NEWS OF THE DAY.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1012, 21 March 1883, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

There will be no issue of this journal on Good Friday. The Borough Council are ~ inviting tenders for the cartage of gravel for twelve months.

On Good Friday there will be an early service in the Wesleyan church. The service will be conducted by Kev J A Luxford, and Kev A Thomson of the Presbyterian church will assist. It will commence, at 9 o’clock.

The Napier arrived this morning from Wellington. She sails again at 8 o’clock to-morrow. The Wild Wave, from Graymouth, came in on lost night’s tide. She has a fall cargo, pf coal. We are pleased to notice that work will shortly be resumed at the Boiling-down Establishment; The premises have been taken by Messrs Bremer Brothers, of Whenuakura, and they expect to commence operations within a fortnight. The plant and machinery will receive a thorough overhaul at the hands of Mr J Hunger, so that the luckless sheep may be converted into mutton tallow with, as the advertisements say, “ the utmost despatch.” The Homeward San Francisco mails close at Patea to-night. On Good Friday the Post and Telegraph office will be closed all day. On Easter Monday it will be open from D a.m. until 10 a.m, for telegraph and postal work, and again from 7 to 8 p.m. for delivery of letters only. There will be no mails on Friday, and on Monday mails will be made up at 9 a.m. and T p.m.

At the R.M. Court yesterday morning, before 0. A. Wray, Esq., R.M., judgment was given in the case of C. F. Barker v Newton King, which had been adjourned from a recent Court day, for plaintiff, for the amount claimed, £92, and costs.

The special meeting of the Borough Council, called for Monday evening, lapsed through want of a quorum.]

Judgment was given for the plaintiff iu the case of Beere v Fleetwood at the R.M. Court yesterday for £l2 13s, with costs, £2. The Wellington - Manawatu Railway Company have called for tenders for another s •etion of the WelHngton-Foxton Railway, of three miles and fifty-five chains in extent. His Excellency the Governor will leave Wellington for Auckland on Tuesday, the 3rd prox. The Premier will start from Wellington on Thursday next for Napier, "via Masterton. From Napier he will proceed on Saturday, by Tarawera, en route for Auckland. It is now definitely arranged that all members of the Patea Rifles who intend going to the Easter Encampment at Wanganui, must bo prepared to start tomorrow (Thursday) in time to catch the four o’clock train from Waverley. The Committee have decided to employ Mr George Williams to convey the company to Wavorloy, and also to bring them back. Members will assemble at the Barracks at 1 o’clock sharp, to answer their names. Judging from the manner the men drilled last night, they ought to give a very good account of themselves at Wanganui. Drill-Instructor Nixon is a very good drill, and has a very happy knack of humoring the men into wlmt has to he done ; but still he is very firm. To-night there is a daylight inspection parade. The Band will play for_ the marching past, nqd a full muster is expected to attend. A cricket match has been arranged- —Pa top Rifles v City Rifles —to ho played on Friday afternoon ; play to commence at 3 o’clock.

A special mooting of the Harbour Board was hold yostordny afternoon. Present : Messrs Gibson (Chairman), Symes, Adams and Richards. Tho business was to pass the annual accounts, and also to consider the amendments of the by-laws ns regards the wharfage, &c. The accounts, duly audited by Mr Mnealistor, were signed by the Chairman ; and the Board then went into Committee. As they did not emerge from that mysterious state for the remainder of the afternoon, we are unable to say wlmt took place. We believe, however, that the proposals for reduction are on a most liberal scale. Another meeting will bo held in a few days to further consider the tariff. There is every probability that the inconvenience expected to arise this winter through the unfinished state of the road near Manawapou bridge, will be avoided. On Monday the Chairman of the County Council, in company with the District Engineer, went up as far as the Manawapou and examined the road and bridge. With the latter Mr Stewart expressed himself well pleased, as being a capital piece of work and well suited to the traffic. With regard to the road it will he seen by advertisement that the inspection has borne fruit, as tenders are invited for 900 yards of stone. We believe Mr Stewart saw clearly that the £SOO granted by the Gouernment is quite inadequate to repair the main road, and it is not improbable he will recommend that a further sum be granted.

The importance of the northern railway to Patea has just been brought under our notice in a striking manner. We are informed that a Wanganui gentleman made a purchase the other da3 r at Manutahi of 700 bags of wheat, arid, we hear that the contractor is trying to arrange to run (hem down by rail from'Manutahi for shipment at this port. The possibilities and probabilities for good to this district when the railway is opened for traffic are very great, and we are glad to see by to-day’s issue that tenders areinvited for the Manawapou contract, a length of two miles 67 chains. We hope that some of our local contractors will strain a nerve to secure this work, and keep the money in the place.

