THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1886.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2160, 13 May 1886, Page 2

THURSDAY, MAY 13, 1886.

Parliament opens to-day, and the early days of the session will probably be days of peace and quietness. If it be true that the Government have relieved themselves of the incubus of the East and West Coast Railway, the chances are strongly in favour of' their being able to hold office during the lifetime of the present Parliament. The whole country will" share in the exultation ot Ministers if this consummation has been attained, because, as Mr Whyte put it, a great stumblingblock in the way of legislation will be ' removed. It is true that disquieting rumours concerning the subject have been in circulation. The people of Christchurch, with whom the construction of the line appears to be a matter of life and death, have been warned not to let their enthusiasm run away with their discretion, and there is something more than a possibility that a work which Parliament could not see 'its way to undertake will not be rashly engaged in by the financial potentates of London. It may turn out that the proposals are qualified by conditions which the House will refuse to accept, as in the case of the Meiggs scheme, in which event chaos will come again, and the scenes of last session will be re-enacted. It is well, however, to hope for the bes 1 ". To the waste of time engendered by the selfishness of the Canterbury members last session we unquestionably owe such an ill-digested and unjust measure as the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Bill and the miserable threadbare Local Government Act, to say nothing of the loss of many useful enactments which perished in the universal slaughter •w hen members had grown weary of the session and longed to be ouco more at home. As to the dlstincth c policy which will mark the session, everybody seems to be pretty well iv the dark. Much time will, we are told, be given to the consolidation of laws affecting various inteie^ts. The Native Minister, it is known, will once more address himsrlf to the task of giving the laws aftecting the native estate the quality of finality, but unless he Ims greatly modified and amended his proposals his chance of success is but slender. The Premier is to introduce a Municipal Corporations Act Amendment Dill, a very necessary measure lm\ ing regard to the needs of small municipalities, and tho Colonial Secretary is bound to deal Avith the vexed question of hospit-ils and charitable aid. What form the amendments may take cannot, in view of the number and variety of the objections taken to the

\rl by town and country, be conl»'tturcd, hut we trust an uttenipt will bo m ulo to separate the hospitals from the poor-houses, vesting the administration of each in separate bodies, and to institute a change in the constitution of districts in which regard shall be had to the rights of the rural population Amendments in the laws relating to divorce and crime are amongst those promised, and the Minister of Mines is reported to be hard at work in devising measures in aid of the development of our goldfields. "We hear nothing of a great borrowing .scheme, and it may safely be assumed that no revival of the galloping policy of 1870 is now contemplated. So far as can be determined, with the scanty information at hand, the Government policy will consist in pushing on the public works of the colony at a reasonable pace, establishing the finances upon a iirm basis, and consolidating and amending existing laws, without attempting more in the way of experimental legislation than is safe and expedient. In a few clays, or at most weeks, their proposals will be before us, but we do not anticipate that they will create much surprise.

The R.M.s Alameda, with the London April mails, left 'Frisco last Saturday for Auckland. Several road board election notices will be found in our business columns. The steamer Wellington has been laid on the berth at Auckland, for the Kimbeilcy diggings in Western Australia.

The Hon. Mr Ballance has receh cd a telegram to the effect that Tawhiao is going to Wellington.

The s-s. Janet Nicol has brought over (50,000 dozen oranges to Auckland funn Rarotunga in excellent condition.

Only a few unimportant civil cases were disposed ofattheß.M. Court, Hamilton, yesterday.

The Auckland Plumpton Coursing Company advertise an All Coiners Allaged Stake, to be run on the I'ith and 10th June. Particulars will appear in a future issue.

A full report of Tuesday's meeting of the Waipa County Council and a leadiut? aiticle on the codlin moth, together with several letters, &c. are held

Messrs J. Eidler and H : P. McPheison have been nominated to nil the first vacancy in the Hamilton Road Board. The polling will take place at Hendersons cottage, i'rankton, on the 19th inst.

Large buildings are in course of construction at Otorohanga for the accommodation of those interested in the Land Court to be held there.

Th 3 Rev. Mr Boler, of Coromandel, h.ia been appointed by His Lordship tho Bishop to take chaige of the parochial district of Te Awanmtu. His appointment date from the Ist June.

v Gold lias been discovered at Helyer's Cicck, a place about eight miles up the Waitemata Harbour, and only seven miles from Auckland. Those who have vUited the spot bpeak highly of what they saw.

