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Waipawa Mail, Volume I, Issue 18, 13 November 1878, Page 2

Tenders.—By our advertising columns it will be seen that Mr R. Harding calls for tenders for fencing the Waipawa Recreation Ground. Tenders will close on Monday, the 28th inst. Eparaima Riding.—Mr John Mackersey was the only candidate nominated for this riding for a seat in the County Council, and he was consequently declared duly elected by the Returning Officer, Mr Price. Waipawa Athletic Sports.—A meeting of those interested in the carrying out of the Waipawa annual sports, to take place on Boxing Day, was held at the Oddfellows’ Hall on Saturday evening, when the following gentlemen were elected a committee to proceed with the arrangements:—Messrs Johnson, Duncan, Corskie, Robb, McKenzie, Grenside, Rose, Scarret, and Humphreys. There is every reason to believe that the g*a thering will be a success, there being a balance of about £6O from last year’s sports. It was suggested that a ball should take place in the evening in connexion with the sports. Entertainment at Waipukurau.—An entertainment of songs and readings was given in the Town Hall, Waipukurau, on Friday evening last. There was a good attendance, and the affair passed off successfully. As «11 those who took part in the entertainment were amateurs, in accordance with the usual rule we refrain from criticism, though several of the songs and readings were well worthy of the favor in which they were received by the audience. During the progress of the concert some annoyance was caused by a spectator applauding in the style not generally adopted at amateur entertainments. It was proposed to put him out, and a movement was made with that object. However, he was allowed to remain, and the entertainment, proceeded to its termination, the only hitch being the one J alluded to.

A Challenge.—ln another column it will be seen that Mr A. Pebbles, junr., challenges Mr B. Dannaly to throw the 161 b hamper for £5 or £lO a-side. Mr Dennaly took the first prize for throwing the hammer at the Farndon sports on Monday last.

County Council Elections.—The elections for the two contested seats in the County Council will take place to-day. Lieutenant-Colonel Herrick and Mr A. H. Ross are the candidates for Rua Tanivvha Riding, and Mr W. White and Mr A. Dillon for Patangata Riding.

Fatal Accident on the Railway.—A young man named John Rowbottom met his death on Monday evening by falling from the platform of a railway carriage whilst on the return excursion trip from Farndon to Napier. Deceased was a member of the Artillery Band, which had been playing at the sports. Deceased had been a resident of Waipawa for some time, having been engaged here in the butchery establishments, lie was much respected and liked by those who were acquainted with him.

Oddfellows’ Meeting at A meeting was held at Takapau on last Saturday evening for the purpose of establishing an Oddfellows’ Lodge in that district. The meeting was convened by Mr W. Thomson, and it was well attended. Several leading settlers of the district were present, and signified their intention of joining the Order. A considerable number of persons enrolled their names, and there is every prospect of Takapau possessing a branch of one of the leading Friendly Societies in the world, and which has proved of incalculable benefit to hundreds of thousands.

Sudden Attack of Illness.—The inmates of a boarding-house in Waipawa were thrown into a state 6f consternation late on Saturday night last by the sudden illness of five of the boarders. They were so ill that they were almost unable to move, and one who had managed to crawl outside to get fresh air, tumbled over in a most helpless state, and, as he says himself, mentally “ gave up the ghost.” The groans of the others were most pitiful to hear. Various were the surmises as to the complaint. Some were of opinion that tiie unfortunates had been attacked with cholera, whilst others thought some poisonous ingredients had been partaken of. The latter seemed to be tiie prevailing impression, and it needless to say that it was not a comfortable one to those who had eaten at the same table. Many expressed themselves as feeling “ queerish,” and began to wear a decidedly blue look, when one of the afflicted was heard to moan, “ Oil, that infernal buttermilk.” Inquiries brought forth that two o£ tiie sufferers had l>. _n generously offered when out for a stroll buttermilk ad libitum. As it is not a beverage to be obtained every day in Waipawa, they freely availed themselves of their friend’s hospitality. Feeling unusually thirsty afterwards, they topped the buttermilk with a beer, and then a gin each, and the combined result was as described above. It was not till 24 hours afterwards that the injurious effects were removed. There is little doubt that the buttermilk contained some poisonous substance, but as no one died, an inquiry will not be held, and the public curiosity must therefore remain unsatisfied. However, the five have “sworn off” bntteimilk for many a long day, although it is generally regarded as a safe and wholesome drink.

