The Waikato Times. TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1879.

Waikato Times, Volume XIII, Issue 1026, 21 January 1879, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1879.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. * * * * * Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Unawed by influence and onbribed by gain.

Thk necessity for establishing a Hospital appears to be again forcing itself upon the public minds at the present time. What has not a lictie tended to stir up the question is the enforced stoppage from the Government subsidies to counties and boroughs of proportionate contribution* fot]he Provincial Hospital in Auckland. These bodies argue that if (he local funds are to be mulcted to the extent they have been, for the support of a hospital, which from its distance is seldom available to residents in Waikato, they might just as well pay over the same amount for support of a hospital in the district, which would be available to all. The amount thus-con-tributed by eich county is £236 yearly, and that stopped from the Hamilton Borough share was £is. Hence, we have at once a considerable source of income from the Waikato, Waipa, and Piako Couuties alone, which are all three directly in'crested iu the que3tior, aud, probably, that of Raglan might be induced to join the other three counties in the scheme. Voluntary subscriptions would, doubtless, help to swell the annual income of the proposed, hospital, and iu many case?, patients would willingly pay for admission and the benefits received. The chief difficulty to be got over is the cost of erection of the hospitl itself, which for many reasons should be of brick and should be amply commodious for all necessary purposes, but here the Government have stepped in in a liberal manner and through the Native Minister have offered pound f6r* pound for all monies raisdd for the purpose in the district. This coild be done in two ways, either as suggested by.Mr Sheehan by private subscription amongst the settlers and others, or by special grants from the local bodies, which would be throwing the burden evenly on .the inhabitants according to their means, or by a combination of both plans, for really the building of a hospital would be a serious affair. It means somei-hing more than the providing a mere building for the purpose. There are the surgical instruments and appliances, the furniture, linen, and a variety of articles many of which are very expensive, and we are assured on good authority that a sura of at leawt J620 per bed would be needed to meet the cost of these requirements. Accommodation of this kind for a very large number patjegts, won,ld, not, b,ow.

ever, bj needed, at any mto at first, and the half of the gross sura necessary for the building and the fittings would be quite within the means of Waikato whether raised by voluntary subscriptions or by pro rata contributions from local bodies. The necessity for a hospital is every day forcing itself upou us. The case of the unfortunate man Warr illustrates this very forcibly in a viriety of ways. With one thigh broken, the knee and kneecap of the other leg dislocated, an elbow dislocated, a small piece of bone broken off the shoulder-blade, and the back severely bruised down the whole length of the vertebral column, it was found impossible to send the sufferer on to the hospital at Auckland. Such a case requires constant medical attendance, ana this can only be obtained at the loss of medical services to other patients less urgently needing it in other parts of the district Appliances, too, are required which are not within reach., „.A water bed would cost Borae v ,£oOj an article which would be found among the requisites provided for a hospital, bub which few could afford to provide for their own individual use. It is in these matters that the advantages of a hospital are found, the best medical attention always on the spot watching each phase of or change in a disease, good nursing, and the use of every possible appliance to assist medical skill, or to promote the ease and comfort of the patient. This is a matter which must not be lost sight of, or otherwise the establishment of a locat hospital would be really no benefit to the district. A resident medical officer, and a proper and efficient staff must be maintained, and those who take the matter in hand will not have merely to provide for the erection of a hospital building; but calmly and dispassionately to count the cost of maintaining snch an institution, when established, in thorough and efficient woking order, and ascertain the reasonable feasibility of the district being able to continue to do so. Much of the first cost, we believe, ni ly be saved, as there is in Auckland, a large stock of hospital appliances in the hands of the Government which would, doubtless, be handed over on application.

