The Patea Mail. Established 1875. MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1883. NEWS OF THE DAY.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1005, 5 March 1883, Page 2

The Patea Mail. Established 1875. MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1883. NEWS OF THE DAY.

Volunteers are reminded that it will be necessary for those who intend to proceed to Wanganui, for the Easter encampment, to hand in their names to-morrow night to the Captain, as the Wanganui authorities want to know the quantity of rations to provide.; Captain Taplin is endeavouring to arrange for a special train to run from the Heads to Waverley, to connect with -the ordinary train for Wanganui. The Waverley Race privileges will be sold by Mr Jackson on Saturday next.

Mr William Cowern will hold his monthly stock sale on Wednesday. The entries are more numerous than lias been the case for some time past, and a good sale may be anticipated.

MrShenvood was busy rafting up timber to-day,for the 'sheds to be built at his place. There will be two buildings, each 70ft. by 20ft. besides the large kiln. The railway contract at the Heads is now progressing apace. The use of the engine has been obtained, and it is expected that in about six weeks the cutting will be through. The Napier was shifted over to the railway wharf this morning to discharge a quantity of Cement for Mr Dickson’s contract at Manawapou., , ■ There was a large attendance at Mr Gowern’s sale rooms on Saturday, when the properties belonging to Mr W. Dale were offered. The first lot offered was the block upon which arc the auction rooms and.thc shop .occupied by the Clothing Factory, Bidding started at: £ISOO and,and advanced spiritedly to £I7OO at which figure,fit Was,knocked down to Mr E. C. Tennenf. i The section on which the sawmill ! sta,Ticls .was -next offeree! • togetliei.* with the, buildings and some machinery valued at £4OO. The whole lot was knocked down to Mr Tennent for £550, a great bargain. Mr Dale’s 'private hbule was-riextsub-mitted, and this likewise fell to Mr Tennent’s bid for £650. of property-just now may certainly be said to rule in favour? of buyers notwithstanding the eloquence of a a gifted auctioneer l,kc Mr Cowern.

' An inquest . was held om Friday last at the Coach and Horses Hotel, Wanganui, before C, ID Borlase Esq., coroner, oh the body of Pbccbo Veitch, the little half-caste girl whose body was recently found washed up on :tho l each near Wanganui. After the jury had viewed the body the information for wilful murder laid against the accused was read. The lirst.witness examined was ArthurFitchett who deposed to finding the body. Dr Earl e stated that death resulted, from drowning, and that there were no marks of violence on (he body,’beyond;what might have been done by the action of the water; Mrs Bright deposed that she knew the prisoner whom she saw on the 26th February when she said she was going to an ml tho child to her aunt at Turakiua by the evening train. Witness did not again sec (ho accused (ill nine o’clock that evening when she appeared much excited. Accused said she had run all the way from Aramoho where she had to wait an hour for the aunt who she stated intended to send the child to a lady in Feilding. Accused would not give witness any information as to the names of the aunt and tho lady at Feilding. Herbert Bertram Veitch, a son of the accused, said that on Monday last his mother left thehouse with his sister. Witness never again saw his sister alive. Sergeant Bissett stated (hat, on Wednesday, last, in company with Inspector James, he went to the house of the accused. In answer to witness’s j

question if she know *whcre her child was she said it fell oif (he wharf and was drowned. Witness I lien told the accused* to come to Forder’s hotel-, where the body was lying. She identified the body. Witness then took her to the lock-up, where she stated that the child did not. belong to Veitch, and that the father was somewhere in Wanganui. On last Monday night, February 26, lie (the child’s father) met her near St John’s hotel, after which they went down near the Cattle Wharf. The man, on her refusing to give the child up, threw it in the,river; and then threatened to murder accused if she uttered a word about it. After a few other witnesses had been examined, accused made a lengthy statement incriminating the father;of the little girl. , The Coroner deciding that'. icase Iliad been made out against the prisoner, then committed her to take her .trial for murder at the sittings of the Supreme Court in April next.

