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Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2500, 19 July 1888, Page 2

Through communication by cable has been restored at last, and this morning we present an interesting budget of foreign and English news. The Speaker has resumed the chair, but the Premier is still indisposed. Messrs Morrell and Dixon are candidates for tho Ashley seat. Both are opponents of Protection, and the latter an avowed Ministerialist. The concert in aid of the Cambridge museum fund last night was an unprecedented success. We must hold over our report until next issue. Mr Valentine, in the House last night, gave notice to ask if the idea of obtaining a Railway Commissioner from England has been abandoned. There was a very full house at the first of Mr Connell's popular concerts, which was. a decided success. We will give a full ft'port of it in our next issue. Le Quesne's skating rink was opened on Tuesday evening. Tho Hamilton Volunteer Band was in attendance, and there were a fair muster of rinkers. A Christchurch brewer, named Francis Innis, was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, with hard labour, by Mr Justice Ward for fradulent bankruptcy. The official returns of the arrivals and departures during the month of May show that OSli persons entered, and 1898 persons left the colony during that time, or an excess of 1212 in the departures. The Indian Government are desirous to encouragu a trade with New Zealand horses suitable for the farmer country. As we have often urged before, our local breeders should turn their attention to this subject, which is likely to develope into something considerable in the course of two or three years. There was a serious misprint, which escaped our notice at the time, in a local in onr last issue, giving a simple remedy for diphtheria, which we hasten to correct. It should.have read, " Four drops of sulphuric acid in a teacup of water," not teaspoon of water, as printed. An interesting letter on diphtheria from Dr. l'airman appears in to-day's issue. Rabbit preserving appears to have met with greater success in Marlborough than at Woodlands in Southland. The Marlborough works at present employ 54 hands and pay £500 weekly in wages. The price paid for rabbits is 3s per dozen, and many station holders find that by making terms with rabbiters the rabbits are almost as profitable as sheep. The trappers are said to average about £2 per week. The return football match between Hamilton East and West will be played on Saturday next, on Sydney Square, commencing at 2.30 p.m. The West side will have a stronger team than in the first match, and they feel confident on winning. Tho East side will be chosen from the following:—Von Sturmer, Clarkin (2), Kelly (2), Cassidy, Gaudin, O'Neill, Ryan, Quick, Winter, Reid, Lees, Greenwood, Seddon, Gelling, Peacock, Hammond (2). Our Raglan correspondent writes as follows -As yot no public meeting ing has been held here, although all feel the importance and necessity of the retrenchment movement. No bettor resolution could bo passed, than those determined on at a public meeting hold here in January, 1880, protesting against fui ther taxation and advocating general reductions in the Civil Service, Education Department, &c. Though laughed at at the time, if they had been adopted by the country, a different state of things would be now experienced, for the roar has in some cases become a " howl,"

The Mokau Commission is now •sitting in Auckland. The plans for the new buildings for the Waikato Hospital and Charitable Aid Board are nearly ready, and the advertisement calling for tenders will appear in our Saturday's issue. On reference to an advertisement in this issue, it will be seen that the price of admission of spectators to the Acme Skntinp Rink has been reduced to 6d. We understand that the manager intends to inaugurate some races between the subscribers at an early date. Our millers (says the Invercargill Times) should keep their eye on Tahiti and Manilla as possible markets for their produce. Between July, 1887, and May, 1888, 22,000 barrels of flour were shipped from San Francisco to these places, which are several thousands of miles nearer to New Zealand than to California. The Oamaru Mail commenting on the above says :—Unfortunately, Oainaru will not be able to participate in the trade referred to by our Invercargill contemporary, for, when flour is at such a price where it is produced that it is necessary, in that place, to charge Gd per small loaf for bread, it is impossible, surely, to export. The Portland Oregonian estimates that the immigration to Oregon and the neighbouring territory of Washington was rnoro than 100,000 during the last year. Instead of deploring this immigration the people of Oregon and Washington Territory have welcomed it with open arms as necessary for their growth and prosperity. It is estimated that with these immigrants there was a direct importation of more than 20,000,000 dols. But of vastly more value than the money they brought are the immigrants themselves, whose sturdy arms are laying the foundations of a mighty empire of freemen in the region of the North Pacific. The Salvation Army at Hamilton held their usual meeting at Hamilton on Tuesday night, when the barracks was filled to the doors. Mrs Hutchinson led the meeting, and gave a very eloquent address, completely carrying the audience with her. A gentleman frrm Auckland (Mr Doble), who takes great interest in Church work, on the invitation of Mrs Hutchinson, went forward to the platform, and gave a very able address about the work of the Salvation Army. Although only one person went to tho penitent form, a great many were under the load of conviction. There was no meeting in Hamilton last night, as the Army rode to Ngaruawahia, between 30 and 40 taking the opportunity of going down. The Wellington Post saysßy next year we hope that the House, will have grown more in accord with public opinion on the education question than it now is, and will be prepared to accept a most substantial reduction in the expenditure on education by certainly raising the school age, and we hope, also, stopping free education at the fourth standard. At least £150,000 a year is to be saved in this way, not only without injury to the system, but with positive benefits. The Government will be forced to take a firm stand ou this question at a very early day. There are tens of thousands of pounds to be yet saved in the public expenditure if the people are content to sacrifice conveniences which are not in any sense necessaries." A war scare is to be had cheap in Melbourne now, as uti more use can be made of it at present. It served its purpose to fill so many columns of the daily press aud so make folk? talk, ot voila tout. At head quarters, I am told, there never was from the first the slightest fear but that the Cable breakage was the result of natural causes, and the calling out of the Naval Brigade, and the mustering in hot haste was simply a move that had long been in preparation. It has done good too, for it has shown in what a terrible unreliable condition our defences are. The torpedoes got adrift, the volunteers proved anything but soldier-like, and the whole muster turned out a regular fiasco. Naturally Victoria has covered herself with ridicule in the eyes of the other colonies, who seem to have thought Melbourne was frightened by threatened danger, when such was not actually the case. I suppose the little episode will cost us some eight or ten thousand pounds, which is rather a large sum to pay thu piper for—nothing. Melbourne ( tossip.

