The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAYS WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 1876.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 137, 2 August 1876, Page 2

The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAYS WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 1876.

P vr liam kxt at the proson! fine presents the nvi> t curious conglomerat" of parties and interests ihat scnU: well be. imagined, and ' political chaos, rarely V .-/or existent in a, British, const! tvdional a.5sunbly, waits some master hand tor -dnoe its conflicting elements I.’Order. Wh'ivier that power will be found in the present Ministry, even with. Iho great Sir Julius

a: its head, is nave than any otic can solely predict. T.Vw avo three disanev parties already, subdivided again into various sections, hj having separate interests to serve. First there hj; the Ministerial party, the incxriurv of Much go the whole I .-eg with, the Gcvermuer.fc in all their propose, m. Next conies the Transition, v/hkh is vecrait-xl from members of all shadv.r. of opinion, few, if any, thinning’ Mike on, many nil-important points. La c t’y, comes the forlorn hope of Prov iuci'd.is'w, so few and so ttoobygonc, V.s hard’;/ to merit therpp.-riT.tion

of ft party. Brill tlwy exist, ;,i;atelring vain hop-:-? of the preservation of their V: loved Institutions, through the disunion admittedly existing amongst the

‘ others. The Uovernm-jnfc pai-ty, pure and simple, is by no weans ns Arong r.s has been supposed, fov though AhoiiSm:is a fact, and i’u carrying that out to-y i can command ■probt.bly tvr,e-thirds of the 1 House, Lee question comes, what next, anti on tins arises the chief differences, ru J. the greatest Mi .iscerial clanger. Foremost in the Opposition, are some most L!stemmed in carrying ont Abolition, because' Government measure*? to ronlr.c". t , •yorlnces, do not on various gwmufs j ■•o- A tneir views. As a mutter o■’ coin’sc the dejected Provincial band ..ladly join, u; f.v.y r. id that may dispossess too existing Ihmoi five, and hoc-.cV.css or what they subm.tu;:-, for SeparatiOJiisvs mid Ministerialists nr: King Stories nlVce fo them, the ferm'w ■ only a little less omeAionrMe ibrnn the ' latter. A« a matter of courv.. tlr- Land j fund -s id the bottom of the whole, and l it is on this r.C’ount irwb nil the cabal-ling-takes place. Mr Whitaker’s ;<?.po- ■ Inflows for i seh-'nvc of the whole of ; this revenue, though in any case likely ! to he abandoned altogether or’ erectly 1 modified, promise to produce still more j startling effects, than if carried in their ■•entirety. Otago and Canterbury have Ai'-cn the alarm, r.n- the rcsnl?: of long cm fereaccs is v.id io be a union of Zeroes -to bring about tSeparril r :f the ish-nrh;, with wo provincial an > ore fedyr I govcnmvmt, finunci.-i apiAnirnt of Provinci•! debts, and various other politic..! novelties. Tins has gvonc so fa? eve", that the proportion o' relAivo liability has been ,rgic;:d on A ”s fc-.hl, and the mew party is also •;•■.ported -to-comuriss ixe-riy half the House. Phov.ld t:i : r prove correct i. eve ravinco be much ■question that, the move will be a successful one., for the. Auckland contingent will certainly join the Separation party, and then what will coma of the victory is hard to realise. Th° Separation issue is a new one, that is to say new in this Parliament, anil if agreed to, would absolutely and. fundamentally upset all on which public opinion was expressed at the last election. It is hardly likely therefor.' dirt the Ministry would resign ■without appealing to the colony for an oncorsemeiA of such a now phase of Government—one that would involve rev/ hgislatiov. of so grave a nature. ’Jnrhv defeat of such kind, or...body in j constitution.u changes of so :.cii:rt.l a land, a ivqnactfor e. dissoiatinu would, j.’-. ;;1! probability, at once be complied with, and a gen ora I clocti'on folic, 7 without delay. It is aonmbntly r-i. Ad that Mr W.ilt.ik'cr’r rcsokrmua will be diverted to separation, and, :f u\, iho crisis nuist he at hand cno way or other. A ui:(.ally weH-informed Taranaki contemporary states that is is not ratc-ndsd, on the Government side at all events, to speak at any length on so well worn a subject, it luivh' 1 ecn thoroughly d'eeußscd yearc "go; and the other side, r conn in t’.oiv presumed ct-ongLh, may not cor:: r.l-r-.t doiu" 0.0. rnd the debate : -v b: but 0 short one rftcy ah, When