Water will be laid on in New Plymouth in a few days. , ■ - M ?; ) Mr 11. Bayley in company with Mr H. Trimble, has been making a prospecting tour round the base of Mount Egmont. Their search was not for gold, hut for a warm spring, and they succeeded in finding one which registered, 72 deg. Fah.

The new crane for the Harbour works has arrived at New Plymouth from Dunedin.

A slight shock of earthquake was felt at Hawcra on Friday morning. ' Divine service at St. George’s church was conducted yesterday morning and evening by his Lordship, the Bishop of the Diocese.

Speaking of the present excitement about the pardoning of To Kooti the Telegraph says “ It. is .very odd that the indignation that has now reviled the Native Minister in every key and burnt him in effigy, did not descend upon the Legislature when they passed the Amnesty Act. For when they passed that Act they —as is shown in our Conservative contemporary tin's morning—contemplated the case of Te Kooti being pardoned, Mr Bryce was even asked whether he intended it to apply to Te Kooti, and he replied to the effect that he could not promise that it should not. Now* that was clear enough. If there was a member in his seat who dissented from the inclusion of the Poverty Bay term which: the Lyttelton Times , most unfortunately' for its argument, uses), why did he not at once table an amendment that they should be expressly excepted ?” The Auckland Evening Star contains the somewhat extraordinary statement that a swamp in the Waikato district was on fire. The mention that it is a peat swamp, however, somewhat explains the apparent impossibility. It appears that . the smouldering peat has made several of the roads through the swamp unsafe by burning its way underneath them.

Adamant, winner of the Dunedin Cup, was sold at auction for 140 guineas. This seems a very’; poor price for a horse that conhl, even with a light weight up, win the fastest Dunedin Cup on record ; but we believe that he is all to pieces now. A Mr John Creasy’, of Armagh, South Australia, while returning home the other day on a by’cicle was chased by r a -bull. When ascending a long rise on the road between Saddleworth and Alburn he passed some cattle which were grazing by the, wayside, and a bull amogst them immediately gave chase. The bicyclist being unable to* go fast uphill, the animal was steadily gaining on him, and when he reached the summit was only a few yards behind j.b.ut having; now an easy gradient he made a spurt, and’ went, down the hill at railroad speed, when his antagonist gave up the chase.

A terrific thunder and hailstorm occurred in Toowoomba, Queensland, on January 29th. Such a terrible storm has not, been witnessed : in the memory of the oldest inhabitants, For ; the space of an - hour the rain and bail descended in torrents, the lightning flashed, the thunder roared, the wind blew with hurricane force ; in fact, there was a perfect war of the ■ elements. The hailstones were as largo as hens’ eggs, and evc.n larger.,; one was Bin -by 25n. They were more like solid lumps of ice than the familiar hailstone. ? Fowls in great numbers were killed, and one farmer lost ns many ns ; 2o sheep’j whilst cattle Were seen after (he storm bleeding from wounds caused by the bail. The ground looked as if baskets of eggs bad been emptied to a depth of six inches all over it. An admirer of Mr 'Michael Davit! recently took a queer method of showing his admiration, lie placed a handsome diamond ring on the linger of Mr Davitl’s model in Tussand’s exhibition in LondonA Socialist Hag was recently captured in Pisa. It was brought before the qnftiMlor and unfurled. The staff hail hardly touched the ground before I here wart' a fearful explosion. It was filled with dynamite. The students will probably bo scut homo if; any mere Social i alio man!feslafions are made. At the battle of Tel-cl-ICeldr, (Ijrrie nrmy c)<;i/>lrtin« — -Catholic, Anglican, find Presbyterian—were with Iho advancing British (mops, 'The (jalliolic chaplain, Father Bellord, was ;ono of the Ill'st wounded, being struck by a bullet in the leg. The Church of England chaplain, perceiving the mishap of his Cdinl.'adO, immediately hoisted Father Bollol'd un Ids shoulders, and carried him to the hold hospital, where his wound was attended to* At Invercargill, says the Unity Thnr-t, the Governor is to receive from each of (he public schools an address laudatory of the present system of education. It was mentioned the other day in the Dunedin Police Court, as an exceptional circumstance, that a constable was on hand when he was wanted.

