The Patea Mail. Established 1875. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1883. NEWS OF THE DAY.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 982, 10 January 1883, Page 2

The Patea Mail. E stablished 1875. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1883. NEWS OF THE DAY.

The attention o£ our readers is directed to ?ii interesting- letter upon our fourth page, advocating the establishment of a Woollen factory. The presence of bush fires in the .vicinity was fo!t on Monday nig'ht, when ns there was not a breath of wind, the town smelt strongly of smoke. Volunteering in Patca is not going to die out, whatever may happen in other towns upon the const. Last night a captain’s parade was held, and afterwards twenty-four volunteers were sworn in under the now regulations by Dr Croft, who attended for the purpose. .Another meeting will be held shortly, and we hope to see the full strength of the company llien enrolled. ;

A. man named Thomas Bason had one of his legs broken yesterday in a very simple way. He was wrestling with another man in a friendly way at the Masonic Hotel, Wanganui, when ho slipped and fell with the above result.

The Waverley monthly sale will take place on Friday, at 1 p.m. There is an entry of 4500 sheep and lambs besides over 100 head of cattle. Prices just now are in favour of buyers, who, no doubt, will be present in force. Mr Henry Hurley, bootmaker, of Wanganui, has filed a declaration of insolvency. Humors also are current of the failure of a well known firm in the same town.

Mr Cntten has retired Horn the Peninsula contest, and a new candidate lias appeared in the person of his Lordship Bishop Moran, who states that the unsatisfactory views on the Education question held by the other candidates, Messrs Lnrnach and Donnelly have induced him to offer his services.

A telegram from Oamaru says ; “ A newsboy named Arthur Bird, in passing from one carriage to another while the south express was in motion, fell on the rails and was killed.

A sitting in Bankruptcy of the District Court was held to day before His Honor District Judge Rawson, when several cases were dealt with, Mr Hamerton appearing for the debtor in each instance.

Elsewhere will he found an exhaustive report from the Borough Engineer upon the question of a water supply for domestic, fire and. street purposes. No tnore opportune time than the present will present itself for the consideration of the scheme. The town is getting short of water and there seems a prospect of it becoming still more so. If therefore the Council can sec their way to adopt one or other of the schemes now placed before them and carry it out at a moderate cost, they would be entitled to the lasting gratitude of tho townspeople. Wo should like to see the Mayor push this matter through and so raise up a lasting monument of his term of office.

The new pound was the subject of a lengthy discussion in the Borough Council on Monday night. There was a strong feeling shown that the present arrangements for working the pound were unsatisfactory, although no blame was attributed to the ponndkeepor, the hours having been agreed npon by the late Mayor and himself. It was mentioned that an immense number of cattle and horses were turned into the streets at night and it was ultimately resolved on Cr Haywood’s motion to ask the assistance of the police towards abating the nuisance. . The High street sale-yards at Hawera to-morow should bo the centre of a busy scene. Messrs Nolan and Co. will hold their usual sale, the entries for which are more numerous than has been the case for some time past. At the same time will be offered the right to collect the dog tax within Hawera county.

A fire accidentally broke out yesterday iu the Whenuakura bush at the camp of Mr Gordon, who has a contract for road formation near Mr Alfred Gower’s. Owing to the dry weather the flames spread with great rapidity, so much so that Mr William Kraack, who has a similar contract some distance away lost tools to the value of £lO. It appears that on observing the fire the party went to their camp and with some difficulty removed the tent and effects, and on returning to where they had been working it was found that the tools had been burnt.

The public meeting at Kakaramea on Monday resulted in a resolution to suspend the Counties Act in the district. Other meetings with a similar objects are announced to he hold—one at Whenuakura and one at Waverley, on Friday and Saturday respectively. We view with regret this movement, which, if successful, will result in the dissolution of the County. Our sympathies are with the settlers in their grievances, and our regret is that they have had cause for the step they are now taking. The sixpenny rate in respect to the Borough loan has been confirmed by the Council. The nest step will be to amend the rate, by altering it to one shilling, in compliance with the wish of the Trust Fund Commissioners, who are lending the money.

A re-hearing has been granted in all the County Council cases in which judgment was given for defendant on the ground of not receiving notices, and which were heard at the R.M. Court on Friday, Yesterday morning Mr Adams, just before the remainder of the cases came on for hearing, drew the attention of the magistrate to the 12th section of the Rating Act Amendment, 1879, which says: “It shall be sufficient if any demand required to be made under section 48 of “the Rating Act, 1876,” be made by the same being sent through any post office addressed to the person liable at his last known place of abode or business.” His Worship accordingly granted a rehearing. He was a young man for an Archdeacon. His wife was old enough to bo his mother. Any allusion to Anno Domini was tabooed. They were the guests of the evening at a country house in Victoria. The whole country was invited to meet them. An extra man was taken on for the occasion. He had to announce the guests. .The boss of the show coached the extra man up.' “ When the Archdeacon arrives, yon arc to say, ‘The Venerable the Archdeacon Blank.’” The drawing-room was full. The guests of the, evening’ arrived. The extra man looked at the Archdeacon, and then at the lady, and ho got a bit mixed. At last he got it right, he saw how it stood. Great was the consternation when ho announced, “ Archdeacon Blank, and_ the venerable Mrs Blank."

The dog tax within the Borough .willjbe payable after January I,4th. The Inspector is bus} 7 preparing for his campaign among the |canine race, and owners can make up their minds to pay, or they will be “ collared ” as well as their dogs.

Further particulars to hand, about the sad drowning case at Mokoia, show that the boy’s father had converted a box into a boat, in which the boy might paddle about in the dam. On the day of 'the accident the lad got into tlie box find when a. little way from tlie bank it capsized and precipitated him into the water. The father seeing this jumped in to save his boy and with the bad result previously described. When the bodies were found, the water was very muddy and it is supposed that a struggle, took place in ‘ the attempt to rescue. Mr King had been acting as oveiscer for Mr Bayley for two years, and was greatly respected. The lad, Frank, was a promising little fellow yf 11 years. Besides the widow at Mokoia, there is a grown up family at Auckland. The inquest was held at Manutahi, and a verdict of “ accidental death” returned.