NEWS AND NOTES

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 42, 26 May 1880, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES

The English Maii,. — The outward English mail, via Coiom'io-Brindisi, will close, at Palmerston on Friday evening at a quarter to eight. . • Q-AZBTTK NoTrCES. — Last Thursday's Gazette contain 1 ' the li'iHfinnfcion oi; the election of H ir William Fox f or Rangitikei ,; Mr. William Reeve, as a memhpv of the Foxton Loortl Board ; nnd Messi'ti. BartholottiqW;, Lash, Douglas, Mucarihnr.Bailevand Capper, as pardons.. of the Manchester Highway Board. •• Thb Wanganui Review. — We . learn from some of the local corps who took part m the Review on Monday, Mmt everything past off m the most satisfactory minnev. the men being highly^ pleased with. the manoeuvres to which they were subjected, and they speak m, the highest terms of the style m which tl»e ■■Major-Corn *vinnding conducted • the. whole of the operations. ■ Thb Reverse op thj ProTPBE.— We regret to see that while- Palmerston hns j weathered through the hard times lately experienced, the infantile town of Ashursfc has not been so fortunate,, as that very undesirable sight, empty houses, great the eve at every turn. There can be no doubt that the site of the town'is an excellent one, and we tv.ust that the depression existing there is only temporary. - V CleVeb S wnroi I H.-—We would caution • storekeepers nnd others ngain;«t n. piece of smart imposture which is now being practised m f town. Some ■ chevalwrs d L indusiriehaje been, improving i be occasion by elactro plating sortie new. "perinle3, which, have been palmed off- as florins. The deception is. so good that if the unwary be notcareful, they are sure to trapped. OffUECH 6P EXOLANIX COHOEBT. —^Tho third of the series of concprfs given m aid of the Church of England parsonage took place last night, arid proved, as we anticipated, the most successful yet given". On account, however, of it b.eibg. held i\pon, our night of publication w,*. are debarred from publishing the extended notica which other' wise we should be only to glad to give, and to ,n?hick by its merits it was fully entitled. Impohtant to Contractors. — The. attention of contractors is drawn to the tandfijjs call«d for bush felling and clearing m Horpwhenua. The work is about five miles and a quarter, m length; cut up into half -mile seetioni to suit small parties, and with the vie.w .of giving employment to numbers. The specifications may be seen at ( he. County ? [ Office, ; High wayi Office ; Palmerston ;; Loudon arid Hayt, bit ties Store, Eeildingj and at Mr. Coote's, Otaki. •■■ Thb Sfix. Htj^bbp f iPovumßß, — /V^e; notice that our Foxtpn contemporary m its leading columns questions the 'accuracy! of our statement that the. expenditure on the Wairnato Plains, is£6ooa day, and quotes as ■, authox*ity for the. eoutradiction the assertion of the Hon. John Hall. Of course ob,ivooutemporavy is; quite right to pin its faith upon the veracity of a Minister, of whom.it is a supporter, but we happen to have.ithe. information /from a source of which, eyen, the Hon. the Premier may not have had the, benefit, and which he may find it aomewhat dilpeult to contend against when the Soaete meets,. *?• ■' ■""■■\/- v ..' ■-'■'■'

Q-BAWTB to COMNIBTS. — At the last sitting ef the Waste Lands Board it was decided that, m accordance' with the report j of Ranger* Bydd^r, that the land selected by. Mr. E. J. Collins, m this town, under the Immigrants' Land Act, 1873^ be for-, feited, as he had not oarried put tra necessary improvements ; also that Mr. James ; Sker man receive a Crown grant for the land selected. by hint . . ! Th«. Cath^lilO CHtrECi?. — To-morrow being the Feast of Corpus Ohristi, there will be Mass, at Feilding at nine a.m., and at Polmevston at noon, upon the arrival of the Wangaaui train 5 m the evening there will be also service at seven o'clock. On next Sunday Mass will be celebrated at Pal-merston-at eight o'clock m the morning, and at Ashurst (for the first time)' at eleven o'clock, with the usual Sunday evening devotions at Paltnerston. The Royal Natal. Day.