The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state of persuasion, religious or political. SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1887.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2304, 16 April 1887, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state of persuasion, religious or political. SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1887.

Yesterday's fire, which was within an ace of destroying the valuable block of buildings at the corner of Victoria and Hood-streets, should lead the people of Hamilton to consider the propriety of establishing a Fire .Brigade or Salvage Corps. There were plenty of willing hands on the spot, and no one could, have worked harder, or displayed courage more fearless than those who gave their assistance ; but it must not be forgotten than they were favoured by circumstances. The fire took place at daylight, and there was little or no wind. On a breezy night it may be doubted whether the progress of the fire could have been stayed. It is quite certain that a great deal more damage would have been done, hundreds of pounds' worth at the least. is of the first importance at a fire, unless the circumstances, as in yesterday's case, are of the most favourable character, is organisation and discipline: it is not enough that people should be ready and willing to do anything, what they .do must be done systematically. Thus, properly directed, a dozen men would do the work of fifty. The subject of starting a | brigade has been mooted several times during the last few years, and is now onee more to the front. We were informed yesterday that the preliminary step of convening a public meeting will shortly be taken. It is believed that if a small but efficient Fire Brigade can be established, the Hamilton Light Infantry would act as a Salvage Corps. We trust no time will be lost, and that amongst its other public institutions, Hamilton will soon number a Fire Brigade.

A cricket match—the last of the season—will be played on Sydney Square to day, between Hamilton and Tuhikaramea. The Kussian Chancellor, M. de Giers, has resigned. He will probably be succeeded by General Ignatieff. It is stated that the Irish Bishops have received instructions from the Pope not to take part in the Nationalist agitation. It is stated that envoys have left Khartoum bparing letters for the Queen, the Khedive and the Sultan. Their purport is not known. Sir Geo. Trevelyan has addressed a letter to the papers in which he expresses strong disapproval of certain clauses in the Irish Crimes Bill. A bill having for its object the nstnblisliment of a board of management for the New South Wales railways has been read a first time in the Assembly. The hon. sec. of the Hamilton Brass Band has received a cheque for £1 lOs, being the band's share of the proceeds of the carol concert. The cotton moth is reported to be playing havoc with the turnip crops in some parts of the district. One paddock of 30 acres in the Pukerimu district has been almost destroyed, nearly all the leaves having disappeared. The Rev. W. M. Kirkbride, of Mangere, will preach at S. John's, Te Awamutu, to-morrow morning. The Rev. W. Evans, of Cambridge, will preach at the various Presbyterian Churches in the Waikato West district to-morrow. The following tenders for No. 2 contract, Hamilton East Cemetery road WRi-e received last night:—S. C. McCullum, £9 • T. Keep, £18 18a ; Owen and Thomas £13 4s ; J. Coombes, £11 4s ; Radford and Hinton, £1118s 4d ;J. Winter, £9 19s Gd. The lowest tender was accepted. Lord Salisbury has declined to consider a proposal for a return to Protection in England, but has expressed himself well disposed towards the adoption of differential duties in favour of colonial as against foreign produce. A meeting of the committee of the Hamilton Public Library was held last ni"ht. The secretary reported that he had received a cheque for £1 10s, being the library's share of the carol concert. It was decided to print and several other matters in connection with the library were dealt with. A Press association telegram says the news from Afghanistan is producing a feeling of uneasiness. Many reports are current, which, however, cannot be relied upon, but the activity of the Russians is well assured. They are repored to be collecting stores on the Afghan frontier with the view to making a descent upon Herat.

The Hamilton Light Infantry Volunteer Corps has been gazetted. 1 nor to commencing drill on Thursday a committee consisting of Capt. Reid, Corporals Burke and Barwell, and Privates Fannell, Tucker, Hooper and Missen were appointed. The Rev. R. O'O. Biggs was elected chaplain, and Dr. Murch surgeon to the corps.

