The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1892.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 3093, 12 May 1892, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

THURSDAY, MAY 12, 1892.

Equal and exact justic« to all men, Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political.

Tiif, cablegram announcing the defeat of the Italian Ministry affords matter for very serious consideration, taken in conjunction, as it ruust be, with the news which reached us a few days back to the effect that both Italy and Austria had represented to Germany that they were unable to stand the strain consequent on maintaining their armies and navies at tliG strength stipulated by the Triple Alliance. It is little more than a year since the attention of the whole civilised world was concentrated on tho political crisis then existing in Italy. Signor Crispi, who was a T'trong advocate of the Alliance, had resigned, and iSignor di had succeeded to the position of head of the Government. Great anxiety was felt, and much speculation indulged in, as to whether the new Premier would renew the Alliance or withdraw at the termination of the period for which it had been entered into, which had then only a few months to run. The Signor, very shortly after offcee, announced that as regarded the Alliance the same policy would be pursued, and this was generally accepted as an assurance that the peace of Europe was assured for a time. The signing of the new Alliance by the three contracting powers completely restored the confidence which uncertainty had shaken. We are told that the Ministry has been defeated 011 its !n. ncial proposals. The Hume con eiy widely o of the " Tiui ea

wrote; under date March lSth : — " Tin; prolonged discussion on the ] Estimates has conm oft', and lias resulted in a majority for the Ministry of about 100. Tho whole reminds one of a council of physicians over a «ravc illness, which ends in an opinion that the patient's condition is not hopeless, but loaves a general conviction to the contrary." The Ministry brought forward a budget which, though a balance was promised, declares a deficit of 11 millions. This has since been admitted by the Premier to amount to 20 to 30 millions, but claims by the military authorities not calculated upon, have brought the deficiency up to 50 millions. The Premier is reported to have said in the Chamber of Deputies: "The deficiency is from 20 to 30 millions. In ISBS-89 there was one of 400 millions ; from

400 to 30 there is a wide difference." A writer in an English contemporary points out that the difference between 400 millions when the resources of the nation were in full play, and one of 30 millions when the new taxes and economies have paralysed trade and industry, and with a falling income, is not. great, if, indeed, the latter state is not worse than the first. The above being tho position the Ministry had to meet, it is matter for little surprise that they should be defeated on their financial proposals, including, as they no doubt did, provision for the continuation of the forces on the scale settled by the Alliance. The reason of the appeal to Germany to modify the treaty was most probably that the Ministry forsaw their defeat, and had arrived at the conclusion that to raise sufficient funds to fulfil its conditions was practically impossible ; they could not, without serious disgrace to the nation, repudiate an agreement so recently entered into. Austria has made a similar appeal to Germany, and on the same grounds. There is little doubt but that the treaty will be so modified as to admit of Italy and Austria continuiri" members on conditions that are in° some degree compatible with their resources. Russia and France are the two disturbing elements, and it is recognised that neither of these powers is likely to disturb the peace of the world, except conjointly. The crippled condition of the former country, consequent on the famine and internal discontent, has reduced the probability of war in the near future to a minimum, as it is exceedingly unlikely that the allies will force the position ; in fact the terms of the Alliance forbid the step. That the famine has seriously crippled Russia is evidenced by the falling off of 20,000,000 roubles from the estimate of direct taxation during 1891. Independent of the fact that Italy and Austria cannot stand the strain of the excessive taxation consequent on the Alliance, that Russia is for the time crippled is sufficient reason for the reduction of forces. Had the present position existed twelve months back, there would have been danger that the war cloud would immediately burst, and the armed nations of Europe be found engaged in a more bloody and disastrous struggle than history has yet recorded. Such an event could not fail to act most injuriously on the trade and prosperity of the colonies. If England became involved, which is improbable, though not, of course, impossible, we should be compelled to take additional precautions against attack, which would mean considerable expenditure of money and clogging of the wheels of industry and commerce. This being the case, we have good reason to watch the course of events in Europe; and as so much stress, and justifiably so, has been placed on the supposition that so long as the Triple Alliance existed peace would be maintained, we have thought it well to give our view of the position; the more so, as circumstances of a not altogether unforeseen nature have arisen which, without due consideration, might cause unnecessary alarm.