RAILWAY PARES AND FREIGHT. A gazette published on the 3rd iasc. contains the notification of charges both for passengers and freight to be in force from the 6th January inst. Ordinary passenger tickets are charged at per mile foradults, Ist clas?, 3d; 2nd class, 2d; return tickets in each case being three, fourths the double fare. Children under fourteen years are charged half-price, Return tickets issued for distances of 25 miles and under will be available only on the day of issue, but for each additional twenty-five miles or fraction thereof, one days' extension of time will be allowed for the return journey. Every passenger is allowed to take with him 1121bs. of bona fide personal luggage, not including merchandise of any kind, free of charge, and will be charged Is for every 56lbs or fraction of SGlbs above that weight for every fifty miles or fraction of fifty miles. Then follows the scale of charges for parcels varying according to distance and weight, but for over 80 and under 100 miles which dls. tance affects the great majority of our readers, are as follows:—For 71bs, Is 3d; Hlbs, Is 9d; 28lbs, 2s 6d ; 112lbs, 3s. The charge for horses is 8s 8d for any distance not exceeding 10 miles, and 2£d for every mile after the first 10 "miles } dogs are charged 6d for every 25 miles or fractional part of 25 miles. There.'are a number of plaaifled pates for goods, class A being the highest. Agricultural produce generally, when noc otherwise specially mentioned is charge 1 under class E, as follows : More than 00 mjbs, but not more than 75 miles, 1 J-d per ton, more than 75 miles Id per ton. This class includes wheat, barley, oats and Other grain, flour, bran, and pollard; minimum quantity, 2 tons. For potatoes there is a special charge under class E, namely, for a distance of not more than 20 miles 2| 1 per ton per mile; for more Chan 20 and not more than 50 miles, per ton and for more than 50 miles, Id per ton, The minimum quantity of potatoes taken for these rates will be five tons. There is a long list of enumerated articles, and examining it we find the same difference for various kinds of seeds as heretofore. Clover seed is not specially mentioned, and therefore we presume the original ban is not removed from it, and it still travels under class B. Why agricultural seeds should be charged at a higher rate than the grain we are at a loss to under.-1 ind and why again one sort of seed should be rated under one class and one under another class is equally mysterious; thus we have hemp and mustard fesd charged under class A; grass seeds and other agricultural seeds not specified, under class B. Canary, coriander, carraway and turnip seeds, under class C ; and flax, linseed, and rape seeds, under class E. The old distinction between old and n9W potatoes is also retained. New potatoes are charged under class C, and old potatoes, under class E, that is, while the latter pays only Id per mile per ton for a distance over 50 miles, the former pays 3d per ton per mile. According to the same theory it is the adult passenger, and not children under 14. that should be charge 4 half-price,

That, till recently much neglected and isolated portion of tho Wtiikato district, known as the Waipa, has, of late, been making- considerable progress in the direction of what it is ultimately bound to become, a rich and largely settled portion of the Waikato district. The construction of the Raglan and Waipa road, a work which will be very shortly finished —and the opening of which road, as may be seen by advertisement, the natives engaged on the work intend .to bjr a feast, to which everyone is invited — will, of /itself, materially advance the progress of the<» Waipa settlement. But, independently of this, a large amount of new land has been taken into cultivation, in the Whatawhata and Tuhikaramoa districts," and many public works in the formation of roads and bridges havo been undertaken by the local boards, which will assist in giving all that these districts needs,:, communication with the outside world, to enable them to prosper as other Waikato lands have done. We are not, therefore, surprised to find some little astonishment expressed by the people of Whatawhata, v that, instead of a tri-weekly mail, as hitherto, they are to have only a I bi-weekly one, and we think the Postal authorities will act wisely in re-consider-ing their determination. There used to be a mail starting on the Saturday from Ngaruawahia, going on through Whatawhata to-Harapipi, and its discontinuance is found to be a great loss and inconvenience to the settlers in that part of the oountry. The settlers of Alexandra, too,* find the inconvenience of not having a daily instead of a tri weekly ooaoh between that place and Ohaupo, a distance of some nine miles- The mail, on alternate days, is brought through by a mounted constable of the A.O. Force. A daily coach, however, would carry the daily mail, and the mounted constable's services would be free to be employed in carrying a mail to Haripipi and. Te Bore on the three days now spent in oarrying one between Alexandra and Ohaupo. Ax tho Wesleyan Conference, held in Auckland, on Saturday, the first draft of stations for the ensuing year was proposed. The Rev. Mr Watkins goes to the Thames, and the Rev. H. Bull will be stationed in Waikato, for which district, the draft states, a second minister is needed.

A HoBTiouMURAi. Snow, under the auspices of the Cambridge Farmers' Club, will be held in the Public Hall, Cambridge, on the 19 th of March next.

The Cambridge Church Conobrt.— We would draw attention to the amended programme of this performance, which takes place to-morrow evening, in the Public Hall.

