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Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 219, 23 August 1878, Page 2

The Akaroa and Wainui Road Board held their first meeting on Saturday last) 17th inst., in their new office at the Head of the Bay. The new office is a fine large room 22 feet x 15 feet, well lighted and ventilated, and stands on the rising ground where the the Little Akaloa road branches off at the Head of the Bay. The office has been fitted up with every convenience for conducting the business of the Board and besides a Milner's fire-proof safe of large dimensions, a fire-proof receptacle has been erected for the purpose of containing the plans, maps, and other valuable documents belonging to the Board, The building externally possesses no architectural attractions, but rather the reverse; internally it is lined with rimu, which has been stained and varnished, giving a pleasing and comfortable appearance to the room. It is rumored in this Bay (Little Akaloa) that Mr M'Lean will in about a fortnight cease to run his steamer between Lyttelton and this Bay on account of a subsidy of £100 not being paid by the Government. A petition is being numerously signed' for its continuance. " Paddy Murphy " in the Saturday Advertiser thus characteristicall}'' criticizes the new tax on beer. The " thrifie "in question was supposed to have been sung at a festive gathering of the Cabinet and their chum :—" Afther Misther Stout finished the Chant, the boys would have me up for a song, so I gave thim the followin' ixtimporary thrifie, to that dear old tchune, ' The Warm' o' the Green " — TAXIN' 0' THE BEER. Arrah, darlints, dear, just lind an ear, I'll tell ye somethin. new, 'Twixt you an' me, the Min-is-three A ruction soon will brew. Faix I'll go bail, the poor man's ale In future will be queer ,* They'll spile the broth, an' give us froth, A taxin' o' the Beer. I met wid Misther Ballance, an' He tuk me be the hand, Says he, ' Come Pat an' have a chat, A pint or two I'll stand.' ' Ye varmint low,' ses I, ' Ye know Ye've made the liquor dear ; It's casks an' kegs o' washy dhregs, We'll get instead o' Beer.' Thin if the she-oak we recaive, Be nothin' else than swill, Wid pint or jug I'll smash his mug, An' break his ugly bill. We crossed the say, from milk an' tay, To take our tankards here, The dirty lot may go to pot, A taxin o' the Beer." The pages of Hansard do not constitute what may be termed light reading. It is, however, part of the duty of a journalist to make himself acquainted with the sayings and doings of our legislators that he may be able to give an intelligent opinion upon questions and men of the day. Occasionally his virtue is rewardod by a tit-bit such as the following, which deserves the wider publicity which can be given it in the colnmns of the Mail :—On a motion for a return of the number and value of re_e*rves held by local bodies, Sir R. Douglas said he knew of a Council Avhich absolutely had not sufficient laud to put a wheelbarrow on! The worst feature of the case appeared to be that they had a wheelbarrow, but having no land to put it on, they had to move it backwards and forwards to the homes of the Councillors! Happy Akaroa! if its Council is not overburdened with land, at any rate they have not got a wheelbarrow. Some amusement was also created by the Rev. Mr Wallis gravely asking whether it was lawful for a man to sell his wife, and to what extent he couid beat her in moderation or imprison her wiihout breaV'ug the law. The only bit of banter in Mr Sheehan's answer was in his presuming that the honorable member did not require the information for hits own guidance His answer, of course, was what any tolerably informed man would already he aware was the state of. the law..

On account of press of matter our report of the proceedings of the Akaroa and Wainui Road Board is again unavoidably held over to our next issue. An accident which might have had a serious result, but, /fortunately, /svas attended by only a '" "f"»vere occurred on the evening/ pf the 19th instant, to Mrs Checkley. ,_t appears' that when riding past the bsiderlce of Mr Justin - Aylmer,. a, litthi s dog a suddenly ' rushed out, startling thehorse, and causing it to swerve aside thereby throwing Mrs Checkley to the ground.. The unfortunate lady was Conveyed ihtdllr Aylmer's house where every attention was- paid her, and on recovering somewhat from the fall she continued her journey towards her own home. We are glad to be. able to -state that nothing serious resulted, but this should be a warning to owners of small dogs with proclivities for horseflesh to endeavour to restrain that propensity. A proposition has been brought before the Christchurch City Council to lease a portion of Hagley Park. It was urged in its favor that the funds derived by this means would enable the remainder of the park to be beautified. The mover drew a glowing picture of a future " Rotton Row and " Ladies' Mile," but the majority of the Council were obdurate, and considered that the park should be preserved entire as an heirloom for posterity.

