The Star. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1880. NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 73, 22 December 1880, Page 2

The Star. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1880. NEWS AND NOTES.

A four-page illustrated Christmas Supplement will be published with the next issue of the Stab.

The Star will be published on Friday morning, in consequence of Christmas Day £a\Yiug on Saturday. Advertisements cannot he received later than eight o'clock on the previous evening.

Large numbers of Maoris are returning from Parihaka to the Plains. It is rumored that Te WJiiti has ordered all the ■women to return to their kaingas, and to offer a passive resistance to the occupation of the land by the hated pakeha. Several other rumors were in circulation yesterday ; but we could not ascertain whether true or otherwise. Therefore, we refrain from giving- publicity to them. It may, however, he mentioned that a Micawber-like feeling prevails at the A.C. camps. Something of an unexpected nature appears to be anticipated by the knowing ones. When our special reporter visited the camps, at the time of the yearly meeting at Parihaka, about three months ago, the same uneasy feeling prevailed, and the men were giving tueir bayonets and rifles an extra polish. Our reporter thought there was some reason for it, and we believe what has since transpired justified the conclusions then formed. It is no great secret now that, Lad fcbe Native Minister and the Colonial Treasurer been allowed to do as they wished by the other membei's of the Cabinet, a demand, accompanied with fixed bayonets, would have been made at Parihaka for the surrender of Hiroki.

The Hawera Butchery has changed hands, Messrs. Scott, Nichol, and Co. having purchased the business from the former proprietors, Messrs. McLdowie, Siggs, and Co., who for the last two years have ably conducted the butchering under the style of McLdowie, Perry, and Co. Mr. Scott is a new settler in the district, having lately come clown from Auckland. He actfd as one of the judges of sheep at the Patea show, and has been residing with Mr. Jas. Livingston for the past two months. Mr. Nichol has been for some time employed by Mr. Livingston, and has now joined Mr. Scott in his new ventui'e. "We have nrach pleasure in welcoming the new settlers, and have reason to believe that they will prove themselves good business men, and a decided acquisition to the district.

So far as we have been able to ascertain, the land sales last week realised over the average for the cash land being about £6 15s 6<l, aud for deferred £7 per acre. The village allotments at Manaia and Opunake will be put up to auction and disposed of" by lottery to-day. One hundred and seventy-one applications were received at Hawera and Carlyle on Monday — 114 at the former, and 57 at the 2afcter place. There were no less than 88 for one section. On Tuesday there were only two applications received, and the following deferred payment sections are still open for selection : — Manaia — Nos. 3, 94, and 97. Otakeho— Nos. 16, 19, 37, 38, 39, 41, 92, 93, 95, and 96. Gpunake— No. 8. There were only five cash sections at Otakeho applied ior : there are 20 more left. The number of applicants for the different sections will not in future be made known until the day of the sale, so as to prevent "arrangements" being entered into.

The namiaaiiona for hhe ISormanby Athletic Sports will be found in another column, and judging from the number of entries,' if the weather is fine, nothing more will be required to have a successful gathering and a good day's amusement.

Mr. E. Shaw has been gazetted District Judge for the Wellington district.

The Inglewood Rifle Volunteer Corps has been disbanded.

Mr. Jackson's monthly sale at Waverley will take place to-morrow, at 1 p.m.

The right of collecting the clog tax within the county will be sold by auction at Carlyle to-day.

We wovild advise disappointed selectors and would-be investors on the Waimate Plains to peruse the list of properties advertised in our third and fourth pages.

Thursday's Gazette contains a proclamation of a further portion of land taken for tU§ JSoYmtwiby section of the JFoxton and New Plymouth railway.

" The cob" is now running in harness. His action is high, and he would make a good show on the Epsom road on the Derby Daj r .

Mr. Beresford, Normanby, requests us to state that he has ceased to be agent for Idessrs. O'Connor and Wiley, but thai; he still intends keeping a lai-ge stock of posts, rails, and other material required for fencing.

A map of Hawera, compiled by Mr. Humphries, Chief Surveyor, has been issued by the Crown Lands Department. Mr. Baggett, clerk of the Lands Office, has a few dozen for sale. -The price is only one shilling. >

The list of prizes, kindly forwarded to Mr. Mair by residents of th • district, for distribution to tbe scholars, now numbers about sixty. In addition to the books which have been sent to him, about £6 has been contributed in money. We shall publish a full list when the collection has ceased.

