DAILY NOTES FROM WANGANUI.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 572, 29 July 1909, Page 5

DAILY NOTES FROM WANGANUI.

THE LAST STIRVIVOR OF A MASSACRE.' ißy Telegraph —Special Correspondent Y <\ Wanganul, July 28. | The borough engineer reports that the unemployed', who were taken on bj the bor-' ough < council and put to varioiib works of utility, aie doing very good work indeed. Thore are still, however, a considerable number seeking employment, most of them being single men. . Thq chairman of the Tramway's Committee reports regaiding the wearing of car wheels that the matter is not so, serious as was thought. It is simply due to the wearing of the tyres, which have only a limited lifo, and' are now near the end of it Aftei being turned up in Wellington, at a cost of £5 per car, they will be good for another six months' sepice, and then new ones will bo substituted" m the ordinary course. In view of certain statements regarding thb track, the tramways engineer inspected the whole length, and found that the rails lad been correctly laid. The death is announced of Miss Mary Gil-' fillan, aged 78, one of the oldest identities of the district. She was the 'sole survivor of tho terrible " Gilfillan massacre," at Matarawa, in J. 847. This occurrence supplied one of tho most tragic chapters in tho early history of Wanganui, tho whole family, except Miss Gilfillan (and her father, nho wins absent from home), being murdered by Natives Considerable surprise was expressed by borough .councillors last night when tho borough solicitor's opinion on the racecourse dispute was read, indicating that tho reserve had been properly administered. The general opinion had been that the public had a right of access to tho rescrvo at other times than jacos, but the legal opinion put a diffcient r aspect on the matter, this opinion being to the effect that it was not obligatory on tho" trustees to permit it During (Wussion the Mayor said that the time had arrived to consider tho question as to whether there should not bo a change in the method of appointing trustees, so that the borough council rould have the right of recommending them to the Governor; also whether the purposes of tho trust shtfuld not be enlarged 60 that citizens coujd have a greater right of access to the reserve' when it was not required for racing.