—^Monday, the sixty-first annveraary. of the birthday of Her most- gracious Majesty v Queen Victoria, was kept 8s a close holiday in' Palmerston, all the shopscand places of business being religiously, closed. Long before daybreak, a large number of the rank and file of the Palmerston Rifles assembled at the Town Hall under the command of Captain Snel.son and gave three cheers, after which they were marched to the station asd took their departure by fcrajn for the sham .fight at Wariganui, Thb Aw a Hubi Hotkl.t=- Although it was generally 'supposed that the insurance. cSmpany was to lose no time m the reerection of the Awa Huri 'Hotel, -not a single step has been as yet taken to- that end. The burned and wrecked debris remains where jt was {eft on the night of the fire,' and the unsupported 'chimney stacks rear their heads aloft, melanpholy reminders of the sad catastrophe. The hotel, with its ample accommodation was a great boon to the travelling public, and it certainly is a matter for great surprise that such a length of time has been allowed to elapse since its destruction without an effort having been made towards its erection. Bunny Still Tbittmphant. — For the past twelve months certain settlers m the district have been striving to have a Rabbit District established, but through some fatality op another the body has never been m a position to carry its operations into effect. Mistake has followed mistake,, and one blunder trod, upon the heels of another 1 until about.lt wo months ago, when a fresh lot of candidates were returned, bx\t no j sooner was the election gazetted than a new vacancy. occurs.;t!»rough the departure of Mr. Dalrvmple. It is a good job for the 1 County, that: the ravages of the pests are somewhat mythical, or else they would have j played high jinks by this time. I Sleepers, Awake; — We would direct J the attention of all whom it may concern to tho notification from the Engineer-in-Chief of the North Island, whereby tenders are called for 12,000 sleepers for the FoxtonNew Plymouth Railway. With timber at a low price, and labor plentiful, we imagine the millers and contractors of Manawatu should; be able to compete successfully with ali outsiders. By the fact, also, that m accepting a local tender — by which we mean from a contractor along the line of railway —the G-oyernment would be a material gainer m the matter of carriage, it may be presumed th«t the handicap is m favor of the West Coast contractors ; still, that should not have too great weight m framing the estimate, or else the. advantage might prove the reverse. : Oitb LooAii ■ RitLWAY.-^We regret to see by the comtiaj/ifcive state-n^nta of the traffic returns for'' the f-ouu weeks ending March 31, 1880, and a corresponding period of last year, that there is a falling off m the former" to the extent of £562 19s. Bd. In explanation, however, it must be pointed out that while the traffic returns at the •date mentioned last year were ex«f ptionaUy high, the very reverse was the fact this year, and also that since' the time named- — now two months ago— a most material change for the better Iras been experienced. Although m the aggregate the receipts ex-'---h ibit a decline, it is most cheering to be able to state that the revenue for the carriage of live stotsk for the time . named has increased from £635 to £1012, which give's an earneit th»t with the return of prosperity to. the timber trade, the line will pay better than ever.. . . " Filing his Shovel." — Although Mr S nelson'* Saturday afternoon sales are pretty well known as occasions at which bargains are picked up, it may not be generally kn.own that the proceedings are enlivened by salli-js of wit and caustic repartee which form no inconsiderable fund' of amusement to those attending. On last Saturday a wellknown Knight of the Theodolite kept ,t.be audience m roars by his running fire of comment upon the various arfcioles offered for sale. When it was thought his fund of humor had been_ exhausted, a shovel and brush were put~up, when the wag reoommeuded the articles as most useful -and appropriate, suggesting that tl»o purchaser could "file his shovel and apply the white wash brush afterwards." The somewhat equivocal praise, although heartily enjoyed, only succeeded m extracting •» bid of three pence for the two, no one apparently caring to become the possessor of two such very suspicious articles. , The WesliEyaw Tba Meetino. — The tea m connection with the Wesleyan Church, which took place on Monday evening, w-as, considering the inclemency of the weather