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Manawatu Herald, Volume i, Issue 52, 25 February 1879, Page 2

Railway Oeficials ax Foxton. — We hear on very good authority that the recont resignation of Mr I*. Gibson, from the position of wharfinger, will open the way to important changes in the .Railway Department at this end of the line. It is felt desirable to have an official resident «t Foxton who would combine in himself iho duties of both wharfinger and stationmaster, and we understand Mr 0. Batt has been selected for the position ; ho will ac* cordingly assume the dual position in a short tiir c. There can be no doubt that power should centre somewhere, ns a plurality of officers of equal standing in a {>lace tends to a division, and consequent oss, of aiithorlty, Mr Batt is a most suitable man for the position. As guard he has gained the esteem of all who know!

him b}' his ooiii'tosy, scrupulous oare, and thorough method of doing his work ; heknows tl.c " ins and outs " of the line, an 1 of tho traffic ; whilst, his Ipiuthy esttfcivhtg experience waHeiva-liie him &oil to ]}erfovi\\ life duties of wharfinger. Wo "congratulate Mr Batt nponvhis well-earned promotion in tho service, and the district upon sd competent a gentleman being appointed to fili the imp.orfc.mt position, he will occug? at tliisirid ol tlie Jifle. . \V*lUlat *mtin,g on this subject;, *j fec'i it is duo to Mr Ro^herhani, * v view of our loading article xasfc Friday, to say that gentleman informs us that in his -written resignation Sir Gibson did not give as his reason that sufficient labor was not allowed upon the •wharf, but stated that his action was the result of another matter altogetHer;

Pat.meubton; C&v&t.— lstr FoMter' k Tfrlld has for some niontlis past, acted as Assistant Clerk of the Court at Foxton, has been appointed Clerk of the Court at Palmerston in the District of Manawatu, and Clerk of the Court at Feilding, in tjie DistWct of Wanganui,and Clerk of the Licensing Court in the Distriot of Palmerston ; the appointments to date from the 18th February, 1879. It will be seen from the above, that the Government have at lasfc recognised the necessity of the Upper District being more fully supplied ( wUI'- legal iria* chinery.., Tb<s . flpiiOiriTHient 6i a Resident Clerk will loilbtless give satisfaction to the settlers -of Palmerston. ■ The difficulties we pointed out some time ago in tho wuy of ai Assistant Ok-rk residing at Palmerston have been obviated by tho division of the District, and Mr Forsftir'e ap^tfititnieiit as Clerk ,bf the netf ode,- Ciir vieU'3 of the desirability of Mr Baker remaining here owing to his duties as Native Officer a<o also borne out, as that gentleman will continue Clerk of the Court at Foxton. No doubt Mr Baker will bo glad to have the question his i«ture place of abodo decided, aa the matter lias for some time past been in a state of uncertainty. The appointment will be an honourable promotion for. Mf Forster, aud will meet the requirements of the Upper 73istrici ; whilst Mr Baker's friends will be pleased to hear he is to remain in Foxton, at any rate for the present*

TELEflrtAtfitrc.— The Eton. Me Fish" or and Dr Lemon returned to FoAldu fi'oin Woodvillo via Pulaiorston on Thursday evening last, and proceeded to Wellington on horseback <ho following morning. Tho liua to Woodville is to be sd irtod ab pace. Messrs Freeman an l Wyldsj of the Kairakau Mills, Oro'ua, avo tho successful tenderers for the supply of thut portion of the line between Palmerston and Woodville. It i-4 probable that ultimately the wire to Palmeraton from Woodville Will be extended to Foxton, being fixed upon the poles now erected.

