NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Times, Volume III, Issue 39, 7 May 1879, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

JJotcaviox Boabt> Rebgbt.— We bape to thank Mr; Fowlis, Inspector of Schools, for a copy of the report and statistics for the WnngiinuiEducution Board District. We B hall, pro.bab]y, hare something fq say on this sijbject' m a future 'issue. A DiFFEBEN£E IW , CAtWtATIOK— The tender of Mr, ;.W fto;we, of Wanganui, has ,been accepted for the- la3t.Bestipn let on the ,&rcymduth s>fliid o .Hokitika Railway; at •£BMO. There wore seven other tendoiiers, -that of ■Messrsi Kilgouij and Perotti, Greynipufch, bcingfor the sura of £1-1,626. This BuNNYTitoRTE Scnpoi. — Two of the lowest tenderY for the Bunythorpe Schoo.l ' were forwarded by the/ Local Committee' to tlieiEducation Board, as. the original tender, at '£2Bo, Was del-lined as being too high. Both tdiidpi'3 were for £275, and the B,oard empowered the Committpe \,o aceppt one of theni. A Q-E^TtE Re>iixt)Eß.— We were glad to -see that the Croveminont have presented to the Wellington Working Men's Club some two hundred Parliamentary Papers. Perhaps onn member might get. a similar donation foil our Reading-ropm, more especially as it appears to be filio general wish to convert it into a Public Libuary. , Cax it fIE Pq3Sl^e ? — The unsuccessful attempts thai; ; haTe' heen made J tq float the Hydrabad |liave cost already (says the JSoening i?ojf<)ußpmpthing'iiko £10,00Q ! It. further states that the ilUfated vessel will ))6 sold by the underwriters. We should cWfc^iftiv tliink.sbj if the.above statement be a'coriiect one. .'■ ; SxTETEY PE(JS.'-T--It is notified m the Gp'vemment Gazette that the ; p-orernmenthas decided to pvos'ecute land-owners or plough-, men' who may remove amTey 'pegs on. their own or adjoining land, and that the highest penalty allowed under Trigonometrical ?tat.ibns and Survey Marks Act, 1868T—naih.ely,$5Q— will be pressed, for oh conviction. " ! . .THE ATTSTKAIiIAS MITTUAIi PEOVIDENT SociETi^— We have to thank Mr. E. W. Lowe, the Resident Secretany m Wellington, for a copy; bf 1 a i T\roi ; k recently issued from tl)6 pen of Mb. Morrice A. Black, F.1. A.,: ■Actuary *W thffSpciety,' and entitled " The Progressive Policy of the A ustialiu'n" MutualPcovident Society Reviewed." We shall take an^ early opportunity of glancing through its contents. Whitewashing Exf RAOBDtSABi*.— The insolvency returns for tlie Colony shoAv that no less tban ».9&4- xleelarations of insolvenev have been made during the year 1877, being an increase of 452. on the previous year. Will there bo legs lime required to covei* last. year's transactions? We fear not. And what shall we say.. about this .y,pai\ of grace ?' ... The le3s the better. Screws and.wrenche3, nuts aqd bolts, will tell their own f.-ila. . : Mixed.— -Wa owe an. apology 6o bpth our. local banking institutions for. having, m some unaccountable way, mixed thorn up m our last issue. W;e stated that the Bank of* New Zealand had removed from their old promises, m Broad street, to their new building, m the Square. ;■ whereas we should have given the' credit to the Bank of Anstj'alasia. Wp arc informed by Mr. Turner, the local manager, that when the new building is tborjusrhly finished, it will not cost for short of £1200. , - Gbbbxbaoe Curbexcy. —^William Hamil^ ton Inman, who Hvas arrested some timaback, nnd received a Bhort. sentence for passingvalueless cheques, has-been again rearrested, just after the expiration of 'his term of committal, on a warrant charging him. with a- similar offence. . He was conveyed to Palmewton last m charge ■ of Constable M'Donrielli and will be brought •up at the Resident' Magistrate's Court to-, morrow, m connection with the valueless pbeques passed upon Messrs. Colcman.and Batchelar. , ■'* " A Gasb fob Cqdxsei,. — AHncd Stace brought an action against William Monk for £10 William Monk produced; a receipt for, the atpount. ,;The 3.M. adjudged tlie dopvmeaftt forgeidi $nA gavei a verdiat for : theisumcljiimiedj i which wi^s -recovered by distraint. William Monk was tried for fogging the. rocaipjh, b.ut' ■ hi», intelligen* j-ury said that lie was not guilty^ If • the receipt r wagr— a,s the as'serb— t\n ; ifcferi by Alfrcfl , Stnro, ; then. WiHiam IVto^fc can, sue. to recover thev^l'O; wrpngfijsy wrung f poh\ him. That is about the state ! of\,|tihe. afF-iir. ; biit ■ wajeoL,ej&hvi\ki ijTr. Monji has. had .quite j enpugb of law. H8 haa vindicated his goodiiame ; he had better bttry the past 'm pbjiy^pn^antl \eVhis £10 go with \t.

