The Bruce Herald. " Nemo me impune lacesset." TOKOMAIRIRO, JUNE 15, 1886.

Bruce Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 1758, 15 June 1886, Page 2

The Bruce Herald. " Nemo me impune lacesset." TOKOMAIRIRO, JUNE 15, 1886.

The amended reprint of the Municipal Corporations Act, as passed by the Legislative Council of last session, has just reached us. The Bill has been partially through Committee this year, but is not finally disposed of. There is one part relating to the Prevention of Eires which is worthy of especial attention in Milton just now. We presume that the recent conflagration is not quite forgotten, nor will it be forgotten that we were then once more reminded that there are absolutely no means provided for coping with an outbreak of fire in the Borough. Under the old Act power was given to to Councils to appoint Fire Inspctors, with general power to superintend operations in case of fires,' and to command the aid of the police in clearing away any person or crowd who may prove obstructive. But in the new Act. there is a clause em- | powering Borough Councils to accept the services of Volunteers as Eire • Police, whose duty it shall be to carry

out any instructions given by the Inspector in command, or any other person duly authorised by him. The members of such Eire Police are to be enrolled and sworn in, and their services accepted for one year from the date of such enrolment. Here it will be seen is ample provision made for the establishment of Eire Brigades in the smallest Borough. We trust that advantage thereof will be taken by the , Milton Council at the earliest opportunity. A half a dozen men or so, organised, under the leadership of a man with recognised authority would be of more avail in case of necessity than if all the able-bodied men in the Borough could be drafted to the scene of a conflagration at a minute's notice. There is no argument needed to prove the importance of such a brigade being authorised in Milton, and we trust the Council will see to the matter immediately the new clauses of the Act become law. In his address to the electors in May, Mr Donald Eeijd, referring to the then anticipated proposal of the Government for a ten million loan, denounced the idea in very strong terms. He characterised such a course as suicidal, that it would intensify the existing depression, would drive all moneyed people who could get away out of the Colony, and put a stop to immigration. That Mr Eeid's views upon the subject were not unreasonable has been singularly verified. A despatch from the Agent- General, which is referred to in our Wellington letter, states that the negotiation* for the floating of the East and West Coast Eailway Company were almost brought to a disastrous termination, chiefly for the reason " that a rumor was persistently circulated that the Government meant to bring out new loans to the extent of many millions."

The total number of sheep in the Colony is 14 546,601, an increase of 560,201 on last year. The census returns of the colony Bhow an increase of 91,461 Europeans during the past five years. The s.s. Triumph went ashore in Sydney harbor, but was got off and reached the wharf. The extent of damage, if any, is not stated. Messrs Arbuckle & Co. hold their usual stock sale on Thursday, They will offer for sale a farm near the Clarksville Railway Station. Thb Shamrock Hotel, Invercargill, was burned to tbe ground early yesterday morning, The inmates had only time to escape in their night clothes. The case Draper v. F. M'Callum, in which £17 value of a horse was claimed and judgment confessed, was omitted from our report of last week's court. Messrs J. A. Duthie and Co. hold a sale ot stock at their yards to-day. They will also offer, under instructions from Mr T. King, a farm in Tokomairiro. The sounds of the volcanic eruptions were heard southwards for nearly 400 miles in a direct line, and the flames were visible by daylight at Auckland 130 miles distant. Mr S. Bowman, who has been manager of the Bruce Dairy Factory since its start, has been engaged to personally conduct the Temuka Factory next season. In the Wanganui Education District such intense interest was felt in the election of School Committees that in sixteen districts the householders failed to effect any election. Information was received at Nelson from the Waiau on Friday afternoon that a survey party had come in from the back country of the Upper Clarence. They were caught in a severe snowstorm and two of the party, namely, Messrs Paske (cadet), and Hugh Thomson (chairman), died from exposure. Mr Paske was a nephew of his Excellency the Governor. Three hundred members bave been enrolled iv the Oamaru Association styling itself the New Zealand Land League. In an ac-jount of a recent masting in the * Mail,' Mr Sanderson is reported as having agreed '•that tbe large blocks of land might be taken without doing justice to the owners." This is manifestly a misprint, bat the intelligent compositor has for once done a good thing, and published what the speaker ought to have said. A North Island paper, in an article on banking in New Zealand, makes the following pertinent and very true remarks :— " If the banks were to reduce their working expenses, and lower the current rates of discount and interest, their dividends would not be decreased, while the advantages to their clients would be enormous. An average strain of 10 per cent, on business capital can only be withstood for a limited period. Iv fact, it is not too much to say that if the present stabe of things were to continue, the whole property of the colony would be absorbed by the banks in fifty years." Prohibition orJers are very good t Angs, or might be if they were respected by publicans and tha community ia general, but the bench at North Palmerston evidently think there aro occasions when thoy ought not to ba grante 1. A woman applied for an order against her husband, and the Bench refused it;, at the same time admonishing her that if she made her husband's hom3 comfortabls when he returned from his work, he would be satisfied to remain instead of going elsewhere to make up for those comforts which were so lacking in his own house. There i 3 not the smallest doubt that hundreds of men are similarly driven to drink by the bad management of their wives, and the slovenliness of their home 3. At the meeting of the Farmers' Club Committee last week, Mr Hewitson referred to certain ploughmen who kept their ploughs wrapped up in lavender for a great part o | the year, and when the match Beason came

on travelled through the country and took away all the beßt prizes. We are under the impression that they will continue to do so until the fancy cats which are so popular at ploughing matches give place to really useful work, such as a man would put into the gronnd If he intended to crop It. It Is just the same with horses. No man would think of entering a useful horse for a race. The animals that, win are bred solely for tnrf purposes, and are next to useless for any other. And the fancy ploughmen are adepts at oarrying off prizes, and that is all. Thb fellowing good itory has reached u« ("Taranaki News'), and our Informant vouchesjjfor its accuracy: — A few days ago, a local butcher was attempting to make out his half-yearly balance-sheet, but, after numerous attempts, he had to give np in disgust. He went to the shop door, and hailed a paaser-by, who was a stranger to him, and asked the stranger "if he was any good at figures." The stranger hesitated for a moment and replied : *' Yes, I think I can do something at figures. Why ?" Butcher; "Because I'm puzzled over my balance-sheet. I can't get it right. Do you mind helping me t" Stranger :"' Oh yes ; I'll try what I can do." They entered the shop, and after about an hour's hard work, the balance-sheet was brought out right. The grateful shopman asked the stranger how much he was in his debt, and received the reply J " Nothing whatever. I have sometimes been in difficulties with figures myself. Good day." And with that the stranger departed . The shopman, pointing to the retreating figure of hia benefactor, asked an acquaintance who the stranger was, and was dumb-founded at the reply — "Why, that's Major Atkinson 1" Remember American Co.'s Hop Bitters never does harm but good, to the smallest child, always and continually. See and read.