The Waikato Times. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1871.

Waikato Times, Volume VII, Issue 372, 1 October 1874, Page 2

The Waikato Times. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1871.

Ir 1 will "be seen by a letter from our travelling lijjovlor, which we print in another column, that considerable excitement was caused in the district by a very small affair. It appears that sonic natives had received, or atated they had received, a pAtinise from Sir I). M'Lean that land in the Piako upon which some men were working — and which lix; been sold 3>y the Government — would be returned to them. On the strength -of the promise, they have taken upon themselves to warn the party of working men tAY the land as being trespassers tgKm their propet fey. These are the plain facts of .the case. Our importer points the moral when lie :toks, " What security have we th.it similar pro-jiiiht-B have not been made to natives all over the i .land 1 Who can estimate the cost of settling these verbal engagements?" That the Defence Minister is prolific of promises to all who ask is well-known to all who have had occasion to apply to him for anything; it is highly probable, therefore, that Iho promise to return tho land was made. The question naturally arises as to tho light of Ministers to return land confiscated from the natives without tho authority of Parliament. The colony lias paid too dearly for Iho laud taken from the natives as punishment* for their rebellion, to be able to return it to the original owners without very good roasouH indeed. We are strong in the belief that 111010 than half our difficulty in dealing with tho natives at the present time arises trom land having been returned after its formal confiscation. Vacillation is the very worst trait in &ho character of any Government which has to deal with savages, and we write with legrel thai wavering is, at any rate, in native mattus, pcciitiulyau attribute of the piuaeut Government, ffo threaten one day, and almoiil to beg forgivuiuifr the next has been witnuwjd !>y every sottler in the Waikato within the last few years. One day tin Natives have boen told in c i\\ ot, " if you arc not £pod boys wo will chastise you," and tho next "if rou will bo quiet, you shall have this, that, or the Y>th.er. It is quito time' that the Minister who has fho conduct of Native affairs should he called upou to give an account of his stowaidsliip, and that tho should be informed as to tho position in it actually stands. To estimate tho value the laiide-1 estate of the colony, it will bo necessary to find out ftv>i« the nativo oilico the quantity of Juul that Jli,-.;, i,:ui pi omu»ed to the natives by its in c*V/ vords, how much of the estate of tjjpi colo»y. j;;e- Native Minister has pz-omised t.o

Maoris, either as bribes to [.• aonn services or as a m,Ul«»r of jjiHtii-c. This, like ninny other nn r-toiies, mjiiiies a lifctlo light tlnvwn upoii ii. The difficulty wuh thy) Piako natives is a binall matter if we were avunvcl that there are not hundreds of similar cases liable to arise at any moment.

Trns breaking of tho punt-rope at Hamilton and tho temporary stoppage of all traffic between aomo of the most important sections of the Waikato district, again calls our attention to the necessity of throwing a bridge acrosß the Waikato at that place. The traffic has, during the last two or three years, enormously increased, and the tolls that could be collected would go far towards paying interest on the outlay. Now that it is determined to run the railway through the Delta, tho necessity is more apparent. The population on the East side of the river is daily increasing; from the Hamilton station these settlers will necessarily receive their stores from, town, and send their produce to market. Unless a bridge is thrown across the river the delay and cost of carriage will place them in a most disadvantageous position, compared with settlers in the Delta. We trust that the justice of the request will be seen by tho Government and complied with.

