The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1249, 1 July 1880, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

fiqual and exact justice to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Unawcd by influence and unbribed by gain.

THURSDAY, JULY J, 1880.

To-day, the first day of July, will mark the beginning of a period of increased prosperity for the people of To Awamutu, and the whole of the upper "Waipa district. To-day they will be united with tjie Northern: centre of population, by that iron link which during the course of the last half century has so securely bound the old world together. Looking back over the past history of the Waikato District, no one can fail to appreciate the number and extent of the difficulties and dangers which have one by one been successfully surmounted in the steady onward march of settlement and progress, or the noble self-denying spirit with which the hardy pioneer settlers were imbued. We are fast losing many of the fine old qualities which were strong characteristics of the older hands ; we miss much of the social, jovial, hospitable spirit which once united everybody in the closest bonds of neighbourly friendship. But these things, which made the troubles of frontier settlement easier to bear, ought, not perhaps to be regretted when there is no longer the same necessity for them. We must rejoice in the advancement of civilisation though the friendly circle be narrowed ; for, notwithstanding all the old time friendliness, we must not forget that it was tempered by prejudice and ignorance, I and with it much of the latter will also disappear, giving place to enlightenment and knowledge. Of the direct advantages that will accrue to the settlers in the Rangiaowhia and adjoining districts we need hardly speak. They have been so long in a state of comparitive isolation, owing to the absence of almost any means of communication that the opening of the railway will be the inauguration of a new state of existence, the advantages of which they will fully appreciate. If we wanted any evidence of the fact the preparations which are being made by the settlers to signalise the event of today would furnish it. Every body has entered into the undertaking with the heartiest energy, and if the ceremony do not prove a success we shall have been greatly mistaken in the estimate we have formed of those gentlemen to whom the direction of affairs has been entrusted. We have no doubt, however, upon this point, and provided the weather be at all propitious we look forward to seeing something of a nature as good, relatively, as the opening of the railway itself.

The kx ivon scripta of the Press has prevented us, while the question of the Borough printing and advertising was sub judice, from in any way referring to the proposal brought forward, carried, and put into execution, of inviting tenders for the Borough advertising from the Waikato Times, Evening Star, and Herald offices. The Council having by resolution on Tuesday evening declined taking the serious responsibility of dealing with the matter and relegated it to the Burgesses of Hamilton, we are absolved from longer maintaining silence. The following tencbrs were received for the advertising: Waikato Times, 3s an inch ; Herald, 4s an inch ; Star, Is 6d an inch : there was also a tender in from a weekly paper, which, however, we do not suppose the Council would in any case have entertained, and on which, therefore, we have nothing to say. The trade rate per inch in Auckland is ss : the Herald thus lowered their scale Is an inch, which is fair, reasonable, and businesslike, and against which nothing is to be urged ; the Star, on the other hand, evidently wished to assert its established supremacy among town papers circulating in Waikato. The Waikato Times tender is based on the current rates charged throughout New Zealand, and if wages of compositors are to be maintained at their present standard, it is quite out of the question to lower the scale of charges. It is of course within the bounds of possibility that by the employment of unskilled labor, such as boys, a reduction may be made ; no one can fail to see, however, the effect such » line of management would have in paralysing the market for skilled labor. The wages of a competent compositor is always treble, and in many instances quadruple, that given to boys ; and compositors' wages being the principal item in newspaper expenditure, it is clearly apparent that when unskilled labor is employed a lower advertising scale may be adopted. We need hardly remind our readers, that the

Waikato Times of to-day is widely different from the Waikato Times of six months ago ; not only from a literary point of view, but from a typographical point of view ; and in order to maintain the present position the Management is compelled of course to employ the best skilled labor procurable ; the only unskilled labor in the Waikato Times office being that supplied by apprentices, sons of Waikato settlers. We will not insult the intelligence of the Burgesses of Hamilton by going deeper into this matter. Our claims to the support of the Waikato public are self-evident, and if there be one township which derives the immediate benefit of our large Office disbursement, amounting to over £2000 a-year, it is Hamilton.

