The Waikato Times. AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2122, 13 February 1886, Page 2

The Waikato Times. AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Ot whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. Here shall the Press the People's right maintain, Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain.

SATURDAY, FEB. 13, 1886.

!' * Archdeacon Willis wiil hold service at Taotaoroa to-morrow at 3 p.m.

The dates and places of the sitting of tho several Assessment Courts in the district are notified in another column.

The report of the Waipa County Council meeting, and several other items of interest, in type, are unavoidably crowded out uf thij issue. The election of a licensing committee for Cambridge will bo held on Saturday, the 27th inst. Nominations must be sent iv by the l'Jth inst. Detective Benjamin returned from Oxford on Thursday without having obtained any evidence towards elucidating the Churchill murder.

Inspectors Bold and Orchiston o( the Telegraph Department Are in Cambridge in connection with the opening of the telegraph line at YVaotu.

The election of a licensing committee for the town of Alexandra, will take place on the 4th. March. Nominations must be in by the 22nd mat. A statement of the receipts and expenditure in connection \yitli the Kihikini school and public picnic on the 2nd inst., is published in our business column*. Members of the Hamilton 00. arc requested to roll up for practice to-day at 3 o'clock, as the question of return matches with Cambridge and Whatawhata must be settled.

S. Andrew's! Cambridge, Harvest Festival Services will be held on Friday nett and on to-morrow week. The Right Rev. the Bishop of Dtmedin will be the preacher on the Sunday.

The regular meeting of the Hamilton Domain Board will be held on Monday next, that being the third Monday in the month, when several important matters are to be discussed.

Mr J. S. Buckl&nd sold * number of cattle and sheep at Thursday's sale at Cambridge, together with a Mirplus lot of agricultural implements from the Cranstoun Estate, at satisfactory price*.

Tha incumbent of S Peters, Hamilton, has received intimation from the Binhop that the examination for his Lordship's prizes is postponed till next week. This will give the competitors more time to prepare for it.

Mr D. Murphy, referring to the disgraceful state of the streets in Te Aroha, said the Council should put them in order at once. He was of the opinion Te Aroha would be the leading town of the Waikato, and that the sittings of the County Council would be held there before lontr.

Yesterday a spark from the fine at tho Cambridge Jam Factory foil on the shingla roof of Mr Webber's detached kitchen and washhouse, and ignited the dry material. A large hole in the roof was burnt before the fire was suppressed. Had it not been discovered in good time, serious results might have ensued.

Messrs W- A- Graham (mayor). R. Feat, Geo. Edgecumbe, F. Gaudin, and Charles Tippen were the only candidates nominated for the Hamilton Borough Licensing Committee yesterday, and they were accordingly declared duly elected. The first meeting of the committee for the election of a chairman will be held at the Court-house on Friday, the 26th inst. Major Speedy, the well-known Abysinian traveller, is advertised to lecture on the subject of hii travels at Kihikihi, on Monday 22nd, at Hamilton, on Friday 26th, and at Cambridge, on Monday the first March. Major Speedy is well-known to all old residents of Waikato, having served in the WAr and been resident in the district, at Kihikihi, for somo years.

The following special messages to the Freaa Association, dated February 10th, have been published :— The antiChinese agitation in Washington territory has been quelled.— When Bishop Moorhouse was elected Bishop of Manchester five honorary canons were not allowed to vote.— lt has been decided that Lord Rosebery will continue to hold the portfolio of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

We have been asked by Archdeacon Willis, to make known to the members of the Anglican Church, and other* interested nt Richmond, Matamata, Lich field and Waotu, that the Rev. J. Hawlder, organizing secretary of the Home Million, expects to visit the several districts next month. He proposes to hold service on the evening of his visit to each of the centred, and confer with the residents as to future arrangements for regular services.

The annhrenanr tea meeting in connection with the Weileyan Church, Te Awamutu, will bo held on Monday, the ?2nd vnet After tea tfco Jfcv, %

Dowabury will deliver hi* popular lecture on "Lord Macaulay." This will probably be last opportunity of hearing Mr Dewsbury for soino time, as he is leaving the Waikato. We are requested to fctate that the price of admisoion to the lecture will be the mine as to the tea and lecture, namely, 2*.

The animal cheap excursion trip from Waikato to Auckland yesterday, was very successful. It is estimated that fully 700 from various parts of the district took advantage of the cheap fares. To this number, Cambridge, Hamilton, and the Upper Wai pa contributed each about 200, while Piako and Ngaruawahia, (including Huntly) gave about 50 each. The return train reached Hamilton at 11.30 o'clock la«t night, the excursionists having, with the aid of line weather, spent a pleasant, if somewhat exhausting day.

