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Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 25, 29 January 1879, Page 2

The Outwabd> Mail. — We have been requested to notify that the English mail, via San Francisco, ,wLI clsoe at Palmerston on Friday, the 3Ls% at 7.45 p.m. ; and at ! Feilding the. tame evening,; but at five o'clock; Kabebe School. — The election for a School committe was held m the school- j house on Monday evening, and resulted m the return of Mess*?? Walker, Linton, Sly, Monrad, Callerson, Collis, and Rowe. Palmebston Nobth Reading Room. — A meeting of the subscribers to the above institution will be held m the Reading Room of the Public Hall, to-morrow. As the business is imjiairtant, subscribers have been asked to be present punctually at eight o'clock; ; -, An Intebpbbteb Wantkd. — A correspondent telegraphing to the Foxton Herald a report of the Bull's meeting, has the following mysterious sentence : — " Great indignation is expressed at the conduct of the Palmerston promoters." What . does it mean ? Who are the promoters and what j have they done ? , Nbw Cheer. — By the erection of a hotel at Eketahuna a great want ha 3 been supplied, and persons who travel through the Forty Mile Bush speak m the highest terms, of the comfortable accommodation; now to be obtained at lthat place. .The proprietor of the new hotel, M. E. Green, seems to be the right man m the right .place, and spares no pains m his efforts to add to the comforts of his guests. Teubaoe End Platform. — We have heard with pleasure that the Terrace End platform difficulty is now finally settled, and that this important work will be pushed ahead as fast as possible. This is another -instance of what may be accomplished by downright- perseverance. The residents of that locality may copgratulate themselves upon haying got aveijy public convenience, which will, no dbubfc^be.augmented by the erection of a goods shed at no distant date. Palmebston to Mastebton. — It is now considered na very great undertaking to do the journey between Palmerston and Masterton m one day. This fact speaks, volumes, as showing the progress made throughout the. district, and the advanced state of our road system as compared with affairs a few years ago. We may: just say that one of out" townsmen witha small poney and trap, and a Companion (male) left Palmerston last Thursday mornirfg anl arrived at Masterton m the evenings—a, distance of nearly eighty miles. j An Effect op the Fibes. — We regret to hear that Mr. James Linton, of Terrace End, has sustained a| very severe loss by the total destruction of ja number of valuable shrubs and trees, which he had planted to the number of betwebn two and three hundred. During his (temporary absence at Ma3terton, at the close of the week, a bush fire occurred on theiland adjoining hi 3, the result being that over £50 worth of damage was done. The loss is not even so much m the intrinsic value of the property destroyed, as m the difficulty there will be found m replacing them. Railway Shunts. — Why the railway authorities should delay the construction of shunts into new mills, is a mystery to everyone m the district. We hear of a case m point, where the owner gave notice for the shunt at the same time that he gave an order to a Wanganui firm to make the machinery for his mill. The machinery is now ready for transit, frufr the shunt is not yet authorised, although the whole of the work could be done m a week. What a silly farce m connection with a Governmental Public Works system, and what private loss and disappointment to some one ! The Convict WALSH.--We learn by telegram that the Commission appointed to inquire into the state of mind of the culprit Walsh, have unanimously pronounced him sane. As the 'sentence of death was commuted upon the plea' of his insanity; the verdict of the Commission places the Executive somewhat onithe horns of a dilemma. Although we were not an advocate for the commutation, we ;hold that the man's wretched life should now be spared,- as to further trifle with his feelings, would be the refinement of cruelty. A Challenge to Palmbbston. — We have been informed that Mr. C. H. Mit- • ford, the hon. Secretary to the .Palmerston Cricket Club, yesterday received a challenge from Feilding; which has been accepted, and the match will come off on Saturday j week. 'Hitherto the?^fejilmerstonians have pretty well hold their own, but if report I speaks truly the Feilding men are perfect j" terrors," and by a long way the toughest ' ti&ain on the Coast. If our local cricketers wish to retain the prestige which they have so far sustained, they .should practise daily, and above all, go m for a proper one on Saturday afternoon. ; Scbiptpbal Chabades.