KIHlKlHI.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2144, 6 April 1886, Page 3

KIHIKIHI.

At the late meeting of the town board, it t w&s decided to sink a well and fix a pump * afiQ watering trough at the foot of the hill in Galloway-street. This will be a great convenience, as water is now very scarce owing 1 to the various springs being fenced inHn the allotment-, and tho main drain — which is nearly completed— drying up the swamp where cattle and horses used to drink. This i« but a. beginning, and iv c>utr*e of time another may be put up also. Weio it not for the great depth which a well in the centre of the town would have to be, doubtless it would ha ye been in the centre of the town, but it is not out of the way where it is. A similar convenience in other towns would be a great advantage. In Te Awamntu for instance there u no water for cattle or horses nearer than the Mangapiko. Alexandra is also similarly situated. I wonder the auctioneers do not sink ;i well and put up n pump and drinking trough at Ohaupo for the convenience of their patrons. Persons driving cattle a long distance on a hot and dusty day would thoroughly appreciate it. A good many works are in progress here. Tho footpath leading to the post-office will ■ :bj in hind this week. The Puniu bridge is ' 'fifm"ticd, but the approaches havo not been touched as yet. The excuse given by the Ministers for Public Works and Defence was that owing to the action of the ; Northern members the estimates were so 3 j*j|t doivn as not to admit of this work being " 'done. The chairman of the board applied fdrcjtlid constabulary who were stationed at • Alexandra to complete the necessary earthwork*, but his request was not complied «. with. They were doing literally nothing in apd could very well have been ?p.«c<j[ for this work. Some have boon sent _ to Kuvhiaand some are still at Alexandra ' doing nothing. Tho request was a most reasonable one, as the work is not merely of loc'il importance, but of importance to the " public, 1 as when the river is iv flood this ii tho oiily road by which access to the railway works can be gained. Under the i circumstances therefore wo must wait till the House meets before anything will be done. ...Whsu tho matter was brought under the noticj of Ministers they took occasion to lay the blame on thosc.parsimomous Northern meinbgrs who, votpd for Captain RuswH'b "motion. We may perhaps suffer in a Might degrcjo by tho resolution, but it, was none kite less' a good one and moat' necessary, Those who carried it should go a step further and i educe the unnecessary expenditure on Ministerial residence?, and the Ministerial yacht, Hinemnn. Ido not agree with those spelt to y f educe- the salaries of' Ministers toll cVhsiderable extent. If we want men to givo their whole time to the business of the country we must pay for it, but other e\pen-es in connection with their services might very well be cut down. For instance, the Hiperaoa should be sold, the Ralaries of officers 2 and crew and tho expense* of coal, repairs, &c, would thus be saved to the country. With the salaries Ministers get they could very well pay .fchdir bwii steamboat fares. Ministerial residences and costly furniture ,could* very well bj dispensed with also. Furnished apartments are not so expensive as to be beyond the means of Ministers, for the same lemark tha£ applies to, their ateamhniii ftres applies also to their residences. (But -while the present Colonial Treasurer remains in office (Treasurer nominally, but Pu>:mor \ irtually), there will be no retrenchment in t the direction indicated or m any oth'fr* tfirec£ion. As a set-off against the pic -.exit extravagance he- would, if allowed, impose extra Customs duties. We do not want protection : New Zealand is essentially a pi.nlucing country, and with the raw material &p our own doors, if we cannot cftnipote with the manufacturer at the other sitlf of the world the sooner we give up manufacturing the better. Protectionists hold np England as a frightful example of the ioM.lt of free trade, but the cases are not parallel ; she is essentially an importing country and her competitors in manufactures are only across the channel, instead of many thousands of miles distant, as. .in our case. Canada tried protection {ni a tim*, and all went well (for the manufacturer) for a short time. High dividends wero paid, in some instances 43 percent., but the home maikets became glutted, and the price of the locally-made articles fell enormously, with the result that many fac3fcBr;cr hftd to clom. Xiarge numbers of people were thrown out of employment, and disti e*s among this class soon became widespread. Free trade, «r at any rate a greatly reduced tariff, then obtained, but she had at las>t t > ies>ort to what was termed a "scientific t.uifF" as a measure of protection against the United States. In this case her manufacturing competitors were next door, but were she situated as we in New Zealand are, her ports would be free. The present President of the United States has &. leaning towards free trade, and her Minister in England is an avowed free trader. Like New Zealand, America is also a producing country, and the principle of free trade is beginning to gain adherents among the mass of the people. That these principles will meet with a strenuous opposition from the wealthy classes goes without saying. They use many specious arguments in favour of their policy, but the death knell of protection will soon be sounded, a& far at any rate as regards free tiado countries. There should be free trado between England and English colonies. All pur interests are identical, nnd thore is no reason why there should not be reciprocity between us. If a tariff is to be imposed let it be on goods imported from protected countries, and not on the articles of those whose creed is free trade. Take for example, the cost of clothing manufactured in this colony, the price of a yard of tweed is out of all proportion to the qost of the raw material, 7s Gdayard is simply a prohibitive price. Taking that a» tlie Htnndard price the cost of a suit of really good tweed is far too high for these 'dull times. This state of things will work its yw u cure in the end. It is all very well to say that protection will encourage local industries and. thus *nlie.vo . the. present d*