The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1879.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 314, 13 November 1879, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1879.

Twelve months ago the Masterton Borough Council attempted to deal with the, ddhcult question of niglitsoil by the establishment of loose boxes and

by the periodical removal and emptying of the same. The Council must by this time have come to the conclusion that, so far, it has failed in its • undertaking, and that the very necessary work of keeping the soil of the Borough pure and healthy remains as yet to bo

accomplished. Masterton is still a dirty and an unhealthy town, and but a sinail proportion of its niglitsoil and filth lias been as yet removed to places where it would lie innocuos. It is not too much to say that every glass of water drank in the more thickly populated parts of the Borough is tainted, and bears within its apparent purity the germs of disease and death. Though the Council has not as yet succeeded in accomplishing the good object it has in view, it has gained a certain amount of experience which ought to assist it in any further effort which it may make in the same direction. The two conditions necessary for success are, first,

stringent by-laws, and, secondly, rigid inspection. Neither of these conditions have been obtained in the past, and hence the failure of the Corporation scheme. The existing by-laws require to he very carefully revised and a new system introduced. Unless the Council takes the matter into its own hands instead of leaving the contractor and the ratepayers to fight it out amongst themselves, very little permanent good will be accomplished, A special rate is the real solution of the difficulty, and

this expedient ought to be at' hast attempted. We want, too, an Inspector of Nuisances in the Borough who has time to devote to his duties. The

present officer would be efficient if lie were not also Night Watchman. A man who has been up all night cannot be about the town all day, The duties of a Night Watchman ought to be discharged by the police, and the services of Mr Ingram retained as a permanent executive officer in the Borough Clerk's department,, •We repeat that the town is filthy and unhealthy, and that for. some time to come it requires constant' attention at the hands of an Inspector of Nuisances, The Borough by-laws are almost a dead letterj and will remain so till there is proper supervision.

The Masterton Volunteers parade tomorrow evening. County Council West meets to-day at Carterton, Tenders are invited by the Masterton Hospital for the erection of a culvert near the Hospital. The nomination of candidates for the Mayoralty of Masterton takes place at the Hall to-morrow, at noon. To-morrow F. H. Wood & Co., commence their large sale at Greytoivn of grocery, drapery, &c„ for Mr John Macara. The adjourned annual meeting of the Wairarapa Caledonian Society was held on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Val'lance in the chair. The balance for the past year was read and passed. It showed a balance in hand of £4 13s lOd, ail liabilities having been defrayed. The following directory was then elected for the ensuing year via., Messrs W. Perry, A. Bish, J. Livingstone, Rhodes Donald, Donald Donald Hales, Payton, Rockell, Sellar, Yallance, Wyllie, Wardell, Williams, H. Beetham, D. McMaster, H. McMaster, F. G. Moore| Lister-Kaye, and G. Drummoud. A voti' of tlmnks was then passed to Messrs R. and J. Brown, who had acted as honorary Secretaries to the Society during the preceding year. A meeting of directors was the held. Mr Yallance was re-elected president; Mr Sellar was elected vice-pre-sident ; and Mr Hales treasurer. Messrs R. & J. Brown were re-appointed lion, secretaries on the motion of Mr Bagge ; and Messrs Sellar, Bish, and Wyllie wore elected as a ground committee to select a site and report upon a programme. The meeting then adjourned till Tuesday next at 4 p.m.

We direct special attention to M. Caselberg & Co.'s announcement in our front page of a grand clearing sale for one month (inly, Owing to tho purchaser at the sale on Satiuday last of the gates at tho ensuing Opaki nines not completing hia purchase" Messrs lorns and Fergusson will resell them ou Saturday next, when they sell for Tankersley's estate.

