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Waikato Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2913, 17 March 1891, Page 2

It is reported that it is the intention of the Government to bring in :i Bill next session Tor the reform of the electoral laws. It appears to us that there are one or two amendments necessary. One of tlio iirst reforms should bo in the direction of preventing the touting system ; it should bo made a punishable offence to personally solicit the vote of any elector. The ballot was introduced to protect electors from possible coercion by those who hold the power to forward or retard their interests. The soliciting of votes, to a great extent neutralises this provision. A voter is waited upon by an agent of the man from whom the ballot is theoretically to protect him. Presuming that tho protection thus provided for is necessary, the voter is either placed in the position of exposiug himself to the enmity of tho candidate and his party,' or ho must toll or insinuate a lie, if it is his intention to vote against the man canvassed for. Printing is cheap now-a-days, and the expense to a candidate of circulating his reasons for coming forward, his opinions on tho questions of the day, and anythiug that may seem to him calculated to advance his candidature, would bo found loss expensive than paying professional touts, or indirectly compensating the amatour of the same genus. If this process, with the addition of public addresses, is not sußiciout to inform tho " free and enlighteued," then his vote, except by accident, is not calculated to advance the interests of the country by securing the return of tko moat suitable man. Manifestly, ii a voter is too lazy to read, or not intelligent enough to understand, lie is hoc fit to be entrusted with the franchise. He has it nevertheless. On the other hand, if the candidate fails in the ability to make himself understood by the electors, hois not likely to adequately represent them. In addition, candidates, by the tongue of their agents, are not at all particular as to tho statements they make to gain favour for themselves, or to blacken tho private or public characters.of the men opposed to them.

Mr W. J. Hunter holds a special sale of horses ut Cambridge to-morrow. The young fellow John Philips, who was sentenced to two yeuV hard labour for forgery on Friday, is well known in Cambridge, where everyone who knew him thinks he only got what he deserved. Messrs Palmer and Mayo arrived in Hamilton, yesterday afternoon, to act a> judges, at the Horticultural Show, to-day. Tln"f.;'!ntleineM are very popular an jwiffos tli.ir "i-iiiM-al knowledge bcin-c very freely reeoirnisert. Mr Etheridge. from the Crown Lands imici', Auckland, will arrive in Hamilton to-morrow, to conduct the s ilp of Whatawhata and other land in tlie Waipa County on Thursday. Thesile will bo hold at the Court Hofse, commencing at n»on. Yesterday morning between eleven and twelve o'clock, a house between HuUanui ami Taupiri belonging to J[r Clark was burnt to the ground. .Mr Clark was iiw;iy at the time and no particulars us to the origin of the fire could be ascertained. . , , , T . By the ordinary tram to-day iiis Excellency Lord Onslow and suite, together with Hon. A. J. Cadinan and Mr Lewis, Under Secretary for Xativn Affairs, passed through Hamilton for Oxford en route for the Ureu-era country. The Countess of Onflow and Lady Charles Scott accompanied the party, hut will only go as far as Uotorua, where Lord Ancrum and ilr Fuller will j- in tlia party.

There is a very nasty drop off ■h'! X'.ir'iau-.ihia <;tid of tins brulgo near Mr Washer , , at I'uket.o, and se.vrrai bad bibles it, the Snhliers' Mridgc retiuire the attention of the local body. At the Horticultural Show, Mr r.mvHll will provide a barrel of eider, which will bo dispensed to thirsty souls free of charge, mikl Mr V. L'iQuesne, of Hamilton, will supply lion Accord wine for-mi hour and a-half on the same terms. In. our advertising-columns will '.i<! found a list of the places and dates at which Mr H. U. Hyatt will deliver his lecture on "Coal and Coalmines" in aid of tin; Huntly disaster fund. We trust the public wMI support Mr Hyatt in his land.ibln effort to increase this much needed fund. Tho Salvation Army are evidently doing their lovol best for Richard Mitchell, tho Cambridge man, who is charged with rape. On Saturday thfiy ti'.let'iaphod froiri Auckland for more wit--111-M!-, ar.d these went down by yustnrdoy's t.r-iin to Rive evidence at the Supreme Court. To-day there will be a match in Hamilton between the Xgaruuwahia. and Han.ilton Lawn Tennis Clubs. The followin" play for Hamilton :—Misses Soppett .ml O. Jolly, and >[essrs Edgecumbe, von Stnrinii-, Sandes and Stevens. Afternoon t>! 1 will b« piovidi.-d at 3 p.m. ami visitors will bo 111 idi! welcome. We understand that Mr Gillandor has sold his horse Xevei Miss to Mr IT. Bulhck-Wehster of the Lake, Hamilton thi) price b&ing .KTo, delivery to be taken on •\pril "ith. Never Miss has given ample proof of being a good one on tho flat and with a litt'.e schooling he should be a flier at thu illegitimate game.