A mkbtino of the Hamilton Borough Council was held last night. Present: The Mayor (J. B. Whyte, Esq.), and Crs. Gwynne, Gaudia, Dawson, Potter, Gardiner, Cox, Knox, and Beale. A letter was read from the Under-Secretary for Public Works, requesting to know whether the Borough would acquire the lands necessary for the railway extension on condition of receiving £IO O, and, if so, that the work should be at once commenced; also, between the Council and the Government with respect to the debentures and the £3,000 bridge grant, in which the Premier states, when asked for the £3,000 grant, that, if debentures for £5,000 be sent to the Treasury, £5,000 will be placed to the credit of the Council at 6 per cent. Engineer's correspondence, re the bridge, was also read. Telegrams were read from the Public Works Department, pointing out that the arrangement originally made for the payment of the £3,000 must be adhered to—that is, paid when a similar sum had been spent on the bridge by the Borough. Plans of the proposed levels were laid on the table from the Engineer, and a report by that offioer of the progress of the bridge works, stating that, in his opinion," nothing that was being done rendered the Borough liable for extra work. Correspondence between the Engineer and the contractors was read, in which the latter maintained their right to charge the extra pi'es as extras. The Mayor and another Councillor were appointed to confer with the Council as to the establishment of a hospital for the district, Qa the motion of Councillor Knox, Crs, Cox, Gwynne, Gaudin, and tha mover were appointed to meet the Waikato County Council, in ro the £llO alleged to be due to the Borough, from the County subsidy. It was resolved to extend the levels to No. 1 bridge. A telegram was ordered, to be sent to Sir George Grey, reminding him of his promise to the Borough's agent, when in Wellington, with respect to the £3OOO for the bridge being at once available,. In the discussion which arose on the bridge report, Cr. Potter objected to the Engineer \wr* ing substituted eight extra piles in a span for longer piles, reaching a hard bottom, as attempting to make the Borough the vile corpus experimenti to prove a problem in resistance, and denounced the plan of the Engineers as unsound. Cr. Potter then moved, " TJhat this Council does not accept the work, as nqw performed qy the oontraqtor, in respeqt tq the pug 3 driven, the report of the Engineer failing to show that they aye driven to a depth to obtain a good, firm and sufficient bearing." Seconded by Cr, Knox, A bridge was being built without foundation, without any data as to what the bottom of the river was. He thought the Council should go to the expense of getting the best professional opinion on thfl matter, The resolution was carried by o to 4. It yas rgsojved that the motion just carried) stand oyer, and tfyat the Council ask the Government, meantime, to send up a competent Engineer to report on the plan ai?4 works of the bridge. The Mayor was to pay the sums due to the bridge contractors, £7OO. Certain accounts were referred to the Finance Committee, The election of Town Clerk was postponed to the special meeting, to be held on the evening of the 27th inst.

PBNNy Savings Bahks ih Of scarcely minor importance to the opportunities for life assurance about to be afforded by the Government to the working classes in the payment of fortnightly premiums, is the determination of the Education department to encourage fchfl establishment of penny savings banks in the public, schools qi the Qqlony, referred to in oup telegraphic columns of Saturday. The value of the inpulcatiqn of habits of thrift in the youth of the Colony cannot be overestimated. There are those who profess to fear that such a course would tend to create feelings of sordid miserliness, but it is only too well known a fapt that the disposition, not merely of the young, but q! their elders also, is in quite the opposite directiqn. Throughout society,' in all classes, the half of the miseries of life that have to be endured, arise from a want of thrift, and anything which will tend tq check the growth of this vice in the minds of the young, and encourage habits of providence and carefulness, should be encouraged to the utmost. For one usurer that the penny savings banks in schools may develop, a hundred usurers' victims may be saved. At the meeting of the Board of Education, held on Friday, an application to enlarge the school, at Hamilton, was considered. The Inspector said there was no urgent necessity. The school was new, the number on the roll was about 130, and there was accommodation for over 100 scholars. The consideration of the matter was postponed. There was also an application from the same district for two water-tanks, and It was agreed, <# supply

