COMMENTS.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1843, 29 April 1884, Page 2

COMMENTS.

The small biids are not without their staunch friends. A little while ago it seemed as though spai row and lark and every ieatheied creature of that size, whether tuneful or songless was doomed to ccitain extinction The general voice was in favour of blotting out the race with poisoned wheat. We, ourselves, must own to having aided and abetted the enemies of the birds in this course to some extent; but in our most violent moods it never was our opinion that the spanows should be the exterminated. Considering the excellence of the climate the scattered nature of the population we hold and still hold that the chances in this country are vastly m favour of the sparrow's prorogating its species as compared with England. In the old country the frosts and snow of winter act as a powciful detenent to their increase, while as if to make sure of the numbers being kept down to a reasonable figure, nature has implanted in the heart of every English boy, no matter what his condition in life may be, an instinctive antipathy to the sparrow, which he does not mi&s any opportunity of gratifying. Heie we have no snow ; the frosts that visit us, though they compel us to put on extra blankets at night, are not sharp enough to shrivel up the little birds, and finally we ha\e not yet managed to raise a sufficiently numerous force of small boys to engage in the work of slaughter. Hence it seemed to many people, othei wise humane enough, that the only piacticablesolut on of the difficulty overhanging us lay in our having recourse to strychnine. The Tamahere Farmers' Club comes forward with a protest. They tell us, in effect, that wo aro not grateful for the mercies we have received ; they ask us to look back to the time before the sparrows came, when the grain crops and the clover used to be swallowed up by the omnivorous caterpillar ; to compare that time with the present, and then ask ourselves the (question, Ought we tp destroy the

small birds ? Well, we answer frankly, No ! But is it not possible in some way to hit the golden mean ? If there are too many sparrows, they devour not only the insects and caterpillars, but the grass seeds and grain ; if there are too few, the insects and caterpillar get too much of theii own way. We look to the Farmers' Club to suggest some means whereby the balance may be maintained.

Nothing, probably, in the present day is so much canvassed as the question of Education. No political speech would now be counted complete without some lefeienee to this subject. The Piemier talked <a')out it, Mr Montgomery mentioned it, Mr Jlollcston and Mr Connolly each gave it a place in the addresses which they delivered to their constituents. But though we hear it stated on the one hand th.it our Educational System is expensive, that its secular character is a mistake, and on the other that it is perfect and cannot be, altered without danger, the issue involved is after all only Seculaiism vt> sits Denommationalism. It l- the wanner of teaching rather than the nutter of the instruction winch is or ought to be imparted that engages the public attention, for the question of expense is only brought in as a side- wind to keep out the denomin.itionalists. If we did not know before, Major Atkinson has told Us plainly enough that the cost of education has got to come from soinesvheie, and from nowhere can it come better thanfi oin the Consolidated revenue. It is a singular fact that few people devote themselves to the task of endeavourini: to enlarge the sphere of education. We say it is a singular fact, because the genius of the age and the countiy we live in ia essentially democratic, and the first and highest duty of the legislator, is to find out how best the iutuiusta ot " the people " may be served. Wiitmii on the question of education some time ago mo said the conntiy outrht not to 1 est satisfied until it had established a, btaucb of the system for the diffusion of tee'iniail knowledge. In looking over our files the other day we came acioss the lepoit of a paper on "Technical Education for Aitisans," which, ab the subject possesses much inteicst, we heiegne. The paper was lead by Mr Puruell at a recent meeting of the Christchurch Philosophical Institute. It will be noted that, despite our boast that we possess the finest educational machinery in the world, theie aio still some things in which the old and I'Jfctc countiies of Europe aie ahead of us. Mr P urn el I said •' technical education had not yetbegun m New Zealand, yet much attention had been paid to the subject in England and on the Continent. The effect would be that, in a few years, no cioubt, those well-tiained workmen would emigrate, and compete with New Zealand workmen, who, because they had not been propoily apprenticed, would not be able to hold their own. Schools and classes existed in England, on the Continent, the United states, and even in Japin, where artisans were taught by the best teacheis those bi anches of science that are necessai y to intelligently understand their trades, and the use of tools. Fiom these classes students went out with certificates of different giades, suiting them for diffeient positions in their respective ltidustiies. What we wanted here was a re-modelling of our higher education system. Pa it of the money that is spent in supporting small High Schools should boused for stai ting classes for technical education, that our workmen might be able to hold their own, and the woiking classes might ha\e their rights with the respect to the endowment the Provincial Council so wisely seemed for them. Then the woiking man would become nioie satisfied, as his status in society would be raised, and the son would not have to leave the occupation of his father, are the pi e\ ailing idea now is, if lie wished to tisc higliei than his father. Then all the cle\er boys would not be sent on by fk>\ eminent «.colai ships to gain Univeisity degiecs ; but those who had a bent for mechanics could take a technical education and thus learn well a useful tiade. instead ot being dnven into an overciowdcd piofession. They would thus be moic fitted for the real battle of life, which is the primary object of education." In the difccussion which followed the reading of Mr TurnoU's paper, seveial of the members referred to the School of Agnculture at Lincoln, and praised the wisdom of the Board of Governors in fanning such an excellent institution ; but the Lincoln College is only one of the class which should be spread over the land.