The Fertility of Manawatu. — Day by day .fhfi fertility of the soil of this district is coming to be looked upon as a mere matter of course, and one which requires no proof op argument to those who are at all acquainted with the Manawatu. There is at present shown m the window of Mr.. Alex. Ferguson, storekeeper, m the Square, a large table carrot, grown by Mr. fl. M'Neil, of the Faxton Lino, which weighs no lesV'tnan four pounds six ounces. But this is only one more proof of what our soil can be lijade to produce, whenever cropping becomes mom profitable than meatrgrowing. Another Saw-Mill tor the ManawAttt. — We are informed that Messrs. M'Chesney and Beard, builders, are about to erect a mill near Feilding, opposite Messrs. Richter, Nannestad, and Co.'s mill, on Mr. J. T. Stewart's land. It was a frequent complaint with these gentlemen that they could not get timber quick enough for their contracts, and so they have taken to supplying themselves — or will do so as soon as they can get their machinery into proper working order. We wish them, as we wish all similar, industries, a large measure of success m their new undertaking. THF^B.iXK. of New Zealand. — The thirty-fifth; Jialf -yearly meeting of sharer holders & ;was ;r held in' Auckland last week. It is gratifying to find that, m the midst of the monetary difficulties which have prevailed.all over the world, this colonial institution" has been able to hold its own. The balance-sheet showed a profit of £80,000 for the lialf -year, and a dividend and bonus, equal to' 15 per cent. pe» annum, was declared. It" is currently rumoured that tho screw will be somewhat relaxed, so far, at all events, as legitimate enterprises are concerned. We trust such will be the case. , Fire Eaisers Beware. — The Colonial Secretary is causing bills to be posted up all over the Colony,- intimating that the Government will pay a reward of £500 to any person who shall give such' information as will lead to the conviction of incendiaries, and Constable G-illespie some posted up m Palmerston on Monday. This decisive action on' the part of the Government should secure to it the active co-operation of all^gbod citizens m the community, and we sincerely trust that it will have the desired effect on a class who are little better, if at all, 1 than the bushranger or. the assassin; --><•■■ . The TAoifui School. —At the late meeting qf the Education Board, m Wanganui, Mr. Fowlis'j inspector, of Schools, stated that he had appointed Mr. Skcrmah to the post vacated, hv Mb. Seaton, as tho former gentleman had been -warmly recommended, m the name of the Committee, by the" Chairman. The Education Board, •after soine discussion, resolved to hold the matter over, pending the result of the law proceedings said to have heen instituted by Mi\ Skorman. Letters were read^ from Messrs. Skerman and Baker, detailing the events of that memorable evening, not soon to be forgotten m Taonui. * Th^'Thpusand Pounds Writ.— Our readers will be interested, perhaps, to know the result of that celebrated action brought against the Editor of this journal. In our Wanganui,' contemporary, the Herald, the whole affair is disposed of m a three-line paragraph, m its issue of Friday evening, as follows:— -"In the Supromo Court, this morning,' the record m the case of Harris T-. Dungan was withdrawn." Although we never had any very serious thoughts about the matter,, it is just as .well that -the cur-; tarn has been drawn over the comedy; it has certainly been , on the stage quite long enough. Now- that the record has been withdrawn, we can assure: Mr. Hams that' we never T intended to cast the slightest stigma upon his charaotor., and from first to last, it has bebn a source of regret — but not for. our sake— that, he should have taken such a,n iil-radvised step to resent a harmless Joke. , . ' / :. fi Tn^ Taqntti School. Committee. — Tho Wellington Chronicle has got hold of the row betwopn the chairman, members of the committee^ and the teacher, and m regular P.E. phraseolbgy gives ' a , : lengthened' description, i winding up as follows :— " The worst of the case is' that a bad oxarnple is contagious, and one of those daysj it is oven possible j that, emulating tho conduct of tho Taonui Committee., soine exasperated Wellington schoolm.astcjj may ' go ' for our esteemed, venerable, o,nd venerated Chairman of the Education B.oard here, and subject him to ; physical Yiolencc The prospect " very dreadful, anrl will m,aka tho Efon. C. J. Phardjsyn shako m his shoes. Jt was cvuel ; to re-elect the old gentleman yostorday to the position of- Chairman, \ylien such a sariousf. te^k has to bo incurred. Why could; not they have elected Mr. Toomath instead; who is the very incarnation of pugnacity, stands 915 feet, m his. stockings, and . turns fclie scale at eighteen stop.c ?" Well-dksk^ykd PR,atfQUQN. — Mr. W. .1 1 Murphy, who has b.een connected with the Bank of Australasia m Palmcr3ton