NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 30, 29 March 1879, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

Thk Late Ftbb at the Paljiebston Mms — In response to a request by the proprietors, the insuranoe companies have decided to hold an inquest on Tuesday upon the fire at Richter, Nannestaad and Co.'s Mills. We believe, also, it is just on the cards that an investigation will be held on the destruction of Mr. Christiansen's house on the Stoney Creek road. A Mqvb ist the Right Direction. — We are pleased to learn that the Early Closing Movement has been introduced into the district, and acclimatised m Peilding, as from the Ist of April all stores will m that town be closed ot seven o'clock. The secretary, Mr. Weight, on behalf of the Association make 3an appeal to the public to shop early, which certainly should meet with a ready response. A Good Suggestion.— We would refer the attention of our settlers to a letter m another column upon those pests to a country — rabbits. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," and certainly m dealing with a subject of such vital importance fc> a distriot, no precaution should be left unjfaken. We think the suggestion of our correspondent one upon which action should be taken without delay. Thahk,s. — We have been requested by Mr. Ivor James to thank all those who so kindly lent their assistance m preserving his nronerty from the perilous position m which it was pjiacod by the late fire at the Pulmeivston Sawmills. Messrs. Richt«r, Nannestad, and Co. also desire to tha.nk all those who helped them — so far as help could avail — during the late disastrous fire at their- mills, Pb^aisbwob.thy Libe.bai.ity. — The Hon. Robert Campbell has just done a graceful act m connection with his township of Campbelltovrn, which is to be sold on the sth of next month, He has wired instructions to his manager, Mr. Maclennan, not only to grant two acres applied for by the Education Board, but instructing him also to reserve suitable sites as free grants foy all the re^ ligious denominations, besides athenaeum, town hall, and other buildings of a like nature Registration — We have been informed hy Mr. Ross, the Registration Officer, that a most unusual and laudable energy has been exhibited all over the Coast, both m Rangitik.ei and Manawatu, m securing the franchise, and that there has been a greater ; demand, for application forms than at any time wjthin his experience. We. are pleased , lo heas it, and, we trust the number of, votes upon the roll m this county will warrant a demand for increased Parliamentary representation. 1 The Haicombb Hotel. — By a telegram kindly forwarded to us by Mr. Mayeuior, we learn that he made an excellent sale of the Halcombe. Hotel yesterday. The. property, which is f,reehold.> was sold ijo Mr. Southcom,beifor£3Bo0 a with the. stock and furniture at a valuation, probably bringing the amount up to £5000. This certainly should be a satisfactory figure for tyLr. JBell, but when, the condition of the building, not yet three years old, and, its capacity for accommodation is taken, into consideration, we feel the new proprietor has not mftds. a bad bargain. No, CoifVENiEircß. — "It is an ill w,ind that blows nobody g00.d," and tha alterations to the. Feilding lock-up saved an uni authorised and bibulous explorer from a nights lodging on, Tuesday. During th* night time a noisflfwas held m one of the. hotels, and unon the. landlord getting up. to ascertain the cause, he discovered a,n, individual of the un^commpn name of Smith, who was evidently upon a foraging ex^edii tion. As the, lock-up^ was not prisonerproof, ljbjj visitor, was escorted to the. door, when as a «ohbs»mj* of his visit the, host gave him something from, behind to hejp him oft his "way,. "'Musio bath, Chassis," —It is not generally known that Feilding can boast - of the: possession of a Fife, and Drum, Band', b.ut those who patronised Delaney's Race, qn Wednesday ev.oning could not f<yl. to be; made aw.ar.e of the fact. The. members of the Band are of most juvenile. nropor,r 1 tfionß, but tliat w,ould apppor to be, no da»w- --' back, and, the manner m which they " disr coursed syijeet sounds " -^as no^ only highly (jreditabjle, but might fairly be followed by m^usical a,sp^rants of a larger, growth. W,o. believe, the. youngsters are under the. command and tuition of Mr. Daw, and certainly do credit to their own aptness, and t^he^ efficiency of t thejr teacher..