The usual monthly meeting oftheMastui ton School Committee was held yesterday, Present—Messrs Feist (Chairman), Brown, McCardle, Wrigloy, Vile, and Pay ton, Tho minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. The 1 reasiirer reported a balance in hand of' £22 dd. Leave of absence was granted to Mr Waite to enable him to attend an University examination. The Head Master reported that the attendance at the school had increased, and recommended prizes to be awarded to pupils according to marks. The average attendance for the past month was 232; for the past week, 257 He also suggested that singing might be better taught if an harmonium was obtained. A sum of live pounds was voted towards prizes as suggested, and a sub-committee appointed to assist in extending the amount available for prizes, and to report re harmonium. Messrs McCardle and Payton were appointed visiting members for the ensuing month,

Last evening the phonograph entertainment came off in the Town Hall, His Worship the Mayor presided, and there was a good though not a crowded house. Hie I\cv 1 1 , J. Jones, Vicar of Sandgate, gave an extremely interesting introductory Lecture, explaining the marvels of sound in a clear and concise manner, and leading up to the invention of the phonograph by Mr Edison, He demonstrated the theory by which the human voice was repeated by it ; and concluded by indicating its future developments in connection with the microphone and telephone, The phonograph itself was put through its facings, and its " sayings" were much enjoyed by the audience, It was heard with to.erable distinctness all over tho Hall, the only failure with it was when a lively tune w;is played into it from a musical instalment. ihe phonograph, with a soul above music, mimicked it in a mournful, caterwauling tone which fetched the house. At the conclusion of the entertainment, a vfcry coidial vote of thanks was accorded to the iev lecturer, on the motion of Air F. 0. Moore, and was suitably responded to. The phonograph then wished Success to the Masterton Fire Lng.ide for whose benefit it appeared, and called upon the audience for the National Anthem.

The Post lias the following in reference to the late Mr Wagland, who was a well known inhabitant of Greytown for some time :■ -We regret to learn that Mr Phillip Wagland, who was formerly a member of the Wellington Police Force, but recently became an inmate of the Mount yiew Asylum in consequence of brain disease, died on • Monday niorniii", His mania frequently tonic the form of frequently refusing food altogether, and i hero is litlle doubt that he ultimately sank from the increasing debility, caused by his long periods of abstinence. The deceased was much'liked and respected. He was a member both oftheA.O.F, and Orange Society, both of which orders will doubl less be well represented at his funeral to-morrow, The deceased was unmarried. His life was insured in the Government oilice for £3OO. The policy wouid have lapsed three days ago but that Ins brother on ascertaining the fact paid the renewal premium. .»

<5. pitiful scene recently occurred at the Theatre. As Lucie was being performed, a violent 'hmiderstorm burst over the lum.se. The tenor was singing the air in (lie malediction scene, when Egardo, fell forward, struck down by lightning. He was immediately _ raised from the ground, and though alive was found to be paralysed in every limb. The performance Wiis, of course brought to an abrupt termination, the affair leaving a sad impression on the minds of the audience.

I he number " 17" appears to be as fatal to the Jjoiiapartist family, aa " 13," or a Good Friday to the ordinary run of mortals. Trincc Louis received 17 wounds from the Zulus; the name "Napoleon Bonaparte" consists of 17 letters. The additions of (he dates of the birth of his father and mother make up each 17 ligures, as do also the date of their marliago; fiiiui .lie latter till their deposiiou 17 years elapsed, and the Prince was 17 when his father died ; in Le Lieuenant Carey," there are 17 letters, and '.lie same number of figures in the date of [■ rincc Victor s birth, Finally " Victime les Zouliius," represents 17 letter,, as dso, "No Westminister Dust." The utter both a salutary and remarkable coneideiii".'

Dr Charles M. Gresson, of Philadelphia has invented it megascope, or instruirfent for detecting forgeries, The genuine and spurious signatures are put in the instrument, and the two are thrown on a screen before the jury and the story is told at once. The peculiar arrangement of the light and screen enables the examiner to discover the surface of the paper through the ink, so that patching o l ' shadin" or painting of letters becomes evident the instant it is brought under the focus of the megascope, iNew England has over 230 farmers' clubs, with 72,000 active members, and library books to the number of 21,000; and in the United States there are nearly 2,000 agricultural societies, with 58,0080 volumes in their libraries, and access to 360 different agricultural publications, all exerting a direct influence ,on the intelligence and future prospects of the tillers of the soil.