Messrs John Fisher and Richard Reynolds have been dul> elected members of the Pukekma, Road Board.

Members of the Cambridge Jockey Club who have not leceived their tickets for the cm lent yeai can do m> on application to the secietary.

We are requested to state that, m consequence of the Cambridge Races Messis W. J. Hunter and Co.'s Caiiibud<?e Cattle Sale, ad\ertised for Thuisday, May 1, lias been put off to the following day, Fnday.

At S. Stephen's, Tamahere, toniouow evening, the annual meeting for the lccening of accounts, &c, and the election of oifireis, will be held at .sevon o'clock. Theio be a choir practice foi the aninvei.saiy &ei\ico imniediately afterwards.

The Rev. Mr Baker, deputation from the Biitish and Foieigii Bible Society, lectuic to moirow night at Hamilton on "The Jiiblc in India."' The lecture, which is .s nd to po-,sebs exceptional interest, is illustrated by magic lantein views. It will be repeated at To Awaumtu on Thuisday evening.

The Hon. the Minister for Public Woiks arri\ed at To Awamutu on Sunday afternoon by spoci.il train fioin Auckland. He was. accompanied by Mr Knorpp, In•^pecting "Engineer P. W. Department, and Mr Holme 1 !, Surveyot. They left Kihikihi for Te Kuiti yesterday morning en route for Stratfoid and New Plymouth. They expect to reach New Plymouth in about a week, and Mr Mitchelson will then return to Auckland to meet the Premier.

There is a prospect of very good fields for the Cam budge races on Wednesday and Thursday. So far eleven Auckland and other outside horses have arrived. Satut day's train brought Larrikin and Maori, and yesterday's contingent consisted of Administrator, Consul, Fishwoman, Mitraileuse, Native, Fair Play, Radames, Taupiri and Gilderoy.

The Hamilton Young Men's Mutual Association, held their usual fortnightly meeting at Le Quebne's Hall lust night. Theie was a moderate attendance, and the vice-pre&id3nt, the llev. Mr Raeburn, in the chaii. Six new members were elected. Therestofthe evening was occupied by a debate on the subject of co-operation. The affirmative was taken by Mr John Cochrane and the negative by Mr F. Tiewheellar. The meeting decided in favour of co-operation by a majority of two vote«. The progiamme for the next meeting will be " Impromtu speaking."

It will foe remembered that on one or two occasions the defective drainage of the Commercial Hotel has been brought before the Hamilton Borough Council. Mr Hally, the proprietor of the hotel, has just completed a scheme by which the drainage is cariied across the road into the river. The work has been earned out under the supei vision of Messrs Sandes and Napper. We would point out to the engineers the propriety of restoring the street to its normal condition 1 The mound which at presont extends across the roadway is not only inconvenient! but positively dangerous.

We understand that steps are about to bo taken by a few gentlemen in Cambiidge to bring under the notice of the Minister for Justice the undue severity of the sentence (3 months) passed on the three men charged with vagrancy at the police coint, Cambridge, on Tuesday last It is stated that the three men are all harmless labourers, who, having got free from their daily toils, went in for an over-indulgence, and having .spent their money }n |;he usual way, lay down unthinkingly jn the firsfc convenient and comfortable spot they chanced on. The matter is causing not a little attention in Cambridge at present.

