The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1800, 19 January 1884, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

7iqu.il and cx.ict iuKtice to all men, Ot ■whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or pohtir.il. Here ih.ill the Press the People's right maintain, Unawcd b\ iniluencc .md unbribed by gain.

SATURDAY, JAN. 19, 188 y. ♦ The favour with which the proposal to establish a farmei's co-operative association has been received must be a source of gratification to the* promoters. Ifc seems to us that the scheme only requires to "be thoroughlyunderstood to become popular. The object of the association is to put its shareholders in a position to acias their own agents in the sale of produce, and so save those profits at present so largely absorbed by a. multitude of middlemen. An. association formed on the proposed! , lines can obviously command a. better and more extended market. = to sell in — whether it be wool, grain;, or dairy produce — having its. cwrpppondents and agents scattered in ijhe different wwtota of tb%

world, than individuals, who, from the nature of a business which demands their individual cm> and attention, i\ro dependent., perhaps, on some easily glutted marker in "which to sell. Agiin, in buying ; through the association the farmer will be able to go direct to tl c manufacturer for those articles which go to make up his stock-in-trade, and so again effect another saving. Especially in the items of seed and manure will lie command many adavnntages that he at present cannot. We can imagine the producer of these goods not beinsr particularly careful as to the quality of the article when selling through some irresponsible middleman. We can also imagine manure not b ing improved in quality through too frequent handlings. All this would be very different whe.n dealing with a very powerful association direct. In the matter of implements the farmer well knows the large percentage of profit he has co pay the loc*l tradesman. A profit, we have no hesitation in saying, that is out of all reason. This would be obviated by the establishment of the association. Again, it often occurs that a farmer is confined and cramped in his operation from a want of ready money with which to buy seed, manure, or implements against the coming season. In this instance again it will be the business of the association to assist him by procuring him the necessary articles, which can easily be effected on a " cash basis " by a temporary advance on the seturity of a crop or clip of wool for instance, so that while reaping the advantage of the transaction as far as it meets his immediate wants, he will, as a shareholder, participate in the ordinary profit on the transaction. To summarise : By the establishment of the proposed association he will be •able to buy in the cheapest and best market, and sell in the dearest, and will be assisted in every way consistent with sound business. But in saying this we must not be misunderstood, inasmuch as a vast deal remains with the farmer himself to render the venture the success it ought to be. He must give the association all the help in his power by taking shares in the first instance, by doing his business through its agency in the next, and last, though not by any means least, bringing to bear on its working that intelligent interest we are bure our farmers possess in an eminent degree. Like any other business it will not thrive by neglect. Let the farmers of this fair district but co-operate for their mutual advantage, putting aside all paltry considerations of local jealously, 'md we say without fear of contradiction that prosperity never dreamt of in their most sanguine moments will be the result. There is something beyond tho actual business of co-operation that ought to commend itself to our best sympathies ; and it is this : It will show the outside world that the fanners of Waikato are no longer like a house divided against itself, but are a strong, united community, with united interests and well directed a power in the land for great good.

The proposal submitted by the chairman, of the Wai pa County Council, Mr Lake, to the Minister for Public Works during his recent visit to this district, is one of much importance and very much concerns the respective road boards of Waiknto. Indeed, the fact that combined action has not as yet been taken in the matter is a source of much surprise, and can only be accounted by a lack of co-operation and want of unity. And not only this, but there are many other things of vital importance to the general welfare of the district, though possibly of minor consideration, which by the combined effort of our local bodies could be effected and carried on without any difficulty, and with immense general advantage. In this particular instance co-operation could effect a lot, and we are afraid Mr Lake's exertion will be ineffectual in achieving the desired concession unless supported in some such way. What Mr Lake asked for was very reasonable. He pointed out the great disadvantage road boards and settlers generally in the Ohaupo and Te Awaniutu districts laboured under through not having a supply j of gravel or shingle at hand with which to improve their roads, and make them hard and passable during the winter months, and showed that by the Government reducing the cost of carrying gravel on the railway to the lowest minimum figure, they would be not only benefiting the settlers by providing them with good road material, but would likewise, by enabling good roads to be formed through the district, assist farmers during the winter months to cart their produce to the railway, and in this way, as well as by developing the gravel carrying traffic of the line, materially increase the revenue of the department. The idea has been wisely conceived, and we await the result of Mr Mitchelson's investigations. Should Mr Lake's representations he ineffectual, we hope the master will be taken up by the local bodies concerned, and brought more forcibly under the notice of the Government.

