A LIVELY MEETING.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 82, 15 April 1901, Page 4

A LIVELY MEETING.

ONEHUNGA FRIVOLITY. (Special to Times.) Auckland Saturday. A meeting of ratepayers was called at Onehunga. Nearly an hour after the appointed time elapsed before a chairman was appointed, and then the fun soon began. According to tho Star’s report, Mrs Yates contended that business men should be elected. Even the Town Clerk should be a business man. A voice : Who put him there ? Mrs Yates: The Council. A voice: Who was mayor ? Mrs Yates : I was, and am not ashamed to admit it. The town at that time was, as it is now, in a bad position. A yoice : The town clerk is an honest man. Mrs Yates: Perhaps that is more than you are. (Laughter). Mrs Yates th&n proceeded to quote from the Municipal Corporations Act, interpolating as she went on. She then denounced the action of the Council in not supporting her to wait upon the bank, contending that tho reason was because the Council’s credit was stopped.

A voice : That’s a falsehood. Mrs Yates (surprised): It is not. A voice: A deliberate lie. A Councillor : You speak the truth and you will be listened to. Mrs Yates : You keep your mouth shut and then people won’t know how ignorant you are. (Roars of laughter.) Mrs Yates proceeded to show that a statutory meeting of the Council called for the purpose of signing the burgess roll was not legally constituted, as she had not received a notice to attend. She had not been allowed to take part in that meeting. A Councillor : If you had been at that meeting you would have understood it. Mrs Yates : I am better qualified by both education and business ability to represent the ratepayers than you are. (Loud laughter.) The Chairman here asked the meeting to remember it was a lady who was speaking. Mrs Yates expressed the hope that none of the present Councillors would bo returned. Any change would be for the better. A voice : You included. The Chairman invited further discussion, when Mr J. Nixon mounted the platform, amidst laughter, and proceeded to denounce the Council for putting the cattle off the streets, as he described it, “ in an unprincipled way.” A voice : You’re right, Nixon. Mr Nixon : Your mouth is like a tom pocket. A voice : Speak up plain. Mr Nixon : I could “lift "you pud or the lug if I was near you, (Laughtor,) An uproar thou occurred, and the Chairman called upon the police to do their duty. The men in blue were not, however, required, as Mr Nixon left the platform and resumed his seat in the body of the hall amidst laughter.

The Chairman invited nominations for the Council, only one nomination being made, that of Mr Peter McKenzie. There was no seconder, however, and the Chairman declared the meeting closed.

Two miners named Thomas Matthews and John McFarlane have committed suicide in West Australia. A number of horses in tho Masterton district are suffering from a peculiar cffection of the eyes. Additions costing 1110,000 are to be made to the Adelaide University. The work will be completed within a year. The South Australian Government is considering the advisability of preserving a record of the electors who vote at the first Federal elections.

The people of Balclutha are going in for municipal saleyards, and the Borough Council has set up a committee to inquire and report as to a site.

The overdraft of the Masterton Borough Council is .£2390. The Government Loans to Local Bodies account has a credit of £947 12s 3d, and the drainage a credit of £3050. The total value of metals and minerals exported from South Australia during the year 1900 was £431,289. Copper represented £371,920, silver and lead £17,526, and gold £14,494.

There is to be no alteration in the number of members of the Wellington City Council. Its strength will remain at 12, as before the abolition of the wards.

It is understood (says the Christchurch Press) that 15 of the police force, under a sergeant, from each centre will accompany the Koyal visitors from Auckland to Dunedin.

The average price paid by the Government for horses for the South Africa Contingent in the Wairarapa district was about £l6 10s. It is estimated that in the purchase of horses and chaff the Government spent £IO,OOO in the Wairarapa. The Coningbam divorce ease must have cost a pretty penny. Towards the close of the second case the jury were being paid at the rate of £1 per day. It is also said that Mr Want’s (counsel for Dr. O'Haran) daily refresher was 75 guineas. Tramways have eome so generally into use during recent years that very few persons can possess an adequate idea of their magnitude. But judging from the largest returns issued by the Board of Trade, the authorised capital of companies in the United Kingdom amounts to more than £31,000,000, of which about two-thirds hadbeen expended by the middle of last year. The largest outlay, of course, was necessitated by the construction of lines which cost nearly £18,000,000 , hut, in addition, £996,000 was spent on horses. £314,000 on locomotive engines, and a million and a-quarter on cars. With respect to the length of rails available for traffic, it may be added that 1177 miles had been completed—double and single lines services being about equal in extent. Turning to the results achieved, the figures deal only with the year ended June 30th last. From these

it appears that the gross receipts were only a little short of five and a-half million pounds, of which the cost of working absorbed £4,075,000, or a profit of £1,370,000. There were more than a thousand million passengers carried during the year, and the distance traversed during the twelve months by the cars was 108,000,000 miles. When it is added that only 6410 cars were employed in this work, and that 37,400 horses and 558 engines were required to supply the motive power, a fairly good idea may be formed as to the frequency with which the-various routes were traversed.