THE PATEA MAIL. Published Wednesdays and Saturdays SATURDAY, JULY 24, 1875.

Patea Mail, Volume 1, Issue 30, 24 July 1875, Page 2

THE PATEA MAIL. Published Wednesdays and Saturdays SATURDAY, JULY 24, 1875.

A batch of immigrants, ox Lamershagen, arrived hero yesterday per Egmont, from ■Wellington. They appear to be a very respectable and suitable class of colonists, but we fear the Immigration' Minister has committed an error of judgment in selecting Patea for their destination. Their utter ignorance of the English language will, of course, militate against their obtaining ready employment in this market. Considerable difficulty would have been experienced yesterday in communicating instructions to the new arrivals, but for Mr Martin McMahon, whose knowledge of German was turned to useful account in favour of the immigrants. We regret to find no,effort being made on the part of the authorities here to make known their respective occupations, in order to facilitate their obtaining early employment. Wc shall endeavour to supply the infor. mation next issue. Mr Wilson, on Wednesday last, gave ns an insight into the working of two mowing and one reaping machine, 5 which lie has introduced into the district. A paddock at the back of-the- Court HousAwas the place selected for the trial, and notwithstanding the rough nature of the. ground-the ; work-* ing of these machines gave universal satisfaction. ■ The p.sl Tongafiro' left Wanganui far this port yesterday, 'hut owing to some, portion of her machinery becoming disconnected; she 1 was : compelled to put back for repairs., A meeting of gentlemen connected with the building of the new Wesleyan Church, took place on Wednesday last, at Mr North’s private'residence, to open the tenders for the. erection of the church. There were two tenders (both local), and and Messrs Ilolthafn and Wkrren were the successful tenderers, the pricebeing-£55105. The ;sjs. ;Ino; .arrived in ■ the river , on Thursday last, from Nelson, after a passage, 'of .nineteen hours. ,;She,..brought ; about 18,000 feet of timber consigned to Mr R. E. Mcßae, and left again yesterday for he r original destination with a cargo of sheep ; She will probably reach this port on "or' about Thursday next. • The butcher’s business' witb good will, &c., in Taranaki road, Carlyle, was gold on Wednesday last, byMrJDale, auctioneer, to Mr Mcßae, ,pf Ivakaramea, for .the sumof £2(30. ’This high ’figure speaks well for .the district. They rare going a-head t in/the qf sport in Otago. Already one season’s! trout fishing has passed, and now coursing is about to come into fashion. AMr Rich, of Palmerston, is announcing bis intention to give a cup,'Or 3d50, to-be run for: It is noticeable that, according, to several of the country papers, hares have,■become,;,a peiv feet pest in portions, of Otago.

The Timam Herald , in an able article on the lofty distinction Sir Julius Vogel has so well merited, says :—His first intention, if we mistake not, on arriving in this colony, was to open a tobacconist shop in the Arcade at Dunedin, a sort of colonial Iloundsditch, where Jews in a small way of business congregate, and ply their respective trades with their proverbial industry. £ •; ’ • ■ Sensational spiritual incidents are pretty numerous in Australia. A recent story from the Newcastle Chronicle runs as follows : —There resides in Newcastle a lady and gentleman whoso names can bo learned at this office, who relate the following extraordinary incident :—The gentleman lost his wife, who died leaving a child seven months old. Tins child was given out to nurse at a cost of £2 per week. About three weeks after the death of the mother the child became unwell. One night the nurse sat rocking the child in the cradle, ■when the door was opened, and a lady entered, walking steadily to the cradle, loaned down, kissed the baby, and then walked out of the room. . The nurse was much alarmed, and in the morning sent word to the child’s father to take the child away at once. The father sought for an explanation from the nurse, who after much solicitation, related the above circumstances, and described the appearance and dross of the lady who kissed the chill. The father exclaimed “ My God ! it was its mother.” The next day the child died. Speaking of. the Agent-General and his disagreement with Sir Julius Vogel, to which we referred the other day, the Otago Guardian, says:—When a man is paid a handsome salary for the performance of his duties, he is expected to give at least a decent degree of attention to them, and tin’s Dr Featherston has never done yet. Ws observe that Sir Julius Vogel and this officer have not agreed too harmoniously, and it affords us real pleasure to know that it is so. And when the curious revelations promised are made known to the assembled wisdom of the colony, we trust that no personal considerations whatsoever will bo allowed to influence our representatives. Without any particular revelation at all, sufficient of dereliction and wanton disregard of duty on the part of the Home Agency is known to them, ao to all New Zealand, to warrant Ur Featherstou’s instant dismissal. There arc no less than fifty-six boys in the Homo for Destitute Children at Auckland. The Maori Cnicf, Paul, of Orakei (Auckland) is building a splendid villa residence on his estate there. Paul is a principal recipient of the proceeds of the sale of miners’ rights on the Thames gold-fields. The latest invention is a pen that writes without ink. The pea has merely to be dipped in cold water. An amusing incident occurred at the recent Sydney Exhibition. An old lady who had not been in town for more than a quarter of a century, was being shown the lions by an affectionate and attentive grandson. She was delighted with everything with the exception of the young women. “In sly young days,” said she, “ when girls had been punished, they did’nt glory in their shame.” “Why, what do you mean, grandma ? ” Why, all these girls with their hair cropped short over the foreheads .must have just come from the female penitentiary at Parramatta.” A little further explanation brought out the fact that the coiffure for female convicts in the good old days was the same “ fringe ’’ over the face in which so many of the New South Wales damsels now so much delight. “ ZEgles ” contributes the following to the Australasian :—A memory of the past. In that good old time —say about 1845 when, there were but four or five grocers in Melbourne, the price of locally-cured bacon ranged about, 7d per, lb to. the producer. With a view to their own benefit the grocers—who were the only buyers—entered into a solemn compact, duly ratified, that they wouldn’t pay the farmers more than sd. Shortly after this arrangement a fanner from the Merri 1 Creek, with half a dozen flitches on his cart, called at a grocer’s shop, and, offered his bacon for sale. He was bid 5d., which he refused, saying he would try. some one else. A couple of hours later, as he was driving home with a cart void of bacon, and full of stores, he was accosted by the grocer v.uth whom he had tried to deal. - - have sold your bacon ?’’ ,ff Oh,, yes* I sold, it easy, cnougt’at 7tL”, May l ask.to. whom you . .solb ,it.” , “ Certainly,-ijy’s no 'secret; I .sold-;lit;'Jo-— —hj of Little.; Bourke Street.” This was one of the confederates* The next time. the man who had lost the business met himqtfho had accomplished it, he taxed him with his perfidy. “Look here,” said the undisturbed . ■ ■ : , “if you only, kticw the weights 1 bought that bacon byi and tbe ’WeigHtsT sold him the groceries bw—by my conscience, I doli’t belieye. it stanfis me in 4idJ ” y ,

A Melbourne contemporary says:— “ The contemplated visit of the Prince of Wales to India is to be regarded as ol political rather than social significance. The Asiatic mind is peculiarly susceptible (o demonstrations of pomp and Imperial state, and as Ills Royal Highness in ascending the throne will be Emperor of India as well as king of Great Britain, it js right that he should, exhibit himself to bis In. dian subjels in future with* all the grandeur becoming his position. In this part of the world .the taste for royal display has been partially satisfied by the Duke of Edinburgh’s long sojourn in the Colonics ; but, no doubt, the colonial public, and especially the native born population, would like to see their future king face to face, and very little pressing would probably induce the Prince to extend fiis journey to Australia.”