TE AWAMUTU.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2233, 30 October 1886, Page 3

TE AWAMUTU.

DritlNf. tho heavy thundeistoi m lo>t week one of Mr Taylors fat bullocks was shuck by lii*htnm<T n\\<\ killed uu-Uutly. So mark of any kind could be seen till aftor the hide was removed, when the coniso of thes-tioko \\\ts plainly seen. It appeared to have otrnck the shoulder, run along the luck, ciossed the tvdy nt the buttock, an-l down the onpoMte lfjT, the l|.>sh bem.,' badly bruised, but only on the line dom-nbed, the remainder of the evea^e being qi-ito uninimed.

omr.n atpacki:!) by v. rKunrr. A few v\oeks ago one ot Mr Mckn.der\ childien, an infant of mv <>i «- i«i»t wetk-, was attwked by a tenet It app^ .ti -. that one of the boys sent one of his brothei-, a littlu fellow, to got, tho tenet to put in a rabbit hole. The child in>toid of biiugiu',' it opened tlie dooi of tho cage, and let it out. The dooi of tlie room m winch the baby Uy was open, and the f«;nct went in and, fastened i.mnedi.itHy on the child 1 -, hand, which was ham ing o\er the side of thft cradle. The mother, who \v\s in another room, ran in on hewing the little one's ciie-s, but so tirin a holn had the ferret that bhe h.id to choke it to make it let go. Tho baby's hand was tenibly bitten, and tie thumb nail came off in a short tune. For thiee days tho child suffered great pain, and it was three weeks before the swelling left the hand and aim. The vicious little brute that bit it was of course killed on the spot. This should lie a warning to those who keep such nnunals to keep them securely fastened up, and never allow them t» get out of tho cage. Had the child's hand not been exposed it would have fastened upon its face or neck, and would, to a certainty, have seiiou»ly disfigured it, if not have severed the jugular before assistance, armed. When wo consider that stouts ami weasels have an equal capacity for mischief we can imagine what 9 delightful thing it would be to have them turned loose to work their own sweet wills. What n capacity for business* the railway depait-nont display. .Special trains weic asked for for the forthcoming '<poits, but unless the committee would giuianleo Ll~ for one fiom Auckland, it would not be granted. Tt is needless to say the committee could not see the fun of auicMiig to the very mode rate demand. If tne entoiprisingdepaitment wou'd ngreo to give all over a certain sum to the committee, tlieie would be some se-u-e m the demand. But no! They want to inaki thenHcl.e-* peifectly secure, and I>t olhois take all the risk. Did it never occur to the. -on jiilnrly obtuse mind of the tfreat (?) Air Maxwell that on every occasion exclusion ttains were run, whether it was holiday tuna or not, the carriages were crowded, because the fares were greatly ivdiued. It would not do, however, to have too many cheap excursions, as it would practically demonstrate the fallacy of the idea that fares must be kept up if the railways, are to pay even working expenses, this being one of Mr Maxwells pet ideas, and well woi thy of the intellectual brain that gave it birth. If a business man wants to extend his trade, he must be prepared to tak*' aceitaui amount of risk, and "a" a rule does takeit, because by so doing he sees a chance of increasing his revenue, but it i-> not so with the railway depainnent, they do not intend to take the slightest li.-k, they expect the public to travel but do not meet or try to meet them half way. In this case the most that could be got was aspecial from Frank ton junction and Sifcurday return fares from any station to To Awamutu. If the oftici^U who are bungling our railways were only translated lo " that better land" few would envy them, and fewer still would envy the land which had the misfoitune of their pve-ence. A more inconvenient and unprofitable system of running- trains than the piesent could scarcely be imagined. If the night tram were required (which is mare than doubtful) it should be run on t-j the terminus. Many a pound is lost to the Department in the course of the year on that account, for people on this side of Frankton would often go dow n *he line if they could be sure of being able to return the same evening. Thi?, however, is a very small matter. The chief inconvenience lies in the fact that the goods train runs in the morning instead of the evening, and persons tiavelling to Auckland must cither submit t.> a d.cary vide of eight hour-, by the morning tmin or got i,. town abo.it bed time at night. — (Own Correspondent.)