A number of the constabulary stationed at Cambridge have been transferred to Alexandra, their places being filled by men from the latter place.

The Waipa County Council is making a very good job of what has hitherto been known as one of tne worst pieces of road in the district, that between Fleming's corner and Ohanpo. A portion of the road has already been formed, and the remaining portion will soon be in course of progre&s.

We understand that a trotting match between Mr Carter's Polly and a trotter belonging to Mr Kelly, of Cam- I bridge, has been arranged to come off on the Cambridge course on the same day as the match between Quilp and

Sportsman.^ The Cambridge public are natvValiy very much pleased with the success of the representations of the deputation from th« town board to Mr Mitchelson on the! matter of the Cambridge' railway. We have grave doubts, however, though the j promise te shorten the time for' the com.

faith, as to the ability of the department to give effect to the promise, taking into consideration the many unforeseen contingeni cies which generally arise'in, case* of this nature. VsjV "'< ,s s'' J ! t | j t I i ' ! 1 I ;

At a special meeting ot the Hamilton West Soliool Committee, ' held last night, it was resolved to re-open the school on Monday next, 21st inst.

The Waikato Cheese and Bacon Factory Company forwarded twenty-two fat pigs to Auckland yesterday. The fattening of pigs is likely to prove a very profitable investment.

Commander Edwin telegraphed at 3.30 p.m. yesterday:—-" Lxpect bad weather between west and south and southoast. Glass continues to rise, and weather much colder, with rain indications bad.

It will be seen from our Auckland telegrams that two Waikato boys have obtained 'scholarships, namely, Master Richard Maclaurin, Hautapu, and Master Robert John Gwynne, Hamilton West.

The examination of school teachers resident in this district will take place in the Hamilton East school, commencing on Monday next. We understand that Mr Y. E. Rice, secretary to the Board of Education, will act as supervisor.

The tender of Mr Cassidy, of Hamilton, has been accepted by the Public Works Department for repairing the Raglan-Waipa road, between the river and the Waitetuna bridge. The amount of the tender was £350. There is now a prospect of the road being put into fair order to meet the winter.

We understand that the Cambridge Town Board has received information from the Loan Commissioners at Wellington that the £700 loan applied for by the board has been granted.

The Bank of New Zealand at Cambridge has transferred its business to the temporary premises next door, during the carrying out of the extensive improvements to the Bank, which have now been commenced.

The contractor has now nearly completed the new Wesleyan Church at Cambridge. It is expected that next month the church will be opened for divine service.

Haymaking operations at Matamata are almost completed, and it is estimated that the crop will amount to about 2000 tons. This has been got into the stack m the most expeditious manner by the aid of labour-saving machinery of the latest kind.

Messrs Mullinger and Brett, the contractor for plate-laying the Eureka section Waikiito-Thames railway, are making good progress with the job. They have about 00 men employed, and the rails have been laid for two miles from the bridge. The contractors for the windstays at the bridge have also commenced operations.

The annual distribution of prizes to the pupils of S. Peter'b Sunday-school, Hamilton, will take place in the Public Hall on Monday evening next, at 8 o'clock. It is expected that two of the Auckland clergy will be present and addrebs the meeting. A collection will be ma-ie in aid of the Sunday-school funds.

We understand that Mr Mitchel.•,on has ordered a few hundredweight of the Waikato Factory's cheese, having satisfied himself of its superior quality by the " preein o't." The cheese is to be sent to the Kaipara, and if it is found ti> bear the journey without injuiy, Mr Mitchelbon will give an order for several tons.

A large number of road formation contracts are now being earned on throughout the Waikato distiict, road boards being anxious to have their highways in good condition and well formed and haidened before next wintei. Already the great advantages derivable from the Roads and Bridges Construction Act are becoming apparent.

We are given to understand that the police ha\ c not been made acquainted with any of the cases of fruit-stealing <it Hamilton East chronicled in our last issue. The first intimation they got was from the paragi.iph in this paper. In all cases of the kind under notice, it would be well if the sufferers would, without loss of time, place the matter in the hands of the police, so that prompt measures could botikenwith a view to the detection of the thieves.

