The Waikato Time AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 1888.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2462, 21 April 1888, Page 2

The Waikato Time AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 1888.

E<jua! and exact justice to all men, Ot .vhatsocver state or persuasion, religious or political.

« For somo time 1 >aclc political gossipers in the South have been exorcising tlioir ingenuity in order to arrango, to tlioir own satisfaction, who shall succeed Sir Francis Dillon Bell oil his reHmment from the post of Agent-General in London Tho name of Sir Harry Atkinson has boon put forward in a conspicuour manner as the most eligible man to fill the office. It has been frequently asserted that lie is very

desirous of withdrawing from active political life in tho colony to permit him to assume the less onerous and precarious duties of Now Zealand's representative in the Imperial capital. The rumour has, as far as we are aware, never been authoritatively contradicted, therefore, it is not possible to gauge what modicum of truth it contains; but, judging from precedents it is quite possible that the Premier, or any other member of the Ministry, may take advantage of present opportunities to surrender the temporary sweets of place and power dependent on the caprice of Parliament, for the prestige and comfort of a high and well-paid State appointment with fixity of tenure and | surrounded by the delights of fashionable London society, We will not dispute Sir H. Atkinson's qualifications or fitness for the office of Agent-General; with his long political experience and intimate acquaintance with the past history of the colony and its present and future requirements, together with the natural energy of his character, probably no other man so suitable as he could be found. It is, however, open to question whether the practice of Premiers of constitutional colonies appointing themselves to the highest paid offices in the public service, is a sound one. Looking at it, dispassionately, it seems to be very objectionable and vicious in principle. Its tendency is to exercise a demoralising influence on the system of representative government. When the head of the Government and leader of the party in power abandons the position he has been filling in the arena of politics, in which lie is the centre and guiding hand of his party, in order to ensconce himself in the folds of a fat, pleasant billet, the ranks of his party are in danger of being thrown into disorganisation and confusion. He bestows upon himself an office of trust and high pay to which his constituents have not elected him, without consulting them, and which, at the period of his return as their representative in the Assembly, it was never contemplated, he should be appointed. Representatives of the people in Parliament, who have gained political prominence and the pinnacle of power and place in the legislature, should not be the ones to sacrifice the interests of their party, or the duty they owe to the country through their uninterrupted presence on the scene to which they have been elected, by taking refuge in comfortable and safe appointments, whether it be for personal gratification or because the stability and popularity of the Government have been weakened and their ejectment from office threatened. There is danger to the purity of popular administration in this practice, and it should be discouraged by every high-minded public man who values his reputation for disinterested statesmanship. With politicians of the stamp Vogel (who was the first to establish this objectionable precedent), immoral, corrupt practices and innovations are perfectly au nciturel \ but, it is now the earnest prayer of the country that we have seen, or nearly seen, the last of that school, and that they will be replaced by men of loftier sentiments and patriotic principles. If the Premier retires, as is proposed, the Ministerial ranks will be loosened, and the same state of disorganisation will probably fall upon it as appears to have overtaken the Opposition by the departure of Sir Julius Yogel. In the interests of Party Government, this is very undesirable. Such a spectacle as the Prime Minister of England, or any British Minister of the Crown, or of the President of the United States or American Secretary of State, appointing themselves to high lucrative public offices, is unknown. As a matter of fact, the practice in England is that no Minister can accept, even a portfolio until he has again been before his constituents for re-election, in order to obtain their approval, or otherwise, of his taking office. There is in that the purest element of the democratic principle.