The Rev Mr Bri’tan, into whoso conduct with certain females in his congregation at Papanui, Christchurch, an inquiry was some time ago demanded, has resigned his charge.

The date for the meeting of Parliament has not yet been fixed, but it is not likely to be befoie the latter part of May, or perhaps the beginning of June, The police have seized and carried off all the stock-in-trade of the Waolu Hotel, Cambridge, Waikato, where liquor -ha*» been sold daily since June last without license.

The hotels in the Hot Lake district are just now"crowded with visitors not only from New Zealand, but from Australia and Europe. ■ A somewhat singular incident caused a partial stoppage of Messrs J, Kitchen and Sons’ works at Wellington recently, says the Pont. Soon after 8 a.m, it was: found that the water , would not run from the taps in the lower portions of the works, .Upon the connecting main being cut through to ascertain the cause an eel, fully eighteen inches in length, was extracted. At a recent meeting of the Christchurch Chamber of Commerce, the President in referring to the promised abundant harvest, pointed out that, on a moderate estimate, the Canterbury grain crop for this year would on that account show an increase on last year of 2,850,000 bushels ; and taking into consideration the increased area of land under cultivation, he calculated that the grain products exported from Canterbury this season would reach a total value of £1,300,000,

An imitative Maori who had succeeded in catching the tones of one of,the Nelson fiishermen caused some amusement the other morning by hawking water melons about the, streets with the cry “ Water melons, all.alive, 0 !-” Labour is said to be very scarce in Vincent county. The rabbit inspectors are “putting the screw” on to the runliolders, but (ho necessary number of hands required hy eachmanager to carry out the edict of the inspectors cannot be obtained. 'The wages'.made by rabbiters, clear of all expenses, average from 35s to 60s per week. Tb OjNortk Otago Times thinks, whatever may be said to the contrary, that “Mr Bryce’s Native policy has been the most successful of any Native Ministers who have yet held office in New Zealand. Fie has, we believe been guided by an honesty of purpose that some of bis colleagues in carrying out the ministerial functions might safely imitate without injuring the country or tarnishing their reputations. ; The Fenshvnton, the.New Zealand Shipping Company’s steamer which is to follow the British King, is to make Port Chalmers her port of final departure. New Zealand Masons will be interested to hear that, during the twelve months warrants were granted by the Grand Master (H.R.H. the Prince of Wales) to 13 new lodges in the colonies. The Auckland Star -says that all the engine-drivers on the New Zealand Railways are teetotallers. There were some “soakers” formerly, but the}' all gave way before sober men.

A woman lately stated to the Lyttelton R.BI. Court that though a prohibition order was out against her husband he bad been drunk for a month. The Bench muttered threats of vengeance against the offending publicans, and the matter dropped, v : An honest man has turned up in Invercargill; yin 1868 he got into difficulties, was sold up -by one of his creditors, and had nothing for the others. Making a fresh start, he now finds himself able to. pay, and. accordingly has forwarded cheques to each of those to whom in 1868 he owed an account. The following is an extract from the circular which accompanied the payment. “I took n building contract at the Bluff in . March,' .1808,which u should, under ordinary , circumstances, have been completed in ton or twelvc : weeks, The. wretched weather that was experienced that winter, and the difficulties that had to be overcome in getting suitable local stone caused (ho contrsict to cxtontl till tlio following Novein her, to my serious loss. Quo creditor would not wait till, I could pay, and having obtained judgment against mo sold everything .1. possessed except (ho bed-clothes, which the law provides should’ not bo sold. I convened a mooting of my creditors:; they, took no adverse action, I hoard they wore satisfied that T had 'acted honestly. Indeed I shortly became book-keeper to quo of thorn. Two or throe years ago t wrote out cheques to pay all these aeeounlH ; but, on looking at my then engagements, I withheld them. I. am able to pay now, and have pleasure in blinding'you a cheque in srttllement of your account against me in 186 H.”