Telegrams from Sydney state that extraordinary rain fell on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The streets of the city were flooded. The floods have done much damage in the low-lying parts of the city, where, owing to the bursting ot a sewer, four houses collapsed, the inmates narrowly escaping with their lives.

The following are the immigration and emigration returns for March :— Arrivals : United Kingdorn,243; New South Wales4Ss; Victoria, 437; Tasmania.GO; other places GO ; total, 128 G. Departures: United Kingdom, 233; Queensland, 1; New South Wales, 600; Victoria, 442; Tasmania, 38; other places 89; Total, 1403. Arrivals at different New Zealand ports:Auckland, 462 ; Wellington, 312 : Lyttleton, 1; Dunedin, U; Invercargill 487; other ports, 13; total, 1280. Departures: Auckland, 725; Wellington, 116 ; Lyttleton, 77 ; Dunedin, 2 ; Invercargill, 441; other ports 12 ; total, 1403.

Sir, —The late narrow escape from fire, together with a hint from an old fireman may perhaps rouse Hamilton to a sense of the advisability of instituting a Fire Brigade. Having been connected with several brigades and corps in America and Australia, I can speak from experience and say, that if some prominent citizens would take the initiative steps, our young men would find the drill and practice very attractive, and Hamilton would feel proud of its firemen, and some day perhaps, thankful to them. That a town of such magnitude as this should be, minus so useful an institution has always been a matter of great surprise to yours truly. —W. Salmon.

Lord Hindlip, whose death was announced by a cable .n?s«age the other day was (says the New Zealand limes) much more widely known as Allsopp, the great brewer of Burton - on-Trent. Mr Henry Allsopp was the chief of the firm, and had won a well-deserved reputation for shrewdness and business ability. He retired from business last year, and was (to quote the witty eayinjr of Sir Wilfred Lawson) "raised from the beerage to the peerage." He had, however, been for many years a member of the House of Commons. His late, business has just been placed on the market as a joint stock company with a capital of millions. The result was an unprecedented rush for the shares, even the prospectus forms being bought up eagerly at handsome prices, and the scene of excitement at the office where application bad to be made is described in late English papers as quite without precedent. The application for shares represented a sum of over £100,000,000 sterling. We have seen a private letter from Nelson, which gives a doleful account of the ravages of the Codlin moth. The writer, a nurseryman, declares that he has not a sound apple in his garden, and unless the pest can be checked there will be no apples from there, and the demand for young stock will be nil. He speaks of preliminary steps being taken for the purpose of dealing with the subject, and is in favor of cutting back or destroying the trees for a couple of years in order to starve the grub. Something of this sort was tried in Victoria as a cure for the phylloxera in the grape, but the State did the destruction and paid compensation to the owners of the gardens. It was considered just that the remedy taken to preserve the national interest should not. involve a crushing loss on particular individuals. The writer of the letter points out that a difficult feature in the case is that people who do not depend on fruitgrowing for a livelihood do not take so much interest as they should do in the work of eradication' and that in consequence their gardens really became a nursery for the pest —Hawera Star. • ,

There is (observes the Wellington Post) something specially appropriate in Mr Ballance's bill for the resumption of private estates being brought forward in the jubilee year. The principle of land nationalisation is as old as the days of Moses, and the law, as laid down in Leviticus, provides against land monopoly by preventing the alienation of property beyond the jubilee year. Every 50 years the ownership of land reverted to the original possessors. In our case this would be the State. There was, however, under the Mosaic law no compensation paid ; no valuation with 10 jDer cent, added. _ In fact, usury of all kinds was prohibited, and the chief injunction of the jubilee year was, "Ye shall not, therefore, oppress one another.'' What a glorious thing it would be if we could celebrate this year's jubilee strictly after the Mosaic fashion ! All mortgages and debts would be wiped out, the State would resume possession of the land, and we should all make a fresh start. It would not. however, be much of a jubilee for the great loan companies, the banks, or the Enslish money-lenders.