Milling in America.—There are over 25,000 nourishing flour mills in the United States, giving employment to 60,000 men. These men turn out annually 50,000,000 barrels of flour.

New Reaper and Binder. The Canterbury Times says : —“ We learn from a reliable source that a patent is being secured for a new reaper and binder of Christchurch manufacture, which will, it is said, be a vast improvement upon all machines of the kind hitherto introduced to the public, inasmuch as it will not only be a match for the very best reapers yet imported, but will, in addition, possess the much needed improvement of binding with the straw as it reaps. It is well known that wire as a material for binding is dangerously objectionable. The reaper In question, we are pleased to say, is the invention of a Canterbury man, and is being brought out under the auspices of Mr W. Wilson, of Christchurch.

The Khyber Pass.—The following particulars about the Khyber Pass may be interesting to our readers at the present time; they are taken from “ Sir G. Lawrence’s Reminiscences:—“The Khyber Pass, which the Viceroy of India will now probably annex to British India, i 6 a narrow defile, 28 miles long, between lofty perpendicular hills, the road during its entire length passing over rocks and boulders, which render a speedy advance or retreat of any body of men impossible. Tne heights on either side entirely command the defile, and are scarped so that ‘they cannot without great difficulty be scaled They are also perforated with numbers of natural caves, the secure haunts of the savage robbers wffio have for ages held possession of the Pass. The crests of the hills are further defended by stone breastworks, called sunghas. A 6mall valley, called Gurhee Lall Beg, about six miles from the western entrance to the Pass, is the only open spot to be met with during j the entire distance."

Large Land Sale.—The Oamaru Evening Mail says :—“ It will be gratifying to those wiio desire to see the waste lands! settled by agriculturists to be informed* that about 20,000 acres of land, half near Waikouaiti, and half near the township of Livingstone, will within six months be submitted to public auction. That at the first-mentioned place will be cut up into sections of about 320 acres, and the lastmentioned will be divided into sections of from 100 to 200 acres. A five-chain reserve will be taken out of the Livingstone block for railway purposes. An Artful Maori.—The guilelessness and simplicity of the Maori mind were beautifully illustrated, says the Poverty Bay Standard, in the evidence of an aboriginal lord of the soil in the case Scrimgeour v. Wright and Carter, heard before the Resident Magistrate on 29th October. The learned counsel thought he had John Maori “ If a right-of-way existed for some thirty years, why did you not object to Mr Scrimgeour putting up the fence ? Tiie artless witness replied “Because Judge Rogan had told me that when the land passed through the Court everything thereon w'ould become mine.”

A Vision of Colonial Bankruptcy.— During a recent 'debate (says the Chronicle) the member for Bruce, speaking in the most dolorous tones of his melancholy voice, drew a most lugubrious picture of the possibilities which might arise were in the Railways Construction Bill to pass in the form proposed. A financial crisis in Europe might arise, reacting on the colony with the results that the lands would become utterly unsaleable, and that the contractors would seize upon the newly constructed railways in payment for their contracts. Visions of legions of bailiffs, clouds of distress warrants, and all the sad-visaged attendants of poverty seemed floating before the mind’s eye of Mr Murray. No wonder that Mr Hunter dubbed him “ the prophet of evil.”