At the Piako County Council meeting, it was found that the total of the accepted tenders for the two sledge tracks only amounted to £185, whereas the Government had granted £400 for the purpone. Cr. Murphy proposed that the work he extended in order to absorb the \ote, but the other councillors thought it best to obtain the sanction of the Government first. Cr. Murphy, however, stuck hard to his view of tho matter. "It is not a good thing," he said "to return money to the Government when once you have got it,"

which naive opinion raised a hearty laugh from the Council. The general committee of the Waikato Horticultural Society, in terms of rule 0, should shortly be called together to elect a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer for the ensuing year. Before, however, this can be done the local districts will have to furnish the secretary with the number of members on their roll to determine the number of representatives they are entitled to on the chief committee. March 17th having been fixed as the date for holding the show at Cambridge, the chairmen of local districts should bestir their committees to lose no time in getting the roll of members complete.

The Hawera Star writes as follows, on a subject which is of much interest to settler* in this district: — Matters now appear to have reached a climax, and the urgent necessity for an attempt being made to somehow get rid of surplus produce is evident. It has indeed been evident for a long time, but money is so scarce just at present that people are naturally, and justly, chary of undertaking enterprise* which require capital, and, therefore, there has been delay from day to day, and nothing has been done. But offers of 10s per lOOlbs for fat cows, and 5s for 801bs of mutton surely mark the limit of farmers' endurance. Meat can hardly be grown for that, leaving out of the question the farmers' living, and it may almost be said that wo must have better prices or " bust," to use a now classic expres.siou. There was some talk a little time ago, of a couple of gentlemen, themselves large graziers, going into the question of finance, and preparing a sort of prospectus (if we understood the intention aright), and then calling a meeting to consider the matter. This would still appear to be the best course to be adopted. As to the ability of the district to keep tinning works going, even though the Waitara works were in full swing, there can be no doubt, after the figures that were quoted some months back by a speaker at some public meeting regarding a cognate subject. But, unhappily, the Waitara works are not by any means in full operation, and it also has to be remeinberad that the supply of meat is daily increasing, owing to the extension of settlement. The question to be conbidered is whether, if tinning works were established, there would be a reasonable prospect of their doing a little more than pay expenses. If only this could bo assured, it would pay the farmers directly and indirectly to establish such works. People who know something of the subject are firmly convinced that there is a prospect of tinning works doing a great deal more than paying working expenses at present prices for live stock ; but it is wise to work on the lowest estimates, and if there is \a assured prospect of th<s slighted margin over expenses, the project is not only worth consideration but absolutely demands it.

A writer in the Hawke's Bay Herald thus relieves bis mind on the subject of the Australian Federal Council:—The so-called " Federal Council" apj#ears from I several points of view to embody the latent and vastest phases of 19th century humbug, and it is quite as well that New Zealand is standing out. The Council, among other things is said by its members to have come into existence for tho general defence of the colonie?, and to be "a buttress to the Empire." It is therefore no wonder that the formation of a powerful floet for possible warlike uses has been proposed, and the only surprising thing about the suggestion i* that it" did not include an army as well. But this idea of "buttressing the Empire," while very poetical, is proved to be pure bunkum by the actions of the men who advocate it. Surely if the Empire means anything but a figment, it must mean the 38,000,000 of persons residing in the Uuited Kingdom, the majority of whom are workmen and those dependent upon them! Yet the people who talk about "buttressing" these workmen and their families have been, and are, the foremost at devising means for keeping the goods manufactured by British artisans out of the Australian market. The federation blarney says with one voice to the British workman, " Your goods shall not be sold here if we can help it, though you starve," and with another voice it appeals to Australasia to provide a tax-ballasted navy to "buttrebs" the Empire ! There is another idea in connection with this federation toadstool. The " Federal Council " proposes to pass laws. These laws will either be superior to the decisions of the colonial parliaments or subject to them. If the former, the fleet will come in handy to deal with any colony desirous of manifesting independence, and in any case the complete representation enjoyed at present by taxlayers will be done away with, for it will be of precious little use keeping up the farce of a parliament whose decisions are subject to a more powerful but less representative body. If, however, the decisions of the Council are to be subject to their endorsement by each colony, of what use is the Council at all ? Confound the Council, and let the colonial Parliaments con tinne to do as they think right, irrespective of any Empire-buttressing Council composed of Protectionist storekeepers and stockjobbers, who would probably not object to bartering the whole of Australasia if a buyer and a bank to hold the price paid could be found. New Zealand, New South Wales, and South Australia will have to go on as they have begun, and firmly refuse to have anything to do with the latest combination, championed though it is by some of the greatest humbugs south of the line.