The name of Sir Robert Stout has been mentioned, first as the next Agent-General, secondly, as Premier in succession to Sir Harry Atkinson, should he elect to become Sir F. D. Bell's successor in London. In the latter case it is scarcely credible that such a proposition could have been made to his late rival by so astute a politician as the Premier, or that he could have made any overtures of the kind to a man whose maladministration and executive incapacity have not only been so completely condemned by the general voice of the country, but who, also, with two of his colleagues, were actually rejected by the electors on their own appeal. Sir It, Stout is about as unfit a man to represent the colony in London as can be found. His want of knowledge of the world, and of what his late colleague styles the " usages of good society," would bring his awkwardness into painful prominence ; nor ■would his vanity suffer him to bear with well-bred complaisance the consequences, his gaucherie would frequently inflict upon him. His philosophical pretensions and the extent to which his mind is saturated with socialistic ideas and fads in the abstract, would unsuit him for a position requiring diplomatic finesse and ready adaptability to intercourse with great statesmen and master-minds. After the polished and polite Sir Francis Dillon Bell, Sir Robert Stout would be a veritable descent.

Col. Forbes is progressing very favourably. We regret to hear that Captain Powell, of Ngaruawahia, has taken an unfavourable turn, and Dr. Murch was sent for at a late hour last night. In consequence of the opening of S. Benedict's Church, Newton, there will be no services to-morrow in any of the Roman Catholic Churches in Waikato. Mr Valentine, M H.R, is interesting himself to encourage the cultivation of sugar beet in his district —Waikaia, Otago, and is preparing a pamphlet on the subject fi»r publication. No satisfactory tender has been received by the Official Assignee for the stock-in-trade, &c., in the estate of Mr T. Trewheellar, and it will, therefore, be offered for sale by auction at an early date. Messrs J. Houghton and Sons, ot Cambridee, have in their store window, a large and very beautiful specimen of cpiartz that came from the Silver King mine at Waiorongomai. It is full of metal that looks very much like silver, but it also contains gold and copper. The young man, Parke, who was admitted to the Hospital a week ago, suffering from injuries to his eye, from the explosion of a gun cap, had a large pieca of the cap extracted from the ball of the eye on Tuesday. It is doubtful whether his sight wil be preaorved. A little boy of Captain Reid's, whilst playing in the sand pit near the old redoubt, Hamilton East, was buried by a fall of earth, and it was about half an hour before he was discovered, and released. Had ho not been taken out at the time he was, he would probably have lost his life, as he was nearly suffocated when uncovered. Messrs Trotter and Ross have brought a flock of 2,300 breeding ewes through from Napier to Cambridge, and they are most certainly one of the best lots wo have seen, and must have been carefully driven. 1300 are to be taken on to Auckland, and the remainder will be sold by Messrs W. J. Hunter and Co. It will be seen from our advertising columns than an old familiar friend of the Waikato has returned to the district, and resumed his former business. Mr J. S. Buckland announces that ho will receive orders for the sale and purchasa of stock, and conduct auctions in Waikato and Auckland. He has our best wishes and welcome back. The Timaru Herald is of the opinion that the Protectionists are not merely crying out that their nostrum would stay the alleged "exodus" of the people from New Zealand, but that they are bent on getting up a fictitious exodus— falsifying returns, in fact, for the purpose of making out ft case which shall attract public attention, and perhaps excite public alarm. The rehearsal by the Theatre Royal Company, for tho "Pirates of i Penzance," continue (both at Alexandra and Te Awamutu) with unabated vigor, and but for the illness of one of the leading characters, the piece would have been ere this placed on the boards. It is hoped that the first performance will take place at Alexandra about the last week of May. The second of the cpurse of literary evenings with musical interludes, now being held in S. Andrew's School-room, Cambridge, is advertised for Tuesday next. Dr. Hooper is the lecturer, and we understand his subject will be " Christianity and Islam." This subject will have a special interest at the present time, owing to the discussion and correspondence created by Canon Taylor's paper on " Mahom-ne-damsm," read at the recent Church Congress at Wolverhampton.

