NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 19, 16 June 1880, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

In our fourth ,-page will be found an excellent spee«h on .native matters from the late Colonial Secretary, Colonel Whitmore.

"Hawera's" and- " Thought's " letters, and "Southland's" and "Subscriber's" favors, are unavoidably held over. We shall attend to them as soon as space will permit. :«-■* J' Thos. Lawton was charged, on Saturday, before Captain Wilson aud Mr. McGuire, J.P.s, with having been illegally on the premises — to wit, the stable — of Mr. D. McGregor, hotelkeeper, Normanby. The Bench sentenced the accused to 48 hours' imprisonment in the Hawera lockup, with hard labor.

The public meeting in reference to forming a combined municipality for Hawera and Normanby, which had to be postponed last week in consequence of the wet weather, will take place to-morrow evening, at Brett and Johnston's Imperial Hotel. Every ratepayer in Normanby, whether favorable to the proposal or otherwise, ought to be present, and thus secure a true expression of opinion.

Messrs. Berry and Newman's tender for the Waingongora section of the New Plymouth Railway has been accepted, the amount being £13,400. This section will bring the line up to within four miles of Normanby, the formation of which has been made by the Government. We learn (says the Herald) that there is now every probability of our having the line opened to Normanby by next winter.

A musical entertainment will be given in the Hawera Presbyterian Church on Tuesday next. The promised lecture has been postponed, in consequence of the large number of musical selections which have been guaranteed for Tuesday evening. It is expected that there will be a very good attendance, and from what we have been able to learn, those who come to the entertainment will have no cause to regret doing so, as there is a treat in store, especially for lovers of music.

A scratch foot-ball match was played on Saturday on the cricket ground, the teams being captained by Bayly and Southey. There was some smart play on both sides, but H. Bayly secured a touchdown for his team, and won the match. On Saturday there will he a match Town versus Country. The following will represent the Country : — Bayly, G. T., Bayly, H., Goodson, Lukis, Lysayht, Mason, Newsham, Skeet, H. M., Skeet, — , Skinner, Southey, Willy, G., Willy, T., Wilson. For the Town — Adamson, S., Adamson, W.,Baddeley, F.,Baddeley, R., Broadbent, Cavanagh, Heaphy, Heenan, McCauley, McKenzie, O'Connor, Parkes, Syme, Whitney, and Wolner.

A new process of preserving fresh butter was tried on Saturday, in New Plymouth, by Mr. A. Hood, in the presence of a number of gentlemen. The Herald states : — " Mr. Hood produced a tin in which 21bs of fresh butter had been packed exactly three months ago, and, on opening the tin, the butter was found to be in a very satisfactory state. Mr. Hood explained that his process cbnsisted in having two tins, one being made to fit into the other. In the inner tin the butter was placed and sealed up, and between the outer and inner tins were placed certain chemicals, not of a costly nature. The tins were fitted by Mr. Abbott, and were found to answer the purpose admirably. The process can be fairly stated to have been a success, and Mr. Hood will be enabled, through the result of the test, to bring his process to a- greater state of perfection. 1 .'. . .. . :.•. <-;;. ..

The secretory of the Early Closing Association requests us to state that he accidentally omitted the names of Messrs. Duffill Brothers from the list of those who agreed to close at seven o'clock. The Collector of Customs, at New Plymouth, accompanied by Inspector Bullen, visited Waitara on Friday, for the purpose of seizing the s.s. Hannah Mokau, on behalf of the Government. A meeting was held at Punehu on Wednesday last, when the chief of that settlement delivei'ed an address to his people. The Herald states that there was nothing of special interest in the oration, and the meeting was of short duration. Only one European was present. Complaints have not infrequently been made as to the scarcity of bacon in this district, and, in consequence, three or four persons are about to enter largely into bacon-curing on the Waknate Plains. A start has already been made at Kaupokonui. In consequence of the distance of the A.C. camp from Hawera, and the difficulty of conveying stores thence, Mr. McGuire has instructed Mr. W. M. Thomson to offer for sale a large quantity of canteen stores, particulars of which will be fouud in our advertising columns. The sale will take place at the Town Hall on Saturday next. Mr. McGuire's office furniture will also be sold on the same day. Te Whiti, in a very ingenious manner, has turned to ac ount the work the Government is carrying on through his territory, according to a telegram in the Wanganui Chronicle. He tells the natives that his prophecy about the Government coming to him is about to be fulfilled, by means of the telegraph being brought to Parihaka, for by it he will be able to talk to the Governor without leaving the place. The Governor, he says, has thus come to him unsolicited, and his prophecies have been verified.