it, is settled, r.’ -onld 'She ! ra r been, ns :r to be hened. r- j’coTih:: rllb.ont tiris r.Vt, t" 2 \7C.yr. <•* th: session may pvogitct vrithcul" interfere.?. {tbopld tho s".!r.nH r.:,v: threatened fml, tli: Gortmtnoni; tiladb .-.ay b? deemed for this session. lln thctnsrnlam.:!, the Lords” r becoming uneasy, mid it is not hr:probabl' t" at some of loose fossilised rospoctf.bi’l(.ios v,*i!l become? so xcifccd as to tronoh cn forbidden ground, end arrogate fanotio - ■ that they do not constitutionally ■ possess. In that cose the ohrmber of antiquities may by rather ■■cuyhiy overaanled, and ths-'practical utility of a nominated body of peers bo questioned at rr. eavlisr brie than vuill be the case under other cinninstances. There are other subjects of greater moment to bo dealt with r.t present, but the turn of the Legislative Council will come, •ana, before nit ny move sessions arc gone by, un elected. Upper House, if an Upper House be retained at all, mill form the reeond branch of the Hew Zealand

Legislature. Louk whichever way we may political tr.r bbs and complications arc presell ton to view, and, altogether, the present divisions would please the heart of Si:- Lucius (/’Trigger, who would see in them very pietty pending quarrels, an thev stand. * * - .. irt

■Of late tins ointricc has been unhappily prolific in accidents, some of a serious nalnre. Very recently Mr Bayiy, of Hawera, and Mr A. Haywood of this town, were maimed, in one case by falling from a horse, in the other at football. Last week other casualties hi led up the record. On Friday, Mr March ant, of Wairoa, met with a cor ere fall which dislocated Ins shoulder, and caused r. comminuted fracture. On Saturday, whilst felling timber in the Kakaramea bush, Mr Thomas Shelly was unfortunate enough to sustain a very severe compound fracture of the thigh, one end of the bone penetrating both the f’ouh and trousers that iho unfortunate man was wearing. lie was brought out of the bush with great difficulty, and ins removal was attended with great agony. As a matter of course he would have been brought to the hospital, had such an institution existed, but there being no such needed refuge, Major Turner very kindly placed a hut on the Government block at the disposal of Dr. Walker to "shelter the sufferer in. We are glad to say that under the care of that gentleman both the above cases are going or, favorably, though some time must elapse before convalescence. Mr Houston of Hawera, who is suffering :Vom a severe attack of rheumatic fever, i: a,so an inmate of what may be termed the temporary hospital, but is, we are glad to say, oh the improving list. The promised Spelling Bee at the Good Templars’ Open Lodge to-morrow, Thursday, evening. Is likely to bring out a great 1 many competitors, and consequently increased fun for those present. .The conceit also will compri losomo novelties, as far as a CnDyle audience is concerned, and a most : pleasant evening’s entertainment is set out. ! The bad weather too seems to have broken andafinemoonhghtnightmay be expected, : so it is probable that many country visitors

will be tempted to pay the Open Lodge a visit.

At (lie 71.L1. Court yesterday, there was only one. case set down for hearing, Foreman v. Hester, a claim for £1 17s Gd. A. verdict was given for the amount. This was all the business. Mr Hirst fins moved his warehouse from its late site to the end of his wharf, and the change will greatly add to the convcni'nee ox those receiving- or shipping goods there. We have no doubt tin's thoughtfulness for customers will meet its just reward in increased business, in connection with the wharf generally, j As the Taranaki coach was coming along ! the Harriet Beach on Monday last, a large I seal was seen sleeping on r shelving bank, • j cat ah ove high water mark. Major Brown I who was one of the passengers, Horn. ■ IVaarnr., and Creed, the driver, got down \ and managed to kill the , imprudent ‘ amphibian by nciting it with stones. T.t j wr.s ox a common kind but rather .large j size, being fully seven feet in length. It { was too bulky for conveyance and wru; therefore nscessairly left behind, as a prize for file first traveller capable of removing t men weighty booty. The football ;n;fch referred to in onr last issue was the match between the 15 gentlemen chosen to play against Wanganui, on the 19th inst., and 20 other gentlemen in tli o district; this match is to bo played at Manutahi on the 12th inst. The Bachelors’ Ball on Friday next promises to be a very brilliant affair, and will be largely attended. Many guests are coming from a 'distance, and it will in the

