POST-OFFICE NOTICES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 3, 3 January 1872, Page 2

POST-OFFICE NOTICES.

o MAILS CLOSE. For Westport, Greymouth, and Holritika — per s.s. Kennedy, this day, at 4.30 p.m. For Havelock — per Overland Carrier, this day, at 4.30 p.m. For Picton, Wellington, and Southern Provinces — per s.s. Wellington, on arrival. SYDNEY J. DICK, Chief Postmaster.

Resident Magistrate's Court. — Robert Edgar, of Motupiko Valley, was tbis morning charged with haviug ou 21st November last assaulted Eliza Hodgkinson of the same place. Defendant was fined <ss. aud costs £7 19s 6d, the milea2e fees ori ihe service of the summons alooe amounting to over £1. Nelson Artizans. — Their seventeenth quarterly eutertaiument is to be giveu by tbe members of the Artizans' Association ou Friday evening next. The programme includes a number of choruses, songs, and readings, and concludes with the laughable farce entitled " Turning the Tables." A meeting of members, for the election of officers, wiil be held this evening. Napier. — A telegram dated 29 December says: — The Hon. Mr. Ormond aud bis family had n fearfully narrow escape from a serious accident yesterday. AfVr driving across the Epairiarua bridge,, the horses got restive, the harness broke, aud the carriage ran backwards down a steep iucline, but fortunately recrossed the bridge safely, thus avoiding a fall of twenty feet into the bed of the river. Fatal Accident. — On the 27th December, Robert Blaymire, t;n old settler in Marlborough, was drowned off Cullen's Point, about nine miles from Havelock, whilst pushing his boat oil' some rocks where she bad grounded. He was seen by two men who were going to Havelock, to get out of the boat and walk alongside of her, pushing her into the water, when he suddenly sunk, the tide at the same time running very strong. The men pulled to the spot as quickly as possible, but he did not rise agaiu until he was about three chains distant, and then sunk immediately. His body has not yet been discovered. Sewage Works. — An advertisement which appears in another column gives the names of those ratepayers who will be specially affected by tbe new sewage works, the asterisks showing who of ihem have signed the petition in their favor, from which it will be seen tbat out of 115 ratepayers 79 have declared themselves wiiliug to be specially rated. The provisions of the Act which require that two-thirds of the ratepayers interested must make a requisition to tho Beard in favor of the Act bas thus been complied with, those who have signed representing by far the larger value of property in the neighborhood. It is to be hoped now that ali opposition will cease, and the works be proceeded" with without d.lay. The Ne*\v Treasury Regulations. — The inauguration of these regulations iv Nelson has been attended with a lamentable want of success, and, unfortunately, with inconvenience to a large body of men. The petty jurors who v. ere summoned to attend the Court yesterday went as usual, on their beiug discharged, to the lale paymaster to receive th -ir remuneration, but on application, found ihat tfie new arrangements were now in force, and that lie uo longer had the power to pa}' the small sums due to them. The questiou then was to whom were they to apply, and this was one to which there appeared to he some difficulty in obtaining a reply. Tho form to be gono through now by ao officer drawing his salary, or by anyone who has to receive money from the General Government is as follows : — The certifying officer, that is, the head of the department, sends a voucher to Wellington certifying that certain moneys are due to certain persons, to each oue of whom there comes in due course of time — which means anything from two days to a fortuight, as the case may be — a cheque for the amount from tiie head office in Wellington, which, however, has to be countersigned by the certifying officer here before the claimant can get it cashed at the Bank. It is scarcely to be conceived that it was intended that all these forms should bo gone through by the juror prior to receiving his three or four shillings for a day's attendance at Court, and yet from the absence, of any arraugements to meet these small payments yesterday, it would seem that the same difficulties with which it has been deemed expedient to hedge round the payment, of a regular officer's monthly salary, are to surround such casual trifling claims as those to which we are referring, the failing to meet which has given rise to such widespread dissatisfaction. Clearly, there is either something inherently wrong iv the new regulations, or exceedingly faulty iv the working of them. Whichever it may be, it is to be hoped that due regard to the interests of the public will lead to a remedy being speedily applied. Upper Wakefield. — Ameetiug of inhabitants of tbis district was held yesterday (Tuesday) evening in order to protest against the removal of the school. Mr. Newell Phillips was called to the chair. Mr. Griffith, in moving the first resolution, said that he had no very strong personal interest in the matter, inasmuch as his family were now chiefly too old to attend school, and his residence at a great

distance from the present site ; but, as an old settler in the distriot, and for the snke of the families of others, he felt it a duty to come forward ou this occasion. There was little doubt that, in a few years tliere would bo population enough to keep np good schools both here and at Foxhill, especially if the railway were carried out. If, as was rumored, it, was intended to place the school near the river, hardly any of the children on this side could go so far iv wet weather. The school had now existed here for something like twenty years, aDd if they lost it now, the district might bo said to be abolished as a centre of population and merged into tho neighboring ones of Foxliill and Lower Wakefield. My. Griffith concluded by moving n resolution in the following terms : " That in the opinion of tbis meeting any interference on the part of the Central Board with the Upper Wakefield School would not only inflict, a grievous injury ou a considerable number of children, but, would be au act of unmistakable injustice to this and the Foxhill neighborhood, and we feel called upon to enter our most solemn protest against any such interference." Mr.* Joseph Hoult, sen., secouded the"" motion, which was carried unanimously. It was further resolved, on the motion of Mr. Joseph Hoult, jun., seconded by Mr. William Wadsworth, "That, the chairman' be authorised to communicate the foregoing resolution to the Central Board." The meeting separated with the usual vote of thanks to the ouairman. — Communicated.