COUNTRY NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8630, 28 July 1891, Page 6

COUNTRY NEWS.

[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.] Hamilton ,' Monday.' A large • and ' : satisfactory I sale *of ' produce was held iat Knox's auction mart on Saturday; The following, prices were realised :— Fowls, Is each; oats, 2s r Id; barley, 2s 9d; fowl wheat, 3s 8d; onions, Id ;5 apples, lid ; potatoe-onions, Id per lb; bananas, 2s 3d per bundle; cheese, 4jd; carrots, 3s l per !' bag.' Small pigs in demand, but none offering. ! • The football v match' between 'East and West Hamilton came off on Sydney Square, and resulted in a win for, the former by four points to two. Mr. -"■ Knox offered': for sale iby auction a number of leases ;of borough and Domain lands, on improvement compensation clauses, and for 14 years. Lot 59a, Hamilton West, 2 acres," was knocked down to Captain Reid, for the volunteers' drill ground, at 13s per • annum. Lot 411, corner or Bridge and Grevstreets, $ acre, £7 10s per annum, Mr. T. Stade, who intends removing hie blacksmith's shop, etc., to it from the corner of Clyde-street. Lots 184, 5, 6, and 7, Crayshaw, £2 i7s 6d per annum. Lots 390 and 391 passed in. Lots 19 and 20, containing 23 acres, Hamilton i West, fenced and in grass; and furze, George Edgecumbe, £7 103 per acre.

The Borough Council finds itself hard pushed for room to extend the sheep pens required at its saleyards, for with the increasing rearing of sheep in Lower Waikato, Hamilton is soon likely to become the largest centre in the Waikato for sheep sales, the land at the immediate back of the saleyards being the reserve of an Auckland institution. It is proposed to apply for the twp acres on the other side the street immediately opposite the saleyards for a market reserve for the borough. It is at pressnt a Government reserve for the justice Department, _ but as the site of the Courthouse consists of an acre in a more central position, and the Government has other reserves in the borough, it is hoped that the local authorities in connection with the Justice Department will recommend the request. In no other way can the market accommodation of the borough be so well served.

The following is the state of the riding accounts of the Waikato county :—ln credit: Rangiriri outlying district, £173 18s sd: Kirifciroa riding, £18 4s lid; Tamahere riding, £13 8s lljd; Cambridge riding, £14 4s lid. In debit: Model farm account, £147 39 Id; Cambridge Town Board, £78 18s sd. At the late meeting of the Council, the chairman urged that this last item should be expunged. The money was justly owing, but they were never likely to get it from the Cambridge Borough, which had succeeded the Cambridge Town Board. Mr. Forrest opposed the wiping out of the debt. The clerk stated it would require a deposit of some £30 to commence an action in the Supreme Court. A motion to expunge was made by the chairman and seconded, and an amendment by Mr. Forrest to retain the debt on the books having been withdrawn, the motion was carried on the voices.

Ranoieiri, Monday. There is some idea at the present moment in the minds of the ratepayers of breaking up the large Rangiriri outlying district by the upper portion separating itself from the _\yha,ngamarino end.. As much with this intention as to satisfy themselves with the financial affairs of the Eangiriri district "Messrs. Mears and Ross, two ratepayers, having given the clerk due notice, visited the Waikato County office, and took a detailed account in writing of the revenue and expenditure of the district, expressing themselves well satisfied with the management of these affairs. It was pointed out. however, by the clerk, that with so many absentees it would be found next to impossible to get as many votes recorded as the Ace requires for a majority of the whole body of ratepayers. Sheep farming is spreading almost everywhere in this part of the county. Dr. Tremearne, of Victoria, who purchased the Taniwha estate from Major Te Wheoro, over 2000 acres, is so well pleased with the result of the grass laid down by the late manager, Mr. F. Pilling, which is now feeding some 3000 sheep, that he has purchased some two to three thousand acres of unimproved land adjoining to throw into his estate, giving as much in some cases as 45s per acre for it. MoKBiNsyiLLE, Monday. A letter has been received by one of the local bodies from the Hon. John Bryce, with respect to the county audit fees, stating that he would give his special attention to the question of audit fees when it came up in the House, and that he would oppose any attempt at retrospective legislation. At present they were waiting for the opinion of the Attorney-General on Mr. W. M. Hay's legal opinion in the Piako County's case, that counties were not liable for these fees.

[BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Cambridge, Monday. At a meeting of the Cambridge branch of the Auckland Chrysanthemum Society, Messrs. Wells, Brooks, and Hartley were appointed a standing committee, and it was decided to hold a show in the autumn. It is reported that the Wesleyans are going to hold their bazaar in Messrs. Lewis and Simpson's old store on the 18th and 19th of September, the date of the horse show in Cambridge. This is the next premises to the Public Hall for the purpose, and in some respects is even better, ae all the fixtures necessary are present. PAPAKURA. The Mystic Tie Lodge of Good Templars held an open meeting in the Library, Papakura, on the 22nd July, which was well attended, and passed.off successfully. Brother Rhind, W.C.T., presided, and gave an opening speech, in which were some impressive proofs of the evils of intemperance. The Kev. T: Norrie also gave a short address in which he congratulated the lodge on their progress since last open meeting, and then gave a pathetic temperance reading, entitled " The Little Shoesj" and at a later stage he gave a humourous one, " The Scottish Beadle and His Humours." Songs were sung by Brothers Fulton, Ghezzie, and Hill, ana by Messrs. A. Hansen, ¥. McClymont, and A. White. Brother Carr gave an amusing recitation : several temperance odes were interspersed, and the meeting was closed with the National Anthem, Mr. A. White ably presiding at the piano. POLLOK. At a meeting of the Pollok Mutual Improvement Class on the 17th hist, the programme contained some good songs, readings, and two essays, which were well rendered. Some of Burns' best songs were sun;, intermixed with humorous Scottish readings. A tine speech was read, given by Lord Ardinillan at Burns' Centenary, in the Music Hall of Edinburgh, before twelve hundred ladies and gentleman ; also a letter was read from Lord Brougham to Lord Ardmillan, dated at Cannes, regretting very much that the state of his health would not permit him to attend the celebration of Burns Centenary at Edinburgh. The letter was written in powerful and elegant language, extolling the genius of Burns, admiring his manly independence, liis intense indignation at all shame, and his appreciation of what was really good and true. Mr. A. Clark gave another essay on the New Zealand Civil Service and General Government. Hβsaid:—" An honourable member of the Legislative Council expressed himself in that House a few days ago in the following manner: ' While we all desire the greatest possible economy in the Government, I hope it is recognised that it is possible to carry that sort of thing too far. At this moment we stand in the undesirable position of having the worst paid Civil Service iu the colonies. I am sorry to say that we are beginning to have this fact forced very unpleasantly upon our notice; that such crimes as embezzlement are becoming of excessively frequent occurrence in the colony. We can hardly a newspaper without seeing an announcement that some person or other in the service of the Government, or in the service of one or other of the local bodies, has been found guilty of embezzling certain funds.' The honourable gentleman appears to have overlooked the fact, or at least omitted to montiori it, that the people of New Zealand are by far the heaviest burdened people with public debt and taxes in any known colony. His fatherly caio of the Civil servants is most remarkable. As to the people in general, he seems to havo little or no interest in their welfare. What has the people of New Zealand to do wich the Government of New South Wales, Victoria, or a-uv otb*' place—what they may pay their public servants ? Surely we know the trim of our own frigate best, and if we do take an example from any other State, let it be from a prudent, prosperous State, not from one which has apparently beeu following in the same reckless course as New Zealand, and their credit being doubted in the money market. The United States of America, for instance, are worthy of example by their management, thrift, and fturpluy to the general public. They allow the Government servants to provide for old ago ae other people have to do. There are now plenty of insurance and assurance societies of every shade. The American Government servants are taught to have care and prudonce in having provide in this way for old ago. Our Government servants, on tho other hand, require to exercise little or no care or thrift, and the consequence is that many of them degenerate into profligacy and worse. See what America can accomplish by her management—liquidating an enormous war debt in such a short time. The cau now show at the end of each financial year a great bona fide balance on the credit side, not the sort of surplus that New Zealand tries to hoodwink the people with. As to our Civil servants embezzling

