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Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2577, 17 January 1889, Page 2

Potatoes have reached taurine prices in Sydney, and are now selling at Cd jjer dozen. Our correspondent's report of the Proabyterian soiree a.t Te Awaniutu is unavoidably held over till next issue. The Auckland Chamber of Commerce meets to-day to consider the appointments to the Kail way Commissionerships and the question of land settlement. The Hobson Rifles, of Auckland, have disbanded, in consequence of the stringency of tho new regulations, and other corps are expected to follow suit. The racehorse Signess has been sold to Mr Halcrow, for the sum of 65 guineas, with another 20 guineas out of its first win, Signess is by Cap-a-pie, out of Kuhplnte, and was bred by Mr J. Livingstone the lyqll-knowti local sportsman. The Lake V/akatipu Mail says ; "The fruit and grain tseiuon promises to be remarkably good in the Waltatipu this st<a. son. As an instance in the latter respect, Mr F. Kviins, Cherry farm, Frankton, has some magnificent crops, and he anticipates netting 00 bushels per acre of wheat and barley, and little short of 100 bushels an acre of oats," During the absence of Frofessor Panooll, who proceeds to Auckland to fulfill an engagement to givo an exhibition of .swimming at the tournament of the Auckland Amateur Swimming Association in the Calliope Dock, the Hamilton West LiV-hs will be under the supervision of Mr Wilfred von Situpner, We call the attention of our Cambridge readeu to the i)»i)}]al iijeiijiiig of thy British and Foreign bible Hociety op fnday next, as advertised in our columns. It is to bo hoped that the claims of this society to the practical sympathy of all Ohi-ieti&n ppople will secure a large attendance and a liberal collection. The question "is ifarrjage a Failure?" was brought more pfommsijtly than ever before residents in a Wairarapa township the other morning, in consequence of some wag having placarded the place witi? largfi posters benring the words, Is M arriagc a failure'i " Instead, however, of patronising the Real hoardings, the amateur bill-sticker Ij.id cruelly aefceted the doors or shutters of tiiose houses blessed wiih more than the average number ot olive branches. The perpetrator is still " wanted."

Sir George Grey has not yet definitely decided when he will leave for England.

Miss Missen, assisted by her pupils, will give a concert in Hamilton on February 28th, at which Miss Swan, of Auckland, has consented to sing. Tho programme will be published in a future issue.

Guard Such was in Hamilton on Tuesday. Although still weak he has made good recovery from the severe injuries he received. He has gone to Te Aroha for a short stay and to build himself up. Mr Florence, a solicitor of Woodville and two young ladies ascended the Ruahine Ranges on Sunday morning and have become lost. Parties have been organised to search for them. In the Pakuranga and Howick districts the crops are larger than they have been for years past, and everything is looking green and healthy. The farms seem to be better attended to there than in the Waikato districts.

An error appeared in the Waipa Racing Club's Handicap published in our last issue. The weight of Earnest in the Hurdles should be 9st. 71b. not 9st. 41b. Mantilla's weight in the Cup appears as forwarded to us by tho Secretary by telegram which requested us to alter it to "seven thirteen."

Speaking to a Tuapeka farmer the other day—a man in a comparatively small way and with what might be termed a limited holding—he assured us that to him alone the difference between last year's prices and the prices now prevailing meant an extra £300 on the produce of his farm for the year.—Tuapeka Times.

A boy named Meredith, son of the landlord of the Royal Hotel, Hamilton East, whilst bathing near the baths on that side of the river, on Tuesday, became entangled in a quantity of weeds, and was unable to extricate, himself. Mr Wright, who was working near the spot, pushed a board towards him, which enabled him to hold himself up until releasod.

A writer of Melbourne Town Talk says:—"From carefully compiled documents in the possession of the banks, I gather that nine million pounds of bills, given in connection with land transactions, fall due during the first quarter of next year. It may also be of interest to state that on October 22, when the associated banks of Melbourne raised the rate of interest, there were 83 millions sterling of bills afloat in connection with land, whilst the cash deposits on these gigantic transactions only amounted to three millions. Even a tyro in financial matters can understand that the banks have acted rightly in stopping upstarts from recklessly gambling with other people's money."

Says a London correspondent toa Southern paper : —A young gentleman of aristocratic bearing who had been to New Zealand was bent on displaying his knowledge of Maori befure a crowd of admirers, at one of the matches played by the Maoris in England. Entering the pavilion ho called Karauria : " Ehoa, Maori man ! Haere mail Kapai te waipero." "No, thank you, Mr Whiteman, I do not drink,'' replied Karauria in perfect English, and with crushing offset. The crowd roared, and the young swell looked as though he had swallowed half a pound of Cayenne pepper, and it was coming out of him through his skin.

It is gratifying to know (says a Home paper) that Australasia is nowjjfficially included in our sources for the United Kingdom's supply of butter and cheese. It is, no doubt, a new trade, but it is certain that it is also one capable of almost indefinite development. New Zealand at present takes the lead, and during the past year I observed that tho value of the butter imported was £13,118, against only £SG93 from the rest of Australasia, making the respectable total of £22,000. Cheese is a larger item, and altogether a trade in the hands of our New Zealand friends, seeing that during the past year the value of that imported here from the Britain of the South was £24,193, while Australia sent only to the value of £505.

