AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2196, 5 August 1886, Page 2

AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal and exact justice to all men, _ ' Of whatsoever st»te ot persuasion, religious or political.

THURSDAY, AUG. 5, 1886.

"Whatever the ultimate ejSecfc.,of the railway reform agitation may be, we do hope and trust that some change for the better will speedily take place. Were it not that *the mismanagement of our railwaysis so palpable, so glaring, the 'desire > for 1 radical' reform would not, Ye half so strong as it is. But the people find their claims for consideration - so cavalierly dealt with, that every endeavour to instil common sense ; into the • authorities at Wellington is so promptly jumped- upon, that they have come now to demand a complete revolution. Well, we have had our say upon that point, ..but no matter what the roerita of the new system may be it is not to be expected that we shall get it, or even a modification of it out o| hand, and meantime. much harm is being done daily, and settlement is being retarded. For example, let us. take the matter of cattle transit. There is no subject about which the Department have displayed more mulishness thajn this. The propriety of lowering the freight and the necessity for providing more suitable trucks have been pressed upon the Department J Oyet and ov«r a#y,in, with a persistency which country settlors do not, \vp are sorry to say, offceji display. They ponitrd out that, owing to the posititmu of tin- truck doors, it was ;i nuitti'v u\ t! . utmost dilliculty to load cattle, and that the abseiise of padding was- the cause of the beasts being injured on the passage and their value thereby much reduced. These representations remained so Icing unanswered that settlers at last resorted to the old system of driving their cattle to market. Then tho Department wont out of their way so far as to ch,ange tho position of the truck doors ; but though tho matter was again brought befc'oro them, ]by none "W©

boliovo inoro urgently than by tho District Managor, Mr Hudson, who has all along recognised the nood of fostering the cattle teade, thttLri^ks remain un^ad^fß WW da ®HWN the rato oJkjp^ight i§ t]|| same j beef at oigpteetf'shillijjij|B a ifondged j pounds, altijfpys vr\M tliij^r^pgy price was thfttjWliillnigs. '•"* y Unfortunately, with such a low market, it does not pay oven to drivo the cattle to Auckland, though a higher price is certainly obtained for animals taken along tho road. The other day sixty head of cattle- wore •'dw'tffen' ' to* » Auckland-* frdtrfi Woodlands, ftnd the general- opinion at tho bale was that thoy fetched at lcabt two shillings a-head more *ffia-n^Va^ s 'oljtaflffied for truok-borue be^sts.^'Now, \i the trSxeks were ' badde'd nborie would i

timo, padded trucks or no padded truoks, the freight is too high, and a reduction of/4ayi/2«5 per cent, is iirgentlJ^jfAquiwd.' People sfte tfnUfifilfing -or » two"' 3 s! Wft"oieW ft "0ie freight M i lis not worth striving for, but we would .rppaind th%t th^ farjpa^JnfW^kjjj (if;, there ever waba tim? >w^enj>h&,di<i' not) reckons up his profits on rnqst* things r by v 'Shillings' and not pf J tf6urid4 : and every'^^epce'^dded to such profit is a consideration.', Halfrarerown a head i on .forty pr

ififfcy bullooksy&ve shillings ston on twenty ton£ of poUto'eW chfyff, or. carrots,' ap^d a, peupy oi\ pjnfoppnce extra on every bushel of wheat or oats, will mean something at the eiid of tne year, not/mly .to tjie imliviflual fariiier, but' $o;>tW.csony at ], large, and, „ the/ .e&pepiment of ')cheapening, the, freights ]is therefore worth trying. At prja>sent the, farmer {ias ..littje or nqj margin!' o| !i5 profit, 'left,,,, ajicL as; :a natural'consequencfe the condition 6f 4>iie colony grows, wdrse every *£ear. 'A~few 'month's ago-it'.seeined ,{nat the ;IbijDQe had, cqme when a profit .able ty*ade in dead meat might be* opened u^>' between Waikata s and ; Aucklaaidi, * Preliminary atirmi^ements were'made, and the raißvay authorities \y T ere asked to, quote a rate! This they di'dVthe^ate being ! £4:1-63 per truck, containing three tons "©£ meat, while the charge for a truck of live stock, weighing four and a half tons^, was only £2 8s! In the South Island concessions, similar to those asked for here, have been Snade. A short time ago * large mob of cattle were taken from fc&uth Canterbury to DunecUn at a greatly reduced'rate,' because the ; Consignor' threatened to .have them driven, and we have heard of ■niany k> instances where' .wool and other kinds of produce have been carried in 'that islatlcl at>' rates which ' the producers-could afford to pay. We trust that better counsels will soon prevaij t in the. genera] management %of ''pur" railways,, "Yfitb ,'tke" local management we do not think there is> any real dissatisfaction* No officer in the public service is more accessible - than;Mr Hudson, nonp we are sure, more desirous of doing hia utmost to promote the interests of those who use the line, but unfortunately he has to carry put. in practice, the ideas of men who have never, yet been able to grasp ..the problem of railway management, . and wfyo in all probability never ,- •'.•."':

