UNKNOWN. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1873

Waikato Times, Volume I, Issue 120, 11 February 1873, Page 2

UNKNOWN. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1873

Tho ship "Warwick armed m Auuklaud on-'Sunday. She loft London on the sth November, and has therefore made tho passage in 96 duys. She has brought 16(> immigrant! and IS saloon passcn'gers. Our correspondent writing from' Alexandra says thobthew h is been Vscareity of bread in that township consequent or the length of time that had elapsed siiujc they had beer able to procure supplies Itwili'be accn by the alteration in the Waikato Com pany's advertisement that the price of flour is considernblj reduced. Tho company, we also notice, is prepared to supply oats and bran. It will be seen by advertisement that a meeting hai beer called 'for Thursday evening next, nt the Delta Hotel, Ngaru&niiuia, for the purpose of considering the advisability ol applying to have thd '^strict in* the neighbourhood of the place of mtroting declared an E lucational District under the Education Act 1872. We trust that the example thus set will bo immediately followed throughout the Waikato. We liavo received a few cotton pods grown by Captain Sleelc, near Hamilton. We understand that the plants were sown bj mistake in consequence of ttoiup cotton having become mixed with other seed sent from Sydney. The pods are Tory large, but unfortuately have been picked before fchfij could ripen ; they, therefore, are no criterion as to the probable success of cotton culturo in the district. Wo trust that if there are any more pods oii the plant that they will be nllowed to mature. The annust treat given 1 by Captain Steele to the children of the ' Congregational Sunday School, at' Hamilton, was held at Captain Steelc's residence on Wednesday afternoon last. Hie children, with their teachers, assemblod about noon in " c chapel, and shortly after two carts arrived to tako out the little ones, whose faces were "brimful of pleasant anticipations. A "short time sufficed to convey them to their destination, where an ample luncheon awaited them, to which full justice was done' After which sports of various kind 9 were indulged in till tea "was set, when all again partook of their enterl'ainer's hospitality, and 'returned to their various homes thoroughly gratified with their afternoon's pleasure. About fifty children were present and some' of their patents, besides some ladies arid gentlemen* who ' entered into the sports with gusto, and expressed a wish to sec such gatherings more frequent among u<r, as they have a tendency te niftko the milk of human kindness How round our hearts, ol which we feel so little in lire pull and push of business. Several' meetings have beeT held in Auckland for tho el6ction of school committee's in the rttt'ioiw oJucational districts, result of which displays the greatest indifference and apathy 'on the part of householders. At it meet ing held last week in one of the most 4 populous districts" (Oity West) so little interest was taken that there were not sufficient houseTibldcrs present to nominate as a"Comiuittee, and in consequence the meeting had to be adjourned. This indifference is truly laraentabte, nnd a disgrace to tho 'intelligence of tho district, and augurs little for" tho succeioful working of the Act and the judicious selection of tceChrrs, whcA the election c* committees is the result of accident? rather than of keen competition. In tho case of the 'North Shore, however"! we perceive from a report in the Evening Star of Saturday that a little more interest was taken in the meeting or meetings, for two were held having for their object the self-same purpose — the election of ,'committee, ; which it proceeded forthwith to do. In both cases there were present barely sufficient qualified persons to constitute a meeting Thi s little Pedhngton see ma to rejoice in the possession of two factions > in which it is only "necessary for one to propose a scheme for the other to oppose it, and ns a consequence tlic action of the district in the election of a school committee is both unsatisfoctory-anJ contemptible — iMisatisfietory that the selection made under such circumstances does not enjoy the cooiidenco of the district r mid contemptible th.it tho wholo proerodings should have been made to ns«mne a farcical character. Tho Education 'Board hns'hhd submitted to it a3 the result two report?, accompanied with respective names of committee. The Board recoguiscd tho legtilit^ of the proceedings of tho first meeting/ A heavy fall of rain, followed by high winds, caused con* siderable damage in Auckland on Friday last to the Railway works and shipping. Those works extending between Britomart Point and Mechanics' Bay in "particular seem to have suffered the' most, enid thousand } ards of material ha\ fig been carried by the force of the' waves into tho sea. The only portion of the work 3 that in any way escaped the fury of the storm '"was that protected by a stone c.i3ing. The shipping, too, met with mishaps, many of tho craft having run foul of one another, find done more or less damage. It wa3 impossible for the email craft to ride out' the gale in the stream, and shelter had lo be sought by them under the leo of the Bi'eakwatcr. Communication was only partially kept up with the North Shore, the new boat the Takapuna, proving a mcro cockleshell in the storm. Tho Messrs llolmes's boat, however, proved" eqaal to the occasion.' A very general want seems to exist 111 tho provinco of femala servants. Tho Auckland papers teem daily with ad» vertisemeuls, making known this want, while in this dis-' trict such a luxury i 3 scarcely to be indulged in at any price. Wo are somewhat prepared to accept our position in this respect when we find that in the capital of the province the same difficulty is'cxpcricnced ; at tho same timo cannot but' consider that studied neglect of the interests of Auckland has been shown by Dr Feath erst one in the matter of immigration. Apart from the opening tho Waikato district presents ara fte!d for FcHttement for Che imuvgrank, it could absorb at tho present time a large number of both sexes at 1 highly remiitfcrativc rate of wages. We learn that the gale and rains of Friday and Saturday have done considerable damage on the East Coast. Thero have been great floods at Napier afid the Bitrrounding country. Whole dibtricts there are reported as lying under water; much damage is anticipated, and* (he waters, according to our telegrams of yesterday, were still rising. On Saturday a wool-laden vessel was driven ashore by' tho force of tho gale, and her cargo was being lauded. No storm equal to this has been experienced on tho Napier coast since 18u"G. Along the ceast between' this and "Vftiangarei, sevcra* vessels v, ere seen by the passengers on the steamer to I>o stranded. The steamer herself had a long and vei*y boisterous passage. At Coromandel, in our own province 1 , the gale appears to have been especially severe. Tho Scotch Church has been blowr» down, housos havo been dostroyod, and tlic ■wharf seriously injured, and wtiter rates of tho miners have been damaged. It wonld seem that on the exposed coast of Hawke's Bay and the East Coast generally tho force of the gale has becu greater than ever in this quarter. — D S. Cross. Mr Gladstone is to receive an unexpected testimonial. Mr Sturt, one of tho members for Dorsetshire, and a Cons'ervativc, is nbbut to build four cottages in his honour, and" to call them Gladstone-row. Thid is not t? symptom of political desertion ; the fact is, Mr Sturt went in the same railway earriiigo with Mr Gladstone from London to Rugby, and received from him some good advice on the questioii of agricultural latfour — advice which seems likely to bear fruit in other shapes than that of a row of cottages. Among tho reinarSs whicli Mr GHadsto'no made was tho obvious one that the labour question is one of supply arid demand Mr Sturt, who is etfidontly no great political economist, seems to bo a liltlo puzzled as to the probable offcet of thi«j prini»«plp on hi position us landlord. It is a subject on which, if *ye could. ! only catch hi» ca!r, we could iuslruct him almuL as well as the Prime Minister himself. Land, in flourishing countries when enclosure has done its work, is a commodity for winch there is a continually increasing demand, wlillo tho supply ! remains stationary. If, therefore, tho landlord is obliged to lower hi» rent in order that bis tenants may be able to get a fair Jibing for themselves and pay tho labourers fair wagoi, ho should bubm it with g6od graco to th« necessity; for m tlio loii£ ruu ko 1* tolciablj sura to bare the Leafc of j tho bwgam.

