NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 73, 22 September 1880, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

Probate Granted.— "Mr. Warburton made application before Judge Hardeastle for the (.ranting of probate in tho will of the late Mr. Peter Manson. The application was granted. Messrs. John Young and William dimming are the executors. Important to the Speculative. — Those sporting gentlemen who may imagine I hat. their luck might be in the ascendant are notified through our advertising columns that Mr. George North, of Wellington, humiliated a £MDO .Sweep on the Wellington Cup, which is to be run in February. Persons feeling inclined to speculate can be supplied witn tickets from this office. Postal Tenders.— We have to direct the especial attention of coach proprietor., contractors, aud others, to the notification in another column from the Secretary to the Post Office, calling for tenders for carrying the mail by the roads in this district. We notice that there is no provision made whatever for tho bi*- weekly to Ashurst, which has been in existence for tha past twelve months, and trust that that i» not another item in the retrenchment scheme. Clmrc-i of England, Feilding. —We learn with pleasure that the ladies of Feilding are making more than ordinary exertions with the view of stocking the coming bazaar — which is to be held in December in aid of the Church Fund — with articlos of curiosity and attraction. Generally speaking bazaars are human institutions organised by the fair _ex, whereby mercurial influence is brought to bear upon " the lorrts"of creation," to the extraction of the last penny of which they are possessed, and as we presumo the proposed one will form no exception to the rule, we expect to see the fund considerably augmented. Seeing hin\ Off. — The Palmerston Eailway platform was crowded on Saturday morning by those who had assembled to bid farewell to Mr. and Mrs. Mitford, who left for Wanganui by the half-past eight train. Although the hour was an early one, there was a goodly sprinkling of ladies, and as the train moved off, there was a simultaneous waving of white cambrics and every variety of hats and caps. Mr. Mitford and family were to leava Wanganui on Saturday night by the miniature steamer the Oreti, which was advertised to sail straight to Auckland,. the sceae of his future labors, but from a telegram received in town, we believe on account of the vessel not being able to cross the bar, she did not get away until Tuesday. Absent Juror — -John Morris, a juror summoned to the District Court on Monday, failed to answer to his name , aud a fine of £2 was recorded. Later on in the day the delinquent interviewed the Judge, and when asked to account for his absence, rather tartly replied that he was attending to his business and could not come any sooner. Mr Hni'dcastla iu.ornied linn tliat the claim of his count* y should engage his first attention, and confirmed the infliction of the fine. It it well for Mr Morris tliat the roll 01 jurors was not c. tiled over afterwards, as it might have been, else he would have been mulcted in the sum of £10, as upon receiving his lecture from the Judge, he cl#u*ed cut, and did not come near the Court diu*ing the remainder of the day. The Next Chief Magistrate.— We learn with sincere regret that, Councillor Jenssen has positively refused to allow himself to be nominated for the vacancy in the Mayoralty which takes place in November. Councillor Jenssen is almost the oldest member of the Council, and while he has been indefatigable in his attention to his duties at a Councillor, his professional knowledge has proved on many occasions of the highest value and assistance. When burgesses enter the Council, it is with the very luuda'ole ambition that in the course of time they will occupy the honorable position of Chairman of the body, and for that reason we regret to learn tliat Councillor Jenssen has firmly determined to refuse a recognition of his long and faithful servi'.-es to which he is justly entitled. We understand steps will be shortly taken to ask Councillor Ferguson to come forward. The District Court —At the close of the business at tlie District Court on Monday Messrs Hawkins aud Dungan — the former representing lhe Bar and the latter the Borough Council —interviewed Judge Hardeastle with a I'equest that he would again bring under tho notice of.the Government the very pressing necessity there was for the immediate erection of the new Court building, instancing tho sitting just closed, when both jurors and witness*, had to stop out in the rain for want of accomodation. His Honor replied that he was fullv alive to the urgency of immediate action, stating that he had quite recently communciated with the Government upon the matter. However, Mr Rolleston, the Minister of Justice, was expected to visit Wanganui eie long, and he promised when that eventuated, he would bring tha matter prominently under his notice. An Anomaly. — Notwithstanding the freely acknowledged fact that there is a regular glut iu the money market, unfortunate borrowers, or rather would-b. borrowers, who are not in possession of broad a^res upon to realise, are unable to raise a penny, no matter how excellent may be the security offered. This, no doubt, has been caused by the black cloud which has hung so long over the colony, and has not yet completely passed away. Money was a- suoh a premium in tlie past, that those fortunntes who now have it in possession, are determined not to pari with it in a, hurry ; but like water, and most things in life, the market ere long is sure to find its level. An index of tbis may be gleaned from the announcement of the various money-lenders, Messrs. Pownall & Co. intimating tliat hereafter they will be prepared to make advances upon freehold security upon the very lc\west rates of interest ruling. When the screw is completely taken off;, and struggling settlers who. may be in need of pecuniary accommodation can have their wants supplied on terms whic:i will enable thein to borrow with a prospect of profit out out of .the transaction, we may look for a healthy impetus iu feusmess.

