The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 1877.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 53, 21 April 1877, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, APRIL 21, 1877.

Owing to the great, pressure upon onr space we are compelled to bold over our leader, together wifh n portion of our report of the proceedings of the Manawatu County Council. Several letters hare come to hand, hut. we are compelled lo hold them over until our next issue. Mr Or. M. Snellen's n net inn snips of limber, working bullocks, hordes, stock-in-trade or B. Pepper, &a, will be held this day, commencing at 12 noon. Luncheon will be provided. Mr H. McDonald tells us that a. greatnumber of the Maori children about the Harowhenua are down with fever and have been so for some time. A very fine moh of cattle numbering between one hundred and forty and one hundred and fifty passed through Foxton on Tuesday evening, on their road to tlie yards ot .Messrs. Crosby. Stevens and Co., of Wellington. Most of the cattle came from the Rangitikei district. The mcnsles and chicken pox are now getting very bad among the children of Foxton. A great number of them being laid up, it was thought advisable by the schorl committee and Dr Eockstro to close the school for a week.

''" c r-'teorner Nr.picr lei'vts Foxton for Well ini;,!. on on Monday afternoon next. Ash lir.<r of the Asr-eesuient Court was held m Palmerston, on Thursday last ihe 39th instant, bet ore ihe Judge, R.Ward, Esq. The valuer for Wards Nos. G lo 7 inclusive, Mnnawaiu Highways District, having made t ! -e usual dcilsration, the following persons made objection lo the valuation of their property : — James Munro, George Allerby, William MeDoul, and Donald Downey Walker. The Judge m each case after h.ea ring the objection and examining the valuer as to tho condition and situation of the properly, upheld the valuation, and passed the list as correct. The lists for Nos. 1 and 2 Wards not. being quite ready, the Judge adjourned the Assessment Court for an hour, and opened the Resident Magistrate's Court. These lists were afterwards examined, and the one solitary objection against them decided, as m the previous eases, against the objector. We clip the following from the "Advocate" : — From the following returns, courteously furnished hy the registration officer, we learn that the actual number of claims sent m throughout the Rangitikei and Manawatu districts is much less than was currently reported. Far greater interest has been manifested m Manawatu on this subject than m Rangitikei, as will be seen by the great, disparity m the number of claims registered. In the Rangitikei district these amounted to 17(5, made up as follows: — Individually sent m 51, sent m by the Bulls Local Board 33, by the Marton Local Board 32, hy the Rangitikei Highway Board 52 — total, 1/6. In Ihe Aianawalu there were sent m, individually 178, by the Palmerston Local Board 7*S, by the Foxt m Local Board 46, by the Manawatu Highway Board 47, ancl by the Manchester Highway Board 208 — total, 557The list forwarded by the Leth bridge Local Board could not be received, owing to its not. having been signed according to tlie requirements of the Act. Thus the whole of (lie ratepayers m Turakina will be disqualified for tlie next twelve mouths, excepting those who acted upon our reiterated advice and forwarded individual claims. A sensational accident occurred yesterday morning near the Post Office Hotel — one man accident ally shooting another m the street. The circumstances were these : Mr James Halkett, blacksmith, and Mr Robert Taylor, express driver, were talking about some minute and beautifully finished Derringer revolvers belonging to the former, who, assuming that they were not loaded was handling them pretty freely whilst showing the workmanship, when one suddenly went off, the charge passing through the calf of .Mr Taylor's rig'u leg. He was placed m a cab and taken to Dr. Diver, who dressed the wound, and gave the sufferer the comfort ing assurance t hat no bones were broken. .Most persons will consider no doubt, under the circuinsiiinces, that Mr Taylor should consider himself fortunate to have escaped more serious injury. Tlie oceurance we should imagine, was purely accidental, but it was neccessary that the police should take cognizance of it, and therefore during the day James Halkett. was brougdt up at the Resident. Magistrate's Court, and oharged with unlawfully wounding Bobert Taylor wiih a revolver. Taylor having been removed to the hospital, could not appear, and on the application of the police, defendant, was remanded for a week, bail being allowed m his own recognisance of £50 and one surely of £50. In connection with the agitation which is going on at the Upper Hutt, regarding railway matters, we may state that Mr James Brown has been paying over £300 a year to the Government as freight on firewood which he has sent into town by the railway. The freight hitherto paid on firewood has been os 6d per cord, and MiBrown wrote to the general manager of the railway, urging upon him tiie necessity of reducing (he charge. The reply he received was hardly the one he expected ; he was not only informed that the charge could not be reduced, but also that m future he would have to pay lOd per cord more for his firewood than he has been paying. We understand that Mr Brown intends not to trouble the railway authorities again, but to convey his goods to town m waggons. — " Post." In accordance with a promise made during the session a Commission was some time ago appointed to inquire into the wording of the Auckland railways and Mr Passmore's alleged mismanagement. The Commissioners were Messrs J. S. Macfarlane, W. Swanson, nnd Render Wood. We now learn from the Star that their report has been sent to his Excellency the Governor, and is to the following effect : — " Air Passmore's evidence went to show that the loss m working the Auckland and Mercer line had been £20,000 on the first year, and £14,000 on the second, ancl that gentleman gives as bis opinion that tlie reason is lack of population and traffic to make the line pay. The Commissioners do not endorse this opinion. They lay considerable stre3s on the fact that the officials are paid out of the taxalion of the country, and have no interest m encouraging the traffic. Some sugges'ions are made on this subject which are likely lo lead to good results — that is to say, if the Government are m earnest m their desire to improve matters." — " Argus." The " New Free Press " of Vienna, m a letter from its war correspondent at Constantinople, states the regular Turkish force at. 501 battalions of infantry, 183 squadrons of cavalry, ancl 6(56 field guns. Estimating the effective strength of the battalions at 600 men, the number of regular infantry would reach 300,000, ancl the horsemen 18,000, hesides the ariillery. Turkey, he says, can set on foot 692 bat talions of the normal strength of 1004 men each, and raise five regiments of reserve artillery, each with six batteries ; and these new levies will bring up the Turkish force to 700,000 men and 872 Krupp guns, to which must be added 70,000 zap'iehs, all old soldiers, and at least 20,000 Circassians. The "Argus" of the 14th insfc. says : — The following singular accident is recorded by a Christchurch paper — A newsboy named H. Smith, employed by the " Lyttelton Times," had a very narrow escape from strangulation yesterday morning on the Ferry Road. He appears to have been thrown from his horse into a hedge, and m falling the strap of his newspaper bag seems to have been dragged tight on his throat. He was found insensible, and quite black m the face, and was taken to Mr Loughnan's house on the Ferry Road. The "Taranaki News," referring to the

anniversary of tho *scii lenient, say?: — Taking this view of colonisation, we look back without, regret ; nay, with satisfaction and thankfulness to the arrival of the barque William Bryan at the Sugar Loaves, on the evening of the 30th of March, 18-1-1, and the landing on the iron-sand beach at Ngamotu on 'the following day of her brave band of pioneers.