'Un 1 autumn i,u.e nn'cUiii; under tlu auspices of the Nov. .K>rkr\ Club v ill l;ilve place on Kr.-l>r Monday andTuesda} 'Hit 1 <'lub liih been reformed <>n u belter basis Mi Thoinni Fiirrell, ot JJnmiltun, has imported a splendid Lincoln ram. It is from the iloik vi' Mr Thomas Rii3-.cll. We understand that it is the iicreaso of Mr Robert Graham's prize sheep A strong feeling exists among the householders of the Education district of Devonport, NortU Shore, respecting the appointment of the local committee of management for that district. The meeting was originally advertised, m the morning newspapers of Thursday, to be held last Fnday night, at half-past seven o'clock This ad\ertiscment appeals to htv\e been an en or, as the Provincial (Jazcl/r notified seven o'clock as the hour of meeting. The tune was altered, by instillations, in the Friday morning papers, but, as it seems that only two copies of the Oazitte are posted for file North Shore, and a<3 the tii'st notification of a meeting with such a short preliminary announcement is* likely to bo- that most generally known, it followed that not many of the inhabitants of the distrifct were* cngmza'nt of the change in the lirst-advei-t.sed hour of assemblage. The result was that at seven o'clock, only comparatively few persons attended. After a chairman had been appointed, one householder proposed en blob a list of names for election. The motion was seconded, the committee declared elected, and the proceodingB terminated after a short scderunt of a few minutes. I lalf-pastscvcn arrived, and a coniiderabie number of persons (thirty, as reported to us) attended at the school-house, the door of th»y found shut and locked. Not finding tSe'kdj, they forced the door ; elected a chairman ; and the meeting n&mtnated'some suveu or eight candidates, who were submittedto ballot, and five of which were declared elected. There are two •committees elected, ono by one moctmg held at the gazetted hour of assembling, which was' n6t generally known ; the other by a largo meeting of persons who had been led by the first official notiticacations in the newspapers. • It is unfortunate that on the vexed question of the Education Act this mistake as to tune should have occurred, and created very angry feehngd by reason of tho two meetings. The greatest care should have been exercised that vtt cause of (HsTCntion traceable to the administration of tho Act should aviso. Yet "in the Devon--' port district this discussion exists, and as the trastees of tho 1 2>resent school-house ai'e understood to feel keenly tho injustice of the nrain body of the householders being on this first occasion literally disfranchiasd, there is, we are told, a" determination to take action with a view to upset all the proceedings of Friday night, obtain tho nullification of the" elections and hold another meeting, of which duo notico shall be given without any error as to time. The inhabitants of the district propose to hold a public meeting there on an early day for this purpose, and in justice to the electors we think some such course should bo taken as that suggested, especially as we hear that trustees of the school declare that in tbo circumstancps, and m a full opportunity of clioici was, by this mistake, denied to the inhabitants, they w ill not be justified in handing over the bi-hool-house to the Central Board. — Cross'.