WAVERLEY.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 493, 21 January 1880, Page 2

WAVERLEY.

(From our own Correspondent.) .January 19. Thk poll to elect one member each from Nos. 2 and 4 Wards of the Wairoa Highway District, took place in the Town Hall, Vaverley, on Saturday last, Air Eookes being Returning Officer. There were two candidates proposed for each of the Wards—viz., Air J. McLean ami Air Alexander Alilne for No. 4 Ward, and Mr George .Johnstone and Air William Wilson for No. 2 Ward. The following is the result of the poll: John McLean ... ... 30 Alexander Alilne ... ... 24 Alajoiity for McLean, G. George Johnstone ... ... 12 W. Wilson ... ... ... -11 Alajorily for Johnstone, 1. M essrs Ale Lean and Johnstone were declared elected.

An inquest to enquire how and by what means Mr Winchcomb’s office was burnt down, was held before Captain Wray, the Coroner, in the Commercial Hotel, on Saturday, when the following jury were empanelled:—George Harold Norman (foreman), Thomas Bourne, 11. M. Kirk, G. Howie, Andrew McKenzie, G. S. Bridge, 15. Brookes, 15. 0. Meredith, Barclay, S. Duffy, Rees, and Barr. Thomas H. Jones being sworn, stated that lie was coming up from Waitotara in company with a Mr Harkness and Mr Smith, and that when within fifty or sixty yards of the Wairoa Hotel, at the entrance of the town, Smith called out fire. Witness then stood up in the dray and looked in the direction of the light, when he thought it was the new Town Hall. He left the dray and ran ahead, and as soon as he came to the inhabited part of the town, he called out fire. Hu ran right up to the building, still calling out fire. He saw no one about. He was at the scene of the fire for about three minutes before anyone else came. He then went up to Mr Winchcomb’s private residence, and loused Mr Winchcomb, who was in bed when he (witness) got there. He waited till Mr Winchcomb got up, when they wont back to the fire together. When they arrived there the building was burnt to the ground. When he first got to the fire it was too late to try and save anything. He could see a part of the roof when he arrived, but could not tell which side it was, on account of the flames. Mr Winchcomh, on his oath, said he was the owner of the building destroyed by fire. He was aroused about two o’clock on the morning of the 31st December, 1879, by the cry of fire, by a person in his garden. He got up, and found it was Jones, who informed him that his office was burnt down. He dressed, and accompanied Jones to the fire ; when he got there the building was burnt to the ground. He had been burning waste paper in the stove the previous afternoon, as was his usual custom, but when he left about 6 or 7 o’clock everything seemed to be quite safe. He did not examine the stove before leaving, as he had so often burnt

papers in the same manner, and gone away and left it for a couple of hours. He was in and out the office several times after he lit the tiro, prior to his leaving to go homo. He could not say if the fire was burning when lie left. There was uo insurance on the building. There was • between sixty or. seventy pounds in notes in the premises when he left. It was in a tin cash box, under a gin case. Read fished the box out of the fire, but the notes were all burnt. He (witness) valued the office at about £7O, an 1 lie calculated his loss at from £l5O to £2OO. The building cost about £45 when built. Mr Read stated that he fished the cash box out of the fire. It was full of burnt paper, about the size and shape of £ notes. He could form no idea how the fire originated. There were several there before he arrived. The building was all in a flame when lie got there.

The foreman stated that he was in the office the afternoon previous to the fire, but that he noticed no lire then. This being the whole of the evidence, the Coroner made a few remarks to the jury, in which he said : “ Like all cases of the kind there was hardly any evidence to guide the jury, except the evidence of the owner; and that people were very careless.” After a few minutes deliberation, the jury returned the following verdict—- “ That the cause of the fire was unknown,” but added the following rider, “ The jury consider that great carelosnoss was shown by Mr Wiuclicomb for leaving the office without first seeing that the fire in the stove was out.” The concluding match of the year for the Wairoa Light Horse belt, was fired on Saturday, when Mr Thurston won by five points on the aggregate score of the six matches, Mr Milne being five points behind.

Mr Ballam lias resumed the carrying business, and the public may now rely on having their goods delivered punctually, which has not been the case for some time past. The first loam started this morning.

The following hard hit appeared in the Manawatu paper of a recent, date, and I send it with a hope that the Waverley sportsmen will read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest it;— *■' No prizes ! All blanks ! The epidemic for athletic fetes appears to range from one end of the coast to the other, Foxton being tbe only town which lias not gone in for that class ol amusement. To the people of Waverley, however, must be given the palm for inviting a safe speculation, wherein all competitors pay for the pleasure of competing. In the recent issue of a Wanganui paper, appears the programme oi the Waverley sports, but while tbe fees for nominations are religiously set down, the priz ; column is an entire blank. We presume when the nomination mon y is all received, the receipts for events will form the piizcs. The idea has at least the merit ol novel! \ r .”

The Waverley Rifles paraded on Saturday, when Snider rifles (25) allowed lor the corps were served out by the captain.