Untitled

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 87, 1 July 1881, Page 2

The -Gravel Question.— We unler--Btand the Oovernment, have definitely fixe! the rental for the rails forming 1 tho gravel pit tramway at 30s per ton per annum. This will amount to about .£IOO ppr annum Mr llockstrovr, when in Wellington re . cently, interviewed the lion Mr Hnll, Minister of Public Works, and ursred th.it 10s per ton would be a fair rental, bu 1 (backed up by tho opini ms of one of the hpad engineers, 'rK «orp) he proved ob'lu rate, and insisted on 30a per ton. (,'onsiderinjr the tramway is to be us^d for publif. purposeß,and that, the Govern ment have Rolrl a larire quantity of litrht rails at a nominal price, their action in " sticking it on' 1 in thi* manner is paltry in the extreme. If the rails are wanted, they should take them up aud use them ; if they are not wanted, they should charge only a moderate sum. It would seem that after all it is but little advantage to have "our member" in the Cabinet, if in small matters like this the Government still insist on the "pound of flesh." A meeting will be held today of the councillors for Awahon. and the Chairmen of the F<>xton Highways and Local Boards, when the matter will be fully gone into, and a determination arrived at as to whether it is advisable or not to obtain gravel from the pit. Excluding cost of line and rent of rails, gravel from the Fox ton pit can be brought to town for 2s 9 ' per yard ; while from Palmerston it costs ah Mit 5s per yard, under the reduced tariff. Still, as the Government ask so high a rental, a very large quantity would need to be used to make a success of the affair, and it is doubtful if the money could be found by tho local bodies to pay at once for the haul age of say five thousand yards. That quantify obtained from the Foxton pit iv three months would represent a saving of nearly 1300 on the cost of the gravel from Palmerston. Committee. — A meeting of the County Council committee — consisting of the Chairman, Messrs Rockstrow and Sanson — appointed to enquire into the working of the engineer's department, was to have been held yesterday, but the Chairman happoned to miss the train, while M - S-mson through some unexplained cause did not arrive, and consequently the meeting lapsed. Land. — Mr A. J. Whyte advertises several sections near the wharf for sale. _ They are amongst the very best sections in Foxton, and either as investments or for business purposes are worthy the attention of capitalists. Sanson Hall. — The meeting regarding a public hall at Sanson will take place on Monday, July 11. The advertisement will appear in next issue. County Offices. — We understand the County Offices Site Committee— Messrs M'Lennan, Rockstrow, and Gray — have de'ermined to recommend the Council to purchase a section of land from Mr J. W. Liddell, situated opposite his private residence. A better site could not have been chosen, as it is in close proximity to the railway station, and being also in a central position will be easily accessible both by councillort and the general public. Several other sites were offered to the committee, but none were so suitable as that referred to.

An Acknowledgment. — Our Marfcon contemporary is wviilently pained at our recent reply to its personal attack on us, and furiously returns to the charge in Tuesday's issue. As we have a gteat objection to dis cussing personal matters in public print, wo decline to reply to tho Advocate's further attack on us. His sneering referencr to the "little village of Foxton," is misplaced, considering that tho population of HVxfcon is 830, while that of Marton is only (ii) 2, and Bulls (542. As to driving v- " over the bar," the idea is ludicrous in tht>;xtreme. It is also rather late. The Advnc.ite did intend to start a branch a Foxton, but if tho branch had proved no better than the parent stem tho people of Foxton would have been poorly represented. I r the Advocate is still disposed to try the experiment, we shall retort by doing what we haoe often be«n asked to do, viz., starting a paper at .Bulls. Oar advice to lim is this, " Let sleeping d >^s lie." Tin-smith. —We understand Mr Gibson, who recently purchased the farm at Moutoa formerly owned by Mr J. Smith, intends to start business at Foxton a3 a general tinsmith. Mr (libaon was in the same business in a large way at home, and considers there s a good opening here. He intends to make tin cans, pannikins, &a, at the prices oaid for them wholesale in Wellington, bnli«\ T ini» that even then a substantial profit will roinain. He intends to erect his shop on the land recently purchased hv Mr H more, near the Hekald office. Wo ivro thviys pleased to see new businesses pined up, and as we are certain a tinsmith ,vill do well, we cordially wish Mr Gibson ■ uucess in his undertaking. The Shock at Sea — Ciptain Moore, >f the schooner Emerald, informs in that le did not feel the earthquake. He says lia vessel was knocking a'>out in 0 wk's Straits at the time in a nasty chopping sea. and under these circumstances it is not to be wondered at that he did not recognise the shock. Nrw Steamer. — The Union Company are having another large steamer built at Home. Their vessels are all named after lakes in Now Zealand. One nearly completed is to be called the Manipori, another in course of construction is to be called the Wairarapa, while one just ordered is to be called the Hauroto. The Pauierstov Libel Cases.