Mr W. Bowron, the G&vermndnt inspector of dairy factories, purpose? }«v«

ing for Auckland to-morrow, He is greatly pleased, not only with the Waikato chiese factories, but with the appearance and prospects of the district, which he considers to be one of the finest dairy countries in the world. It having been stated that Mr Bowron had given the palm to Rukuhia, we have been requested to insert the following extract from a letter addressed by that gentleman to the directors of the Waikato Factory Company: —" I consider yours the best managed factory in the Island, and I wish to hold you up as a pattern to others." Regarding the quality of the cheese, Mr B nvron said he considered the Waikato Factory cheese the best made and the richest, but it is essentially American, and he himself prefers the English.

A meeting of the Cambridge Domain Board will be held on Friday evening next, when some important business will be disposed of. The matter of arranging the drainage scheme at the Lake will be fixed up. A meeting of the town board will be held on the same evening, when the same subject will be dealt,with.

The question of removing the Cambridge Post and Telegraph Office from its present site to the futuie railway station is at present occupying the minds of a section of the Carnbndge public, and causing not a little agitation. Two petitions, one for and another against the proposal, are in course of signature, and both, wo have little doubt, will be largelj' signed.

On Sunday night last a fire broke out in the cottage of Mr Vosper at a place known as Diugley Dell, Pukekura, winch resulted in the total destruction of the building and everything in it at the tune, including fnrmture, &c. It is not definitely known how the fire originated, but it is thought that it started from some embeis which were left in the fire-place when the owner left the house in the evening for church. Mr Vosper estimates his loss at about £150, but the amount of insurance, if any. lias not tianspired. Much f-ympathy is felt foi Mr Vo&pei in his misfortune.

The first anniversary of the Cambridge Baptist Tabernacle took place on Sunday last. Mr T. Spurgeon preached a \ery nnpiessive scunon m the morning, taking his text from Isaiah xxviii, 1(5 verse : " Therefoie, thus saith the Loid God, behold I lay in Zion for a foundation stone, a tried stone, a piecioiib corner stone, a sure foundation, he that beheveth shall not make lu»te." The same gentleman occupied the lostium in the evening, taking lm text fiom the Revelations of IS. John : "He that h.ith an ear let him hear what the spirit saith to the chinches. To him that o\ercometh to him will I give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one lcnoweth but he that leceiveth it. 1 Both sermons weie of a very interesting and instiuctne natuie. There was a laige attendance at both services. The collections and donations of the day amounted to €17, which goes to a fund for paying off the debt upon the tabernacle.

The Paris correspondent of the Daily Telegraph furnishes tho following account of the mairiagc of a famous war correspondent :—." Di. William Howard Itu^sell has never displayed moie bravery than in going through thiee separate man uige ceremonies to get, as he himself expressed it, only one wife. The civil maiiiiige between tho famous war correspondent and Mdlic. Antoinette Malvez/.i was perfonncd par-devant Monsieur le Mane on Satin day List. Tho Piotestant ceremony was ©'einnised at the Embassy this moining, the biidegroom being then in the customary morning dre^s ; while the Catholic rites weie gone through with considerable pomp at the Chuich of the Place d'Eylau, D\ Russel having meanwhile, in accordance with foieign practice, donned his evening coat, coveied with decorations, and white tie, cany ing out French habits to the letter. Dr. Russell stood foi half an hour on a raised dais in the chapel adjoining the chinch, and leceived the congiatulations of all the numinous fuends who defiled to shake hands with the happy paii. Although ho had his dimming biide by his side, the man who has seen so many fights said that he would lather undergo ton campaigns than go through such an oideal a second time."

The Aroha ftews says :— The alterations and nnpiovement at the batlis arc piogressing apace under the supeiMsion of Mi Ciump, by whom, we nndeistand most of the woiks to bo canied out have been pl.vned, and who ewdently intend-- that the best uso shall be made of the limited means at his di-pos.il. The old bath behind the the Hot tipiings Hotel has been dismantled, and a l.nger and more commodious one is being constructed on the b.une site. The size of the new one is 10ft x Bft, and it ib satisfactory to know that in clearing away the ground for the foundation more hot water has been tapped, and with the mci eased flow it is expected that the new bath will fill quite as quickly us the old one did. A week or more will probably elaps-e before the dies&ing-sheds and shower are completed, but the bath itself will be leady for filling in a day or two. The floor will ha\e a grating all loinid, and other means will be adopted for keeping the place clean and comfoitable. When all the aiiangemcntb are completed, batliing theie will be much moie of aluxuiy than it is under piesent conditions. As soon as this bath is leady home improvement will be eftecled in the one now in use at the opposite side of the reseive. The ipscrvoir will also be paititioned off by means of concrete wall*, and the water from the hot spi ings kept .separate from the cold. The bath-house eiectea sometime since, and till now unused, will then be made available, audit isintended, we believe, to set it apait for ladies exclusn ely. About half-a-do/en hot spungs cust in other paits of the ground, and if means will allow, some of them will be opened up, ai d baths sufficiently laige to recene two 01 thiee people will lie constiucted at thfin. If the whole of the improvements embiaced in Mr Ciump's de.Mgn can be earned out, our hot spiings will then become what they ought long since to have been, a means of attracting visitois from other dKtucts, and consequently a souice of profit as well as of heal tli and pleasiue to the resident community.

