The Waikato Times. THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE, AND KAWHIA ADVOCATE. Established Thirty-Four Years. THE OLDEST DAILY NEWSPAPER IN THE WAIKATO. THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY DAILY PAPER SOUTH OF AUCKLAND. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1906. THE TRANSVAAL RAID.

Waikato Times, Volume LVII, Issue 8059, 17 November 1906, Page 2

The Waikato Times. THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE, AND KAWHIA ADVOCATE. Established Thirty-Four Years. THE OLDEST DAILY NEWSPAPER IN THE WAIKATO. THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY DAILY PAPER SOUTH OF AUCKLAND. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1906. THE TRANSVAAL RAID.

li is very cheering to observe that while a reckless adventurer is endeavouring to precipitate hostilities once more between Ihiton and Boer, the most prominent Boers in South Africa are urging their fellow countrymen to remain loyal to liritish rule, and assist in the apprehension of the disturber, and the breaking up of the baud of desperadoes with which hu has surrounded himself. This, so encouraging to us and to al| who desire to see the peaceful settle, ment of South Africa proceed mi. checked by such irresponsible outbuists, should be equally discomfiting to Ferriera and his followers. Their prophecy that the Boeie would rush to arms and join in the insurrection has proved a piece of impudent bluster, and were Ferriera anything but what he hag shown himself to be—an unscrupulous notoriety hunter —he would before this havts realised how much opposed to the desires of the Boers his movementjwas, and|have relinquished it. Still, it is of the first importance that the raid should be suppressed by the most vigorous measures, anil a recurrence of it prevented, ms far as human foresight can prevent such movements. While a country u recovering from the effects of a devastating war, there will always be found adventurers willing to take advantage of the unsettled conditions, and there will always lie found a section of the community ready to support them in the most desperate enterprises. Though these may be of little consequence in ihfcjj;selves, they cannot but have a most disquieting effect on the population. Those best able to judge prophesied the speedy termination ;.<(' the raid, yet despite the efforts of tlie police -and it was held to he a matter for the police to deal with—Ferreira and liis band have been terrorising peaceful farmers for more than a week, and his capture and punishment seem to be no further advanced, lie has been engaged at close quarters, and after the exchange of a" few .shots, the officer in charge of the police was seized, most unfortunately, by illness, and was compelled to retire. Hut for this unhappy contingency Ferreira would no doubt have been in ;-.tle custody at the present moment, and liu followers also captured or effectually dispeiisod. Jf is difficult to foretell what disasiroipe consequences this initial failure of tiic police may entail ; it. has already permitted the wilful murder in cold blood of one tanner who refused to join the i aiders and no one knows how many mo*e v,ilj nay for their loyalty to British rule .their lives. Inspector White has now been i superseded at Islington, presumably by an officer who will not 1,,- liable to selzviJ/L's of laintness at such critical morueufs. Mid if the police are fortunate enough to come up with the raider- shortly, we luiiy expc-t't a very different result to thai of t he last fiasco. I But until Ferreira aad his chief supporters have been captured and dealt!

with it. is beyond us to contemplate his proceedings with equanimity'. So fiir from being merely a police matter, it seems that the speedy suppression of the raid demands that the forces which can bo mure speedily mobilised should bo placed in the j Held to limit down r'erriera and bring him promptly to justice. MUD. 1 1' may not be inappropriate al this i time to draw the attention of the ' City fathers (if there be any necessity to do so) to the desirableness of providing ;l f ew crossings over the sea of mud that in wet weather separates the sides of Victoria-street. During the last few days of heavy rain we have had splendid opportunities of seeing what the main street of the town, in its present state, can produce in the way of mud. Indeed, its capabilities in that direction have been impressed upon us to an unpleasant extent. At the present time the evil is aggravated by the recent disturbance of flic surface of the street entailed in the laying of the sewerage mains. Until this work ' is completed of course it is useless to embark upon extensive street improvements, but surely in wet i weather it would not be too much for the Borough Council to detail a ' member of its labour gang to keep crossings at a few of the more im- I portant points reasonably clear of mud. There is a fair volume of wheeled tratlic on Victoria-street, i and it daily increases the depth of '• mire, so that if Hamilton were ' visited by weather of unusual | severity residents would soon be re- t duced to the necessity of transacting i their business on stilts. It would ' add very greatly to the comfort of the , public if some such temporary expedient as we have suggested were ' resorted to. pending the undertaking of the permanent improvements the Borough Council has in contemplation, i