— The case of Mr .!. B. Dungau v. Mr A. M'Minn came before the R. M. Court at Palmer3ton on Tuesday, Mr Ward, 11. M. presiding. Mr Staite appeared for Mr Dungan, and Mr Hawkins for Mr M'Minn. Mr Staite, on behalf of his client, said he would repeat th<J offer he made prior to the hearing of the last case, viz., that a mutual understanding should be come to by the parties to withdraw both charges. To this Mr Hawkins at first demurred, but subsequently the Court adjourned for half an hour, during which period an understanding was arrived at that both cases were to be withdrawn. The prosecution therefore lapsed, aud a withdrawal has been made of the charge ag;»inst Mr Dungau, relegated to the Supreme Court. The Railway BninaES.— Mrßotheram. railway manager, accompanied by M r Sfcnwarfc, district engineer, inspected the railway bridges between Foxton and H-il-combe on Tuesday last. It was found that none of them were damaged, although they bore evidence of having been shaken a good detl. The priucipal damage done was in loosening of the approaches, especially at the Rangitikei and upper Oroua bridges. Considering the force of the shock it is satisfactory to find that so little damage was done. Such a fact speaks volumes for the stiength of the bridges. The State of the River. — A good deal of misunderstanding has been caused by the map of the Manawatu river recently issued by the Harbor Bjard, and drawn by Messrs King and Hill. At one point the map shows a depth of water in the river of only 4 feet. With reference to this we may explain that the depth shown on the map is at low water springs. The rise bein<* between 6 feet and 7 feet, would give a depth at that point (the shallowest in the river between the wharf and bar) at high water springs of between 10 and 11 feet, quite sufficient to tide over vessels capable of holding 250,000 feet of timber, if of a suitable class. We believe the Chairman of the Harbor Board (Mr Gray) has requested Mr Seabury, pilot and harbormaster, to furnish a report of the state of the bar and river, also the draught up to which re3sels can safely enter. Windle's Case.— The young nun, John Wiudle, who was arrested a few days ago on a charge of assaulting with intent two native women, wa3 tried on Wednesday morning, before Mr Ward, R. M., and Messrs Thynne and Stewart, J.P.'s. The evidence of the principal complaiaant, Arihia Karena, was taken, but was of so weak a character that after hearing it the Court dismissed the information. Constable M 'Anulty explained the second case, in which Riria Hoani was complainant, was weaker than the previous one, and that ha would therefore withdraw it. During the hearing of the case Mr Hankins explained that he had witnesses present who wer« prepared to give evidence from personal knowledge of the immoral character of the complainants. Considerable sympathy was felt for the young man VVindle, who is said to be exceedingly well conducted. All Saints' CHr/Rcn.— It will be seen by advertisement in another column that a meeting of the parishioners of All S*itits' Church will be held on Sunday evening, at the close of the usual service, which will be conducted by the Rsv. Mr Keating. We believe the business to bo transacted consists of appointing the Vestry and Church wat dens. Police. — Inspector James arrived in Foxton on Weduesday evening to pay his periodical visit of inspection. — Constable Mitchell, of Otaki, is enjoying a brief leave of absence. — Constable M'Anulty left by the Jane Douglas yesterday morning u> serve a summons on a witness named Cribb, resident at Kapiti. He intended to proceed on to Wellington by the steamer, and will probably return to Foxton by the couch today. Cribb is to be a witness against E. M. Symons, well-known on this Coast, who is being proceeded agaiust on a charge of forgery and uttering. In the Box. — When Arihia was under cross-examination, on Wednesday, at the hands of Mr H-inkins, the learned counsel, in the interests of his client, John Windle, rather ungallantly asked her a question which impeached her virtue. Quite naively she replied, " lam not in the habit of doing such things — ask my husband ?" One could not of course be so bass as to say she is not what Caesar said he would have his wife — "above suspicion," — but a burst of laughter went round the Court when she appealed to her husband as a guarantee of the purity of her morals. Brethren's Chapel.— Mr Howan requests us to acknowledge with thauks the receipt of the following donations for the Chapel for the Brethren : — Mr J. Coley, £1 Is; Messrs F. Robinson, jun., and Geo. Robinson, 10* 6 1 each ; Mr J. Saunders, 10s ; Mr G Sitherley, si ; Mr Ingram, 3i ; Messrs T. Bowe and W. A. Feck, 2s 6d each ; Mr Jacob*, 2s ; total of donations, t £17 18s. '