It was rumored that the Armed Constabulary were not going to advance any further with the road during the winter months, but the Taranaki Herald has been informed on reliable authority that it has been definitely settled that the Ngakumikumi camp will be removed next week, should the weather prove favorable. The natives have erected fences across the road now being made by the Armed Constabulary at Ngakumilrami. It is not thought that the natives have erected these fences for the purpose of obstructing the road, but for the purpose of preserving some old places of burial, which they hold as tapued.

There was a billiard handicap at Prosser's Hotel on Monday evening. Seventeen were nominated, but only fourteen accepted. The following was the order of play : — Walker (30 points) v. Lloyd (20 points) ; the. latter scored 100 to his opponent's 40, and made the quickest play of the evening. Heaphy (10 points) v. Owen (25 points) ; the former scored 100 to the latter's 91. Rawh'ngs (15 points) v. O'Connor (40 points) ; the latter won by 33. Robinson (20 points) v. Parrington (15 points) ; the latter won by 24. Crowhurst (15 points) v. Murray (10 points); the latter won by 3. Speekman (40 points) v. Carroll (5 points); the latter won by 30. Fernandez (scratch) v. W. L. Prosser (15 points) ; the latter won by 9. Fernandez did not come up to expectations. The pairs for the second contest were : — Lloyd v. Carroll, Heaphy v. Murray, Parrington v. Prosser. O'Connor had a slice of luck, as he was the odd man. Heaphy and Murray finished their match on Monday night, the former winning, after a wellcontested game, by 14 points. The game will probably be finished to-night.

A numerously-signed requisition has been presented to Mr. Moor^ Hunter, Chairman of the Hawera Road Board, asking him to convene a meeting, for the purpose of protesting against the injustice uLder which this district labors, through having to contribute 25 per cent, of its land revenue towards constructing a harbor at New Plymouth ; and also for the purpose of urging on the Government the necessity oi pushing on the surveys as speedily as possible, so as to settle the confiscated lands with permanent residents. The Chairman of the Hawera Town Board was coupled with the Chairman of the Road Board ; but as Mr. Winks was out of town, the requisition had to be presented to Mr. Hunter, who has accordingly convened a meeting for Saturday evening, at the Hawera Town Hall. The matter is one upon which the settlers feel very strongly, and there will, doubtless, be a veiy large attendance at the meeting. Friends of the harbor scheme, as well as opponents, would do well to attend. There can be no possible harm in discussing the question calmly and impartially, as we trust will be the case.

There appears to be some fog about coaching arrangements just noV. On Saturday the down coach passed through Hawera before eight o'clock in the moming. As the Postal authorities were entirely in the dark with regard to any change, the mails were not ready, and coach had to pass on without them ; they were, however, afterwards despatched by express. When the coach arrived at Kai Iwi, some three or four hours before the usual time, the passengers were surprised to find that the Railway authorities knew as little of the change as the Post office folk, and the travellers, much to their chagrin, had to wait for the usual evening train to Wanganui. It is probable that a change will be made by the Ist of July, and it is intended to run a small coach, formerly used betw» en Waverley and Wanganui, from Normanby to Stratford in the morning, and back the same afternoon. As the coach will leave here in time to catch the evening train to Foxton, travellers wishing to go overland will be able to reach Wellington in two days, instead of three, as at present. The trains will also be altered between Stratford and New Plymouth, so as to suit the new arrangements. But so far nothing definite has been done ; at all events, Mr. Chancy informs us that he has received no official information as to any proposed changes. The facts as stated by us, however, will, we think, be found to be correct.