We have been informed that it is the intention of Messrs. Iredale Brothers to start a cheese-making factory in a short time. Local industries are much needed in the district, and. it is to be hoped that Messrs. Iredale Brothers will find the undertaking a profitable one, and that they will receive the hearty co-op ration of all settlers.

Eight o'clock to-morrow evening is the time fixed for receiving entries for the handicap races in connection with the Hawera Athletic Sports, which take place on New Year's Day. The entries for the remaining events will be received on the ground, on the day of the sports, or they can be forwarded to Mr. Cunningham, the hon. secretary.

Many of our readers will, doubtless, be pleased to learn that Murdoch, who captained the Australian Cricketers during their visit to England, and whose gallant play in the All-England Eleven match won the admiration alike of opponents and friends, is a nephew of Mrs. Captain Baker, of Waihi. It is not improbable that the Australians may he induced to play a match at Hawera.

The suburban property belonging to Messrs. Iredale Brothers, near Hawera, which was offered for sale hy Mr. W. Murray Thomson, HicL not meet "With many purchasers, Mr. John Douglas being the only buyer. We understand that a gentleman on a visit to the district has made a private offer, very nearly equal to the reserve price, for all the sections offered for sale.

Since the establishment of the Star, Mr. T. Ecclesfield has been advertising prizes for the best butter and cheese made in the district. He informs us that the one for butter has been awarded to Mr. J. Livingston, who supplied the largest quantity, and whose bnttev has been good throughout the whole year. Tbe prize for cheese has not been awarded, as there was so little made ; but it is Mr. Ecclesfield's intention to offer the same amount next year, when, no doubt, there will be more competitors.

A meeting of the Normanby School Committee was held on Friday evening. Present — Messrs. Quin (chairman), Hunger, Richardson, Rowe, and Sisley. It was resolved that the chairman should distribute the prizes at the breaking up of the school, which takes place to-day. Accounts were passed for prizes to Whittaker Bros., £B 3s. 6d ; and to A. Black, for advertising. ' It was resolved that the accounts should be audited by Mr. Dacr , manager of the Bank of New Zealand, Normanby.

Mr. Foulis, the Inspector of Schools for the Wanganui Education District, has been conducting the annual examinations. On Friday he visited the Hawera, on Monday the Whakamara, and on Tuesday the Normanby School. We hear that the examinations have been satisfactory as a whole, and the Inspector states that he has never previously given such high praise as that bestowed on the Hawera school. We have not yet l«arnt the result of the other examinations within this district, hut have reason to expect to hear that the Normanby school examination also resulted to the satisfao tion of the Inspector.

A curious story comes to us from Opunake. In March last, Sergt. Smith, who had charge of the stores at Opunake, received orders to transfer them to some reliable person. Constable Bailey was accordingly picked out, and ordered to take charge, being told at the same time that he would receive delivery of the goods in a day or two. Days went by, but still there was.no stock-taking or delivery of any kind. However, all things went smoothly on, until the month of October, when Mr. Anderson, the head storekeeper, came up from Wellington on a tour of inspection. Then stock was taken with a vengeance, and about or .£3O worth of goods was unaccounted for. Of course, Mr. Anderson had to report the matter, and then came orders for the stoppage of Constable Bailey's pay, until such time as the deficiency was made up. As might naturally have been expected, Constable Bailey demanded a board of inquiry, but up to this time nothing has been done. The case has now been placed in Mr. Samuels' hands, and its merits will be discussed in the civil court at New Plymouth. These are the fads of ibe-fiase as they have come to us, and if true— and they are vouched for by a reliable correspondent — we certainly think that Constable Bailey's request for a board of inquiry ought to have been complied with. Sergeant Smith, as an officer, is very generally respected, and we bave no desire to say anything that might tend to injure him. At the same time, we would be wanting in our duty if we did not call attention to the rumors .which are very freely discussed at Opunake.

There will be a sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day.

The new scale of chargea for Tress telegrams has been gazetted.

Yesterday, being the 21st of December, was the longest day of the year in this hemisphere.

The Taranaki News says : — Taking into consideration the fact that the Waimate lands disposed of this week are somewhat intrinsically inferior to the first block disposed of, the price may be considered to have advanced at least ;£1 per acre for cash.

There was a special meeting of the Hawera Road Board on Saturday. A vepavt of thft pyoeeeding* viill be found, to. i oiw fourth page. It was resolved to call ] for tenders for work in the lower Ngaire district. Mr. Gane jocularly remarked toMessrs. Eobson and Morrison, the members for that portion of the district: " Our troubles are nearly over at Whakamara ; yours are about to commence."

