LOCAL NEWS.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 7, 16 February 1867, Page 3

LOCAL NEWS.

Accident. —As Mr. C. Edwards was driving a cart over the hill near his residence on the Taratahi, his horse gibbed, and being on a side cutting, the cart was capsized, and fell upon him. He was rescued from his unpleasant position by Mr. S. Gates, who happened to be passing, and we regret to leurn that Mr. Edwards was severely but not dangerously hurt. Tendee foe Fodder. —We direct the attention of the public to Cobb and Go’s advertisement, and regret to learn that hitherto they have had to import the whole of their horse feed. They trust the settlers will be able to supply them with everything. Without referring to the money which goes out of the colony it speaks very ill of the province if it could not at least produce sufficient to supply their line of coaches.

Photography. —We have received a number of very pretty photographic views executed by Mr. Baillie in a truly artistic style, one or two of which are quite equal to anything of the kind we have seen from the studios of artists of much greater pretensions and celebrity. It will be seen from an advertisement elsewhere that Mr, Baillie is now in a position to take views or likenesses in any part of the valley.

Stamp Duties. —We have received several complaints from parties in Greytown with reference to the difficulty of obtaining stamps. Really the Government should endeavor to remove this difficulty. Persons licensed to sell stamps ought to have a sufficient supply to meet the wants of the public.

The Public Hall. —A meeting of the Public Hall Building Committee, was held on Thursday evening, at the Greytown School room, when, on the proposition of Mr. E. Grigg, Mr. Moles was unanimously chosen chairman of the Committee. It was unanimously resolved that the Public Hall should be raised by shares instead of subscriptions, and that the number of shares should be 300 at £l each. We understand that more than thirty shares were at once taken, and we have no doubt of the success of the undertaking. A prospectus of the company will be at once issued, when we will enter more fully into the merits of the question.

The Rifle Prize Firing. — A “Government Gazette ” issued last Monday contains the regulations for the next Colonial Prize Firing. The firing for the Colonial Prizes is to take place at or near Wellington. All , members of Militia and Volunteer Corps eligable to be chosen as competitors; but as the number of competitors is very limited they will be selected from the best shots in the several districts. Each district will be allowed to send one representative for every thirty men, who score twenty points, but each representative must have himself scored thirty points at least at the trial firing. Every person wishing to be a representative must give notice in ■writing to his adjutant before the end of the present month, who will appoint a day between the Ist and 15th March for the trial firing. The highest scorer will be entitled to compete at Wellington for the Colonial Firing, who will receive 10s per day while at Wellington. The Ist prize is a gold medal and a purse of 100 soverigns, with the champions belt. The 2nd prize a siever medal and £75. The 3rd 4th and sth prizes £SO, £3O, and £2O respectively. The winner of the first prize in each district will receive, and he entitled to wear, a medal presented by the Government. There will be six prizes given to the Wairarapa. Two prizes of £lO each ; two of £3 each ; and two of £2 each. The firing will be at ranges of 300, 400, and 500 yards, five shots at each range 1 without artifical rest, any position. We trust that with these prizes to be gained our riflemen will be up and doing.

Parliamentary Reports. —lf our exceedingly limited space would admit, instead of this journal being a second edition of the Wellington, papers as certain wise-acres predicted, we would insert the important items of intelligence to be found in other journals and which are not given by our Wellington Contemporaries. We will give two items in our present issue one extracted from a speech of Mr. Saunders at Nelson, the other from an able article in the “Nelson Examiner.’' Speaking of parlimentary reports Mr. Saunders made the following admirable remarks; —“ The committee appointed to consider the subject had ascertained that for £1,500 there could have been obtained a proper report of the speeches, which would have been sent through all the country. Now, if £1,500, or £15,000 would hai-esecured a faithful report of all that was done in the Assembly, he should have gladly approved of voting it; and if twice £15,000 more could have secured that the people of the colony would read them and make themselves masters of these poeceediugs, he should think the money well spent [applaue]; hut he would not vote fifteenpenee for reports, to be supervised and superintended by the Government.

