The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1882.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1004, 20 February 1882, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1882.

In our last issue we reported one or two criticisms on County engineering which emanated from members of the Masterton Debating Society, and which, though they would be very unlikely to mislead settlers in this district, might possibly prejudice the minds of outsiders. If there is one point more than another which the Wairarapa Couuties can regard with pride it is then; engineering' and their engineer, During the past ten years Mr King has served the Masterton Highway Board, the Wairarapa West County, the Wairarapa East County, and indirectly the Government. He has had many masters, some of whom have been hard' headed men, quite capable of assessing the value of the work done, and it is no exaggeration to say that he has won golden opinions from all of them, We doubt whether throughout the North and Middle Islands there has.been a County Engineer who has been as successful in his undertakings as Mr Kino. There are few old residents in our country districts who have not had some experience of both bad and good engineering, and with the exception of one or two unfortunate settlers who labor under the delusion that they alone, by some special dispensation of Providence, understand engineering questions, there is a very flattering consensus of approval in the Wairarapa on the services of the County Engineer. The objections which have been raised against him by hostile critics are very' frivolous. First there is what has been termed the wasp-waisted bridge over the Waipoua. The County, for financial reasons, decided to build a narrow [structure at this spot, and as far as we can judge it is likely to answer the purpose for which it was designed for the next twenty years, nor do we believe that anyone can point to a stronger, compacter, or more skilfully constructed bridge in the provincial district, The other point on which Mc::'KiNG:.,was attacked was with i'fefefeice to some protective works at Hurunuiorangi, which were damaged by floods, Now; it so happens that •these workß were constructed against the advice of the County Engineer, so

that their untimely ;fate merely ,qon"firmecl Ms judgment '■■ of their value. The Hurunuiorangi is the Bcene of one,, of Mr King's triumphs. The Public Works Office. undertook to build the. bridge there, but threw up the job on the ground that the money available would not doi'the: work.' Mr King',' however, said the bridge could be built for the money, and eventually the Public Works Office permitted him to do the work which its own engineers could not accomplish. In scores of instances Mr King has had to work in competition as it were with Government Engineers. Through the perishing of the material used in the bridges in the Forty Mile .Bush, they have had in almost innumerable instances to be replaced, and Mr King, who was entrusted with this business, has, it is well known, saved on many of them forty, fifty, and sixty per cent, of the cost of the' Government engineering. The Wairurapa has good; reason to be proud of its County Engineer/ He is essentially a self-made man, one who by genius and industry has taken rank with a host of other men who have had a professional training, In this and neighboring districts there' are to our knowledge many capable ongineers who are doing good work, and it is not our wish to disparage their attainments. It is all-the more to Mr King's credit that'in a field where there are many skilled competitors he has held his own with such marked success. We are not sorry to see his work criticised, because adverse comments are in this instance likely to call attention to the valuable services which he has rendered. It often'happens that the blessing of a capable public officer are not appreciated till his performances are challenged, A time will, we feel sure, come when,, the benefits of Mr King's labors in this district .will be acknowledged fasthey deserve to be. Perhaps that time would have arrived before now were it not that he is himself singularly modest and reticent about his own work.

An unusual interest is being taken in the election of a warden for No, 2 Wavd of the Masterton Highway district. This particular ward is rather too largo for any one man to do justice to it. It includes the Taueru and Rangitumau districts on tlie one hand and the Upper Plain district on the other. The first division puts forward Mr Stuekey, and tho. second Mi; R. Dagg. The result will probably be determined by the fact that the' more settled part of the ward has the greater voting power. Our sympathies go very much with tho outlying portions of the district which have brought forward in the person of Mr Stuekey, a very capable candidate, but the Upper Plain residents have of course a perfect right to protect the interests of their neighborhood. It is obviously difficult to find any one man who will be generally accepted as an eligible representative on both sides of the ward, and the sooner the proposed readjustment of its boundaries takes place the better.

It is expected that the Native Land Court will be held at Masterton and Greytown in April next. Sheep Inspector Richardson of the Wellington district has been transferred to Wanganui. To-morrow at 2 p.m. Messrs Lowes & lornssell the.'furniture and effects' of Captain Ruck at his residence Columba Eoad.

Mr F. H. Wood invites tenders from persons willing to run a passenger and parcels break between Greytown and the Lower Valley,

The stockyard of Mr John Grove Junr. at Tenui has beeD appointed a public pound by the Wairarapa East County, and it is notified that Mr Groves Junr. is the poundkeeper for it, The Secretary of the Masterton Hospital acknowledges the receipt of £1 13s, being the unexpended balance of the sum raised to celebrate the completion of. Mr W. G. Beard's resideuce by Mr E. Wrigley's employees, Also a welcome parcel of old linen from Mrs C. P. Skipper. The following postal appointments are gazetted :-H. Wilton, Bideford; 0. H. Osborne, Droyertown; E, Fildesley, Gladstone; W. R, Spain, Maryborough; J. W. Baker, Ohongaj and James Simpson, Whakataki. Messrs Lowes and lorns had a good attendance at their rooms on Saturday last, the competition for drapery and fancy goods being keen, and for fruit, bacon, etc., good prices were obtained.

