The Waikato Timess AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. SATURDAY, SEPT. 5, 1888.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2522, 8 September 1888, Page 2

The Waikato Timess AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. SATURDAY, SEPT. 5, 1888.

The many political ills which afflict this colony and the utter incapacity of the Parliament of the country to deal effectually with them in accordance with the people's will, must divert the strength of the current of public feeling from retrenchment, si, to complete reform of the constitution as a whole. There can be no successful achievement in the direction of true remedial measures for the thorough eradication of all our wrongs until the whole legislative and administrative machinery has been subjected to vigorous revision. There must be a complete remodelling of the entire fabric. Wo have seen how this present House of Representatives has failed in its national functions, and that it no longer fulfils its character as the safeguard of popular rights. Indeed, in that respect it has been deteriorating for

years, until its latest exhibition of delilieiutive vacuity has satisfied the country that Reason his finally fled fi om its councils. The country demanded a reduction of the expenditure of the public funds, the introduction of a concrete system of econoniyin nil branchesof the adniinistrati >n, and a diminution of the burden of taxation. The present Parliament was elected on those main issues and no other. The Press and people continually reminded the Legislature of them, and of the election pledges of their representatives. But all protests and representations fell unheeded on a disorganised and confused Assembly, frittring away valuable time at a most critical period in selfish intrigues and party strife. The country sought constitutional relief, but has sought in vain. In their repugnance of the conduct of Parliament., the people feel that the benetiis they have asked for can never he procured until radical changes in the system of Government have been made. Public attention, therefore, will, for the future, be centred in that question as one of primary importance. The shape the reform must assume has to be defined and placed before the country for its guidance and consideration. This is the work of leaders of public opinion, and of thoughtful men of study. We have now under our notice a scheme of constitutional reform propounded by Dr. Laishley, L.L.D., of Auckland, which is put forward in his articles under the title of " The New Evangel," published in the Herald and our weekly supplement. In two former articles Dr. Laishley dealt caustically witli the shortcomings of Government, the false sideissues of Protection versus Freetrade, as applied to our present circumstances, and with the evils of party government, or log-rolling. The third article will be found in our issue, to-day, and we direct our readers' attention to it. Dr Laishley takes up the real issues, economy, settlement, and legislative reform, and lie correctly sums up the effects of our pernicious policy when he says "that extravagance must produce exhaustion ; to stop immigration must mean damming the main artery; and to oppress or discourage Capital— which is but crystalised labour— must necessarily retard wealth-pro-duction, and therefore, injure Labour." The author next proceeds to point out the urgency of first educating the democracy—that is, the masses—to enable them to discriminate between sound doctrines of political economy, an<F the false issues of demagogues and charlatans. This has hitherto been our greatest difficulty and danger in procuring honest legislation and honourable administration. The electors of Waikato and Waipa have to guard themselves against political aspirants of that sort whose sole aim is the mere gratification of individual vanity and selfaggrandisement. The tendency of the legislation of recotit years has been of a class nature, and that class the mob, of whom members stand in awe in consequence of the balance of voting power in the largo centres of population being in their hands. Unless legislation is pure and fairly divided between all classes of the poople, it loses its popular attributes, becomes prejudicial, and is utterly ruinous to the best interests of the nation. Dr. Laishley demonstrates this clearly, and shows how unripe democratic communities are to rule themselves in obedience to given laws. Says the Doctor, " the radical legislative changes required here to secure EinanceEcononiy, Wealth-Production, and Fair-Legislation, are not, in my opinion, merely changes of men, but also changes of system." These are sentiments that will find an echo throughout the whole colony. If the people, who admit the failure of the existing form of government, do not set to work to procure changes both of men and system, they will deserve the wretched machinery they possess. After showing the impossibility of the Crown resuming the executive control of the colony, Dr. Laishley concludes his third paper by coming to the real issue, viz., a reform of the present corrupt legislative system, and in his fourth article, which has already appeared in the Herald, and will be inserted in our next week's supplement, he elaborates his scheme of reform of general and local government. We have not space to review these proposals to-day, but we extract the following as the most important changes that are advocated, the principle of which will be readily endorsed by all who take an intelligent interest in public affairs and view with alarm the serious situation into which the colony has drifted by a long period of mal-administration. Dr. Laishley says

