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Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 9, 23 November 1878, Page 2

We are pleased to hear of another permanent settler m our midst, m the person of Mr Kebblewhite, who on Monday purchased .00 acr-s of land on the line of railway, near Palmerston, for £2800, or about £4 per acre. We understand Mr Kebblewhite, who has lately arrived from Mastertan, intends cutting up his property m that locality with the view of putting it into the market. Tlie contractors for the improvement* to the Recreation Grounds, Messrs I hie and Neilson, are making great progress with the work, and notwithstanding the short time between this and Boxing Day, we feel convinced everything will be m readiness for the Sports. With reference to the latter, we hear the canvass for the subscriptions has been most successful, and that m ad< dition to the amount collected by the Mayor and Councillor Coleman, Mrs Mitford lu_» collected close upon £10 from tho ladies of Palme^to^ for a pi__e ta be called the L»di-3' jf urse. We noliee that the author of "Three Column Twaddle " m our Foxton contemporary appears again m print, and treats the people of that town to a column of extracts from our leaders. Were it not that the news will be stale, having been read by the people of Foxton weeks ago, it should prove an agreeable change to the wishywashy dish usually supplied ta its readers, "Twaddle" has altered his name and this time signs himself " Taipo. " Perhaps, however, m his next he may come out of his shell, and put his proper title, " Domine," so his productions. We have been informed upon excellent authority that the residents of Woodville are quite confident a low saddle can be found across the Ruahine Ranges, nearly opposite that township, which would permit of a track ta cross the Pohangina en the Palmerston side of the Gorge. If this were so, the effect upon the Napier Railway would be immense, as it would obviate the necessity of carrying the line through the Gorge, thereby saving hundreds of thousands m the construction. So assured are some of the settlers of the practicability of the scheme that we hear a party is ta be organised without delay to thoroughly explore the country and test the correctness of the statement, so as to be able to report with reliability ta the Government. An impecunious Maori paid a visit taour office on Thursday, having m his possession a bird known as the huia. Although at one time common enough, we understand that of late the birds are very rare. The specimen shown to us was a you»g one, although fully developed. Its feathers are of raven blackness, and with ears fully an inch m circumference of magnificent yellow hue, nnd a beak fully eight inches long and forming a half-circle, it is indeed a curiosity. The Native carried it m a Maori kit, and it appeared perfectly tame. Strange to say, notwithstanding the formidable appearance of its beak, its ohief weapons of altaok are its clawsIt is somewhat extraordinary the insane desire some persons exhibit for getting into trouhlc. Oije oft.hat rtlass, a Afr William 1 iieonard, met with his dw^rts «v rivur«da^,

