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Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 118, 27 May 1876, Page 2

Through some unexplained cause or other, ,we received no telegrams last night.

The pray el laid down for footpaths has turned out excellently, having cemented f together so as to afford dry walking in the wettest weather. An extension, however, is greatly required, and we hope the reconstituted Board will bo of that opinion. If a path was extended to opposite the school it would be of material service to tbe little ones, and as the Board have now leased all the sections on the ResidentMagistrate’s Reserve, it is only fair to the tin lessees that a footway he formed alongside their land, to the end of the reserve, opposite' Tap’in’s corner. No doubt this subject will occupy the attention of the Board, and the needed works be completed. The annual meeting of the Hawera ratepayers, to supply the vacancies in the Town Board there, caused by Messrs Dingle, McL’Dowie, and Black, retiring by rotation will take place, in accordance with the Ordinance, on Monday, the sth of June nest.

We cannot compliment the Town Board on their latest effort in “improvements” in filling up the hollow on the side of the road opposite our office, and the other ■houses in -the row with loam. What was at the worst, in rainy weather, -a small streamlet, is now a bed of soft mud varying in hickness from one inch to six or more, and access to the houses opposite is completely cut off hy this slough rf despond, unless a detour is made to ground where these “ improvements” have not been effected. Literally speaking, in parts the mud has been, in the worst places, within the last few days, over the tops of ordinary hoots, and inverted blessings have been freely bestowed hy unwary bogged pedestrians, on the heads of the Board. Whether the promised clay, on the top of the slush, will make it bettor- or worse, wo cannot s ay, hut that something should bo done to fill up the artificial bog is very clear, and that as soon as possible. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday there was only one case, McGuire v O’Sullivan. It had been adjourned for ih ; magistrate to determine as to a portion of the costs. A verdict was given for all costs. The weather on Wednesday last was as bad at Wanganui as in this locality', and the stewards of the Wanganui Steeplechases very properly postponed them. Had they come off, some serious, if not fatal, accidents would certainly have occurred, owing to the sloppy and slippery condition the ground was in, to say nothing of the pitiless rain that pelted all day, and would have reduced the number of spectators to a minimum. They will he run to-day, and at the time of writing there appears to ho every probability of the weather being excellent for the occasion.

There is a species of mild excitement as to the coming- Town Boaid election simmering amongst (he ratepayers, kept up in some degree by quiet canvassing on the part of candidates. These may, we hear, be reduced to five, Mr Adams being as yet undecided, and the contest will then lie between the old members and Messrs Dale and Aitebson. There, arc 83 ratepayers on the roll, entitled to vote, but of these some 33 will be either absent from the township or are resident at such a distance as to preclude the possibility of their at tending to vote. There will therefore bo only fifty available, and out of these it is probable several will not vote. The constituency is thus reduced to a small one, and .its canvass will not occupy much of the candidates’ time. The formal presentation of the New Zealand Cross to Dr Walker will take place this afternoon at a special parade. A detachment of the Wairoa Light Horse will come up for the occasion, and the ceremony will bo made as imposing as the limited number of constabulary stationed in the district will permit. Major Turner, the Officer Commanding the district, will make the presentation. Timber is very scarce at the present time, and, owing to tins, at least a dozen buildings in the township cannot bo proceeded with. The Janet Grey, with timber for here, is still in Wanganui, and we have no advices of o'her vessels being on the way, A business man bore in forms ns that be could readily dispose of throe full tangoes in a few hours if he bad them. A great man}’ of the lessees of the Magistrate’s reserve are waiting for building materials, and their scarcity is causing great delay and inconvenience Nothing further took place at Kakaramea on Tuesday night last than wo have already stated, beyond what every body know would occur, viz. the rescue of the captured Maori. On Thursday the man first assaulted camein and took out summonses for two of the Maori ruffians, one named Broughton and tlio other ITnrangi, It is thought others will he identified and summoned, and should the case be clearly proved against them, it will be a miscarriage of justice if the offenders are not punished so severely as to deter other native blackguards of thoirstamp from future outrages of the kind. The natives of late have been allowed to do pretty well as they please, and arf their savage instincts dictate ; were a white man guilty of one quarter of what they arc permitted to do without let or hindrance,' lie would speedly find himself in the lock-up, and swiftpunishment would overtake- him. It is said that the police force here is too weak to interfere. If so why is it not strengthened, for it is too bad that the white population should be annoyed, and families terrified by the hordes of Maori blackguards who have lately created frequent disturbances in the distiict. Another instance (says the Age) of how a man can exist for a lengthened period without food was shown in the person of a man named Bradley, who was lost in the bush between Stoohlcigh and Glenprairie, Queensland, for seven days and who on Saturday last had been for six days without food, with the exception of two small mushrooms ho had found in his wanderingsBradley, who was in a very exhausted condition, was immediately taken on to Stoohleigh, where he received every attention. He soon recovered from the effects of his long fasting, the first use of his returning strength being given to the task of digging tile grave of the man (Mr Band all) who had saved him from the miserable death that must have otherwise been his fate.

