PATEA MAIL Established 1875. CIRCULATION nearly 600 COPIES. Average circulation last year, 510. Friday Evening, June 2, 1882.

Patea Mail, 2 June 1882, Page 2

PATEA MAIL Established 1875. CIRCULATION nearly 600 COPIES. Average circulation last year, 510.

Friday Evening, June 2, 1882.

Delivered on Monday, Wednesday,. and Friday Evenings by mounted messengers— at Hawera by 7-80 o’clock, at Normanby by 8-15, at Manaia and Waimate Plains ■by 8-80, and Southward . at Waverley (for train) by 6 o’clock

Mr R. M. Kirk, bootmaker, announces that he has now opened business in the shop : next to his former premises,in'Egmont-street.

A weekly quadrille . assembly, conducted'.by Mr, Lawler and Mr Sparks, is to : bo held in the Harmonic Hall, commencing next Thursday. The promoters desire to conduct these weekly dances with careful propriety. Terras of membership are: advertised. - At the harbor rating meeting in Patea some,eight pr ten settlers from Whenuakura took an active part in Opposing the rating proposal, but they left the meeting shortly before a vote was taken on the ; main question. About seven: settlers voted for an amendment to extend : the rating area ,to the whole County; and; on , this being lost they left the’meeting. ’ The vote on the motion was taken after farther discussion, and carried with f only one dissentient. It should be understood, and ought for clearness to have been stated before, that before this vote was taken the Whenuakura contingent had retired. Many persons in! the meeting did not notice that they had done so.

.Settlers ;at ICakaramea met last night and nearly all went “dead against” the proposed harbor rate. It was a large and lifely meeting. Mr Palmer put the ■ case; thus :WA merchant at Patea imports say a hundred tons of goods in a year, and , the freight being Is 6d as compared with 2s 6d a ton at Wanganui, 5s at Waitara, and 10s at New Plymouth, he saves at least 2s a ton. If the tonnage rate were increased 2s it would mean .£IOO a year to him. But no : he proposes to ,put the rate on settlers’ land. A harbor rate on a landed property would amount to £lO a year. He takes £9O clear by the transaction and levies it on the country. He says if he ; has to pay a higher tonnage rate he must put 10 per cent on his customers.' I say we won’t stand it. If we can’t get goods as cheaply at Patea, we shall go to the cheapest market.” ~ This sentiment was applauded. -

Hawbea is fortunate . in , having arranged to borrow< £5000,* at 6 pet s cent., the money being trust fund s advanced by a Government department. Reports and letters on the borough loan and the harbor rate have occupied so much of our space this week, that various other matters have to stand over. Intending buyers of trees and shrubs are reminded of Mr Oowern’s large sale to-morrow. 1 The trees are from the well-known nursery of Mr J. Mitchinson, iand look, a fine healthy lot, mostly :in soil.