THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1875.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2141, 13 November 1875, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1875.

Mn A. M. Clabk, who lias been requested by a large number of electors to stand for Auckland City East, has issued, a notice in the shape of an advertisement calling the attention of all those. ,whom it may' concern'to the fact that a rumour having been circulated that he intends offering himself as a candidate at the forthcoming electors with a view of opposing Sir George Grey, that rumour is false, and that if elected he will be in the' position of a " thoroughly independent member, free in-your* interests {i.e., of his constituents) to support or oppose any measure, irrespective of the men ,by whom it may be brought forward." Now we should not be at all surprised if many candidates were to propound views similar to those, of Mr J, M. Clark, and what is inore,lf constituencies did not show that they had faith therein by electing the propounders. It is obvious to all that apart from the men themselves electors will have some difficulty in deciding for which candidate they- will Tote, Of course we except the rabid. proviueialist, and tlje man who supports the Government through thick and thin. To the'so the question of decision is one of no difficulty whatever. A candidate'has but to pledge himself to support one side, no matter which that side may be as long as it is the one which meets the views of the particular elector, and that elector goes for him "bald-headed,' 1 no matter how objectionable he may be in other matters, or how incomparably inferior to all those who" oppose him.' But with others the case is different. They may see—as we think all must see—that abolition pure and entire is best for the colony'; they may see that common and undivided interests must be best for thelcommunity in general; they may fully acknowledge the uselessness of having two governments to do the work of one; but after all in]their own minds doubts may arise whether in some instances some of the Provincial! stic leaders are not more actuated by a desire to do justice to, and benefit all sections of the Colony than those who are at the helm of things at the present time. Take this district as a case in point. From the meetings which have been held, and from the views which these meetings have endorsed, there can be no doubt that if the question lay simply between Centraliim and Provincialism, for which side the •lectors would declare. But, on the other hand they cannot. shut their eyes to the "apathy ttith which GoTeruaieflt have regarded their interests,

or to the persistent injustice with "which they have treated their righteous claims ; they see these interests languishing - for want of proper roads to develope the district—roads which might^so easily, : be made, and which would incur s6?CLompa"ratively small an expense, an expense to which the success of the distrust, wKose i ' resources these roads would;rHev^tppeT would abundantly repay—they notice"" the refusal of Government to ac-

cord them their just share of representation iti the Parliament™ of -the

country, and then doubts will naturally arise in the minds of some whether Proxvincialishi,'effete "and cumbl6rs'ome <'as it is, is not on ; ,.t{he whole preferable to this. Hence no doubt many candidates will-^----unless their^cqnstituents demand from them 'Some'pfecise^ pledge to-follow one side or the. other?—propound views similar to those of Mr' Clark. They will not pledge, themselves, unless forced, to vote for either party, but Jiold, .or endeavor to hold as it 'were, a middle line of policy, abjuring .the,evils of provincialism but at the same time forcing the 'Government to take notice of and act in, ways which they have hitherto flagrantly and culpably neglected. It would seem that if many such in'en' as

Mr Clark claims , ?br. himself to be, are, elected the? existence of the. present Government will be seriously jeopardised,- unless , they take, effectual and speedy means to conciliate those who are justly indignant with them. It is not too late to. .do s<^ Government — the Premier especially, have the reputation of being very prolific in the'way of promises, and the^performance of only afew of, these .promises would do a great 'deal to lessen/the_ daily growing feeling of distrust with which their policy is being - viewed, V. Dr.. Pollen- has- lately '^been among us arid has-promised both here and at-'Ghinemuri that lie will,forward by every means in his power the: formation of -roads, which are ; sp ; milch wanted. A short time will suffice to show whether he is really sincere in his expressed desire to benefit ;us, o¥ if his words were merely the oily utterances of a man who finds it more to say sweet things than harsh, easier to promise than fulfil; : If the road f.to Tairua be made in accordance with" Dr Pollen's promises, it will do much to show others that having fulfilled their promises in one case, there is at least a likelihood that Government will perform them in others. And constituencies similar to our own may take heart, from seeing our grievances at last redressed, to hope that theirs may also be righted, and thus place further confidence, in that Government from which their allegiance, like ours, has been for some time wavering.

We whould direct attention to .the letter frdm Dr Kilgour, which appears in another column, and the accompanying letter from Mr Reader Wood. Dr Kilgour has; deserved well of* his fellowcitizens for" keeping this matter under the notice of the Government 1. "Land for settlement" is admittedly one of the great wants of this district,, and although the matter has apparently been lost sight of by'the public for some time, it is pleasing to find that a private citizen has kept the agitation alive. At present there does not seem much chance of the coveted Upper Thames and Aroha being •thrown open ,for free selection to bbna .fide settlers, and, it is only by'constantly keeping this question before the Government that the. wants of the district'ih this direction can be obtained. The disinterested efforts of^private individuals are therefore, to be commendedj although not crowned with'immediate success.-

$Hebe was a clean sheet at the Resident' Magistrate's Court this morning.

A Peovincial Government .Gazette was published yesterday.; The contents are principally notifications under the Highways-Act, of no local interest.

