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Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2688, 3 October 1889, Page 2

The next homeward mail via San Francisco will close at Waikato offices on Saturday next. The Customs revenue for September amount to £140,331, against £127,007 for the same month last year. There are no further particulars with reference to the mysterious death of Major Jackson, beyond what has been already published. Dr Kenny and Mr Turner, of the Waikato District Hospital, havo resigned owing to their applications for increase of salary being unsuccessful. . The greatest engineering feat in bridge construction in the history of the world has just been completed, the enormous structure, the Forth bridge, being now finished. A very heavy liail-storm passed over the Waikato at noon yesterday, which was strong enough to knock some of the young gooseberries from the bushes and we expect the peaches are also damaged. We are informed that some really dangerous holes exist on the Raglan Road between the Whatawhata bridge and Mr Higginson's. This part of the road is under the control of the Raglan County Council. There has been much rainfall in Waikato for over a week past. Yesterday the rain was very heavy, and the streets in Hamilton were under water. The Waikato River is higher than it has been for years. His Worship the Mayor has given notice to move at the next meeting of the Hamilton Borough Council, to be held on Tuesday next, "That the Council mediate steps, under the Bth clanse of " The Public Works Act Amendment Act, 18S0," to compel owners of property to cut down and remove, and keep cut down and removed, all gorse, briar and brambles on the streets adjoining their respective properties." A visitor to Brisbane, speaking of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, says ; —" I have never seen such a happy family : the Government introduces proposals, the Opposition, almost to a man, approve of them, occasionally suggesting a few unimportant amendments, by way of letting people know that the semblance of an Opposition really exists. Now and then an orator who is rambling on all points except the one at issue will be called to " Orderbut he merely retorts " Order be d d!" and again urges on his wild career." An extraordinary niece of mining smartness is related by the lieefton correspondent of the Christchurch Press. Several sharebrokers were assembled at an hotel. Presently an unassuming individual expressed a wish to purchase Hard-to-find shares. The brokers were only too ready to oblige him, and soon he had purchased 30,000 shares. Now there were only 24,000 shares altogether in the mine, and the point of the joke is that the brokers, to keep their contract with the unassuming one, must purchase from him at his own figure to do so.

The many friends of Mr J. S. Buckland in Waikato will regret to learn that he has decided to leave this colony. We hear he has selected Brisbane as a field for his enterprise, where he has made arrangements to start in old line of business as an auctioneer. _ We feel quite sure there is not a settler in Waikato but will join us in wishing him every success. It is a matter for regret that the contraction in business which has been going on for the last two or three years should force many of our best business men to leave the colony. The duties on boots were heavily increased by the Victirian Government. Men's boots are now charged £1 13s per dozen, and in future they will be £2 os per dozen. Youth's boots are increased from £1 Is to £1 10'. Women's boots are increased from IDs (id £1 8s (id, and women's stuff boots are promoted from 13s to 19s. It may be doubted whether these impositions aie calculated to make the poor man's shilling go further than before, or whether homes with limited incomes will bo made more cheerful thereby. We hear that a petition to the Waipa County Council in reference to the wretched state of the Hamilton-Whata-whata road is being largely signed by settlers in Whatawhata and the surrounding districts, and will be presented at the next meeting of the Council. From information that has reached us it seems it is the opinion of many people who have to use this road, that there is only about five chains of the road that become impassable after a continuation rtf bad weather and this is due to the fact that it has never been fascined. If tliis was done the traffic would not be entirely stopped. Poople could get along in a way.

