The Manawatu Times. SATUEDAY, MARCH 30, 1878.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 49, 30 March 1878, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. SATUED AY, MARCH 30, 1878.

In consequence of a press of advertise-: ments, and to clear off an accumulation of. correspondence, we ai'e compelled to omit our leadingi|jcljele. - Some people are urf^er the impression that the pleasure of publishing a paper is sufflcient compensation for its attendant expenses. Speaking from our experience we are in a position to state authoritativsly that such is not. the cuse, that its delights are more than counterbalanced by its drawbacksj nnd that praises of a "valuable journal" will not supply the motive power for its locomotion. We have been favored with subscribers who have persistently bestowed their pitronage since our advent., as far ns punctually taking the "Tiines" and rending -and lauding its contents, i9 concerned ;"but there, to them, their tfesponsi* bility appears to end. ; Such p'atronage, however flattering, is, v w^;; regret to say, . somewhat - unprofitable, land to thoa^ who have viewpdtljre matter in thai light id the

past, we must say that in the future such coin will not pass current ; and that unless they forward some tangible recognition of their appreciation, we shall be compelled to -resort to extremes, and —in plain English— " stop'the papers." We need not say more. Verhum sap. " The line of tramway to Richter and Co.'s" Saw Mills at the Terrace-end of the townhaving been found insufficient for .present itse, a second one is beingslaid down to take its place. It is also intended to have a siding at the same place, and the ballast, engine Waverley has been at- work all the week brihging'in stuff to level the site. - Judging from appearance the carpentering trade must have a busy time of it at Sandon. Everywhere additions to buildings and new erections greet the eye, amongst the latter the moat con3picious being the Bank of New Zealand, and the new Junction Hotel. Mr Oakley, the proprietor, has shifted the old building bodily back, and upon its site is now erecting a fine commodious twostoried building, which will not only be a great acquisition, but an ornament to the towri.\ The Sandon Flour Mill is now completed, and the machinery, which has ..been supplied by Mr Mari«ay, of Wanganui, was to he in tho- o igh -working order on Thursday. We may therefore be able to state in our next issue that opei'ation3 have been commenced, and the mill grinding the produce of the district. We have; received a circular from the General Post Office, enclosing two specimen newspaper wrappers upon which the stamp itself is printed, thus obviating the necessity of pasting it. The wrappers are intended to be used for transmitting newspapers .through the post to places within New Zealand, as well as to countries beyond the Colony, in- which latter case an additional half-penny stamp will be required. They are to be made up into parcels of eighteen for which an additional penny over and above the pi'ice of the stamp will be charged to pay for the paper. The arrangement is an admirable one, having been' in operation in Victoria for a long time, where it has been found to be a great convenience, not only in saving time and trouble in cutting and gumming the wrapper, but as a safeguard against the stamp falling off-. We have been informed that with a view to thoroughly test the truth or otherwise of there being gold in the bed of the Makino, Mr Halcombe during the past week set a ■sluicing party to prospect the Makino Creek, in the localty where the specimens of quartz were recently picked up. After a thorough investigation, however, n ofching was discovered to warrant the belief that the creek was auriferous, or that gold was to be found about Feilding. It is a bad rule that will not work both ways, andajoke is never so good as when it is double shotted, and recoils upon the perpetrator. The following occurrence, for the truth of which we can vouch, is too good to be lost, and consequently we rescue it from oblivioji by giving it a place in our columns. A pa'rty of Palmerstonians lately paid a visit to a neighboring township, and on getting on board for the return trip, their departure was witnessed by a host of friends, amongst whom was the local iEsculapius. ' Before the ; first mile had been covered it was found that one.of the e horse3 had cast a shoe, arid a i-eturn was necessary. While the animal was being shod, it was suggested that a messenger should be despatched to the man of medicine, telling him that Mr- — —was lying in the hotel in a bad way, a similar story being forwarded to his late companions. As the worthy doctor entered the room' he. found the invalid stretched on a ■ sofa, his