WAIPAWA.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3148, 30 July 1881, Page 3

WAIPAWA.

T(rROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) July 28, 1881. Waipawa has again assumed Its Quiet aspectj probably owing to the bad state of the which still continues, Or ttiorfe pf'dbably the proverbial calm that precedes a storm, for the coming Road Board meeting has put every one on the gui vive, as things are expected to be pretty tropical. One prominent member of the Board has even gone so far as to make anxious enquirifs for boxing gloves, the said gloves to be donned by the chairfyah and a well known ratepayer. As lh£y are such valuable members of society, it would be a great public loss if either of them were indisposed for even a short period. But let us hope all these surmises of any disagreement being settled in John Bull fashion may turn out surmises only, and if there is to be war, let it be with that two-edged sword, the tongue. I know one who will be present can be quite harrowing enough with that member to please the mqst fastidious listener; " Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Nothing haa been done to Waverlystreet since writing my last, either by contractor or Road Board, and as every day sees the cutting more and more filled up by the frequent slips the position of all concerned is getting daily more serious. Iα the early part of the week the Moore of Waipawa (no connection with the immortal bard's Moor) had a most eulogistic effusion, evidently compiled by &n ardent follower Of Euterpe, pasted to shop window, setting forth in very language the general occupation, u£, the Professor, and he not appropriating this little joke, is now advertising a reward of £5 to any one who will give imformation that will lead "to the conviction of the offenders. lam afraid he will find that this is not the last act in the comedy, as he has not made himself many more friends by his eccentric way of hinting to his debtors to call and pay their accounts. As a proof of the success of what Mr Speight would style " ecclesiastical swindling," I might inform you tbat at the recent bazaar in aid of our Episco* palian Church the net proceeds were only £103 9a 9d. Seeing this I think ft would be a great pity to do away with such a lucrative and easy way of procuring the (as the Yankees would say) " Almighty Dollar." Apropos of the election of the new Road Board ratepayers ought to be warned against seeking for correct information re the Highways Act, 1871, in the Hawke's Bay Almanac, for publishing there is no use that I can see but to mislead the readers. The compilers must surely have known that the greater part of the above Act was amended by the Public Works Act, 1876, and should therefore have supplied both, or if only one—the latter. I hope those who have been in the habit of taking advice from this source will take this hint,.as it has already been the cause of considerable disagreement in more than one district. I see by advertisement that there is to be a pigeon match on Saturday at Onga Onga. As I intend to be present r~~ (weather permitting) you will have full particulars in my next.

July 29, 1881. The long looked forward to Road Board meeting came off to-night, and was, to use a sporting phrase, a grand " boil over." Mr Guy was voted to the chair, about seventy ratepayers being present, and also a goodly muster of the " curious." The chairman read the minutes of last general meeting, and the balance-sheet, which showed the receipts to be £249 18s 6d and the expenditure £228 14s 3d, leaving a balance in the bank of £21 4s 3d. On the motion of Mr Rathbone, seconded by Mr B. Waldrom, the accounts were passed as read. Of course, before this was accomplished, any amount of arguing took place, the majority of it being more personal than polite, one gentleman letting out with fifteen horse-power Btrength a naughty word commencing with a big D. Bat I must say the chairman managed the " maddening crowd" with great tact, and as soon as order was restored Mr B. B. Johnson proposed that the old Board, consisting of the following:—Messrs Robb, McGreevy, Collett, MacDougall, and Phillips, be again elected. This was seconded by Mr M. Flinn. Five other gentlemen, Messrs Eathbone, Bibby, Potts, Harwood, and Arrow, were then proposed by different ratepayers, and on a ballot being taken (the Rev. J. 0. Eccles and Mr J. M. Fraser acting as scrutineers), greatly to the surprise of everyone, the Board had the highest number of votes, and were duly announced as elected by the chairman. Among the proxies handed in were two signed by the same person, but in favor of different ratepayers, but the chairman ruled that neither ot them could be accepted. Messrs Johnson and Brown were elected auditors for the ensuing year. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the chairman and the scrutineers. At a subsequent meeting of the newly-elected Board Mr Phillips was elected chairman, and Mr Cowper clerk.