THE GOOD TIME COMING.

Patea Mail, Volume VI, Issue 508, 14 April 1880, Page 2

THE GOOD TIME COMING.

A company for making artificial ice has just been formed in Wellington. The capital is nominally £IOOO, and shares for about £OOO have been taken up. We draw attent : on to this new industry because of its relation to the more important business of freezing meat for exportation. If there be any local industry that is likely to find a unique field for development in Patea, it is the exportation of frozen meat; killed at the port, stored in ice chambers on the quay, and forwarded in ice-cabins to Wellington for shipment to Britain. The Patea Shipping Company will doubtless be oqnal to the emergency when it arises, and win readily adapt the hold of a steamer as an ice-chamber for cheap water-carriage to Wellington. All the rest is simple. The cattle and sheep will fatten to a superb condition on the rich pastures of this favoured district; they will carry themselves to the port, or can soon be railed down from the interior to Carlyle, to be converted into beef and mutton ; the carcases being frozen and stowed in icesheds to await shipment, being then carried by water in a special steamer, and loaded at Wellington for Europe, where the meat will realise 5d and 6d a pound. As this district is par excellence the grazing ground of the colony, there is a future for Patea which nobody can deny.

Gales from the West and South-west have been blowing with fluctuating force on Sunday and Monday, and still more strongly last night. Shipping was prevented leaving the river ycslordaj', the bar being too dangerous, though-it might be crossed inwards.

A Supplement of literary selections, with the opening chapter of a new short storji will be given with the Mail next Saturday. It will bo continued weekly in future, as one of the improvements introduced into the Mail under the new management. The enlargement of the news-sheet, which has been in preparation, will be completed on Saturday, the 24th, when the Patea Mail will appear as a superior journal, comprising all the local news of every district in the County of Patea. The Mail will then te printed in now type, on a splendid new machine worked by steam power ; and will be a larger and more complete newspaper than any published in this part of the colony. Arrangements are in progress for obtaining full reports of all local and district news within a very wide area of country ; and when these are completed, the Mail will be found to have expanded into a high-class country newspaper, interesting to every intelligent resident within the large and important district of Patea.

A Complimentary Banquet to Mr Joseph Ivess, on his leaving Ashburton for Patea, was given last Thursday evening by a number of the merchants, borough councillors, and leading residents of Ashburton, Mr T. Bullock, ex-Mayor, occupied the chair. Toasts of a pleasant and highly eomplimentaiy nature were proposed, in honour of Mr Ivess as the guest of the evening ; and he had the gr.ilitiealion of bidding adieu to his friends and warmest supporters under circumstances of the most agreeable character. Mr Ivess will reach Patea about Friday next. Coal is reduced 4s a ton in the Nesvcastle district.

Reductions of Expenditure arc being made at Wellington, especially in the wages of wharf officials.

A Fire at Caldwell’s store, Cheltenham, near Feilding, lias destroyed the building and stock, insured for £250 in the National office.

Eleven Shits arc loading for Homo at Lyttelton, representing 12,850 tons, ihe grain export from Lyttelton has been much greater than in any previous season. Wheat has threshed out 52 bushels to the acre, and barley 50, at Mr Manning’s farm near Christchurch.

Coaching. —Mr Gordon, of Wanganui, has commenced running a coach between Turakina and Wangarei, leavingtheformer place at 8.15 a.m., and getting into Wangarci about 10 o’clock.

A Pleasant Town.— A journal suggests to the inhabitants of Feilding the advisability of taking some steps to fill up the stagnant pools and clear out the open drains throughout the town, in order to prevent sickness in the most malignant form appearing in their midst. The reported sale of the Ilangitikei Advocate is denied. Mr Kirkbride says there has been no question of a sale. Oats. —A southern paper asks how it is that, while oafs can be purchased at from from Is to Is 6d per bushel, stable keepers charge 2s per feed of two quarts, which means 32s per bushel.

Ice-making is to be commenced in Wellington by a newly formed company, and Dr Hector is obtaining for them one of the ice machines recently shown at the Sydney Exhibition. The company will make artificial ice for use in preserving perishable articles; also for use in hotels, butchois’shops, poulterers’, &c.

The Divorce Court will sit in Wellington on Saturday next; three or more judges will constitute the court.

Opunake Land Leases. —About 56 acres of railway reserve, leasehold, adjacent to Opunake, will be offered at Auction next Saturday, at an upset rental per acre of 2s 6d. The auction takes place at New Plymouth.

The Floods in the Wairarapa and Manawatu districts have damaged the roads so much that coaches could not resume their daily journeys till Friday last, and then only to Masterton and Woodville, the Gorge road being still impassable.

Legs of Mutton are selling in Wellington at 9d each. One enterprising butcher is delighting the housekeepers and terrifying “ the trade.” A Death in the Patea Hospital occurred yesterday, that of a man named Edwin Hall, formeily bookkeeper in Mr McLean’s store at Hawera. He had been in the Hospital about five weeks, suffering from gastric fever.

