NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 83, 26 January 1881, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

Our Patea contemporary on Saturday morning took upon itself to correct a statement made by us last Wednesday in reference to the issue of Crown grants. That journal stated — <! It is a standing rule with the Crown Lands Department that purchasers of one or more adjoining sections — whether half-a-dozen, twenty, or any other number — should pay only the one Crown grant fee, namely. LI" To this the most fitting reply will be an extract from a letter received from one of the recent purchasers on the Waimate Plains : — " In spite of a protest on my part, 1 was called upon to pay L 2 for two Crown grants for sections which are adjacent, and in one corner contiguous, to each other." We also know that separate receipts have been given to the owners of three, four, or more sections, and until such time as the Crown grants are issued, every transaction will involve an additional outlay. We treated the whole matter from a common-sense point of view , and now ouly refer to those particular instances, because our Patea contemporary has thought fit to contradict the statement. The people of this colony will demand, as did the people in South Australia many years ago, that transactions in land sbiill be made as simple and as comparatively inexpensive as in any other kind of marketable commodity. We did not, nor do we now, blame those who had to administer the Laud Act; but if it causes unnecessary expense, and hampers the buyer and the seller, the sooner it is altered the better. We understand that instructions were issued to the land officers not to charge for more than one Crown grant lor adjacent sections, aud possibly in the case referred to, the officer was misled by the fact that the numbers of the sections are not consecutive. It is just twelve months to-day since the A.C.'s, under Colonel Roberts, moved on to tbe Waimate Plains and re-com-menced road-making. The present aspect of affairs is very different from what it then was. One hundred and seventy allotments of land in the northern and southern portions of the town of Stratford will be offered for sale by public auction on Saturday, 12th February. j There is, at last, likelj' to be a contest for the Hawera Town Board. Mr. James Davidson was nominated yesterday, and we believe that Messrs T. Lloyd and C. H. McCutchan, sen., also intend coming forward. It is a practice in the Empire city for the different candidates to address their constituents the same evening. Perhaps the Hawera trio will take the hint. Now that there is a tri-weekly mail service between Hawera and Opuuake, we would suggest that one orderly should start from Opunake, and another from Pungarehu, at about the same time. By meeting midway, and changing mails, "each courier could return to his own camp the same night, and there would thus be a through mail service between Punga.ehu and Hawera, as Mr. Prosser will start early in the moruing from here, and return the same evening. A clerk named Hislop, employed by the Union Sash and Door Company, at Auckland, levanted last week with funds belonging to the company. It has been ascertained that lie booked for New Caledonia in one of the coasting boats. The books of the company have been overhauled to find out the amount of his defalcations ; and £'60 from the cash-box is missing. Hislop is a married man, and left his family totally unprovided for. Two natives, named Rako and Tukino, were brought before Captain Wilson and Mr. F. McGuire, J.P., on Tuesday, charged with druhkness. The former pleaded guilty, and was fined 20s, or in default 48 hours' imprisonment ; the latter to seven days' imprisonment, Without tbe option of a fine. Sergeant Cahill stated that Tukino was a very troublesome native, and be (the sergeant) believed that he was living on the prostitution of some Maori girls, and by that means was able to hang so much about town, and get drunk so frequently. If such be the case, | a longer term of imprisonment would no* have been amiss, and, as Tukino was charged under the Vagrancy Act, the magistrates had ampin power to inflict a heavier sentence. The next time Tukino is brought before the court, he will, in all probability, not escape w easily.