G-rosvener, Chater and Co., the well-known papermakers of Cannon .street, have advised their Wellington agents. Charles St Barbe and Co., that the threatened " paper ring," about which several telegrams appeared a month or two ago, cairie to nothing. It was a company or syndicate of several paper mills situated chiefly in Lancashire, where the cheaper sort of newspaper is made. The company, however, did not, see fit to float its shares, but announced its intention of doing so in October or November next. Whatever come 3 of it, the price of ordinary printing and writing papers will not bo ellected. Rather a good joke was told recently nf ,a well-known resident who was walking along iraHtings-streefc with a fine braeeof cock pheasants, which were admired by all who .saw them. A vigilant officer of the law caught sight of the birds, and seeing a prosj jective conviction he approached the lucky owner and informed him that the shooting season had closed, and it would be his duty to take his name with a view of commencing proceedings. The gentleman smiled a smile that was childlike and bland, and r<!c(ucsted the officer of tho law to feel the birds, which he did, and to his astonishment found them to be hard<is stone. The owner then explained tho birds had been in the freezing chamber of tho Tomoana works for a considerableperiod, and lie was allowed to proceed with his prize, while the policeman was hoard to mutter, "Do I wake? Do I dream ? Can such things be ? Or aro visions about ? — Napier Nowa.

We remind our readers of the entertainment to be given at Ohanpo tomorrow evening. We hear tint Mr Uisdon, lately from England, will be present, and perform on the novel and pretty instrument called " fairy bolls." Mr Richard Esh. of Ohote, writes drawing attention to the dangerous condition of the Ohote creek bridge, the stringer b3ing in a bad statr, and unfit for heavy traffic. We would direct tho attention of the Waipa County Council to tho above complaint. ' We understand that Dr. Kenny has suggested to the Hospital Board the erection of two rooms for the accommodation of the nurses, and a long dining-room, when the old hospital building could be used for a residence by tho medical officer; and also the appointment of an additional nurse. To the Editor: Sir,—ln your issue of Tuesday of the orders for Raglan, the •vord " candlestick '" appears amongst the articles with which the men are to provide tlipmselves. In the original orders, of which a copy was sent you, the word is "bed-tick." Please make the correction, and oblige.—Yours, &c.—.T. Caklky, Troop Secretary, To Awamntu Cavalry. We correct in omission in Mr Hyatt's lecture on Agriculture, which appeared in our last issue. The sentence should have read, " Her agricultural and pastoral products for 188S amounted to £(>04,000,000; her manufactures in tbe same year amounted to £1,112,000,000, of which £400,000,000 were directly dependent on agriculture for raw material." The first of the special parades of the Hamilton Light Infantry took place on Tuesday evening, at which there was an excellent attendance. Position drill and other exercises were practiced. The next competition for Endean's medal takes place on Saturday, under the same conditions as at the last firing for the same trophy. Tho competition will bo commenced promptly at 1 p.m. As an instance of how hard some of our young men work on their farms, we give the following as it was told to us (Wanganui Chronicle). A certain young man who had been felling scrub all day on his own section, came homo eery tired, and after refreshing tho inner man, immediately retired to his room, where his mate was already in bed. Before divesting himself of his apparel, he devoutly knelt down t» say his prayers, but tbe god of sluin'.ior was too strong for him, and he at once closed his eyes in sleep, from which ha never woke until roused by his friend at daylight next morning. On Saturday evening last a meeting of those interested in amateur theatricals was held at the Tauwhare Temperance Hotel to consider tbe advisability of forming a Dramatic Club in Tauwhare. Mr Moore was voted to the chair, and after some preliminary conversation the "Tauwhare Dramatic Club " was formed. The following ladies and gentlemen signified their willingness to join, and it is hoped that others in the district will add their names to the list:—Misses Walworth (2), Messrs Spcake, Scott, Probine, Walworth, Howie, C. Shaw. Graham, Hill, St. Clair, Clements and Moore. Mr Walworth was appointed president, Mr Howie secretary, Mr Speake treasurer, and Mr Moore manager. The Club intend to advertise their opening performance at an early date. In reference to the export of meat from theso Australian colonies, according to the Government statistician for New South Wales, it seems the herds of the colonies furnish 834,000 cattle tor slaughter annually, of which 743,080 are required for home consumption, 141,000 being available for export. As the population increases by 4 per cent, annually, while the herds increase only 1 per cent., tho demand is expected to overtake the supply in six years. The flocks furnish ll,ifil,SNi) sheep for slaughter annually, 11,710.008 boing required in the colonies, and (5,225,385 being available for export. The increase in sheep is 3.02 per cent, per annum, and at this rate the surplus will not be trenched upon, it is estimated. In 188S only about one-sixth of this surplus was exported as frozen meat. Australia sent only 112,214 carcases of mutton to London last year, while New Zealand sent over a million carcasses of mutton and lamb.