As' the moat probable means of accomplishing what is requisite, I advocate— 1. Reduce the Lower House to 50 and the Upper House to 2."i members. •2. Elect Lower House representatives for five years on a modification of Mr Hare's system, dividing New Zealand so that each island may be an electorate ; and provide for vacancies in the Upper House, being filled by election — certainly not on the Governmental nominee plan. 3. Abolish Government by party, giving power to the Governor (as in the States) to appoint for his term his executive, subject to the approval of Parliament, but removeablc at his pleasure ; and let the Executive consist of only three men—-Secretary, Treasurer and Attorney-General, not members of either House, and, indeed, ineligible for membership during tenure of office— with greatly enhanced powers to the Governor and his Executive, but with over-riding powers to Parliament if twothirds of each House concurs.

12. Systematise (thereby greatly increase, and at the same time greatly decrease) local Government, and relegate to it, in a revised form, all but New Zealand interests ; giving power of direct local taxation for all district requirements, including power of rating and education purposes—thereby avoiding education being a charge on general revenue.

On a future occasion we shall return to the, subject so ably and succinctly advocated by Dr. Laishley in these admirable papers.

The 'Frisco mail closes at Hamilton this morning at 0.45.

The Sydney horae market is re ported to be dull.

Sir P. D- Bell has not succeeded n obtaining a Railway Commission.

Several Thames miners returned irom the Broken Hills by the s.s. Manaiiouri.

Detective Walker fully believes that Gasparini went overboard and perished.

Mr Stewart is advertised to be the lecturer at S. Andrew's Literary next Tuesday evening.

Earthquake shocks continue to be felt in the South. There is no further news from Hanmer Plains.

Mr Parkes expects to have his reduction works at the Tui completed in about a month's time.

Sir Arthur Gordon has cabled a donation of £100 towards the restoration of the steeple of the Christchurch Cathedral.

Mr Spragg will meet milk suppliers at the Waikato Hotel at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday, to arrange for the coining season's supply at the Hamilton factory-

We remind lovers of cricket that the annual meeting of the Hamilton Cricket Club will bo held in Thk Waikato Tisiks building at 3 p.m. to-day.

Merrylegs, Lowdeu Tam, Lord Raglan, Ingomar, Cap -a - pie, Rantiu Robin and Duke of Albany are the horses entered up to date for Mr MeNicol's horse parade on Tuesday week.

The Hamilton Choral Society, under the leadership of Mr H. Connell, had a very successful practice on Tuesday evening. A.bout thirty vocalists and musicians have joined the Society.

At the criminal session of the Supreme Court oil Wednesday, James McCabe was convicted of and sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment for breaking and entering a dwelling-house at Cambridge.

The Hamilton-Whatawhata road is at present in a very bad condition, and is about impassable in Home places for wheeled traffie. liren men on horseback have some difficulty iu getting past some of tho worst spots.

A young Maori girl, aged 14 years, died at Whatavrnata on Tuesday last, and on Thursday the Maoris held a tangi over her. A large number of natives were present to take part in the proceedings.

The Te Aroha natives are preparing to take part m the tangi to be held in connection with the removal of tho remains of William Thompson to Maungakawa, which is to be performed at an early date.

The delay in continuing the publication of Dr. Laishley's papers, The New Evangel, was due to the pressure of business on his part and pressure of space on the Herald's during the sitting of 1 arliament.

At the adjourned meeting of SPeter's Yestry, Hamilton, on Thursday evening, final consideration was given to the finances of the parish, and it was decided to reduce tho organist's, verger s and clergyman's stipends, and also curtail contingent expenses, thus affecting retrenchment to the extent of fully £50 per anr.urn^

Mr Evans, of Hamilton, lost the contract for the erection of the Hospital building through a simpleerror. The amount of his tender was given in as for £i 370, but further than this sum, was £202, achedule prices for verandah, cowls, etc., which he had omitted to add to the «um, and gue tho full total. But for this informality .Mr Evan's three tenders would have been the lowest.