A baker in Coromandel asserts that he prepared and sold 2,97G buns on Good Friday. The Coromandel 3fail says that proportionately to population this gives nine buns and a-half to each month.; but allowing for babes and sucklings, and for men and women with whom hot cross Inns do not agree, we arrive at the con--elusion that there were one hundred and forty 'months yesterday which consumed fourteen and a-half buns for break* - fast. The dyspepsia that must have followed this gorge would surely be awful. The return of the Customs revenue for the quarter ended 31st March has just been published, and to a certain extent it gives countenance to the uneasy feeling that, for the present at least, the height of our prosperity lias been readied. With a population increasing so largely as ours was during last year, a corresponding rise in income was looked for-by the Colonial Treasurer when he made his Financial Statement. The additional receipt from Customs duties was estimated to be mor e than £IOO,OOO, while the decrease on iho last quarter actually was £‘2.780, and the whole year will certainly fall very far short of the Treasurer’s expectations. There are peculiar teeth occasionally seen in horses, which arc termed by veterinarians wolf-teeth, and which it is believed, if not removed, will cause a horse to become blind. They are similar to black tooth in young pigs, and they only seem to bo inserted just beneath the skin, seldom attached.to the jawbone, and they are easily removed by small pliers or nippers. They arc located rather on the outside of the gum, but in front of the molar teeth. They piodnce in many instances an active inflammation of the gum-, and prevent the animal from masticating. lie Will grind his food and spit it out, or lie will he compelled to swallow it in pellets until the obstruction is removed. :

As the New Zealand cable is being pretty well patronised, it may perhaps be useful to know that nkissages,. before dually reaching England at Falmouth undergo about 25 repetitions at different stations. The route is from Adelaide, through the Australian Continent to Port Dar.viu ; the co to Ban] owangie, the southernmost point in Java ; thence per land line to Batavia ; thence per cable to Singapore ; thence per cable to Madras ; thence per land line to Bombay. From there two different routes exist —through Teheran (Persia) to St. Petersburg and Berlin to England. This is the one Heater’s messages take, as that company has special wires through Persia, and all their messages have the precedence. The other route is via Sm 7, and Alexandra, and 1 hence to Gibraltar and Falmouth, with branch lines to Malta, Brindisi, &c. The route via Hussia now being utilised since the temporary interruption of the Penang-Madras cable, goes from Singapore per cable to Sargon, through Cochin-China ; thence to Japan ; thence to Ampor ; thence through Siberia, over the Ural Mountains into Russia, and also via St Petersburg and Berlin to ad countries. The lime over this line is generally about from 24 (o B ) hours, and over the Indian line from 15 to -IS hours. The interruption between Penang and Madras continues, and nothing is absolutely known as to when this line is likely to,'bet-.-,-'restored. . Steamers from Singapore to Gallc require from eight to ten days ; from Penang about live days ; steamers to Madras only occasionally, but two a month from Pen mg to Haugoon, whore the Indian wires join. A droll chain of accidents (says the Wellington Evening Post ) occurred on Monday aftevnooon. The p.s, Manawatu lying alongside the wharf, but a short distance away, having been moved for some purpose or other. The binding stage, which usually is placed from the vessel’s side, in consequence of her hav.ng been moved off, did not quite reach the wharf. A passenger coming up in a hurry, under the impression that he was late without noticing that the shore end of the stage rested on air alone, stepped out boldly thereon, only to find himself instantly pitched head foremost .into the water. This was but the first link in the chain of mishaps. On the other end of the stage was standing Captain Harvey, who by the powerful leverage thus brought to bear on the loose end of the stage, was also jerked off his foot-hold, and speedily followed the unlucky passenger into the briny deep. The stage, evidently filled with contrition for its share in these misfortunes, promptly went after the two men, but was unable to help them. Then the chief officer scrambled down to fish out his skipper and the passenger, but instantly' overbalanced himself, and indie went too ; these four unfortunates —three men and a stage—proceeded to splash about in the salt water for a considerable time, less to their own satisfaction than to 'the amusement of the spectators, by whom all four were extricated from their involuntary bath. The Waikato Times says, “Mr Nutt, of Tai Tapu, has had a most extraordinary yield of barley from the horse shoe paddock on his farm, the average being 91 bushels to the acre.

Mrs Wiltshire, who cssaved the task of walking 100 miles in 24 ' o irs at Auckland, finished her task uii Saturday, the 6th, doing 102 miles with 20 minutes to spare, and this notwithstanding the fact that on the last day she ricked her ankle severely.

We are requested to draw attention to Mr Cowcrn’s clearing sale this day at 12 o’clock. As it is really without reserve, bargains may be secured by intending purchasers. , Mr F. McCartliy has been tlie first to break ground in the recently leased R.M. reserve. He is now erecting a building on the portion leased by him, the piles of which are fixed, and the sides will go Up to-day. He intends to erect a shop adjoining, and to occupy his leasehold without delay. Others would follow his good example at once, were timber procurable. The commission to be paid to the Messrs Rothschild on the Sue/. Canal purchase money amounted to no less than £90,414 sterling. The elephant upon which the Brines of Wales rode in the grand procession at Agra is the one upon whose back Lord Lake rode in 1808 when he went in pro j cession to meet Kunject Singh on the banks of the Sutlej. In a scathing review of the English Bishops and their peculiarities, th a World thus deals with Bishop Selwyn—“The Bishop of Lichfield holds a prominent place among, the limited clique which the practical ruleis of the episcopal conclave, Convocation, constitute. An import from the Colonies, lie governed New Zealand admirably, and for a very good and obvious reason. A man of imperious and dictatorial nature, his mind and temperament were exactly fitted for the nascent Colonial Church. A commander who was an autocrat was wanted, and Bishop Selwyn was both. But in England he experiences ail the disadvantages of an alien and unsystematic soil. It is true he knuckles to no social superstitions nor exclusive prejudices. On the contrary, he endeavors to govern the dignified opulent peerage, and commonality af a great English district as if it were a ragged outpost of some New Zealand settlement, whose spiritual administration was exclusively vested in some desolate employe of tire Church Missionary Society. As a matter .of course, Bishop Selwyn has concentrated on himself an amount of popular dislike and class detestation which even for a bishop is probably- unprecedented.”