Some time ago Mr Braddon, Agent-General tor Tasmania, was requested to gather information as to whether Tasmanian potatoes could be sent to England at a profit. Mr Braddon's inquiries satisfied him that mature potatoes dug during the ordinary harvest season could not be shipped at a profit. While the prices of the tubers in Tasmania were from £3 10s to £-1, they were selling in England at £3. Any shortage in th«. latter place can be supplied from Germany, who had over six and a-half millions of acres under crop last year. Mr Braddon, however, says that it is possible to send new potatoes to England at a profit, the price for these in February raneing from £12 to £30 per ton. He says I believe that it would be practicable to land them here in January. But, assuming that they came in February, to compete with the Algiers supplies, and allowing a reduction from £3(i per ton to £25 for the effect of competition, a considerable profit ought to be left. The cost of freight, taken at existing rates, being from £9 to £10 per ton. The Minister of Lands has received from the Agricultural Department at Home a copy of an article by Major Craigie on' The Growth and Development of the Trade in Frozen Mutton,' which lately appeared in a journal of the Royal Agricultural Society. The article contains some highly interesting statistics. It shows that in the imports of frozen meat to Great Britain in 188S, New Zealand heads the list with a total of 499,000cwt; the Argentine Republic comes next, with 353,000cwt; Holland furnished 8,800cwt; Australia, 4,400cwt; the United States, lOOOcwt; and other countries, 4000cwt. In 1882 twothirds of the imports of this description came direct from Holland ; last year the Dutchmen furnished less than one-tenth— only B'B per cent. New Zealand commenced sending frozen meat in 1882, and in that year she supplied 3 per cent, of the total; now her quota is 50 per cent, of the whole supply, and that of the Argentine Republic, our most formidable rival— which, by the way, was not in the market in ISB2— is 30 per cent.

Why parents will persist in taking very young children to Church, concerts and entertainments, where they are sure to prove a nuisance, is one of the problems that we cannot solve. An instance showing an absence of manners, and want of sense rarely met with, occurred in a church in Cambridge last Sunday morning. Soon after the service began, an infant at the back of the building commenced to make audible noises, to the chagrin of the worshippers generally. This continued till after the sermon began, and for some time it was doubtful whether parson or baby was to " hold the fort," or have the larger share of attention. At length the longsuffering minister stopped, and remarked lie was sorry to have to ask the frienus to take the little one out; the noise did not disturb him, but he saw that the attention of the congregation was distracted. Thereupon the parents carried the child out, and were followed by several of their friends who had been sitting near them, the whole of whom tramped out with as much emphasis as possible. If these people could have seen the expressions of disgust at their conduct, depicted in the countenances of the orderly portion of the congregation, we think they would have felt ashamed of themselves.