The jockey, George Durston, who was thrown whilst riding Dressmaker in the Winter Oats Handicap, at Onehunga, on Saturday last, is rapidly recovering, his injuries turning out less serious than was at ti&rt anticipated.

Mr Richard Nicholson, on whom the Queuii has been pleased to confer the honour of knighthood, began life as a cadet on the surveying staff of the New Zealand Company, and was employed to lay out the town of Dunedin.

The sale at Mr J. R. S. Richardson'b, ut Cambridge, yesterday, was very largely attended, and good prices we>e realibed. The agricultural implements sold well ; horses did nut find ready buyers, and many wcie passed in.

Jn the divorce case heard at Blenheim ou Tue&day— Dormec v Dormec aud Duunant — a decioe nisi has been granted with costs ngainst the co-respon-nent, the mother to have the custody of the youngest child till 7, and the father the other two.

The committee of the Hamilton Public Library, which meet at the toll-house on the second Fiid.iy in the month (to-mor-row), have postponed the meeting till the third Friday, 21st instant, on account of the meeting of the bnrgebses at the Public Hall to-morrow evening-

The S. Andrew's social gathering and concert at Cambridge last night was crowded, and passed off very successfully. The various tables were liberally provided, and every attention was paid to the host of visitors who sat down.

Mr W- W. Higginson, one of Waikatp's oldest settlers, well and favourably known for many years in connection with 51) oi ting and volunteering, and also in connection with the business carried on by Mr J. S. Bucklnnd, is about to remove to the Waotu, h.ning token over the Waotu Hotel. Wenvibh him every success.

Mr R. N- Battle, manager of Messrs Morrin and Russell's Ruanui station, Murimotu, arrived at Cambridge on Tuesday with a mob of 200 24-yr-old ateers, half of which will be offered by Messrs W. J. Hunter and Co. at Ohaupo on Tuesday, and the other half by Mr J. S. Auckland on

the following Tuesday at the same place. On the arrival of The Waikato Times at Te Awamutu on Tuesday announcing the death of Mr W. Sloane, much sincere regret was felt, for during his long term of residence and usefulness there ne had made many friends, who were mournfully shocked at his sudden demise.

By the Hinemoa, which left Onehunga on Tuesday, several members of both branches of the Legislature left to attend the session of Parliament which opens at Wellington to-morrow Mr J. Bi Whyte, M.H.R., was amongst the number.

We hope the Cambridge Night School, so successfully carried on by Mr Parry, will not be allowed to fall through by his removal to Tamahere. Perhaps his successor 1 , Mr Hill, will continue it. Its utility has become established, and there has been an average attendance of 24 pupils.

With reference to the unemployed in Auckland, Mr Hales, District Engineer, has infnrmod the mayor that there are at present DO men on tho harbour defences and at Newmarket, but he will put on all ablebodied men, if room for them, at Is Gd per day, the object being (.imply temporary relief.

The Government subsidy due to the Waipa County is 75%, on £692 14s lOd, equal to £'519 11s 2d, but a sum of £370 G* 4d has only come forward, the Government having deduotod £113 4s lOd, the amount due by the Wai pa County to the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board.

An entertainment in aid of the Hamilton Library and Band will shortly be held.* A series of tableaux vivants and ft comedy, which will constitute the programme, are in active preparation, under the dnection of the stage manager of the Comua Dramatic Club.

About twenty men of the Armed Cpnst.ibuhy foice, recently stationed at Alexaudra, under the command of Capt Cnpel, weie passengers to Auckland by The-aiay's train. They will be temporarily provided for with quarters at the North Head pending further arrangements.

Chapel-street, Cambridge, has now been put into a coini>M« state of repair. A good footpath 1) »s been undo, and the centre of the street lias hern -uell formed and gi.v\ oiled. Tho pcr^i-Unce oi the dwellers in that fumed thoroughfare can be said to lme earned it-. jn>t leward.

Mr J. R. Han-iysi 'c, with his port.iblo firewood cutter, !m» been in Cambridge, wlioio hi-. iim»ntion lias received high praibp fiom c\ciyone who saw it at work. Capt. S.iutor, of the wharf timber yard, thinks very highly of it, and considers I it far excels the circular &aw.

