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Manawatu Herald, Volume I, Issue 57, 14 March 1879, Page 2

San Fbaxcisco Mail.— Tho City of New York with the San Francisco Mail on bottt'd, arrived at .Auckland festerdajr. She is a d»y behind time, having left San Francisco a day late. The mails may bo expected to reach Foxton by Monday's coach. An interesting summary of home news, telegraphed by the Pi ess Agenoy, will bo found in another column i

AcciDEX'r- Ait accident, which was nearly attended with fatal conseajiienceSj occurred on the Railway line yesterdoy morning. I'lie pattimiiara as supplied to its nre as foU lows ; — The morning train, which left Foxton at five minutes to 6, hnd proceeded safely as far as li miles on the southern side of Halcombe, when just as the engine (to which 13 pieces of rolling stock were attached.) was descending an incline of 1 iv 60, a trolly was observed on the Hue ahead. Three men Were at the time pushing the trolly along, and ifc is stlppoded tljttfc tilenoise made by the trolly on the rails pre~ vented tho men trom hearitig the approach of the train. The driver of the train seeing tho danger blew the whistle, and endeavored to stop the train, immediately applying the brakes, but could not succeed in either pulling up the train owing to the incline, or in warning the men of their danget. Fort'i* nAtely jUSt when the train was wituin two or three feet of the trolly the men bpcame aware of the approach of the train, and sprang on one side as the cowcatcher struck the trolly just where, an instant before, the men had been pushing. The trolly, as may be imagined Was knocked about very much ; as was also the cowcatcher, and the front of tho engine was spa tercd with the hallast. lleyond this no other damage was done. The accident occurred at tho foot of the incline, just as the trolly was on the biidge. The escape of the men was a most marvellous one. No blame whatever was attachable to the men in charge of the up train.

Parliamentary Papers. — Wo have to acknowledge the receipt of a large batch of the above from the crovernment Printer.

P.S. Ospbey. — This steamer has put into Porirua Bay on account of some trifling derangement to her machinery. She may be expected to arrive at any moment.

Fbeioht. — The owners of the s.s. Tui have obtained,' the contract fov conveying 700 tons railway iron from Wellington to Foxton.

County Council.-— The usual monthly meeting of (he above body ought, in the ordinary course of events, to have been held on Wednesday last. At the hour ap* pointed for meeting, however, only Councillors iVfacarthur, Halcombe, Linton, and Kebbell, put in an appearance. The reporters of course were there, and filled up the time by taking notes After waiting the prescribed half an hour for a quorum, Mr Macarthur declared the Council adjourned till Friday, 21st inst. The absent Councillors were Messrs Sanson and Rockstrow, engaged on the Licensing Bench ; Messrs Gower and Carr, not in town ; and Mr Loudon, who arrived by the coach in the afternoon from Wellington. Immediately after the Council had oeen adjourned Messrs Sanson and Roukstrow appeared on the pcene,their duties at the Licena sing Court having concluded, but it was too late then to begin the sitting. We have an idea that this adjournment suited honorable Councillors very well, as the upper district members wished to getaway by the afternoon train.

Kolling Stock. — We believe that a contract for the construction of 150 railway waggouß for use on the Wanganui-.Foxton line has been taken, and is shortly to be commenced at Foxton. The contractors, Messrs Campbell Bros, prefer to have Foxton Mas the depot for building, owing to the greater facilities offered. The waggons will comprise all sorts — high-side, low-sidb, covered vans, &c. The timber to be used in the construction of the above rolling stock will come from Auckland, and the iron-work from England. This contract is part of the tender secured by Messrs Guthrie and Larnach some time ago.

The Manawatu River. — Captain Abram, of the schooner Laurel, which arrived from Greymouth on Tuesday last, expresses himself in thn highest terms of the Manawatu Kiver. This is the first trip he has made to this port, and with a large colonial experience, he has no hesitation in saying this is the best bar harbour he has visited. Had he met with the same mishap crossing some of the bar 9 that he did at the Manawatu on Tuesday last, the result would have been very much different.

Foot Back.— The race between Delaney and Henderson came cff on Saturday after* noon, at half-past four, on the Ximbolton Road, Feilding. The 300 yard's race was the first event, and was a gift to Delaney. At fire o'clock the runners came to the scratch for the second event, when it was decided to run the 100 yards. Henderson was the favourite for this race, but though he is a very good man he was not trained enough to t.ike the race. It was a very good race from start to finish, Delaney only winning by about a foot. This deided the match in favour of Delauey.

Picnic Party.— The picnic party that recently visited Kapiti, was brought buck to Foxton by the Jane Douglas on Tuesday last. They have had a capital time of it on the island, and have caught a great deal of fish, besides having sport in various other ways. The weather has been very fine for the excursionists, and altogether they have had a very pleasant time of it.

Motoa School. — The children's fete in connection with the above school, took place on Monday afternoon, having been postponed from Friday in consequence of the inclement state of the weather, and was carried through with great success. Nearly all the children throughout the district were present, their parents also being well represented. After the .young ones had partaken of tea, various games were introduced. Great credit is due to the following ladies who kindly supplied tables : — Mdraes. Hodder, Carter, Saunders, and Edwards, assisted by Miss Grace and Mrs Lebhouse. Early in the evening the tables were removed and dancing commenced, which was kept up with great spirit until nearly daylight. A large number of ladies and gentlemen from Foxton being present added no doubt to the success which attended the meeting. The parents of the children attending the above school speak in very high terms of Miss Grace's qualifications as a teacher, and hope that she may long retain her present appointment. Valuation List.— As will be seen by oat report of the proceedings at the Assessment

Court yesterday, the Hesitant Maglntratfi qiißhed the valuation list of the Foxton Local Board, on the ground that no valuation had been made by the Act, inasmuch as no declaration was made by the valuer prior to commencing the .work. Mr Ward theti rc-dp^oititda Mr Mdiriet td act n» valuer, giving him three weeks to make a fresh list. Other particulars in reference to this matter will be found in our adver* tißing columns. We trust this matter will be completed satisfactorily this time.

