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Waikato Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 3494, 15 November 1894, Page 4

; We hold, over our report of the Cambridge Borough Council. Two persons who have returned ,t» Sydney from the New Australia settlement, states that the married people are in terrible straits. They ore unable to return and can hardly exist where they are. Owing to the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Association's Annual Show, being held on Saturday next, the date of Mr W. J. Hunter's unial Cambridge sale, the sale will not be held until the following Monday, 19th inst. In Messrs Sandes and Co's shop window we yesterday noticed a very nice photo of the ill-fated steamer Wairarapa, taken by Mr Smith, artist, Auckland. The picture gives a good idea <:f the position of the ship wedged into a small opening in the rocky coast, to which circumstance many, if not the whole of the survivors, owe their safety. The banana business appears virtueally doomed (says the Fiji Times). .Disease has done much to give it a fatal blow ; competition and high freight* are ajding now to press it out of existence, while the sugar companies are suing such a price for cane us to induce agriculturalists everywhere near their mills to substitute that article fur the banana.

An excursion train will leave the various stations in Waikato on Saturday, conveying passengers to the Auckland Agricultural and Pastoral Show, returning same day.

On Tuesday evening Mr J. Gillofcr,ou behalf of the, Hamilton Football Team, presented Mr J. H. Hume with a gold breast pin, as a slight token of their good feeling towards him. For many years Mr Hume has been connected with the team, and during that time has long hud the repu-. tation of being the crack " three-quarter "|; of Waikato. He will be a valuable addition to the Gore Club. Wo have been asked to state that a memorial service will bn held at the Salvation Army Barracks Hamilton, on Sunday evening next, conducted by Captain Nicbnlls, on the death of their late comrade, Mrs Home. This is- the usual procedure of the army on the death of on 3 of their mem-' bers, and no doubt many will avail themselves of the opportunity of being present, in order to pay the last tribute of respect to the deceased" lady.

'• Who supports the railways?" iswell answered so far as England is concerned, by the statistics of companies in the Mother Country. These go to show th ib nine-tenths of the customers of the' railway are third-class passengers. The latest returns for the London and Northwestern Railway Company show that for' the last half-year, of a little over thirtythree millions of people carried during the half-year, thirty and a-half millions travelled third-class.

Amidst all tine turmoil of shearing disputes a shearer points out to us that there are stations in this district that have never had a shearing agreement. Nothing is signed by either party. If the shearer' does not shear he is not paid, and if he does shear he is paid. There have been no disputes on these stations that have not adnr'tted of adjustment, and the question is asked why this plan cannot be generally adepted. All that can be said is that any-' thing that would end the apparently interminable strife between flockownm and shearers would be worth trying.-Oamaru Mail.

The Hokitika Guardian reports anextraordinary adventure whir.h befell a miner at Kanieri. He was at work in a' tunnel 1400 feet long, when he became aware of a wandering cow. There was no room for the cow to turn or for the man to squeese past. There was nothing for it but'to seizs the animal by the horns and force it back foot by foot. The cow fortunately seemed to comprehend the position, and after a weary time both biped and quad-. ruped were clear of the drive. The miner says he would not undergo another ex* perience like that for all the gold in Coolgardie.

One evening last week (says the Lyttelton Times) Mr W. Holley, of Laeston, turned 250 half-bred ewes into a pad' dock on his farm, and next morning, on one of his sons visiting the paddock, it was found that 50 of the ewes were dead, while the whole mob showed signs of weakness,' and it was with difficulty they were driven into another field. The paddock, which has remained unused since it \m ploughed,was overrun with wild turnip, and it is' suggested that, as this was in flower, the injury was caused by the sheep eating it in that state. Several experienced farmers state that when in flower the wild turnip is poisonous to sheep.

Speaking at Wellington the other evening Mr H, D. Bell said that when on' a recent trip with Captatn Fairchild, that officer had told him;that up to 10 years ago 67 steamers had been wrecked on our coast, which list had since been swelled to 104,but out of the 67 more than one half were caused through vessels being driven at full 1 speed through a fog. Captain Fairchild said he had called the attention of the authorities—and he hoped it would again be done—to tha necessity of enforcing the regulations which would prevent captains' when either near the shore or in the fairway, rushing along at this headlong speed when it was impossible to tell what might be distant even at a ship's length away. ' At a recent cattlo sale held not a hundred miles from Hamilton, an old and much experienced settler was heard to' remark that the drop in value and slack demand, which is particularly noticeable in young cattle, ; vvas not so much due to the backwardness.of the seasoD, or to any want of feed, as to the absence of any large' buyers in the market. No commissions are in hand to purchase, extensive mob's to' stick new clearings or hig estates, and in. the aforesaid settler's opinion, the advent of such a social pest or two, with a big capacity for absorbing the young stock reared by the small holders, would be about the best thing that could happen to the district just now, This opinion we observed was generally endorsed by the hearers.

On Tuesday we were very glad to' congratulate Mr George Pearson, of Hamilton, as he alighted from, the train, on his safe return from a- visit to Sydney. At one time it was feared that he was amongst those who unfortunately lost their lives in the late disaster to the Wairarapa, as one bearing the same name appeared in the passenger list. We were informed by Mr Pearson that he had quite intended taking h ; s passage by the ill-fated vessel, but at the last moment he was delayed on some business matters. . Mr Pearson, who took the holiday trip for. the benefit of his health, lias certainly come back looking all the better for his well-earned rost and holiday. Mr J. S. Bond has been re-elected unopposed Mayer uf Cambridge. This will makj-liis third consecutive year of office,' and he should consider himself highly favoured, for none of his predecessors have had such a compliment paid to them. The following was the requisition that was presented to him:—We the undersigned ratepayers of the Borough of Cambridge, being satisfied that during the term of your mayoralty you have been earnest and active in furthering the best interests of the town and have worthly upheld the dignity of the office, hereby request you to allow yourself to be nominated as mayor for the coming year, and in the event of your acceding to our request we will use our best efforts to secure your return. We heartily wish-Mr Bond a successful year of office and feel sure the ratepayers will not regret the choice they have made.