Messrs R- Goldsborough and Co. their report for August, state :—Wheat has been in strong enquiry for shipment, and we have anld during the month upward? of 00,000 bags at from 3s 4d to 3s lid per bushel. The demand is now good for all prime shipping quality at the latter quotation. Oats: Owing to moderate supplies coming forward have had a go«d market, and realised from 2s SH to 2s !Jd for medium feed, up to 3s Id lor stout.

The following were the wool exports from the various colonies up to tiie 18th August:—Victoria, 3,570 bales, a decrease of 407 on the corresponding period of last year; New South Wales, J,!)52 bales, decrease 43.S ; South Australia, 160 bales, decrease 228; < Jueensland, (5,445 bales, increase 1,044; New Zealand, 3.078 bales, decrease 1,550. The total shipments to date from Ist July wore l'J,oo.j bale*, a decrease of 1,1i30.

Mr E J. Pearson has protected his carbolic »and soap in New South Wales, and intends proceeding to Sydney, a3 soon as he can overtake the local demand, to place the soap on that market, he has also taken initiatory steps towards having his patent rights secured in Victoria and (Queensland. Tho demand for the soap in tnis colony continues to increase, and we are pleaded to learn that Mr Pearson has all he can do with his present appliances to keep abreast of his orders.

While the Salvation Army were out for a march at Whatawlmta on Turaday evening last the Maoris rolled up in good numbers, and were greatly taken up with the music and singing, and especially with the tambourine. The Maori girls were skipping about and clapping their hands in great delight, and after the meeting they asked a few members of the "Army" if they would come to-morrow night, as they were greatly taken up with, the music and singing.

The quarterly meeting of the Waikato Archidiaconal Conference is advertised to be held at Hamilton on Wednesday next. We learn that the following subjects are likely to be brought under consideration.—(a) The importance of paying the stipends of all the clergy in the Diocese from a central fund ; (b). Tho observance of the Church's seasons ; (c). The use of the Athanasian Creed in the services of the Church ; (d). Extempore preaching as a qualification in candidates for Holy Orders. The proceedings will as usual be open to the public.

Bishop Cowie, in his book "Our Last Year in New Zealand," speaks in good terms of the friendly feeling existing between all classss of religious denominations in New Zealand, though this, he says, is true of the laity rather than tho clergy. Still, even in New Zealand, there are occasional displays of bigotry, aud he relates an amusing anecdote of the sensation created in his diocese by an unfounded report that be had caused a small bouquet of flowers to be presented to a new Roman Catholic Bishop on his arrival in the colony.

There was a full attendance at the Cambridge rink on Thursday night, and a capital selection of music waß played by tho band, which has progressed very satisfactorily under Mr Mettam's leadership, the music on Thursday being very well rendered, Mr Horace Stewart playing first cornet and shewing promise of becoming a brilliant player. A potato race was introduced during the evening, causing great amusement. There were lour competitors, and the first heat was wen by Mr Stanley Chambers, but as a dispute arose, a second heat was contested, which Mr Fred. Coleman succeeded in winning.

The directors of the Civil Service Supply Association of Xew Zealand, in making their first half-yearly report, state that " your directors, in common with yourselves, were induced to enter into this Association on the representations of Mr Geo. White, who professed to be competent in every respect to inaugurate and carry on operations. After an experience of ten weeks they were satisfied of his incompetency, and that the business was getting into a bad position, and therefore relieved him, Mr Wilding, one of your directors, being fortunately able to take the management temporarily. They then employed Mr Chan. A. Jonas (your auditor) to make a thorough examination of tho books, took stock, and prepared a balance-sheet, which, much to their astonishment, showed a loss of £180 18s ;>d." During the last 13 week's business the loss was i'l>2 7s sd. as against the largo sum given above.

An amusing incident happened at the Cambridge R.M. Court yesterday. The plaintiff in the case, Milne v. Butler, .vas evidently a new chum in the witness box, and gave his evidence in the most roundabout manner, with full particulars of what he was doing or thinking, or this one or tiie other waa »»yiug, which, coupled with the peculiar dialect in which he spoke, made it difficult to comprehend, and still more difficult to obtain a straightforward answer to the questions of Counsel or Bench. Commenting on this, the Bench said the man appeared to be a foreigner, either a Germau or a Swede. "No," said Mr Dyer ; "he's an Englishman." " Indeed," said tho Bench j "what part does he come from?"' "Yorkshire, your worship," replied tho plaintiff. His worship's own county, by jin^o!

