NEWS OF-THE DAY.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 997, 14 February 1883, Page 2

NEWS OF-THE DAY.

The Borough Council held a special meeting., and eat in committee, on Monday evening, to consider the question of the loan. A resolution, proposed by the Mayor and seconded by Cr Gibson, was carried, • “ That the amended proposal from the Trust' Fund Commissioners to advance the sum of £SOOO be accepted. It was further resolved that the Bank of New Zealand be appointed agent for raising the loan or any portion thereof, and that the Mayor make a suitable arrangement with the Bank, subject, to the approval of the Finance Committee. The Mayor and Finance Committee were appointed to carryout all necessary details in connection with.the loan.

The extensive alterations and improvements made by. Mr W. Aitclxison to Mr Odger’s Australasian Hotel give that building a substantial and imposing appearance. Instead of occupying an inconvenient site on the top of a bank, by means of excavation it has been placed on a level witli the road and raised over fifteen feet. The bar is now on the basement facing Bedford street by an angle, and handy storerooms are made adjoining it, these being cool and much easier of access than the customary underground cellar. There are two comfortable sitting rooms below, and the old. bar upstairs will be converted into a bedroom for the proprietor. The hotel has been: much benefittedrby the alterations. Mr J. -F. Donnelly, who is leaving Patea, has.- announced for sale"by private treaty, the goodwill of his '.well-known business of hair dresser and tobacconist, and also by auction, his splendid billiard appliances. The table and fittings,are of a superior classj fand the shop business is one of the best in Patea. By his enterprise and push, .Mr. Donnelly has gained a large custom in Patea, and many will regret that ho has determined to leave us.

Thomas’’O’Shannessy was charged, on warrant, at the li.M. Court this morning before His i Worship the Mayor, with having stolen a horse collar and bridle, the property of -Henry Mehaffy, of Stratford. As accusept was only arrested yesterday, he was remanded until Friday to give him time to engage counsel for his defence. We were the unhappy means of creating a sensation in town on Monday evening. Urgent work necessitated some of the printers working at night, and one of them inadvertently placed a light near a paper screen at a window looking up tho main street. There was at once a flare up, and as from outside it presented the appearance of the whole interior of the building being enveloped in (lames, a gentleman who saw it, with commendable, promptitude ran and i;ang r the fire bell.. The graveyard serenity of the place was dispelled as by magic, people flocking from all directions, many in their coat sleeves, and falling over each other in the dark .in promiscuous confusion. Sorne.of the Fire Brigade were practising at the time and they obeyed tho commanding tones of the boll with an alacrity- which did them credit. The burning sheet of paper being a mere momentary flare, easily extinguished. The assembled multitude appeared very much dissatisfied,* and for the rest of the evening there was a general enquiry as to who rang tho boll ? Such undue excitement in sedate Patca is dangerous and had the luckless individual who gavo tlic alarm been pounced upon, he would have been put under the town pnmp (if wo had one), or tarred and feathered. About midnight on Monday a chimney of a cottage opposite Odgers’ Hotel took fire, and the flames for a few moments illumined the neighbourhood. Two such serious conflagrations in the one evening must create a fear not easily dispelled. A young woman afflicted with a mania in the form of a religious craze was brought into town from Woodville yesterday by her husband, who intended to send her to the Wellington Asylum.

Mi- F. R. Jackson-will hold a stock •sale at the Hawera yards on Friday,

It will be seen from bur advertisement columns that in future the s.s. Waihi will run on fixed dates so as to connect at Wellington with the Union steamers for the North and South. This change .will no doubt prove a. convenience to the public and should be the means of improving the passenger trade, as. people will soon remember the days on which the vessel. leaves hero. The genial captain of the Waihi, and the agent, Mr Cowern, are deserving of thanks for their endeavour to establish, a regular time table service with Wellington.

Mr Milner Stephen passed through Patea: on Tuesday,'on'his way to New Plymouth. Advantage was taken of the occasion to conduct him to Mr J. E. Keys, to see if ho. could do him any good. Mr Stephen passed his hands up and down the limbs of Mr K>ys, and said that he thought be would get better.. He also, left -some magnetised water and oil for the patient whom ■he / promised to see again on Friday. Up to this afternoon Mr Keys had fell no benefit from the treatment, in fact he passed a worse night than ho had done for some time. He says, however, that during tljb lime Mr Stephen was passing his hands over him, he distinctly felt the magnetic influence, and was able to feel with- Ins-right hand, a thing he had not experienced for eighteen months. It is hardly to be expected that in such a severe case as that of Mr Keys, much benefit would f rcsult from one visit, but we hope that when lie next sees him, Mr Stephen will effect a marked improvement. . ; ■

Mr J. Kitcbing is Hie successful tendererfor painting the Patea railway bridge. His Worship the Mayor took his seat on tho bench on Monday, for the first time. , ,

;:An : aniorousj pakeha has been causing trouble in tbo domestic relations of some natives of tbo Arawa. tribe who are, settled at Tairua,(engaged in gum-digging. Several Maoris Trom the settlement rode to the Thames recently, and laid their grievances before tho authorities, From their statements it appears That a bushman named Charles Callan became smitten with the charms of one of the wahines, and in her husband’s absence invaded her whare and- abducted her, threatening her with a pistol if she screamed or gave any alarm. She was kept by him in the bush for four days, when he allowed her to return to her liege lord. - ‘ ; “Do not,” said Mr Justice Richmond tq afpertinacious gentleman of the long robe in Court; the other day, “ keep hammering away at this particular point. We have heard it all before, and although it may be permissible to treat a jury—The twelve intelligent gentlemen, as counsel delight to-call them—as born idiots, yet do not treat us in the same way. I might be inclined to quote Shakespeare’s phrase about iteration, but will not.” The learned counsel took the bint in good part.