It is a great pity that, owing to the low state of its finances, the Borough is not in a position to employ a larger number of day ! men. A town like Hamilton, ! extending as it does over such a large area, requires a large permanent staff of men to keep the Borough works in good order and condition. There are drains to keep open and roads to keep in repair, besides other works requiring attention. More especially is this the case in winter, as, owing to the friability of the earth in this district, nothing is so, destructive to works as the sudden downpours of rain to which we are subject. The Works Committee, in conjunction with the indefatigable foreman, Mr Peacock, have a great deal of work on hand which must occupy all their attention, and we would seriously recommend the Council, if possible, to enlarge the staff. The old proverb " A stitch in time," etc., is fully exemplified in many of our Borough works, especially the approaches to the bridge. In newly made embankments the time necessary for their complete consolidation varies according to the nature of the material used, and experience has fully borne out the above maxim. These embankments should have constant attention, and should not be allowed to get into bad order. We cannot doubt that if care had been taken to repair the small breaches in the embankment, caused to a great extent by the water passages not being kept clear, the approaches would not be in their present bad condition. We hope the Council will give immediate attention to this work, and that in so doing their first care will be to protect the embankments from any further damage by the storm water which is collected from the whole area of the streets from the Waikato Hotel on the one side to St. Peter's Church on the other. A few pounds judiciously spent immediately will save a large expenditure of ratepayers' money if the work is delayed.

Tuesday being the Festival of S.S. Peter and Paul, Mass was celebrated at S. Mary's Catholio Church, Hamilton, at 9 o'clock in the morning. There was a numerous attendance, and a large number of communicants.

At the R.M. Court, Nganiawahia, on Wednesday, the following civil cases were disposed of: — David James v. F. Lawrence, claim £16 16s 4d ; a judgment summons. Ordered to pay £9 at once, and balance by 15th July ; in default two months' imprisonment. In the following judgment was given for full amount and costs : — Newcastle Highway Board v. W. Smith, £3 for rates; Same v. A. Barton, £1 2s ; Same v. W. Barton, £4 la ; Same v. Mohi Terongonia, £7 17s 6d.

The football match between the Albion and Lightfoot Club arranged for Tuesday did not come off, owing to the inclemency of the weather. Late in the afternoon, however, the members of the former Club played a scratch match on Sydney Square. The youngsters exhibited some good play, especially Willie Yon Stunner.

The Land Court at Cambridge resumed the Te Whaiti and Kuranui Blocks on Monday after awarding- the Waipa. The latter block, consisting of Huihuitapu and Pokaiwhenua, have been awarded to Ngati Kupu, Ngati Tokorche, and Ngati Ahuruo, shutting out the Ngatihaua and Ngatihuias, who did not prOTe their claim. If the Te Whaiti gets through, the Court will have passed over 200,000 acres at this sitting.

At the Police Court on Tuesday, before Mr Northcroft, R.M , Simon Saunders was charged with drunkenness. The evidence of the police showed that the prisoner was so drunk that be had to be conveyed to the lock-up in a wheelbarrow. His "Worahip severely reprimanded the prisoner, and discharged him.

Our readers will be pleased to hear that Sydney Square will soon be put in good order for recreation purposes. The committee and contractor have made satisfactory arrangements for carrying out of the work, which will be pushed ahead as rapidly as the weather will permit.

We must congratulate the railway authorities on the arrangements made for to-day's excursion to Te Awamutu on the occasion of the opening of the railway extension, an ample supply of first-class carriages having been sent up for the accommodation of extending excursionists. The train leares Hamilton Junction at half -past twelve.

