The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious orTHURSDAY,, APRIL 7, 1887. political. THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1887.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2300, 7 April 1887, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious orTHURSDAY,, APRIL 7, 1887. political. THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1887.

The jockey Webster, who was injured at the Oamaru races, died on Tuesday iit the hospital. Mr James Mills has been re turned unopposed fui* the Port Chalmers seat in the House of Representatives, vacant by the death of Mr Macaudrew. The business betore the R.M. Court, Hamilton, yesterday was quite unimportant, only a few confessed debt cases being on the list. Capt. Jackson, R.M. presided. Mr Ballance addressed his constituents at Wanganui on Tuesday evening, and received a unanimous vote of thanks and confidence. Mr Ormond addressed a meeting at Napier on the same evening with a similar result. The Waikato Cavalry leave for Auckland by special train to-day, to be present at the Easter Encampment at Takapuna. Several members of the Raglan contingent arrived in Hamilton last night, but the majority are staying at Whatawhata, and will come in'this morning. ■ ' A Press Association message dated London, 4th April, states: —M. Katkoff, the editor of the Moscow Gazette, has been officially rebuked for his violent antiGerman articles. The value, of this reprimand is shown by the fact that he has since been invited to the Czar's t&ble. Wiremu Te Whetu was again brought up at the R.M, Court, Cambridge, yesterday, and fined 10s and costs, or 48 hours, for being drunk the previous day. "Paddy" has been having a big drunk of it for some time, and the inhabitants of Cambridge wish he would retire to his home. A serious accident happened on Tuesday to Mr Mullins while riding a horse on the Tamahere road. The horse stepped into a hole and fell, throwing Mr Mullins, causing extensive injuries to the left .shoulder. Mr Muir Douglas at once drove the injured man to Hamilton, when he was attended by. Dr. Murch, who reports favourably on the case. , His Worship the Mayor of Hamilton, Mr W. A. Graham, returned home yesterday. While in Auckland he interviewed the Premier and asked for assistance towards the erection of a hospital for Waikato. The Premier recommended the Waikato Board to apply for'a loan at tk very low rate ,of interest, and Mr Gra;h#m said he would bring the matter under the notice of the board. The admirers of the Lynch Family of bellringers in this colony will be glad to learn that the campanologian leave Sydney for Europe by the Zealandia, on the 20th April, and will probably make a flying tour through New Zealand. Since their last visit, here, in '80, the Lynch Family have visited nearly every portion of the civilised globe, and have met with very great success. They are now closing a \ ory successful, series of concerts in Now South Wales. The Hamilton East Cemetery Road Committee met on Tuesday night to open tenders for the work. • The following tenders were , received :—TTormipg and gravelling: Radford and Hinton, £33 7s (id; «T. Devitt, £3318s ;J. Winter, £23 Is <)d ; J. Coombes, £2118s; W. Proctor, £45 18s Gd ; T. Goodson, £33 ; T. Keep. £34 ; R. \Yaite, £42. Forming only: John Reid, '£24 ;J. Dillic'ar, £18 15s. Gravelling only': A. Allen, £2010s. The committee resolved to accept the tender of Mr J. Coombes, it being the lowest.

Mr W. F. Cooke, the secretary of the Cambridge Tennis Club, received a telegram yesterday stating that Mr Morrison," the champion, and Dr. Posnett would be coming to Cambridge on Friday with the members of the Devonpprt Club, and that they would stay over Saturday, in order to have a game. It is also stated that Mr Hudson unfortunately could not spare time to attend. Anyone wishing to see the champion play must attend the Cambridge court on Saturday afternoon. The team elected to do battle against the North Shore representatives are Messrs Cooke, Thomson. Hunt and Wood, who will doubtless strain every nerve to secure victory.

The first meeting of the Imperial Conference was held on the 4th inst., at the Foreign Office, Sir Henry Holland, Secre'tary of State for the Colonies, presiding. ■In his openitig speech'he declared there was every wish on the part of the Imperial Government to uphold the rights of the colonies, but they were sometimes compelled to call on the colonies to make some sacrifices for their mutual good. He believed the Conference would not have failed if "ifmerely succeededin-placing tha. military and naval defences of the Empire on a sound footing. He hoped this i was, only the first of a series of conferences' which would cement - the union <■ of the Empire. There was no political or party feeling among the delegates. Purely local matters would be discussed between! the delegates and the Ministers concerned. Sir Henry Holland then proceeded til review the important points of .the empire which required military and naval defences. In conclusion he expressed a hope that the tesult of the Conference would be to create a good understanding between the colonies und the mother country. Several of the delegates also spoke. The Marquis' of Salisbury addressed the Conference referring chiefly to the defence of the empire.

As apples suitable for export are now about ready for harvesting, the reply of the Auckland manager ofthe New Zealand Shipping Company to the secretary of the Waikato Horticultural Society's enquiries on the matter will be of interest to our VVaikato orchardists, some of whom may be desirous of sendinar a trial shipment of tipples to England. The rates of freight and other charges will reach close on three halfpence per pound. The Tongariro will reach England about the middle of June. The following is the letter :—" Geo. Edgecurnbe, Esq., secretary Waikato Horticultural Society, Hamilton. Dear Sir,—l am in receipt of your favour of 31st ultimo. The freight on apples per steamer for London is 60s per ton measurement, with los per ton coastal rate added. Should the steamer leave a Southern port, I can pass Customs entries, pay wharfage and sundry charges, and either debit you or make them payable forward. I can take any quantity you like, provided the space is reserved. There is no provision for cool chambers. The most convenient-sized packages, are the ordinary apple cases. The next steamer, the Tongariro, leaves Wellington, sth May. The cargo for that steamer leaves Auckland, 28th instant. It will be a considerable time before a steamer leaves Auckland direct.—Yours faithfully, Chas. Houghton, Local Manager.

We often hear diverse opinions expressed regarding the quality of the land about Lichfield. Many people assert that the pumice land that is covered by ,wiwi, or as it is commonly called tussock grass, is useless, and will not carry a crop of anything that can be made payable. Mr Rich, the managing director, at the commencement of the present year, determined to give this land a fair trial, and had IGO acres of it ploughed up. Having heard of Messrs Webb's seeds giving great satisfaction throughout the Waikato, he determined to give them a trial, and obtained from their agent at Cambridge, (Mr G. J. Neal), an assortment ot the various turnip seeds sold by theni. These were sown on the Ist February, and consequently have only been nine weeks in the ground, but, short as the time has been, it has been quite long enough to prove that the land will carry not only a big crop but one of good quality, The Green Globe, White and Purple-top Mammoth have thriven better than the other descriptions, the former being perfection, with only one tap root. Those who visited the late Horticultural Show at Te Awamutu will remember that most of the bulbous crops exhibited had a numbpr of additional roots, no doubt caused by the dry weather. The Patetere »n the contrary are particularly free from them, clearly proving that the ground must retain the moisture longer, or that they have had a greater rainfall in that district. It must be very gratifying to the company to find what is spoken of a» their wor«t land bearing such a large crop in so short a space of time. No doubt next season will see a much larger quantity than IGO acres in turnips after this successful trial. We shall, if possible, let the our readers know how many tons to the acre this land is at present carrying.