for- the I past six months, as jjunior. clerk, has been [transferred to the Feilding Branch. As we undei\stajfld that the change involves promotion, we congwtu.late Mr. M»»phy, and trust that he. will Jaboi' hard to earn future favors at the hands of his superior officers. Mr<. W. Carpenter has been transferred from Waipawa to Palmerston, as it was found that the large business transacted here, necessitated \\}pre assistance. Mr. Caippontbr was a junior member on the commercial staff of the New Zealand Times before entering tho Bank at Waipawa, and succeeded m winning golden opinions from all varieties of people who congregate a,bout a newspaper office, and from a personal \ knowledge of thatyouug.gontl(xin,an, wo. have every Confidence ha will continue to do tho sainaitfßalm^ton. The.be ;is Noticing Like Leather. — Mr, -Allingham; draws attention, ir\ our. ; adYorlasing colu.mivs, to tho. ftu:t of his haying opened a, bpot and abbe wdrejiou^a intihe prem^se^ \acated by. the Bank op Atistriilasia ; tliiw »,fWi£g oue. more, proaf to the truth: of t?ia old a.dagej \\hich sayeth, '.'There is nptKin^ Vka Joatliet.''* Whether ■■people.' of- Palmeraton v^iH be in-. clin9cl;to go back to the ol.'l coinage. w t hieb, preyailecl: in,vEnjgland some ten or. twelve. ['h,ujulrs?:l yeaw a|O, we kopw apt j but we

imagine Mr. AHinghanv will have no objection to exchange a little of it for our gold and bronze coinage. That gentleman has come, like a large number of other settlers from the West Coast of the other Island to settle on our more salubrious. West i Coast, and. we trust that he land they will find a better and more parmanenj; reward than is usually to be found m the preca-r ripus circumstances of .■.# gold-field. ; Sue Did'a-t Want the Birth m the •J? aeer. — 4- most laughable incident occurred on Saturday during the downward trip of the coach from Foxtpn. :4s no doubt travellers are aware, Mr. Macara has acted as whip during the;:last few journeys— a fact whicl^ was- evidently not known to an elderly lady at Pahautanui. As the coach was dashing through the outskirts of that town an aged female party wa9 seen making furious exertions to head the trap, meanwhile shrieking to the driver to pull up. Imagining something serious was the matter, Mr. Macara did so, inquiring at the same time the cause. When the old lady had recpyerad breath, she gleefully announced that the bitch had had pups, .and they were such beauties. The information, which evidently was ? intended for Mr. Macara's bredepesgor,- created no little, amusement ; but the climax was ; reached when a member of the Press gang, who happened to be a passenger, inquired if she would like the birth published m the paper. The indignant driver, however, started off before the order was booked. A Night Watchman fob Palmerston. — After the event which took place last night, we think there can be no two opinions as to the desirability of having a night watchman for the town. FeUding has one, B.ulls has one, and we believe Marion has one also. The cost would be a mere trifle to each, if forty or fifty of the principal residents would only guarantee a small yearly sum. The night watchman m Feilding has . been . instrumental m preventing two or three fires m that place, so that any outlay is well compensated for m that respect alone. *'It is said that"policemen and journalists — but- we have never heard the reason why— oan do with a less quantity of sleep than any other class of men; but they are only human, after, all. Therefore, Constable CKllespie oan hardly be expected to be on the watch night and day ; independent of which, it is pretty well known that his duties sometimes, call him away f.om the place for two or three days at a time. The remedy is m our. own hands, and. it only requ'ras one or two citzens to take the matter up, for we feel confident the majority is favorable to what we propose. . -. .-'■■■:. A Lawyer's Opinion on Lawyers and Pressmen. -r- According to the dictum of Mr. Fitzherbprt, the Crown Prosecutor for the Wanganui District, neither lawyers n,or journalists are prof essional gentlemen. Indeed, we wouldnot be astonished to learn _ from that erudite oracle that the tabooedprofessions ' have no gentlemen amongst ; their ranks, although the ruling is somewhat rough upon himself, seeing that Mr. Fitzherbert is a magnate of one of Professions he rates so low. At a recent case heard m Wanganui, m which a bairfiater of ] the Supreme Court and a jounalisfc were brought sixty milo3 to give evidence, the' Crown .Prosecutor- instructed $he clerk, of , court to pay each the minimum sum of five shillings par day ; and lihe worthy coadjutor •of so worthy a master, a Mr. Marshall, .m- : J formed the astonishediwitnessas that'neither the law nor the Fourth Estate constituted a profession. What makes the case the harder is that both gentlemen were not bound "over to give evidence as to facts, but as ; experts to a document, the committing- magistrate allowing a guinea, «hd specially marking the services on his memorandum as those of ah expert. Palmebston VoLTrNTEKES.