Still Another Fire. — Evidently the conflagration epidemic has set m, as we have to chronicle another fire, m addition to the two reported m our last issue. This time the locale is Bunny thorpe, and the property a two roomed cottage, belonging to Mr. William Huzell, which we regret to say was uninsured. The destruction of the building is worthy of note for reasons other than its value, as it was the first house ever erected m Bunnythorpe. It originally stood close to the station, but Mr. Hazell had, it removed back some distance, and after putting it into thorough repair let it last week. The new tenant had just put a portion of his furniture into it, and as the cottage was burned to ashes m his absence he has neither saved anything, nor- has he the slightest idea of how the fire originated. An Anomaly. — Matters just now are of a nature " which no fellah can understand." Money can scarcely be procured, and the market is only remarkable for its extreme tightness ; stock is almost at a discount ; while the very mention of a sale of land is sufficient to draw together capitalists and investors from all side 3 and quarters. At Messrs. Stevens and Gorton's sale, held at Bulls on Monday, good healthy lambs were sold at one shillng a .piece ; maiden ewes for four shillings ; while splendid Lincoln ewes, well worth sixteen or eighteen shillings, were metaphorically slaughtered at six. This, however, is no isolated case of low prices ; it has been the experience of the season ; but its recurrence just now is the more remarkable, as the late refreshing rains, with a consequent supply of feed for stock, should have made the market have an upward tendency. Local Manufacture, — We were shown, a. few days back, a large corrugated iron tank, manufactured by Mr. Key, tinsmith, of this town, for Mr Collins, of the Rangitikei Line, fhe hody of the tank was made from six pieces, held together by strong copper rivets from, the inside, and soldered on the outside. It will contain 600 gallons of water, and stands six feefc m height, by about four and a half m diame- | ter. The work appeared particularly well finished, and if the price be as cheap as that of similar imported articles, as Mr. Key asserts it is, then we are inclined to think that local manufacture should secure the preference. An increase of manufacturing ind\istr-y means an increase of consumptive power to (lie community, and therefore we are at all times pleased to chronicle an advance m. any kind of industrial enterprise. Dan&brous Accident and Wondbrfux Escape. — As the morning train was passing Deard's Hotel, Terrace End, on Thursday, the whistle startled a horse attached to a trap, m which were seated a lady with her baby and a well-known member of tht County Council. The proprietor of the vehicle had taken the precaution upon noticing the approach of the engine to stand by the horse's head, but the unusual noise ca,u.9ad, the animal to rear and plunge to such an extent that the reins were wrenched out of the hands of the holder and the man .flung beneath the horse's hoofs, fortunately, however, without sustaining even a scratch. Finding itself loose, tht anjmal made a bolt, but the wheel caught against the stump of a tree and over went horse and trap, the lady, child, and. Councillor being deposited on the road. Strange to Bay, not one of them were m the slightest wav injured, and the damage to the conveyance wa3 of the most trivial nature. Those who witnessed the occurrence, and the manner m which the occupants one after another took a header, for the road, characterise the escape as something truly wonderful. A Voice from Te&racb End. — We certainly think the condition of the afreets of the town has not been improved since the new arrangement m the Council which dis-. pensed with the services of the working overseer. Prior to that step, his watchful eye took note of their wants, and the Council was made acquainted through his reports, but now it is . m blissful ignorance, unleM by ocular inspection, or hearsay, which is uot always reliable evidence. As, then, the lower portion of the town is brought less prominently under the ken of Councillors, than the more central parts, it is scarcely to b$ wondered at that there are several most necessary works which have been left m the. back gwnind. For instance, from Scandia street to Fitzroy street, a distance of thirty six chains, there are Bixteen ratepayers, and although the road has been laid out by the Borough. Engineer, no further step, has been, taken. On the right hand aide of the railway line m Main street, and opposite to Deard's Hotel the thoroughfare — or mpre i correctly speaking, the nonthoroughfare — is simply disgraceful, stumps of trees, and suph like obstacles making it quite impassable. The debenture scheme could be brbught into effect m that locality ; w^ith 'some , benefit. Advance Manawatd.— In, our issue, of last Saturday ampngst other items notified as braving .been sold, by Messrs. Thynne, Linton, and Co., at their auction, were fiftyr our acres m Bainnythorpe to Mr. Thomas Cooper, an,d forty-four to Mr. Piers Warburton. Immediately after, the sale. Mr. • VVarburfcon disposed of his lot to Mr. Cooper for. an advance of ten shillings per asre, and people thought he had done, very wall. A3 the sequel shows, however, Mr. Coopsr appears to have had the best of the bargain, as. he now disposed of the whole, at an advance, of £& per acre upon the original price, thus making a raofit of £174 uppn a total, outlay of' £3l&, or near sixty per cent, anjl as fche las.t purchasers — Me3sra. Volkeat r anjcl Thdjnppon — are both residents of B-unnythprpe, it can be said that they know the exact value oi; the land they have purchased. This, no doubt, is a pretty good day's work> but it is not the only slice, of luck m whoae way Mr. Cooper seems to have, been, as, five years ago he purchased two hundred aero 3 on, the. Rangitikei Line, the. front at #2 and the back sections at> £1 5?. on, deferred payment, and a short time ago he. sold oujb to Mr. Podevin at £15 per acre, cash. Eyidently the fickle goddess is smiling, her sweetest upon him. DjS3BRVrNO OF BEING FLOOQ.&BD. — Tile. friends of Mr. Ayew, Btoreman at the Railway Station, wilj regret to hear that he is at present a cripple under the care of- Dr Maclaehlan, through the njaliciqus spite of some

young scoundrel. It appears that on last Tuesday night week he was standing pip the step of Mr. Goodisson's cab, as it was being driven tbwaru'sMiome when three young rascals ran after it, and tried "to cling be-' hind. He told tliem to clear off, as they might get injured, and they did so with a bad grace ; but a moment after, he received a violent blow upon the ankle which brought him to the ground. He reached home with difficulty and noxt morning as his leg was swollen up to about treble its size, he called m medical assistance. Since then, nearly a fortnight ago he had been unable to put his foot under him, and Dr. Maclachlan informs him that while it may be months before he is able to get about, he will be lucky if he ever has the proper use of the foot. Fortunately, he knows the three young imps, and is only waiting to be on his feet to proceed criminally against then. Educational. — The Wanganui Education Board held its usual monthly meeting, on Wednesday, when the election papers sent m by the various committees were opened. We are pleased to see that Mr. Sanson heads the list with 33 votes, Mr. Fox and Major Noake, being the other successful candidates, the former with 30 and the latter with 19 votes. The other candidates appeared to have very little support the order of precedence being: — Messrs Godwin, 13 ; Baker, 13 ; Rev. J. Douall, 13 ; Mr. Homer, 9 ; and Mr. Peacock, 7. It would appear, however, that the district will have to go through the same formula, as Messrs. Jones, Duthie, and Dalrymple have all handed m their resignations. Amongst the appointments appear those of Misses Rolf and Dillon, a9 pupil teachers of the Palmerston School. With, regard to the proposed High school, m answer to the application to the Feilding Corporation for a High School, a reply was read that the Corporation would give two acres adjoin-, ing the site already given for a master's residence. It was resolved that the secretary write to the local committee; asking them to use their influence with the Corporation to obtain an endowment.