Mr. George McLean Las an American haj'-rake, which can be drawn by either one or two horses. For lightness, compactness, and cheapness, the inventions of our Yankee cousins cannot easily be beaten. Those who cling to old traditions might be able to evolve a practical sermon from this little machine, for the great poet has left it on record that even in stones sermons might be found-.

The Wanganui Chronicle says: — The Opunake town and suburban sections realised very high prices, bidding being brisk throughout. Not a few amongst the A.C. Force have become owners of town allotments. Evidently speculators have great faith in these new townships. The large proportion of reserves for municipal endowments has tended to promote the speculation. Already many allotments have changed hands privately, at a considerable advance.

The crops thvcmohoiit the district are looking splendid, and bay - m king is going on briskly. The oat crops on Messrs Chalmers' and Hunter's farms are quite a treat to look at, and must have helped, indirectly, to swell the sum total of last week's sales. Mr. Caverhill appears likely to receive the reward o£ his pluck and enterprise : his 300 acres of crops present a very healthy appearance. We have, h owever, seen no better crop of oats than Mr. Quinlivan's, and it is, we believe , the third white crop in succession.

Mr. David Peat has written to the "Wan ganui Herald the following letter, which appeared in last Saturday's issue: — " Your sub-leader of yesterday bristles with inaccurate statements. Those concerning myself personally are not of sufficient importance to warrant me trespassing on your space to correct. I beg, however, you will give publicity to my contradiction o£ the statement " that I am proprietor of the Chronicle," as such an assertion is untrue, and, if allowed to pass unchallenged, might seriously iniure the owners of that paper."

We publish to-day a correct list of the huyers of land in fcbe sownsbips of Manaia and Opunake, together with the tipset price, and the amount realised at auction, for the various sections. The particulars have been gathered (as were also those in our last issue) from the books in the Land Office, our reporter's notes, and the Government Gazette. Although a Zarge amount of space has been devoted to the land sales, we feel assured that no apology is needed to our readers, as the purchasers will be in a position to find out the owners of adjoining sections, when they require to fence, -without much trouble. A large number of those who declared in the auction-room were not the bona fide purchasers, but were merely acting as agents.

The Maoris, having devoured all the food at Parihaka, are trooping back home again at "the double." Their prowess as trenchermen at these monthly feasts is something wonderful, and it is believed that some of them must imitate Dr. Tanner, between the meetings, otherwise it would be impossible for them to dispose of so much food. For instance, one Hawera settler gave eleven bullocks to the Maoris in exchange for some rath r shy cattle running on the Plains. The Maoris who made the bargain assured him, on their return from Parihaka, that the whole eleven bullocks had been eaten within one day. It would almost seem as if' Te Whifci's Maoris rivalled the •ungodly visitors at the colonial tea-meeting, of whom it was said " that they came to 'scoff,' but remained to pray."

We learn that Mr. Blackett, Engineer-in-Charge, with Mr. Holmes, Resident Engineer, came into Hawera last evening, anrl that it has been arranged to form the road from the Mountain track to the place where the Eltham station will be located, bridging the creek which crosses the road, and it is expected this will be done in a week or two. This will reduce the risk of missing the trains, and travellers will, no doubt, appreciate the shortening of the coach journey, even though it be but for a few miles. Every effort will be made to push the work ahead on the remainder of the line, so as to have the line opened into Normanby and Hawera by July — the original time mentioned to Major Atkinson, but which he mistook for a year earlier. We are glad to see the Public Works Department showing such a determination to push the work along. % The Wanganui Herald says that the wood-cut of the late Miss Dobie, which was published by the Hawera and Normanby Star, is " evidently a caricature of the deceased lady, and only exceeds in heartless satire the diabolical cartoon published by the New Zealand Times, of the Rimutnka railway accident." The portrait was first published in the Auckland Weekly News (on • of the leading weekly newspapers in the colony), and was from a photograph from Messrs. Hemus and Hanna. The deceased was well known in Auckland, and the engraving was bought by one of the proprietors of this journal while on a visit there, because those who knew the unfortunate young lady considered the cut a good, though by no means a flattering, likeness of her, and decidedly mewe faithtul than another portrait which was published about tha same time in another Auckland paper. The writer of the paragraph in the Wanganui Herald having, apparently, never seen the late Miss Dobie is no doubt able to offer very interesting and valuable criticism on the subject. We might add a few more remarks, but we have too much respect for the memory of the lamented young lady to care to say a word more than is necessary to refute the criticism complained of.