— Our esteemed friend — Mr. John GoWer—^has taken to Scriptural charades, allotting to himself the role of King David, qnd with a stone m his , stocking he seeks to slay the Goliath of the Times. We propose to return the.compliment, and m trying our hand we dub the Herald Sampson; we .ourselves will be the 600 PhiHistine3, and .Mr. John Gower—well the weapon wife which the slaughter was effected (the gentleman's knowledge of Biblical history will save us from being more explicit). Had Mr. John Gower forwarded his letter to the Times, we would have gladly inserted it, and as gladly replied to it ; a3 he did not, we r pass it by without notice. . • | v The WooDvrLLE Tragedy. — The last chapter m the Woodville tragedy closed on Monday with the destruction of the bu3h m which the murdered remains of George I Ollandt were discovered, and the levelling t to the ground of the Accommodation House, which m some way is identified with the perpetration of the darkdeed: A bush fire was raging all Sunday night, and on Monday its proximity to the township caused serious alarm. The Accommodation House, I as most of our readers are awara, is not more than two hundred yards from Murphy's Hotel, and at one time it was thought that both it and the new school-house would fall a pray to the flame.?. ., By the strenuous exertions of the townsfolk, however, it was j subdued, ..and by yesterday morning all danger was past. ' , < Palmbrston Cricket Club. — A special general meeting was helrton Saturday evening, at the Royal Hotel ; Mr. Mitford m the chair. At the request of the Match Committee, tho number of members m future to oompose it" was increased to five; three to form a quorum, Messrs. King and Dungan being the new members. : Some dissatisfaction was expressed nt the fact of member? who had wot £*tid their subscript , tion being allowed to play m matches,: to the exclusion of those good on tho books, and it was unanimously decided that m j future the rule should be stringently enforced, the Secretary to notify the factfby post card. At the request of the President, Mr. P. Warburton withdrew the mottoinof which he had given notice, and after the Chairman had announced that there were three Thatches on t!te tapi* t the meeting adjourned.

Thb Mblboubne Cpp and the " Floing Bolk." — As is generally known to our readers, the £1000-prize m Tonk's Sweep on the Melbourne Cup was won by Messrs. Staite and Pnlmerston, of this town, and m order ■to mark such a pleasing event they invited a number of their friends to meet them on Saturday night, and drink their good luck m bumpers of champagne. The spread was given at Batchelar's 'Hotel, and so well: did the guests respond to the call made upon them, that before the hand of time had reached the hour of .midnight, the landlord had uncorked his last bottle, and the hotel was innocent of champagne, port, and sherry. A most enjoyable evening was spent, the very pleasing occupation of sampling the liquids being diversified with speech-making and harmony, to enjoy which a number of persons took up al fresco posi- , tion upon " outside tickets," which were kindly provided them. The programme, like the proceedings', was somewhat mixed, ranging from the sweetly sentimental to the broadly comic, while wit and humor, puns and bon mots, vied m their sparkle with the "vintage of champagne." We do not begrudge such worthy fellows as Staite and Palmerson their good fortune, and hope that ere long we will spend such another pleasant evening, but above all that! Dame Fortune will put it into our power to return the compliment, and play the part of hoßt upon the occasion. ' „ . ' A Colonial Damon and Pythiai. — Two " teetotallers on strike," who had been making night hideous with Bacchanalian harmony, came to grief on Friday evening, .and on Saturday morning were brought up at the Palmerston Police Court to answer for their misdeeds. No. 1 underwent the ordeal, was lectured, and fined ten shillings ; m default, a week's imprisonment. No. 1 was penitent but impecunious, but m the dilemma No. 2 came to the rescue of his friend, paid his fine, the released one going on his way rejoicing. Scarcely had he paid over the money and set his friend at liberty when bis own name was called, and two minutes later he was m. the hands of Constable Gillespie as a hostage for the paymohfc of half -a-sovereign. In vain he assured the Court the liberation of his friend had swallowed up all his available capital, save and exsept a solitary sixpence, which was tendered m lieu of discharge. The Court was inexorable, yet as he was being ( led into durance vile there was nought but triumph on his countenance at his sacrifice, | and he accepted his doom with the air of a martyr. To the honor of humanity be it j told his captivity was not of long eontinu- j anoe, as Pythias shortly afterwards appeared with possession of the needful coin, and the two friends adjourned arm m arm to the nearest " pub." ' I A Habd Road to Travel. — From our own positive knowledge we aro not; , prepared to prove that " Jordan is a hard road to travel," still the fact has been so often proclaimed upon such very excellent authority, that we do not feel justified m hazarding an objection. Leaving the matter an open queition, however, we have it upon the authority of a valued correspondent that m the matter of difficult travelling the historic Jordan is a long way behind the Colonial Masterton. Our informant is m doubt a3 to whether the science of roadmaking m that classic region is m the days of its infancy, or centuries m advance of the outer world ; but of this he is quite positive, that the practical pent of the performance differs materially from elsewhere. Generally speaking, the supply of metal for filling the rut 3 m the road is kept alongside until required for use ; but on the Masterton road, as they seldom have a conveyance travelling with less than two horses, the sucking Macadam whose labors are devoted to the task, hit upon the bright idea of piling