Capt. Owen, of Cambridge, whilst out shooting at Rotorangi, on Tuesday, m c mipany with Mr Cliitty, met with a painful accident. Mr Chitty shot at a hare I which had started up not far from whero

C.»pt. Owen was, whon the shot rebounded and entered the latter* side, hflictinsr a deep wound above the thighs. Dr. Waddington was sent for and attended to the injuries uhich are not of a serious character. Capt. Owen oxpecta to be about ajrain in a f j\v days.

Mr C. Day, of Whatawhata, has acquired 450 acres of Mr John Martyn'^ well-known Fcncarrow estate at Hautapu, where he purposes carrying on extensive dairy operations. The district is to be complimented upon Raining a settler of Mr Day's Ktoiup. Ai a maker of butter nnd cheese and curer of bacon, Mr Day has gained for himself a most enviable roputation in the Auckland market.

Louis Dean, one of the small boys apprehended for burglary in Cambridge, was, it appears, perfectly innocent of any participation in the theft*, which were committed entirely by Devitt. When the latter w.ib asked why he implicated Dean in the act, he coolly replied that he did not like to be in the lock-up alone, therefore, he did so to have a companion with him. This hoy seems beyond the control of his parents.

Our Kihikihi correspondent \vrite3 :— ln replying to one of the questions at Monday's meeting, Mr Lake deprecated the making of the big tunnel before the line was finished to it. He thought the present great expenditure on the work unnecessary till it was actually required. Neither is he at all anxious to see the trunk line pushed on fur a greater distance than thirty miles at each end until increasing settlement roquiies it. In both these opinions the tiudience were unmistakably in accord with Mr Lake.

Mr T. Peacock, MHR., in proposing a vote of thanks to the Mayor of Auckland for presiding at the presentation to the Hon. J. Bryce on Monday, concluded by saying that they had every reason to be proud of Mr Bryce, and quoted the well-known lines from Shakspere :— Who steals my purse steals trash ; But he that filches from me my good name, Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed. The speech was received with cheers.

It is unfortunate that two such important meetings as that of the bin-Reuses of Hamilton, to consider the question of grunting an additional thousand pounds for public buildings, and that of **the general public to hear Mr Vaile on the subject of railway reform should both have been convened for to-morrow evening. It is probable, however, that the borough meeting will not last long, as the issues have been before ratepayers for some time, and therefore those who attend thereat may be able to hear Mr Vaile as well. Mr Vaile speaks at LeQuesne's Hall at 8 p.m., and the chair will be taken by Mr Primrose.

The following special messages to the Pre»s Association, dated London, May 10 and 11, have been published :— A Convention has been signed between Spain and Great Britain, by which Spain accords to England the treatment of the most favoured nation, in return for which wine of 30 degrees alcoholic strength will be admitted at a shilling duty.— The hon. Graham Berry, the recently appointed Agent-General for the colony of Victoria, has arrived here, and will shortly enter his official duties.— Her Majesty the Queen left London to-day for Liverpool, in order to formally open the Naval Exhibition in that city. — In the House of Commons yesterday the Crofters Bill was read a third time. — The Australian mails per Cuzco. dated Melbourne, April 2, were delivered today, via Naples.— Arrived : P. and 0. Rome, from Melbourne, March 25.

The following accounts were passed for payment at the sitting of the Wai pa County Council on Tuesday lust. Cowley, £3 14s 8d ; McCallum, £9 7s 4d ; VV. Jones, No. 31 contract, £57 5s sd ; J. C. Brown, £12 ; A. Norrish, £79 Is 3d ; A. Ligertwood, No. 37 contract, £9 ; Beasley and Webber, £22 15s 3d ; Corcoran Bros., £15 4s 5d and £1 s* ; A. Armstrong, £19 1G S ; C. S. McCallum, £1G 14s 6d ; J. Conn, £2 ; Champtaloup and Cooper, £G 15s Gd and £1 11s Id ; G. W. Russell, £1 5s 3d ; Te Awamutu Town Board, £4 ; P. Munro, £1 10s ; W. Reid. £1 4s ; D. Mclntvre, 12s; Kihikihi Town Board, £3 ; Beanley and Webber, £24 10s 9d and £54 18s; Sibley, £4 7s6d; McDonald, 21s ; Broomhead, 21s ; McKenzie, Ion ; Maunder, £!) ; J. Munro, £3; Sealey, £4 10i 3d; Bycroft,

