The Patea Mail. Established 1875. MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 1883. NEWS OF THE DAY.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 981, 8 January 1883, Page 2

The Patea Mail. Established 1875. MONDAY, JANUARY 8, 1883. NEWS OF THE DAY .

y u mc correspondence aiul other items nro unavoidably held over. The steward of Iho Ilo.sj)if;il acknowledges the receipt of fruit from Miss Drake. The Harmonic Society have decided to repeat Pinafore ”on Tuesday, the IGth. Tim part of Buttercup will, on this occasion, be taken by Miss Sparkes, of Wanganui. The Borough Coitncil meet at tho usual hour this evening.

Mr James Lett has shown us a sample of a new patent jam tin, 'for which he lias been appointed agent. The tin is round, and has, a large lid, which, when closed, leaves a groove round the tin. Instead of tying or soldering, this groove is filled with mutton fat or other composition, and the result is a completely airtight tin, which can be opened without trouble. There are several other advantages over the old jam pots, not the least being the non-liability to breakage. The tins aro made in Wellington, and the lids arc fitted with great nicety. We have no. doubt they will meet with a ready sale. The Clyde went to sea on Saturday with a scanty supply of coal. There was a stiff head wind, and, when she got to Waipipi, her skipper thought it better to let go the “mudhook.” She dived bows under till the tide made, when the order was given to “ up anchor ” and run for Paten, whore she arrived between six and seven o’clock in the evening. Having taken aboard a fresh supply of coal, the “ fast and favourite ” resumed her voyage to Wanganui yesterday. A public meeting will be held this evening in the Kakaramca Town Hall at 7 o’clock to consider the advisableness of suspending the Counties Act in the district.

Attention is directed to the sheep fair which Mr Cowern is holding at Marmtahi to-morrow. The entries number nearly three thousand of all classes of sheep and are well worthy the attention of breeders and dealers. The sale will be held in the paddock adjoining the hotel, and will commence at one o’clock.

A subscription is being got up by’ Messrs Nntsford and O’Dea in aid of Mrs Broughton, a woman who lost her husband some six months ago. The circumstances surrounding her present position arc peculiarly unfortunate and such, as to invite universal sympathy. It will bo sufficcnt to say that she is unable to help herself at present, and any sum of money which the charitably 7 disposed feel inclined to give will be gratefully received. The subscription list now lies at Mr Nutsford’s, So far the people in Patea have been generous in their contributions.

A public meeting of ratepayers in the Wairoa Highway District will be hold at the Town Hall, Waverloy, on Saturday next, at 8 p.ra., for the purpose of expressing an opinion as to whether the present Board should hold office till May, or go out at onco.

The meeting of tho Harbour Board this afternoon lapsed for want of a quorum. Tho members in attendance were Messrs Gibson (chairman), Adams and Aitchcson.

Although the new Volunteer regulations were gazetted to come into force on the Ist instant, they really do not take effect until tho last day of the present month, the authorities having granted 31 days’

grace. From a letter read at a recent meeting of the Committee of tho Wellington Benevolent Society, it appeared that destitution was steadily increasing in Dunedin, and that the Benevolent Institution there was experiencing considerable difficulty in meeting all the demands made upon its funds.

It is understood, says the Fosi, that the U.S.S. Company’s new steamer Hauroto will be principally employed in trading between New Zealand ports and Sydney. She will also make occasional trips to China.

The Star says :—The seaport township of Waitara lias at last taken a start, and, judging from the number of new buildings in course of erection and to be erected, it promises to be a large place. New blood is daily coming into it, and various institutions are being agitated for, notably another bank, there being only a branch of the Bank of New Zealand there at present. A public hall and a library is also mooted, and the plant for a bi-weekly newspaper is expected to be on the ground during the next fortnight. The Mahinapua, which loft Westport on the 22nd Dec., had on board 355 tons coal for the use of the refrigerators on board the ship Dunedin. For this purpose Westport is preferred to Welsh coal. The congregation of St Peter’s Church, Wellington, had rather a fright the other Sunday evening. The gas-jet by which the organist’s desk is lighted was turned up a little too high, and the flame caught some of the light material used in the Christmas decorations of the organ. A sudden blaze followed, and for a moment it was feared that serious consequences would result. All danger, however, was averted through the prompt action of two members of the choir, Messrs Bock and Waters, who instantly tore down the burning material and beat out the flames with their books. The acting organist, Mr Morsbead, continued playing with imperturbable coolness, and thus by bis praiseworthy presence of mind prevented any panic on (be part of the congiegation. No damage was done beyond the destruction of some inexpensive decoration material.