true sense be a district festival. The bachelors are leaving no stone unturned to provide for the pleasure and accommodation of their visitors, and there cannot be a doubt that they will accomplish their ends most suoceisfuily. The meeting at Wairoa, for tiro purpose of considering proposed county’ boundaries, was expected to bo well attended last evening, but wo could not procure any uarticu'.ars of the proceedings in time for tiiir, issue. We shall furnish a report in our next. Amusement is the order of the day, both in Carlyle and the adjoining townships. A ball is to be given at Wairoa on Friday nex-, which has every promise of being most successful. ‘The people' c£ Ketcmr.rae are bestirring ( themselves on the County’ boundary ques-

| then, and a. public meeting is announced to j tabs place at Brett’s bote!, on Saturday j evening’ next, the sth inst, at G o’clock, to ' consider the whole subject, j Owing to the two proprietors not altoi {-ether “ hitting it ” together, the Thames ' Advertiser was sold by auction on the 28th un . It was bought by Mr ’Wilkinson, one o£ the former owners, for Hie cum of $2,500. Mr W. H. 'Reynolds, late a member of the Ministry as Commissioner of Customs, lies obtained Her Majesty’s permission to retain the title !< Honourable ” within the colony of How Zealand. A - notification

in the Gazette is published to this effect. I The Annual P-.oughingrnatcii, under the 1 auspices of the Patea Pastoral and Agricultural Association will take place to-morrow., {Thursday.

As will be seen by advertisement elsewhere, Mr Jacobs'offers great bargains in clothing, jewellery, and fancy goods for a few Jays during his stay here He has engager, the building next the Albion, where r, mrgs and well chosen variety of the rbov?. goedo can be seen.

The Foresters’ meeting, for the purpose of resuscitating the Lodge of that order, formerly existing in Patea, was held on Monday evening last. Sufficient members were present to open the Court, and three candidates were, initiated. Several others were proposed, and officers nominated for the various chairs. The Court Patea may ic said to be now fully renewed, and its roxt meeting will be held on Wednesday, lie ICth inst. It bids fair to be both •'.opn'av find flourishing, as-it is the only benefit society having a branch in this district, and a large number of persons have already intimated their intention of joining it without delay. A pupil of the Wellington College named Bell, sixteen years of age, has died cf typhoid f-vver. The Wanganui Football club hava accepted the challenge of Patea, and the match will be played on the 10th inst., on the Wanganui cricket ground. The annual return match, between Nelson and V/cilington, will be played at the latter place on the 9th or 10th of this month. I A jetirion has been presented to ParliaI merit, from Martin Francis Coffee, praying ' fc- compensation for losses sustained by petitioner during '’>c Taranaki war. Mr \V. Dale will sell this day a quantity of damaged goods, ex Agnes, for the benefit of whom 5c may concern. It is not often (says the Printers' Register ) that so remarkable an advertisement is seen in a London daily, or indeed any other newspaper, as that which occupied a page of the Daily News on the i Ist May. This being the day originally appointed for the opening of the great American Exhibition at Philadelphia, Messrs A. B. Fleming and Co. signalised the event by advertising their well-known ink and oil in no fewer than 74 languages and dialects. The ervverpriso, which must have been a costly one, vo doubt had its desired rffsc'-, for it :m :y bs fairly add that the I name of Fleming was in tiro mouth of : half London., and not a few of the purchasers of the Daily News rave earexihiy -prosewed the outside leaf as an interesting souvenir. The Register presents a fac-simile photo-lithographic copy of the advertisement to its subscribers as a supplement.