'In anticipation of the loan, bis Worship tHe Mayor has concluded satisfactoiX">r?Angemejits for placing! adftrge portion at fixed deposit with the Bank of New Zeajaud on very favourable terois, •

Cr. Knox Has given notice to move at the next meeting of the Hamilton .Borough. C6un;cil',thfct.,,.a jsiiyer^cr^djelbe presented. t}o- the Mayoress, Mrs W. A. Graham; , to celebrate the birth of a daußhter during her husband's term of

office . t y The fptisral of the .late Warden Kenrick.^fiicb-took-plaoe at. the Thames on Tuesday,, was one of Ihe fargest and most imposing ever 'seen in 1 the district, nearly a thousand. Rerapqa fojtowing in Ul9 procession. The incumbent^d* S. George's oniciated at .the grave. ' ; • Several sections of endowment

Jand f will be, offered for sale by auction by 'Mr' Knox on the 14th inst,, in blacks of three acre 3 each, at an upset price of 5s per acre. This -certainly* will; place it within the reach of all the burgesses to secure con- 1

venient paddock accommodation. The debentures for the Hamilton' -Borough loan arrived in Hamilton yesterday „ They have been duly signed and the 1 , borough seal affixad thereto, aha will be, handed this morning to the Postmaster, ' Hamilton, tfho has been appointed' to. , receive them on behalf of < the Government. • The loan will then be immediately avail- ;

able. < ■ ' The Rey. P. S- Smallfield, inspector of Sunday Schools for the. diocese ' of Auckland, will preach at S. Andrew's, Cambridge, qn Sunday next, niorning and evening. In the afternoon he \yill, vi^it the school at'S. Andrew's. On the evenings of j Mdnday and Tuesday and Wednesday of -next month, he will give addresses, reiDee 1 tively, at the schoolhouse, Cambridge' West, the SUnday School, S. Andrew's,' and the isehpolrAorn, Tamahere . '.'.',

The premises of the Auckland Dairy Company at Rerauera, were totally destroyed by fire at an early.hour on. jyion- j day mftniing^ The fire was'tEe work o£ an incendiary, apian named Stephen SnaMingJ who was formerly in the employmen^of ,the company, arid who committed' the act ' from moti\ es of spite, though it is supposed that he was insane at the time. Spalding, after the occurrence, went into Auckland and g&vtf himself up the police, making a

full confession. In the Legislative '.Council on Tuesday, the Settled Lands Bill was read a third time and passed. In the House, after some other business, the North Mand Trunk Railway Loan Application Bil} w£a considered in committee. A long: discussion took place on; the, proposal to allocate the sum of £100,000 for the purchase of land along the line. The aub-Bec'tion authorising this was retained by 34 to 30, and the bill was afterwards read a third time, and riasseet.

Mr J>- M. Beere; for many years ■past ftefeid^nt Engineer in the Public * Works Department in Waikato, took his depttrttfre 1 yesterday for Auckland, wh««r it is his intention to take up his residence. Mv Beere will be greatly. missed hy the large circle of warm friends he has nujde during his stay amongst us. lie was an aidant and liberal .supporter of all local institutions, and amongst the foremost \r\ iv ] good u<uk«<. Tha cordial good \vi">hc-» cf .'ll uu mbors of the community gD With lil'U. In mi-la*-''* is"no it was stated that MnssrKM:\ii'c]clffv, Dovitt, and Sfceadman fittpiifl 'I ->l. >\lim<i.\y'rf meeting of theHainillon (' imi-l;I) Council to present a petition p' ''vms t!»;it the town clerk's salary l>r> r^ducerl! These gentlemen deny the soft imper-.r'nnoiifc, tli'>usrh it is a fact that Mich a petition has been framed. Mr Hteidman informs n* that he attended the raeetinp for the purpose of inspecting some plans ; Air Manklelow says he went there to "hear some fun," and is so satisfied with the quality of the amusement provided by the city fjith,orH that he has made up his

mind to attend V( /B u lO#i&^J^- r r)° v^t had {lccoin|femecPqB|p ftliffßsilira along with

