TAUPO.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6632, 21 August 1883, Page 4

TAUPO.

(feom ovr OWN COBBBSPONDENT. ) I August 16, 1883. " Your own," if not careful of shotguns and poison, will shortly leave Taupo and visit, the still country. " From night to morn, from morn to dewy eve ;" yes, correctly quoted or not, that iB about the size of it, the "lightning jerker" is blazing away ao continually at stray dogs, cats, sparrows, rats, and other small deer that it is now dangerous to take a wire to tbe office. In taking one for your paper the' other day I saw a shotgun protruding out of one of the windows; whether it was loaded or not I do not know, but with that gun the postmaster ia making it very lively for sparrows. But, sir, do you not think with me that to be firing a loaded gun in tbe centre of a proclaimed township, and the most public place too for. there a post-office generally is placed — is not according to Cocker P Is there not some Act to stop this kind of thing ? I shall not be surprised to hear of Borne of ;the children being shot at an early date. .This likely event and a coroner's inquest will make a good item for the Hbraid. I can tell you, and you may really believe me, I quickly got out of theuline of fire, and have escaped this time. On entering the office for wiring I saw "on one of the blackboards where official notices are stuck up, "Poison, Poison , wiii be laid in the garden of the post-office for dogs, cats, and rats," or words to that effect. It is very near time your postmaster (Mr Grubb) took note of the high-handed proceedings of this his understrapper. One or two of our townsmen have been interviewing the jack-in-office re the laying of poison in the centre of the town, as some here have valuable dogs, and do not want to lose them. Ten'-A'.C. from the Wellington depot via' Napier arrived last week, most of them meji 7 with splendid physique ; one I noted a perfect son of Anak. Some of the* other batch that came about six menths ago are in for a transfer. I very often think it would, only be an act of justice, pivthe part of, the .Government in sending the A.O. men (the officer cau

always get his groceries up on the cheap ] if there is a public trap at the statj on he is sent to) to give them a little more 7P ay > as the eest of living in these out-B.at/'.onß is fully one hundred per cent, more tl.'&n it is on the coast , but whether it is t. Qe high price of living or the extensive gai*den operations that have been going on' here for sometime that has caused transfers to be applied for is an open question. One thing I do know, if some of the vegetables grown here were exhibited in Napier the Hawne's Bay gardeners would stand no show in the raising of prize carrots and young mammoth pumpkins. I fancy I hear some horny-handed son of toil mournfully exclaiming with one of Bret Harte'a characters, " We are ruined by Chinese cheap labor." The eldest son of our worthy fellowtownsman, Mr Brady, died recently after a short illness. As a mark of sympathy to Mr Brady in his bereavement, most or the Europeans and a great .many natives followed the remains of his late son to the cemetery. Jt was the lar gest following that I have seen at anj' funeral in Taupo. The Roman Catholic iiervice was read in a most impressive m. «iner by Major Scannell. I do love a buck at an official \f I can catch him on the hip, but not wi tn tne same feeling that Shylock exp. r esses about Antonio. I have no doubt that a public officer (I should if I was c ne ) in these out-districts looks upon a Dew 8 ~ paper correspondent with the same feei " ing that a squatter does .on the rabbit pest. The public here, iv taking telegrams to the office, find nine times out of ten posted on the door these words, " Back in twenty minutes." This notice has often puzzled me. Doea the postmaster mean that he will be back in twenty minutes from the time tbat he left the office, or has the sender of a telegram to wait twenty minutes from the time that he (the sender) arrives at the office ? I tried while waiting the other day to work out this problem in Euclid on the office door wish a pencil, but it was no go. I had previously -Tied vulgar fractions without success. lam compelled to answer, like the corner man in a ne_;ro entertainment-, " I sib him up," man and problem. The roads are now in a fair condition, between here and Atiamuri being especially good, thanks to the public works officer, who is doing all he can to keep the Tauranga-Napier line in travelling order.