Baxktnc— Mr R. G. Cnx, of the Bmk of AudCralisia, leaves per Wellington c >ach, to give evidence in Symons' case. Daring hU absence his plaon will be supplie I by Mr Dawson, of the Palmerston agency. After the E.\rthqu\ke.— Bicklayers are engaged repairing the damaged chimneys a';our the town and district. The goods shed has been restored to its proper level, and the railway line put straight, [n a few weeks, there will probably be nothing left amis 3to mark the destructive shock. Tlieshock w as severely felt throughout tho Ciruarvon district, especially at. C-unpbelltown. All the chimneys at Mr M'Lennan's residence were seriously damaged. In Continuation.- Earthquake shocks have occurred at intervals ever since the publication of last issue. Two very smart otifs took place on Wednesday evening,one it 6.58, and the other at 8.35. Slight tremors have been of very frequent occurrence. Carnaiivon Wem,.- The well at Mr •Luiko's cottage, Carnarvon, has now filled up to its ordinary depth of 6 feet. While it was in motion a quantity of stuff like Hour and water appeared to boil up. We believe Mr M'Lennan has secured a quantity of the silt. Another Incident. — When the earthquake was in full swing, a great number of persons had a sudden accession of piety, la one instance, an ''elderly party,''ejaculated a fervent prayer, and had got half way through a repetition of it, when down went the bedstead. Thinking she had started on a downward journey she clutched the bedclothes tightly round her head, and was considerably relieved when her corpus stopped at tho floor. Sulphur. — The day following the earthquake, a gentleman in Feililing said to another, in reference to the shake, "It was awful ! I smelt sulphur, and saw blue firo !" " Ah," said his companion, "it was just as well that you should receive an introduction to things of that kind. You will know what to expect now. " The other party looked grieved, but smiled a sad Smile. Spfxtai, LinES. — Mr John Young, the wellknown Wellington ironmonger, advertises in another column that he has now on sale a special line of open ranges and fire grates, at remarkably cheap prices. Mr Young's establishment has gained such a reputation that purchasers can thoroughly rely on receiving good value for their money, even in such extraordinary bargains as he is now offering. He also announces that he is clearing his stock of guns at less than cost price. For further particulars, we refer onr readers to the advertisement, which will be found on the first page of the paper. Whitr Pinf,. — The sawmillers are not long in taking advantage of the lowering of tho freight on. white pine. A vessel has been chartered to take a cargo from Wanganui to Australia, and at a meeting held at Feilding on Saturday, it was decided that Messrs Bartholomew and Jensen (the latt >r gentleman representing the firm of Richter, Nannestad & Co.) should go over to Australia and endeavour to arrange for a continued sale of this commodity. — Rangitikei Advocate. A Brave Sailor. — At Shanghai, we learn from a private letter, the barque Lydia obtained a charter to another Chinese port, and among the cargo was a consignment of 30 tons of gunpowder, and several cases of percussion cap 3. Mr Hood, the second officer (a native of Tasmania) was in the hold superiaten>ling the stowing of this combustible material. The powder was stowed safely, but in passing down one ofjthe cases of cap 3it exploded on the top of the powder. All the Chinamen who were employed in the hold, when they saw the danger, fled from the ship, leaving Mr Hood by himself. The chief mate and crew of the vessel were out of hearing, and the cries for assistance were of no avail. Mr Hood, however, was equal to the occasion, for he knew that in a few moments, if nothing was done to remove the burning case, the ship and all on board would be blown to atoms. He caught up the case, which was a very heavy one, and managed to scramble up the ladder with it and consign it to the water. The effort was •» great one, Mr Hood sinking into a dead faint just as he cast the case overboard. The excitement of this act, which required so much presence of irind, gave Mr Hood's nervous system a great shock and brought on fever and ague, from which v c are glad to sav\ ho had nearly recovered when the above information was penned. The owner of the vessel, after this lucky escape, did not care about the presense of powder on board her, and had it all sent ashore again before the vessel sailed. — Hobart Mercury. Public Works in New South Wales — Auother evidence of the growing prosberity of New South Wales may be found in the large number of public works in progress. The additions to the new General Post Office are being vigorously prosecuted and are estimated to cost £205,000 ; four new lighthouses are in course of construction at a cost of about £55,000 ; the Ballan Park Lunatic Asylum, which will cost £229,000, is being rapidly pushed on ; about £50,000 are being expended in increasing the fortifications ; the Goulburn Gaol, now in course of erection, is to cost £57.800 ; while numerous Courthouses and ptst and telegraph offices bring the total of works in progress (exclusive, of course, of railway extensions) up to £750,000.—Exchange.