We would call the attention of settlers generally to the arrival of the Wild Wave from Greymouth, with a cargo of best Greymouth coals, suitable for general purposes, consigned to Messrs York and Cornfoot. The trustees in the estate of E. Culliuan have declared a first dividend of 5s in the pound. Meetings of creditors in the estates of E. Holtham and Christian Bingemann were called for 3 p.m. yesterday, but at that hour only a solitary creditor in the latter estate was'in attendance, so nothing was done.

After an inspection of the recent subsidence on the railway works near the Heads, the District Engineer has decided to continue the embankment across the swamp at the Boiling Down Works, allowing it to settle until it finds a solid foundation. The, progress of the work will be considerable interest as there are not a few who consider it a difficult and dangerous undertaking. Attention is directed to Mr R, A. Adams announcement in to-day’s issue. This will be thclast week of;thb Clearing Sale at Cardigan House, previous to opening up the shipments of Autumn Goods, The Town Clerk is now engaged in the painful duty of preparing a defaulter’s list, which will he finally completed and revised on the 31st inst. Those who have not paid their rates by that date, will be excluded from the Burgess list for this year, besides being liable to be proceeded against in the ordinary way. John Armstrong, settler of Kakaramca, has filed a declaration of insolvency. Unless previously settled, the whole of Mr Dixon’s stock &c., as per announcement elsewhere. will be sold by auction by Mr Cowcrn on Saturday. ■ ■ Another sheep sale will ho held by Mr Cowcrn at Manutahi'ofi April 3, Present entries consist of over IfiOO sheep of various kinds. The sale at Lincoln-strcct yards will take place the following day. Municipal honours in Pateaaro at a heavy discount just now. When the time for closing nominations for the vacancy in the Borough Council came to-day, the Returning Officer found that the number of Candidates was represented by the Cypher 0, and consequently fresh nominations have been called for. The Alexandra correspondent of the Taranaki Herald wired yesterday Mr Hursthouse left at 5 a.m, this morning for Mokau. Wcterc To Herenga, and a party of Mokau Maoris are taking him through. Wahanui and Ecwi have agreed to the railway exploration and survey. One of the most laughable sights ever seen on a cricket ground occurred at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, the other day. Everyone that is in the habit of visiting this recreation ground has no doubt (says the N, Z. Times') noticed an old grey horse—one that a crack of a whip has no effect upon, and lets out with his hind legs when attempted to be driven by anyone but his master. Yesterday, while he was quietly grazing, one of the players hit the ball towards the animal, which rolled and stopped between its forelegs. Long field-off rushed after the leather, but tfic horse _ would not allow him to pick it up. All this tijpo the batsmen were running. Some one called out to the man after the ball to sing out “ lost ball," but his conscience would not allow him to do so when the ball was just in front of him. At lasthe followed the horse's example and kicked the quadruped in the ribs. This had the desired effect, but not before several runs had been scored.J

The Wairau correspondent of the Marlborough Daily Time# writes :—“ A few nights ago I had occasion to travel the rough track up the Enchanted Creek. My guide had a bottle lantern ; the wind was high and boisterous, the rain descended in torrents, and the night was very dark, consequently my guide* had great difficulty in keeping the candle within the. bottle alight. When we arrived at the waterfall, situated at the edge of the first bush some half-mile up the creek, the light the candle gave was rendered useless, for a vastly brighter light was afforded us by innumerable glow-worms, to count the number of which would have been a task somewhat similar to counting the stars, and to attempt also to illustrate the brightness and grandeur would be as,, unwise ; but I must admit, that although it was a most unpleasant night to be.travelling so rough and dangerous a track, I could not complain, tor the gorgeous sight I witnessed banished from my thoughts all the danger and ununpleasantness.” Recent appointments having made the Ministry of Great Britain complete, the Pall Mall Gazette publishes a list of the Administration from which we find that altogether it contains 10 members ; of these I t form the Cabinet, seven belonging to the House of Lords, and seven to the Commons; of the rest, three are in the Upper House and 23 in the Commons. Nineteen of the whole 40 are titled gentlemen. The salaries range from £995, paid to the Solicitor-General for Scotland, to £IO,OOO, which is the remuneration of the Lord Chancellor. Only two members are unpaid, the Junior Lo d of the Treasury and the Paymaster-General, and the total salary list foots up to over £IIO,OOO. The Premier is the oldest man in the Government being 73 years of age, and his son, Mr H. J. Gladstone, is the youngest, 20. More than half the Ministry arc 50 years or over ; and, of the others, only three arc under 40. A Christchurch telegram says : —Yesterday Major Atkinson informed the Chairman of the Railway League that a Commission had been appointed to report upon the best route for a railway from here to the West Coast, H. E. Pinching, chemist, of Kaiapoi, has been missing several days. Search parties have been out, but can find no traces of him; Messrs O’Malley and Pcpperel’s (Christchurch) tender, £14,703 has been accepted for the formation and permanent way, Wellington and Napier railway. The highest tender reached £26,448. Hop picking in the Ncl|on District is now nearly completed. The acreage under crop is 587 acres,