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Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 42, 14 March 1877, Page 2

The Local Board invites tenders for formation and culvert m Taonui-street ; tenders to be seen at Mr. Keeling' s office. We remind those interested of the meeting m connection with the Pnlmerston North Reading Room, which takes place this evening at 8 o'clock. The return of traffic on the Foxton to Manawatu Railway for the four weeks ending 10th February, 1877, is as follows : — Passengers, 1,532, £234 15s 6d ; parcels, &c, £16 17s 9d ; freight, 120 tons, £207 7s 8d ; total, £459 lid. . It will be seen by advertisement that the election of a Commissioner for the Palraeraston North Local Board, m room of H. S. Palinerson, Esq., resigned, will take place m the Board-room on Wednesday, the 28th inst. Nominations will be received up to noon of Saturday, the 24th inst. From Palm Sunday, the 25th March, service is to be conducted regularly once a month m the Palmerstou North Anglican Church. We.learn from Mr Snelson that the Rev. Mr M'Williams, of Otaki, has kindly undertaken to visit this township for the purpose above stated till such, time as a resident minister be appointed. A very brilliant meteor was observed from Palmerston on Thursday evening last, the Bth inst., at a quarter to nine o'clock. It illuminated the whole township for a space of several seconds, causing some to think that it was lightning very vividly. The phenomenon appeared first m the meridian, and apparently took a north-westerly course towards the horizon. The steamers Tui and Napier arrived at Foxton on Tuesday morning last about eight o'clock, the former some twenty minutes m advance of the latter. The Tui left Wellington on Monday afternoon at half-past four, and arrived outside the Heads before daylight on Tuesday morning, but was not able to get m on account of the tide. She brought forty passengers — twenty seven adults and thirteen children, and about twenty-five tons of cargo. The Napier left the same day m the evening, and brought ten passengers, and was about half full of cargo. The smoke that encircles our township by day and the lurid flames by night tell of the advent of March — the month fatal to our sylvian giants. Huge gaps are being made m the bush and from almost every point of the compass may be seen arising columns of smoke — spreading themselves m fantastic cloud wreaths, and not infrequently descending upon the town itself. From this it appears that our settlers are availing themselves of the privileges of the season, and although the smoke may inconvenience us and the charred avenues offend the eye, we must accept all thankfully as a mark of local progress. We understand that the process of " logging up " has been going on with vigor during the past several months, and that many of the fires visible are intended to achieve the final clearing preparatory to the work of culture. Residents of Palmerston have often heard of the Central Store ; but it is only very recently that ifc fell to our lot to hear of the erection of central law offices or solicitors' chambers. For a length of time we could not understand for -what purpose the numerous buildings m comse of erection for E.