A statutory meeting of the Hamilton Borough Council was held, last night for the purpose of adopting the biugess roll. Theie were present — His Woi ship the Mayor, Or*. Davy, Cochrane, G.iudin, Biadloy, Tippen, Johnson, Yon Stunner and Scott. The roll was duly adopted and signed, the town cleik 10markiug that the number of burgesses was now 244, against 230 last year. This w.is all the business, but tho mayor &aid they might discuss other matters unofficially. Cr. Yon Stunner said he desired to move in the matter of the solicitor's fees. He thought they should approach the subject in a calm and unprejudiced manner, and for that reason he was piepared to move that a committee be appointed to make enquiry into the whole of the circumstances and report at the next meeting. At the suggestion of the mayor it was decided to fet the matter stand over until the oi'dinary meeting, which will be held on Tuesday next.— The council then proceeded to discuss tho question of removing the gum trees along the front of Mr McGovern's property in Victoria-street. It will be remembered that at the last meeting a letter was read from Mr Home, complaining of the nui&ance caused by the leaves from the trees overhanging his house contaminating the water supply. It was agieed that a couple of trees should be removed, if necessary, and the matter was left with the Mayor and Cr. Scott. These gentlemen subsequently arranged with a uontractor to remove the whole of the trees, and preparations were made for a vstart yesr terday morning. Owing to objections taken by some membeis of the council and the public, the work was not proceeded with, and the subject therefore came up for discussion last night. Crs. Bradley, Gaudin and Yon Stunner strongly objected to the removal of thetiees, and suggested a compromise by which the nuisance complained of might be removed without destroying the trees. The majority of the council were, however, in favour of cutting down all the trees at a height of five feefc from the ground. As, however, the meeting had not been legally convened, it was decided to postpone consideration of the question till the next ordinary meeting.

The following special messages to the Press Association, dated London April 25tli, and 27th haye been published :—: — Earl Derby is consulting with Sir F. D. Bell, the Apent General for New Zealand, as to the purport of Tawhiao's vi' it home, and as to the reception to which he is entitled. — Severe frosts have injured the French vintage.— Lord Derby has' agreed to concede an elective element in the Mauritius Council.— Mr. Ashley, Under Secretary for the Colonies, speaking at Sundown, said he thought that the antagonism existing befc ween the Australian, colonies will ' probably check ' the "early accomplishments federation.— lt is expected that the Canadian loan of £9,000,000 which, will shortly 1* issued, wrtV have an

injurious effect upon the floating of the proposed Queenslandand South Australin loans. The two cases of cholera previously announced as having appeared on board English vessels at present in the Suez Canal, are now reported sporadic in character. — The Duchess of Edinburgh has been safely delivered of a daughter. — M. Terry statos that if rectdivistos are sent to the Pacific, special precautions will be taken to prevent their escape. —The Hon. Evelyn Ashley, speaking at Sandown, said that if colonists resident in New Guinea and the colwies of Australia required armies and fleets to protect them from cenvicts, lie considered that it would be the duty of England to back up the protests of Australia against the recidivistes scheme. — In the House of Commons lnst night Lord Edmund Fitzmaurice, Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, in reply to questions, stated that the Government is awaiting further communication from the French Government on the subject of the Recidivistes question, and that no negotiations had taken place with the German Government with reference to the transportation of French convicts to the Pacific. — The Pall Mall Gazette expressed the opinion that the seizure by the French of the New Hebrides would constitute n. casus belli between England and France, and advises that the Australian colonies should avoid all appearance of bluster in reference to France and the Pacific.