Manawatu Herald SATURDAY, SEPT. 10, 1898. Borough Election.

Manawatu Herald, 10 September 1898, Page 2

Manawatu Herald SATURDAY, SEPT. 10, 1898. Borough Election.

r ♦ • The only feature to notice in the last election of Councillors is the gratifying one of the small land owners coming forward to take part in the administration of the affairs of the Borough. It has frequently been pointed out that too much has been expected of the business people who have had positions on the Council thrust upon them simply from the small landowners refusing to take a share of the work. Now a change has taken place, and all interests will bent fit by representation on our local body. That very much more will be done towards road formation iv the future than has been done in the past, without a loan, is extremely doubtful, as we do not think the new counoillora have yet learnt how to make twenty shillings do the work of forty shillings. Sailors and farmers have the name for being good grumblers, and thus a loan may now be nearer attainable when their representatives see for themselves thai; without one, the state of the Borough will be very much the samp as it has been. The election was in one way a bit of a surprise, yet from a knowledge of human nature it need not have been, aa gratitude is popularly stated to be shown in anticipation for favours to come and not for what has been done. Thus r,o find Mr Easton top of the poll, after the numbar of years he has refused to render pnblic service to the B »rough, and to find Mr T. Weetwood in the third place, does not seem quite a fitting appreciation of public service. We expect that: what so often occurs in an election caused this result, the electors being anxious to secure the return of a new man bent their energies solely to his return, feeling sure the old councillor was bound to get in. This is a ie-son to be born in mind and oare must be taken to avoid this back, handed way of rewarding honest service. We believe our readers will will agree with us when we say that Mr Westwood has shown himself a capable councillor and one whom it is well to have at the Council table. The disappearance of Mr Walsh would have been a matter for regret except, as in this * cape, the desirability of having men in the Council residing away from the centre of the town was of more importance, and. as we believe, Mr Walsh only stood as a matter of duty. The retiring Councillors, Messrs Walsh and Coley deserved the tribute paid to them by the Mayor at the last meeting of the Council, and we do not doubt but that the new Councillors will as honestly endeavour to do their duty to the public in advancing the best interests of the town, as these two gentlemen have done.

Where obtained we know not, but at Whyte's Hotel dinner table there have been some exceedingly fine specimens of lettuce with large bleached hearts. Terrific heat prevails in New York. One hundred and seventy deaths from heat were recorded on Monday. We have received information that Prof. Bristol's Great American Cirque will visit this colony during October, November and December. The next English and European Mail, via San Francisco, will close at the local office on Wednesday, the 28th day of September, at 3 p^m. The death is announced o£ Lady Grey, wife of the Right Hon. Sir George Grey, the veteran ex-Governor and ex- Premier of New Zealand. Earth tremors are reported from various parts of Victoria, but no damage has resulted. Germany has opened Kiao-chau, her newly acquired port on the Shantung Peninsula, China, as a free port. We are requested to state that there will be no service at St. Mary's Church to-morrow owing to the accident that has befallen the Rev. Father Melu.

Mr Andresen, the contractor for the building of the new boatshed, has the piles i.i and the frame cut out. Mr Knutzon advertises that he will, if the: c is sufficient inducement offering, t-< take a class tor coursive shorthand. Tne testimonials speak well of the system. An old fashioned notion to test seeds is to place some On a warm shovel over coals, and those that crack are supposed to represent sound seed, the othei ., being nowhere. 1 1 is not always so, upon the authority of Mr G. Sathorley who informs us that having some onion seed he was doubtful of he adopted this trial, and as but a very small percentage of the seeds cracked he concluded a thick sowing was needed to get a crop. He sowed thickly and the onions have come up just as thickly, and he has a job of thinning out before him. According to a return laid on the table of the House, the amounts drawn by Ministers by way of travelling allowances and expenses for the year ending 31st March, 1897, were : — Right Hon. R. J. Seddon, £483 ; Hon. J. M'Ken™'£w> Hon. A. J. Cadman, £zbz Hon. T. Thompson, £247; Hon. T.; Carroll, £230; Hon. W. C. Walker, £229; Hon. J. G. Ward, £203 ; Hon. W. Hall-Jones, i'9B ; total, £2086. We are glad to learn that to-day the constable has this day laid an information against a cyclist for riding on the footpath. There died in New York on July 29th, in poverty, Baroness Rose Von Puttkammer, a niece by marriage of Bismarck. This proves how many notable persons lose their identity in a great cosmopolitan city like New York. The Baron's father is brother to Prince Bismarck's wife. He was educated at Heidelberg, and entered the army. He was much about the Court of the old Emperor William, and served with distinction in the Franco- Prussian war. He was detailed as Cavalry instructor of the Turkish Army, and fought through the Turko- Russian war. He then went to America to try the American army, but was unable to obtain a commission. Thereupon he became a fashionable instructor at riding academies. Getting old and stout, and 60, he was obliged to give up that avocation, and is a watchman at 12 dollars a week. He is too proud to communicate with his family at home. He has two young children. For trespassing on the grounds of the Canterbury Trotting Club, at the last meeting six bookmakers were fined 40s and costs. " Black and White " makes the following statement: — We here on authority which commands respect that the various Government offices concerned are exerting their energies in order to place both the army and navy in a state of preparation for active service. It is whispered that it is more likely than not that there will be war in the Far East during the coming autumn, the rumour being based on the fact that it is believed the Government is about to cry "Hands off" to Russia, and to take steps to compel if need be, to refrain from further aggression in China. There can be no question, if this rumour proves correct, that the action suggested will meet with universal approval throughout the county. If this rumour be true it may account for the extraordinary conduct of the Ministers all leaving London at the present juncture, with the exception of Mr Balfour. Everything is in train ; when the .proper time comes Lord Salisbury will cry " Stop, enough !" Only his past career hardly suggests the nerve to do this. In the meantime nearly 70,000 men are exercising on Salisbury Plain, and the general officers are learning the art of handling masses. When Khartoum falls the ball may open in the Far East. The quarterly meeting of the Licensing Committee was to have been held at Marton on Thursday, but as only three members attended it had to be adjourned to Friday the 23rd instant. In another column the Returning Officer gives the result of the poll for Borough Councillors. Mr A. S. Eastbn returns thanks to the ratepayers for placing him at the head of the poll. Last night Mr and Mrs F. Robinson gave a very enjoyable dance at their residence to a large number of guests. Owing to the night being wet, dancing was kept up till daylight. A large number went out from town. Mr Irvine, of the St. George's Preserving Works, Dunedin, paid a visit to the town yesterday with a view to starting the preserving of whitebait during the season. He left last night stating that he would give his son-in-law the information he had gleaned. If such works are started it is probable that about six hands would be employed, and perhaps at the end of the whitebait season other fish might be handled if obtainable in sufficient quantities.