UPPER MOTUEKA ROAD BOARD.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 264, 5 December 1876, Page 2

UPPER MOTUEKA ROAD BOARD.

The Board met on Saturday last. Members present- Messrs Symes, Griffith, Coleman and Needham. The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed. Resolved— That Mr Roesko be informed that if he will repair the bridge and clear out the slip as arranged with the Secretary he will receive £2 2s as full settlameut of his claim for work performsd. A letter was received from 0. Curtis, Esq., stating that the sum of £300 was available for making a road from the Motueka river to the Baton plain upon the condition that the settlers to be benefited subscribe *n equivalent in money or labor Resolved— That the Executive Officer be applied to for specifications of the work, and that the Secretary visit the settlers and learn whether they are prepared to fulfil the above conch tions. Resolved-That the Board forward to the Nelson Provincial Executive Officer a memorial in favor of the proposal of the Motueka Road Board for the division of the County into Ridings and the apportionment of members.

Resolved—That D. Linsday be appointed valuer w accordance with " The Rating Act. 1876." ' Resolv*d— That Mr Coleman call a meeting of the Motupiko ratepayers to learn if it is their wish that the old road be stopped. A letter was received from Mr Wiesenhavsrn, requesting that the road through his land be formed. Resolved— That his request be not entertained. Resolved— That the next meeting be held on January 6, 1877. Accounts amounting to £11 16s were passed and paid.

The Auckland correspondent of the Post telegraphs as follows under date November 27:— A letter to the City Council to-day challenges the city treasurer to reply to the following statements: That the annual accounts for 1874 and 1875 were entirely wrong, so that the auditors were compelled to compile new accounts; that the annual accounts have not shown true balances; that some accounts have been compiled from the personal recollection of the treasurer; that the auditors have been compelled to engage a clerk to rectify the accounts; that the city treasurer paid accountants to rectify errors, and to teach him his duties*, that large debts are balanced by fictitious credits; that large sums are omitted to be entered; that on the Ist November, 1875, the sum of £70,000 was in possession of the Council without any entry of tha fact in the ledger, and £70,000 due by the Council without the liability being shown; that the waterworks books, opened at an expense of £60 or £70, have not since been touched. A special meeting of the Council has been called to consider the charges.— -At the Police Court to-day a man named Martin l'Estrange was charged with assault. The evidence showed that he knocked his mother's head through a window and beat her fearfully. He received three months' imprisonment. Mr Price, R.M., at the Kumara, has given an opinion which has caused wholesale and retail vendors of spirits some surprise. A wholesale license, formerly, was supposed to cover the sale of quantities not greater than ft single bottle, and a retail license was held to permit the holder thereof to sell quantities in excess of two gallons. Mr Price, however, affirms that the licenses are altogether two separate things, and that a person wishing to sell spirits in wholesale and retail quantities must have both kinds of licenses if ha would comply with the law. It was reported in Reefton on Saturday that a f rssh outcrop of stone had been discovered on the Hopeful lease, ahead of the present workings, which shows bstter : gold than had been previously found on the mine. The Clutha Leader is responsible for the following account of the peculiarities of a Turkey cock :— Last year the bird was a resident in the Waitepeka district, and there his strange instincts were first observed. When his better half had deposited the allotted number of eggs, and had betaken herself to the matrimonial duties of batching, the old gentleman was seen to collect a number of potatoes and deposit them in a nest he had prepared for them. He then followed the example of his mate, and sat closely upon the vegetables. His owner thinking it a pity that love's labor should be lost, removed the potatoes, and replaced them with hen's eggs. The change seemed much to gratify the " Bubbly Jock," and in due course of time he hatched a fine clutch of birds. Of these he took the greatest care for a few days, until the hen appeared with her brood I of turkeys, when he delivered to her his youthful charge. Thia year the cock removed to a new habitation at the Waiwera, but his peculiar instincts still remained unchanged, as he has again hatched out a fine brood of chickens, which have just been handed over to the charge of the hen as last year. The New Zealand Tablet informs us that his Holinass the Pope, witb the gracious and all-embracing consideration which has ever been so distinguishing and beautiful a trait in his character, has caused to be forwarded to Dunedin an exquisite work of art, which came addressed as " A Gift from Pius IX. for the Dominican Convent." It is intended by the Sisters to offer this precious donation of ths Holy Father's as a prize in the forthcoming art-union, where it will no doubt form an attraction more powerful in itself than all the other prizes 'taken together, notwithstanding the high value to be borne by some of them. The writer of "Old Identities" in the Auckland Cross says :— " On the beach, in front of the Victorian Hotel, on the 29th January, 1855, a great Maori war dance took place, the last war dance ever seen in the city. The day was beautifully clear, and nearly all the inhabitants, men, women, and children turned out to witness the performance. It wa3 during low water and at that time the beach was clean and fi r m, and the ladies as usual got to the front rank to have the best view. The Maories were the picked men who had come in their large war canoes to attend the regatta, and they were a fine lot of men. They began as usual with the quiet monotonous grunt ; but then the quick ' ha ! ha i ' the united jump, the glaring eye«, the protruded tongue, the wild shriek, and off went the blankets, and then they were stark naked. There was a scream from the front rank of spectators, and a rush of ladies through Victoria Lane, such has never been witnessed before nor since that timo." At the opening of the line from Maryborough to Avoca the Governor made the following complimentary remarks :— " The people of Victoria will soon possess facilities for travelling with which no country can compare, with the single exception of the United States of America. The proportion of railway mileage to population is a fair test of this advantage. I find that in the United States in 1874 there was one mile of railway for every 591 persons; iv the United Kingdom there was in 1875 one mile of railway for every 1961; in Germany, ono for every 2428; in France, one for every 2940; in Europe, taken as a whole, one for every 3461. Now at th» end of next year there will be in Victoria one mile for every 890 persons; in other words the facilities for railway travelling in Victoria in comparison with the population will next year be twice as great as they now are in Great Britain, and four times as great as they now are in Europe generally." This will be pleasing news to the Victorians. The woman Coleman, who was shot by her husband at the Hutt, near Wellington, is recovering.

Holloway's Ointment and Pills — Glanduiir swellings in the throat, neuralgia, tic doloruex, rheumatism, gout, lumbigo, and other diseases affecting the glan Is muscles, aod nerves are permanently eradicated by thia healing anti- febrile ond soothing unguent. It is alao a perfect remedy for all skin dis eases.aud superficial or deep scattd sor<s, which soon lose their angry and painful character under ita cooling beneficent action. The Pills havo never been administered either by hospital or private practitioner in dyspepsia or liver complaint without producing the desired result. For continuation of Newt see fourth page.)