New Zealand is the wonderland of the South, and is to lie made more so. A track is now being cut from the head of Milford Sound to a waterfall of the Arthur river, the Sutherland fall, " the highest fall in the world !" No one has been within two miles of it, but those who have been so near, saw and heard it, and say it will wash out of sight anything the globe trotter has ever seen in that line. Sutherland, its discoverer, put it down at four to five thousand feet, without prejudice toany extension required at the bottom, which they could not see. There is not a decent fall known anywhere of 2000 feet, and all or nearly all those over 1000 feet are of small streams tiiat fall all to pieces before they reach the bottom. On the Sutherland Fall a big glacier river spills itself and goes right down, as the thunder of it, heard two miles away, proves. Referring to the interruption of the cables, our Melbourne correspondent writes It is really lamentable to notice the effect the breakage of the cab'es has had upon us. I refer now to the daily papers, which during the last week have not been worth looking at. The paucity of news has been something melancholic, and deprived of the home telegrams, the principal feature of the day's intelligence has been lost; and the worst ot it is, there is no knowing how long this state of things may not last. At all events, one tiling can Ue said, when the first message comes flashing through again, there will be a general sigh of relief throughout Australia. And by-the-way, the interruption will surely prove the truth of the old adage, that it is an ill wind that blows nobody good—for it is pretty certain, in the face of what has taken place, that we shall have another cable link with England shortly via America, so that if another disruption takes place, we shall not wholly be cut off from the mother-land. We have before expressed the opinion that Education Board's should be abolished, and each County Council entruswith the administration of education affairs within its own area. A special correspondent of the Herald sends some interesting information with reference to Principal Grant of Queen's College, Kingston, Canada, who is a specialist in educational matters. Speaking of our system, Mr Grant states that " nothing struck him so much as the waste of money in having so many universities in a colony with a population scarcely able to bear the expense of one. The secondary schools should be brought into touch with the primary schools. At present there was a great gulf between them. It was a vicious principle for one body to raise money and other bodies to spend it. In Canada every borough and county raised its own educational funds, consequently ther» was no temptation to be extravagant, as here, and a race between different Education Boards as to who could get the most from tho consolidated revenue. Queen's College, Kingston, with 415 students, was wholly supported by fees and voluntary contributions of citizens. This system caused emulation and a spirit of patriotism and self-sacrifice. Within the past few years a feeling has arisen amongst a number of those interested in horse breeding that the time has arrived when it is desirablo that steps should be taken with the view of improving the class of general stud horses in the colony. At the present time the country is almost over-run with a lot of broken-down crocks and weeds that, as stallions, are not worth feeding, and these it is which are causing the degeneracy of the horse in New Zealand which is so much deplored. It has been suggested that a tax of £10 or £20 should be placed upon all stallions used for stud purposes, and the suggestion has much to commend it. By this means many of the broken-down racers now at the stud would be weeded out, and bofore an owner would pay a stiff fee for an inferior horse, he would recognise the inevitable and turn the animal into a gelding. It would offer a direct inducement for the breeding of good horses, as for none but the best stock would the fee bo paid, and the man who owned a really first-class animal would not object to the tax. Tho objection will doubtless bo made that it is imposing an unwarranted restriction, and that it is interfering with free trade. To a certain extent this is so, but circumstances justify it. At the present time, when the coffers of the country so urgently need replenishing, the suggestion should find favour, as the tax would not be objected to by those who had the right class of stock. We hope to see the matter taken up by some prominent person interested in the subject, as we feel that some good might arise even from a discussion of the matter.—Exchange. Mr J. J. Graham, of Woodlands, calls f<?r tenders for clearing gofse,