NEW PLYMOUTH

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 2081, 29 August 1885, Page 2

NEW PLYMOUTH

, [From Our Own Cokhespontent.] A'vsry heavy thunderstorm passed oyer this town last Sunday morning. For about two hours it raged with unabating .violence. The lightning was very vivid,, arid immediately followed by terrific .thunder-claps, No damage was done by 'the. lightning in town, but I hear'that in one of the outdistricts }t struck a lart;o pine tree by the road-side, shivering it to atoms, pieces of the shattered pine being carried to as great a distance as eighty yards. In the adjourned case of the Maori,' Hemi Haera, charged . with stealing a watch and ohain, and issuing valueless, cheques, after taking considerable evidence, he was committed by the R. M. to the District Court for sentence; The criminal sittings of the Court come on about, the 3rd of September next.

I understand that work will not be commenced at the breakwater this year until about the middle of September. This is'somewhat later than is .usual to commence operations. The delay is caused through the Board running short of cement, : and of being unable to fill the.j block-yard with ,a' requisite number of blocks. About 300 is the number required so as to allow them to become well seasoned before being taken into use.: •' The polling for the office of Mayor, and the, election of two. councillors for the central ward of the Borough', passed 'off very quietly last Saturday, Just before the declaration of the pollthe interest seemed to deepen a little, but during the forenoon very slight difference was noticeable from an ordinary market day. The vacancies were caused by the recent dispute in the Council on the question of amalgamating the Licensing" Wards, : However, Mr Paul stood for re-election, at the request of a number of burgesses; as also did one of the retiring councillors, The Mayoral seat was contested by Mr J, M. Gibbes,and resulted in a tie, both candidates polling 125 votes. The Returning Officer, however, gave his casting vote in favor of Mr Paul. . For the two vacan- ■ cies in the Council there were there candidates, Messrs Cottier, Corville and Collis. The number of votes polled were as follows Cottier, MO; Corville, 111; Collis, 70. Messrs Cottier and Corville were then declared elected. There wore but two informal votes for the Mayoralty, and none in the other. It is reported that the Auckland Artillery Band, which is to take part in the band contest at the Wellington Exhibition, proposes to give a concert here on its way down. Several local amateurs will assist. About the 15th September is the dato mentioned. A serious fire occurred at Stratford on Tuesday, by which a woman and three children narrowly escaped being burnt' to death. It appears that about 3 o'clock on Tuesday morning a Mrs Saville, occupying a punga built cottage, on the Government reserve near Stratford, was awakened by her eldest son, and informed that the house was on fire. The other children were aroused, but* in the con-, fusion of getting out of the burning building it was discovered that one child, the youngest, had been left behind, The mother at once rushed back into the flames, and succeeded in rescuing her child, and getting out just before the building fell in, Mrs Saville was badly burned, and her little son also received serious injuries. Mr Saville, who is a carpenter, was away from home at the time. He.loses everything by the fire, and the family are in an almost destitute condition. A subscription will doubtless be raised by the puplic to afford the unfortunates some little relief, A team of footballers has been organised here,, for the purpose of visiting Wellington. The team is a thoroughly representative one, comprising members of all the Clubs in the district. They will probably leave for tho Empire City about the 29th inst. It is understood they are to play two matches—one with Wellington, and the other with a Hawke's Bay team, which will also be in Wellington. The local men should prove no mean antagonists.

The building of premises for the Opunake Dairy Company, is proceeding rapidly. Tho necessary plant has arrived in Auckland, and the company contemplate making a start about tho Ist October,

Writing upon the disturbed state 0/ the Natives on this Coast, the Opunake correspondent of the Herald says:—"The latest.act'of a paternal Government to assist in quelling the native difficulty is seen in the arrival in the district of four beautifully finished fowling-pieces, which it is intended to present to as many natives of note, Truly the millennial must be rapidly approaching, whenwe raise A.C.'b and'hand the Maoris the weapons to shoot them. It is aaid these arms are now at Pungarehu, though why they are not presented doeß not transpire. Wi Kingi is said to have refused to accept his gun, because he asked for twenty, and so small a fraction of the number would be no good." If there is any truth in this, it is certainly a most peculiar policy for the Government to adopt. Only a short time since natives were prohibited from purchasing either arms or ammunition, and nowtheyareßupplied adlib, Thatthere is a screw loose somewhere is pretty evident.

A public ball, under the auspices of the New Plymouth Philharmonic Society, to wind up the season, is talked of. The subject will be brought under the dig- 1 cussion of the society at the next meeting.

Mr Wm. Courtney, who is about to make a second trip to England, with a view of inducing small farmers to emigrate to tho colony, holds a meeting in the hall on Thursday. The meeting is expected to be of an interesting character, and I will give details in my next letter.

A co-operative aasooiation in about to be formed here. It is largely supported by farmers, and bids fair to turn out a success.