it up m the centre of the road. This woulrl have been all very well, but unfortunately at times a one-horse vehicle does come along, and as m the case of our correspondent, the unfortunate beast had to travel up a narrow Btrip of metal, while the wheels were taking soundings for bottom m vain m the hollow: Bush FiEiß. — The bush fires which have been raging throughout the district for the past woe"k have not only signed the deathwarrant of, but laid low many a giant of the forest. The country round about bears i a melancholy look, the blackened and blasted track of the devouring element being | visible everywhere ; but nowhere are its ruinous effects more conspicuous than on the road to Stoney Creek. Between the Cemetery and the site of the Te Matai Mill there was about half a mile of as pretty and picturesque scenery as could be well imagined," along which it was impossible to travel without the eye being struck with its beauty. Going toward the G-orge, as the traveller passed the boundary of the town, he desceajlocl into an avenue across which the, trees on either side had spread their branches, forming a natural evergreen arch. This is all now changed, and from the brow of the hill the eye roam 3 over a broad expanse of blackened and desolate country or smoking logs. But we live m a prosaic age ; the country cleared of the forest, be it ever so grand, represents wealth to the community, the monarohs must, submit to the inexorable hand of fate, and the ornamental give way to the useful. Palmeb9ToX Riflss. — We would draw attention to a letter m another column signed " An Old Volunteer," m which the writer points out the very necessary care which should be exercised m the selection of officers of tho corp3. There is one matter, however, which our correspondent has failed to touch upon, and that is a permanent — or rather,- resident— drill-instructor. "An Old Volunteer" refers to the probablo bi-monthly visit of Sergeant-major Bezar, but his past experience mu3t convince him that with suoh Bparse tuition it would be utterly impossible to make the men effective. The corp3 can never hope to arrive at efficiency unless there are at least drills three nihht3 m each week, with a very lengthy one on Saturday afternoon ; and for this purpose the employers of labor m the town should be petitioned to allow their men to knock off work every Saturday at one o'clock. We hear on good authority that the Major commanding the District will be m Palmerston on Monday evening to swear m the men, and we think it would be as well if tho corps had arrived at some decision as to the selection of officers. We woxild point out to those who intend to join that it depends on the strength of the comi piny as to how many officers it is to have, as unless there i 3 a certain number they will not be entitled to three. If we might I be allowed to offer a suggestion, we would i propose Mr. Snebon, who is an old Volun- | teer, as captain ; Me3sr3. Coleman or Batchelnr as lieutenant; Mr. T. King, sublieutenant ; and Mr. B. Newcombe as ncrIgeant, with whom arrangements for frequent drills could be made. We would again impress upon all to muster well on Monday night, so that the commanding officer will receive a good impression not only of the physique of the corp3, but of their earne3tne3s. ' j i Thb Palmerston Goods Sheds. — For I some time past complaints have been made by carters, and storekeepers whose business calls them, to remove goods from the railway sheds, at the: waste of time and inconvenience thev-have been,.put to while taking mor unloading. In another cqlumn one of tlie craft has unbosomed himself and put [his grievances, before the public, and we 1 must say that, after having made cwuider-

able inquiries, we find that " Jehu " and his; fellows have legitimate cause for complaint. At the present time the traffic of the Palmerston station has increased to such an ex* tent that it is utterly impossible for the work to be executed m an efficient or satis-' factory manner with the limited staff atcommand. The receipts of the Goods Shed) will reach upon an arerage fully £50 per week, and purely goods represented by that large amount are to be received, booked, and despatched, would at least require the undivided attention of one man. Under the present system^ the official m charge of the sheds has not only to act a signalman, but frequently is called upon to coal the engine', peraap3 at the very time when there are two or three carts waiting to take delivery. Decidedly, to* give satisfaction and to do the work efficiently, the man m charge of the G-oods Sheds should devote the whole of his attention to that alone. We believe a great portion of the time of the porter at the station is occupied m pumping water for the engine, being thus engaged when shunting is necessary. From these facts it will be seen that an increase m the staff is sadly wanted, bnt we think it should be such a one as would not press hardly upon the Government, for by the employment .of a boy it would relieve the porter of the task of pumping, thereby doing away with the necessity of taking the man at the Sheds away -from his. work. We recommend the suggestion to the General Manager, who, we feel quite sure, did he know the inconvenience to carters and others by the pre- * sent arrangement, would take immediate steps to effect a remedy. • ■>. ■»■ ,