Manawatu Hearald. TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1898. Our Great Asset.

Manawatu Herald, 28 June 1898, Page 2

Manawatu Hearald. TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1898. Our Great Asset.

We are a law-abiding people but at the samo time we are a very slow going people. We possess a magni ficent asset in the Ocean Beach, and we make practically little use of it. By dint of hard work we have secured a contract for a road formation to it, but it has yet to be made, the contractor, lucky man, intends to do this when no other work is pressing. We rely, perhaps, too much on our Borough Councillors, for they certainly need waking up to the fact that there is plenty of room for them to develope their energies beyond the actual boundaries of the Borough, ia cases, which most nearly concern the interests of the residents of the Borough. This very delay in form» in* this road, after the knowledge Councillors possess of the time it took to get the contract let, ia one that they could fairly urge up^n the Manawatu County Council to push on. No one in the Borough, or in the surrounding large district will dispute the value of the oceon atmos phere, and so every means that will encourage traffic to the beach should receive moat prompt attention, and that by the Borough Councillors. When we, for but a brief Beason however, possessed the steamer " Sunlvnm " it was hoped, and indeed fha Traffic Manager of the rail-

wa}' promised, that special chnap excursions should be run from Palm.irston and Feilding of a Wednesday afternoon. One unfortunate trip put a ' damper ' upon further urging of : he Railway Department, but here we wish it remembered that there never was any attempt made to run a trip between the railway and Btearaer. Now we have two river steamers and we believe between them 250 people could be expeditiously conveyed to the beaob, and safely. As the way 9 of Departments move slowly, so slowly that anyone blest with a little energy sicken? at the thought of endeavouring to hasten them on any path, it does appear necessary for the Borough Council to move in the matter of these steamer excursions at once, when by persistent worrying it is just possible we may see them become an accomplished fact about the middle of spring. The Council should request the Traffic Manager to pa9s his opinion formally on the capability of the two steamers to carry a passenger tvaffic which would justify him in running special trains ; they should, if he is favourably impressed with the capacity of the boats, then requost him to give a formal promise to run these trains for three trip? certain, within a fortnight of each other, so ag to guage the suppoitthey would get from the up-country public. We are of opinion also that theee trains should bo stopped at the Lidy's Mile for vehicle traffic, though thai; is but a small matter compared to the train itself. Many cottage? ore about to be erected on the Go vernment land on the buach, and we think the Borough Council might i his year do something towards improving the Sanatorium, as they most distinctly promised to do when the Government were asked to lay these sections off. The life of a Borough Councillor is undoubtedly a happy one, as he generally secures the little improvements near where be resides during his term of office, but if they would take a wider outlook it might become a busier one and oi greater value to the rate.payers.

Mr G. Hutchison wants a return of Mm' isters' and their secretaries' travelling al* lowances for the past three years. The Select Committee appointed by the Wellington Agricultural and Pastoral Society to determine what steps were to be taken with a view to ascertaining the public feeling as to whether the show should be continued or wound up met on Saturday. After the whole matter had been carefully gone into, it was decided to appoint canvassers for different part 3of the city to make a thorough house to house canvas for subscriptions and members. On the.r«su t of this the question of whether or not Wellington will have a show in the future will depend, because it was also decided that in the event of the canvass not being success - ful the Society should be wound up. The crisis in France. M. Sarrien having failed to form a new Cabinet, President Faure has asked M. Peytial to undertake the task. Mr G. Hutchison is inquiring as to the acts of valour for which the New Zealand Cross was conferred upon Mr H. C. W. Wriggi and a list of those who have been recommended for that decoration and have not received it, with the reasons for withholding the distinction. The citizens of Newcastle have presented Mr Russel , the hero of the Maitland wreck, with an illuminated address and a purse of 100 sovereign?. The Hunter River Steamship Company has handed to him a gold watch and chain and a free passage on the company's steamers for life. Mr C'eveland, ex-President, opposes the external expansion of American territory by annexation. Owing to a disagreement between the owners of the Sydney Belle and the charterer, the cruise arranged by Miss Hastie has been abandoned. It is probab'e the matter will be fought out in the Law Courts. Miss Hastie has decided to take all her belongings from the vessel. The jury in Craig's case, after being locked up all night, disagreed, and were discharged. A new trial has beta fixed,

The N.Z. Time* says :— The 1798 Centenary celebration would not have been complete without a "bull." It was provided by a genial medico who announced to the rudience that the chairman was unavoidably absent, but that the introductory remarks would be made by another speaker later on.

D. Green, a young medico at Sydney, has lieeu arrested on a charge of causing the ihath of a girl. Suspicion arose after burial, and the body was exhumed. Green, who had been treating her for endometritis, calK I in an anesthetist to assist in an operation. When this was performed it was discovered that the girl was enceinte. Both medicos neglected to report the death to tl:e authorities.

Mr Buchanan is asking for a return showing the amount paid to each newspaper in the colony for Government advertising and printing during the year ended 31st March.

Iho Spaniards are alarmed at the presence of American warships in the English Channel.

We are glad to find that Mr Field, M.H.R., was well enough to take his seat in the House:

The Queen of the South in her last trip from Wellington took two deer— a stag and a hind— from Wellington to Kapiti.

The next English and European mail via San Francisco will close at the local offioe on Wednesday, the 6th day of July, at 3 p.m.

The Stipendiary Magistrate has fixed the date for his Courts here for the 21st July and 18th August. That is, if he comes, which is not always the case.

A* a recent meeting of the Timaru A. and P. Association it was moved by Mr T. Mitchell — " That this Association confer with other Associations and take such steps as they may think necessary, with a view to getting an Act passed through Parliament to abolish the present system of 'trotting' at auction sales." He condemned this practice of running up bidding by pretended bids as perniciou •, causing distrust and suspicion, as redu3in<j the true selling va'ue of stock and property, and as causing delays in selling. I is i Vgo. l , but there was no penalty to enforce tlia prohibition ; a penal clause would soo i put a stop to it, aud a penal clause wou d not injure an honest man. After some discussion, it was di'cid A to appoint a sub-com-mittee to communicate witii other Associations on the subject, and obtain all the information avail >b!e.

At the Agricultural Conferenc-2 iv Christchurch Mr Stuckey gave an instance of the value of a properly erected rabbit fence. Before the fence was erected he spent £300 a year in endeavouring to exterminate the rabbits. Twelve months after the erection of the fence the land carried 1000 more sheep and 200 more cattle, and had carried them ever since. Since the fence had been put up £50 a year covered his expenses on the rabbit item, and the greater part of this sum was spent on fencing repairs. In to-day's issue appears an advertisement from Mr Eobert Cleave, nurseryman of Invercargill. Now that the planting season is on, those adding to their gardens cannot do better than send an order to Mr Cleave, as the change for all plants from the hardy South to this district would ensure their doing well. We have seen trees from this nursery, and they show that they have been grown by one who is a competent nurseryman. A trial is near'y bound to give every satisfaction. The Borough Council has a notice in today relative to the making of a by-law for the control of bicycles, &c. We are very glad to learn that Miss Ada Stansell has been declared out of danger. Saturday's Standard says : — We are glad to be able to state that Mr P. Pirani is progressing very favourably, and no serious consequences are now anticipated from his accident. The terms of the resolution passed by both Houses recording their appreciation of the services rendered by the late Mr Gladstone, and condoling with his widow and family have been cabled verbatim to Mrs Gladstone.