Tiib Fatal Collision. — It will be seen by Out 1 teldgl'dttis that it fatal collision Ims occurred on the New South. Wales Coast, between the steamers Barrabool and Bonnie Dundee, by which the latter vessel sunk in four minutes, and six people were drowned. I'hd telegr'atiis are 1 df tioiifae' very meagre, so we will have to wait for further particulars ; but considering that the collision occurred on a bright moonlight night, it would appear that awful carelessness roust have existed somewhere. The Barrabool is ft Vci'jr large stsatn collier) carrying about 1200 (0113 coal, trading between jfewcastle and other Australian ports, and is the same vessel that some eighteen months ago c.ime into 1 cdlliaietn with tho Torres Strait mail steamer Norm.inby, wliidh i'ds'tllted in the sinking of the latter vessel some short time after the accident. On that occasion the Barrabool was very much damaged. From what we can gather, tho Barrabool at the lime of the accident, was on her way from Newcastle to Sydnej , probably deeply lndea, and the Bonnie Dundee, in crossing her bows, met with lier fute, possibly through miscalculating her distance. The Bonnie Dundee must be a comparatively new trader on the Australian Coast. Full particulars of this lamentable uffuir will be looked forward to with much interest.

" Sold Again." — For the convenience of pai»«!engers wishing to be present at the Wanganui Races, the ti'aiti. left Foaton enrlier yesterday morning than the usual time. Consequently when a number of passengers arrived at the station at seven o'clock to go by the ordinary morning train they found they had been most disagreeably " aold," aB the train had then departed some time. Aild then " there was weeping and gnashing of teeth." Really, we think this system of putting posteis at the station is rather a penny wise and pound foolish policy. The extra expense in advertising the time table in the district papers would not be much, and we are sure the arrangement would suit the public convenience much better than the present system that obtains.

Siu Hebcvies Robinson.— Our new Govert or has signified his intention to the Administrator of the Government, that he purposes leaving Sydney on the 19th inst. for Wellington, anl that he will reach that port on the 2Gth inst. Preparations arc being made at the Empire City for giving his Excellency a grand reception.

License Refused. — At a sitting of the Licensing Court at Marton on Tuesday last, the license for the new hotel at Turakina was refused. A great deal has been written on this matter by the district and Wanganui papers. The Hon Mr Pox, in a long letter addressed to the Advocate some short time ago, strongly opposed the issue of the license.

That Tbndeb Box.— Whilst the County Councillors were waiting for a quorum to show up on Wednesday last, the Engineer thought he would open the tender box. But tho key had been misplaced, and could not be discovered. After trying all the keys on the bunches belonging to people in the room to no purpose, the Chairman " went" for the lid of the box with a substantial piece of scantling, and after some minutes had been spent the lid yielded sufficiently to allow the tonders to drop out. Councillor Halcomba, who was standins? quietly by superintending operations, had decidedly the best time of it.

Halv Holiday. — The Wellington butchers have resolved to close their shops on Wednesday afternoons, for the purpose of giving their employees a half holiday.

Gold. — "We (Post) announced a short time since, that it was reported that gold had been found in the Wainui-o-mata Valley. Mr Moore, the prospector, who alleges that he has found a goldfield, has written a lengthy letter to the Hutt County Council, asking them to give him the gold duty for a certaiu period as a wward. The consideration of the letter has been post-

poned.

Rotten Facrr — A shopkeeper was fined 493 and costs the other day at Wellington, for exposing two baskets of rotten fruit for sale. The Magistrate said he could have inflicted a penalty of £20.

Assignment. — It was yesterday stated 'says the New Zealand Times}, that Mr J. J. Beatty, of the Star Hotel, had been compelled to call his creditors together, and that in accordance witli their desire he had assigned his chattel interests to Messrs F. A. Kriill, and Joseph Amej,in trust for the benefit of all the creditors.

A Cat prom Heaven — The "Loafer in the Street," who writes for the Canterbury Press, is responsible for the following :— The Telegraph operators occasionally discourse to each other on the wires in a friendly manner. Sometimes the reverse. An operator at Dunsandel recently wired to Christ* church as follows : — " Ask Mr Mason if be wauts a cat without a tail from Heaven." The Christchurch operator, thinking he was being chaffed, and being unaware of the fact that there was a lineman of the name of Heaven at Dunsandel, wired back a series of remarks to the Duusundel man, which, upon consideration, perhaps I had better not quote.

Neauly Killed. — A similar accident to that which cost poor Mr Luhning nis life was very nearly being repeated on the tramway the other day at Wellington. A passenger standing on the platform of one of the cars stepped baok too near the edge, and suddenly losing his balance, fell off backward and rolled under the second car, the wheels of whioh actually passed over his coat tails. His escape from death was almost miruoulous.

An Attached Couple—Oystershells. A "Family Tie"- Twins. t Quicksilver — The nimble sixpence. Motto for the Married — Never dispair. , When a wise man plays the fool a woman is generally at the bottom of it. Milliners' bills are always the tax on the male sex for the beauty of the female.