pniio money, let them iuatantly bo da. m ised tht service, and in every cane ba brcight before the law courts for trial 54 Bted of > papas and mammas gettinj twerime hashed up with a vast amount J tieUewinking and double-shuffling, pajng the deficit from their private pro**. May also get off ecofc f pee, while othernooi fetyws outside this ring get six or njjni maths' hard labour lor minor offences Faherly plans have been resorted tto **«»! devouring, to check Civil servants ftmm emiezziing public money, one of which wu invnted about thirteen years ago, the most climy and harassing system for the publie 1 doig business in Government offices, pla». terig the margins of all sorts of document* wit. a confusion of stamps, confusion in My peaance and confusion in practice. 5 appars to be the most stupid expedient te payfees that could well be imagined. %& the tresent Government wipe it out of eiuatents, and send the embezzlers to prison to brent stones. The disreputable disclosures brouhfc to light by the Royal Commission respiting the Public Trust Office clearh shov that Civil servants, in that department at le.st, are a poor lot. Many thanks to tl« Wekly News and other papers for pulj. lishiig in full the finding of the commission. Even man and woman in the colony who * has s grain of interest for this btherwi« grant little colony should read the account for tlβnisei ves and see where a large amount of therevenue of the country is consumed on a gang of worse than useless persons. It it. disgusing to read the sophistry vented by some, ;rying to palliate this shameful affair. Mr. Jxllance appears to be ( the bravest and most araightforward Premier New Zealand has hid for many a year, and with hit Ministjr in concert it is t* be hoped that he, along vith the Upper and Lower Houses of Parhahent, will see it to be their duty te dismist every negligent Civil servant, and saddlethose responsible with the expense of the conmission.—[Own Correspondent.] * ' TAHEKE. We hare had another spell ©i " sub-tropicaP weathe* here. On Saturday morning the t| thermoneter showedll deijo. frost, ana thia ' morning July 11, Sdeg. Yeskvday the now. dering of hoar-frost which covered everything gave a remarkably pretty effect to the landscape, aid i"n could be seen on pools long after the suiTwas well up. I notice that the gooseberry bushes have riot conformed to" their ustai practice hereabouts of putting out new leaves before the old ones are oil. Possibly we may have a better crop than usual of that estimable fruit. The Government inspector of roads has been layiag off a few jc-bs on our roads. I am glad b> see by the specifications of work to be tendered for that a new departure ii being taten, and that pitched channel] across the toads are to take the place of the scoria or " wattlo and daub" dams hitherto in vogue. If properly carried out, and pr» vision made for getting the water away, tkjj system is preferable in many places even tc culverts. I believe the money at Mr. Mea. aie's disposal is not sufficient to do vert much, but I hope he will find the experiment sufficiently successful to encourage him to follow it out more extensively when tkt necessary funds are available. : .''

I have to record the departure of one oi the earliest settlers on this block, Mr, . Dooley (with his wife and two children) hu left us, satisfied rather to sacrifice all the improvements effected during ft four years' tenure of his section than to remain longer in so uncongenial & spot. The improvements, I should state, consist of some acre* of bush felled at the expense of the taxpayers, and left unburned to become a tangled mass of dead timber and new growth of underscrub. The desirableness of a district) as a place of residence is. in the opinion of some, proportionate to the amount of Government to be obtained therein. I think I noted a few weeks back that a part of the treasure stolen from this man's whare was a £25 cheque for road work ; and from this particular road, except on native land, I understand all but " settlers" were rigidly excluded. A very characteristic remark occurs to me which was made some time ago by a " settler" who never settled, and never intended to. He was complaining of the dearth of work and wanted a petition to be sent in to have road work formed. It was explained to him that the state of the exchequer did not warrant the expenditure of money on works not absolutely necessary, and it was pointed out that any other district would have an equal right to a grant, and that the total amount required would be very great. " Sure, and can't the Goverrimint lay their bands on a thousand pounds anjr toime they loike ?" Such was the idea ■ maintained by this " free" and independent , elector, and is it.not also at the root of ilie formula, " that the State is bound to M employment ?" etc. " L'Etat cent moi" o& very sound theory (although not in its orginal application), it accepted, and realised by every individual in a community, but, strange to say, those who are loudest in their clamour for " equal rights" are oblivious to the counterpoising " equal responsibilities," and persist in their game of " grab" without regard to consequences.—[Own Correspon- ' dent.] •

WHANGAREL The opposition of a portion of the Kaurikawa people to the Kamo-Hikurangi railway extension has been happily w ithdrawn,and w« hope now to see it made before we die, Tkii at one time seemed doubtful.