PROVINCIAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81918, 4 March 1907, Page 2

PROVINCIAL NEWS.

(I'ioni Our Own Correspondents.) MANtiOKlil. The annual exodus of our folks to the Mountam took place ou Thursday ■the weather was not too promising, ami this prevented a number from attending, Us well as deterring a number . towusfo'k Who had promised to iWrt. ? C ' Xi ;: n 'f ion - about tlmty travelled up to the ranges and a lew reached the summit of ligmont the day was too cloudy, however for any great pleasure from this souece Great sympathy j s felt for Mr Uco. Herbert, who seems to have been pursued by the worst o.f luck for some time past. His latest misfortune was to iiacture his leg whilst breaking in a young hojt-se. l ie was immediately removed to the Hospital WHANG AMOJIONA.

1 'lis vmly the hardy and resolute man that will face the hardships of the back country. AH credit is due to those who go out and settle, and if there is anything that can be done for them to soften their hardships, by all means let it be done, but year by veal', and day by day almost, the distance is virtually becoming less by the increased advantages we are having bestowed upon us by tile march of civilisation. One lias only to compare our

conditions to-day with what they were' twelve years a go., when 1 lies settlement was really Jiisi opened up. Only a track then over me Whanga sajldlc, over which we often had to carry our very necessaries of life. Now we have a good summer road and a coach scr--1 vice every day, and the "Daily News" l published in New Plymouth in the B morning is with us every night, placp ing us in possession of the world's a news, and almost ou a par with the e dwellers of the town. JJut the tales e of the past days are still with us, and, t 1 fancy, sometimes magnified, as the r following perhaps wii'l demonstrate. One chap says lie carried 24ulbs of . stull' in a sack twelve miles in six J 1 hours, and only had six rests. An'j other man told me that at a chopping 5 contest it rained in torrents, and he chopped that quick and hard that the oli ips llew out so fast that thev formed a verandah over him, and except for the perspiration he was quite I- dry when he finished his log. I told him so was i.

Another 42 chains of metalling U now in progress just west of Whanga, Mr Jackson, engineer in charge of the work, has now about 500 yds of papa per week. It takes one" cubic yard of burnt papa to metal one yard of road, or twenty-two yards per chain, so that in a month if the weather is fair for burning, the job will bo linishod. ft goes without saying that it will be appreciated this coming winter. ) Jin- lliqrry Ulxift was enough the other day to get his foot under the wheels of Ins dray, thereby sustaining a bad squeeze.

lIULKANGI. The annual picnic of the lluiraugi school lakes place on the sth March in a paddock kindly placed at the disposal of the committee by Mr L. Andrews and right opposite' the hull.

Sports will start for the children at 2 p.m. and tea, at 4 o'clock in the had, will be free to all children attending the school; 'others over 7 years wii l . he charged Cd. Tea will be provided for adults at 5 p.m. for which 1/ will he charged, after which sports wT. he indulged in, the proceedings concluding with a dance. tiiven line weather a huge muster is expected.

Several from the district have been to the exhibition, and others now are going this coming week. Should cheap fares be offered towards the end when the cows are going oil', many may take advantage to visit the City of the Plains.

The weather this lust week has enabled farmers to get on with the harvest. Slacks can now be seen all round.

The early turnip crops are looking splendid, but the late crops are not coming in too well. , Messrs Cartwright and Tarry have finished the metalling of the Wnitara Koad, but 1 hear that several are wailting for the verdict of the engineer as to whether it wilt puss; we must have patience.

EGMUXT ROAD. The school children's annual picnic was held on Thursday in Mr Sampson's property, kindly lent for the occasion, it is an ideal place for such a gathering, being, indeed, one of Taranaki's beauty During (the itay a' cricket match was played, and the children were running for prizes. Every child running, whether a scholar or not, received a present. Early in the afternoon tea was laid out in' the shelter-shed at the school, and a continuous throng of people partook -of the good things provided by Mr A. Lealaud, until nearly s o'clock. As usual, the concert was well attended (as a matter of fact, they could not all get into the school) by a very large and appreciative audience, I the! different items, vocal and instrumental, being vociferously applauded. After distrilmting 'the awauls in the different standards, the chairman, Mr J. R. Hill, thanked all who had contributed to the evening's entertainment, and spoke in eulogistic terms of the teachers, Mrs Ske'lton and Miss Rice, who had brought the pupils to such a state of proficiency. At the close of the concert, supper was served, and the older members of the community went home, the younger ones indulging in the lght ■fantastic toe business Miss Bishop providing the music.