— -There was a large muster on Monday evening, as it ; was known that Major Withers was about to pay a visit of inspection. After going, through several movements m a; very creditable manner, Major Withers complimented the corps on its efficiency, and he said tha,t, considering the short time it was m exist- ; ence, it deserved every praise for the excellent manner m which ( tho various movement-) had been performed that evening. He urged upon both officers and men the desirability of attending to their various-, duties and being punctual at drill. If they did «o, he had every confidence the corps would be a thoroughly efficient one. After Major Withers had left, accompanied by Captain Snelson, the corps proceeded to the election of a coldurisergeant, which resulted m a tie between Corporal Mawh and Private Fuller, and eventually the honor was' conferred xipon the latter. As, however, the election took place m the absence of the commanding officer, it is, we are given to understand,- likely to prove invalid ; but even were it strictly legal, common courtesy, we imagine, should have dictated a different kind of action. A Canine Traveller. — The public are frequently regaled with paragraphs recounting the eccentricities of dog 3 m running at the sound of a fire-bell, or slowly marchingat funeral pice to the " Dead March m Saul," but the following- is a genuine faat, ; and can be testified to by travellers on the W<»*t. Coast. Within the past few weeks a little black dog has attached itself to the Foxton 'coach, and regularly as clock w.ork, whan tha.hors.es' start for Wellington at four m the. morning, ha takes his place at their head, and leads the way over sand — hills and through rivers, from stage to stage. While, the horses are being changed the dog lies with its nose between its paws, bu,t.ere the groom lets their head loose it is again up to its position m front. This goes on till Waikanae is reached and the. up-,ooach met, when the little, traveller.,. turns about and leads the way fco Foxton. -The distance travelloJ by the coach is; over; seventy miles, but this by.no means represents the ground covered by Doggy, who varies the. monotony of- his journey b.y serarol- nacß3 after sheep. The strange, part of- the matter is th|tt no one knows whence it cornea or. "how it lives, The moment the. ; -return coach reaches; Foxton, the dog appear* tp think its duties , are over, and is not. seen until the next morning. The fe^at has bjsen regularly ner-

formed for the past three weeks, and the animal does not seem a bit the worce for his diurnal seveuty-fiye miles. Old Ewlish Pastimes. — There are to be found m nearly every community a number of people who imagine that the England of our day cannot at all' bear favorable comparison with tho time of our forefathers — when drinking three or 'four bottles of port at a Bitting was - quite a -common occurrence ; when ifc was not thought the least inhuman to put steel spurs on gamecocks, m order that they might be the better able to fracture each other's skulls more easily for the amusement and edification of the bystanders ; when badger-bait-ing was done under- the eyes, and with the approval, of persons who considered themselves gentlemen, as bull-baiting is still don? m Spain m the presence of people who would feel greatly shocked if they were denominated by any term having less significance than that of " ladies ;" when the P.R. he|d undisturbed sway, even before it received those words of oommendation from Lord Palmefston which the followers of the; f< noble art".Bo much glory m, and which are so often rquoted by their organs m the Press; wlieft, m short, all those glorious old pastimes held their own m a way which they cannot hope to do m these degenerate days of ours, Some of these folkv led oh by this laudable ambition of keeping up the old honor arid- glory of the Ans;lo-Saiqn race, got up a few weeks, since, atFeilding— -.. on the Sabbath morning above all othersone of these little pastimes, m the sl^ape of a prise-fight ; and some of our worthy citizens, if they could not get up a similar exhibition, were determined that Feilding should not have all the honor nnd all the glory fro itself. About half an hour previous to the scene being enacted at the Post Office, a dog fight was got up on the Square, and. the yells and' barkings of the dogs sometimes drowned by the sonorous voices of tliose who Avere enjoying tlie ■'' sport I" In a previous issue we suggested the' ad visabilify of forming a^. Humane Society m Palmerston, and we are now convinced more "'than ever that usefnr work could be^ fourid for such a very desirable institution— even if it should not have such a lengthened term of years to recommend it as some of those other " pastimes " we have enumerated. • ! ■ '