PALMERSTON NORTH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5274, 19 February 1878, Page 3

PALMERSTON NORTH.

(PROM OCR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) The all-absorbing question of “ what news ” is at present difficult to answer, except with a negative monosyllable. Although the fall of Constantinople supplied us with a topic of conversation, generally ending in, however, “ I don’t believe it,” subsequent telegrams have taken even that from us. I know for a fact that the Council will not yet spend any of the £IO,OOO on fortifications around here. Our cemetery here is hardly an ornament to the town, but it has greatly improved since it was partly fenced in, and I believe it is intended to have a plan made, showing walks, &c., at once, before the graves get so thickly scattered about as to render hopeless any attempt at order or regularity. By the by, there is quite a storm in a teacup on this subject, there being a correspondence carried on week after week in our local paper, by “person or persons unknown,” about surplus funds from the Terrace End sports, the said sports, I am told, proving a loss to the promoters. The Rev. Mr. McGregor, the Wesleyan minister, received a highly flattering farewell at Feilding, on his leaving the district, in the shape of a tea meeting. The report of the speeches occupies upwards of three columns. Keports continue to come in of good crops, and the weather has been on the whole favorable, though changeable. East week the atmosphere was so clo?e and oppressive that one was forcibly reminded of Jules Verne’s “ Central Sea,” To-day we are in midwinter. The Council has decided to adopt the clause in the Municipal Corporations Act giving it authority to call upon all property owners to fence along all the road frontages, and in the event of the order not being complied with, to do the work, and recover the cost from the proprietors. Those interested I would refer to the 207th clause. There is little doubt about this step being highly necessary before the proportion of the loan is spent on new roads, as there is no question that the stray cattle would cause considerable expense in repairing such roads, especially if they went over the road just after its formation. Lad night a meeting of the members of the reading-room took place, and a committee was formed and officers appointed, Mr. Warburton being elected president. This desirable institution is now started on a firm basis. Our local fire brigade, lately formed, is showing considerable activity, and with the . drilling they have bad should, when their services are next required, prove the value of organisation. There was an assault case partly heard at the Court here, but as both parties hailed from the Celestial land the case could not proceed much beyond the attempt to obtain their names. Maori names are somewhat perplexing, but nothing to Chinese.