In tlio DiMlriol Outlet r»t Timatit tlio oilier tiny, Me Oluhii'iiln, ti Waimtito lawyC>l‘, brought (ill action againut Me Uapoe, ii blaeluunif b uC (,1m uaino town, iue 4J7h dainage«. 'l’liu alleged daiilageiieoniilfded in the l‘aot (lint lii 6 iloi'Ciidani bad erected n Binilliy close lu Uiu olliee, wln-ecby In! eeeated il nuisance 1 >y reason ill' dm SiiiUlte, smelt, Mini mdse. diidge Ward fi-iivu piiiii) I i/(' llillllJiyi'S 111 tlio extent ill' 111«, Tin; f-mm« j seems in have created mtieb feeling iti Wilihinti'j tue on Finlay evening ini efligy til' the |iliiillfHl‘ "‘an dragged through the principal street, followed l»y it large crowd* and strung upon a gihbet erected UP (he dividing fence between tlio pni lii B; Wliilo In that positioii tlio (lead JVJmoil wits played by a party ol‘bi‘<ißf? iiistriimcntaliols, after which tlio elligy Wits edt down and loin lo pieces in (ho street, At. a benefit (o Me Howard Vernon at Christchurch, Hud. gentleman in responding said ; Ohrisl church was tlio most critical town in Now Zeal mid, and il! a couipany passed successfully the ordeal of a season here they might feel safe for the rest of the colony.

The/ following, from the Poverty Bay Standard , is a very good specimen of the “ blood and thunder” style of article in which some puma's are now revelling on the subject of Te Kooti’s pardon. Our contemporary says:—“We feel assured that , the public throughout New Zealand will protest against the action the Native Minister and the Government 'have taken in connection with the blood-stained miscreant who is by proclamation to be cleansed of his sins, and go forth once more pure and innocent. Out upon a Government which will so act, or rather out with it. The groans of'tomahawked mothers"and the cries of mutilated infants should ever ring upon the ears of those in whose power it appears to be to forgive the crimes of one of the most demoniacal wretches that has ever trod foot in New Zealand. It is monstrous to think of a pitiless scoundrel like To Kooti having his blood-stained hands washed by Ministerial soap, and wiped by Act of Parliament.”

