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Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 25, 12 January 1878, Page 2

It is notified m another column that the rates d.u.e to the County Council must be paid, by th.c 18th inst. under pain of legal proceedings. A similar notice, relating to the> Palmei'ston Borough l'at'es, invites pay> mei>t by the 31st inst. Mr John McKeown has left with us a sample of choose of his own.manu,fa.oture. It stands well the test of critical taste, ancl proves the manufacturer to be no mere tyro ii\ tl\q.art- of qh.jiM.3 mixing.

The Rev. Mr McWilliams will conduct service m the English Church, Palmerston, ' on Sunday next, morning and evening. We direct attention to advertisement announcing the re-appearance, at the Foresters' Hall, this evening, of the celebrated Raphael Troupe. • We have not heard of any further steps being taken towards increasing the Foxton wharf accommodation. It is to be hoped that the public will continue to urge their claims and not quietly allow the matter to die a natural death; • — The time for registering dogs extends to the 31st insfc. Depiit are appointed for the various townships so as to suit public convenience and leave no valid excuse for those who neglect to fulfil the law. In this issue tenders are invited for draining th&Motoa Swamp. Tenders to be sent m by the 21st inst. Tenders are also invited for the same date by the Manawatu County Council for repairing the Foxton and Sandon road. Tenders are invited m our present issue for the erection of station buildings at Halcombe, and Greatford stations. Tenders to be sent m by the 25th January. The handsome building now being erected by Mr R. Johnson for a tailoring establishment is . nearly 'completed, likewise the butcher's shop being built by Mr Waldograve. They are both very superior edifices and greatly improve the appearance of the Palmerston Square. . We are pleased to announce that a greati public convenience has been added to th<j| Railway station at Palmerston. The improvement consists of an entrance right through the station, which enables passengers to reach the platform a much more convenient manner than hitherto. The alteration also somewhat improves the outward appearance of the building. • In comparirig^the i*eceipts of various railway lines m this Island, this district may feel justly satisfied with the steady results of this line m its present unfiai3hod state. We have no hesitation m saying that when the line is opened through to Wanganui, the receipts will compare favorably with any of the older established line 3 m the country, providing the general management is left m the hands of similar officials to those now m charge of our traffic. Mr Hilliary, of Foxton, ha 3 just added one great attraction for visitors from the country who may have a few houi*a to spend m the County metropolis. This consists m a number of- handy boats suitable for sailing or rowingiliV; We have no doubt that a great many will avail themselves of this means of visiting some of the romantic scenes, to be found along the beautiful banks of the Manawatu. The charge is very moderate being only one shilling per hour per boat. ' %". . We are informed thatf the portion of road leading from the Awphqu., towards the residence of Mr J. T. Stuart at Foxton, is rapidly going to destruction, from neglect -on-fchc part of some of the local authorities.. The sand banks through whichybhe.. road runs, were once m a good state of re^&jf;; this was secured at considerable exptrnse by the late Provincial Government. The fascining on the banks is now fast disappearing and the sand thus let loose is doing great damage to adjoining sections, m some instances quite .covering the surface. This unpleasant experience (for the owners) will no doubt increase m intensity until some steps are taken to remedy the-, evil. A general meeting of the subscribers to the Palmerston North Reading Room was held m the upper room' of the Public Hall on Wednesday evening; Mr R. Leary was voted to the chair. Asstatement was then made as to the past and? present condition of the institution, by which it appeared that annual subscriptions had been promised amounting to £34, and these, when realised, would secure the endowment of £20 per annum promised by the Borough Cpuncil. Mr Mitford proposed " That a Provisional Committee of management be formed, consisting of Messrs Leary, Keeling, Coleman, Fergusson, and the mover." The motion was seconded by Mr Green and carried. Mr Green proposed and Mr Keeling seconded, "That the duties of the Provisional Committee be to collect the first annual subscriptions, consider the advisability of taking over existing assets and liabilities, and the best method for conducting the institution; the ' Committee to report to a general meeting of subscribers, convened by public notice at an early date." Mr Fergusson submitted a motion fixing the annual subscription at £1, which was carried. After matters were furthe/discussed aud some suggestions made, the meeting terminated. We have received from Wanganui a copy of Mr H. I. Jones' Shilling Almanack and Directory for 1878. It contains a great deal of useful information under the heads postal, telegraphic, legal, Customs' duties, poultry bi*eeding, gardening, &c, besides a number of domestic recipes. The book is sufficiently instructive and useful to be worthy of a place m every household. The Directory is far the West Coast, and m so far as the Northern towns are concerned it is fairly complete, but. the Southern towns have not been so carefully represented, and of these, Palmerston has most reason to complain, for the P.ilmtfrston list of residents stands alone m not baring the names of professions and trades attached. The list is. also incomolete aa to the number of residents m this place. TJien again, it is perfectly silent as to the institutions and public buildings m the Manawatu district while it notices fully enough those of the Rangitikei, Wan^inui, and Patea districts. Feildmg and San d.cm are not inckidod m the Directory, but perhaps, it is better that they should not be notice.! at all than noticed inadequately. We have not ye| i .received the Wellington Almanack & DireWory published by the "N. Z. Tiuiyj " Co., but

we are given to understand that it is deficient m much the same way as is the otherwise excellent publication of Mi* Jones. A very remarkable illustration of the affection of a greyhound for its master, says the "Chester G-uardian, has just occurred at Crewe. A few days ago a notorious Orewe poacher, named Thomas Blackburn, was sentenced to seven years' penal servitude, for nearly killing a policeman near Nantwich. He wqs the; owner, of a favorite greyhound, which, m many a midnight poaching raid, proved itself valuable to its owner m the game preserves. Thus a strange but powerful affection existed between the man and his dog, and never were they found apart. After Blackburn's imprisonment the actions of the animal became singular. • Regularly every day he visited the man's previous haunts, witli a wistful look m his brown eyes j and, when the shades of evening fell, he would lie down uinder the seat of Blackburn's favorite inn, and there for several hours await, the master who never came. The landlord, to his credit, put food before the animal, but latterly it did not seeni to eat much. In the afternoon the faithful animal, like a sentinel on duty, was seen to parade Market-street, backwards and forwards, between the corner of Earle-street and Victoria-street, looking for its master, but he appeared not. Gradually the movements of the hound became mor© languid, and on Friday night, m Market-street, it dropped dead, as one of the crowd said, "of a broken heart at the loss of its master." Burning their Fingers.— The husbands of Aleppo undergo a trying ordeal before, they obtain their brides. Captain Burnaby, author of " A ride to Khiva," while m Asia recently, had the ceremony described to him by a young Bey from Aleppo. " A girl has, say, three lovers," said the Bey. " She takes three bits of live charcoal : f rom out of the Sfive 5 giving each of her lovers a piece, tells j|hein to place it m the palms of their, hands. ? T he fire burns through the skin, the tendons are laid bare ! sometimes the amorous gentlemen will resist till the flesh has been burnt to the bone. Here one or two of them generally succumb to the torture ; the man who resists the longest wins the lady." "Did you ever try it ?" "N0.," said the Bey, laughing. "lean get a- wife without any trouble, so I do not care about burning my fingers. We burn our -'fingers 'quite soon enough after marriage, as it is."