Purchasers of store cattle should not lose sight of the sale of 35 head at the Pastoral Association yards to-morrow at 11,30 am. It is a compulsory sale, and consequently unreserved, Lowes and lorns are the auctioneers.

On Saturday last the question of the exterior boundaries of the Masterton Highway district was settled by the Board. This" having been definitely, arranged the rectification of its interior divisions will be considered at a future meeting, The certificates of award gained by Masterton exhibitors at the late Melbourne Exhibition have come to hand, Mr Job Vile is the recipient of four of them; a second one for grass seed, a second for oats, a third for flour, and a fourth for wheat, Mr E, Arnold has alao obtained a third one for basket-ware. These certificates are masterpieces in lithographic enterprise, and will no doubt be deemedi worthy of frames by the holders of them. The Committee appointed to draw utp 1 a programme for the proposed aquatic soorts met at the Empire Hotel on Saturday and arranged the following:— '■The privileges of the Wairara™ookey Club Autumn meeting were sold by auction by Messrs F, H.,Wood &Co on Saturday last. There was a large number of bidders present, who, at times made things pretty lively, Masterton, Carterton, and Featherston being well represented, No.. 1-Publican's booth, was bought by Mr Hodder for £23; No. 2, Mr Gallagher, £27; Grand Stand Bar, and Lunoheon Room, Mr White, £l2 12s; No. 1 Refreshment, Mr Barratt, £slos; Nc. 2, Mr White, £7. The gates were' started at £BO, and were quickly run up, Mr C. Giles being the purchaser at' £IBO. Mr Baylies bought the cards, £lO 10s, and Mr Sayer the h6rse yards;'i!B.* The fancy stall, and and fruit stall were purchased by Mr Sfoskiat £2lss, and £2 5s respectively. The total amount the sale realised was £223125,

''l'Tlie Wenin'gtpn Education Board meets ' ''•'■ .t- ; of Masterton, is taking a trip home to England. .:. Earmers'Jiayo'placed-oats at 2s 6d and .wheat at 4s 3d in Maaterton during the past week. ■. \-

to the rales of the Masterton Fermament Investment and Building Sboiety are published in another column,

Mr A, Bradford, gunsmith, of Masterton, announces through our columns the receipt of thirty new breechloaders ex Euterpe, from London. The Greytown Volunteers parade for their usual weekly drill to-morrow evening. As 6ome important business is likely to be brought forward, a large muster is expected. The Eifle matoh between the Officers and Privates of the Greytown Volunteers came off on Saturday, and resulted in a win for the latter by 9 points, The following are the scores, five shots at eaoh range, 300,400, and 500 :-Officars -Oapt. Tully, 29; Lieut. Cameron, 36; Sergt, Maguire, 25; Sergt. Loasby, 27; Sergt. Webster, 38; Sergt. Hamilton, 27; Oorpl.Kompton,47. Total 229. Privates -H, Udy, 42; H. Hawke, 19; Ryan, 30; G, Saywell, 47; Sayer, 42; Richards, 32 ; Hebley,2G. Total 238. On Saturday morning as Mr J. Baillie of Greytown was proceeding along the Papawai Road on horseback, the animal shied at an old cart by the road side, and bolted; being unable to recover command of the horse. Mr Baillie was thrown off,' falling heavily on his Bhoulder, breaking bis collar bone, and bruising his head. l)r Bey attended the sufferer who will be some time before he recovers from the I accident.

A special meeting of members of the Masterton Permanent and Investment and Building Society is convened for Wednes. day eveiiihg March lßt, .at .8 .o'clock, to consider a proposal to apply for a certificate of incorporation under the "Building Societies Act,11880." ..." A-friend" has kindly offered the following special prizes for the Horticultural'Show:—For the best tri-color geraniums 10s; beßt ivy-leaf ditto, 10s; 12 best desert 'apples, 10s; 6 best apples in the room, 10s. The competition to be for amateurs only. Mr 6; Beetham, M.H.R., and member of the Jjduoatibn Board visited the Masterton Public.School this morning in company with Mr Boddington, the Chairman of the Committee. He expressed himself very much pleased with the general arrangements of the new building and the intelligence and discipline of the pupils. Twenty new, names were placed on the sohool register to-day. Special attention is called to Eapp and Hare'e price list, which will be. found on our front page! For clothing, boots, ironmongery and grocery, thoy will be found the cheapes. and best house in the trade.—To FarmersJust arrived, Harvesting Gloves j 1,000 Corn Sacks, equal to new, at 7s 6d per dozen,-[Advt.'J Carterton v Masterton.—As a proof of who are the cheapest storekeepers in the Wairarapa we wish to draw our readers' special attention to B, A. Gardener & Son's advertisement on our. front page. This firm is determined to keep up their reputation. From the time of their commencing business in Carterton they have repeatedly proved that they can withstand competition, no matter how strong. It is therefore ridiculous for another storekeeper from a neighboring township to post price lists to their customers and pretend to sell at wholesale prices, when for the smallest quantities B, A. Gardener & Son supply goods in almost every instauce 10 to IS per .cent cheaper, and in large quantities stilt" farther conceo sions are made,—/Advt.