during the latter, part >of the day, a gceat success. Tho hall was tastefully decorated with ferns, and the tables, m addition to . being well furnished with delicacies, were adorned with as good a collection, of flowers a.9~c6uld ba oull(ed m the month of May. After the tea a meeting was. held, when several addresses were delivered, while the passing hou.r was enlivened by a selection of hymns, wbloh were effiioiently rendered by the choir. The most gratifying feature of the euertainment was the fact that although a Wealevan gathering, other religious denominations- were well represented 3 m fact, a full shara. of the. labor and expense "was borne by members of the Church iof England. Such good^ will between the Various sections of ' a religious community: is greatly to be desired, and wherever it exists must be conducive, to mutual prosperity, \- A Livbly . MHBTINGt.— An insolvent's meeting is .scarcely the place where one ■ would expect to' find "the creditors brimful of fun and jollity, and the " filer" 'with an air and face of a' man who had buried his mother-in-lawf. Such a gathering', however, took place on last Friday* m the Palm,erßton . . Court-Uouse, . Mr JBEi M'Neil being m fh» chair. The " unfortunate " had been put into the crucible, but the microscopic examination faile^l to extract one grair of information to repay the trouble, when the Chairman thuav addressed him,: f' v ß[pw, look here, Barney. ; you have often taken my adyice. in 1 the past." "'Yes/ and woujd again, Mr. M'Neil." " AH; right, Barney ; oow.be sure' you take, it this. time, |f >ou^ wish to confer : a 'benefit ujjjon humanity lose no time m buying a ropo, and when you, have got ifc-4— —rjiang yourself. If you da. that the Co>oner will maH two guwaeas on you, and I swear that is the. only wa^ m which you. will ever be Q* good to any person." The. astonishment ot the rest of the creditors was quickljt -changed- to up"roarious laughter, when Btttooy, who had been evidently quite knocked ojirt ot ; .tu»e,

innocently replied, " All right, Sir,'' The climax was however reached, when at the close of the proceedings the insolvent's solicitor proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman, adding "you'll second it Sheerin, won't you ?" to which a ready response was given, " Certainly, Sir," »nd he did, « Who wil> Supply the Rqoster ?"-^ Afc. the Resident Magistrate's Court on Thursday, m the oase of John Jackson r. Peete te Awe Awe, the Bench was placed m a fix and matter* were almost brought to a sudden termination. It appeared that Mr. John Jackson, who hailed from the Flowery Land, was sworn m the orthodox manner by the Tmiliff of the Court, upon which tjhe Resident Magistrate asked his sblioitor if he thought the oath as administered was siiffi-, ciently binding. The legal reply wiflj l( Pert haps, yonr Worship, he would like a" cock's head cut off." The question then arose, who was to supply the rooster, as the Clerk of the Court informed those concerned that he n&d not yet received a supply of the commodity from the Q-overnment. It was then proposed that the plaintiff should purchase the luxury at his own expense, but to this the "Heathen Chinee" strongly objected, and collaring up the Bible, said, " Oh, him do berry well ; me'know all about it," gave it another smack with his lips, and proceeded with his evidence. - A Wai* op the Sea. — We are informed that on Friday last, fcwq boys picked up on ! the beach at Paikakariki a large figurehead, quite perfect, withjjlic exception of the.loss, ©f the right 'vixen. '* The figure is about sft : 6in high, and on the head is carved what appears to be a turban with, several folds round the head, and terminating m a fall down the back. The figure holds m its left, hand, above the hip, a perfect representation m wood- of some sea animal— like a seal. The upper part of the figure is painted white, the lower part of a dark color, and on the left arm are painted m red two bands. Mr. Pugsley, the well known coach driver, who has kindly supplied the above information, states that the figurehead' has only a few barnacles on it, and has the ap. peavahoe of having been, painted recently, the paint still adhering to the wood. These faots lead to the inference that ,the figurehead has not long been in-the water. This idea is strengthened by the appearance of the wood where the arm is broken off, which looks quite new- The figurehead has evidently belonged to a vessel of large tonnage, probably an Eastern trader, judging from its appearance. As no other wreckage has been found, it is possible that the figurehead may have been improperly secured, and washed adrift during the ...reoent heavy weather. Still, the discovery may throwlight "on the fate of; some) missing vessel, and we have therefore published the fullest particulars obtainable.