The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1891.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3729, 6 February 1891, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1891.

FIRST EPITION.

Th£ royal road to fortune lies, as far as Alfredton is concerned, in its maiji road. To improve the condition of thai is to sound tfjp key-note of prosperity, for until it is done the settlers will suffer and investors will fight shy of an inaccessable district, for land-locked it practically is, very often indeed. The Alfredton end of the road is the worse half, particularly that part at and adjacent to the Swamp Flat. Tfye Eketahuna portion is metalled to a greater extent, and ie more regociable. It is now soon to be decided whether the definite step of metalling the entire Alfredton half shall be at once carried out, and a vote 0$ the subject of a loan for the purpose is to ; be ta{;en this month. Last year a similar proposal was only lost by a few votes, and it would not have been then, but [of the carelessness of some of those wbo even wepe favorable to the improvement but would not take, the trouble to attend the ballot. A gogd road would immediately increase tti6 yaljjp of Alfredton properties by tar more t&aß jwcuJjil be spent in obtaining that medium of communication. To provide it wonld shoyt.hst the landowners bad confidence in themselves and in their district, nor could it be held forth as a reproach and a sign of inanity that one of the oldest settlements in these parts had not the enterprise to make itself a cUcept road. At present to go to Alfredton at certain periods of the year is practically to cut oneself off from the rest of the world. Is property Jikfity t.o increase i.n value witbsuch a handicap aa this ? That the settlers will rally themselves thiß time we [eel sure, and we hope the proposed Joan for road improvemeiu ® ur P o6ee carwd by an

overwhelming v ote. . It has been said that one reaso.? the delay in action is that some prefer a road which will be a more direct route to Masterton, one for instance, to branch off and come out at Mangamahoe. This is right enough in Ub way, but the track to Eketahnna will always be a highway for traffic to an extent which will justify its proper completion, and will far more than render its existence in a state of cfligiency absolutely

requisite. Apart from anything else, the future Bush traffic will always go that way, and persons or commodities, destined for or from the Hawke's Bay district, and the thriving and increasing township 3 en route, will certainly find access and exit to the rail at Eketahuna, and not at Mangamahoe. In any case, no time should be lost in taking a step which will give Alfred- j ton land the higher marketable value it will have when it is rendered attractive to outside investors, and more profitable to its present owners, by an adequate road connection, and the road to Eketahuna ia distinctly the one which can, within a reasonable time, be made to afford this facility. An entirely new road in »ny other direction would be a costly departure, and it would be seme time before such a road could be brought even to the very haphazard and worse than medium condition of the present Alfredton road.

The second instalment of the property tax is now due, and ten per cent will be charged on all amounts not paid before the 18tli inst. Tenders are invited by the Eketahuna Road Board for formation and met 1liug. The Government have asked Sir Harry Atkinson to act as one of the New Zealand representatives to the Federal Convention, but he has not yet made up his mindMr R. Judd had his ankle sprained on Tuesday in jumping from a cart at the Carterton railway station. M. de Mey, the drill instructor to the Wellmpton Education Board, was at the Maaterton school to-day, and proceeds through the Bush next week. A pawn Bhop, .vhich is a Bign of the , most modern civilisation, is about to be opened at Danevirke. We are requested to state that General Eooth's new book, "In Darkest England and the Way Out," may be procured at the stationery depot of Mr E. T. Holmes. Five tenders have been received for the new Town Hall at Gladstone. The successful tenderer has not yet been notified. The building is to be 28 xBO feet, and will include a lean-to, stage, and dressing rooms. We understand that Mr W. Kibblewhite, who has been for several years a settler of Pahiatua, intends selling his property in that place, and removing to a warmer clime. It is reported that the Hon Mr Wigley's seat in the Legislative Council has become vacant, owing to his having absented himself tor two sessions without leave. Owing to the absence of Captain Pownall and other officers, the usual weekly parade of the Masterton Rifle Volunteers was not held last evening. The Natives, it is said, keep their nets regularly set at the junction of the Rlanawatu and Tiraumea rivers. Efforts should be made by the Acclimatization Society to put a stop to such wholesale poaching. We understand that Serjeant Price, who has been twenty-five years in the police force without a holiday, has beei: unsuccessful in his efforts to secure six months 1 leave of absence in which to visit his friends tn the eld country. A settler from the Wairarapa named Richard Lee was committed to the Wellington Lunatic Asylum on Wednesday. Tho poor fellow is suffering from religious mania. He avers that the millenium is at hand, and imagines that already he is flying through space.