A meetings of the members of the Waikato Hunt Club will bo held at Oliaupo, on Tuesday next. In the course of an interview at Dnnndin on Tuesday the Premier said that an error had been ma'le in the report of hU soiech from Invercnrgill. in the. statement that the number of Legisl >tive Councillors tii be a-knd for wa- ten. He hurl mentioned no number. The Governor would probably he asked to make the appointments shortly his arrival. We are in receipt of a copy of the rTillcrovo Guardian, printer) and published hv tho proprietor, Mr Edward Knight. Brown, at Hillprove, New South W les. This gent'nman ivsided for many years at Alexandra, and is well known to many of the older settlers in that and surrounding districts who, we are sure, will join U3 in wishing him success in his new sphere. After hearing-arguments for two days, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council have reserved judgment in the case Buckley versus Edwards, in which the question for decision was whether the respondent, Mr Woolley Bassett Edwards, who claimed to have been duly appointed a Puisne Judge «f tho Supreme Court of New Zealand by virtue of a commission dated March 2, 1890, had been vnlidly appointed. A man, named Alexander Jamieson, was brought into the Hospital, yesterday, from the Waitoa Estate, | suffering from rheumatic gout. This Institution has proved a f,reat boon to working men who have no friends to | look after them, and considering the skilful medical treatment they here obtain, and | tho kindly attention of the nursing staff it is not surprising that the accommodation is at times so heavily taxed. We are pleased to hear that Mr C. Hibbs' large paddock of potatoes on the Ohaupo Road i« turning nut well both as to quantity and the quality of the tuhers. We understand Mr Hibbs used the Drug Company's potato manure, and attributes the good yield—something over a hundred bags of potatoes to the acre —to the excellent fertilising properties, and suitableness of thi3 fertiliser as a manure for potatoes, surpassing by a lone way any previous crop with bonedust or any other manure. Mr Battley, general manager of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, is at present on a visit of inspection to the different Estates belonging to the Company in Waikato. It cheers one up to have a chat with this gentleman as he entertains a very decided opinion that the improvement in the prospects of our agriculturists has come to stay. There are many thinga that point to the correctness of his conclusions, foremost amongst these we may remark, the sale and occupation of land now being daily reported. A contemporary draws attention to the fact that in these colonies some years ago, meerschaum pipes were commoner than clay, in fact to smoke anything but a meerschaum was to be conspicuous. From some cause or another, whether the introduction of counterfeit meerschaums, composition pipes, etc., briar made great advance in public favour. Cigarette smoking followed as a consequence of our people coming into contact with tho people of Southern Europe and of the East, through the increased facilities for travel, and a meerschaum smoker in this age of cigarettes and briar wood is as rarely seen as a Dalmatian dog.

By the-eerttrtesv of A. J. Rutherford, Esq., Hon. Sec. to the Wellington Acclimatisation Society, we are in possession of a copy of the Society's seventh annual report. We are pleased to see by it that financially this Association is in a sound position. The receipts including amount carried forward last year being £767, expenditure, £653, leaving a substantial balance of £114 on hand. It gives a general account of the operations of the Society in the rearing and distribution of fish, birds, etc., affording pleasant reading to those who take an interest in these matters. Coming to the practical part of the work of the Society we find, from a table attached to the report, that over 400,000 fißh and ova have been distributed from their Masterton Fish Ponds during the past year. The following varieties are in stock at their pinds : brown trout, Loch Levan trout, American brook char, burn trout, carpione trout, rainbow trout, salmon, tench, goldfish, carp and kokupu. Writing just before the recent Victorian elections, a contributor to the Australasian said :—We all know the official explanation as to why the polling has been fixed for the 20th. The date chosen by the Ministry was the 22nd. " But," said Mr Shield, turning his eyes up to the ceiling and laying his hand upon his heart, " but we discovered that that would make Good Friday the day of nomination, and how could any Ministry prosper which made such a sacrilegious arrangement 1 Then, with tears in his voice, he went on to protest against the wicked persons who had insinuated that the Government were actuated by political motives in fixing the date That, I say, is the official explanation ; now for the real one. A member of the Ministry incautiously let out to an onponent that the 22nd had been chosen. This candidate told other candidates, and they secured the use of the halls in their various districts for the evening of 21st, the night before the battle, and thus got the chance of a last word to electors. The Government heard of this, and after passing the word to its friends, brought the election forward two days. Its supporters will have the last word on the 19th, and its opponents will have to pay for halls which they cannot use. Thus this Government, which sits on the very tiptop pinnacle of purity, and is utterly indifferent as to its own fate, lias shown that it can descend to human level for the purpose of stealing a march and " dishing the Whigs." I don't object to its smartness, but O, I wish it would spare us its protestations!