SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 1886.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2146, 10 April 1886, Page 2

SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 1886.

iFwny reformer ever deterred to succeed, then success ought to follow the efforts of Mr Samuel Vaile. Few men are possessed ofthe courage to say nothing of the conspicuous industry, which animates Mr Vaile, and no one can be actuated by less unselfish motives. 'W,e i pay this tribute all the more cheerfully because we have not' always been in sympathetic accord with Mr Vaile, and are not even yet disposed to admit that his scheme is the acme of perfection. That it is something more than a mere fad or hobby we have never doubted, and the more we examine it the more w» are disposed to like it. The broad principle which underlies, it, namely, 'that? th& r railways should be worked in the interests of settlement — for the people, irk short — weihave always advocated, and shall continue with greater confidence to support for the reason lihatwe see in Mr Vaile's' proposals a reasonable solution of the difficulty. Within the last week or two' Mr Vaile has issued a pamphlet^ in the pages' of which his statements and arguments, heretofore scattered through the files of newspapers, are, so to speak, crystalised, compressed within 'reasonable compass, so that he who runs may read. We commend this little book to the earnest attention of our readers with the full assmrance that" its perusal will imbue their minds with new ideas and a very wholesome' desire for reform. We spoke of Mr Vaile's courage just now. That he should so long have continued .the fight single-handed and; almost without moral support is little short of marvellous. It is true that his has been the lot of all reformers, and he is more fortunate than the huge majority of his class, in that he has so soon obtained public recognition of the merits of his scheme. Be this as it may, MY Vaile should not be allowed to fight, the battle unaided any longer. It is not enough that people wh,o agree with him should pat him on the back and say " Well done ; go ahead, you have our sympathy." They must imitate his example, and dip their hands in their pockets. Mr Vaile has not only devoted an immense amount of time and thought to the elaboration o£ his plans, but he has spent money freely besides. The cost of printing the pamphlet under notice has been wholly borne by him, and all he asks is that those interested should do their best to multiply the number of eopits in order that they may b» sown broadcast over the colony. Npw is the £ime for action. Partial merit will open in a few weeks, and an effort ought to be made to have the question dealt with during the session. Mr Vaile will be in Waikato in the course of a day or two. He has undertaken to lecture at Cambridge, and could no doubt be prevailed upon to visit other centre^ of population. Meantime we hope the members of the moribund Reform league will take prompt measures to resuscitate that institution and embark at once upon a course of agitation that should not cease until reform becomes an accomplished fact Nothing less than the appointment of a competent • and impartial Commission ought to satisfy jw,- .Better than this would be. a practical trial of the scheme on one of the sections of our railways, but this would doubtless follow without loss of time. What, however, our/reformers must achieve in the first instance' is the recognition by Parliament of the great principle that the railways should be regarded as colonising agents and not as taxing, machines. This will not be obtained without -determined and unceasing efforts, but the very fact that obstacles will be placed in the way ought only to ! make the, (determination to succeed more settled. No plea of political exigency must be allowed to bar the way. The contest may be long and arduous, but victory is certain in the end.

! , -5 : r . ■ It is a pity that there are pot more funds available for carrying out the necessary improvements in and around Te Aroha. The district has risen into a position of importance so suddenly that it is quite beyond the power of the residents in the immediate locality to undertake a tithe of the matoy TForks ■which so urgently call for attention. The township of T« Aroha, from "being a dull, frozen out mining village has suddenly t>wokei to tha fact that it is now a.

famous sanatorium. Its hotels are crowded beyond their legitimate j capacity and all its vacant shops and dwellings are finding occupiers, whil^its Streets and footways still remain unformed, and before there exists^the most embryotic scheme of sanitation. - The township lias outgrown its swaddling clothes ere its infant garments have been made, before indeed the material for ■taking them has been obtained, jtt is out at the question to suppose that the townsfolk can undertake the work required themselves, while the local governing body having jurisdiction over the district, the Plako County Council, is in a chronic state of impecuniosity and •can do& little or nothing. Were the two townships constituted a borough, it would be easy to , obtain the necessary funds by means of a loan. But it is useless to speculate upon possibilities. The case of IV Aroha is one that to our mind calls for special treatment, and in view, of the growing importance of the $own and district, both in respect of its mineral and agricultural resources, the Government would be justified in giving assistance. The district is not exactly in want of charity, and some means could be devised whereby the repayjnent_pf,aloan would be guaranteed. We offer this suggestion to those concerned, in the hope £h.at it may be of service to those most nearly coriceriied.

