The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLET GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1365, 31 March 1881, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLET GAZETTE.

Equal and e\act justice to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political. Here shall the Press the People's rijjht maintain Unawed by influence and unbribed by £.un.

THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1881.

A correspondent of the Nevi Zealand Times offers a very .sensible suggestion on the question of forest conservation. H> points out that the present system adopted by the Government of giving scrip for land equal to the area planted in forest trees can be productive of very little benefit to small landholders, inasmuch as the trouble and expense attendant upon securing the land so earned would not, ©n account of its limited extent, adequately compensate the settler for the outlay incurred in planting. In the case of wealthy landed proprietors, the case is different. The hundreds of acres which their means enable them to plant in timber trees entitles them to a quantity of land worth the looking after. But if in their case, the writer might have added, so little is done in this direction, is it reasonable to expect the smaller settlers to go to the expense of purshasing and planting trees, for which they are only likely to be thanked by their posterity, and which they can, in these times, but ill afford 1 The plan which it is suggested should be adopted with regard to this class, we give it in the correspondent's own words, is this :—: — "The object (i.e. of the present system) appears to be the encouragement of tree planting, and those who desire to do so must first purchase the trees, then plant them, and afterwards apply for the scrip. It would be better for persons who plant less than ten or twenty acres to get trees gratuitously, and forego their right to any scrip., Most people occupying small holdings plant for shelter and ornament, little caring about national use, but if plantations are made for any purpose the same end is obtained provided the timber is of good quality, Large quantities of seed are annually distributed through the Museum authorities, often to unskilled persons who are unable to take proper care of their culture. I would suggest that, instead of distributing the seed, it would be better to distribute the plants, leaving the Government curators to look after the tender seedlings and bring them to maturity. As long as the Government sells the land it is hardly fair to expect the propi'ietor to forego the desolation of its timber. Unless he makes a clearing how he is to pay rates and taxes, much lees to make a living? Besides, individual exertion at forestry in. New Zealand cannot, for many reasons, be productive. Unless, as pointed out, the Government takes it up nothing can be expected ; in the meantime, if the suggestion I have already made were carried out, one step, at least, would be gained. People may ask why those willing to plant for ornament and shelter should be supplied with trees for that purpose any iaorc ttyxn with foot} or

cldjbhingj'but to the thoughful it is evident that trees are a blessing to all,b6th in enlivening the prospect and in the climatic influence which they exercise. Besides, if the Government considers it expedient, in >oi-<;ler Jo stimulate their growth^ to give the large proprietor a quid pro qtiv, surely the small proprietor is entitled to the only advantage which will be of any use to him. Another very cogent reason is the excessive dearness of young trees during the planting season compared with the small expense at which- the Government if inclined, could rear them for general use."

