WOODVILLE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5003, 8 February 1878, Page 2

WOODVILLE.

(from our own correspondent.) January 28, 1878. Some time having elapsed since, you have received any communication from me, I now take up the pen to impart the little ""*; news I have to your readers. In the first place since the murder of George OUandt ! a great gloom has pervaded our settlement, but which to a great extent has worn off. The accommodation-house is still closed, but I understand there will be a sale of it shortly. The Woodville Hotel had a very narrow „■ ■ escape on Monday the sth insfr' of being destroyed by fire. The chimney of the dining-room caught fire, and the flames shot out two or three yards high, large pieces of fire at the same time dropping, and had it not been for the previous rain wetting the roof, nothing would haye 1 ; | saved the building. As it was, it required some exertion to keep it down. On the following Sunday a valuable mare belonging to Mr Hurst met with an accident, by which it broke the fetlock joint. She was found in that condition in the paddock, where she was evontually shot. This is the mare that Mr Hurst was riding when going round the Gorge he met with the accident which I mentioned in a previous letter. So, altogether, Mr Hurst has lost about £40, a considerable sum for a working man.Ak There has been a considerable quantMi of grass seed saved in the district this* year. Mr Weber has saved about 130 bushels, and several others similar quantities. ♦ At the meeting held for the purpoj^of electing a school committee, MrJ. B. Ross, on behalf of the old committee, gave in his report to the effect that out of £70 promised £50 Is had been collected, and the remainder would be easily col- ' lecfced ; £9 15s had been expended. The timber was already cut and ready to be put on the ground as soon as the new Education Board should grant the land. Upon the question being asked whether there was a copy of the Education Act, , those present were informed that it was not obtainable. Mr Sowry read a letter from Mr Ormond concerning the school, , in which he advised the desirability of starting a school if possible before the school-house was built, if there were suitable premises for the same, and states that Mr Ormond would pay us a visit ifi - about three weeks, when, 1 understand, '; it is possible that he will see about having / something done to his bush. A petition is going the rounds to be., sent to the Colonial Secretary, praying that the East and West Woodville districts • may be for the future one district. The .' petition is being signed by all the resident ' ratepayers. The east district properties being chiefly held by large owners and speculators, it is very desirable it should bo joined to the west district. Building operations are very quiet at present. One four-roomed cottage in the township, tor Mr J. Parminter, is the only -' one at present, but after the burn there will bo several Small-farm men 4 building, ' and others adding to their present ones. Altogether we may look forward to business times. If wo get a fair burning season it is to be hoped that a great many gentlemen of Napier who have the means will go in for having their bush felled this ; : ' year, so that we may have a few more pounds in Woodville and a few ' less mosquitos. , Mr P. 0. Protherroe has commeaced business here as land and estate agent, &c. ,'

[FROM A CORRESPONDENT.] I Your special correspondent lately called M

attention in your paper to the need of some law in reference to burning bush , at the proper time, and your paper had scarcely reached here before one of our settlers started a fire without notice to £r Ins neighbors, and the result clearly showed the need of some alteration of the latf on the matter. The fire burned fiercely when it started. It ran over several other sections, and as we had some ram just before, most of the burns were not good. The fire scared mothers and their families, who were left in the centre of their clearings with fire raging all round them, most of their husbands being away, not expecting a fire at such an unlikely time. There should certainly be some stated times for burning, and persons ought to be compelled to give notice to those about, that all can be on the look-out for the purpose of saving their property. In this case there was the loss of some haystacks, and it was a hard fight to save houses, grass seed, fences, &c. We are expecting a visit from Mr Ormond, who is expected to address the electors at Woodville on the 18th or 19th of February. There is one thing about Mr Ormond which some of our settlers don't, like— that is, that he holds about eleven hundred acres of land here which as yet is unimproved. If he really wants to find favor with the settlers, lie will go in and improve his land, and thus convince them that he is not a mere speculator, holding on until the labor of others raises the value of his property. There can be no doubt that improvements on land will pay splendidly. There are plenty of others beside Mr Ormond who ought to improve their land, and I wish (with your "special") that all purchasers had been compelled to clear, say 25 per cent, before they got their grant ; that would have made a wonderful difference to this district. A petition has been going the rounds here, and I believe it is well received by the whole of the settlers, in favor of making Woodville East and West districts into one district. At present East Woodville has not a board, and it is thought that they get nearly as much benefit of the present expenditure of money in the West district as the West themselves, and yet escape the rate which is levied on the West. The two will make one good district, and having more cash at their com- [ mand, will be able to do more good. It seems we shall have to look to our own road boards for making the roads, for the country seems to have forsaken us altogether — except for rates. They have discharged all the hands off the main road, and have left it to the mercy of the wind and weather, so I would advise all persons coming this way to arm themselves with axes, &c, so that they can clear the road of trees, &c, which, from time to time, will lay across the road with no one to look after them. It seems time that the county gave up pretending to look after roads, and give them and the cash over to the road boards, who would really do something on the roads, and would not spend all the rates in paying officers with nothing to do but to write monthly reports. The settlers mustered well at Fountain's store on Monday evening last, the 28th, to choose a school committee for this district. The meeting was a very pleasant one, and was presided over by Mr Fountain, who conducted the proceedings well. The • following persons were chosen byballot as a committee : Messrs A. Pebbles, D. Hughes, H. Thomas, B. Ross, — Patterson, J. Sowry, and — Horrocks. It is to be hoped that the board will soon appoint the first meeting of the committee, for there is pressing need of a school at once. The weather is splendid for growing, being warm and showery, which makes everything as green as a spring morning. We are told here that the proposed Bush Mills settlement has fallen through, on account of some fault in the deed got from the natives. How is it the board do not give them some --*. other block and let them get on to the land. There is plemty of land in the district. There is a good block of land between the Woodville Small Farm (Sowry 's) and the Victoria settlements, which, I understand, is first-rate land, and I think would suit them well. It is much nearer the town of Woodville than the block they wanted before. Let them go and try to get it ; then we shall get to know whether, the Waste Lands Board means to test the further planting of settlements or not on our waste lands.