WAITARA'S LITTLE JOKE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 7192, 9 October 1886, Page 4

WAITARA'S LITTLE JOKE.

The follow in» iiiu.i'-i'Kj ldti-r appears in thy Wiingiinni Herald, anil has evidently hoi n wiitUnto tuk* a rise out of our f i it mi's at "Wai'ata," for the praise of tl,( ir H.-e( ill lii'le iiwr is put on so thick that it rtad* liU i-.ncasm: —

Sir,-- 1 ste that my moral (?) journal, the Taranaki Heua'ld, has been irjing to pick some holes iv the coats of some of your fellow townspeople lately, as well as our own, forgetting, I suppose, that cxchuusing umbrellas is not half bo bad as character destroj ins;, which they ure not over nice about, us you will see by tho enclosed account oi' tin. little episode about the Charles Edwiird, of which I send you a true (?) ucLOtint. Tho Clmrlua L'dward went to the breakwater for i'or'y head of cattle and some sheep, which it took them five hours to pet on board (it could have been done at Waitara in half un hour), and when they got off the cape the sea was so rough thut they had to turn back to seek shelter. Their late experience of " that large area of smooth water " at the "noble structure," did not entice them there again, so they made for thut unassuming little river the Waitara, where they found peace (there has been a good deal of that here lately) They discharged their sheep to recover the drenehirg they got the niuht before, and that niuht they shipped them as>uin (which only takts a few minutes), and proceed to sea without knocking in against the breukw;iter, I mean wharf. You will see also by the enclosed clip they ore howling to the Government to alter the arrangements for shipping stock. As these arrangements happen to be their own, then wby abuse the Government ? But this is like everything else in New Plymouth, they want even thing done for them. They wanted a brakwater, and now they have got il they are mad because Waitnra can beat them (?) Now they want a jetty, let tin m have it, and we'll whack 'eni agaiD, and pay our waj (?) thats more than they can do." I heard on board the Charles Edward that when alongside the breakwater they luard most Christian-like remarks regarding the Waitara. I think they had better send for those Missioners again if their local preachers cannot keep them in more charitable state of mind. — I

am, &C-, SrE, Waitara, October sth, 1886.

THE INDIAN RAILWAY SYSTEM. Some idea of the value and importance o£ the Indian railway system, >\ ith ite connected steamer services, may be gathered from the fact that the capital sunk in these undertakings is estimated at £161,917.840. Of this largo sum the Governmtnt have spent directly £82,255,391. The capital outlay of guaranteed companies stands at £71,032,838. and that of the " assisted " companies at £3,808,232. Native States — the principal in this respect being Mysore nnd Hyderabad — are responsible for an outlay of £4,821,379 on lines within their territories. When the construction of railways in India was fust mooted there were some who warned the projectors that caste prejudices would prevent the natives from using them; but it is an astonishing fact that last year Indian rail\va}B carried no fe%ver than 80,864,773 pus-engers, who paid for their fares £5,538,126. In 1884 the number of passengers was 73,815.119, and their freight was valued at £5,070.754. The chief income of most railways, however, is derived from its £oo r !s traffic, and in this respect the Indian lines jit Id more than double the receipts obtained from pnssengeis. No less than 18,925,385 tons of i^oods were carried, the receipts from •which timounted to £11,915,375. Both the tonnage transported ;md the return chow an increase over the figures of the previous } tar, which was credited with a goods traffic of 16,663.097 ton?, and receipts therefrom amounting to £10,565,941.