The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 1887. THE STEAM FIRE ENGINE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2556, 24 March 1887, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 1887. THE STEAM FIRE ENGINE.

;At last' the Borough. Council of Masterton has succeeded in making arrangements for securing a Steam Fire Engine, and though the manner in which the Council propose to pay i for this acquisition is open to criticism, it may be excused on the ground, that it is pretty much a case of Hobson's choice. We want a Steam -Fire Engine in Masterton because when we have to maintain Fire Brigades, it is more economical to have them fully equipped to cope with the fires that.inay from time to time break out, than to retain them in their present unsatisfactory condition, The main objection to the new engine appears to be that the cost of it should fall on the general rates of the Borough, The councillors who more ; directly represent the suburban parts of the town are indignant at the.idea of having to contribute a quota towards the expense of the engine, and wTiile we admit that they have good ground' for objecting to being saddled with a fraction of its cost, we canndt : . help thinking that the" country settlers in the Borough are being hoist with their own. petard. When Mr Renall' quartered the Borough, he professed to adopt his singular, and almost inexplicable method of warding, in order to put tho Buburban ratepayers on abetter footing. Had the- borough '.BW divided, as was originally proposed/ into two town and. one j suburban, wards, the. steam fire engine would have.met with no opposition on the part of country settlers, because%.cbat,.as a matter of .course, would havoibeen debited to the town wards. The unwise division. of the borough is beginning now to bear its natural fruit. It may be said, in the present instance, that a speoiat: rate might be struck over a special area to provide for the engine, but it would be absurd and inconvenient when •.•an engine, a watercart, or a wheelbarrow is wanted, in, the town to create .a special'ralte hi order to obtain it. Multiplying rates in tlie town means tying up all progress with red tape. 'We have already a general rate and a : library rate, and before the year is out we shall have'a gas 'rate. It is better to saddle the general"-rate, with the hewUsteam cfire ■ engine), than to. begin with special rates, Astajj as the town remains divided ; on Mr Benall's ourious plan, .there, will be friction between town and .'country councillors, unless the latter, whqconstitute the minority, discern that their best policy • will.be notto obstruct any improvement' thai - tHe majority may

favor, but be satisfied with' insisting upon a fair proportion of the borough revenue being expended upon outlying roads. M.H.IL telegraphs to the' Auckland papers:that the special 'settlers at.Herekine are dissatisfied with,|the- Government apt fulfilling theij.-'promiaea made. ' Some are in waijt;Of food, and have not tasted meat for a; week, and many will certainly •stafyenf -inmrediate relief is not' forth- ' truth'of the.-fltatement, and" says the :grayity of the. position cannot be exaggerated.' This,is a .striking illustration of.the'truth of the contention of many experienced colonists that Mr Ballance has been over sanguine ni expecting mon without resources to make progress -in special settlements. •/;■'•• _ Is the case of James v Hughes heard in „ the District Court yesterday, a verdict .was returned by the jury apparently, in,, the teeth of the evidence, and of the • Judges rulling. Apart from the interests of the persons engaged in this particular case, it is to beregetted th&Uny doubt should arise as to the' 1 legal position of parsons lighting bush fires. It was anticipated by manydutaidora in the case to which' we refer, that the jury would prove sympathetic with the plaintiff,; and it. is evident that a small jury of four persons, practically becomes a farce if there happens to be upon it one or two people likely to be. swayed by sentiment, We do not pretend * to" assert that any jurors yesterday were biassed more by their feelings than by their judgment, but the.' mere probability of their being so affected, tends to destroy public confidenpe in the administration of the law, The enquiry into the legality of the recent Castle point Licensing Committee election will take place in the .Masterton •R.M. Court to-morrow before Mr Yon Sturmer,. R,M. Mr A. R. ISicholl has a contract for renovating St. Matthews Church Masterton and the work it now being carried out, It lias been decided to play the cricket Masterton v Opaki on the Park oval on Saturday next, Messrs Lowes and lorns announce their next Btock sale for Wednesday next. Their entries appear in our advertising columns. Mr Jas. S. Langdon wag duly nominated as a member of the Cashpoint Road Board on Saturday last, and as thero was only the one candidate, he was declared elected member for Ho. 2 subdivision in pla"ce of Mr John Cross resigned. Mr Booth accountant of the Masterton branch of tho Bank of Australasia, has been appointed manager to the Featherstonajjenoy. MrR, Hirscliberg will be the temporary relieving officer in the Masterton Bank. In the; Wellington R.M. Court yestor-' day, Mr Wardell committed a. neglected child namod Robert Cameron Neville to the Nelson Industrial .School.-'' The little fellow, whois five years bldi'wa's said to be illegitimate.' .His mother .died on Tuesday, and his paternity had never been fixed, an attempt made by the mother to put tho .responsibility on one man having failed," ' . ~,,-. ■ Mr Ellis Newton, the King of salesmen, held a levee in the Drilkh'ed last evoning, and again surprised his audience by the rapid manner in which hd converted his wares into cash. ■;/. We draw attention to an addition to' Messrs Jas. Brown and Co/s auction notice for Saturday next. They will offer for sale the whole of Mr Mulligan's (of Wellington), extensive stockof gold and silver English watches chronographs, Alberts, brooches, &c, and one superior 15 day, 18 carat gold duplex watch.. Messrs Lowes and iorns report that at their weekly stock sale yesterday they yarded 3000 sheep, 70 head cattle, 40 pigs, horaeß, etc, and with the exception of a few store cattle, every line sold under the hammer' Tho figures, though very low, were, if anything, a trifle in advance of previous rates. Heavy fat cows made L 4 Gs; store cows, 30s to 455; dairy cows, L 3 to L4los; store steers, 45s to 70s; yearlings,,%; calves, 13s; fat wethers, medium weightß, 5s (id to 5s 9d; fat ewes, 4s to 4s 9d j iat lambs', 4s to ss; store wethers, 3s' ; to 5s Id; good breeding owes, 3s 3d to 4s; ordinary owes, 2s to 2s Cd; old culls, Is to Is Cd; lambs, 2s to 3s 2d ; small pigs, 5s to 5s 6d; hack horses, for useful sort's L 8 to LlO. The ,noxt stock sale will be held on tho 30th insfc.