Commander Edwin telegraphed at 3.30 p,m. yesterday :— lndications of ,yr«»ther continue very cold, *nd glass rwing.

Over a hundred passengers were in the special train yescerday as it pasted through Hamilton en route for Lichfield. We notice that the Rev- E Sonwrville will conduct both «emces.at the Preibyterian Church, Hamilton tomorrow.

Owing to the inclemency of the weather last night the usual monthly meeting of the Hamilton Library committee fell through for want of a quorum. Hone owners are reminded' that Tuesday will be the last day for receiving nominations for the Ngtiruawahia Handicap and Hurdles.

We hear that Mr Voice, blacksmith, late a partner of Mr P. Munro, Hamilton, has taken a shop in Te Awamutu, and proceeds there forthwith.

At the Ngaruawahia Races on Easter Monday W. N. Searancke Esq., JfP. act as judge, and the services of Me*sra T. G. Sandes and A. Bach have* been secured as handicappers.

The first instalment of extracts from a paper on " The influence of the means of transit on the social condition of the people," read before the Auckland Institute urSeptember last, by Mr Samuel Vatle, will be found on our fourth page,

The business prospects of Te Aroha are, we are pleased to hear, considerably on the improve. Several properties have of late changed hands. The allotment between Dobsona tnd Warren's Hotel will shortly be put to some good purpose. It is? certainly one of the best sitei available for business premises.

Henry Hopper Adams and Sam B. Firth, of Auckland, have deposited specifications for their invention for pulverising rauller or drag, for use in berdans and other grinding pans, to be called "The climax rauller shoe and faatner."

The following appointments a of pnstmafters have been made to various stations in this district :— A. H, Mellor, | Matamata ; T. W. Brownall, Morrinsyille ; L. Harrison, Okoroiri ; H. Buttle, Piako $ H. W. Pennington, Tamahere ; J. Ramsay, Waotu.

It appears to have escaped notice, but the meeting of delegate? of local bodies. to confer on the Hospital and Charitable* Aid question, has been fixed for Good .Friday. Doubtless the dato will be altered in time to apprise the various persons interested of the fact.

The usual monthly meeting of the Pinko County Council was held at the Hamilton Borough Council Chambers on Thursday. A full report appears in another columu. The next meeting will be held at the same place on the 6th May.

The Siddall Family again appeared at the Public Hall, Hamilton, on Thursday night, and gave » varied and lively entertainment. Some of tbe spngs, and notably the riolin solos are well worth pfoinfj to hear, while there is plenty of fun to be got out of Mr J. Siddall.

To many of the f vests of the Thames Valley Land Company who proceeded ytaterday by special train to Lichfield. the country after leaving Morrinsville will be new. It will Rive them a passing , view of a portion of the famed Matatnata Estate, through whono well grassed paddocks the line h*i an Unbroken run of fully seven miles.

A report has reached the Hamilton Cemetery trustees of some damage to a grave fence in the Hamilton East Cemetery. It can scarcely be a wanton act. Probably some mischievous boy in passing the ground has struck the iron fencing sufficiently hard to damage it. The police have tx?en communicated with.

In connection with the signatures to Sir George Grey's Birthday address, the " early record," like the big gooseberry neason is faialy upon us. The Greenhill rocord was thought " good enough" ; we now find Mr John Fairburn, of Otahuhu, can write native born 1823, but this again has to rive place , to tb*£ of John Wheeler King, born at the Bay of Islands, 1816.

Mr J. A, Douglas, brother of Mr W. M. Douglas,, of Bruntwocfd, who left thin district some twelve months ago with the intention of settling in British Columbia, has since visited tho Old Country, and is now again in this part of the world, having for the time being made Hobiut' in Tasmania his resting place, 'it would not surprise his friends to welcome him. back to Waikato Again.