We havo receive.l ironi Mr. J. Cunningham, the local ajje-ut of the MutmlLiie Association of Australasia, a copj 7 of & oeut little office almanac, isbiied by the company. The Governor left Auckland on Friday morning by special train ou his Waikato tour. He was received witli enthusiasm along the route to Cambridge aud Hamilton. It has been finally decided that the Native and Defence portfolios shall be permanently allotted to Mr. Rolleaton, who has been in temporary charge of the departments since the resignation of Mr. Bryce. The Rev. Mr. Fairclough has been on a visit to Nelson, attending the Wesleyan Conference. The pulpit at the Hawera Church was occupied on Sunday evening by Sir William Fox, who preached an eloquent and impressive sermon to a large congregation. Instructions have been received by the Engineering Department here to proceed with the survey of the railway live between Waverley and Carlyle. It is probable (says the Wanganui Chronicle) that two trial lines will be first surveyed — one going direct to Carryle, and the other connecting with the brauch line from that town, which is at present being made. The Opunake people are making the same complaints about the poverty of the stamp supply as the residents of Normanby. The former cannot purchase enough to post letters with : the latter cannot purchase enough to receipt their customers' accounts with. A joint petition to the Commissioner of Stamps might get this unnecessary grievance of the citizens of both places rectified. If that is not thought advisable, a communication to the member for the district might have the desired effect. Referring to Mr. Cameron's death, the Wauganui Chronicle says : — Mr. Cameron was probably the oldest man in the colony, having attained the great age of 100 y ars. He arrived in Wellington in the year 1840, being a passenger by the ship Blenheim, which brought a number of emigrants from the Scotch Highlands. He resided in Wellington till about 1854, when the Rangitikei block was opeued, and he re moved there with his family. He leaves a large number of descendants, and a still larger number of friends, who will deeply mourn his death. Mrs. Cameron died last November, at the advanced age of 94, and they had been married 77 years. Mr. H. Buckeridge, of the firm of E. Buxton and Co., merchants, Nelson, was drowned at Moutere last week. Together with his family, he had been stopping out of town, and went boating. On his return all landed but deceased's son, when the dingy broke loose, and a strong wind drove it to sea. Mr. Buckeridge, seeing his son's clanger, sprang into the water to swim to the dingy, but was unable to overtake it. His strength failing, he sank. The body was recovered two hours later. The melancholy circumstance took place in sight of Mrs. Buckeridge and the children. It is reported that the boat with the son has been picked up. It is a great pity the railway authorities do not open the railway as far as the line is finished, which is as far as the village site of Elthana ; because travellers coming from the south are greatly inconvenienced owing to the bad coach road. Ou Friday, we learn from the Taranaki Herald, the coach got bogged, aud the passengers, amongst whom were some ladies, had to walk two miles to the railway station. It is the difficulty travellers experience in getting to Taranaki that has always kept the place back. We therefore hope the Government will see fit to 02>en the line at once, so that travellers may not be inconvenienced as those who came by the coach on Friday were. A few days ago a final meeting oi the retiring school committee was held at the schoolhouse, Hawera. It was resolved that Mr. J. L. Flint be asked to audit the accounts of the committee. Also that application be made to the Board for the appointment of an additional pupil teacher. Mr. Torry reported that he had arranged with Messrs. Duffill to line the ceiling and part of the old gable of the schoolhouse. Mr. Syme was instructed to arrange with the plumber to put spouting on the new part of the schoolhouse, and also to employ some person to re-erect an old fence as a breakwind at the end of the school. Accounts out of building fund, amounting to LSO, and out of capitation fund for 10s, were passed for payment. We have reason to believe that the finding of the military court, appointed to inquire into the case of Constable Bailey, at Opunake, has been adverse to the petitioner ; and we have heard, on what appears to be reliable authority, that Constable Bailey has been ordered to pay £3 per month, until the full valne of the goods alleged to be missing from the A.C. store has been refunded. It will be remembered that this matter was first made public in our columns. From what was stated to us at the time, it appeared that Constable Bailey had been rather severely dealt with, and we believed it to be our duty to draw attention to the rumors. The couit has now, we learn, decided otherwise, and of course we bow to its decision. But it is much better that the investigation should have been held, and we are sure that none will be better pleased than Sergeant Smith, against whom some rather severe accusations were bandied about. We are pleased to learn that the machinery for Messrs. Websters and McKellar's new mill was shipped by the Crownthorpe, which sailed for Wellington on the 23rd November last. There were 33 packages in all, measuring about 20 tons. The machinery will be transhipped to the Waitara, and from thence will be conveyed by rail to the new station at Eltham, which will soon be opened for traffic. Messrs. Websters and McKellar inform us that they expect to have the machinery at their mill by March, and they hope to be able to make a start about a month afterwards. Four carpenters and a wheelwright will be sent down next week from New Plymouth, so as to have everything in readiness. This will, doubtless, be gratifying news to the farmers, every one of whom is more or less interested in the success of the undertaking. One of the settlers who recently came amongst us from the Waikato expressed an opinion, the other day, that the fact of a flour-mill being in the district enhanced the value of every farm within a radius of 15 to 20 miles of it, and we quite agree with him.

