SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1884.

Electoral speeches in the North Island will take much of their colour from the utterances of Major Atkinson and Sir George Grey, and moie than one candidate has been impatiently waiting to hear what the leaders had to say before taking a leap oa his own account. The Premier spoke at Hawera, and Sir George at the Theatre Royal, Auckland, on Thursday night, but though their addresses will be read with interest, there is not much that is new in either. Major Atkinson's task was much the easier of the two, because he has not so much to defend a policy as to attack the Opposition, a section of which, after the defeat of the Government, sought to step into the place which was not theirs by right ; while Sir George Grey waa impelled to defend what in the eyes of the colony must seem very questionable tactics. The Treasurer defends the financial administration of the Government with conspicuous ability, and on the question of taxation he speaks with his accustomed clearness. It would be very Ciisy, he said, to bring down an attractive budget if anyone chose to do it. It would be easy enough to abolish the property tax, and raise from Customs sufficient to meet requirements, but it could only be done by dealing with the public works fund in a manner different to the present method. He defended the property tax, not only as a fair means of raising revenue, but because a direct tax brought home to the people the close con nection between borrowing and taxation, and therefore acted as a check upon lavish borrowing and lavish expenditure. It seemed to him that direct taxation, especially iv a country like this, was very de&irable. Let a man jay directly any sum, no matter how small, in direct taxation, and he would agree that there should be economy of taxation. It would be very unwise not to keep to direct taxation in some form or other. It was quite possible that in the next session there would be a proposal to abolish this taxation, and to increase indirect taxation, about which the people would not likely say anything at all. However, he hoped that the people would look into the question, and not allow direct taxation to be done away with. Direct taxation meant that they would have lively elections, lively Parliaments, and lively Governments. He believed that the property tax was the best tax that could be levied in the way of direct taxation. It had been said that it was antagonistic to local industries, but he pointed to the example of America as refuting this idea. In no country had local industries flourished more than in America, while in no country was the propery tax more popular than in America, notwithstanding the fact that it was levied in a much more offensive form than in New Zealand. Ho also demonstrated that the imposition of direct taxation had had the effect of increasing the confidence of the public creditor. The allusion to Sir Julius Vogel here is obvious, but it is still more apparent further on, when the Picmier speaks of •'fallacious financing," by which term he describes the system of paying inteiest out of loan, and thus withholding the burden of taxation for the present, only to bring it down with crushing weight in the future. Of the Government policy in the next Parliament, the Premier says nothing new. Government evidently intends to base its title to continued popnlarity chiefly on the Native Land Bill, uniform railway rates, and retrenchment. Sir George Grey'a policy may be summed up in half-a-dozen words. He would tax the unearned increment, and annihilate Sir Julius Vogel. And meantime Sir Juluis is being invested with the sceptre of the Southern party, which heretofore has followed the member for Akaroa. Mr Montgomery has been deserted by his friends— deserted by the Lyttelton Times — and unless he wishes to fads out of public life altogether, must henceforth follow in th« wake of the man who, so our Southern contemporaries tell us, is to cause the sun of prosperity once more to shino upon us.

A representative and influential meeting of the supporters of Mr F. A. Whitaker was held at Hamilton last night. Mr Whitaker satisfactorily explained his recent action in the House, and at the same time expressed a desire not to come forward as a candidate for the representation of Waipa at the forthcoming election. It was unanimously resolved, "That in deference to Mr Whitaker's own wish this meeting regretfully .consents to his retiring from the present contest, and although certain thatjhad he stood he would nave been returned, in retiring he still r«tain» our confidence and good wishes." Commander Edwin telegraphed at 12.23 p.m. yesterday :— Frost or very cold again to-night. The Yen. Archdeacon Clarke will conduct the services to-morrow at S. Peter's Church, Hamilton, and at S. Stephen's, Tamahera. Miss Carry Nelson's Comic Opera Company will appear at Le Quesne'» Hall, Hamilton, on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, the 16th and 17th inst. The telephone line to Wnatawhata was completed on the 2nd and may now be used by the public. The Whatawhata office is at I worsen* store. Thelim was opened to Waitetuna yesterday and will be opened to Raglan to-day. 7he following special messages to the Press Association, dated London, July 3, have been published :— The agitation in favour of a subsidy to the German direct steaaubip service to the, Australian colonies 1 is racreaißg, and it is belieyed the vote will | ultimately pass the Reichstag.— The spread <rf the, dialer^ in Toulon i« gradually ineneauQg. " ! A correspondent informs us that tfro *Kj> <■>» tho JUgUu road could ,ta

repaired by a couple ot men in a day, and that » native has offered to do the job for Or). In the face of this, if the statement bo true, it does seem a little absurd* that the red tapeism of the Public Works Department should require that an estimate of the work required be forwarded to Wellington, which is what has been done. At the foot of Mai or Jackson's address to the electors of Waipa, in another column, will be found a list of tho place-, j and times at which he will meet them. Ho ! commences at Hamilton on Mon#iy, the j 14th inst., at 7 p.m. IJTl JT The swamp road between ' Cam- 1 bridge and Te Awamutu is at present in a veiy heavy state. Wheeled traffic is almost stopped. The Pukekura Board might as well nave had it gravelled and wellhardened before the present season set in. An extraordinary vacancy having occurred in the Piako Council through the resignation of Mr J. P. Campbell, the returning officer announces that an election will be held at the schoolhouse, Morrinsville on Tuesday, the 22nd inst. to fill the vacancy. The vacancy is in the Waitoa Riding. Nominations will be received on or before Saturday, the 12fch inst. at Moirinsville. A number of mischievous persons have been amusing themselves by destroying the post and rail fence between the Karapiro and Waikato bridges at Cambridge; alw), the fence which protects the plantation on each side of the road leading from the town to the bridge. The destruction is of the most wanton character, and *;he town board could not do better than have a watch kept on the miscreants, and have them punished when discovered. The three natives who were arrested under warrant by the police at Pukekura on Wednebday last on a charge of destroying the bridge over th«A>langapiko creek, the property of Mr E. B. Walker, were brought befoie the court at Cambridge yesterday, and remanded till next Friday, the ordinary count day. They were admitted to bail. They will be de- i tended by Mr W. M. Hay. We understand an information will be laid againot one of Mi Walker's men for assault, the natives alleging that while he was engaged j pulling down one of tho breakwinds he deliberately struck one of the party over the head with a stick. Mr Gresham iiad a rather clever native witness in the boy at Te Awamtuu at the recent sitting of the li.M. Couitj theie. Ho was questioning the native .\s to his means of paying off the amount of a judgment obtained against him, when he at once elicited the fact that the witness was possessed of a hor^e. Thinking that ! this animal was of sufficient value to cover the amount of the claim, he questioned him as to what he considered it worth. The native replied that opinions as to its value might vary ; some he thought, might say it was worth a pound, but personally he did not think it w«.rth more than ten shillings.