NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 37, 19 March 1879, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

I; PAiMjsftsi'o^ to: Ashubst. —It will ba 'Been that our enterprising fellowi•'■townsman, Mr.ThomaiGpodjssqn, has. de,teTmined to aupply a.want much felt, and intends to run a cab between Palmerston nnd A^hu^W^ a wepfti; T,he, hour's and day ; s ■ of: departure wjiil be. learned, m, anpthe|r {flolpinnj.: ■ .;.:; .'•. .•-■.-.-' \ ■ '•■' Tkr 3?,aces.— r Our remarks aaeni the^usiby"of*^tendM^l£t- ths Waiigttnwf; B^S.'hftya; beW endoi^el by our ilarton/cbnt^mppsary, v?A}Q\ "tate?:. that ,very few. paesengevs from Sar^gitike^ honored 'V\yar»gan,vu witli ( tl'.<)ir present.

FjtoM onk Battle-Field to Another. — Grey Mourns and a number of other m<!ers arrived from Wanganui by the train on Fridaynight, en route to the Ilawke's Bay Races, which take ulaco to-morrow and Friday. Th-jj PviPiE Butts. — Captain Snolson, 'Sergeant ;Lockie, and Corporal Marsh, .m cp^uj).a,ny Tt-ith Sergeant- major Bezar, spejfc the belt- part, of Monday m prospecting for a site for a rifle butts, but were forced to rest content with' that "already selected on the south side of the Manawatu River. ApKO ATIO.K3 FOB REGISTRATION OF Votes.— We hare to acknowledge the eour.tfeoua and prompt manner m which Mr. Ross, the Registration Officer, forwarded a number of forms for which we made application. They are now at our office, and persons wishing to register can be supplied by calling. Still Another Settler. — Mr. Coleman informs us that he has disposed of Mr. Bafct's property m Ka-rere,' consisting of ninety odd acres at £1500, being something over £15 per acre, stock at a valuation. The new comer — whom wo welcome to the, district — is a Mr. Chamberlain, from the Napier side, and we can do this the more heartily, for the reason that as Mr. Batfc still intends" to remain hero, the district has gained 'one good settlers without losing dnother. Off for a Holiday. — Mr. Turner, the manager of the Bank of Australasia, set out f )r Napier on Saturday evening, m company with Mr. Meßae, of Marfcon, on their annual holidays. Both gentlemen will be away for about a month, , and purpose visiting Tuupo and the Hot Springs, before their return. Mr. Cox, who has received the aid of another assistant, will take Mr. Turner's place during his absence. Food Supply. — A large mob of bullocks recently purchased by a gentleman living at Rangitikei, m the Wairarapa, passed through Palmerston on Monday The men m charge state that the grass is quite parched m the Wairarapa ; but some welcome rain fell a week ago, and relieved the pastures a little. The cattle looked well and healthy-looking, considering the dry summer experienced on the East Coast. The Feilding Corporation Land Sale. — We have been informed the auctioneers, Messrs. Halcombe and Sherwill, have made arrangements with the Railway Department to run a special train from Wanganui on the 26th for the convenience of buyers at. the forthcoming sale. The train will leave Wanganui at half past eight m the morning ; Marfcon, half p-xsfc ton ; Greatford, at a quarter to elsvgn ; Halcombe a few minutes after eleven, and arriving at Feilding shortly before noon. Tickets will be granted at single rates for the return journey, and may : be -utilised up to, and inclusive of, Saturday, the 29th instant. The Wesleyan Anniversary Services. — The anniversary services m connection with the Wesleyan Church school, Palmerston North, were held on Sunday last m the Public Hall. .Tne Rev. Lee,of Wanganui, preached m the morning and evening to. good congregations, and appropriate hymns were - sung by the children m o, manner calculated - to bring credit to thosewho trained them for fcho. service?. A special collection was made on each occasion m behalf of the school, and a sum received which wo hear excepdeel the expectations of the. officers of the school. Shbep Worrying:. — We hear that Mr. i Moffatt, butcher, has had near a dozen of sheep killed by the attacks of savage vagrant dogs, which have got into his paddocks, while, almost as many more have been so worried, that they had to bo destroyed. We believe he is aware of the ownership of the •principal offender, and intends taking proceedings. Persons who are possessed of animals whose mara\\ding and savage instincts must be. well known, should take care to have thorn securely fastened up ; but if they will not take, such a precaution, . and allow them liberty to destroy their , neighbors' property with impunity, they richly deserve being made to piy the p.enalty. Now and Then.— ln looking over " Advenfcure3.in Now Zealand," by the late Mr. Wakefield, a copy of which has been kindly lent to us by.his widow, we notice, amongst other things that it states that ho was the first person who rode a horse up the West, Coast from Wellington, and the wonder of the Maoris at tho sight of the horse— the Xqrh nui, or. big dog, as they called it — is depicted m graphic language. Now nearly 40 years have passed since then and what a change! The' Noble Savage has riot, only, become reconciled, to the. Kttri wi, but is pretty well versed m all the mysteries of hor-ie-racing, book'making, hedging, &a, &c, while m the polite accomplishments; of billiards, eucnre, or. Yankee Grab, he could pass with honor., .■ •• -\ Tee Land Sam;.