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Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 29, 10 December 1880, Page 2

Ijoc.il Boaku. — The Looal Board meets this evening, to appoint a ranger and receive tondera for the forthcoming valuation. SAT.E of Goods.— T"he inembjrs of the Primitive Methodist Church are determined to get Out of debt. A few days ago they gave a sen ice of song, and now they are going to hold a Bale of plain and fancy goods, which will take place next Tuesday. The whole of the goods have been made by the ladies of the congregation, who hold periodical sewing meetings. They will be sold at prices that will command ready sale, and there will be none of the " swindling " that too often disgraces religious bazaars, as every person spending a pound will get good value for the money. Full particulars will be found in the advertisement. Baimesse.— The three sections at Bainesse were bought by Mr Kilminster, a Karori settler. A. PuoMiaijro Yoctii — At the R.M. Court, on VVednenday, n, charge of indecency was preferred by one of the Motuiti natives agninst a Pakena boy named Smith, who was living out there for a few weeks. The youth came up here from Waikanaw sorae'raonths ago, and performed as a stepduneer at the entertainment given by the Otaki Minstrels at the Foxton Hall. Ho 9tayed in Foxton for some time after that, but his conduct at each plane .loon procured his dismissal* About sevea or eight weeks ago he went to live with ihe Motuiti natives, but upon finding that his disgraceful conduct was found out, mado for Wanganui. Kpar&ima, one of the natives, kid an information against him, which was forwarded to Wanganui, and so correct and clear was the description forwarded, that the police in Wanganui '•' spotted " the boy, and served the summons upon him. lie did not appear in answer to it, but never tlnJoss Air Ward enquired carefully into the .charge, and as the caso proceeded it revealed a depth of depravirty wo have never before seen or heard of in a boy so young — about 14 years. The details were sickening, and as the evidence was given in support of the charge, a thrill of disgust ran through tho Court Mr Ward, after henring the evidence in support of tho charge, which was simply a breach of the Constabulary Ordinance, dirtctcd it to be withdrawn, and a warrant issued for the arrest of the lad upon an iudictable offence. The warrant was issued on Wednesday, and the boy has been duly arrested at Wanganui. He will be brought beforo the R.M\ at Feilding this dny. ACiheeu. — Mr Schipper, who formerly resided at Foxton, and earned his living by " doing " watches, clocks, &c, appears to have been having anything but a pleasant time of it. When he left this district, not only creditors but persons whose watches he had in his possession to repair muttered certain remarks which are not considered correct in po'ite societj , but all to no purpose. Destitute he came into the township, and similarly he went out, so where was the gool of troubling him ? Next we heard of him as installed in a large shop nt Wanganui, with a flaming advertisement in tho loading journal, so thither one at least of the parties whose watch he held followed him — Tatana, a half-casto. Being unable to obtain his watchjtrits value, Tatana proceeded against Mr Schipptr, who attended the Foxton Court, and with marvellous readiness confessed liis liability, and promised to either return the watch or pay the amount. But though that was in Ociober last, neither Tntana nor his solicitor received any communication from Mr Schipper, and accordingly a judgment summons was issued against him. By this time he had found temporary rest for tho soles of his feet at Bulls, and of coursa as he answered to (lie summons, the people of Foxton again snw their old " watch doer." His manner in Court was* as nonchalant as ever, and he confidentially informed his Worship that during the whole time since his last appearance beforo him, he had not received four pounds in cash, .\lricli do* not sound healthy for his creditors. His Worship expressed his opinion pretty warmly of Mr Schipper's conduct as regards Tatana's watch, and ordered him to pay the cluim in one month, or spend threo weeks in Wanganui Gaol. So that if Mr Schippor does not " sUip " beyond reach of the strong arm of the law, he stands a good chance of enjoying "the seclusion which a piison grants," but destitute of tho society of " his sisters and his cousins and hU aunts." SERvANTaAMSM.— A good case of the above came under our notice the other day. A Foxton resident had ongaged a girl at Wellington, at a good rate of wages, and paid her passage up per ftfanawatu. However, after the girl had put in about a week, she became possessed with a desire to proceed inland, in the hope of getting more wages. The polite employer put no impediment in the way of her departure, but had her box put on the train, and took a ticket out for the girl to Pulmer3ton, Just before the train started she approached her late employer, who was standing on the platform, and called his attention to tho fact that her ticket was only for I'almerston, whereas she desired to go to Wanganui. This was the last straw on the back of the unfortunate employer, and with the memory of the 25s passage money ho had paid, he roared out — "You can go to Wanganui — or H^ng Kong, — or anywhere eteo, for all that I care." Just as he had finished, the whistle sounded, and the train left, the girl casting a reproachful look at the indignant man on the platform. Cricket.— We understand that the boys of Foxton are going to arrange a return match with the youths of Sandon. The date of the match U not settled, but wo hear that it will be played at Foxton. Potatoes.— The orop of potatoes this year in Manawatu will bo a splendid one. All along the railway lino between Foxton and Palmerston may bo seen patches of ground devoted to the production of this vegetable. Tho Maori crops at Motuiti, Ordua Bridge and Awapuni, ooinnare very favorably with those of thoir European neighbors. As there have been no late frosts this season, up to the present, tho crop? are pretty safe now, and we are confident that there will be more potatoes grown this season than in any previous one. Chowtheii's Estate. — Mr W. G. Robin son notifies in another column that unless all aocounts owing to tho above estate are settled by Ist January, legal proceedings will at once be taken. Those persons interested had therefore better take the hint. Ax Additional Fact.— Since writing our sub leader upon the new schedule of tolls to bo levied at the Foxton Ferry, we have learned that the stockdrivers are already alarmed at the prospect of being compelled to pay sush heavy dues, and contemplate calling for tenders for crossing their cattle at the mouth of the river. Crops at Sando*.— We are glad to learn th*t the crops in the Sandon district are