Ll Professor 'litpi Meu|p ' gave his (ranrtitofirofical Jtnd - elocutffiflary entortainSiientW t\\o Bubjjtf Hal»||)ain bridge, on fiSie^dv| e\teniijj?.'"' pwin^B tho weather, pVvhicl^Slt iojrayiv just Mwto dusk, there il ai lM a h %>^ attWfMno ; nevertheless phe ij^tcssor dfttiverfpW'nighly interesting and entertaining lecture, eliciting frequent laughter and applause. Four well-known residents responded to • theJPi(>tossor'9 invj-_ tati^ th 4ounfexh| pfatforn*vf3r afpronje examination! and |theirf flßspe^ivo/ oharaO' Leiaitics*and peculiarities -\v«re I»appil*- hit off. The Professor appears at the same

place to-night. The plot of ground alongside the Cambridge Public, Hall, at the corner oorf r J|)ufce^rfd 4 ;Yidfc6rsa-strQ9fe|.'ha^ no'f; *aiig" over* arid planted* Svfth ornamerital shrubs by direction of the town board, and the effect is very pleasing. A gravelled pathway, neatly bordered, leads up to the -iWdnoFoßhs hall. Wd "IW'v&timir chains, etc., of the fence have been painted. Formerly this plot was somewhat of an oya-, ] sore, being too frequently littered witn i&ilsgh&r.gea, log^aud th§. n j4bwX-j9l^-!af fcer/ tea meetings, soci«il gatherings, etc., heldjin the hall, and the pteiient improven)ent ! is

decidedly a step in the right direction. , The coinmitstee appointed at * the "aSniftingf of 4 the Hamilton Borough Council met last uight to prepare a draft of an improvement iaause to be inserted in future m the deeds of leases of borough , fixn&awne&Z*. The' following! resolution Was adopted :—": — " That a compensation clause be jipo^u^ed, in .all deeds ..of, leasff-o^ bprough endo^enj^^emlwic/j the fqUq\jring. ipt'p^6yeraents/.nan^ely^jßu«ldj,ng3j forest, ,fr,uit, andornamentajl trees, f.6ncmp, ana crops of Sll^eVctiptiba 11 * 1 in latfd/ 'a£ the of the' teW, TlW l value <)f Wh improvements to be determined by an appraiser, and the lands tken to r b« itf lewfcd' by public 'ftU(Stion, Wibjtbto' such' ainduntst «o arrive* Jai ) fttotfe. sums; to he paid to the,' .outgoing lessees,* and ,in'fthe event of there beini? no sale the outgoing &|se.efl shall fixtke upset price, which shill not be less than that under, ; tfhe, previous lease, at which it ififtU be again submitted publicf HUQtipn., )& .offend* then all claim for compensation for improvements, shall be, forfeited." ... *

An awfully sudden death occurred at the meetlhgWtnft Auckland Presbytery - on Tuesday afternoon. After the Presbytery'had cfoncktded theibusiness before it, Mr Alexander Thompson, an elder residing at jPanmure, and representing the, chugph it .. J Mi^makji^tp!B9jMkVi!i| takeftufcLptirt \n theprcrioua business, andnisked the Presbytery a question , regarding the collections for Foreign Mission, rmmediately afterwards he was observed to have fallen .back Jn , hw f cchairr r in what| appearejdj a' faintmgffift. TJi<« Moderator' 1 and those near at once aid all in their powdr Tfor Bitnr)bnt:it JWM etidbiitlttßtfrdeAth was at han^, and a few minutes after the! -heart cdased its 'pulsatioW .Dr. Kender,dine«> who was quickly in attendance, pronounced life extinct, the ! cause being apoplexy. The deceased gentleman' was 75' years of age, and "ori ' the 10th of June last, celebrated his golden yvedding. Mr Thqmsqn ,came to Wellington in 1840, and removed to Auckland shortly afterwards. He leaves a widow, b\\% nq, children,^ Deceased w s as ian member of the Presbyterian .Church', and was held in high esteem by those who had thepleaeureof his acquaintance. ' 'Ji