WarburtoiH Esq., were designed, but since ' the edifice destined by that gentleman for use as solicitors' chambers has begun to assume shape, and we have had the general arrangement of the other buildings explained to us, we have discovered that there is a harmony of design m the whole, and we feel confident that when all the structures which it is Mr Warburton's intention to I have built are finished the tout ensemhle presented will do credit to the good taste of the designer. It is always a pleasure to us to notice local improvements of every desj cription, and we hope eve long to be able to devote an article to this subject. There are some improvements, however, which, from the rapidity with which they are executed, naturally press themselves more forcibly upon public notice than others, and we think the works entered upon by Mr. War- ' burton are amongst this class. It involves the expenditure of considerable sums of money, and is by no means an insignificant undertaking, to even partially cover, m the short space of a few months, so large an area ns Mr. Warburton has taken up, with neat and substantial buildings. The edifice now m course of erection for solicitors' chambers is being very strongly built, and will when finished furnish a most comfortable suite of offices. The lower storey will be divided into four rooms with a lobby running between. The upstairs will f urnish One large room for eugrossing purposes, and the use of casual assistants. The floors are to be constructed of lj-inch tongued and grooved boards which from their thickness will be almost impervious to sound, so that conversations held m one apartment will not be heard m any other. The front of the building from the ground to the top of the parapet will present a height of some twenty feet which will be relieved by handsome columns. The windows lighting the lower rooms are to be fixed at an elevation of about twelve feet from the ground, and above the parapet will appear a row of dormer windows one of which will open as a French light to admit of walking out on the leads between the roof and the parapet. In the rear there are to be other dormer windows one of which also is to open as a French light. Every precaution is to be taken against the danger of fire, and for the preservation of important documents. A force-pump will be erected at a considerable height so that the building may be flooded with water m a very short space of time. Altogether we think the building may be pronounced unique so far at least as this Province is concerned, and we heartily wish Mr. Warburton success m his enterprise. . The " Post " says : — The primary loss sustained by Captain Williams m the sinking of the hulk JEli Whitney — whether or not it be recoverable from the Union S. S. Company — will be enhanced to a serious extent by the obligation which rests on him as the owner of the sunken hulk, to remove her from the fairway. This will involve serious difficulty and expense, coals being a very awkward cargo to clear away by diving, owing to their small specific gravity. It is deemed objectionable to blow up the hulk ■with dynamite, inasmuch as there being little or no tide-scour, the coals would form a shoal m the harbor, which m such a posi.tion would be very detrimental to its convenience. It is suggested that it might prove practicable to raise the hulk bodily, and a preliminary survey was made to-day with that view. In the Sydney papers of the 14th instant the death by chloroform, at Sydney, of William Roberston, auctioneer from New Zealand, is recorded. Roberston had been at the theatre on the previous night, and, on coming out, stumbled and broke his ankle. He was taken to tho inimnary, and there put under the influence of chloroform previous to reducing the fracture. The broken limb had scarcely been Bet when heavy breathing, and his face becoming rapidly livid, told of the man's danger. He died almost instantly, never having recovered consciousness. The doctor at the inquest stated that he had died of sanguineous apoplexy. It was stated that deceased had been, before going to Sydney, fourteen years m New Zealand, and had previously lived m Melbourne. There he had arrived from India. His age was given as sixtyfive years, and it was stated that he has left a widow and family m some part of New Zealand. [Mr Robertson was for many years an auctioneer at Invercargill.] — " Argus." After all that has been said about the ignorance of Australian geography shown by people m Great Britain, it was hoped, remarks the Sydney " Evening News," that the new and revised addition of Broke's General Gazetteer and Geographical Dictionary of the World, lately announced by Tegg and Co., London (and the title page of which bears date 1876), would help to spread more accurate information. On examining a copy of this work, however, we find, on turning to the word " Australia," that j Sydney is the capital on the east coast, ! and on the north, at Coburgh Penin- | sula, is the town of "Victoria." In the description of Sydney, which occupies about half-a-dozen lines, we are told that it has now (1876) "a hospital for convicts and a naval yard." The following description of Melbourne will be best appreciated by the Victorians : — " Melbourne, a J city of South Australia, the capital of the j district of Victoria, m New South Wales. It is quite of modern origin, as its site twelve years ago [that is, m 1864] was a wilderness, only tenanted by the tribes and savages, and the kangaroo, emu, and wild dog ; now it has a population of more than one million two hundred thousand. On the western side of the city there is an extensive swamp, or rather lake, it being usually covered m its whole extent with water, on the surface of which numerous flocks of waterfowl sport. The city is supplied with tolerably pure water from the Yarra Yarra, which has a dam below the wharf to keep the fresh water. Captain Williams, invites tenders for the work oi raising the sunken hulk Eli Whit-

ney, with the coals therein. Tenders will be received up to next Saturday at noon. , It is officially notified that on and after i the 14th instant, the telegraph rates to all parts of America will be reduced to one ! shilling per word. 1 The manufacture jgf: brooms from the leaves of cabbage tree is rapidly extending m Dunedin, and many men make a good living m obtaining the raw material, which they forward by truck loads on the Southern railway line.— "lnangahua Herald." Messrs Black and Company have imported from America per Marie, a large excursion van capable of holding 30 persons. It was landed yesterday and will be fitted up at the factory m a few days.—" Argus." Mr W. Turubull has sold the pure bred short-horn cow " Fragrance," imported by him m the Bukaia, to a Wanganui buyer, whose name has not transpired. The price is £225. We regret to hear, says the " Chronicle," that a daughter of Mr D. Lind, a little girl aged 6 years, has died from the effects of a severe burn, caused by her clothes having accidentally become ignited. The very sad occurrence is a severe blow to the bereaved parents, with whom many will sympathise m their deep distress. Daniel Haggerty's store at Carterton was burned to the ground between nine and ten o'clock on Monday night. Nothing was saved. The building and its contents were insured for £500. The origin of the fire is unknown. — " Post." The " Times " of the 12th instant says : — There was no service at St. Paul's yesterday evening. All attempts to light the gas proved unavailing, and those who had taken their seats had to be dismissed. The Moody and Sankey guarantee fund of 30,000 dollars is nearly full, and work on the new tabernacle m that city is to be commenced at once. The following appears m the " Lyell Argus:" — "Notice.— To the thirty young Indies who have applied to the editor of this journal for a situation a3 a compositor, your portraits will be returned." Business Cases and Overwork are apt to react disadvantageously upon mind and body, producing lassitude, depression, and loss of flesh. Under such circumstances the system requires to be reimbursed for the excessive wear and tear of brain and physique. The safest, surest and pleasantest compensating agent that can possibly be used is Udolpho Wolfe's Schiedam Aromatic Schnapps.— Advt.