The Hon. W. Rolleston, Native Minister, will arrive in Hamilton to-day by the afternoon train from Auckland. He ■will be met by the members for the district, and afterwards will be waited upon by a deputation from the Borough Council on matters affecting the interests of the town. A number of claimants to the Whaiti-Kurunui Blocks passed through the Lands Court, intend, it i» said, to apply for a re-hearing. The Alexandra Town Board is making considerable improvements in the road leading to the bridge and wharf, which at present is in a very deplorable condition. The Pirongia Highway Board have been laying off work on roads leading to the New Te Rore bridge, from the direction of Harapepe, and tenders have been accepted, the price ior the cuttings and enbankments being 7d per cubic yard. The Auckland volunteers who are to take part in the Te Awamutu review at Easter, will be conveyed by special train on Easter Sunday, leaving Auckland station at 9*30 a.m., returning fram Te Awamutu at .midnight on Easter Monday. Mr J. M. Gelling, of Hamilton, arrived in Hamilton on Tuesday night about 11 o'clock from Ohinemutu, which ■ place he left the same day shortly after o a.m. We think this is about the "shor- : test time on record." ! We understand that the Waikato County Council have paid over the aum required. £55, to the Knilway Department, and that the latter will at once proceed with the long required cattle yards at Huntley. - The members of the Pseudo-Ethi-opian Troupe are making considerable progress at rehearsals, and will probably make their first public appearance in the early part of May. A very efficient orchestra has been organised, and the coming entertainment will, without doubt, be a thorough success. All the river piers of the Te Eore bridge have been erected, and great progress is being made with the other parts of the structure. About thirty men are employed either on the bridge itself or in making the approaches, which are also nearing completion. Political agents in the Waipa are bestirring themselves, and are commencing the electoral campaign already. We hear that canvassing has become the order of the day oh the weafcern border of the Waipa County. The funeral of the late Mrs Devin of Te Awamutu took place ou Thesday, a large number of residents from all parts of the district attending to pay a last mark of respect to the deceased lady. A gentleman from the South Island has lately been making a visit of inspection in the Piako County, with a view, we are told, to selecting: an estate for an English capitalist. Signs of increasing confidence in the future of Wai - kato are not wanting. If the present condition of the swamp road along the Rotorangi property toward the Mangapiko be taken as a I criterion, it will be almost impassible during the winter months. The local authorities should make an effort to render it practicable while the fine weather j last. Mr Wilson kas now completed the boring operations on the site of the I West pier of the Hamilton Railway 1 Bridge, having come upon the rock at a depth of 34 feet, the lower hole, some five feet lower, being only 28 feet deep. He is now awaiting instructions from the Engineer before proceeding to sink on the East side. It is rumored that the Government have received an offer from certain parties for the purchase of the land reserved for the Crown in liquidation of the claims on the Patetere lands. The offer has been made, we understand, with a view to the formation of a special settlement, but at present no particulars are forthcoming. Mr John Gtwynneth, C.E., has under consideration a plan for supplying the town of Cambridge with water by gravitation. The source of supply is in the Maungakawa ranges, and the force obtained would be sufficient to aend the water over the new English Church. We are nat in a position to go into particulars, but when the scheme has received sufficient consideration, we hope to be enabled to give full details. The quarterly meeting of the Wesleyan Circuit was held on Monday evening in the Wesleyan Church, Te Awamutu, at which the Beys. H. Bull and C. Griffin and 15 circuit stewards were present. The financial accounts for the past quarter were gone into and passed, and arrangements made for the future. Signs of progress were abundant. Cambridge is not the only place in the colony short of water at the present. In Wellington the water in the reservoir is so low, that posters have been placarded all over the town requesting householders to use every means to prevent a waste of water, and the hotel-Keepers have been asked to discontinue usingwater for their baths, A gentleman in Christchurch, Mr McLean, who has commenced the manufacture of pickles on a large scale, undertakes to give a first order for 20,000 bottles, to be made in the colony. The Industrial Assocation are prepared to show enormousdeposits of glass sand, haying a splendid analyflis.and got an award at the Sydney Exhibition. We would warn people with horses unaccustomed to rough travelling against attempting the passage of the new Whatawhata road with vehicles. It is safe for horsemen, though none except: , those who possess confidence in their horses ought to make use of it. Two or three venturesome spirits have nearly come to grief during the past week on this road. Plans and specifications for extensive drainage operations near the Waitoa river, on the property of Messrs Maclean and Co., are in preparation, and tenders will be advertised for in a few days. Intending contractors who wish to inspect the locality of the proposed drains will be shown over the ground at any time during the ensuing week, by calling at the Engineer's camp. ■ Mr Bpeakell's camp wfll be found- by following the track to the left on the Pinko side of the Waitoa Bridge, the distance < being about two miles. •

A rather etching buggy race took place aifliy or. iwa ago, 4 the court* being from Te^&tontu ttfiHamHtfiiflu 'The competitors^%<jre a well-known man of Hamilton East, owner of two dark spirited ponies, and an equally wellknown livery stable proprietor of HamilUmrWwbr £The distance, abotft'22 miles, was golf over in' two hours and a quarter, including a "quarter of an Hour at Ohaupo for.refreshments. The livery team came in first. Some difficulty lias been .experienced in making the arrangements foe the cricket match between the Counties of Waikato and Waipa, which j will con\e off dv Saturday next. Some of • the Upper- Waipa playets have, it appears, declined to take part on the ground of their not having been consulted at the outset, while others, including Mr GriersOn, are not able to be present. The match will, therefore, resolve itself into a contest between Cambridge — Hamilton Bast and ■ Hamilton West — Ngaruawahia. The names of the Waikato men were 'given some days ago ; the team to represent Waipa will be chosen from the following : — Messrs Gieeson, N. Hunt, W. Tonks, Soper, Meacham, E. Pilling, Langdale, Palmer, W. F. Hunt, F. H. Bdgocumbe, Percy, N. R. Cox, and J. Edgecumbe. The Ohristchurch unemployed are again beginning to agitate. From our telegrams We learn that a meeting of men was held on Monday morning' but they appeared to have no definite object, and the most of those present were drawn by curiosity. The West Coast railvay entered largely into the discussion, but the only thing which the men seemed anxious about was to interview the Premier in connection with this agitation. A paragraph appeared in one of the Christohurch papers the same morning stating that eight swaggers were offered ! work at from 10s to 12s per day feeding a 1 machine, and only two would take it. Of | these one threw it np after two hours' work. Thee are apparently a goodly number of the dont-want-to-be-employed class in Canterbury. A meeting of 'the various ministers of all denominations residing in Hamilton met at S. Peter's parsonage on Tuesday evening for the purpose of framing a letter of thanks to the Borough Council for their action in freeing the Hamilton Bridge to ministers while on duty. There were present Revs. William Calder (convener), H. S. Davis, Father Luck, 0.5.8., C. Griffin and David Fulton. The Lord Abbot Alcock was unable to attend through severe indisposition, but forwarded through Father Luck his assurances of sympathy with the object of the meeting and authorised the Rev. Father to act on his behalf. The following letter was then adopted and ' signed, and the Rev. W. Calder was requested to forward the same to his Worship the the Mayor and Councillors: — "Gentlemen, — We the undersigned ministers of all denominations in Hamilton beg to tender our thanks for the courtesy of your worshipful body in freeing the Hamilton Bridge to ministers of religion on duty. While upon this subject we would desire respectfully to call your attention to the advisability of extending the same privileges to laymen going to and from their places of worship on Sundays, as is the law in England. We are, &c." [Here follow the signatures.] The concession asked for, in the latter part of the above letter is most reasonable, and we have on more than one occasion urged the Council to grant it. We trust soon to see the bridge made free to everybody on every day in the week ; but in the meantime the Borough authorities would, without doubt, be conferring a great boon on the townspeople by granting the prayer of the assembled ministers of religion as expressed above.