A Chequered Ca,reer.-^Tl_e inan Thomas Pearce, who was on Monday relegated f.r twelve months to Wanganui Gfaol, for a brutal assault on Osborne, is likely to find the change rafchar monotonous after the somewliut stirring scenes through which he has passed. In the early days of California, Mr. Pearce was not in favor with the Vigilance Committee, and rumor has it tbat while his mate met with his deserts anrl breathed his last in an elevated position, Thomas was only Bared from a similar fate by stowing away in an outward-bound vessel. Nelson was afterwards favored with his presence, and under the soubriquet of " Old Koll and G-o," his fame in that quiet town was somewhat notorious 5 while not a few in the plqce of his future capr tivifcy — Wanganui — are pretty well posted up as to his various shady transactions. He has been in turns slaver, whaler, smuggler, and the assault upon Osborne is by no means his maiden effort in that line, for if we mistake not, Mr. Inspector G-oodall has reason to remember the cowardly scoundrel, while the two were located in Nelson, a few years ago, Like all his class, Pearce was quite at home when addressing the Jury, who were informed in the course of his forensic oration that he had received a blow from Osborne which made the blood flow " fearlessly." Connubial Relations. — The examinations of insolvent debtors very often throw some instructive light upon delicate little negotiations which occasionally take place between bankrupts and their wires. Sucli was the case during the hearing of an application before Judge Hardeastle for the discharge of Frederick Kershaw Crqwther. The trustee opposed the application upon the ground that insolvent was possessed of two shares in a building society, which I he refused to deliver up for tbe benefit of his creditors, upon the plea that they were his wife's. In examination by the Judge, the 1 bankrupt admitted that his wife had never held property in her own right, or that a settlement had been made upon her, but statel that she had some money when he married her. The Court explained that that would give her no right to invest her husband's money for her sole benefit, to the exclusion of his creditors, as whatever, she was possessed of at the time ofthe marriage became her husband's by tho union. The contracting parties at the marriage ceremony, of course, take each other for *' better or worse," but as far as the pecuniary position goes, the lady would appear to have " all worse and no better,"' the arrangement empowering the Benedict to say : — *' What yours is trine, |mr dear ; and what's mine is my own, my love." Time was allowed Mr Crowther to consider that phase of the j matter, and to alter his plans accordingly, the certificate being withheld. To-night's Concert.— We feel all that is necessary on our part is to remind our readers that the entertainment to be given in aid of the Palmerston Cemetery, lakes place to-night, in order to secure an overflowing house. In referring to the claims which the cities of the dead have upon all Christian communities a contemporary very aptly remarked : " The respect wliich humanity, civilised or savage, pay to their dead, forms one of those distinctive lines of separation between man and the lower animals, which furnish a strong argument to meet the recent theory of science regarding a common origin of all forms of life." The Red Indian of the Western prairies and savannahs, returns after the lapse of many generations, to weep over tlie graves of his ancestors, guided by an inscrutable instinct, unerringly amidst the cultivat ed grounds or rich parks of civilisation. The Chinese send the bones of their dead back to the Flowery Land, and will go to any labor or expense to ensure their safe transmission. . The Maori, of New Zealand, the Malay, the Hindoo, the Parsee — all races through all time, as far as human records extend — are actuated by a similar veneration for the remains of those who hare gone before them "on the road we all must go." As civilisation advances, tliis respect is shown by the attention paid to the ornamenting and preservation of the last resting-place of our friends. The ceme- | teries of New York, London, Paris, and even Melbourne, are wonderful monuments of architectural skill and tasteful decoration. The practice of paying honor to the dead by the decoration of their last restingplaces has been confined to no time, climo or country, and strange as it may appear, much of tbe embellishments of the cemeteries of Christian Europe have been copied from the grave-yards of the infidel nations of the East ; while 'some of the grandest buildings in the world have bean tombs, such as the Pyramids of Egypt, and many temples scattered over Hindostan and other Eastern countries. Bankruptcy Cou... — The usual quarterly sitting for the hearing of bankruptcy cases, took