A general meetini; oi the Hawerp Choral Society will be Juki this evening iv tho TowuHcill, at 7.30 p.m. Tenders are cillod for the erertiou of the Normanby and Hawera station buildings. Also lor the formation of Nos. 1 and 2 contiacts, on the Uremu road. On Thursday next Mr. W. Dale will sail by auction, at Patea, about 80 head of cattle, the property of Mr. Jas..Clague, who is leaving that district. A cricket match, Colonials against the World, will be played among the members of the Hawera club on Saturday next. Mr. Anthony Nathan is the successful tenderer for gravelling contracts Nos. 2, 3, and 5, Mountain road. We have not, as yet, been able to ascertain to whom the other contracts were let. Between L 14,000 and L 15.000 was received at the Land Office, Hawera, last week, by Mr. Wilkinson, the Receiver of Land Revenue, being the balance of the cash paj'ments on the land sold at auction in Hawera last December. As will be seen by advertisement, Mr. Prosser will run his coach from Hawera to Opunake on Saturday instead of Friday, so as to suit the convenience of those who desire to attend the sports to be held at the latter place. On Sunday evening we received a telegram from Reuter's Agency in London, stating that in consequence of the large mass of floating ice on the Thames, all traffic had been suspended, and that the contest for the champion boat race had to be further postponed. We now learn that the date has been fixed for the 14th February. Under the Patea Harbor Act Amendment Act 1877, members of the board are elected for one year only, on the second Monday in February in each year. One member is elected by the County Council, and one by the ratepayers of each of the ridings of the county of Patea. We hear that several ratepayers have requested Mr. G. W. Gane, of Whakamara, to allow himself to be nominated for the latter seat, which is at present held by Mr. J. Gibson, of Patea. The following tenders were received for the erection (labor only) of Mr. Lloyd's Hotel at Manaia : — James Goodfellow, Hawera (ace pted) .2141 10 0 T. Weddell, Hawera (declined) 180 0 0 Scott and Broderick, Hawera 185 0 0 F. Sisley, Normanby ... 188 O O C. Rosinsky, Normanby ... 195 0 0 Arthur Williams, Welling-ton 245 0 0 We understand that the work will be commenced at once, a quantity of the material being on the ground. The following tenders have been received by Messrs. Websters and McKellar for the fluining contract (labor only) in connection with their mill at the Tawhiti stream : — T. Rowe, N. Plymouth (accptd.)^69 10 0 H. Sanders, Hawera 88 0 0 G. Hall, Manutahi 130 0 0 J. Goodfellow, Hawera ... 131 10 0 G. Thrush, New Plymouth ... 156 4 9 John McKay, Normanby, tendered at 12s 3d per 100 feet; H. Wallatb, New Plymouth, at 13s 9d per 100 feet, and L 6 extra for tarring ; and James Robbie, New Plymouth, at LI 12s 6d per 100 feet. As it is calculated there will be from 18,000 to 20,000 feet of timber used in the work, Mr. McKay's tender would amount to between LllO and Lll3 ; Mr. WallatU's, X.123 to Ll4B ; and Mr. Robbie's, L 292 to L 325. There is certainly a large margin between the highest and lowest tenders.