We have to acknowledge the receipt of copies of the proposals of Mr Sidney Taiwhanga, M.H.R. "for the colonisation and settlement of Maori Land," In the preface the author states his objects to be, to secure to the Maoris the management and market value of their own estate, to divide it equitably and protect it from waste, to assimulate the land, mining and other laws to Maori lands, to give facilities for constructing public works, to abolish the Native Land Court and Native Department, and confer great benefits on tho colony. The pamphlet also contains tha Treaty of Waitangi and New Zealand Constitution Act. The book is printed in English and Maori, and exhibits possession of considerable ability and legislative acumen on the part of the member for the Northern Maori electorate.

Mr J. F. Edgar, who was for a number of years connected with the literary staff of this .journal, but more recently engaged as editor of the Tuapeka Times, has left this colony for Melbourne, where he intends residing pennanentjy. Tho Tuapeka Times, in referring to his departure says " that during his stay in Lawrence he made many friends, and, not improbably a few enemies ; this, indeed, being a condition inseparable from journalism. Previous to his departure, he was tho recipient of a very flattering testimonial at the hands of his friends, also a gold cross, a set of studs, and a purse of sovereigns. Mr Edgar leaves here in order to enter a wider field of experience, and we entertain no doubt whatever of his success ; as he has all tho material out of which the right kind of journalist is made. With his many friends we wish him success in his new home."

The abolition of the Public Works Department is now virtually accomplished. All that remains is a mere remnant awaiting the final dissolution, which is dependent upon certain other arrangements not yet completed. From the 2nd instant, as the first working day of the New Year, the Lands and Survey Department took over the charge of the roads and bridges of the colony, and of the relations of the Public Works Department with local bodies in these respects. A circular will bo issued immediately to all local bodies'informing them of the change, and directing them to communicate with the Lands Department in future with reference to those matters. The Lands Department has also taken over the ' unemployed' and their management, which has hitherto been in the hands of the Public Works authorities, and a circular (similar to that relating to roads and bridges) will be issued intimating to the local bodies the alteration which has been made.—N.Z. Times.

In the interests of commercial morality, it is a groat pity the bottom was not knocked out of the Melbourne land boom long before it was. The Melbourne correspondent of the Dunedin Star has it on the most reliable authority that more than half of the land sales which have been carried on by the leading auctioneers of the town have been bogus ones, and that the latest purchasers of allotments have been completely swindled out of their money. Auctioneers and vendors have engaged both ladies and gentlemen at professional fees to attend the sales and run up prices, it being quite immaterial whether any lots were knocked down to them. In one instance a sale, which was supposed to have realised £20,000, only represented legitimate transactions to the extent of £3,000, and it was on this that tho auctioneers were paid thoir commissions, 111 some instances where syndicates were vendors the men included in them would act the part of professional bidders, and were all recompensed if they managed to sell even a few sections at about treble their value.

How many more victims will there be to the silver and land boom that lately drove so many men ■' otf their chump?" In our highly moral and strictly Sabbatarian community wa shudder when we read the shocking accounts of the open gambling that is carried on at Monte Carlo with tho morning suicide, following the night's wild plunge at the" green table. But it strikes me that we have little to (earfl from any of the hells of Europe. We have good Church-goers and Church officers, toii, wl;o o»o could back at gambling against the world, JJen who would bo horritied if asked to take a hand at ion or nap, or put a pound into a sweep at the races, plunge in land or silver .shares as though it were legitimate trading. We are jjiviijg the reaction now, and some of the iate disuiosiu-63 sf)o\y how tho funds were raised that kept the grme aiive. We were rather proud of our land boom while it lasted, but we may thank it for many a ruined household and blasted career. Are there other trusted and confidental servants going about with a smile on their faces, but with a sick dread at their hearts that the Etra'ijgpr sitting opposite them in tho train is a detective domg the shadowing business ?—" Atticus," in the' Leader.

Some ochres suitable for paint manufacture have baou found at Waikaia, Southland. The Times says:—All the samples are exceedingly fine in texture, and should require very little preparation to fit them for tho market. They also take oil very freely. They are to be seen in the raw state, mixed ready for use, and three hoards are shown painted respectively black, bronze green, and dark brown (shades much used in coach painting). There can be no doubt that if these minerals exist in such quantities as we a-e informed they do, their mining and preparation for the market should develop into a valuable industry. Fortunes have been spent in searching for the more precious metals, while minerals of no less value from an industrial point of view are so to speak, trodden under foot.

The Herald yesterday, in a subleader, complains of tl e supposed neglect by the Railway and Postal Departments in not forwarding a daily mail to Hautapu and Tamahere, and alleges that the settlers suffer great inconvenience in consequence. The fact of the matter is that whilst the Railway Department, in the interests of retrenchment and economy, reduced the train service to Cambridge to a tri-weekly one, the Post Department, for a similar reason, also decided to have only a triweekly mail service between the stations and the two out-districts named. Formerly there was a daily service, the cost of which was not warranted either by the importance of the places or the population they contain. The reduction confers no great hardship and, moreover, is part of the general scheme of retrenchment so imperatively demanded and carried out, as the Herald can ascertain by referring to the large number of those unnecessary luxuries in the shape of daily mails which have been curtailed in all parts of the colony. We do not believe the few scattered settlers have felt aggrieved, for not a single murmur has reached us. If journals like the Herald pander to any demands for such extravagances, there can be no hope of the colony ever regaining a. healthy financial condition.