12a. The World of the 13th of March has the following sketch of the career of a gentleman well-known in New Zealand :— '• A younger brother of the successor to the title of the late Lord Mtlville has had a strange career. Many must remember Walter Dundas, reported but a few years ago one of the handsomest and winsomest Wen in London, and although over six feet high ono of the best gentleman riders in the army. He began his soldiering in the 60th Rifles, came to financial grief, sold out, and enlisted in the 17th Lancers. So smart a cavalry man was he, that in an incredibly short time Colonel Drury Lowe recom* mended him for a commission, whicn he received iv the sth Dragoon Guards, of which regiment he was for a time the adjutant. He exchanged into the 10th Hussars, where he found the pace too hot for him, and he succumbed to force of circumstances. For a while he was the sporting writer for a paper in Christchurch, New Zealand, but his, habits became too irregular for this avoca tion, and whnn last heard of h« was slowly dying of consumption."

Tuesday's Thames Advertiser says:— We yesterday had an opportunity of inspecting some of the gold-bearing cement recently found some seven or eight miles from Auckland, at Helyer's creek, on the north side of the Waitemata. That gold has been found there is a fact, for twenty years the precious metal was known to exist, but only lately has any practical attempt been made to test the ground. A tunnel some twenty feet in length has been driven through the cement, on property owned by Mr Simes, shoemaker, of Newlj ton, and from the tunnel very encouraging prospects of gold have been obtained. Five tons spnt to the furnace at Onehunga for treatment can scarcely be called a trial, as the result to all parties was unsatisfactory, the gold having got mixed or run off with the slag, where it could be se*n, but no proper idea formed of the value of cement per ton. Another parcel is about to be sent to one of the Thamet batteries,

The stationmaster at Hamilton and those on the platform were greatly annoyed by the conduct of two men who arrived by the 8.45 p.m. train from Te men, Aropa, on Tuesday. It appears that the whose nnmes are, respectively, James Robinson and William Smith, having completed a bricklaying contract at tho Aroha, left by the morninsr train on Tuesday* They alighted at Morrinsville and missed their passage. They were greatly put out by this circumstance and proceeded to drown their sorrows in the flowing bowl, ao that when they arrived at Hamilton they were completely under the influence ot- liquor. On getting out they indulged in the most foul and abusive language and threatened the stationmaster with personal violence. Mr McCurdie did all he could to quieten them and get them away, but finally had to 6end for the police. Sergt, McGrath and Constable Wild at once proceeded towards 'the station, but met the offenders in Victoriastreet, ' both giving vent to their feelings in obscorie language. They were taken to the lock-up, and yesterday brought before the Resident Magistrate on three separate charges. (1) tor being drunk and disorderly. (2) for committing a breach of the Railway Regulations by using obscene language on a railway platform, and (3) for using obscene language in a public place, to wit, Victoriastreet, Hamilton. On the first charge they were each fined 5s and coots, in default 48 hours imprisonment, on the second they were each fined 20s and costs, and on the thi rd charge they were cautioned. In default of paying the amount of the fine the prisoners were locked up.

Further particulars have been received from Whangarei relative to the death of Mr Sloane, chemist. It seems that he had been taking chloral to induce sleep, and on Saturday night got his daughter to weigh him 40 grains, which he took. On Sunday morning he had two further doses of 20 and 25 grains of chloral respectively, being a few hours afterwards found dead in bed. Constable Gordon, in a report to Superintendant Thomson, of Sunday's date, says: — "It would appear that the deceased had a case coming on for hearing with reference to the alleged maltreatment of a racehorse called Larry, belonging to Mr T. Johnson, and which, it is believed, died from the effects of a dee of medicine administered by the deceased, and for which he was sued by Johnson for £100 damages. He wns much excited over the matter, and being unable to obtain sleep previously unlew by taking chloral, it is probable that in his excited state a much larger quantity would be necessary to produce the desired effect, and that ho unfortunately overshot the mark by taking an overdose, whioh resulted iin bis death, Mr Slo*ne wm formerly

in business at Te Awanr.stu. He lua\os a widow and two dcUißhtcii, who aio said to hi ill-provided for." — Herald.