As the congregation streamed out i of one of the most fashionable chinches in Melbourne on Sunday last, (writes "Atticus " in the Leader) two men stood within the railings conversing on mundane affairs. They did not appear in the sligtest degree ashamed of doing so, for they spoke in voices loud enough to be heard by all who passed, and their discourse was on the text of "the land revival." " I wouldn't sell a single foot if I were you," said one. " I'rices will be double the highest figure tlicy ever reached before tho year is over." Ho every one tells ine," replied the other. "Land is selling in the North-southern-road at £100 a foot that was only £!J0 at the height of the boom" "They keep it quiet." .said the first man; "but English capitalists are trying to buy up millions worth of land before it has quite recovered." And so on, with a, good deal more to the same effect. These gentlemen have an immense belief in the spoken word. They say the samo thing from one end of the crowded tram to the other, or across two or three seats in a saloon carriage, in the crnsh room of a theatre, the grand stand at a football match, or wherever they can get a number of people to hear them. The man who shows the match box to the farmer and tho innocent looking strangor who joinH them are called confederates. In the little game these gentlemen play the part of tho spielers, and the gentle public who hears, and believes, is supposed to act tho part of country bumpkin in the match box farce. I

Information has been received 11* Dunedin that a commany, with a capital of £20,000, has been floated in Sydney, under the auspices of the Sydney Tin and Goldmining Company, to wi>rk 700 acres of alluvial flats on Robertson's river, Stewart Island. An expert has arrived there on behalf "f the company, and will go to the island at once, to start work on a largo scale. Samples of tin from the claim that were sent, to Sydney wcro found to contain 30 o/, to the ton of tin. Three Dunedin syndicates have ISO acres of lin-bearing ground near that of the Sydney company.

The Napier Telegraph says "Did you ever know anything like it before?'' is the usual greeting now-a-days when two friends meet and glance along comparatively empty streets. Nobody knows what has become of the money. Nobody has got anything to spend. There is no business doing, and trade is as dull as the proverbial ditch water. It has been hinted that people are saving up for the approaching carnival week—hoarding up, so to speak, to have a big " splurge" in the t.italisator. Let us rather hope so than believe that there is actually no money in the place. If the totalisater will loosen purse strings and distribute amongst the many the hidden treasures in the hands of the few, we shall have a better opinion of that gambling machine than we hold at present. But, seriously speaking, speculation is dead, and people who, apparently, no worse off to-day than they were formerly, aver they have no money to spend. It is not any one branch of trade in which dullness reigns supreme; it is in all alike. Though we speak of the disners il of the depression, in the darkness of the heaviest cloud the times were no worse than now. We believe it is only temporary ; the increased values of produce must tell sooner or later ; work in the country will soon bo in full swing, and the revival of the flax industry cannot fail to have a good cffcct. However, it is no use deepening the commercial gloom by melancholy musings ; the wiser course is to retain the fullest confidence in the greatnes-i and prosperity of the future.

Lieut.-Colonel Hume, Inspector of Volunteers, ill his annual report, says th.it his injipection.il work has made it quite clear to him that if the present mode ot paying the force by capitation is- continued, the amount por man must be increased. "Even the infantry," he says, " cannot live upon £1 10s per man, while some branches, such as the cavalry and field batteries, require special treatment of a considerably more generous nature than they have received in the past." Instead of this, Colonel Hume recommends the adoption of the method in vogue in Neiv South Wales and Victoria of converting the force into a citi/.en military force, and placing each man under contract to rentier certain services tn return for a certain pecuniary solatium, receiving pay in exact proportion to the rank attained and the service rendered, is the most satisfactory and economical way in obtaining an adequate defence for this colon)-. "By this means," ho declares, "the position of all ranks is at once raised to its proper status, not only in the individual minds of each soldier, DUt also in the minds of the public. Such a system would involve a careful selection of the men, both as to their mental and physical fitness; it would alto ensure greater efficiency, and to belong to it would be considered a greater honour than anything which the country could expect to obtain under the volunteering system. It would be undoubtedly economic. The Government should provide uniforms and grant a sm ill remuneration for each parade attended or duty performed, and tin's, while not nearly so expensive to Mio taxpayer, directly or indirectly, as the capitation system i<, would be the means •f providing disciplined soldiers up to the maximum required. This paid system would probably abolish much of tbo political element which has in the past porvaded the ranks of the Now Zealand volunteers, to their detriment."