NEWS OF THE DAY.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1040, 28 May 1883, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

How thoroughly useless the channelling in Bedford is may be understood from the fact that nearly all the bottom was washed out by last week’s rains. The holes have been patched up with cement. There are various kinds of placards used in,advertising, but the one in Mr Adams’, draper, window is a novelty in its own way. A short description may not be amiss. Though not more than 7 inches square the number of noted personages printed on it is surprising. The subject is what haberdashers , are familiarly acquainted with, viz., neckties, and each individual is represented with one, such as Garibaldi, Prince of Wales, Jersey Lily, Cupid, the Queen, poets, and so forth. It is a neat little business announcement, and well got up. A very brilliant meteor, travelling in the direction of from south-east to northwest, was to be observed on Saturday night. It was not of long duration, however.

The s.s. Waverley arrived at Nelson on Sunday morning at 5 a.m. after a run of about 16 hours. A cart and horse ponging to Mr Woods, which was on its way to Hawera, met with an accident on Saturday about dinner-time* Proceeding along Egmont street, the horse suddenly broke down in front of the Albion Hotel, and completely smashed the The annual was immediately suppjjefd with a pannikin full of rum, as the poor beast was suffering from gripes, and unable to proceed any further. The trap contained the magician and his assistant, but they were .more.fr,ightened thanhurt. The match between the Wairoa Light Horse and the Alexandra Troop, which waste have been fired on the Queen’s Birthday, did not come off, only four of the Alexandras turning up, the wet weather having prevented the remainder from starting. Some private matches were, however, arranged. . 1 Some wanton person has been covering the notice boards on the Patea bridge with disgraceful expletives. It is a pity that the offender could not be brought to justice. A meeting of business men was held at Opunake last week, in reference to starting a newspaper. Those present unanimously decided as to its desirableness. The projector is Mr Galvin, late of the Hawera Star. The meeting called for Wednesday evening re the erection of a school on the Momahaki Block, was held at the Commercial Hotel. Several of the settlers interested attended, the wet weather, however, preventing some from being present. Mr Bridge, member of the Education Board, attended at the request of those calling the meeting and gave some valuable information re the necessary steps to be taken. It was decided that the'site should be the Township of Richardson, there being an Education Reserve there of some three or four acres. A. H. Malcolm, merchant, of Wellington, has been re-arrested there on a warrant from Palmerston, charging him with larceny as a bailie. He was remanded till Friday next, bail being allowed. The Nelson Mail states that no less than £BOOO was lost over the recent election at Inangahua. On the evening before the polling day £2OOO was sent from Timaru to be invested on Mr Wakefield, every penny of which was taken up. Master H. G. Wray, who was mentioned as having passed the Civil Service Examination, was educated principally at the Patea School and at Nelson College. He was only a month or two at the Wanganui School. The capital of the Wellington Woollen Company has been fixed at £IOO,OOO, The Kaiapoi company, with a capital of £IOO,OOO, £89,000 of which had been 'called itp,'made-a profit during the nine months ending September last (£1825 being allowed for depreciation) of £9043 11s 7d, equal to 19 per cent per annum. A dividend was paid at the rate of 10 per cent (absorbing £5000), and £4043 11s 7d was carried to the new account. The balance-sheet of the Mosgiel Company for toe year ending the 6th October, 1881, showed that the profits were £9354 14s 3d, out of which a dividend of 10 per cent (absorbing £4874 7a 6d) was paid to shareholders. A sura of £3OOO was carried to the reserve fund, which was thus increased to £10,003, and £I4BO 6s 9d was put to the profit and loss new account. The authorised capita! of this company was £BO,OOO, £56,000 of which had been paid up. The Australia with the San Francisco mail arrived at Auckland at two o’clock yesterday morning. The Hawea with the Southern portion left at 3-30 in the afternoon. A man named John Butcher, died in the Dunedin Hospital last week, having met his death in a very peculiar way. A few days before he had been standing on the top of a barrel of carbolic acid, and the