In our journeying, we have to record the various traits of man, be he European or Maori — all have to be faithfully noticed by ow pen. Whether his characteristics are of the animal or intellectual kind, whether his sympathies are with the refined or debased. In this instance, it is our great pleasure to have to record one of the most Christian and Good-Samaritan-like acts that ire remember to have read or published. A few nights ago — and a bitter cold night it was— Amopui, a native, was returning to Cambridge, and when some distance from the township saw the prostrate form of a man — a European — on the road. It appears that the poor fellow with one leg only, had travelled ovtrland all the waj from Napier, had crossed creeks, surmounted hills, and threaded his way through the bu*h. But nature gave way at last, and he fell where Amopui found him, ntterly worn out, helpless and exhausted. But for this timely assistance, Charles Parmeters (for this was the European's name) would in all probability never have seen the light of another day. The tyaori lifted Wm up, wd carried hjw

bodily into Cambridge, and those who know the beavv, sandy road on the other side of the bridge can judge what the I labour must have been. Amnpui took him to his tent, and attended to him the night through ; but the noble fellow's good deeds did not cud here. In the morning, he got a subscription list, and by dint of perseverance collected nearly £€, which he handed over to the police authorities to be expended in sending the poor cripple to Auckland. Amopui is well known in Cambridge as being a straightforward and honest native, and will now more than ever be universally respeoted. If there be no other recognition in this sphere of this good action, the story should find a corner in every paper and magazine in the world. The members of the band of the Hamilton Rifle Voluntees have a veiy just grievance at present. It appears that they have been and are taxed to p.iy the salary of the Baudmaster, which means a contribution frcm each member of one shillling, making, together with , the one shilling per month which they pay to the general fund of the Company, five shillings a month each. They contend that this is asking too much of them, and that the whole of the members of the Corps ought to bear a portion of the burden. At a meeting of the band held after practice on Tuesday evening, a resolution was carried instructing the Secretary to write to Captain Dawson asking his assistance in the matter. We believe that hi every other Corps the Bandmaster's salary is made a charge on the general funds of the Company, and is not paid by the band alone For besides these expenses the members of the band have to put their hands in their pockets for uniforms, music, and other necessary etceteras. Fortunately they have not to pay for a praotice room, Mr Gwytne kindly granting them the use of a building on the West side of the river, and the Oddfellows' extending a similar courtesy to them in Hamilton East by granting the use of their fine Hall fiee of charge. At the same, meeting, Mr Edwards was elected a member of the Committee, vice Mr Small, resigned. The band is improving rapidly by diligent practice. The number of useless curs that some people will keep about them are not only a source of annoyance to the townspeople and travellers, but they often are the means of causing immense losses to the farmers in the more immediate neighborhood of the township. Instances of this kind are constantly occurring, but it is not often that people are made to suffer so severely as Mr Isaac Coates has suffered recently. A large number of his sheep, within the last week or two, has been worried to death by dogs. The depredations first commenced about last Friday week, and on the Sunday following he found two or three animals dead. On last Sunday his farm was again visited, and this time no less than 20 sheep were killed, and many ewes besides have cast their lambs. The matter was getting so serious that Mr Coates has been obliged to keep his flock in a paddock near his house, where they can be under his own observation. It seems very hard that the economy of the farm should in this way be upset because a few people chose to harbor a pack of worthless dogs about the place. Two or three of these curs have been seen by Mr Coates, and he will, no doubt, be able to find the owners through that means. It will be some satisfaction to find them mulct in the cost of the animals which ! have been destroyed.

The Wellington papers cannot agree even on the subject of the moon's eclipse. The •♦Chronicle" of the 23rd gives an elaborate description of the phenomenon, while the New Zealand Times of the previous day has the following : — "An eclipse of the moon occurs to-night, but will be invisible in New Zealand."

The Lynch Hellringcrs are coining. John Fisher, Esq., Chairman of the Pukeknra District, notifies that it is the intention of the Board to stop a portion of certain roads in the Pukekura District. John Fisher, Esq., Chairman of the Pukekura District, notifies that the annual meeting of ratepayers of the district will be held in the School-house, Pukerimu, at 3 p.m., on Friday, 16th proximo. The^ Pukekura District Board give notice of their intention, under the Public Work* Act, 1876, to take certain land for public roads. Objections to the taking of the land must be left with the Chairman of the district (John Fisher, Esq.) within forty days from to-day.