An Ingenious Borough Council!— The Ashburton Mail says :—ln the borough of Sydenham a good many requests are annually made for the remission of rates on account of inability to pay through poverty. The borough councillors are not hard-hearted men, but they are evidently very ingenious. They have resolved not to remit the rates in such cases, for then they could not claim any subsidy on them, but they will with one hand collect them, and with .the other disburse them in charitable aid to the persons from whom they have collected the money. By adopting this course the councillors hope to be able to. secure a subsidy, not only on all the rates collected in tlie borough, but a charitable aid subsidy on those which are returned to indigent persons in the shape of charitable aid. Of all the members of the Council, ther Mayor, Mr Janies Booth, was the only one who is said to have expressed a doubt as to the honesty or legality of this piece of municipal sharp practice. It may he very ingenious, but as a matter of fact its proper name is obtaining public money by means of false pretences.

The Victorian Bushrangers". Melbourne news to the Ist instant states that an Outlawing Bill, similar to that passed by the Sydney Parliament, has been passed through both Houses to meet the cases of the bushrangers now at large. Under this Bill the ruffians will be liable to be shot down without quarter, while a penalty of fifteen years penal servitude attaches to those who harbor them. The reward for their apprehension has been raised to £SOO The widows of the two unfortunate constables are to be liberally dealt with, and in the meantime they are to draw their husbands’ pay. Yesteiday news was received of the finding of the body of the missing sergeant, Kennedy, close by the shot. The body contained three bullet holes, and when found was scarcely recognisable, being covered with blood and partly decomposed. The greatest excitement exists, and parties are out in every direction.

The Famine in China.—The Glasgow News (August 23) writes : —From some consular reports published yesterday it appears that seven millions of persons, forming seven-tenths of the population of two of the largest provinces in China, have perished of famine. This is a fact of which, however simple it may appear, the human mind fails to grasp the full significance. It is beyond the reach even of the imagination. We may gathe 1 ’ some assistance from knowledge that the number of people swept away is more than double the entire population of Scotland ; but even then we only feel an overwhelming sense of the magnitude of the disaster, without realising in the least the desolation it has wrought. When we further are told that in some places the famine will probably last another year, that the Government with its utmost efforts can do nomore than provide one day’s food in thirty for the surviving sufferers, and that the horrors of pestilence are being added to those of famine, the mind reels under the contemplation of the human misery involved. One’s first impulse is to ask, Can nothing be done to mitigate this appalling visitation? But the hopelessness of doing so is only equalled by the impossibility of realising its magnitude ; and we can but participate n the blank despair which seems to have jseizod the whole of the Chinese people.

Putting it Briefly. The Timarti Herald says that the practical result of the session of Parliament just closed is the imposition of a laud tax of a halfpenny in the pound of value, over ,£SOO, and the reduction of the Customs' duties, principally those on tea and sugar, by about £IOO,OOO a-year.

A Desolated Island.—The island of Inch Clutha, usually considered the garden of Otago, has been almost obliterated by the recent floods. Over 6000 acres of magnificent laud all under a high state of cultivation were submerged over six feet, crops utterly destroyed, farms wrecked, and everywhere a scene of desolation. Obstructive Maoris.—A fresh supply of sugar and blankets (says an exchange) may soon have to be forwarded up to the Wairarapa, judging by the following extract from the report of the meeting of the Masterton Highway Board published in the Masterton paper of the 4th :

“ Several native owners of laud in the Taueru Block attended, and stated that they had stopped the contractor for bush falling on the Masterton and Gladstone road, and also the survey party, who* were laying off a line through their property to Mr Robinson’s, and were resolved that these lines should not be proceeded with.”

The Princess Alice Disaster.—Writing on the recent collision in the Thames between the Bywell Castle and the Princess Alice, by which 600 persons lost their lives. “ Atlas,” in the World, says “Of course I do not presume to say anything about the Bywell Castle pending the inquiry into the recent catastrophe ; but I may be permitted to remark that a good twenty years ago a very old Thames yachtman warned me most emphatically against steam-colliers as the most dangerous craft in the river. “ They go,” he said, “ with their nose cocked up in the air, so that the man at the helm cannot see anything less than a man-of-war or an East Indiaman.” Then lie knows that nothing but an ironclad can hurt his vessel, and again, when in ballast and high out of water, they answer their helms very badly. Give them a wide berth whenever you meet them.”