Messrs J. McNicol, of Cambridge, C. G. Glassford, of Richmond, W. G. Parke, of Rotorangi, and R. Burke, of Ngaroto, have been on a riding tour round the East Coast, and returned to Cambridge on Wednesday evening. Thev report Poverty and Hawkes' Bay as being very much dried up, and the feed more scarce than in Waikato. They left Matamata on March 20th, and journeyed via Tauranga, Te Puke, Maketu, Whakatane, Opotiki, Gisborne, Napier, Ruanni, Taupo and Lichfield. They were exceedingly fortunate, only having one wet day, near Ruapehu, where there had been nine inches of snow upon the ground just before they arrived. It is evident that New Zealand produce is causing some attention at home, when we find it being advertised in the provincial papers as something special. " New Zealand frozen meat " has for some time been the head line of advertisements in the Devon, Canterbury, and Liverpool papers ; now we notice that " New Zealand butter "' is coming to the front. We (Taranaki Herald) have been lent a copy of the Tunbridge Wells Courier, in which a Mr William Haybon, in a well displayed double-column advertisement, notifies " New Zealand butter, just arrived in ship Kaikoura, rich, creamy, of splendid quality, Is 4d per lb." In the same advertisement, finest Normandy butter is quoted at Is 5d per lb ; and fine ditto at Is 2d per lb; whilst margaiiue, which it states " being both wholesome and nutritious, is preferable in every way to common butter "is advertised at Is a lb. We have not heard that Mr Lamb, during his recent visit, made purchases of wheat to any great extent. So far as we can ascertain the result of his visit was not satisfactory to the farmers, whe were invited to meet him at Hamilton. The price offered for prime samples was 3s Id at the Auckland railway station. Mr Lamb, however, thinks the Waikato farmers make a mistake in growing Tuscan, or spring wheat which never obtains high prices, but that they should grow Pearl, or autumn wheat as more profitable. The difficulty i 3 that the latter course is rendered impracticable by the necessity farmers are under to grow turnips for winter feed, and, of course they cannot have a crop of wheat standing when the land is required for turnips. Fate seems to be working in favour of Mr Maxwell. This fortunate young gentleman must have been born under a lucky star. By a combination of circumstances, over which he had no control, he became some years ago manager of New Zealand Railways, and from present appearances he is likely to remain so. There is not a competent man in the whole world willing to take his ulace. There are plenty of goods-clerks, railway porters, guards, ticket-takers, station masters, and such like small fry offering for the billet of Chief Commissioner of Railways at £2,500 a year, but not a man amongst them was thought to be up to the mark. The whole thing seems to have been done very cleverly. The Agent-General was instructed to advertise in England and America for a gentleman of experience to take the office of Chief Commissioner. We learned by cable that fifty applications had been sent in, that these would be looked over, and the most likely sent on to the colony for the consideration of the Government. Last night the astonishing intelligence is received that twenty-five applications have been forwarded on by the Agent-General, " but after examination it was found that none came up to the mark required." We wonder who made this wonderful discovery. Was it Mr Maxwell himself, or does the Government repenteth itself of its sin in trying to get rid of him ? —Napier Telegraph.

From a private letter from Ensland by the last mail wo (Grey River Argus) learn that Mr Brodie Hoare, one of the directors »f the Midland Railway Company, is still travelling through the provinces lecturing upon his experience in this colony. When the last mail left he was at Tunbridge Wells. He is very eloquent on the natural beauties of New Zealand, its equable climate, prolific soil, varied product, and many natural advantages. He spares no pains to convince the people of England that there is no part of the world which is calculated to be a more healthy and agreeable place of residence for natives of Great Britain. But he gives the cake to Taranaki and Hawke's Bay. In his eyes these are the gardens of the colony, the fancy spots ; but as he scarcely had time to see the whole of the colony, lie probably knows nothing much of the Waikato and Waimate plains, and other parts of the North Island of almost equal beauty and fertility. The colony is muoh indebted to Mr Hoare for his able efforts to induce emigration to our shores. His lcctures are calculated to make a lively impression upon the class of people wc are most desirous of seoing come to the colony—those accustomed to live out of the soil, but who, being no longer able to do so in a manner satisfactory to themselves, owing to the killing coir,petition of American products, would gladly come to a colony with a much more agreeable climate and a bettor prospect of rewarding them for their labour, It is to be hoped that Mr Hoare's lectures may be as effective as they deserve to be. If the colony is a little depressed at present, there is evidence that things will improve shortly,