "Civis," in the Otago Witness, writes :—": — " It is.cruelly. hard upon Protectionists that Henry' George, of all men, should have taken to writing against them. Every dissenter from the received political economy, every rebel against the domination of landlords and capitalists, looked upon Henry George as his Heaven-sent cuido, philosopher and friend. No other such revolutionary book on the land question and the wages question was ever issued frpm the press ' as George's ' Progress and Poverty.' Mill and the other old fogies who had taken a brief to justify things as they are were simply chopped into mincemeat — so thought the working man. Henry George with his epoch-making bonk was the prophet of a new era, in which labour was ereiywheie to boss it over capital and the tenant expropriate the landlord. These blessings are deferred for the present, and in the meantime the working man's ffriend is occupying himself in bolster ing up the "creed outworn" of Freetrade. If the working man is, as he is generally represented, a Protectionist, this is a sad sell for tho woiking man. His own chosen oracle prophecies agiinst him. The trouble about Henry George's dissertations \n favour of Freetrade is that they are every whit as clear and cogent, as happy in illustration', ns unansweiable in argument, as his dissertations in favour of nationalising the land. It is not that the oracle Philippines, Its later utterances are at least as d9in<ms(;*4bl&tru<jas too earlier ones. (I put it that way, in deference to the working mau'»,es.biinateof the merits of 'Progress and Poverty.') As a working man myself and the friend of working man, I profess me a moderate Georgite from first to last. I shall wait patiently for tho universal sci amble and the bill fur giving everybody everything ; as the surest way to a tolerable prosperity m tho meantime, i abido a Free[trade?; and lecommond each of my fellow i proletarians to do the «amo— as also tostifieth the oracle we both revere— Henry George,'',

The Fiji correspondent of the 'Otago Daily Times writes :— I think I have mentioned to you in previous letter* that there lias 'been an outbreak of a curious fanaticism dow/j the Navitilevu coa*t. Its object is, in my 1 opiriion, less of a religious than a political nature, but it seeks its political ends under a religious guise. The founder, or medium, of this movement has sboyvn considerable cleverness in his pro9f oaitigfl. Not only has h, c adopted flome of tfco organisation, and methods peculiar to ' the 'Weslevan 'mission and the Fiji Government, but'-'Ke' has announced to his fol. lqwers that the Christian Blbla is perfectly i

true, but that it just needs his interpretation and exposition to be properly understood (if tho Fijian race, and th.it his follower* inn-t accept it with tliu strong flood of light winch ho alone can throw upon it. Upon tho-^e faithful ones who receive his doctrine —transmitted from those founts of truth and power, the ancient gods of Fiji—shall bo conferred the tuka (which i«i immortality), and they shall never die nor enter into the cold confines of the grave. But those who decline to give the required devotion — oh, dear ! I really could notfltate in your pure columns thn terrible thing tli.it shall befall them. What fthall occur to them on this earth is enough to freeze a nun's soul with horror and to drive him headlong into tho prouhet's nwhv, trembling with affrighted aoul as he ahrinkingly remembeis what he lias escaped from. The removal of the prophet and the arresl of about 170 of his adherents, who had begun to distutb the Hlumberoui calm of the public peace of Fiji, has very much quieted the ngit.ition; but the prophet even in parting from bis flock to go to gaol, assures them of ultimate success, and oxhorti them to stand firm.

A contributor to the Napier Telegraph, in speculating on the question of who 13 to be tho future leader in the House, Rays: — "Major Atkinson, good fighting man though he be, must be discarded. He is not progressive, is subject to fads, and has been well described as a tide waiter. He is clever at detaili and petty plotters, but to clearly grasp a situation all in all, and then to suggest it remedy, working it out piece- meal is beyond him. He has got into a political rut and it is too late iv the day for him to get out of it, be has been too long enjoying the sweets of office. Another reason why he cannot fulfil the conditions of leader, on the lines I have sketched out is, that he is » Protectionist. Not long ago he declared if- the Custom* tariff were abolished, half the people in the colony would have to leave. A wild, reckless statement such as one can well imaginn him making front the Treasury benches, with a long array of supporters behind him, but still utterly unreliable. Victoria is hontst and declares itself Protectionist, but only some thirty odd thousand people are engaged iv Protectionist trados there, and many of these would be in such trades even if that colony were Free Trade to-morrow. Of course bootmakers are classed in the protected clas>es, but Free Trade would not drive all those men from the colony, though possibly enough it would i educe thn numbers now employed in factories. I have a recollection of hearing in the House Ormond, Grey, Stout, Vogel and Ballance follow each other, » treat I an*, not likely to forget." Other prominent figure* are passed in review, and the writer declare* that we must look outside Parliament for tKe man who is to lead.