The following programme will, weather permitting, be rendered by Pearson's Brass Band in the Masterton Park on Sunday next, commencing at 2,30. pan,: Qi'ick March, "Westminster" (3, Clement) ; selection, "Excelsior." (Herr von ,der Mehden) ; slow inarch, "Elephant," (Mehden) ; Fan tasia, "Columbia," (Mehden); overture •Orpheus," (J. E. Villiera) ; Quick, March, "Knvies and Forks," (l.Hickton) selection, "Evening Revels," (J. Richards) ; quick march, "Drifting with the tide," (.T. T. Jones); God Save the Queen.

There is now on view in the window of Mr W. Whitt's furniture warehouse, a handsome suite of dining-room furniture t>f medieval style. The suite is composed of nine pieces, each of polished rimu, covered with maroon utrich velvet, and the workmanship exhibited in the whole is a credit to the firm. \Y e understand that Mr Whitt has also in hand a bedroom guile, to the order of a settler on the Eaßt Coast. This suite will be in Queen Anne style, of rimu, and inlaid with totara knot.

The confession by Hansen of the murder of the man Duncker, at Peak Hil', has been made public. Hansen states that he wsb unable to refrain from speaking any longer, as he was haunted by the memory of his victim. He Bays that he and Duncker had a quarrel at the scene of the murder over the up« setting of a billy-can, which Hansen put on the fire for tea. Duncker's rage became ungovernable, and he fired three shots out of a revolver, but without effeot. The spirit of self- preservation seized Hansen, who killed him with a tomahawk. A man in the Midlands married a wife, who, in course time, presented him with eighteen children. One even* ing he found in a street near to that in which he lived, a lit f .le boy of five or six weeping bitterly. "What's the matter with the little man, —eh ?" asked he, caressing him. "I have lost my way I" sobbed the youngster. " Then come home with me, and I'll give you something to eat and t(ikp care pf you,'' Accordingly the kind hearted man took the little fellow home, and said to his wife, " Bee wife—l have brought you this child that I found all alone in the street. One more or less won't make much difference; and, if nobody claims him, we will treat him as if he were our own." " Why, you stupid," exclaimed the wife, " don't you know Jiim 5 It's our Willy."

The old Latin phrase which Cowper rendered in a hymn—"And all my treasure with me bear'" -might have been the motto of the elderly lady who haled before the magistrate at Hampstead Police Court 011 November There was something so bulky beneath her dress as to attract the attention of the police, and m consequence of their suspicions she was arrested. When searched it was found that she was conveying »J1 fygr earthly belongings, and that these tncll}ded a spirit gavoral bottles of water, a tin saucepan, a bottle of methylated spirits, some candles, a few boxes of pills, a number of articles of superfluous clothing, volumes of religious books, ai)d finally £ls in gold. It ieemed from the landlady's that the poor old lady never went out j without taking these possessions with her. She was remauded for farther iivjififl.es-

A Monster Clearing Sale of Dpappry and "Dlothing will be held during the next few days at L. J. Hooper and Cos' Bon Marche. Every article in the wareh-iuse will be offered at greatly r«dlfC£4 prioes. The Sale will commence on Saturday jiiorning, January 31st, at 8 o'clpck. & tremendous sacrifico of DreßS Goods, Milliuery, Ladies' Jafilfetv, Mantles, Corsets, Straw Gcods, flosieiy an 4 (jrjoyea, Umbrellas and f arasolPi etc etc. will be made to make room for Fresh Shipments tp arrive. So be ready for bargains ill every department at Hooper's Monster commencing Saturday jjiojrning, i ; ai 8 o'clock, January ' The Clothing Stock at Hooper o . Marche will be Sold at Nefct Cost during the Great Sale, MenB 1 , Boys' and Chi'.drens' Clothing, Hats, Shirts, Seek* Ties, etc, at exceptionally low prices. We shall sell, and those that patronize the Bon Marche Monster Clearing Sale will reap the benefit of our being overstocked. Hooper and Co, Bon Marche.—aiiyt.