Sports and horse races will be held at llukanui on Tuesday next, the 24th inst., in Mr J. Pmnrosu's paddock. The programme will include seven horse races and"a number of foot races. Posters have been printed in which fuller particulars are given. The quality of the horses competeiti" may not be of the best, but we believe a -"nod day's fun will be enjoyed by those who attend the sports. The llulsanui Maoris are the promoters. The special demonstrations at t'.io Hamilton Salvation Army Barracks, conducted by Adjutant and Mrs Bishop, (in Saturday, Sunday, and last night, have been very successful, and were attended by good congregations. Last night, a " Musical Battle " was the order of the evening, and <i number of selections were nicely rendered by various members of the, Army, with li.mjo accompaniments, a very enjoyable evening being spent. Preparations in connection with tho Waikato Horticultural Society's Show to be held to-day and to-motrow 111 the Public Hall, Hamilton, were last night in an advanced state, the committee having worked up to a late hour staging the various exhibits. It is expected that the doors will be open punctually at one and it is hoped that intending exhibitors will have their exhibits in as early as possible so as to allow of tho judges getting on with thenwork. At the Supreme Court, at Auckland, on Saturday, Edward Crawshaw wa» charged that on the 20th .July, 1S!)O, he feloniously stole two heifers, the property of Henrietta Badhani. Mr E. Hesketh appeared for the accused, who pleaded not guilty. The same witnesses as were examined at Hamilton gave evidence, and after the address by counsel His Honour summed up exhaustively. The jury, after 2ii minutes' deliberation returned a verdict of not guilty, aud the prisoner .vas discharged. The Hon. P. A. Buckley, Colonial Secretary, and the Under Secretary Mr C. S. Cooper arrived at To Aioha last Friday evening, and were interviewed on Saturday morning by the Hot Springs Domain Board and Town Board. The Colonial Secretary expressed his. satisfaction with the manner the Domain Board had carried out their trust, and promised them sumo pecumnry assistance for further improvements. Tim party with Mrs Buckley and Mrs I-'itzherbeit left Tβ Aroha for Oxford by special train on Saturday afternoon.

We are glad to iearn that Mr B. P. JSayly. tliouuh dissolving partnership with Mr J. McXicol, is not going to Have thu Waikato, but purposes entering into thu \vool-.--couiing and felmongering business Thi>!-0 who l-emciiwbei- what a convenience. 1... settlers and others Messrs Car•lp.nter and Hymn's folinonge.iy at Je Kowliai used t> be will be pleased to heir of Mr Bayly's intention, it has loii-j- appeared to us as strange that 111 a lariTfi district like the Waikato, devoted to reading and feeding sheep, there should b« no local means of working up the largo quantities of sheep skins and small lots of wool that are always available.

It is customary in the colonies to deciy everything that has not been imported, as though the "renter distance anv aitiL-lc. travelled the better it became. OemsioiiaUy however, people art; undeceived, and the home made article it found to beat the imputed. Recently one of our settlers bruised his leg, and instead of hoahn?. the bruise developed into ,v nasty sore. Various external remedies were tried, including the well-known imported vaseline, with bat little results. Our friend at last procured a small box of vastline, manufactured by Messrs Sandes and Co., chemists, Hamilton ; upon a liberal application of this, the leg was cured in a. week. These are facts worth knowing. Our Cambridge reporter writes : I ii)ii,t ask you to correcr an error that your type-setters made in my report of Mr ~W. S. Allen's speech at Cambridge that appeared in Saturday's issue. In the part referring to capital and labour it reads : " During the past 50 years much has been done in New Zealand." In this there is a serious "out," a? it should have been: "During the past 50 years much had been dono in the Old Country to ameliorate the condition of the working classes by the passing of Acts of Parliament, notably the Mines, Factory and Employees Liability Acts ; also the one. dealing with unseaworthy ships, and he thought that something could be done in that direction in New Zealand." A little further on in the report reference is made to "working children"; this should have been " working men's children."

Farmers must have brains, and it takes tho best kind of brains to make a farmer ; therefore, if you have a dull boy in the family don't try to make a farmer out of him, but rathar prepare, him for a profession—that of an editor will do if he is not fit for anything else. The (.ccupation of farming without doubt demands great mental capacity and devicj, and sue cessful farming involves skilled personal attention and intelligent supervision. People who can only see the prosperous farmer swaggering about town with money in both pockets are apt to look upon farming as tho easiest and pleasantest line of life in the world. Though a well-to-do farmer may lead an apparently free and easy sort of life, there are times when the energies of both mind and body arc taxed to the utmost. At all times he must combine braius with brawn and theory with practice. An English writer says : "No other iwncatiou presents such complexity of circumstances as that of farming. The fanner who is unable to mix hi; manures in tho light of science, and to maintain and improve the fertility of his land under a system of intense cultivation, is not to be envied. The farmer who is ruled by local custom more than by definite pers-onal conviction in the rotation and apportionment of his crops, cannot hope to keep step with modern agriculture. Lack of skill or the power of its application, has been steadily tfr.uning down the ranks of practical men. Farmer* must be able to reason out the practical problem-: that confront them by the aid of science. Common sense is a wise teicher, but we live in tho age of specialism, wlien succFv-i in anv walk of life id directly proportionate with our fitness for our particular work. Especially is this the c:iso with tI.A farmer. J l>. has to stu-iy tlm likes and di«!ik>'s »t both animals and plants. In order to do that lie must know something of their physiological structure and the essential conditions of their life. The soil, to i, has its peculiar requirements, various as they are, so that fanning in these days is no smtcure profession." This is a somewhat fir-fetched and high-toned deliuition of a f-miter's attainments according

to oiir primitive colonial ideas, but it i.s none the less true, and the higher conception a. farmer has of tho acquirements necessary for a good farmer the more likely ho is to make one.—Exchange.