Uponrepreientaion to the ActingMayor of Hamilton that April 23rd, the day fixed upon for the meeting of delegates froiu the several local bodies re Hospital arid Charitable Aid Act, fell upon Good Friday, the clerk of the Borough Council , was instructed to alter the date to Thursday, the 22nd inst., and to notify each of th« ! members by circular of the change of

We hear that Broadmeadows, . lately the property of Mr John Runciman, and containing an area of some 820 acres, i was sold on Tuesday by Messrs Tonics and Co. by order of the Registrar of the 1 Supreme Court. The property was knocked down to the bid of the mortgagees for £5000. It was subsequently sold by them to aMr Martin for £7,300, equal to about £9 an acre. This sum about covers their claim for principal and interest. The committee of the Cambridge West School desire to express their grateful thanks to the various friends (of whom Home came a distance of over eight miles), who so kindly assisted at the concert, as it was due to their efforts that it was one, of the most successful concerts ever held in Cambridge West. The proceeds amounted to £18 ss, and the expenses were about £5 10«. Thus, nearly £13, goes to the School Library funds.

! The following: special messages to the Press Association, dated London, April Bth, have been published :— lt is currently stated that Lieut-General Sir Charles Mitchell will probably succeed Sir George Dcs Voeux as Governor of Fiji. The Aborigines Protection Society has thanktd ,Sir George Dos Voeux for the service he hair rendered the cause of humanity in the Pacißa— -The ship Buttermere, which left Port Augusta on November 19 for London, and is now 139 d*ys put, has bt»n re-insured at ft premium of thirty-five guinea*.

The New Zealand Tom Thumb will appear at the Public Hall Hamilton this afternoon and evening. The little man i has been hansomely patronised in other I parts of tbe colony, and ia a genuina

midget. He was born at Green I»huul near Dunedin, in fifteen yearn of age, 30 inches high, and weighs 201bs. A Canterbury paper thus refenhim :— " He is really a inarvellouH little follow, in no way deformed, unless that word be applied to his diminutive stature, and in well worth a visit. He in shorter th.in the original Tom Thumb, 251bi lighter, and better formed. He lings cheerfully, and whittles «o loudly as he dances to his own inmic th»t one wonders how so much sound can issue fi<>m such a tiny frame. He seems an espaoul favourite with the Indies, who all want to kisi him, aud it must be admitted that he accepts this part of the business as naturally as though he were six feet high." The high reading of the barometer—as high in fact as during many of the periods of the spells of fine weather in tho month of January and February, vi/. : 3020—w hich has continued for tho last few day*, and even during the rainfall of Thursday night and yesterday morning, waa remarked by several people in Hamilton. A report of the same has evidently reached Commander Edwin at Wellington, as he wired :— " Wellington. 11.37 a.m., April 9th. The came conditions occur, in other parts of the country, not frequently, but more »o than with you. Sometime* the barometer ranges at 30*50 on the West Coast of the Middle Island, and i% accompanied by a very heavy rainfall. And with a high barometer and rising but fine with you, there is sometimes rain on the Coast, which does not extend inland. Should rain continue, glass will fall." The wind being from south-east, and with considerable fall in temperature would probably be some reason for the high barometer.

Our local sportsmen are not singular in finding ducks scares and wild tbia season. The following, taken from the Lyttelton Times, shows the same to be the cam in that part of the country :— Th« ro suite of the tint day of the shooting season do not seem to have been, on the whole, extraordinarily satisfactory, though not a few good bag* were made. The luck of different sportsmen appears to have been very direrse. Two gentlemen got no fewer than sixty ducks at Lake EUesmere, and another bagged twentynine from the same neighbourhood. On the other hand, a party of eight guns spent the whole day on another part of the lake without getting » single duck, five swamp hens being the sole result of the day's sport (?). A couple of swamp hens were all th.it another sportsman got for his day's outing 1 . It is said that in many instances ducku were seen, but were flying too high to be withm rantre of the sportsmen's guns. It is affirmed in some quarter's that the slaughter of the bird* by poachers before the opening of the season has tended to make them scarce.