head' supported by one, while another held a glass of water to his lips. Never stopping to inquire the cause, but jumping to the conclusion that an upset had, taken place, the medico felt the pulse, worked the arms, and performed other pantomimic movements peculiar to the profession,'and after some consideration ordered the patient to be removed to bed. Scarcely had he so delivered himself than the sick man sprung to his feet, which of course was the signal for a perfect volley of laughter, to which none contributed more heartily than the supposed -invalid. So far so good, the merriment'- was general, always excepting the doctor, but when hre gravely stated that joke or joke "hot, he had been sent for, and should certainly send in his bill for .his professional fee, one ringing note of^aughter was then missing, and much as it was enjoyed th% joke was not considered worth a guinea. From a return of the allowances and travelling expenses of the. members of the late Ministry, we glean that during the past financial year, theiHon. H. A> Atkinson received, in addition to £104 83 8d for a house, the sum of £422 5s 6d;as travelling allowance. The other members of the Cabinet drew amounts averaging £150, and this it will be remembered, was outside of their Ministerial salaries altogether^ Should any. hon. member be seized with a thirst for information in the coming Session, it will be an interesting piece of statistics to read the account of the h'ttle bill presented by Sir Q-eorge GKrey and. his colleagues for their Grand Tour. Brett Harte has painted in poetic language the pleasing peculiarities of the "Heathen Chinee," but had that clever writer been located in Maoridom he would have dis-1 covered that for "deeds that are, dark and" tricks that are vain," the Maori is just as ".peculiar." During the sitting of the Native Lands Court in town this week one of the dusky claimants wandered into a local hostelrie to .wile away the tedious hours, and meeting a White friend proposed a game of billiards on the following terms. The game was to be fifty up, the Native was to break the balls, and to give his opponent forty-eight, on the condition that he should not get more than fifty to.. his score. After some consideration the challenge was accepted, the guileness White pigeon thinking it wouid be queer if he could not get a cannon during the game. The red ball was spotted, the Maori took the cue, and taking direct aim for the corner pocketj potted his own ball, giving one for a miss and two for .holing the ball, u therebymaking his opponent's score.-fifty-one, or one beyond the required nmnber. Of course the wager was duly paid, and as the winner sipped his shandy-gaff the selfsatisfied smile which illumined bis swarthy couuteyance afcthe manner in which it had b^ei^J&tained, would have convinced the mojifcvsgeptieal of the benefits which oivilisatioTf was Jbe3towing upon the " noble savage," and the aptitude with which he oonf ormed to the iethics of his White instructors. . . ■■-,■'■. The attention of contractors is directed to an advertisement hotifiying that tenders will be received till noon on Wednesday noxfc, for metalling; the Fitzherbert road. In the same coifirnh will be found a notice from the Trustee in the estate of Benjamin Gosling, intimating that a meeting of creditor^ will.be h olden at Mr Eeeling's office, on VS^ednesday at noon, to coriider insolvent's application for a discharge. ;.■"■" [ When we were told th'at thesßftTl of Lswes, a few weeka since, looked aghast on being informed that a special steamer to take him from Foxton to Sydney would cost probably £150, we agreed with^hj^ord-

ship that the price was a " leettle " stiff. What will our readers, however, say to the following, which we extract from Captain Fairchild's report on the expenditure for the Kinemona : — " When the Government wanted to charter a steamer to take the Governor from Wellington to Lyttelton, the New Zealand Steam Shipping Company >sked £700, nnd I could name many other instances the demands were even higher." Reckoning that his Most Noble Grace of Norman by had three meals and on&bed/«h^p"wou.ld average just £175 each. Whether the tariff Was struck on account of the rank of the passenger, or his powers of consumption, -we know not, but in either case we consider a pretty fair margin for profit was left. It will be seen elsewhere that a Grand Concert is to take place this evening in the Foresters' Hall, in which Miss Leaf, contralto.vocalist, and Mr W. H. Reed, local songster, will sustain the principal parts: From exchanges to hand we learn that the concerts have been very successful elsewhere. We would remind members of the Education Board that the next meeting will take place at Wanganui, on Thursday, 4tli prox.