place on Monday afternoon, before Judge -Hardeastle. Mr. Maclean raade application for the disoharge of Frederick Kershaw Crowther, late storekeeper at Foxton, but as the Trustee opposed the application, on the ground that insolvent had sold two building shares which should hare been an asset in the estate, he had not dealt fairly with his creditors. The protest was received, the application refused, and the case adjourned until next sitting of the Court. — Mr. Hawkins was set down to apply for the discharge of Henry Fry, of Foxton, but as the Trustee had not put in a report, Counsel elected to let the matter stand over till the next sitting of the Court. — Mr. Maclean applied for the disohai'ge of Charles Schultz,. The insolvent was present, and was examined by the Judge as to the cause of his insolvency, which he attributed to his failing tp obtain the license of the Awahuri Hotel, through a neglect on his part. The CoHrt read the insolvent a severe lecture upon, his unbusinesslike conduct, which had resulted not only in hia own punishment, but in considerable loss to his creditors. The Bench said that it was the duty of every trader to so conduct his business as to protect his creditors as much as possible from loss. Insolvent would be. granted his discharge, but he had his creditors to thank for obtaining it, for certainly had there b,e#n, any opposition, it would have boen withheld. — Mr. Warburton applied for the discharge of Edward Marsh, and tbe Clerk read the report of the Trustee which stated that insolvent had paid ten shillings in the £, a sum which quite satisfied th.e creditors. Application granted. The Golden. Reef —The bubble has burst, and the reef of auriferous quartz which was said to exist on the. other side \ of the Manawatu appears so far to have.no reality beyond a resting-place in the heated imagination of a demented enthusiast. From ! the admission of Mom, the, so-called discoverer, to Mr. Henderson, the matter was a hoax from the very first, as the. specimens, brought into town were taken, off a huge boulder, and not from, a reef as he reported. The conduct of Moss has been, ao singular that he can be looked upon as little short of a monomaniac on the question of gold, although it must be confessed in reviewing his action we are led to the conclusion that there has been " a method in. his. madness." The man is firmly convinced that there is gold in the ranges, and no doubt his aim has been to obtain not only a supply of provisions to enable him to continue his search _[or the treasury, bij,t also to procure •killed

assistance. Frorq. the very first inoment of Mr, Henderson's arrival in the vicinity of the supposed reef, he was plainly convinced that Moss's story was a fabrication, and consequently he determined to entirely ignore any statements rqade by him, and set himself to prospeet the gullies for his own satisfaction. While doing so he picked qp a splendid pie«e of quart?, in which the gold — iq the shape of a bunch, of grapes — was distinctly visible to the naked eye. This Moss immediately claimed, alleging the money he had spent in the search, and the months of privation he had undergone, using such persuasive arguments as induced Mr. Henderson to comply with his request and hand it over tq him. Mr. Henderson informs us that the poor fellow has evidently gone cranky in his desire to drop upon the treasure, and several times during the night he would light a candle, and sit gloating over pieces of stones aqd rocks in which he imagined he could see gold • but Moss is not ths kind of a man to make a prospector, as his mode of procedure is prompted by the supposition that he will drop upon something grand without the necessity of using either the labor or taking the steps necessary. Although, of course, the object for whioh Mr. Henderson was despatched has turned out to be a failure, still he is perfectly satisfied that there is gold in the vicinity, and it was with the greatest reluctance he was compelled to return on Friday, lie, however, tells us he has determined to devote his Christmas holiday* to thoroughly prospecting the country, when the creeks are not so swollen, and the days longer, Moss would not return to town, and he stated that he had firmly determined never to leave the ranges until he was successful. Mr. Henderson has brought several specimens of different kinds of quartz back with him, and which can be inspected at this ofliee by those wishing to judge for themselves. Two independent parties of prospectors started on Saturday morning, and our own opinion is that although Moss has been proved unworthy of credence, according to the testimony of Mr. Henderson, upon whose word implicit reliance may be pUced, there is quite sufficient to warrant those in the dis? trict who are not better employed in trying what luck they might have in prospecting.