Tne “ Intelligent Vagrant,” writes in the New Zealand Times thus :—Attending a place of worship, by accident, the other day, I noticed my esteemed friend Fipkins Hawyaw, Esq., occupying a prominent position in the'choir. Knowqig that ho has about as much voice as? a stewed oyster, and as much knowledge of .music as a cow, I took an opportunity of ask mg him subsequently what he wanted in the choir. “My dear fellow,” said he, “ pew tents are very high, Government, erdy pay £3 a week ; by joining the choir I get an excellent sitting for nothing, and when the singing is going on, I open my mouth and breathe hard, and I get credit for adding much to tho volume and tone of the vocalisation.” • vl-.,

An exciting contest (says a Poverty Bay contemporary) between three fine bull whales took place near the Mahia peninsula on a recent elate, a lady whale being the Catus belli. One o£ them managed to have his under jaw broken in the encounter, and on the following day he was washed ashore at "VVhangawai, dead from the effects of the injuries received in the battle. The natives at once seized, cut up and tied down their prize, but ho proved to be in a very poor condition, and the yield of oil is expected to be very trifling. The Ballarat. Star learns that a lady residing in that town, a countrywoman of Mdile. do Murska, received intelligence from Hungary that this distinguished vocalist, who,' at her recent marriage in New Zealand, with Mr John Hill, declared herself to be only twenty-eight years is really either thirty-eight or forty years of age. From the same source, the Star learns that Mdile. de Murska, before she appeared o:; the stage, was married to an army lieutenant, two children being the result of the union—a son, now twenty years old, and a daughter seventeen. Not long after her marriage the talented singer went on the stage, and subsequently M. do Vivo engaged her to travel round the world and give series of concerts under his management.

The Canitary Record sayr :—ln the February number of the Pacific Medical and Surgical Journal, a case is recorded in which small-pox was apparently, indeed without doubt, convoyed from Indiana to California in a letter. A man in the latter place received, on December 14th or 15th last, a letter from a oister in Indiana, informing him that she, her husband; and three children had smallpox, and a babe bad died. On December 27, the man became ill, and the disease devolved into r well marked case of variola. «

. The Evening Post has deemed it necessary to declare before a Justice of the Peace that its daily circulation exceeds 3,000, and its weekly 18,000.

A correspondent to the Bombay Gazette says that on the last voyage of the F. and O. Company’s steamship Hydaspes, f: orn Bombay to Aden, a creature was discovered following Hie vessel, and was seen by every one except the captain. “~t was composed of a dark mass, look.vg like tangled seaweed, over 3Cft knycr l lO.fi wide, crowned with a huge blade lend, with a flat top like a toad, r. thick ."vhrge of reddish hair over the mouth, rod bright copper-hued scrutinising eyes. The Monster followed peacefully enough t*. ; : aroused by the cries of some children when it raised itself out of the water, gave a hideous bellow, and aimed three blows at the mainmast. The last touched the mast making the ship sway 'violently.”. As a warrant of the good faith of die statement the writer gives his name. The following are the dime:r;lons of a wild hoar, shot and speared by Meiers Thorn and Ilarland at the Maivern Hilu, Canterbury, a few days ago ;—Length from nose to the eyes, If 25n ; from the nose to the top of the head, 2f I 4in : across the forehead, Ift Gin ; circumference at the butt of the ear, 3ft 9in ; entire length of the animal, 7£t Sin ; color iron grey.

As onr readers are no doubt aware, several persons have been receontly bitten by the poisonous spider, and in one rase death ensued. Few persons are aware cf the dangerous nature of the insect, nor its appearance when met with. The fo!leaving, taken from the Taranaki Herald of Wednesday last, will therefore be of interest to our readers. Our contcmpoi ary says :—“ We have had forwarded to us from Opunake some specimens of the. katipo, the venomous spider of which so much has been heard of late. They were forwarded by Captain Wilson, and brought to us by Mr Hately on his return from Patea. Captain Wilson writes : 1 There are two or three varieties of these poisonous spiders, probably more. The variety I send yor is considered by 11 ic natives a very venomous one. 7 was bitten by one of this sore on tlvs sea coast between Patea and Waitotr.ra. some twentyyears ago, and it was fuTy two years i before I recovered from the effects of iue bite. This kind are always on the ,;e.° shore, about the roots of cjftvre flax and rushes. They appear to 11 / on ha “ties and other crawling insect ;, as they buire no webs to catch flies. The varevre in colour, I suppose, is owing to the difference in sex. The Maoris state there is re.e species which is red all over, and 5 ’ very venonous. I have, however, never ss:n it, though I have seen another kind—dark brown or nearly black—that the na.ives say is dangerous. 1 ” Tlie fact that we have no faith in dreams (says the VVairarapn News of the 22nd July), is no rearm why we s iru'd not record the following, for the truth of which we are in a position to vouch: —“ On the morning of Sunday Inst, one cf the gentlemen who visited the Fcriy-r.u.o Bush, and who was then, along \vi hj tile others, in Palmerston, mentioned at the breakfast table, as rather a si igure; coincidence, that, he had dream- rlurlv.g the night, Mr Graham, of the C..«b Hotel. Masterton, was dead. A few m antes I afterwards, another of the party, without the slightest knowledge oc wnat had. already passed on the subject, casually remarked that he’ had dreamt the same thing. Neither gentleman was intimately acquainted with Mr Graham, an ! his iiinsss was not likely to make a deep impression on their minds. The circumstance, although significant enough, was taken hut lit tic notice of at the time. In fact it had altogether escaped recollection, until the party arrived at the Scandinavian Camp the following Tuesday, when they were informed that Mr Graham had aclnally died the very morning upon which they had had their dreams. In these degenerate times a coincidence of this hind is not regarded with particular awe ; still the day was when it would not have been quite so lightly esteemed.” It may be interesting to Good Templars and total abstainers general.y, wire are not already acquainted with the fact, to learn that in the House of Commoner on May 12, Mr R. Smyth’s motion for closingpublic houses in Ireland on Sundays was, after a long and animated discussion, caviled by a majority of 67, the mini hero being 224 to 167.