MoaEE.vGWE Power. — Wo understand in a letter recently received by Mr Rothcrnm from Mr Lawaoh, Commissioner of North Island Railways, that gentleman rogrcis hia inability to fulfil the promiso he gave When Visiting Foitou, of more engine power for the Wtlll'jauui lino. It will hs rcmembored that n p hen tho Commissioner visited Foxton in December, he promised the deputation which waited upon him that so soon as the Reclamation Contract was completed at Wellington, the F;drlie engine used by the contractor would be transferred to Manawatu. Directly the engine was free, however, Mr Ashci-oft, manager of the Feather3fcon Railway, " collared " it, and the claims of that line wero so pirofuing that Mr Lawson wa? compelled to postpone tho fulfilment of his promise. We believe, however, that an engine ia about to bb removed from Napier to Wellington. Tenders have already be^n called for the carriage of it, and immediately npon its arrival at the Empire City, the Fuirli j will be relieved from duty and forwarded to Ifoxton. Mr Rotheram informs us, that it will probably take several weeks to relit and place it in thorough working order. Our readers will sea that no blame cau be attached to either Mr Law.son or Mr Itotheram for the delay whioh has taken place in obtaining increased inolive power upon our line. The above information was received by us on Thursday evening, but too late for Friday's issue.

Additions to Bank op N t j!w Zealaxd.— The additions to the building- of the Bank of New Zealand at Foxtou have been completed, and on Saturday las'- the books, &c, were,^transferred to trie new office. Tho addition has been placed on to the north part of tho old building, and in the front is in perfect harmony >vith the latter. Tho old office and manager's roD:n ara iv future to bo utilised in giving increased and muchneeded living accommodation. The total frontage now occupiedby the Bank premises is 50 feet, the whole being surmounted by a board upon which the name of the Bank is intended to" be painted. Entering the large folding doors which open on the Mainstreet, and upon which tha name of the Bank is inscribed in brass, we pass through the porch, and opening a very handsome pair of plato glass folding doors, we enter the office. The attention is at once attracted by the beautiful lining of the whole building, the polished rimu panelling; of walls and ceiling being of the most handsome description. We have never seen New Zealand woods shown to better advantage. The newjofllce is much more commodious than that formerly used, being 23ft x 2lft, and 12ft high. The counter is admirably finished. The " face " contiins no less than seven different kinds of New Zealand wood, the various colors blending perfectly, whilst tho centre-piece of " totara knot " is very handsome. A clerk's desk is fitted up at each end of tho counter, a bannister-railing being fixed on the top. The manager's room is immediately behind the office, and is 1 oft square, and equal in height to tho office, bfiing finished off in tho same style. Tho whole of the work has been carried out in a most satisfactory manner by Mr A. Jonson, the contractor. Tho plans were proparod by Messrs Thynno, Linton & Co, and Air J W Liddoll superintended the work during its erection.

Cattle.— On Saturday last, a large mob of cattle, numbering 200 head, was driven through Foxton, on route for Wellingtou. They were in charge of Air Urokev. TaiTjOii. —In our advertising columns, Mr Robert Flood announces that he has started, business iv Foxton ia the above line. Motoa Estate. — Messrs Thynue, Linton & Co., nre offeriug for sale by private treaty, the .Motoa Estuto (MvLarkworthy's) of 8,000 acres. A Fine Tjsxob Voice.— Whilo Bellwood's case was being tried atjthe Court on Friday, he remarked to his Worship that he could produce testimonials aa to character for the past 18 yoava. His swag was <»t once brought into Court, and he proceeded to open ifcout.displaying to onlookers, amongst other tilings a number of brashes for house daubing, which appeared to be his trade. The testimonials wore a^ length found, and Humphandy handed tp his Worship, who road them out for the edification of tha audience. They wore mostly from clergymen, and . from listening to them one concludod that Mr liellwood either is, or had been, a very pious youth. Ono testimonial caused rather a " load smile" in Court. It stated that the bearer " had been for 9 years a member of a Church Choir ; that he possessed a very fine tenor voice, and that he

would bo an aequi-ution to any Church Choir."- It is needless to, acLl, that such a reoqnitn,endiitnri nuist lla^o weighed p'owori fdllj- vritii liis Worship iv procuring an acquittal. It would have been a dreadful pity to see a young man with a fino tenor voica wasting his sweetness upon an audionne of gaol-birds.

