NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume IX, Issue 1637, 30 May 1887, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

The banks were cosed to-day being White Monday. Captain Edwin wires : — Every indication of a hard frost to night. Merry Hampton won the Derby by four lengths. Time, 2min 43sec. Professor Leone Levi, in a paper on the progress during Queen Victoria's reign, said that pauperism in Ireland had increased, between 1878188G, from 324,000, in a population ot 5,412,000, to 442,000, on a population estimated at 4,887,000, bo that nearly one tenth of the population are living on the poor-rates. A number of promises of exhibits for the Wanganni and West Coast Jubi'eo Exhibition, have been received by the local committee and applications for space in accordance have been forwarded to tbe Wanganni committee. Intending exhibitors should now lose no time in making application. — Fitzsimmons a carpenter, lately of Hawera, was charged beioie the R.M. at Patea, with neglecting to provide for his wile aad six children at Hawera. The police stated that the wife affirmed that she had received no money since January last from accused. The bench ordered accused to pay .£1 a week for maintenance of his wife aud family. The Patea ftfail recommends the merging into the conuty council of the eight road boards which vow have jurisdiction within the couuty, and says that settlers should consider whether it is not more to their advantage to have one rate well expended by one thoroughly practical staff, under one representative body, than to have a shoal of little rates tinkered about by inexperienced hands, and in the payment of eight or nine sets of office expenses. Between May 1, 188G, and April 80 last, 1*270 souls were nominated under the present system of immigration. 1054 of these have arrived in the colony, The distribution was ; — Auckland 20G Taranaki 39, Hawke's Bay 101, Wellington 2G4, Marlboraugh 22, Nelson 27, Westland 14, Canterbury 163, dago 208. Siuce the initiation of the immigration scheme, 73.127 couls have been nominated, and 30,272 have arrived in the colony. A requisition of electors of Egmont district, requesting Mr. F. McGuiro to offer himself as a candidate for election to the House of Representatives at the next general election and pledging each person figniug it, to do his best to secure Mr. McGuire's return to Parliament, was being actively circulated in Hawcr.i on Saturday. About nine o'clock on Satur: day, there were about 40 signatures ; but this morning, it is said, fully 100 signatures appear on the petition. Mr. James Livingston is said to be actively enlisting support for Mr. McGuire on the Plaint to-day, and two other we 1-knoun supporters are said to be canvas-ing the Patea district to-day. As local politicians still continue to discuss the situation and ask for new.', and failing that for opiuions on the mlject, we can but repeat that we ft el tatisfied that there will not, under any con. ceivable circumstance, be more than <>ne g neral election, aud are equally sure tint that election will be under the new Rep resentaiion Act. The. delay of ministers publicly notifying their resignation shows that they have not tendered it, as they would certainly have taken credit for such an action if they had resigned. The Governor will very probably have some very pretty special pleading from Sir B. Stout to deal with, when arranging the conditions under which His Excellency would grant the dissolution whick has evidently been a-ked for by the Ministry. The Otago Daily Times says it will be a matter for regret if the Opposition, for tactical purposes, put the task of moving a vote of want of confidence into the hands jof anyone bnt their recognised leader. There has been too much ol this irregular action during the present Parliament, and the result speaks for itself. No doubt there are many members of the quasi - Opposition who do not like voting with [ Major Atkinson, but the time to show their dislike to his return to power will be when he is called upon to form a Government. They will then have to face the question of providing an alternative, and may perhaps have it brought prominently before their consideratiou that " politics are a field where action is one long secoud best, and where the choice constantly li»s between two blunders." They are not now called upon to consider whether Sir John Hall would or would not be a more acceptable leader of the Opposition than Major Atkinson ; but it is abundantly proved that there is no other member of tho Opposition in the present House with anything like the political ability of Major Atkinson, or who would command anything like the game confidence in the country.

Mrs. Hymnn, who has lately been discharged from ihe cottage hospital at Hawera, was brought before tbe bench on Saturday and ehaiged with mendicancy. Evidence was given that she had no lawful means of support, and was habitually intemperate. She was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. Tenders are invited up to noon on 16th June for bridge over the Tangahoe stream. j Loyal Union Lodge of Oddfellows meet this evening. Messrs. Nolan, Tonks and Co. publish first entries of stock sale at Kakaramea on Thursday.