We have received the schedules and prize lists of the (4 rain and Agricultural Produce Show, and of the Horticultural Show to be held at the Melbourne Exhibition. We will give a brief description of the catalogues in our next issue.

There is a yarn afloat with regard to a hospital in New Zealand which if true reflects more credit on the ingenuity of tho local committee than on their honesty. Tho Government, aseverybody knows, pays by Act £1 4s subsidy on all voluntary dona- I tions to hospital funds. This particular hospital appears to be rather expensively managed, but the funds seem to roll up well, and no one complains. It iB said that there is an intimate connection between these three facts. This is how the thing is 1 worked. Ais a contractor to the hospital. He has an account of say 4J2;>. He is quietly told to make it out for £00, and it is passed and a choque made out for that amount. But when paying the money the secretary gets back £25, and pays it into tho hospital funds as a " contribution," and then claims—and g»ts—£3o from tho Government by this smart trick. It is also strongly suspected that in other hospitals money received from paying patients is put down as " noluutary contributions." —Exchange.

Up to the present (writes the "Dunedin livening Star's Loudon correspondent) Now Zealand dairy produce has only proved inditferently successful. Against the cheese nothing can now be urged, save that tho quality varies more than is desirable. Retailers do not, as yet, take very kindly to it (I quote the smartest cheesemonger in South Kensington), but the itores (the Army and Navy especially) sell large quantities. The "7d a pound New* Zealand cheese" is, in fact, becoming a speciality at the Army and Navy Stores. All 1 wonder is, what does the exporter get per pound for it? The New Zealand butter, on the contrary, continues a failure. Often the quality is, or has been, good ; but it varies so in colour, condition, and mako-np that purchasers are often very dissatisfied. For example, a bntterman buys, say, twenty kegs or tubs (or whatever you call them) of New Zealand butter. The sample he tasted suited him exactly, bxt he finds that the kegs are not uniform in colour and other essentials with the sample. The butter may be goo d enough, but there is not enough salt in it, or too much salt in it, to suit his customers, or the colour too nearly resembles that of nurgerine. The consequence is he is dissatisfied, and eschews New Zealand butter for the future. The difficulties in the way of the trade are, however, such as a few experts will no doubt smooth away, and once New Zinland dairy produce gets a good name with our retailers its future is assured.

We are sorry to hear that the anomalies existing under our present^,railway taritf may have the etfect of Hamilton of a very promising local industry. We refer to the soap manufactory of Mr Pearson, who is greatly incensed at the treatment he receives at the hands of the Railway Department, and that he has reasonable grounds for his complaints the following instances will show : —He ordered t",vo drums of carbolic acid from Auckland, and the consignors innocently described it as such in tho freight note, the consequence being that Mr Pearson had to pay 7s 101 carriage, whereas, had it been described as "disinfecting fluid, the cost would only have amounted to 3s 3d, which is about a fair charge for tne service rendered. This mistake will, of course, bo rectified in future, and Mr Pearson's imports of carbolic acid will henceforth figsre on the waybills as 41 disinfecting fluid." Air Pearson's chief ground of complaint, is however, in reference to tho freight charged on his outward consignments of soap. The Depart'ihent charges him at the rate of 32s Od per ton for his product, but at the same time will carry a ton >I malt for !)s, although the aonreyance of the malt requires more care than tho sosp. Mr Pearson has communicated with the Railway Department concerning his grievance time and again, but liai received the invariable reply that no reduction can bo mado oil the amount charged ; and as tho present rate of carriage on the soap takes "all the gilt off the gingerbread," Mr Pearson is seriously contemplating the removal of Ilia business to a place where the vagaries of the railway tariff will trouble him no more. The Department by its action is " killing the goose that lays the golden egg," as the industry will undoubtedly become a most important one, and Mr Pearson is confident, now that ho has protected his patent in the Australian colonies, of disposing of over six tons petweek, out of which, if he carries out his intention, the Railway Department will of course get nothing.