C16.5T o£ &5.X&65 Ralmvav.— |We understand Mr liayns has completed his estimate 6i the cost of the Sandon railway, and calculates from tho data furnishe-l, that the whole work, including sidings; &c., can be carried out for £21$ J0; including £I,dOO for 6ontln*ericie3. Wo believe that in the above estimate Mr Hayns reckons up"on ballasting with sand Should gravel be ii3ed, the cost of bourse be greater. In his estimate of ttie Cp^t, Mi? oartdn calculated it at a iittle under £25,000. The difference in the estimated cost can, howover, bo accounted for *>y the fact that while Mr Barton calculated, upon the rails costing £10 per tori, Mr Hayns. -was authorised td tias^J His estimate Upon £1 per ton. It is satisfactory to know that the estimates by two gentlemen thoroughly competent to express an opinion, thus substantially agree.

Eoxton-OtAki Road. — The surveyor is rapidly pushing dn witlt the, \rork upon the iiilaiid rdad. \Ve Unaat'Stdud lie has reached as far riorth as Waikawa. He is at present engaged in laying off the line, about 1^ miles in length, from the township to the road. Tho fivsjt part of the road passes through rather broken country ; tho re« raainder is level.

Tub Hydiutud. — The cable \)s whl.'h the big shix) was held to the anchor having been drojjpsd, she is gradually drif ting in further. Burin"- the past day or two, she has come in about 200 f eefc; It is intended to let her woi'k ill as far as possible, to ex' pedit9 tie discharge of the remainder of the cargo, and to enable causo of the leak 1 age to bo clearly ascertained Tho water is making at tne rate of about 12 inches per day. A new donkey engine and centrifugal pn:np will arrive p: j r Jans Douglas, and when operations are started with them it is e.tpecte.l tho ship will be pumped oub in about 30 liourdi She is lyin^ out thrae points seaward, and is said to bo in a satis' factory position for a' further attempt at launching.

Saxdon 1 Railway Committee. — At a meeting of th.3 Sandoa Railway Committee held last weeit, the plans and books of refarence required by the Act, wero compared, and partly gone through. A further meeting was to be held last night, when the investigation would be completed. It was decided at last week's meeting, that if tho estimate by Air H lyns agreed with that by Mr Barton, the vo'e of the ratepayers should be taken at once/

Foxrox H.unnit Doakd. — A meeting of the Foxton Harbor Board was hold on Friday last. Mr Gray was re-appointed Chair; uiau. It was resolved to ask ths G-ov.ern-ment upon what terms they would hand over tho wharf to the Bo?rd. As we ware nut informed of tho meeting, no representative of this paper w.is present, an 1 we are unablo to give any further report of the proceedings.

Resigned. — Wo hear Constable Cootes, of Otaki, has resigned from the force, but that the authorities decline to accept the resignation for three mouths. The reason probably is, the difficulty in finding a suitable successor acquainted ■with the Maori language.

To Resios.— The Advocate states that both Messrs Dahymple and Duthio intend to resign from ;he Education Board so soon as the yearly account, of the Board's stewardship shall hava beou prepared aad sub* mitled.

OniTUAHY. — Two more old colonists have passed away. On Friday last Mr Kebbell, of Wellington, was found deal ; the de* ceased gentleman -was 08 years of age, and had boen ia New Zaalana 33 ye.iiy. Mr William Lyoa, also of Wellin ; ton, died on Saturday, llecaueont in 18iO.

Wellington Athenaeum. — Tho subscribers to tho Wellington Athenaeum have decided by a large majority to open that institution every Sunday afternoon for several hours. The v en. Archdeacon Stock and tho Key. James Puterson strougly urged what is called tho " religious objection," saying it would necessitate people working on Sunday, but a witty member of the .institute replied they could obviate that by hiring a Jewish boy to attend, tho members of thut persuasion having thoir Sabbath the day before, and thus being open to perform any such duties on Sunday. This sully of wit provoked considerable merriment.

It is generally admitted by everybody who has visited Jacobs' Athenreum Bazaar that it is the only shop in Wellington that contains a good and complete assortment of Fancy Goods and Jewellery suitable for Presents, Birthday Gifts, or Wedding Presents. Parties requiriug any of the above articles will save themselves a lot of trouble by calling and inspecting the immense assortment, which is too gigantic to particuarise by advertisement. — [Advt. ]