While at Morrinsville on Thursday, Mr Whyte drew the attention of the Minister for Public Works to the necessity of connecting Waihou and Morrinsville by telephone. Mr Mitchelson took a note of the matter, remarking that he line would have to be erected, in any case, so soon as the railway was opened, but he would see if it could not be done at once. He said there were many places of greater importance requiring telephonic communication, which, in the present state of the colony's financed, could not be attentcd to.

We had a visit from Mr C, P. Hayward, of Tomlinson and Hayward, agricultural chemists, Lincoln, England, manufacturers of the celebrated Glyceiine Sheep Dip. His visit to Hamilton is for the purpose of exhibiting the advantages of this dip for the cure of scab, but he failed to find a scabby flock in the district to operate upon. This dip was tried publicly at M.wgere on Wednesday last for lice and ticks. In next issue we shall give an account of the result as taken from the N.Z. Herald, which undoubtedly shows the thorough efficacy of the dip, and without discolouring the wool in any way.

The English Board of Trade returns for October and the ten months ended 31st October show that the imports during the month amounted in value to £35,833,755, against £34,152,015 in 1882, being an increase of 4>(J per cent. For the ten months the total is £355,128,514, against £341,529,992 in 1882, an increase of 4 per cent. The value of the exports during the month was £21,138,859, against £20,877,713 in 1882, being an increase of I*3 per cent. For the ten months the total was £200.803,944, against £203,012,657 in 1882, a decrease of 1"1 percent.

The hon. the Minister for Public Works, accompanied by Mr J. B. Whyte, M.H.R., and Mr Hales, District Engineer, left for Te Avoha on Thursday morning. While at Te Aroha the question of the railway station site was brought under the notice of the Minister. It was pointed out that to locate the station on the west side of the river, which was* the present intention of the Government would be extremely inconvenient, and in fact it appeared, after erecting an expensive railway bridge, to be absurd not to make use of it. With this view Mr Mitchelson entiiely concurred, and said that he would, if possible, have the site removed to the east side of the river, near the piesent township. He afterwards made enquiries as to the ownership of the land, with the object of ascertaining whether any difficulty would arise in the matter of compensation, when it was found that no serious obstacle existed. Mr. Mitchelson during his stay, was interviewed upon one or, two other matters of no general •importance. Yesterday morning, before leaving for the Thames, Mr Mitchelson went to Waiorongoraai, and inspected the battery and tramways.

The following special telegrams dated London, January lGth and 17th, have appeared m the N.Z. Herald :—The death is announced of the Bail of Ban try, aged 82. His son and heir, Viscount Berehaven, is in the colonies.—There are 15,000 Christians and 40,000 Egyptians in the Soudan.—Traffic through the Suez Canal, which was interrupted by a sunken vessel, has been resumed.—lt is believed in political circles that if a Federation Bill was brought forward it would be certain to pass. —At the annual meeting of the Australian Mortgage and Agency Company (Limited), held yesterday, the report was adopted. — Owing to Earl Granville's pai-leying, it is rumoured that France will not send any more convicts to New Caledonia, and possibly not to any other of the Pacific islands. —A rumour has gained currency to the effect that England intends to immediately establish stations along the coast of New Guinea.—lt is believed that the Government will recognise the principle of Sir George Grey's Pacific Annexation Act. — It is reported that the Marquis of Normanby ha 3 resigned the Governorship of Victoria,—Sir Julius Vogel has written a letter to, the Times, strongly urging the passing of an a t \o legalise the investment of trust funds in colonial'stocks.

Ib future Messrs W. J. Hunter and Co. will hold their Ohaupo sales ion Tuesdays (fortnightly) instead of Thursdays, commencing ob Tuesday, the 29th inst. • - Messrs W. J. Hunter will sell at the Cambridge yards on Thursday next, the 24th inst., fat cattle, prime bullocks, fat cows, store cattle, dairy cows, fat sheep, and lambs, &c. ; at the Cambridge yards on Saturday, the 26th inst., 50 riding: and harness 'hbrses,' saddlery; Sec'. 1 - On Tuesday, the 29th, they will sell at Ohaupo o.\er 250 head cattle of all descriptions, and on the same day 'they will 'hold their 'annual Ohaupo shceb fair, entries for which should be made soon «sp6s|iblc Tho^bd.eforsaleon arrivnl 20QQ