when he was relegated to Wanganui Gaol for two months, m default of a £10 fine inflicted for improper conduct m a railway carriage. It appears Mr Leonard, being a second-class passenger, became tired of sitting upon the hard board, and by way of change seated himself on the lap of Mrs Eliza Tricklebank, the wife of a well-known respectable settler at Palmerston, following np that liberty with several attempts to kiss her. Mrs Tricklehank.very properly objected, and backed up her refusal with some " striking " proofs, whereupon Mr Leonard transferred his attentions to another lady. Mr Ward, the Police Magistrate, who happened to witness the whole of the proceedings, paid a high compliment to Mrs Tricklebank, for her courage m having the offender brought to punishment. A meeting of the Sports Committee waa held last evening, hia Worship tbe Mayor m the ohair. Three sub- committees were appointed, one to look after the grounds, and confer with the owners of vehicles for carrying visitors ; another to draw up a programme of sports, and oversee the different events of the day j while the third would|undertake the general finance management. Messrs. Gillespie, Coleman, and Mitford were selected as handieappers, and Mr Lockie was appointed Secretary. Considerable routine work was done, and before concluding, it was resolved that every subscriber of £1 should be entitled to receive three tickets of admission. We would remind the Knighta of the Willow that the important match Married v. Single will be commenced upon the Square, Palmerston, to-day at two p.m. sharp. Those gentlemen whose names, wore published m our last issue, are requested to be upon the ground punctually. We have been informed that the Hon. Secretary, Mr Mitford has arranged for a match to be played on next Saturday between Palmerston and Foxton, on tbe ground of the latter. As it will be a bank; holiday, being St. Andrew's Bay, a good muster is expected. According to a Wanganui contemporary — which we have no doubt is correctly informed — Mr Marcus lias received nothing m the shape of promotion, either- as regards salary or rank. His duties are simply to. be varied a little by an occasional trip on the line m order to keep, the wagons moving, and thus expedite the traffic. We are pleased to hear of the contradiction, inasmuch as an assistant manager, at Foxton i*, far more urgently required as a permanency than the office of travelling in-, spec tor; and the information should be an incentive with onr Foxton friends to act more determinedly m the matter. It will be seen that the .Feilding Sports Committee are already m the field with ; their programme, which, it must be confessed, is really a capital one, It contains '■■ no less than twenty-four items, embracing Two Miles' walking Match, One Mile, Quarter Mile, 200 Yards and 100 Yard, Races, and 2JSQ: Yards' over ten hurdtes ' besides various others, such as Bteeplechase m sacks, and the usual quantity of matches of strength, the whole winding up with a Maori "Haka." Fully £150 are to be given away as prizes, and no effort is ta be wanting to make the ocoasion a grand success. Nominations for the Handicaps, accompanied by the entrance fee, to be asnt m to the hon. Secretary not later than Wednesday, the 18th of December. Grave complaints have been made to us by equestrians whose business necessitates their travelling along the Rangitikei Line at night time, of the number of peripatetic vagrant cattle which strew tbe road. Not only do they grage along the side, startling skittish horses, but the very centre of the road would appear to. be a .favorite plaoe of vest. A night or. two since a couple of travellers were riding along within a few miles of Awahuri, when m the darkness one of them, who was a little ahead* stumbled over Borne large object m the road, and horse and rider were precipitated into a mob of cattle, which were quietly enjoying a siesta. Just as he was about to. pick himself up> over he went again, this time borne down by the weight of his friend who had shared a similar fate.. Fortunately, beyond a heavy shaking to. both, no harm was- done, but we have been assured that if some steps are not taken m the matter, sooner or later some serious accident will be the result. The people of Fitzherbert are certainly to be congratulated upon having- aeowed a thoroughly energetic Warden m the person of Mr Bru.ce. At the first meeting of the Board on Thursday, he made out an excelrent case for a refund of a portion of the rates collected m that locality to. be now spent m No. 5 Ward. To the credit of the members generally, na opposition was made to the proposition, the Chairman endorsing the claims made out by Mr Bruce, and the late Warden* Mr McEwen, generously agreeing to a refund of £100. . From an advertisement appearing m another column, itwill be found that tenders are called for erection of bridge and, approaches near Mr Newcomers property j scrubbing the sreamp an Manawatu Bridge, Gorge Road ; and forming, a bridle-track from the Manawatu "Bridge to Fitzherberton. That portion of the district has hitherto been left, out m the cold,- and we are pleased to. see it ia getting justice at last. Madame Cora andj Val Yose commenced a short season of two nights at tbe Foresters' Hall, Palmerston, on Wednesday evening to a very fair house. The feats m legerdemaip and mngio by Madame Cora were not only numerous, but really good, and were highly applauded. The second portion of the programme was allotted to Val Vose, who with his mechanical figures kept up an amusing and laughable conversation, interspersed with, quaint sayings, and humorous songs, The,whole lonolnded with the Aerial Suspension or " The Couch of the Angels," m which Miss Maude Clifton, while m a mesmeric state was suspended upon a pole, and her limbs posed m graceful attitudes to represent "Erin," " Britannia," " Liberty," and other representations^ No. small feature m the entertainment, were the tricks of the trained dog "Beauty,"— <a tiny little animal of a few pounds weight— 'which was almost human m its intelligence. Taken altogether the entertainment was a mast enjoyable one, and well worthy of patronage. The Hon. Sir Francis Dillon Bell is noted ! for hU aristocratic proclivities and thorough contempt for the canaille, and to such an extent does the worthy knight indulge those propensities, that to give them free vent the ordinary rules of politeness are ignored, and good-breeding set at defiance. A little while since Sir Francis paid a visit ta Palmerston, and upon entering the dining-room of a hotel took his seat without removing his hat. A gentleman at the table noticing the rudeness, told tho waiter to inform tlie stranger of the breach of etiquette, but the intelligence was received -by the aristocratic i snob with supreme contempt, and na effort was made to uncover. Disgusted at such studied rudeness,, the gentleman jumped up ! from the table, and with language more forcible than polite, declared that "he'd he hanged if. he would sit at the table with such an ignorant old bear j" but. even that broad hint had not tlie desired effect, as the knight, pursued his operations with sullinm indifference. On Thursday evening he again patronised the same hotel, and acted m a precisely similar manner, pursuing the even tenor of his way quite unconscious of the fact th_t his octuduct- wd's. being severely

criticised by a number of persons, whose remarks were anything but complimentary to this arislooratic boor. The International Circus paid a second visit to Palmerston and exhibilod m the Square on Wednesday night. The day all through was most changeable, and the wea.t ther fitful and boisterous, notwithstanding which, it secured a very liberal attendance. > The great feature m the entertainment was the spectacular equestrian play of " Turpin's Ride to- York v or> the Death of Bonnie Blaok Bess," which acted aa a mag*, net to draw many who had patronised the Circus on the first visit. To those who had never seen it before*— more especially the juveniles — the finished training of the horse . was a source of much wonder,, and; when at the conclusion of tlie show the body of Black Bess is hoisted upon, men's shoulders, and borne round the ring to the plaintive music of the " Dead March m Saul," the solemnity of the occasion was rudely interrupted with the cheers of the audience. Taken as a whole, the performance was a vast improvement upon its. predecessor, and the various items of the- programme — the feats of the Lady with the Iron. Jaw, the acrobatic performances of the Brothers Duvali, the daring horsemanship of Mr Hayes, and the eccentricities of Mr Ben-han\o—-41U came m for a large and deserve.d share of applause.