Sickness, it would appear, is very prevalent on the Thames jast now, especially among the infant population, and in several instances it has proved fatal, —in some cases the victims being carried off very suddenly. A large number of adults have also been prostrated by severe illness. The doctors describe the malady aa being a species of English cholera. Waikato has not altogether escaped a similar visitation. This Canadian ladies, it is said, are reading the Marchioness of Lome a lesson in modest decorum, being displeased at the order of Vice-regal receptions. It is required that they present themselves in low-bodied dresses, or como armed with a doctor's certificate. The ladies declare I that the climate is too rigorous for bare j shoulders, moreover, that they had not been accustomed to such costume, and that they will absent themselves from the Vice-regal Courc, if the order is persisted in. DISGOVEBY OF COAti AT WHATAWHATA.— Our Whatawhata Correspondent sends us a small sample of coal, a seam of which has been exposed in a cutting made in forming the Raglan road. Where found, the seam is about a mile from the river. The piece of coal, forwarded as a specimen, appears to be of excellent quality, especially coming* from a mere surface vein. The discovery is well worth following up, but our correspondent does not inform us whether the find is upon private, Crown or native land. The Rev. W. N. de L. Willis will hold divine service, at Mataraata, on Monday evening next, at half-past seven o'clock. Tns' Bay of Plenty Times,' in its issue of the 11th inst., very naively says, we fear the time has passed for throwing objections in the way of a road between Ohinemutu and Cambridge. The Government not only agreed to Mr Moss's proposal at once, but the Native Minister paid £IOO deposit on the Tapapa bush, and has given orders to acquire a roadway.

The people of Cambridge are apparently determined not to be unprepared for such an event a3 a fire oocuring in their township, where, amongst wooden buildings, without appliances tor keeping a fire under, and, what is more, an organised body of men to give full effect to such appliances, a fire, at any time, may mean a great public disaster. A public meeting of the residents of Cambridge has been called for Monday evening next, in the Public Hall, to devise means for forming a fire brigade and salvage corps, and to consider any other business in connection with the subject that may be brought forward. In no part of the world can wool of a better quality than that grown in Waikato be produced. We understand from the ' Herald' that on -Friday J)r Campbell received a telegram from Dr Hector, Chairman of the Commissioners for the representation of New Zealand at the Sydney Exhibition, asking him to do what he could to secure a good representation of wool at the forthcoming Exhibition. We quite agree with our contemporary that it certainly would be of advantage to show the people of Australia what can be done in New Zealand in the way of wools. Our climate and soil render it possible to produce a kind of wool which can never be extensively produced in Australia, and it would be a pity if at the Sydney Exhibition this colony were inadequately represented, as there will then be present connoisseurs in wool from all parts of the world. Unfortunately, the season is rather late for making a good collection, but, if growers and dealers will take the matter up, something effective may yet be done. The International Circus opens in Hamilton on the 22nd insfc. (to-morrow), appearing at Cambridge on the 23rd au4 34th instants, From the notices of the performances which appear in the Auckland press, we are inclined to judge favorably of the company. The ' Star' says:—" This pavillion of horsemanship and feats of agility and strength in the market reserve was filled last night by an appreciative auditory. The scene opened Avith some really good riding, first by Jtr James Ijowu, and second by Mr Hayes ancl the boy equestrain —MasterWillie, Their extraordinary and active movements moved the enthusiasm of the auditory, who enoouraged the ridors with loud and frequent cheers. We must give Benhamo credit for being one of the best clowns we have ever witnessed at any preceding entertainment of the kind. His jokes and repartees were quick and complete, not one missing fire. Brohamo was the spirit of the interval, and succeeded in eliciting roars of iaughter. The horizontal and other- perfqnnances qf the brothers Duvalli without a miss } and performed with precision and agility. Mr Wallace was also in good tune; the plate balancing and spinning foats were faultless. The expected event of the evening was the Christmas pantomime, " Ride a Cock-horse to Banbury Cross," was full of merriment from begining tq end; ajtfyougfy thg after part of the performance had Jittle tq d& with the qhildrstopy. M}ss" Jessie Raymond and Mr Glover proved a valuable acquisition to the realisation of the tradition? the former as Columbine and the latter ag Harlequin, and the intervening dances were admirable. Mr Benhamo was eminently successful as the clown, and Hayes as Pantaloon. Benhamo's impersonation of the doctor, and the mesmeric condition of ' Boots,' the policeman, and others were very effective, enlivened qy airs by the brass band, which deserves a qf cqmmendation.'' We learn from the Qrahamstown '■ Star' that the interview between the Native Minister and the chiefs of the Thame3 district, hejld at Taipari's carved hquse at Barawai, wa-s satisfactory. 4- long korepo took place on matters of purely native interest. One of these (says the ' Star') was a QQmplaint that the County Council had not carried out its agreement with the natives by fenoing the tapus on the Ohinemuri Road, and that the survey of the railway was going on without their consent. The County Chairman explained that want of funds had been the cause of the fencing not being done. The Council having spent so much money on the road, tljey h a 4 not funds for anything else. They were, however, now in possession of funds, and Tpquld fulffl tfyeii; agreement After some discussion, the natives agreed to permit the railway to pass through their land, and elected a committee to act with the County and Government in the matter.