- To-day. — Tradesmen and farmers -'desirou* of obtaining either residences or homesteads had batter attend the sale of land'Sb' be- held to-day by Messrs. Thynne, Linton, and Co. We have so lately reviewed hrdetau the merits of each lot. to bp Bubmitted„that. we feel it is not necessary to again travel over the same ground, feeling satisfied that, m .reminding intending investors, we will have done all that is needful. We notice from the Wellington papers that the. sale of, the township of Melrose, comprising between five and six hundred lots, has not been a great success ; but fifty or .sixty h&yo been disposed of. Hitherto lots offered- in^the. Manawatu hare been snapped up with avidity, and we have little doubt tlie^Bame. agreeable, experience' will be the ras]ult,pf.,to-day'8 j sa.le. - Pedesteianibm,. — - De!an,ey, the, well-, known long-distance, runner, having, done bo tirell m,Manswafcii, has thrown out a ; cnalr lenge? to anotiher. athlete, named l^'Pror to race,. him for -16200. The. contest is .to be m three ..events iOO, 200, and 300 yards, Mcfvor giving his opponent three. yards' start, m th§ short distance, but running level on the, other two ; the money to be , taken on two events. We. believe the challenge has' :been accepted, and tho struggle is to come off at3?eilding on the 26th, insfc. Aa'thia- is-the -day lupoh which the great land. sale. is to be held* no, doubt, tho affair will-be. witnessed, by a large, number of persons. - We understand that, several of De- ' .laney^qdmjrera.at. Feiicling are clubbing

together to raise the amount of the stakes, and that a deposit of £j() has bci-n alr.udy paid."'-, Bur.n Fir?.?, — On Saturday the whole country around the town seemed perfectly aglow with bush! fires, while the atmosphere was most oppressive. The murky appearrance of the sky, and the dull, muggy sensation experienced, reminded one forcibly of the bush fires and hot winds of Australia, and as night closed m the scene became grandly picturesque. On ono side the glare of the flames lit up the heavens ; while on another, the fire being only m an early stage, was to be seen sparkling here and there through'the foliage of the trees, giving the appearance as if the bush hung with countless Chinese lanterns ; while again the bare and scorched limbs, twined m fantastic shapes, formed a weird foreground to the illuminated sky. Visit of the Native Minister. — The Hon. John Sheehan, his secretary, Mr. Lewis; and Mr. Moorhouse, the member for Christchurch City, paid a flying visit to Palmerston on Monday. The General Manager, on a special- engine, with carriage attached, passed through at six o'clock to meet the distinguished visitors, as they had not reached Foxton by the departure of the morning train. It had been' expected that Mr. Sheehan would' 'be 'interviewed by the Natives at Awapuni, to'whom he had promised to pay a visit m January, but instead of that being done, he proceeded on to Palmerston, where himself and party interviewed Host Batchelar at the Royal. After replenishing the inner man, and giving their steed a drink, they were whisked away to Wanganui, without half a dozen people being aware that a Cabinet Minister had been m town. Telegraphic Communication between Palmerston and Woodville. — The surveyors are busy at work, and were camped on Monday at the mouth of the Manawatu Gorge. A question is of .en asked a3 to whether there is any means of communication between one end" of the Gorge and the other. As soon as the line is finished, it might, indeed, be very judicious to have communication between both ends, so as to avoid all risk of accident occurring. It is only the other day a large mob of bullocks was driven through from the Wairarapa. and it would be a rather risky experiment if some person had been engaged driving a similar mob from this end. We commend the matter to the attention of the ' : powers that be." Almost every traveller speaks of the great risk, and anything done to allay uneasiness on that head could not fail to have a beneficial e3!e.;t. A Spirituous Lock Out. — A bar to, not for, the sale of spirits, took place at. the Halcombe Hotel, on Friday night. From what we could learn of the fact 3, a dispute had arisen between the lessee, MrFrance, and the proprietor of the building, Mr. A. Bell, and the latter, taking advantage of the absence of the former at Wanganui, took possession of the promises, and closed up the .bar, ..The.' lodgers, however, resented this b.^e attempt to "rob 'the noor man of his beer," and a special messenger was sent through to Marfcon to bring back a cask and a dozen. On his successful return, Bacchus reigned supreme, and high saturnalia wa,s kept up until mornng. The worst of the matter was that with the seizure departed .all hope of a, traveller getting refreshment. It is a pity such a state of thing-? should exist, as from what we know of Halcorabe, a hotel properly conductod would be a fortune m a couple of years. Not a Bad Plan. — There is. an old saying to the effect that there are some dangers which will not be removed until a bishop be killed. The. visits of such High Church dignitaries to Palmerston are somewhat rare; and then, again, the commodity itself is much too scarce.to sacrifice for an expected gjod. Now, however, "when Ministers of I the Crown are getting quite a common thing amongst us, we might try the recipe, but substitute the latter for the former. We. heard it suggested oh Monday