It has long been suspected that the P. and 0. Company’s and other vessels have brought .laces, jewels, and other dutiable-goods to Melbourne. A few days ago , the officers of the Customs Department, acting on information’, searched;the R.M.S, Indus, with the result that packages of valuable Maltese laces, a .'quantity of Indian jewellery, some silver plate, 1000 cigars, and a package of tobacco were seized. > It appears that two ofHlie ship’s officers, are concerned in the proprietorship of the-goods. • ' \ The carelessness of parents in Auckland in looking after their children is proverbial. The other ..night l no less than five children were 'reported missing, ranging from six to two years of age. One man, David Grace,’,.reported to the police that he had found -a child three years of age, and would keep it till claimed. ;

I i Says an exchange.:—“ The RobinsonLanc6 confederacy lias been more firmly qeraented by the marriage of H. P. Lancej Esg., with the Hon. W. Robinson’s fourth daiighter, ; The marriage was very quiet; Asa Southern contemporary says—‘The stable has always been a dangerous one 1 , but now it .must be regarded more so, a 6 with the Hon. W. Robinson’s money, and Mr H. P. Dance’s experience at Homo and in tlie colonics it looks as if they intended to carry all before them. ’ ” A decision important alike to bankers and their customers has boon given recently in the Adelaide local Court. The point at issue was vyhether on a fraudulent alteration of a.chcqiie the drawer or the bank should suil'er the loss. The defendants, in their capacity of treasurers'to the Adelaide Artisan’s Club, had signed a cheque for the payment\o£ £4.L In the body of the cheque space bad been left sufficient for the introduction of the syllable “toon” after the word “four,’ 1 ’ and in the'left-hand corner the figure 4 had been written somewhat distant from the printed £. During Hie transmission of the cheque to. the-bank by some means and by some person, bow or bywhom.it was not shown, the word “four” had been altered to “fourteen” and the figure “1” was also placed before the figure 4. The cheque was presented at the bank for payment, and the sum of £l4 handed over in return. The decision of the Court was that if the cheque were carelessly drawn, allowing facilities for alteration, the drawer must lose.

Tawhiao appears to have an objection lo being photographed. We learn from the Manew:ala Times that Mr G. W. Shailer, a local photographer, went lo Awapunifor the purpose of taking a photograph of the scene, but was ordered away. He subsequently went down in a cart, and was about to take a photograph from the; platform, when he was rushed by a number of Maoris, and . badly beaten and knocked about. There-is-likely to ,be a police case or two over it.

At the Taranaki Harbour-Board meeting - , the Chairman stated that a fixed deposit of £45,000-at the bank had fallen due, and the Board had re-invested £35,000 for twelve months at 6 per cent. ; £SOOO for six months, at 5 per cent. ; and the balance of £6575, which included £1575 interest, has keen paid to the current account. The Board had thus gained a considerable advance on the rates of interest, as the sura of £45,000 had been invested formerly, at 3 per-cent.

Near Timaru' on Saturda}' three young girls (the eldest about 14) were overtaken by the Albury train whilst crossing the Waimataitai viaduct. The girls would have had plenty of time to get off if they had coolly gone on or turned back ; but they lost their presence of mind, and in their fear of being killed by the train they threw themselves off the viaduct, which is about 14 feet high, in the water. The water is not more than 18 inches deep, and with the few inches of soft mud beneath it, did not break their fall much, and consequently they were more or less bruised, one of them receiving some serious cuts on the head. On the train being- pulled up most of the passengers jumped out and went (b the assistance of the unfortunate girls, and one of them remained to sec them, home, a’friendly vehiele hiding their sad plight. . ■ ■■■ ' -

The books of the Government Insurance Department for the- six months ended 31st December last, show the'following gratifying results : —No lower than 9320 policies have been issued in both branches—the ordinary and the industrial—during the period mentioned, assuring £789,500, being in excess of the total new business transacted by the department during any preceding‘ financial’' period of twelve months’ duration. The new business has thus more than doubled itself in the last six months. The renewal business also shows a satisfactory increase, proving thepermanent ; nature of the business generally. “ King ” Tawhiao, it appears, is desirous during his tour of replenishing his harem. He has already obtained one maiden-belonging to Rangitikei, who will go back to Waikato with him. He has also, according to tlie ITanaiocdu Times , been casting longing eyes on Agnes, an Awapuni girl, a niece of Peeti Te Aweawc’s, but Peeti declines the honour of a marital connection with royalty. Peeti’ remarked the other day to a,wellknown townsman, ■“ I like the ■ king, but I no see that!” At Guudah Euu, near Taroom (Queensland), on January 26, Constable Dwyer attemptedto arrest an aboriginal named “Toby” on a charge of murder. The black-fellow killed Dwyer, and Senior-constable Wright, who was .assisting, was' seriously wounded before he had time to shoot the blackfellow, whiclirhe eventually did. , ; ’ A hewly-appoiritcd country J.P., who is an occasional gospel-grinder, rode up to chapel a Sunday or two ’ ago, held service, and preached a powerful sermon on Christian charity and universal kindness. His horse, meanwhile, with a raw shoulder was tied up to the fence, a defenceless prey to the summer fly. The local constable “ pulled ” him for cruelty, to animals, but his. brother .magistrates “ pulled ”- him ; through.:- They really couldn’t see any cruelty—surprised at'the charge—Christian gcntleman;.;&c,; But then they were never tied tip to a -fence with a galled shoulder at Jiy time. ■’