The Civil Service. —The “ Nelson Examiner ” after stating that more than £200,000 per annum are paid by the General Government in salaries, and referring to the report of the Civil Service Commissioners observes:—

“We see the colony ground down by a taxation confessedly unparalleled; we see the yearly increase of our burdens more than matched by the yearly increase of our extravagant expenditure—which, likewise, is unparalleled in any part of the world—and we find no notice taken of a report which, proceeding from the chief clerks of our Government offices, recommends measures which lead direct to greater uselessness, Rnd greater expense in the departments. If this goes on, it is useless to talk about economy. The present rate of the increase in our expenditure upon salaries seems to be between £5,000 and £6,000 a-year; and no duubt, when the recommendations of the Civil Service Commission have time to work—by increasing salaries, and lightening the labours of the departments—it will require an increase of something like £IO,OOO a-year to satisfy the cravings of this monster of expenditure.

Paper prom Flax.—Dr. Mueller, Director of the Melbourne Botanical Gardens, writing to His Excellency Sir George Grey, under date Christmas Day, forwards a sample of excellent writing paper prepared in his phytocheinical laboratory, from the fibre of New Zealand Flax.

Graziers’ Association. —A society under this title has just been formed at Rangitikei. We should be glad-to see asimilar one established in the Wairarapa. The society purposes holding perodical shows of stock, and to organise and supervise ploughing matches, and agricultural exhibitions. Railway Survey.—The sum of £IOOO has been voted by the Provincial Council ofNelson for the employment of Mr. Ogilvie, the railway engineer, to examine the line of country between Nelson and the West Coast Gold Fields. Mr. Ogilvie is in the confidence of Mr. Brassey, the great railway contractor, and possibly our Provincial Executive, when it wakes up, and obtains the necessary vote fcom the Council, will put itself in communication with Mr. Ogilvie, if the Council should not have previously sent the Provincial Executive to those opposition benches which in former sessions they so usefully occupied.

Resident Magistrates’ Court. —The usual sittings of the Resident Magistrate’s Court was held at Featherston on Wednesday last, but there were no cases of any consequence for hearing.

Cemetery.— Now that the Cemetery has been put in trust it will be necessary to apply to the Trustees for permission to bury therein. A scale of charges will soon be determined upon. All proceeds will be expended upon a sexton and fencing and planting the Cemetery, The Trustees advertise in to-days paper for fifty chains of first class four rail fencing, made of Totara, and will call upon Mr. Pierce Cotter to erect his portion of the fence required to complete the enclosure. It is in contemplation to keep four acres for a Cemetery and let the remainding thirty-five acres, devoting the proceeds towards payment of the money raised with which to meet the expense of enclosing the whole.

Road to Featherston under the Hills.— Mr. Revans on last Saturday met the Board of Road Wardens at Featherston, on the subject of annexing a portion of the Moroa Plain to their district, with a view to making a road from Featherston under the hills to the Waiohine and thence down to Greytown, for the convenience of purchasers on that line and who have now no road. The subject will be brought under the attention of the electors at the next annual meeting, to be held on the 16th March at Featherston.

Pottery. —Have we or have we not good potters’ earth ? If we have is it not disgraceful we do not make the cheaper description of pottery which are so costly from their breakage and their bulky nature, causing such an immense freight in proportion to their original cost. The very freight gives such an advantage to local manfacture that the article would surely be made to a profit in the colony. Good potters’ clay was long since reported to be in abundance at Kaitoki, a place between Hodder’s at the Pakaratahi and the Mungaroa hill.

Stamp Duties—Caution.— On all instruments except tlie following the stamp must be affixed at the stamp office within one month after the date of the execution ; the following are excepted—agreements bills of lading, policies, insurance, bills of exchange, drafts or orders, promissory notes, and receipts or discharge for the payment of money. Stamps on these may be affixed by the makers or holders.