Mr W. Hutchinson, one of the members for the city of Wellington addressed his constituents on Tuesday night, and made a violent attack on the Government. After reviewing the history of the past session and condemning the scheme of taxation adopted by the Hall Government, he said : "The worst feature of last session was the depreciation of the credit of the colony by the Ministers, which had led to a serious commercial crisis. He approved of retrenchment, but did not consider the scheme thorough or fair in its incidence. The present Ministry no more represented, the people of New Zealand than they represented the people of England. Having served their purpose, they now dropped the cry of financial collapse. There was never any fear of such a thing, although no doubt our debt was a serious item. He advocated the establishment of a Government bank of issue, to render the savings of the people available for public use, and to save people from institutions which gave money freely when plentiful, and in hard .times came down on them with, aa iron. hand. He condemned the Government scheme for redistribution of representation and single electorates as calculated to encourage plural voting. 1 The only fair basis Was population. He strongly insisted on the necessity for settlement of a yeoman population and peasent proprietary. Our railways he thought, should be managed on commercial principle, not by a cast iron rule over the whole colony. He ridiculed the Native policy of Mr Bryce, and stated that electoral and representative reforms were required ; the property tax should be dropped in favour of an income and land tax. He would tax large land estates for political aa well as fiscal purposes. He would also sweep away every vestage of primogeniture. He objected in toto to a system of game laws apparently growing up. He urged the uecceasity of bankruptcy reform. A vote of thank* and confidence was carried after a speech from Mr John Buthie defending Mr Bryce's Native policy, in the course of which he pointed out that the Governor had written to Te Whiti (luring Mr Bryce'a absence from Wellington, and expressed his opinion that, had the letter not been written, Mr Bryce would not have resigned.

The Collector of the Kirikiriroa Highway District notifies that ratepayers of the above district who have not paid their rates by to-day that they will be sued for. The Waikato County Council invite tenders for works in connection with the Mangaonua. Bridge up to noon of 7th April. George Smith, Blacksmith, Piako, requests that all accounts due to him will be paid by the 30th of April. The Borough Councillors of Hamilton are requested by His Worship the Mayor to meet at the Chambers, at 10 o'clock this morning-, on business of importance. T*he new pure cash system now being initiated by <j. and C. will certainly prove a benefit to the public. It has been a great success in Sydney and Melbourne, and when strictly carried out the customer who buys at an establishment where the goods are marked low to ensure a rapid sale must be a great gainer. G. and C. sell their drapery millbary, and clothing at such prices for cash as give* the buyer the advantages of a shareholder m a. co-operative society, without the risk of being called upon to bear aporiion of the loss should the year's business prove unsatisfactory. Gariick and Cranwell will aim to retain the confidence which the public have hitherto shown them, and are determined to give the pure cash system a fair trial; whether they gain or lose the first year. Country buyers on remitting cash with order will be supplied with goods at co-operative prices ; just the same a* though they made a personal selection. Furnishing goods, such as carpets, floor cloths, bedsteads, bedding, and general house furniture, the largest portion of which is turned out at our own factory, will be marked at the lowest remunerative prices, and a discount ot five per cent, will be allowed to those who pay af thonmo of purchase. G. &Ci baring realised the entire value of their stock during their late cash sale, the present s,tpck is new an*> cheaply ■ought. Ad inspection is invited^— Gari. ick and C*ANW*Lt' CityHaUFurokbjDr Axcadi Queeaetrccfc,Au«J*64> : ' i"«- < >'^ ■<■>■>' j