— -Manawatu, Serald. Dbamatic Pbbfokmance at JFbilbingj. — The Feilding Amateur Dramatic Club gave one of its periodical entertainments m the Public Hall, m that town, on Monday evening, to a crowded house. The programme consisted of three pieces, " Our Bitterest Foes " " Robert Macaire " and " Diamond cut Diamond," but evidently, the club had pinned its reputation upon the! performance of the melodrama. Considering the very excellent house, and the very small . outlay whioh the providing of programmes * would- have entailed, we cannot compliment 1 the manager upon kis neglect of such an important step. To the strangers^ciresent— of which there was a goodly muster — a great deal of the- pleasure was marred by. the difficulty to ascertain ■ what were the characters, and by whom they were sustained. Saving this little drawback, the performance was all that could be desired— the stage being tastefully arranged, the'peiks formers letter perfect, and the dresses with but one exception, appropriate. That was the waiter m " Robert Macaire," 'who for some unexplained reason, although supposed to be a Frenchman had donned a oosbume half Greek and half Turk. Perhaps, this 'was the more observable for the reason that so much care had. been paid to that important detail by the remainder of the company, the introduction of a bevy of the ortho- > dox peasant girls, with the petite caps jauntily set upon their heads, who gracefully went- through rone -of their 'country .. dances, being a most pleasing feature m the entertainment. The burden of the evening fell upon Miss Gregory and Messrs. Burn 8 and Clere, and considering that the , two former took .the leading ;charaeters. m the three pieces, that they were not only equal to the several occasions, but letter perfect, speaks volumes for their versatility and application. Those who have. 8 *en Selby's masterpiece, will remember that the melodrama has evidently ;been written to bring forward m bold relief the cool audacity and ready artifice of the scoundrel who bears the title rdle, with the amusing cowardice of his weak accomplice and tool, Jacques Strop; and certainly_ neither Mr. Burns nor Mr. Clere need be ashamed of their respective delineations, the swashbuckler swagger and bravado of the former baing m marked contrast to the side-splitting pusillanimity of the latter, while the makesup of both were most appropriate. For that particular feature m toe entertainment decidedly the palm must be given to Mr. . Banks, whose make-up and representation of old Germiul was the best of the evening." Whether as Marie m l " Robert Macaire," or Charlotte Doubtful, '--the »aucy vacillating coquette, m. "ODiatnbn'd Oiit Diamond," Miss . Gregory was equally at home, and the wide range, between the two characters was. a flattering index of that lady's versatility. Although Messrs. Burns, Cleric,, and IJnyvett were all that need be desired m their several characters m "Diamond Cut Diamond," somehow or' other the piece as a whole did not; run smoothly, and unless to those who had seen it" b,efqre,. the, plot was particularly .hazy. Taken altogether, however^ the'entertainment was a most enjoyable one, and well worthy of the patronage bestowed upon it. The Feilding Club is favored with having a splendid hall, excellent scenic accessories, good acoustic properties, . and easy "accommodation for the public ; bqt its members have evidently grasped the fact that to make their representations a success, to the practice of the - various characters and ' a knowledge of the text, attention must also be paid to the dressing of a piece, and this latter phase was "most pleasingly demonstrated ( on Monday evening, the gensd'armes being admirably represented, instead of the miserable^ specimens^ whose advent is' usually the signal for the jibes an,d jeers of " the deities/ ; •' ■■"> j. ■ ;m^! »•- i