The Daily Telegraph. THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 1883.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3723, 21 June 1883, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. THURSDAY, JUNE 21, 1883.

The meeting that was held at Porangahau on Tuesday showed that the settlers of that district are fully alive to the danger now threatening the pastoral interests of the province. The meeting was composed of persons interested in the prevention of the spread of the rabbit pest from the southern boundary of this provincial di.strict. Those who -were present represented 400,000 sheep, and who would be completely ruined if rabbits once got a firm footing in the country they are now occupying. Not only would "the grand stretch of grazing country, comprising the sheep runs of the larger portion of the Waipawa connty, bo converted into a desert, but it would only be a question of time when the one industry we can boast of in this provincial district would be as completely wiped out as though it had never existed. Tho meeting at Porangahau resolved to do all that can possibly be done to beat back the enemy, the vanguard of which is already at the gates of the province. The first resolution showed that tho settlers were not inclined to wait till tho Government, through its officers, took the matter in hand. They resolved to tax thomselves to the extent if need be of a farthing per head of sheep in order to form a fund for tho destruction of rabbits. The Rabbit Nuisanco Act provides that the unfortunate settler upon whoso runs rabbits are found shall bear the cost of their extirpation. Tho Porangahau settlers very properly regard the pest as a common danger, the riddance of which should be a charge on a common purse. Each one will therefore contribute in proportion to the number of his flock, and thus share in an expense that should certainly never be permitted to fall upon one. A committee has been elected to collect this voluntary tax, and expend the proceeds in any action that may be deemed necessary to protect the district from encroachment by rabbits. It is not, however, intended to confine operations against the pest to within this provincial boundary, but to carry the war into the enemy's country. To this end it tras resolved to request the proprietor of the Akiteo run to allow remedial measures to bo taken on his estate, and the Government have been called upon also to destroy the rabbits on the Crown lande adjoining the boundary. To strengthen the hands of the settlers still more the assistance of. the representatives of tho province has been invoked, and they ai-c to be asked to endeavor to obtain a grant-in-aid as a subsidy to private contributions. We are quite certain that those efforts on the part of the sottlcrs will secure the hearty co-operation of the Sheep and Rabbit Inspector, Mr R. Pasley, who was present at the meeting. No one can be better acquainted than he must _ be with the disastrous results attending supineness on a, matter of this kind, and he knows that it can be but by united exertion and thorough determination to cope with the danger at its earliest stages that the ruin of the country can bo averted. We are glad to see that the meeting further resolved to call a general meeting of the sheepfarmers of the province to be held at Waipawa on July 4. The southern settlers rightly coneider that tho matter they have taken in hand is no local concern, but that it affects the whole of this provincial district, its industry, its exports, its wealth and prosperity.

Mr T. J. Brassey, local manager of too No v Zealand Insurance Company, has been appointed Lloyd's agent for Hawke's Bay. Wo aro requested to remind parents of children that Dr. Oaro is the public vaccinator, and attends afc his residence every Tuesday at 11 a.m. for vaccination purposes. The Masonic fraternity -will notice an advertisement in another column appointing the ordinary annual meeting of Sciudc Lodge, 1.C., to-be held on Monday, 25th instant, St. John's day falling this year on Sunday. The Masonic festival of St. John is to be observed this year by a ball to be held on July 6. Mr F. Sutton, M.H.R., has given notice to ask Ministers when the Te Aute and Kaikora telegraph offices will be open. He has also moved for a return of the number of elections under the Licensing Act contested and uncontested, also of the nunibev of committees nominated • consequent upon no elections haying been held. ;.