The disciples of the Chelsea sage say i that-Carlyle's devotion towards his wife i was intense; the sceptics believe that it ! was all moonshine. According to Carlyle t himself, from a letter of his that is to be |. sold at Christie's it would appear that he had Mb doubts about women, He says: —•'The hearts of women, dear little creatures, are by nature exaggerative; i many is the Bristol diamond, or poor , Scotch pebble, that has been taken for a ; true stone of price."—World, i An influential deputation waited on the I Minister of Public ..Works on Tuesday i last, at Woodville, re tho maintenance of ! the Gorge Road. The answer given by ■ Mr Richardson was in terms of the tele- : gram we published a few days ago, he at 1 the same time intimating in answer to Mr McOardle that .the North Wairarapa County wanted the whole tolls and only to retain part of the road. He : was sure any practical proposal would be acceded to by tho Government, Additional tolls would be required to bring tho revenue up to L4oo' a year, and the matter could be easily settled. James O'Shea, grain merchant, was brought up at the Resident Magistrate's ■Court, Wellington,.yesterday, before Mr .Wardell, charged with having on the Bth November, 1880, with intent to cheat and unlawfully defraud, knowingly by false pretences fraudulently caused and induced David Robertson to make « certain promissory note for payment to the said James O'Shea for his order of L 76 l?s 6d payable four months thereafter, in order that the same might be afterwards dealt with as valuable security. . Mr Jellicoe conducted the prosecution, and' Messrs' E. Shaw, and . Devine appeared for.. the defence. After hearing the Evidence of William Robertson, olerk, and Charles Thomas Oallis, bill clerk in the Bank of Australia the aocused was remanded until Saturday morning at 10 o'clock, Bail was fixed at • one surety of MOO and Mr : William Mitchell of the Wairarapa gave the requisite bond. About thai ±,'3b to be oivar'AtfAY.— To the Editor—Sir, Will you allow me through your columns to let the peoploof the Wairarapa know that I am going to sell all my stock, consisting of men's, youth's, and boys'clothing, shirts, hats, hosiery, &c„ at a great reduction in prices up till- the end of the'year; and v also to remind them that every one who buys goods to the value of 2s 6d gets a ticket' in my £35 competition. Think of that I By spending 2p '6d with mo, you may win money, enough to carry you for a trip round New Zealand'.—John THOBBtritN, Clothier, &e„ Willis Bt,iWe%toa. •■,

One pound reward -is offered; for the recovory of a pocket book lost. ii\. Queen-; Street V-':^':/ The secretary of the Southern Rugby; Union (New South Wides).has; written to the Auckland Union.inviting a New Zealand team'to visit Sydney on 1 the came terms as before. / ■'■■ C /;:, : i,v'! , . Smooth won the Maiden-, Racoyestor-i----day,at Nelson and'was,second for. the ; Railway Plate, Spado Guinea-won trie Cup, with Rumor second, Clyde third, Freebooter was third for the Hurdle 'RAce,'which,wa»'woirbyAE«t6r-08bt«k,'? ■- The shipping.case ; Shaw, Albion Company versus the Tirnaruß.arbor Supreme Court for'ten'daysV concluded last evening, with a ;verdiet for pkiuiiflV for £31,79216s 8d and costs. •Mr J. lorns appeared beforo His Honor. Judge Davy, this morning to .apologize, for hib absence as. a juror yesterday, and to state his reason why th'e fine should be struck out. His Honor promised to give the matter his consideration. Messrs Lowes and lorns announce ah extensive sale of Mr Komstedt's furniture and effects for Saturday next, His list is a most extensive one, erribracin» all the useful household furniture and lundriea, and'in couaequence of Mr Komstedt's. departure for Europe, every line will be. sold without reserve, ;