heading giving way, Butcher, had his legs and right arm burnt by the acid, the injuries providing too serious to allow recovery. The first of the series of Quadrille Assemblies at Waverley came off on Friday evening, and was very successful, the hall being nicely filled. The Committee seem to have made their arrangements very satisfactorily, and, no doubt, the remainder of the series will prove equally successful. The music by Messrs Armstrong and Hunter of Wanganui, was fully up to the mark. The official results of the financial year have not yet been made public, but will probably be referred to by the Colonial Treasurer in his speech. The Wellington correspondent of the Auckland Herald , who is specially well informed, states that it will be found there has been an excess of revenue over the estimate, with a consequent surplus, as the outcome, and that, notwithstanding there was a considerable deficit shown on the estimates and appropriation as Parliament left them last session,. there will be a surplus of a good many thousands. According to the Mercury , whilst the Westmeath was at Hobart twenty stowaways deserted. They were mostly firemen and sailors who were working their passages to Auckland at the customary wage of Is a month. Many of the emigrants by the Westmeath also tried to get ashore on the quiet. Few, however, suceeded in their desire, though it seems that a great number of them, from accounts that they had heard of the colony during their stay in port, had entertained a. decided preference to Hobart over Auckland, where they were bound to. Some amusing tales are told of the ingenuity of the women who were desirious of leaving the Westmeath there. To their tender pleadings to stow them away in the coal tenders, the crew turned a deaf ear. One girl implored a craftsman very hard indeed to dull her through a port-hole and hide her in his craft. The contemptible meanness of some peoples’ nature is astounding. Witness the following from the Otago Daily Times :—We have been informed of an incident which occurred at last meet of the Hunt Club, concerning which we should be inclined to use some strong expressions, but for the fact that the whole matter is likely to come up before a Magistrate. Our information is derived from a very reliable quarter, and is to the following effect The dragsman having taken a "double” off the Queen’s drive, a person stepped out of a waggonette driven by Mr P. Jones and unfastening the top rail, which had been lowered and tied on top of the wire, raised it to the top of the, posts, thus making the jump a much more serious affair than it was before it had been prepared for the hunt. When the huntsman (Mr Poole) rode up, on a valuable horse, it was too late to stop, and, taking the jump, he succeeded in getting over without accident; but the horse knocking down the top rail, left the bare wire fence for the next in order, who happened to be Master Smith, riding a valuable steeplechaser. Tire danger of attempting to take a " wire ” jump can hardly be exaggerated, and as Master Smith could not pull up, he had to take the chances, and luckily succeeded in getting over unhurt. Probably the person who altered the jump had no idea of subjecting anyone to the known dangers of a wire fence, but he nust have been aware that he was perpetrating an act which would be likely to endanger the lives and limbs of those engaged in the hunt, and we can only hope he will meet with his deserts.

Mr Sicety* Government Surveyor, is now up for the purpose of fixing the boundaries of sections in the Momahaki Block, the settlers haying considerable difficulty in finding their pegs. ■ We (Auckland Star) regret to hear that the ,Rev. Mr Hobbs (one of the earliest New Zealand missionaries) and his aged spouse are both very ill and confined to bed. The husband is eighty-three years of age, and the wife one' year his senior. Mr Hobbs been for sixty years in the colony, and f&r nearly half a century he laboured ns a missionary, principally m the Bay and Hokianga districts. The aged couple are the parents -•of 'Mri-Richard-'Hobbsi M-.-H.8.-Some of the immigrants lately arrived appear to be awfully “green.” A boy who was saddling pp his master’s horses on Friday at one of our local stables, was accosted thus: “Them donkeys yev got there ?” “ No,” said the boy. “ Fou heven ye donkeys in thes coontery ?” asked the new chum. “ Well, I dunno,” replied the boy ; “ but I think they’ve gotfquite enough donkeys when they imported you.” The extreme disgust of the new arrival may be better imagined than described, and ho thinks the preoocibusness of the Colonial youths something'horrible.