ookfrig remarkably well. This year the chief crop is wheat, ail wo hope suuh a quantity will bo grown as will wipe away from Manawutu the reproach of importing wheat from the South Island for the local millers, Woimt LvsPEfnotf.— Mr John W. tiiddell publishes in this issue his goods list, es pectally of (he ironmongery bi'anch of his business. ]?or a number of javus, as is well known, Mr Liddell wasrtctively eiigaged in the building trade, iiiid thus gained extensive knowledge of both tho gooJs and the proper qualities suitable for this district, whilst his long experience of general trade enables him to buy to tho best advantage, and accordingly aell only what is first-class. 11 Good wine needs no bush," and Liddell's store is so well known throughout Rlanawatn. that further comment would bo superfluous. Tita IWtox Scitoor,. — We regret to learn the attendance) at the Foxton State School is at present greatly reduced, owing to the severe whooping-cough epidemic prevailing throughout the district. The average attendance, under tho ordinary state of things, is about 140, but during the last three weeks the attendance has boen 115, 102, and 58 respectively, while so fur the average during this week hits been only 63. This will of Course seriously interfere with the receipts of the Capitation money by tho committee, and also, we presume, will correspondingly lower the master's salary. It was Mr Hulko's intention to have given the parents and friends of the children a pleasant entertaimneut, consisting of dialogues, recitations, part songs, &c, by the scholars, and active rehearsals have been taking place, the children having attained a high degree of proficiency. Tile enter taiument has been postponed, owing to the epidemic, but will be given as soon as possible, if not before the holidays immediately after. Wo may monu'on that having occasion to visit the school yesterday, Mr Hulko kindly put tho Third Standard children through tho Geography lessons they have been learning Nince the examination, and other scholars through history, &c, and we feel bound to say that we never before saw Biich correct answers so rapidly given, and this not by a few scholars, but by the whole of tha classes examiujd. Tho children proved thomselves both smart and well taught, ablo to understand the questions and to answer thorn. As our visit was entirely promiscuous, -wo were of course all tho more pleased with what wo saw and heard. Wo believe Mr Hulke is not at all averse to parents visiting the school, and would be only too glad to soo them taking an active interest in the work, and see his children " under fire." Joxson's Factory.— ln another column Mr Jonsou advertises his sash and door factory. It will bo seen lie intends to allow no money to go out of the district for sashes, doors, &c, if the orders are submitted to him. As he intends to keep the prices iusid6 what is charged for the same work at other places, and as his work is known to g!ve great satisfaction, wo do nut expeot to see any more importations of builders' materials or furniture. Too Late.— Mr Honore's advertisement was received too late for insertion in this issue. It will appear in our next. The Waim.vte Plains. — Large numbers of Maoris continue to troop up to Parihalca. Many of them appear anxious to settle up in that district, and wished to sell the : r horses before shifting, but To Wb-ti has forbidden them to do so, and most of the"* still obey the prophet's orders. Those who have passed the ihen fencing along the main road on the land last sold appear to believe that tho Government is doing the work, and say, "All right; the Government make the fences for us by and by." The few Maoris who still occupy the kaingas on the .Plains have been selling off a number of pigs lately. No one seemed to know or care rouch whether tho pigs belonged to the sellers or to the absent Te Whiti-ites. Up to within the last day or two, it was generally assumed that the next block of land would sell at a much lower average than the last. Now, however, we hear of one new comer, who says that he would be willing to buy 1000 acres at the same prices as the last block was sold for ; and one or two other men with money are anxious to secure good -biz jd farms. We shonli greatly prefer to see the land taken up in blocks of from 100 to 300 or 350 acres ; nevertheless, the presence of two or three purchasers anxious to secure a group of adjoining sections, is almost, sure to raise the average pi ice of tho land sold considerably above the upset price. — Hawera Star. LocAr. Option. — A writer in the Melbourne Leader says :— " It should stimulate the friends of temperance in t'ae colony to notice that in South Australia the principle of local option has been adopted in their recent Licensed Victuallers Bill. It is true that so far it is allowed to apply only to Sunday closing, but this experience will be quite enough to justify the extension of the practice to other matters in dispute which are of a similar nature The present onactment provides that upon the request of ten ratepayers a poll shall bo taken, at which it shall be decided at a vote of not less than one third of the total numbei* of persons upon the rate roll whether the hotels in that locality shall be kept opon on Sundays or not. The decision thus arrived at cannot be reversed for twelve months. We do not despair of seeing this local option system extended in this and in the neighboring colonies until tho evidenco in its favor shall be strong enough to justify its application to questions of general legislation. What is known as local option is simply a municipal plebiscite. Its results have been most satisfactory wherever it has been applied, and if it proves an admirable pieco of machinery ia local questions, that of itself is sufficient proof of its applicability to largor issues of a national character. The oducat:onal effect of taking a poll of the rate payers should tell upon them in their political proceedings. The man who volos direatly upon a specifio issue as a ratepayer will soon ask why ho cannot vote as an elector upon similar questions without the intervention of his representative."