At a banquet given at Cologne, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Bismarck statue, 30,000 marks was collected for a statue of Count Von Moltko.

The prayer of the Norman might suit he spirit of our own time. It was " Kind leaven, I do not ask for wealth, only to ie placed within arm's length of some one r'lio has it,"

Humorists are not encouraged in China, When a parngraphist gets off a joke on a slant-eyed emperor, the alleged humorist lias his pigtail cut off. The loss of this hirsute appendage is bad enough, but when they amputate it without removing it from his head, it becomes painful, and the piiragraphist's propensity for joking is cured for eveiv The average small hoy's ambition is to I'o a trapper, a pirate, or a song and dance performer. "When I watli a hoy," lisped a vevv stupid society man to a young lady "all my ideath in life were thentered on being a clown."' 'Well, there is at least one case of ratified ambition,' was the sharp reply. " Is there ail opening here for an intellectual writer'/" asked a seedy, red-nosed individual of an editor, 11 Yes, my friend," replied the man of quills, " a considerate carpenter, foreseeing your visit, left an opening for you. Turn the knob to the right."

_ The rubbish which is being talked about the necessity of having a " yery superior person' as Mayor for the ensuing year, in case the Prince of Wales should come this way, reminds us. (puiiedin Star) of a little anecdote related concerning Her present Gracious Majesty, which indicates the regard of royalty for municipal authorities generally. The Queen has always been very particular about her carriage horses, and likes them to be spirited and fast. Soon after she came to ■ the throne and was in the zenith of popularity, a gentleman was being shown over the royal stables at Buckingham Palace, when lie noticed in the riding-school where the horses are exercised in bad weather, a curious effigy, clad in scarlet and fur bearing in its hand a rude imitation of a mace. _ The official who was conducting the visitor, explained that in the royal progresses, then very frequent, the yueen s carriage horses could stand almost anything but the sudden appearance of the mayors in their robes of office, and this device had been hit upon to accustom theni to the sight. All the horses were led by this dummy once or twice a day. o Her Majesty could smile sweetly upon the civic functionaries when they presented the keys and read interminable addresses, without the risk of the horses of her carriage playing any fantastic tricks.

Mr Benjamin Pepper, of Palmeraton. who has lately filed a declaration of insolvency, was on Thursday afternoon arrested by Constable Gillespie upon an information sworn to by Mr Piers Warburton, the official trustee. The crime alleged to have been committed (according to the Manawatu Times) is perjury, in swearing to the sale of a quantity of his stock to persons who are supposed to have no existence. Mr Pepper furnished the names of several debtors to whom he swore he had sold goods, but no trace whatever of the parties can be found, and the presumption is that his books were not only cooked, but that he committed pei juiy in swearing to their correctness, About an hour after his arrest lie was brought before the Resident Magistrate, and notwithstanding a strong effort by Mi Prior to porcure his discharge, he was remanded for a week. Bail was allowed, the accused in £SOO, and two sureties in £SOO each. Of course, such a large amount was tantamount to a refusal of bail, but, as the Bench pointed out, the charge was a most serious one, and if proved,"bringing with it a long term of imprisonment.

A rather amusing incident, says the Rangitikei Advocate, occural in Turakina a few days ago. A bullock was being driven to the slaughter-yard by the local butcher, when a lad on the roadside, who was not sufficiently active in getting out of the way, was lifted by the animal, its horns catching the seat of his trousers. Ihe butcher rushed up to see if the boy was injured, and 011 making enquiry the tearful reply was given, " Oh, no, I'm not hurt, but there is a pound-note in my pocket.' The pockets were at this time on the horns of the bullock, which was making futile efforts to shake off the encumbrance. Hearing what was the matter the butcher van his horse alongside the bullock, and tried to switch off the pockets fiom its horns with his whip, the scantilyclad boy following on foot. Finally the pockets and other fragments of the 'garment were got rid of, but unfortunately some keys and the pound-note had been shaken out before and could not be found, though the track taken by ihe beast was traced back. The scene of the boy's lament for his pound, with the greater portion of his nether garments on the bullock's horns, will not soon be forgotten by those who were present.