that the Corporation should have met Mr. Shoehan at tho station,, and had him conveyed to his • hotol m Goodisson's trap, but on his return manage,- that. hi 3 Ministerial body should be deposited, by the upsetting of the vehicle. .m tho Public W-orks pr-we at the Square, Were. such a ruse to bo carried out, we make bold to nave there would not be much delay m tho Public Works Department making good the eyesore they have created m the Square. However, the plan will keep, the ! n-oro particularly •as Mr. Macandrew is a better subject upon whom to experiment,M/N versus Beast. — A novel race came off at Feilding on Monday, an,d one which it would appear to most people a not difficult task to spot tho. winner. The wellknown pedestrian Delaney staked £ 10 against the value of a horse that he would race the animal fifty yards, and' :ome m. a winner ; phpuld-ho succeed m doing so, the horse to become his property, ; but if not, she money to go to the owner of the animal. A capital start was effected, but as might be exI peeted, tlie- biped got off -with a-plungej and | before his four-footed foe> had made his first | spring, Delaney had covered .half the distance. However, just as he breasted -I,he tape the -horse' u haad was within half a yard of him, and had lie to go another yard he must have lost. The owner of the beast, a Maori, fought hard against delivering up tho animal, according to the conditions -of the bet, as he urged, thafc bis "friend" whom he had deputed to lipid the tape, and act. as judge; had not done.eo. After pressure had. been brought upon the Native to pay hia debt of honor, he proceeded to take satisfaction for his loss out of his " friend" m a manner not at all agreeabje. The Matwv-atu Acci^matisation - Socibtv. — At a. committee meeting of the. Manawatu. Acclimatisation Society, held- m the Public Hall, Palmerston North, to consider ft circular from the- Colonial Secretary, it was decided to rocommend the months of April, May, Jurl?., and- July as being " open season" for native gam& ; and the months of May, June, and July as being "open season" for imported gamp (cock pheasants and .quail).. . Thn Hon. See. reported that he had the .game licenses for 1879 ready for issuing, and also that the rules of the society were ready for. distribution to members. The. Mayor. was requested to,brin.g^

the fuel of tie large increase of rabbit* m the borough before the Corporation,, and to-. take active step? Ln- the destruction of thesamc. In connection with the sbciefcywe have been handed the following' letter by Mr. Warburtoii : — "Napier, 14-th Marsh," 1879. Dear Sir, — I have the pleasure to acknowledge your favor of the 10th inatant covering cheque for £25 m part payment of sum agreed upon for salmon. Some years since our society turned out some carp m a lake near Te Aufce ; they have increased wonderfully. Should you wish to obtain any I think we could ari'ango to have some caught, and they could be probably delivered at Palmerston the same night. The only expense would be the catching and the fare of the man m charge. I think we have some suitable fish-cans. — I am, dear sir, yours truly, F. Sutton, Hon. Secretary Acclimatisation Society. — P. E. Warburfcon, Esq., Palmerstou North." Official Blundering- oe Culpable Neglect. — Monday having been a general holiday a number of persons availed themselves of the opportunity to visit Palmerston and Feilding, but would it be credited that not the slightest provision had been made by the authorities at Foxton for the occasion. In fact, so far from that being the case, the whole travelling accommodation consisted of one second-class carnage, which arrived at Palmerston crammed to suffocation. At this station there was a regular host of excursionists who had taken tickets and paid first-class fare, for whom there was net even standing room on the platform. Many were disgusted and refused to go, but amongst those who were compelled to do so wore both the Palmerston and Napier teams of cricketers who were obliged to take possession of covered trucks, and m this condition put m the whole of the journey. As might have been expected, strong expressions were pretty prevalent, and the dishonesty and discourtesy of the proceeding freely commented upon. The fourth bye-law of the railway regulations, says : — " Tickets will be issued conditionally — that is to say, m case there shall be room m the train for all the passengers to whom tickets shall have been issued." This clause, it may be held, warrants the treatment to which the passongers were subjected on Monday, but we maintain that it only refers to occasions when there is an extra strain upon the resources of the Department, to meat which all possible means have been taken ; not a wilful and deliberate neglect of necessary provision. We do not know who is responsible for the blunder, but we should imagine such an oceuirence might be easily prevented by always leaving one or twp -spare -carriages at Ealmeraton. Unfortunately, on Monday a large proportion of the passengers were either from the East Coast or the South Island, and they can be anything but favorably impressed with the management of the Manawatu Line. This is to be regretted, as we mustacknowledge that- Mr. Rotboi'am is noted for his attention to the wants of travellers en such occasions, and we feel convinced the bungle is not one far which he v responsible.