Writing of the recent regatta, the Nelson Colonist says : u Of tho rowing matches wo can say but little, the Nelson Bowing Club giving very poor evidence of their powers, in tbc only two events, where they met outside competitors, tbc races were a gift to tiro Wellington crews, who were not called upon to show what they could do. In the outriggers, the Kelson men were far from being at homo and long before it was possible to distinguish the boats in any other way, tho splashing told which boat was locally manned, and as they approached, tho fatigued appearance of the Nelson men and the rolling of their boat contrasted most unfavourably with the swinging stroke of tbc Wellington Star crow, who won by 200 yards, but could easily have ncreased that distance considerably.”

G.W.Y.T. Bro. E. F. Miller was a passenger by the steamer on Saturday last as representative of the Advance Lodge. Paten, to the Grand Lodge which meets at Wellington on Tuesday 9lh instant for transaction of business.

The Patea Rifles will hold a Captain’s parade to-morrow evening, and afterwards a general meeting will be hold, at which the members will be sworn in under the new regulations. On the whole the regutlons are regarded favourably’. There is •no doubt that they will tend to improve the standard of efficiency in Volunteer corps. Patea has always held a good position in comparison with other places, and wo hope to see a full muster tomorrow of men ready and willing to take the necessary “ vows.” It might not at.first sight bo npparen why people in England should concern themselves with what the French may or may not be doing in an island in the Indian Ocean, but there is a very practical reason all the same which cannot bo too generally’ understood. Closely contiguous to Madagascar is situated the island of Mauritius, an English colony’, the importance of which lies in the fact that it contains the only’ harbour and only repairing docks between the Cape and India. Mauritius, according- to the Morning Advertiser , without Madagascar would starve, Mauritius produces nothing but the sugar cane, With the exception of water, everything' the inhabitants cat, drink, or wear, has to be imported. The fresh meat and vegetables arc brought almost daily from Madagascar ; there is, in fact, no other place from which they can be procured, and therefore it follows that, with Madagascar under other than native control, our fellow-countrymen in Mauritius might bo placed in a very awkward position, and our repairing docks rendered useless.

Captain Barry lias boon displaying his skill in the pigskin. On the Blenheim racecourse, recently, according to the local Times, he rode in a match understood to be for £ 10 a side, between himself and Mr Masted. The appearance of the old fellow on the saddle in jockey costume was the signal for much merriment, which was shared in largely by the pleasureseekers. Mr Maxtccl rode the well-known Sportsman, while the Captain mounted Mr Phillip Cross’ racer Tarndalc.. The length of the race was once round the course and a distance. A good start having been effected, both veterans applied themselves to their work with a will, and it was apparent to anyone knowing anything of the management of horses that the Captain was not an amateur to the business. Tarndalo took the lead and maintained it for three quarters of .a mile, when the black and red colors worn by Mr Masted soon appeared to be gaining upon him, and, by the time the horses had reached the straight run they wore neck and neck. The spectators at this juncture had difficulty in deciding whose race it was to be, but the skill and horsemanship displayed by the Captain left them in doubt but for a short time, as both horses passed the stand almost together, the judge (H. Dodson, M.H.lh), however, decided in favor of Tarndale, who won by only a neck. This proved to be one of the most amusing things of the day, and many were the congratulations showered on the Captain by those in the saddling-paddock, amongst whom was Mr T. Redwood, who stated ho had never soon a horse better ridden than Tarndalc was.

The ease of the three men—Thompson, Morgan, and Taylor—who were recently found guilty on charges of being concerned in the production and sale of illictly distilled spirits has assumed an interesting phase, says the Neto Zealand Times. It will be remembered that after the accused had been found guilty and mulcted in penalties which amount in the aggregate to £4OO, with the alternative of certain periods of imprisonment, their counsel applied that the warrant of commitment might be held over for a short time to give them an opportunity to procure the amount of the fines imposed upon them. To this Mr Izard, who appeared for the Crown, assented, provided security was given to his satisfaction that the defendants would rc-appoar if the "fines were not forthcoming. Ho also informed them that they could not expect more than three days’ grace. Thereupon a simple bond appears to have been entered into by the defendants and two sureties each in a penal sum of twice the amount of the fines imposed. The defendants failed to make up thq money required to clear them, and acting upon the advice of their counsel, Mr JO. Hhaw they intimated their readiness to surrender themselves for the alternative terms of imprisonment if the magistrates would sign their warrants of committal. This (ho magistrates apparently liml themselves unable to do, as the defendants, having been discharged from custody after (hey had been found guilty, cannot bo rearrested. It is the intention of the Crown to proceed under the Crown Debts Aet and sue the defendants and their sureties, for the amounts for which they are supposed to be liable. The action will, of course, be defended, and advice has been given that the Supremo Court is likely to set aside the bonds altogether, on the ground that they were obtained for the purpose of ensuring the rc-appcar-ancc of the defendants, and cannot now be treated as security for any other purposes. Thus the matter staiult at present. The further developments will, no doubt, be looked for with the keenest interest.