The anniversary services of St James' Presbyterian Church will be celebrated to-morrow, when the Rev.-Mr Laishley will preach in the morning and the Rev. James Hill in the evening. On Monday evening a soiree will take place in St. George's Hall, when addresses will be delivered by the Revs. Crump, Laishley and Hiuton. and select music will be perfortned by the chojr. The Rev. J. Hill will preside. '*

Sir George Ghet was to leave town for the Eawau yesterday, and after a rest of a short time, we learn, that-'His Honor may be expected at the Thames, probably in a week or ten days'time •■

i,^ The recent committal of the unfortunate woman Heath at the Auckland Police Court, writes our Auckland special, is a subject which has been much talked of during the last few days. From the evidence it would appear as if the unfortunate woman came out to New Zealand and passed off as the wife of the man she had, until her arrest, been living with. Their marriage was to have been solemnized upon arrival in Auckland, but the prospect of its accomplishment seems somewhat distant. There is one feature connected with the melancholy affair which might be taken advantage of by ;.the Agent General in London, and the /Immigration Department here, and that is that care should be taken to make more searching enquiries as to the class and character of persons who are sent out.'-to the colony; as in all probability the calamity which has overtaken the, unhappy couple might have neveroccurred if their domestic relations had been estab» lished on a firmer basis before leaving England, and it is with a view of directing public attention to. the matter that I atn induced to allude to a subject, which is, to say the least of it, unpleasant.

Re&abding the Mayoral "election we learn to-day that Mr J. Renshaw will not be a candidate. Mr Rowe, who- was also, spoken of, declines to stand. A requisition is in course of signature to Mr .f. E. Macdbnald, we are informed. Mr Wm. Davies, our present Mayor, will, it is said, be induced to offer himself for re-election, and there is a probability of Mr Macnab coming out. "A cootest is pretty certain.

The Thames Cricketers' .Amateur Dramatic CJub inleud playing George Coleman'^s comedy, " The Hoirat-Larr," on Monday eyening, for the benefit of the Thames" Mechanics' Institute. The Coniedy is" an' excellent one, both in plot ' and': dialogue, and'in dressing the piece theactors/have had the assistance of Mr| Wis«niati, than whom no one at the: "Tliartjea is^morecjualified-lo pronounce an opinion on tHeatn'tfal costumes. It is unj fortunate that the performance is fixed for the same nicht as the Presbyterian soiree,

but the fixture was made when the Club were in..iano,rance. r pf „tUfi.soi.rSft,being

fixed for that night. In fact, webelieve we are right in saying.that the night originally fixed upon was Tuesday, but it ing with the concert in aid of the Ladies' Benevolent Fund. Ifc was necess&rf '-to'play some day that week so as to avoid interfering with the Thames Dramatic C]§s' jvM hid/ altered the their performance S(which j/wa's orFg-inajljJ! Novi 19th), in aid of tiie Demonstration Fund, to prevent the two performances coming too close to each other, and having done so, the Cricketers' Dramatic Club .could not put theirs back to the.f6llowinj?.week> and Monday was the only clay on which" something: wpuld.tnot have,.interfered wilK the performance. The' Institute is greatly; ; :in need -of funds, and have waited patiently "for the present benefit, which it is hoped will be in every way successful.

We believe Mr Spencer intends ferectf' ing a permanent'grand stand afc Parawai, and for some lime past. ; men have been engagexlifiin'prQwiig* £tlie:^ course. fMjf Spencer is prepared to receive suggestibns" from owners of horses with a view^ to further improve the course. :l:'- •' In,the obituary .notice of a Maori, appearing> In' vTe Wajianga of j^ovember/* 6th, "the deceased, laka Poaka, Chief of the Rongowhakaata, is spoken of as'"a kind and hospitable man to travellers^ and who: assisted the poor 6f the peo-, pie." I-" "'■'■'■-..!:'r.v:'-y.r „;. f;■/:':'■' At the .fortnightly meeting of the Board pf Education held on Thursday, a letter.rwas- received , -fromi; Tararuiibni-' plaining of the Waiotatii School Committee, and the secretary was instructed to request an explanation from the Waiotahi Committee of the matter complained of with reference to the teachers .leaving • the Tararu school without due noticed : .' Jvp,<3piwm.> for « n.on: payment. r v.of- the> Education TaxJw.^s. givfen; at Auek land on Thursday last against thefollowing householders resident:;,at , v the; Thames :—Messrs Thomas Adams, James Barrell, Robert Clark, Thomas Bedwood, and John Toohen. The amount of the tax was £1, Court costs Jls 6d, counsels' fees 10s 6d, : and to the collector for at-; tendance'and jmileage' 15s, or *£2 17s in! all for each person. At a meeting in Dunedin " to take into consideration the propriety of establishing a working man's newspaper," the following resolution was moved by Mr J. G.,S. Grant, and carried:-~" That in-the unanimous judgment of this assembly the newspapers of D.unedin do not reflect in any sense whatever !ttie impartial, dispassionate, and impersonal public opinion of the community c; that they: are 1 simply the organs of' worthless' cliques and dishonest men, whose gqd is their belly, who glory in their shame, and whose principles, lite the vanes of steeples, perpetually veer with the varying wind, of passion, interest, prejudices, avarice, and conrsest selfishness generally. That, therefore, in self-preservation, if is absolutely expedient, and even necessary, to start a free and independent organ of real public opinion in this benighted and misgo'Vernedcity of our habitation." ■<-■••- It is said that a certain Yankee hostess, whose^ table is noted for uni| formity of dishes, has a brisk daughter who electrifies her" ma's " .boarders with the following'parody, .sung to jan accompaniment on' a new' piano :— '■" While beefsteak and venison cost lots of cash, be r it' ever so gristly,' there's nothing like hash; the scrapings and loavings, of no use elsewhere,: when mixed: .altogether make excellent fare. Hash, hash, good meat hash, be it ever so gristly, there's nothing like hash! A stranger from home, hotels dazzle in vain : O give me cheap eating-house food that's more plain, and thei.waiter whbgaily re-echoes my call,- foiia; nice plate of :hash or a single fish-ball.