The important township of Swinton has recently been created a borough, and on the occasion of the first Mayoral election, tho most intense excitement prevailed. There "were two candidates in the field— Groggins and Mildman. The former, who is of a rakish disposition, was supported by the free-living and easy-going liberals of Swinton, whilst the latter, who is tbe teafight lion of the place, relied on the religious portion of the community for sup port. Tho contest was keen, and Grogging defeated his opponent by a small majority. The vanquished candidate, unlike many defeated men that we meet with in the colonies, did not fly in a passion and abuse the but putting on his most resigned look, and turning his eyes heaven, ward, he exclaimed, as he stood before the assembled throng that surrounded the hustings;— "< The good Book tells us, my friends, to bless those that curse us, and pray for those that despitefully use us, and I now offer my sincere and heartfelt prayer for the forgiveness of mine enemy who has defeated me on this occasion. I bear him no malice, and I trust that the sins of himself and his supporters may not light upon their heads, and their children and children's heads even to the third and fourth generation, for his and their conduct toward, me in thia contest." This prayer v-yyas <uttered with the" utmost solemnity, and some of the assembled electors, evidently his own supporters failing to perceive the absurdity of the position, uttered a fervent " Amen," whilst Groggins' men roared with delight as the forgiving Mildman, casting a pitying look on the multitude, descended from the elevation. Tacitus tells us that "It is the nßture cf the human disposition to hate him whom you have injured," but Groggins does not appear to be a man of that sort, for after listening to his defeated opponent's homily, he turned towards him, with a good-natured smile, exclaiming— " Never mind, old man, better luck next time. Come over to the corner and wet your whistle." But Mildman refused the polite invitation.—" Frank Fudge," in the Saturday Advertiser.

The Wellington correspondent of. the Lyttelton Times says "It has now been definitely resolved on that the members of both Houses will leave Wellington for Christchurch by steamer to be present at the railway opening on the evening of Friday, Sept. 6, returning so as to resume parliamentary duties on Tuesday, Sept. 10, They will thus miss four working days, and will have the advantage of seeiDg a country, and cities and boroughs that will be new to not a few. This is the programme as at present arranged. Some members, however, would like to see the work all hastened on with proper speed, and the opening of the line delayed for another fortnight, so that by diligence the session could be brought to an end, and then the pleasure trip and railway celebration may be enjoyed with the gusto of schoolboys whose work is done, and whose long vacation has arrived. Of course, Ministers would like this, and such inconsiderable and merely formal trifles as the Estimates being rapidly passed they would be ready at a word to prorogue Parliament. Weil, few will regret tho day when prorogation occurs, for a " deader" parliament season I have never seen during the experience of some twelve sessions. It is no easy matter to find a solitary paper that will prove of interest to the reader, and the mind almost seoms to reflect the general deadness of the political atmosphere." By our Court report it will be seen that an unfortunate individual named Philip Spolayne has bean arrested, and ordered to Suimyside Asylum, as being of unsound mind. One peculiar hallucination the poor man suffers from is that he has the power by stamping his foot to cause anyone he wishes to " bust " into fragments, literally blow them' up. It is an unpleasant idea, but we have known excited fair ones who always stamped their feet when they cither wanted to, or did, blow any one up.

We aro glad to be able to state that the Dinner Committee have arranged with Mrs E. Brotyn, to undertake the catering for the evening, and... we are certain it could not be left in. better hands. This important matter being" settled it only remains for the district to give their cordial support to what. is at the least a graceful compliment to those who have done them service. In another column appears a report of a meeting of ratepayers 4t Little River, at which, it will be .seen,'"it was resolved to petition the County Council to divide that district into: three ridings instead of ohe as at present, by which it is thought the district will be more adequately represented. The proposed boundaries of these ridings are also stated in the event of the County Council granting the request.