There has been some talk during the week of opening the Mokau by bringing coals from thence to Waitara. A correspondent of the Taranaki News informs that journal that a seam of coal of unknown thickness has been partly cut through by the river. It may be seen extending for a considerable height up the cliffs, and is plainly visible when the water* is clear, crossing the bed of

Under the heading of " Agricultural Enterprise," we find the following in the Taranaki News : — " Not only have our fanners given up the cultivation of v/heat and the production of eggs and bacon, but they have also given up the cultivation of potatoes, and an enterprising firm in New Plymouth advertises for sale 25 tons of potatoes newly imported from Oamaru. As the soil of Taranaki is specially adapted to the production of root crops, this appears to be a very bad sign indeed." We quite concur in the remarks of our contemporary. Taranaki should be exporting, not importing, root crops of every description.

We (Wellington Chronicle) had the pleasure this morning of inspecting the balance sheet of Mr. J. O'Shea's estate, which had been duly filed in the Supreme Court. The debtor failed for about' ; .£20,000, and his estate and effects have realised (according to the, no doubt, truthful story of Mr. Thomas, the trustee) £6100. Dividends amounting to 4s 4d in the £ have been paid to the creditors, and this has absorbed £4849. The expenses connected with the affair, including the inevitable lawyer, are no less than £1346, or a sum equivalent to Is in the £. The fact speaks for itself, and is a strong illustration of the present ridiculous and expensive bankruptcy law.

A word to our numerous correspondents (writes the New Zealand Times). We have an accumulation of their letters in hand, enough to fill several columns. Some good, some bad, some indiffierent, but all of unwieldy length ; evidently written with the idea that we are only too glad to get matter to " fill up." Now, the very reverse is the case, as everyone who presumes to write for print should know. In future, or at least during the session, we cannot undertake to publish any communication in our open column which is not briefly and concisely written, except under very urgent circumstances. There is one other alternative which our correspondents, who delight in a multitude of words, may adopt if they choose, namely, to follow the example already set by one among them, and pay for their too lengthy epistles as advertisements. [The latter paragraph refers to Mr. T. C. Williams — the " Secretary to the J.P.," as h • styles himself — who sometimes takes up four or five columns of space, but always pays for the privilege.] The Christclrarch Press says that the banks have decided to place an exchange rate on cheques of 2s. 6d. per cent., to come in force as from the Ist instant. The Auckland Steamship Company have applied to the New Zealand Government to grant them a subsidy of £2500 for a monthly steam service between this colony and Fiji. Most public bodies view with great concern (says the Manattatu Times) the outlay of a few pounds in advertising, when very often the expenditure of that amount may be the means of saving ten or twenty times the amount. As a case in point, we may direct attention to the tenders recently accepted on behalf of the Bulls School Committee. At a recent meeting of the Wanganui Education Board it was decided to insert the advertisement in the Manawatu Times, the consequence being that a tender from Palmerston was by far the lowest, and saved the Board about twelve times the price of the advertising. The Westland Education Board has suggested that the following amendments be made in the Act: — That the system of the election of boards be altered ; that inspectors be appointed by the Government; that they be under the direct control of the inspector general, and be changed from district to district at certain intervals; that chairmen of boards should be elected for a specified time; that the powers and duties of boards and committees should be more clearly defined ; that the boards should have power to appoint teachers without the interference of committees ; that the boards should have power to settle differences arising from divisions of school districts; that the appointment of clerk or treasurer .by commiteees should be made subject to the approval of the boards; that children should be compelled to attend school for two school weeks in every month ; that other means be found for giving effect to the compulsory clauses than by entrusting their working to committees ; that the compulsory clauses be declared to be in operation throughout the colony without reference to school committees.