The Opawa, which arrived at Lyttelton on Friday, 8G days out from Home, called at Tristan d’Acunha, where the islanders were found to be 'suffering greatly from mumps.. The vessel lay off the island for a couple of hours taking aboard some live stocky and giving the islanders:) several medicines, groceries, and stores. The sheep received were decidedly of a diminutive order, the largest weighing when killed 581bs only, while the smallest hardly, turned the scale at 18lbs, Everything was very peaceable ,on the island, and all seemed happy and contented. When nearing the Cape largo quantities of ice were passed, rendering sailing a'somewhat difficult undertaking. The small ice was extremely thick, while large bergs were very numerous; Fortunately, there was a good breeze, and Captain Mathers, by Skilfully handling his ship, cleared the, ice field without accident. Tire rnainroyalmast was carried away whilst the ship was in the ice,but.beyond this no damage was experienced. Never before has Captain Blathers met witli so large a quantity of ice at. that part of the ocean. The tobacco crop of New South Wales will be almost a complete failure this year, the young plants having been destroyed by blue mould. After three plantings, the farmers have given it up and put in maize. We (New Zealand Times) arc informed that ah agent of a Sydney manufacturing firm has recently passed through New' Zealand for the purpose of purchasing, if possible, any leaf that might have grown here, but that he was unsuccessful. Mr Volbratch informs us • that reports from the plantations in the colony are most encouraging, but, as a matter of course, the harvest will be very insignificant compared to that which has been expected in New South Wales. The Mataura Free Press records that the first experiment of making printing paper at the local paper mills has not resulted satisfactorily. A trial was made on Tuesday afternoon of the pulp prepared chiefly from the snow or silver tussock, but the chloride of lime received; .frotflSydney—in anticipation of the genuine bleach used in papermaking, ordered and expected a month hence —was found to be too weak in its action to bleach the tussock grass, which thus maintains its greenness of colour and spoils the paper for printing purposes. However, a fair texture lias been obtained, and doubtless ere long the colour will be forthcoming. A young lad in Dunedin, who drives a baker’s cart, is the fortunate—or unfortunate —recipient of £IOOO in a consultation on the late races. It is probable that Sir William Eox will be a candidate for the Inangalma seat in the House of Representatives, should -Mr Weston carry out bis intention of resigning. . = The yield of grain from Mr J. O. Firth’s station near Cambridge, Waikato, will be over five thousand tons this year. A portion of the Australian mutton which recently arrived in England has been offered for sale in Birmingham, where it realised the high price of 8d per lb. A Telegram to the Aye announces that the University Boat Race is to take place On the 15lh March. This is a departure from the old system, under which lie race was always rowed on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. Seventy-live acres of potatoes growing at To Awnmulu (Waikato) have been sold at, five guineas per ton. Foot and mouth disease is very prevalent amongst cattle in various parts of the United Kingdom. Its ravages have been especially fatal in Inverness and Staffordshire. The Christchurch Telojraph says.that a novelty in notifying the closing; hour to a somnolent customer was most effectively introduced by.the bettor-half of a wellknown licensed victualler a few evenings ago. As midnight drew near, and sundry calls failed Co rouse (ho lethargic gentleman from llio sofa ou which ho bad comfortably laid himself out for a spoil, (bo modus operand! adopted for disturbing bis slumbers was as follows :—Tim alarmclock on the mantlepieee of (lie room ho occupied was wound up and sot; to run down ih a few minutes. The clock was thou placed within as close proximity to Ids ears as consistent witli safety. At midnight: (he fun commenced. At the first whirr and rattle of the little stir-liim-Up instrument the half-awakened sleeper sprang up and gazed excitedly around, but as the fearful, and, to him, unaccountable sound continued bo ejaculated “ Fire!” made a frantic rush for the door, turning over, tables and chairs, and disappeared into the sable gloom of night, without socking an explanation as to cause and oJfocls.

Oscar Wilde, the costhetio lecturer, means to start from London on a tour for the re-■. generation of art in New Zealand and Aus«: tralia at the close of the present year.

The dull times continue in Otago. At an auction sale held by Mr George Facho, at Butcher’s Gully, near Alexandra Sound, a short time ago, the local hotel realised £lO >. The sum. of £l4 was the highest bid for a securely-fenced 14-acre paddock, 11 acres of which were sown down in a really good crop of oats, and the remaining three acres in potatoes. Altogether 'the sale is said to have been a most unsuccessful one.

The literary papers in London express unfeigned admiration for Sir G. Grey’s munificence in presenting to New Zealand his wonderful library, but seem to doubt whether the colonists are sufficiently cultured to be capable of appreciating the gift. “It would,” one writer thinks, “ be a terrible thingif such valuable volumes, for the use of which many an English,scholar and antiquary would give his head, were to be allowed to moulder untouched and uncared for (save as a curiosity) on the shelves of some common - place Mechanics’ Institute at the Antipodes.”