A Stolen Kiss has cost £5 to a storekeeper at Waimato, who took the liberty of adosculating a young lady -’against her will. Storekeepers deal in sort of article, and they ought to know the value of a stolen kiss. If they don’t, let them remember that kissing goes by favor. The Vacancy in the Rangitikei representation, by the retirement of Major Willis, is thought to have opened a sure S'-at for Sir William Fox. That excellent kiH eccentric gentleman is anxious to deny that the vacancy is created by arrangement. Who said it was? Persons who excuse themselves over-much arc said to accuse themselves. Let that pass. Sir William is eagerly wooing the constituency with his peculiar cold-water eloquence. If the voters like it, why should outsiders object ? Mr Kirkbride pledges the Advocate to help Sir William in. Says that paper :—“ We can lay our hand on no one so suited to the position, bolh by ability and experience, as its old member, Sir William Fox. The fact that he is not only one of the oldest residents in the county, but also one of the oldest politicians in the colony, renders it unnecessary to speak further of his fitness to represent ibe interests of Rangitikei in the House of Representatives ; neither is it necessary to allude to what he has accomplished in the past, to prove what he is capable of doing in the future. Sir William Fox is known, not only in the county with whose interests bo is most nearly connected, but throughout the length and breadth of the colony, in whoso service he has spent the best years of his life. We would therefore urge upon the electors the advisability of forming an influential deputation to wait upon Sir William Fox, for the purpose of requesting him to allow himself to be nominated as a candidate for election as the representative of the County of Rangitikei.”

Charges of Bitreating at the Wellington Asylum have led to an inquiry, and the superintendent is now exonerated from all blame.

The Railway Link between Stratford and Ilawera will take about a year to complete, according to the estimate of Mr Blackett, Engineer-in-chief. It lias been said that Mr Blackett had told Major Atkinson, some time ago, that this length of line would be at work by July of this year, but Mr Blackett denies all knowledge of such a promise. What, therefore, has Major Atkinson to say to this, by way of explaining his erroneous statement to Hawern residents ? Someone must have blundered.

An Improved Bank Cheque is proposed by a New South Wales banker, to prevent fraudulent alteration. The pound, shilling, and pence are entered in separate lines, and the writing and figures showing value are brought into view at one glance. There is a line “ under £ 000,” so that by the insertion of a figure and the crossing of one or more ciphers, the drawer can indicate the nearest value of the cheque, This mode takes not more time than the filling up of ordinary”cheques, and limits the val.'.e to a sum over which it could not be altered. A cheque for £9 10s might be limited as “ under £10.” This latter precaution is now commonly taken by prudent commercial men, who write across stating that the cheque is under a certain value.

The Harmonic Society’s ordinary concert is advertised to lake place on the 21st instant. They have selected the German poet Schiller’s “ Lay of the Bell," purchased lately from the Wellington Society. The difficulty of this music has stimulated the members to a longer preliminary practice than the usual time, and the concert Ins had to bo fixed nearly a mouth beyond the end of the quarter. The members are now understood to be woll up in their respective parts, and the credit of the society is likely to be fully maintained. The public will doubtless conti ibnte their assistance towards a successful performance by mustering in large force at the Town Hall next Wednesday, A full and appreciative “ house” would bethebcs f possible stimulus and encouragement. The society’s expenseshavc lately been very heavy through the purchase of now music ; and the committee wish to pay off most of this by the end of the financial year, so as to lay a satisfactory balance-sheet before the members. Those who have not }ct paid their subscriptions will therefore hardly need a farther hint; and the secretary will be happy to receive the names of persons wishing to become members (working or honorary) to strengthen this important local society. New members would have admission to this as the first concert of the present half-year. For the information of persons recently arrived, we may mention that the subscription is 10s for the halfyear, entitling the member to two tickets for each concert, also admitting to the practices once a month, besides other privileges of membership. A successful concert in Carlyle will be at once a personal gratification and a public success.

Stowaways are infesting tlic steamers of the Union Companj'. The Wakatipu left Wellington a few days ago for Sydney direct, and there being a suspicion that stowaways were on board, the steamer was stopped in the harbour and a search made. One cheap-tripper was found, and put ashore amid derisive shouts. The big steamer sailed away merrily ; but on the voyage some other stowaways began to appear as hunger compelled them to show up for rations. No less than seven “ turned up” before Sydney was reached. Times being hard, working-men get desperate, and descend to meanness they would scorn when tucker is easier to earn.

Protection for Colonies is discussed in a letter from Mr Broadliurst, Secretary to the Trades Union Committee in London. His opinion is that no class suffers so much as working men from a policy of protection, and especially in winter months. _ He says any man who has thoroughly examined the subiect all round, and given himself time to get rid of prejudice on the question, is either a knave or something else, if ho attempts to maintain the policy of protection.

Distress at Dunedin is still severe. In all the foundries the hands arc working half-time ; and out of 9J compositors only 60 are in regular work. Fully 50 carpenters are out, while the great bulk of the tiadesmen are earning only from 30s to 50s weekly. In the building trade there are 300 men idle ; 84 tailors are on halftime ; and 60 grocers’ assistants are out.