In the Eesidont Magistrate's Court this morning , , beforo Edward Lyndon,, Esq., J. P., Patrick Cotter, charged with being drunk yesterday, was fined 5a and costs. As we went to press the news reached us of the death of the Right Rev. John William Colenso, Bishop of Natal. This distinguished scholar and prelate was born in 1814. The deceased gentleman was cousin to Mr W. Colenso, of this town. Mr G. T. Fannin, clerk to the Ilawkc's Bay County Council, has been appointed the receiver of rates for that county, not rate collector, as announced in a morning paper. By a resolution of the Council the ratepayers of the county have now to pay their rates to the county clerk, instead of having them collected as formerly. At the Crown lands sale to-day five sections were sold in the Ruataniwha survey district; two town sections in the Tarawera township, and one suburban section. At the sale of deferred payment lands, one section was sold at Norsewood, one in the Woodvillo district, two at Kumeroa, and one at the Bush Mills settlement. Cr. Ellison was very severe on tho proposal brought up at the Council meeting last night .with respect to tho widening of Emerson-street. Tho sole intention was, ho said, to enhance the value of private properties, and if funds were voted by the Council for any such purpose he would regard it as nothing more nor less than a '"job." The usual weekly meeting of the Napier Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association will be held this evening, when tho programme will comprise a "Night with Scott." There will bo a committee meeting in St. Paul's school-room previous to the ordinary meeting, and the members of the committee are requested to assemble not later than 7.15. In another column is published the programme of the grand ballad concert in aid of the funds of St. John's Church to be given in tho Theatre Royal on Tuesday next, 26th instant. A reference to the names of tho performers, and the piecos that have been selected, will convince anyone that, in point of popularity, a better combination could not be produced in Napier. "We hope and expect that the concert will be a great success. There was a good attendance at the halfyearly meeting (if St. John's Branch, No. 93, H.A.C.8.5., last evening. The principal business was the election of officers for the ensuing term, which resulted as follows: —President, Bro. Francis Mulcou; Vice-President, Bro. Thos. Connor; Secretary, Bro. J. M. St. Clair (re-elected); Treasurer, Bro. T. M. Murphy; Warden, Bro. G. Timblin ; Guardian, Bro. T. Sheehan ; Sink Visitors, Bros. A. Gordon and J. O'Shannassy ; Medical Attendant, Dr F. I. de Li.sle (re-elected). The well-known Paddy Lynch had a narrow escape from being burned to death on Saturday night. It appears that Paddy went to* sleep beside a fire he had kindled on Petanc beach, and his clothes ingnited. When ho woke up his shirts (of which he hsid on three) were almost burnt off him, and a fisherman who happened to bo near at hand had only just time to save tho unfortunate old man from a dreadful death by pushing a boat out from shore a littlo and dropping him into the water. Lynch'p breast, rig-ht side, and back present an. appearance awful to look upon, and his wants at tho present time should certainly be looked after, as the man is not in a fit state to take care of himself. Sir George Grey has given notice of a Bill to repeal tho Imperial Statute, the Constitution Act Amendment Act. This Act repealed the powers of the General Assembly in the following respects : —To alter electoral districts, number of members of the House of Representatives, and other alterations in tho constitution of the House ; to constitute provinces, Sec. The Amendment Act, in lieu of the above, specified powers which it repealed, granted a general power of the General Assembly to vary the tho provisions of the Constitution Act, to alter, suspend, or repeal all or any of the provisions of the said Act, with certain exceptions relating to the Queen's prerogatives. AVhat object Sir George has in his mind to which the repeal of this Act will lead up probably no one knows. Tlie jaws of tho huge shai'k that was caught in the inner harbor a few month since have been scraped and preserved by Captain Quinlan, and are now on view in the window of Mr S. Cam ell, photographer, Shakespeare-road. Notwithstanding that the jaws have shrunk considerably in drying, tho opening of the mouth across gives a measurement of eighteen inches, and from top to bottom sixteen inches when the jaws are extended. It has twenty-four rows of serrated angular shaped teeth in cither jaw, giving a total of nearly three hundred teeth, measuring , from an inch and-a-half downward. A peculiarity about this shark was the shape of its tail, which was almost a perfect crescent, with a flag-like formation on tho top. Several authorities have been consulted, but none of them, so far, are able to classify the monster. To the Editor: Sir, —In reference to hawkers' licenses a laugh was raised in the Borough Council last night on tho Clerk explaining that the legs of mutton hawkers were except from tho payment of a licenso fee on the ground that meat had been declared by a former Resident Magistrate to come under the head of "farm produce." If it is not farm, jiroducc, what is it ? No doubt the town butchers regard it as a hardship that they have to compete against meat hawkers, but they have only themselves to blame. Hawke's Bay meat—live stockcan be exported to Auckland and Dunedin, and after payment of freight and all other expenses can then be sold retail by the butchers at much under Napier prices. It would be a far greater hardship than anything the butchers have to suffer if the poor people of this town were debarred from buying from the hawkers.—l am, &c, Worki ing Man.

The organ recital and sacred concert given at St. Paul's Church last evening was very numerously attended, but as a performance we cannot say it was an iinqualified success. The various solos on the organ were somowhat marred in effect owing to an imperfection still remaining in the instrument of rather an irritating nature. Among the instrumental selections rendered, that of Haydn's Andante, Seventh Symphony, by the conductor Mr H. Aplin, exhibited the capabilities of the organ to tho best advantage, while its sweetness of tone was pleasurably taxed in a most lovely Andante of Lefebure Weby's by Mr J. J. Browne. The choral performances throughout were characterised by remarkable steadiness, notably that of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. Of the many sacred airs Haydn's "With Verdqre Clad " as rendered by Miss Large was certainly the gem of the evening, her tone being singularly pure, and her enunciation perfect. During an interval in the performance the Rev. Mr Cornford addressed the audience in his happiest manner, with an appeal on behalf of the organ improvement fund, which was most liberally responded to during the performance of a very beautiful offertorium contributed by Mr Spackman. [Since writing the above wo loam that the organ is still incomplete, Mr Aplin finding it impossible to have it ready as soon as ho had expected. It is intended to give another recital on completion, which will be in about a fortnight's time.] ~