A meeting of the Library Com- > mittee was held on Tuesday night, foT the i purpose of receiving the report of the subcommittee appointed to negotiate with, Mr Jessop re purchasing his library, Present : Mr Peat (in the chair), Messrs Bindon, JSdgecumbe, and Scott. ,The sub-committee reported that they had purchased the books for £30, and that they numbered about 700 volumes. The report, was adopted., *The following resolutions were carried :-v(l). " That the thanks of the Library Committee be conveyed to the Hamilton Borough | C6uncU for their handsome donatidn of £30 I towards the funds of the library." (2). r ''That Mr Bindon's offer to make out a catalogue of all the books in the library be accepted." (3). " That the.shelving of .Mr JessopV library be removed and put up in I;he toll-hqu^e, ajtfd the bookfe pladedithereoni and that Mr Peat be autht>rised to get a carpenter for this purpose." Mr Montgomery offered tq bind and repair the books out ofirepair gratuitously, and his offer was accepted with thanks, r the material being ! provided for this work. ' A vote of thanks wijij-aGcordjßfJ to- Mr D, M, Beeje^fpn his donation 5 of book's. A 'v6te' of' thttnfes to

the chairman concluded the meeting. ' , TJb.6* Resident M^gist&te; '-Mr N6rthcrfifc,' took occasion during, 'the hearing of the alleged cattle-stealhig' Case at Hamilton, on Tuesday, to administer some advioe t$ the police. Sergfc. Mcftrrath $aid some stress on the; fact that the prisoner had driven the cattle along the back road past Coates ans SeddOpJn, and questioned the witnesses closely' upon this point, the object, being to show that the .prisoner in going that way desired to avoid observation. , ,Mr Northcroft \ objected to >, the 'cqurse ,of , procedure and severely^ rebuked the sergeant for levelling what he called mere suspicions at the prisoner. ' He said it ' was J,he duty of the police to find out the truth of the case,, to cite f dots' and not suspicions, to prosecute not to persecute. * Whan all the witnesses for the prosecution in the first case bad been examined, Mr McGrath asked leave to, recall Mr phitty, .but>Mr Northcroft peremptorily ; and *. charged the police with attempting to persecute the , prisoner. Mr McGrath, With jsqine warmth, repudiated the charge, and said he only desired to recall, the witness to show that he had la# 'the information,, M^ N,orth-' croft cut' the sergeant short fry saying that he • declined to argue the point, and that as Magistrate of that court he had ■given his decision, and would adhere to it. This declaration was received with applause . by the habitues of the court*- who were present in force. The humiliation of the police is always gratifying to these gentry. In the afternoon the prisoner- ljhatfe a statement in his defence, which will be "found in hxll elsewhere. When he stated, in reply to a suggestion from the bench, that he, could produce, .evidence , on His own behalf,, the magistrate asked Sergti McGrath if he had offered to procure witnesses for 'the defence. Mr McGrath said he did riot consider it his duty to hunt up such witnesses, but he had pljjqedjao obstruction in the way of* the prisoner, getting them. He bad asked him if he wanted to send a messenger to anyone/arid had received a reply in the negative. Mr Northcroft^ said it was evident the police considered it their duty t'd sheej home every charge, and to make the ca6e against theprisoner look as glaring as they possiblyi bly could. They did not seem to think ft was their duty to bring out' all thb evidence for the defence as wejl. as fop, ( fch« prosecution, or that they ought to hold the .scales' of justice evenly between the accuser arid the accused. Now we do not intend to comment at length on- the extraordinary 'doctrine laid , down 'by •MLr Northcroft. If it be accepted holus bolus*, then the need for magistrates will no longer exist. But apart from this, we are bound to express our opinion that the reflections cast on the police, of Hamilton were not only unwarranted, and therefore unjust, but ungenerous in the last degree. We say without fear of contradiction, that 'the men who are entrusted with j the maintenance of the peace in Hamiftfonyindeed we may say the whole of the Waikato, are in every sense well fitted for the arduous and oftentimes disagreeable duty, they are called upon to perform. To say that they practise persecution is to say what is not true. It is very easy for 1 a magistrate, sitting in his own court, A sort 1 of '• king of the castle," to snub the police, and gain the applause of men of questionable reputation, but such ■ action is fcbt likely to promote the ends of justice., .The police m^y well hesitate to institute grosecutions in which the proof is J pot Q.verivhehning against the accused ; they will ;be driven to do th!afc which, r Jfortbcroft is paid for curing ; they 'will decide I whether the evidence is sufficient for a \ committal before they Jay a charge.