THE The Bay of Plenty Times. AND THAMES VALLEY WARDEN.

Bay of Plenty Times, Issue XX, 24 June 1892, Page 2

THE The Bay of Plenty Times. AND THAMES VALLEY WARDEN.

'The Spirit of the Times snail taaoh ma sp /ed, —tag Mi, Act ir. FBIDAY, JUNE 24, 1892.

We published in our la»t issue two letters bearing on a subject which/ is just now looked upon rightly as tfhe very greatest importance to Taura^ga and the neighbouring country settlements, viz communication by cqiach road with the interior of the island lying beyond the ranges which fiorm the natural boundary to this district as well as the legal boundary o£ the Tauranga county. The two roads mentioned in the letters lead to. different parts of the farming districts of the interior ; Thompson's track being the best means of communication with Te Aroha and the upper ThanW district and only of secondary importance as far as the Upper Waikato is concerned, while the Kaimai road taps the very heart of this latter/ district and id of minor importance as regards the former. As our readers are probably well aware a petition is now being extensively signed praying Government to vote sufficient funds to improve Thompson's track from a bridle path to a coach road. The letter signed I Settler ' questions the wisdom of Tauranga people signing this petition, claiming that it will weaken the hands of those who intend to make a powerful effort to secure the completion of the coach road via Kaimai, if thersame names appear on both petitions. We are certainly fully convinced that of the two roads tin one of greatest importance to Tauranga itself is the one via Kaimai, and we think the majority of the public are also of this opinion, but the County Council appear to have come to the conclusion, doubtless on good and sufficient reasons, I 1 bat the making of Kaimai road is cjuite unobtainable at the present luncture, \sh\\v there ie a reasonable possibility that Tnompsnn's truck may be completed, if a uuaninu uh eff >rt be made by the two districts moat concerned. We cannot but admit that this belief furnishes a very cogent reason for signing the petition how being circulated, and knowing the extreme difficulty that has always been experienced in obtaining even the barest justice for this district from Government, we should be sorry to see any want of unanimity iaiarfere with a scheme even the smallest degree beneficial to any part of fie district. We do not quite agree with : Settler ' thafe the same signatures appearing on petitions for both roads would weaken the effect of either, as undoubtedly e?ory settler from the two remotest ends of the district would be ovorjoyed to see the construction of the two roads goiDg on simultaneously. These are in no sense of the word, rival works, but are both essentially necessary to thefull development and prosperity of our district. The motives actuating many of the local signatured of the present petition are, we believe, the same which prompted ourselves to w'gn it, viz, first, because the proposed work will be beneficial to the district, and second, because as those at the head of affairs assure us that we cannot get what we want most, we will ask for as much as there is any chance of getting. We do not think any reasonable Government can fail to recognise the importance of K>th these roa : s or make anything but Absolute inability to find the needful money the excuse for delaying their completion. We have never yet had our fair share of the expenditure of pullic money in this district, but we trust Ibis ctatd of thugs will no;

always continue and we look to our member. Mr Kelly, to urge upon the Government, of which he is a firm supporter, the absolute necessity of giving this district, both the means of communication with the interior whicb all concerned alike are desirous of banog established. / A party of bluejackets from H^LS Goldfinch have beey at work to-day cutting the long grass in tha Naval and Military cemetery and generally putting the place into thorough order. It appears, however, that according to instructionaTrom the Admiralty only graves be officers and men of the na,val forces are to of attended to. This is a great oversight, as thosa merit, at the hands of thd British Govennent, quite as much attention, /wherein are interred the remains of members of the hind forces. As Her Majesty has now none but a naval force in this colony, certainly the sacred duty of attending the graves of the dead of all branches jgf the service belongs to it.

