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Patea Mail, 19 April 1881, Page 3

It is reported that Sir E. W. Stafford and the Hon. Thomas Russell may be expected to arrive in New Zealand about July, and that one of the Rothschilds may accompany them in view of home bank interests. A corner shop in Patea has a window bottom which is found convenient for working men to sit and gossip after business hours. Gossips sat and talked as usual the other evening, but when they got up to leave they each took an impression of wet paint. The window bottom had a comical appearance next morning, being blotched and smeared with a series of signatures. How would damages lie in such a case? Should the shopkeeper sue the gossips for that they did steal, take, and feloniously carry away certain paint ? Or is it the gossips who ought to sue the shopkeeper for damage to wearing apparel ? The point is considered knotty. Warning to Parents . —At the R.M. at Otaki, on the 13th instant, the school sub-committee, with a view to increasing the attendance at the school, summoned Mr C. Mitchell (a member of the committee) for refusing to send his children to school. Mr Mitchell contended that he was exempt by clause 87 of the Education Act, saying that his children had attended half the time the school had been open during the year. But the R.M. decided that halftime meant that children must be present half the time the school was open during the week, and not year, and so made an order directing Mr Mitchell to send his children, and pay the costs of the case, 7s. It is hoped that this will be a warning to other parents whom the committee have decided to be at next.

Mr Fergus has returned to Patea for a few Aveeks in connection with the completion of the railway section at the harbor. The work is expected to be completed well inside contract time. There is a reasonable hope that the next Session will result in a contract for extending the northern or southern end of the railway to connect witli Patea harbor. The formation being all but finished to Manntabi, a gap of 10 miles remains on that side ; while the southern end also is only 9 miles from Patea. Here are two short gaps, Avith a separate useless link between. Why this separate middle link of seven miles should have been made at a cost of over £25,000, unless it is to be used as a source of revenue at an early date, is more than Patea people can understand. The seven miles are too short to work as a separate railway, Avhereas the extension of the north or south end would connect with this seven*milc link and make it a source of income. It is important to observe that the addition of 9 or 10 miles of new line would mean the addition of 17 miles of working Hue.

A Sale under distraint took place yesterday at the Patea Boiling-down Works, lately leased by the company to W. Hobbs. A seizure had been made for rent duo, amounting to £sl 8s 4d. The bailiff had seized, among other assets, a number of pigs and a horse, which were protected under a bill of sale held by Mr Tsplin as security for £IOO. Mr Taplin gave notice to the bailiff that he must not sell the protected property. The bailiff’s auctioneer, Mr Barker, treated the notice as of no legal effect, and sold the seized assets as far as was required to make up the debt and costs, the total being about £7O. It is slated that the costs included a charge of £lO for feeding the pigs from the time of seizure till the sale. Perhaps there is some error in this, as the cost of feeding pigs seems excessive in proportion to the value of the animals. The auctioneer sold some of the pigs to make up the £7O, and as the remaining pigs belonged to Mr Taplin under his bill of sale, he sold them, realising £ls towards his £IOO. It is understood that legal proceedings may be taken against the company for selling property Avhich they knew (before the seizure took place) Avas protected by a stamped bill. The seizure of Hobbs’s assets at this early period of his lease is an unfortunate event.

At Gisborne, on the 13th April, 176,000 were acres passed through the Native Lands Court. Michael Breen, late an inmate of the Auckland Industrial Home, has been sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for an indecent assault on a girl in the Home. Several members of the Assembly in Wellington are of opinion that Dr Skae's salary will not be voted next session, owing to the censure he has received in the Commissioner’s report on the Wellington Asylum. A new line of steamships, to trade from the India Docks, London, to Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, has been instituted by Honlder Bros. All the vessels ranging from 2200 to 4500 tons burthen, are classed 100 AI at Lloyd’s, and have been built at Glasgow specially for the Australian trade. W. Barton, charged at the Taranaki District Court with committing grievous bodily barm on bis wife, was found guilty and sentenced to six months hard labor. It appears he was jealous and also threatened to kill bis wife. Medical evidence was brought forward to prove the prisoner insane at the time of the assault, caused by a clot of blood remaining on the brain. Mr Beetham, M.H.R., speaking at Carterton thought steps should be taken to obtain a meat freezing apparatus, by means of which they might export meat and thus get rid of surplus stock. A committee might be formed to consider the subject. He pointed out that last year there were in New Zealand 11.000. sheep, and believed at least 1.000. of these would be available for exportation. At a profit of twopence per pound, they might realise £500,000 a year. A Terrible Leap. —A boy named Frank Black, a Lyttelton resident, had a miraculous escape from being killed the other day. He rode on the Ashburton Bridge, behind the first train from the South at full gallop, and consequently did not see that a portion of the planking had been moved in the coarse of repairs, the result being that the horse and rider were precipitated through the opening on to the bed of shingle, a fall of fifteen feet. The horse Avas killed instantaneously. The boy escaped Avith severe cuts about the face. Some time ago a strike of telegraph operators took place in New Zealand. The Grey Argus says—the authorities at Wellington are endeavouring to reengage some of their old officers, who had to seek employment in the Australian colonies; and that, too, notwithstanding the fact that an attempt was made to prevent the poor lads getting employment in those colonies—a fact that will remain an eternal disgrace to the authorities, who wreaked their revenge by such a heartless reprisal. It is to be hoped that Dr Lemon will be successful in getting all his good officers back again, and that he will treat them in such a a way that they may never find it necessary again to resort to strike. The public cannot afford to lose valuable officers, least of all in the Telegraph Department where a lamentable deterioration has been painfully manifest during the last few years. Accident. —As the new boat built at Auckland for the Taranaki Harbour Board Avas nearing the jetty at the harbour works with a load of iromvork, cement, &c., the break on shore commenced to pour into her. There Avere two men in her, and they succeeded in bringing her to the beach, but a delay occurred in fixing the winding gear, and the break swamped tire boat completely, the men being obliged to abandon her. After some further delay the winding gear was fixed to the boat, but all attempts to raise her out of the water proved futile, and the cargo Avas submerged for several hours. During the attempt to raise her the Avinding rope broke, and in the rebound struck one of the men violently, completely doubling him up for some time ; but aftenvards he recovered, and it is not thought that he has received any serious injury. The boat Avas dragged up on the beach at 10 o’clock at night, and her cargo Avas partly discharged.— Herald,