The third bridge- from Ngaruawahia on the Wlmtawiiata roncl is wae'iod oway; tho road, therefore, in the present elate of tbo creeks is impassable except to experienced horsemen well mounted. The punt rope at Huinilton broke yesterday morning. Tliero was a mob of sheep, n Lone, aud tevoral persons crossing nt the i time. Fortunately, the punt was. nu«n the lauding stago ut tbo time of fcho accident, oe the result might Lovo been disastrous. Mr Knox, when our n porter left, was endeavouring to secure tlio uso of Colonel do Quincey's boat, with which to cross the passenger*. Travellers nnd residents will experience grcut inconvonionpo in consequenco of the accident. It is to bo hoped that every effort will bp made to splice the rope ua speedily as possible.' Wo remind settlers that 3Vfujor Jackson, M.II R., will address iiis constituents at OhnupO, thia day (Thursday) at 2 p.m. We trust that there will be a good attendance, as it would be unfair to our representative to put him to the trouble of speaking to only ti few of hia constituents. A. scratch match will be played by tho members of tlio Ngarnawf hia Chess Club on Tuesday evening next, at, Harris's Hotel. Sides will be chosen by two of ths best players, ana we hope to sco a good altendanco of members, as there is likely to be a keen contest. It will bo ssen in our advertising columns that tenders are called for by the Ngaruaw ah ia Highway Board for wattling the bank ot tlio -river from Bell's Wharf to the Hospital. Wo are glad to sco Lhat this necessary work is about to be performed, as the river is gradually encroaching on the town belt. In our report of the Football Match tlio nnme of Mr Arthur Hey wood was omitted from the list of the "Boundors." This is the more to bo regretted as that gentleman quite »iutained his Auckland College reputation. Various changes in locality will shortly bo modo in the Armed Constabulary. The men on the East Const will be treated to a pleinant change on tlio West and vice verta, while those in Wellington will be sent hither and thither to make room for othen m their place.— Tribune. We regret to announce the very sudden death 0/ Mr P. Falwasser, at KagJan. He dropped de«d on the beach The verdieb of the jury was to tlio effect that he died whilst in an epileptic fit. On Tuesday John Barton was brought before the Evident Magistral at Ngaruawaliia, and sentenced lo seven dayV imprisonment, a charge of vugrnncy having been proved agnin«t him. It is notified in the Gazette that Money Order und Savings Bank office* will be opened »t Drury und Mercer 011 tho Ist October. A very handsome pieep of silver-pluto was presented lo Mr A Aslii-r, form, rly Superintendent, of the Auckland Volunteer Fir* ljri#;<ln, by some of thu Inte members, who wpre desirou- of -iLovMim the esteem in which they held him during the time I,lml he noted us their superintendent. Wcßi-i) nque^.-.j to cull attention to tho fact that tho entries for the S-lliii-r Steeplechase and Hurdle Race, and the occeptanees for the jj..in.'icap Sweopstoke*, tho Hunt Club Stepplechiw, and the Captain Cook Hurdle Eace, at the Auckland Racing dub's meeting must bo made at 8 o'clock on Friday ov< niiifj, tho 2nd prox., at. the club-room, Auckland Hotel. Tho meeting will tttku place on the Eller*-liciuee-couiaouu Wednesday next, tho 7th October. Our minieroiw na !<■)••< will observe 111 our advertising columns that Mes->i\-» 31. M. Salmmi and Son, fiom Auckland, in'onC aturling ia busing at Ngaruuwahia, as tailors. Mr Friend lin* forwarded in samples of the coal and iron obtained from Miranda, m reference to which wo published the pio*pt>UuB of u company about to bo lormed, Three aro now on now at our office. Of the quality of the coal tho prospectus speaks thus:— Tho coal is good at the outcrop, and will improve in quality and tlueknesu us it goo 3 down. Tho seam ut tlio pluee from which the present samplo in taken is about 21 feet thick, and not bottomed. It is more than usually strong and com|.nct, and in comparison with tho Kawokawa coal, it. much superior to it, as tnken from the present working at a depth ol between one and two hundred <eet. The coal U similar to the Wwhaw coal of Scotland, and the Glunzohli? of Germany, und contains about 73 per cent, of combustible matter. Tho amount of Hulphnr m thin coal being very small makes it very suitable for smelting nnd engine purposes, and it will also be useful us a good household coal. We cannot, do bettor perhaps thnn quote the report of the Hauraki Battery at Grabjnnstown on Mtmpltt of Miranda coal given on tho 11th February, 1870 :— " Nino ewt. coal, iit'o nnd a-half hours 5 good oteain for buttery, seven bead stampers. A better coal than Wangurei ; no sulphur ; no clinkers ; burns quick and fier«o." — Herald. Mr Thomas liussell is, no doubt, a very clover man. Nothing gucwodi like sueceec! nud lie liaibeen very sue-cj-sful. Tho Thames gold fields, which brought ruin to no many, brought grist to his fuill, and his name is now anonymous with that of the great monetary institution of tho colany— that power behind the throne greater than tho throne itself, to which Dr Fuathprston alluded in 1867. Mrßussells eutcwess has overexcited tho admiration of Yankeuland, tind during his lute visit to to tho Great Republic ho is eveu credited with having tau«ht tha cuter people «n tho fuca of the eai Ih, 11 wrinkle or two. Some of them tried to shear him, and were themselves shorn. Mr.Riibs.jll is in one. sense a )»ioat man, but we take leave to think that ho it a tfanßcr« ons man — t,hat the position v^liich he holds tow ardi tho Government of this colony isono full of danger to tho interests of fche public. Ho is well known to bo with tho Govornnvmt defitclv. Whatever ho Bays Mr Vogel ia bound to do. Ho pulls the strings und tho niinirtcriul puppets danco. Tho extmordmarry proposals of tho Government. duriu<r the last uro popularly attributed to Ins influence, and Mr Webster ufcke«> a very pertinent quertinn when ho enquired in what capacity Mr fiussel was going to New South Wales to nogotiale a new Sun Francisco mud contract. Mr Vogel's reply was unsiitMfaetory und ovauve. Very lew people would object to Mr Russell's joining tho ministry as it was rumoured not lonfc ago ho would do. His acknowledged übilities would undouble"]y he useful in the Oubinet, but it is not ti healthy condition ol affairs when n single individual exorcises the powers of the Ciibinet, without having on his shoulders the responsibility of a. ininiftor. MrVogel rules his colleague!) «nd the country, but Mr Russell rules Mr Vugel, und us there uro wheels within wheel* this in csponhible power, thus uxeroiied, is nut likely to provo advantaaoons to the interests of the community, The position ie m facto, singularly dunporous one, and its rc a u[ts uro already apparent in tho legislation of the session jiut concluded — Ihmch.