Local and General.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 46, 22 January 1884, Page 2

Local and General.

— — Wharv Returns. — The Harbor Board accounts, as presented to the annual meeting of the Board yesterday, are certainly very reassuring, and, when we take into consideration the multitude of small accounts, in some instances amounting to only a few pence, which have to ba collected, and entries, receipts, and vouchers rendered and given in every instance, it must be a matter for surprise that, outside the disputed item of £64 14s. 6d., only £1 4s. 6d. remains outstanding up to date. These figures speak well for the secretary, as showing his application in the interest of the Board. Another thing was forcibly demonstrated by Member Townley, when he stated that the net income from the wharves for the past twelve months amounted to the sum of £986, and called attention to the fact that an attempt had been made some time ago to let the wharves by tender, and to place the reserve at £5OO, That Member Townley was fully justified in the strong and successful opposition he made against this attempt is best proved by the fact that had the movement proved successful, the Board would have had £486 less to their credit this year. In broaching this question of leasing the wharves, the fact must never be lost sight of that the value of the same must fluctuate with the progress of the place, and their derivable revenue be proportionately on the increase with our prosperity. There is little doubt but that the next annual return will show a large increase on the present assuring figures.

Harbor Board.—The ordinary fortnightly meeting of the Board will be held this evening in the Borough Council olHces, Lowe Street. Boat Race.—The first heat of the senior fours will be rowed on Friday next, and the final heat on Saturday. Bushhere.—lntending purchasers are reminded that Messrs. Graham, Pitt, and Bennett’s sale, at Bushmere, will take place today. Mr. S. M. Wilson’s brake leaves the Albion Club Hotel punctually at 11 a.m. Terrific Storm.—The Otago Daily Tim<ss of the 14th inst. says:—“ The thunderstorm of Tuesday last, which was experienced in a slight measure in Dunedin, seems to have been very severe in some of the np-couniry districts. At Nasebyit was the heaviest and most terrific thunderstorm ever experienced. The Chronicle writes : “ When the storm was at its height (8 p.m.), a loud report as of a heas y pic j of ordna vas h a I, and i mediately a loud thunderbolt fell from a ma :• of black clouds overhead, and, shooting along Levon Street, darted across towards Roache’s Gully, in which locality it was

supposed to have expended itself. The boh was a terrific one, and the report by which it was preceded (or perhaps accompanied) rocked, or shook, the town as if some fearful subterranean influences were at work beneath the crust of the earth. It momentarily blinded several who were in the street at the time, and is said to have precipitated others heavily to the ground. We ourselves saw one boy thrown to the earth, but whether through fright or an electric shock we are not in a position to say. Several casualties of this description have been reported, but we are glad to relate that no severe accident occurred in connection with the storm. Very heavy rain afterwards fell. At Arrow, also, the thunderstorm is described as terrific, On the Skipper’s track, the electric fluid played fearful havoc with the telephone poles and wire. One who travelled along the track in the midst of the storm informs us (Z J rm) that the sight was enough to make the stoutesthearted to be filled with alarm. A flash wonlj come, and in the midst of the peal which followed could be heard the crash of the telephone poles as they splintered, and the ping of the wires as they were broken.”

A Sad Case.—“ During the passage of the steamer Gabo, which sailed from Sydney on the 29th Dec., Mr. A. Jack, a saloon passenger, was missed on the forenoon of the day after the vessel left port. A thorough search was made, which proved fruitless, and the inevitable conclusion was arrived at that he must either have fallen or thrown himself overboard. Mr. Jack was accompanied by his wife, to whom it seems he had been married on the day preceding that on which the Gabo left Sydney.” Display op Kindly Feeling.—A Tauranga paper reports that “ the first act of Captain Bridge on arrival in port was to send the carpenter to take measurements, and note of particulars, for the repair and resuscitation of the headstones and memorials over the graves of those who fell in the war, now buried in the Old Cemetery. There is a touch of pathos and kindliness in this that at once betokens the highest order of feeling.”

Oun Ex-Premier.-—“ Sir John Hall, says ‘ Anglo-Australian ’ in the European Malli is moving about among us, and seems determined to see much in a short time. Several colonists from very opposite quarters tell me that they have quite recently seen the late Premier. lam glad to state that, according to my last news, he was in excellent health.”

Church at Waiwera. —The X Z. Herald reports that “on Sunday evening last Bishop Cowie informed the congregation, at a service held in the hotel, Waiwera, that Mr. Graham had promised to give a site for the erection of a church, to be the property of the Church of the Province of New Zealand, commonly called the Church of England, and asked those present to contribute to the building fund. The Bishop stated that according to the custom of the diocese, the use of the building would be allowed to other Christian bodies, when not required by the Church of England congregation. Yesterday morning, Mr. Graham pointed out to the Bishop the site to be given for the church, and the Bishop expressed his approval of the same ; and it was arranged that the trustees of the same should be the Bishop, Mr. Graham, and Mr. G. P. Pierce. It is estimated that about £3OO will be required for the erection of a suitable nave, to be afterwards

added to as the number of worshippers increases, Mr. Graham proposes to give a suitable site for a district school on the hill near the bridge, 1 between the Waiwera and the Puhoi rivers, conveniently situated for the settlers’ children of the neighborhood.”