I have heard a stunning yarn in connection with Milner Stephen. He went into an hotel with a friend to get a little something and there, lying in wait was one of those loafers peculiar to bars. He recognised Stephen and when the latter left he rushed to the counter and hurriedly exclaimed, “ Which is the glass he used,” and seizing it he rubbed his leg vigorously with it, and then, waving it over his head, shouted “ cured by jingo, all the fheumatis gone,” Such touching faith deserved no less. “Asmodeus’’ in the N,Z. Mail.

i The N.Z. Herald, speaking of the proceedings of the Native Lands' Court at Cambridge, says that they “ have been of a most unsatisfactory character, and we have several times thought of drawing attention to the subject as a scandal. It has been sitting some four m n(h=. at an enormous expense to' the Natives and to the Colony. The value of the land before the Court must have been eaten up in legal expenses. And now we , have a fitting climax. Judge .Williams announced that a Judgment had been prepared in the Te Whetu case, and signed by himself and Judge O’Brien, but that the Native Assessor would not coincide, and thus the whole proceeding collapses,-and is of no effect. It would seem that this is the law, for the Act of 1880 states One "or more of the assessors shall sit at every Court and assist in the proceedings, and flic concurrence of at least one assessor shall be necessary to the validity of any judicial act or : proceeding of the Court.” This r assessor was sent up because' it was thought that the previous one was inclined to be partial, and how ho is accused of taking a side. It is not to. be wondered at that the Natives are not disposed to bring their lands before the Courts, These are consumed by lawyers, who are fed at the rate of 10 to J5 guineas a day, and even after this delay and cost a decision cannot be given’ It is clear that the law in this matter needs amendment.”

A commission appointed by (he Society for the Promotion of Morality has lately! been visiting the “ back slums ” of Melbourne, with the result that it has discovered not only dens of iniquity, but localities which, although almost under the shadow of the principal buildings of the city, are in the squalid misery and foetid dirt of their habitations, yards, &c., totally unfit to be the dwelling-places of human beings. : . A Shanghai paper states that Signor Chiarini, of circus fame, has gone blind. It appears that while training a horse in Hong Kong he was thrown, striking his forehead violently against the rails.of the ring. His injury was serious, and he' took medical advice, the ,result being that' be.;was told to abstain jfrom training, and. to shut himself up in a dark room to pre-: nent inflammation setting in in his eyes. This advice Signor Chiarini disregarded, and consequently his eyes got inflamed. When he left Hong. Kong for Saigon he was accompanied by two medical attendants. On arrival at Saigon; hisi eye got worse, and, after a consultation with the French doctors, it was decided to remove one of his eyes to save the other. ' This was done, and the remaining eye was cleaned. But these remedies were unavailing, and now Signor* Chiarini is totally blind.

A company is being formed in London for the l purpose-of Advandhg jhoneyS on colonial., securities. The capital is to be, £1,000,000 and the general manager in the Australiamcoloniesi willwbe MHBfdtt, late of the London Chartered Bank of Australia. ‘ ' ‘ ‘V. " «

A correspondeut.of the Hawke's Buy, Herald writes A good yarn reaches me from Ormoiidville. Honi was-a native. He .is not of the Te Kooti persuasion, but is, mi nits a few pcccadiloes, not a very bad specimen of the noble savage. Honi likes ducks, dam not at all sure that this weakness is peculiar to Honi, but it is in . evidence that- he doest whether twins or in concert, dearly like ducks; Honi was poor like many oilier good and: great men,. and to gratify his passion for ducks, had to.so scar his conscience that he could contemplatc a breach of the Decalogue, without shrinking." To put it shortly, Honi stole 13 ducks from the poultry preserves of! a neighboring hotelkeeper.: Thirteen was always an unlucky number, and it was no exception to the rule in Honi’s case. But to further strengthen the malevolent purposes of a bad destiny, Honi courted disaster by confiding his secret to a woman, also auativc He did more than confide his secret to her, he confided to her his dueks, and the guilty pair:ate them—cooking them first. But the woman, feeling the sting of a wounded conscience, and possibly also a disordered di- ; gestion, grew morose and quarrelsome, and after a word set-to, rushed pflr.to. the owner of the eaten ducks, and informed r upon misguided Honi. Poor Honi was arrested, brought before .the beak, the partner of his ouwine gave evidence against him, and the stupid man who had run against the number - - 13 and a woman in one unlucky hour, reached Napier on Wednesday evening with 14 days’ hard labor for a regimental number. ' Moral, for women who arc told secrets : be honestbut eat your ducks first.