A gentleman in town (says too Budget) who devotes himself Sundays to “ teaching the people,” not of the things of this life, but of the other—one o:; the good old sort —after exchanging civilities with a gentleman whom he happened to meet on Sunday said, “Is Doctor Featherston dead ?’> Being answered in the affirmative, the teacher of the people continued, “ He died at Wellington, didn’t he ?” On being told that Doctor Featherston had died in England the old fossil recoiled, “ Oh, yes! I : remember he went to England some years ago.” The Bruce Herald is responsible for the following :—“About four weeks age a son of Mr Wright, grocer, of North Duned'::, lay ill with fever, and his life was despaired of. ‘ A few minutes before the poor boy died, his dog entered the house, and, howling loudly, went upstairs towards the room in which his sick master lay. Every effort was made to drive the animal away ; he was kicked, coaxed, but would not leave. The dog eventually got into ■ the room, but directly he reached the i bedside he died, and at the same time his 1 master breathed his last.” .

The cost ir. England of advertising the ) last four million loan was £499 13s 6d. I From Cweeden we receive accounts of a , new breechloading rifle, the iav.-ntion ox fro engineer, named Boh:; yum. It is asserted ' that fro. . twenty o twenty-five rounds pe min./ce can he fired f.om this weapon* and that, during ixperhnents recently conducted at . i ..-isnberg, 500 rounds were lirrd without the v>: f a being cl'•an ed rt, any way. IV peculiar novelty- of Bohinarn’s syeten, however, is tii .l by the i introduction of a chamber, the rifle can be readily converted into a “repeater.” The chambers at present provided arc of two sizes, and it is stated that with the larger eleven rounds can bonred in fifteen seconds, and with the smaller six rounds in wr; | seconds. j Amongst the passengers by the Son.them l Cross from Auckland (says the Napier i Mercury) appears the name of a Mr Von !To npeky'. Tine young gentleman is a son ] of the late lamented j.nd gallant Major Von i Ternpsky, and has received an appointment ' in the Nopier branch of the New Zealand ’ Bank.

. A correspondent of the Mount Alexi under Mail, writing fro:. . Newstead, relates I an incident which occurred at the New--1 stead Cemetery on’the 6th uli, which he ! believes, i.r unprralreled in the _.hitorj T of

the colony. -me .';ve years ago the wife of a fiirni.>• on::! Trite died, r.'id wao buried in To .ctea;! Cemetery. ahice that time ‘*.lo Ufa deeds of the iann were ! found to 3 "eynterioasly disappeared, j Latte:-!;,’ h'.vte had a suspicion that his j s'epdauyhTr had hui'ed the document in j id c co3sr, and in order to te'-t this lie caused the grave te be opened and the coffin ' examin-The suspicion was found to be correct —tire deeds were .dong’ with the remains, but so obliterated and defaced as to b~ I‘ter‘J’i/ cseloou. It appears that Lb: j :t. \ it formerly bslou rod to the first husband joe the :loce;.e:d, a1 1 her daughter had enclosed them in her mother’s coffin so 1 tl:?'. "her stepfather could not sell the