Yesterday having been proclaimed by His Worship the Mayor to be observed as Arbor day, and therefore a public holiday, the stores and business places closed at 10 a.m., and the day was devoted to holiday making with quite unusual unanimity. The s.ss. Katikati and Besult were kept busy after noon plying to and from the man-o'-war, and it is estimated that fully 300 people availed themselves of the opportunity of inspecting this serviceable and neat looking vessel. All were received on board with the greatest courtesy and attention and her crew did the honours of the vessel in a manner that left a most pleasant impression H^on the visitors. r are rather afraid that the interests of ArbolNlay suffered considerably from counter attractions yesterday, and also frpm a series of misfortunes which befel the efforts (?) of the Maunganui Domain Board to carrV\ out a plan of tree planting at the Mount. TneMast meeting of the Board at which final arrangements were to have been made, lapsed, and the trees for planting failed to arrive. The amount of work accomplished on Arbor day, 1892, at Tauranga, can be summed up, we are told, as one tree planted. -s'A special practise of the Band will take place to-night when all members are requested to xdSEean effort to attend. Nothing daunted by the partial failure of the past season's wheat crop, the natives are preparing f or sqwing a large area this winter, and will we hope avoid the errors which militated against the success of the last crop. A /large portion of the fertile island of Motuhoa is now ' being ploughed up ready for the seed. -y^party of natives were in town this morning /with about a quarter of a ton of kauri gum from Oroptf where a considerable number of natives awdiggmg gum. The kauri, as a growing tree/has /almost disappeared from the bush south of Katikati, but in previous centuries it must have been plentiful' m the ranges further south as gum has been found in considerable quantities and of very good quality 4a4ae Oropi distriot. At the Mutual last night Mr Madden read his paper on * Trade depression, ' dealing with the different phases under which it made itself felt ani td filing to some extent upon the predisposing causes. The paper was listened to with keen interest by a numerous audience and a free discussion afterwards took place. S Both in Tauranga itself and. the outlying settlements, the' event most taLkea of just now appears to be the fancy dress ball on the 6th prox, which has been keeping the' dressmakers hard at \fork forjthe last fortnight, with Larder work ahead. The management have considerately arranged for a night when there will be good moonlight for country guests both coming and going out. It is a long tune since a gathering of this sort has be*n held here with such ample promise of being a brilliant success, and the question usually asked about these entertainments is being exectly reversed, instead of asking "Who's going," everyone is asking, j " Who is not going." H.M.S. Goldfinch, now in harbour, wiil not Jeare here until Sunday or Mouday next. A large amount of machinery for Mr BlundellVnew flour inill, now in course of erection, on the banks/of the Waimapu, arrived here this week by the cutter Dream, and is being takmto the site. A good deal of surprise has been expressed here at the fact that none of the blue- jackets of IJjj&j&oldfinch have as yet been allowed liberty. Gray's flourmill tit Katikati has ground about a thousand sacks of wheat this season. The Tauranga natives sent 36 sacks there by Jthe Besult to-day, and there is more to follow. The reading public of Tauranga, ever on the alert for a new sensation, will hail with pleasure the appearance in our advertising columns to-day of a list of the very latest works just to hand by Mr Carter, of the Tauranga Book Arcade, an opportunity being thus afforded of indulging in their favourite hobby for a time again. The well known Te Koutu farm acid dwelling, on the shores oi Lake liutorua, is advertised for lease in this issue. By the mail steamer Mariposa, which arrived from San Francisco on Saturday, there nrrived in New Zealand Captain John J. Milbaulc, of London, who has been specially credited by Lloyds to proceed to Timaru to investigate the circumstances of the loss of the steamer Elginshire on the reef near that port some months ago. It is also his intention to see if it is possible to make a salvage of the vessel. Should his efforts be successful, he intends to have the steamer taken into the Lyttleton dry dock and repair her. Captain Milbank is a retired officer of the British Navy, and has also seen much service in the mercantile marine in every parf of the world, and is well qualified for the work which he has in hand. At a public meeting of those in favour of the reading of the Bible in the schools, held at Dunedin last week, resolutions to the following effect were adopted: — 1. That the Education Act should be altered, and liberty granted to committees to empower Bible-reading and elementary instruction of an unsectarian kind under time and conscience clauses. 2. That no system of education, even from a literary and historical point of view, can be deemed satisfactory which takes no account of the Bible which, beyond other books, has moulded the life, thought, language, and literature of the country. 2. That as moral training is the highest aim of all education, and religious instruction based on the Bible is essential to the practical efficiency of moral training, the meeting pledges itself to use all legitimate means to secure Bible-reading and such instruction. The Hon Downie Stewart presided, Bishop Neville and Beys. Dr Stuart and Saunders were the chief speakers. The date fixed for the opening of the Municipal Conference at Wellington has been changed from Tuesday, July o, to Wednesday July b".

D At a meeting of the Public Works Committee U ot the Wellington City Council the Mayor gave notice that he would move " That the y salary of the Mayor be increased from £100 to it £150 per year. " A shock of earthquake is reported to have „ been felt all over Aratapu at five minutes past one on Monday, June 13. There were two r » distinct vibrations, and then a tremor, the [ t whole not lasting more than ten or fifteen seconds. y Further agrarian outrages are reported from d Mangere. On Sunday night Mr Bosser, a I 9 Mangere settler, who has already suffered in I i this way, had another half-dozen chains of his I •' fence, plain and barbed wire, destroyed by be- 1 i, ing cut by some sharp instrument^ and the posts I j dug up and hacked about. It is to be hoped that the police will be able to trace out the perpetrators of such dastardly outrages. I At an adjourned meeting, of the Maori Hill I Licensing Committee, Otago,-it was finally re- I solved to refuse a license to the only hotel in I the district. A petition against granting the license was signed by 22 residents, 13 women and 9 men, of whom seven were ratepayers ; I while another petition in favour of the license 1 was signed by 98 persons, of whom 63 are rate- I ■ payers. ( There was an explosion of gas on Friday ] | ereningat the Weekly Herald office, Willis"- ( ( street, Wellington. The building was set on I , ire, but the staff was at work at the lime and I the damage was small. j Very heavy floods have occurred in the Hold- I anga district, very heavy rain falling at Wai-o- 1 te-Marama and Waimamaku. The country I was quite flooded for several days, and some I d damage was done. j o