WAIROA.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3113, 20 June 1881, Page 3

WAIROA.

(fhom otjb own cobbespondent). June 18,1881. 5: We have had quite a merry week of it, amusements every n ; gbt, Lieutenant 'Herman at the County Hall, and the first of a series of sacred concerts at St. Andrew's Church. The price of admission to each place of entertainment was the same, viz., one shilling, except .Lieutenant Herman's first performance, - when three shillings and two shillings -;. yrere charged. The ventriloquist business was good, especially tbe singing; the dialogue was now and then a little coarse, otherwise the performance was faultless, and the value of the gifts quite surprising. The sacred concert was a very solemn aff?ir. The opening Hymn, " 0 j Heavenly Father, God of Grace," was composed by Mr Witty, the leader of the eboir, and would have brought down the house but that applause was sternly x aprohibited. A young lady played on the " Kisto" Whustles" in a very talented manner. The sacred concert realised about £5. The weather has been beautiful, fine warm days, but bitterly cold nights. There has been a heavy sea on for tbe last few days, causing our local steamers to be detained in the river a day or two longer than they expected. Builders and contractors are informed by advertisement that tenders will be * received at the Native Office, Napier, for the erection of native school-houses and ■ : ~ teacher's quarters at Ruataniwha and Ramoto. This is about the hundredth time tenders have been called for, and builders are beginning, not without reason, to look upon the whole thing as a farce. Native schools are a waste of '' money. I wish to give publicity to the following idea. There are certain places of refuge on the New Zealand coasts that vessels try to.make for when caught in a storm. Take Long Point for instance. Vessels often run there to shelter from a souther, and on a dark night there is gome difficulty i|_ finding it. Now my idea is, if a funnel shaped horn was placed on the point, with the mouth of the funnel'facing due south, and a sort of whistle placed in the other end, so that whenever a souther blew the horn would commence whistling. I maintain that captains of vessels would then be able to find the point on the darkest night, and the cost of the instrument would be a trifle. Of course the harder the wind blew the louder the horn would sound. As a number of Napier natives kindly come to Wairoa to settle the Opoho dispute, several of our Wairoa chiefs are gone to Napier to try and adjust the Omahu quarrel.