NEWS AND NOTES.

Manawatu Times, Volume X, Issue 135, 20 April 1881, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

To Correspondents. - Correspondents m order to secure insertion for their letters should forward them at least on the morning preceding publication. We hare been compelled to hold over letters from Messrs. T. M'Kwen, James Kibblewhite, and .Morris Saraue's. Illness of Mr. Dillon.— We hear with extreme regret that Mr. John Dillon, of Main-street, was on Friday night S'ezed with a paralytic fit, and he now lies m a very precarious condition. Dr. Marriner, who is his medical' attendant, looks upon : the cane as a sori >us one, ani we regret to state 1 hat he considers the chances of : recovery mor« than doubtful. Unfortunately Mr. Dillon's full habit of body will not bo much m his favor; Still Another Upset. — Bridently the recent epidemic of upsets has not yet passed away, for m addition to the long catalogue of mishaps m that line wbie*

w« have alroiidy chronicled, there is yet another. On Monday a little girl was wheeling a perambulator, m which there was a baby belonging to Mr. Mikkleson, carpenter, when by some means the vehicle got capsized; the infant thrown out, and its arm broken. The little sufferer was taken to Dr. Marriner, who attended to it* injunes, and we learn it is progressing favor* ably. , Ferfny Wise.— We belieTe there were some soft of sports m Marton on Banter Monday, but evidently the public of Mana.*atu,were utterly unaware of the fact, as although there were fire double carriages attached to the engine of the morning train, there was not a solitary passenger from rPbiton, andless than the ordinary number got m »t Palmerston. . The parsimonious ..action of the committee instudiousty avoiding advertising m the Manawatu papers, must have been painfully evident m the result, and was m marked contrast to the management of the Christmas Sports at Feilding. Bazaar. —We have to remind our readers that the Bazaar m aid of the Funds of the Church of England takes place today. A large and varied assortment of superior plain and fancy needlework, and sundry articles too numerous to mention, will be exhibited for sale. The doors open to the public at eleven o'clock, and m the evening the balance of the goods not disposed of, will be submitted to auction. There will also be a sale held near Mr. Snelson's auction rooms m the afternoon, when agricultural produce, and live stock will be, sold. The price of admission to the Bazaar has been f xed at one shilling. A Narrow Escape.— The following circumstance will show how very simply, accidents occur. . Daring the holidays ivlr. and Mrs. Collins >h, of the Square, were driving In a trap, when the former happened to throw a lighted match behind, intending that it should fall upon the road. Unfortunately, however, it lodged m the back of the vehicle on top of an umbrella, which became ignited, and m a few seconds blitzed up. The smell attracted the attention of | the occupants, just m time to save Mrs. OoHinson's dreßS — which was a very light one — from catching fire. The result shows how simply disastrous results very often arise from the most trifling incidents, and should act as a warning for the exercise of great care. The covering of the umbrella was totally destroyed before the flame could be subdued. A Dangerous Joke.— in our last issue we chronicled an accident which occurred to the driver of Mr. Eng's cart, through an upset, On Monday morning the same man, was very near having a repetition of his former experience. He was driving a trap from the wheelright's round to the sSquare, but as the wheels were merely placed on the ends of the axle, ana not fastened, it is not to be wondered at that he had not gone far before one worked its way loose, obtained its liberty, and proceeded down the street by itself, leaving the vehicle on one wheel at an angle of forty-fbe degrees. Fortunately the driver was able to stick to the reins and keep his .teat, and the proverbial upset did not occur, but the escape was a narrow one. if the leaving of the wheels unsecured was a j ke, it was a silly and dangerous one, which, might ha\e ended m tue most serious results. A Desirable Settler.— Amongst the many new arrivals which have lately sett L.d m the district, is a g ntleman whose prof -ssional experiences call for a passing notice. We allude to Mr. J. P. Armstrong —brother of Mr. Armstrong, the Borough Engineer — a gentleman, who for many yaws hell a most oneroue position under the Indian Government, and was connected with some of the largest engineering undertaking* m that part o ! the British empire. Beside his pr >f es^ional sxill, we are pleased to hear that Mr. Armstrong brings with him a more than ordinary tthare of the yellow metal, so that he is a most esirablfccolo dst iv ado >ble sense. We understand he has purchased some acres of land adjoining his br ther's property at Terrace End, and purpose* erecting a large dwelling-house thereon. Trial of the Land Leaguers.We nave been fcrwarded by the publishers, Messts. Whittaker Bros., of Wellington, m pamphlet form, the speech of Mr. A. M. Sullivan, *1.P., m defence of the Land Leayuera. Mr. Sullivan, who was advocate for Mr. Patrick Bgan has the reputation of being one of the finest orato/s m the House of Commons, and the subject being one into whi^b, he would enter hea t and soul, it is not to be wondere<i at that his defence was one of the dest displays of forensic eloquence which has taken place m the present generation. Upon the audience who had the good fortune to hear him it exercised an electric inflence, and appeared as if. ibe dead aahes of Cumin, Grattan, and O'Oonneil, were again kindled into life. The speech is being published at sixpence, and quite independently of any interest attaching to its subject matter, those who admire the grand and eloquent should obtain the book. To Whom it May Concern. - The literary moth who. guides the destinies of the Society paper. The Free Lance, has at last come' to 'grief ~a fate which will assuredly , overtake all those who offend against decency, and make brutal attacks upon the characters of men and women. The editor has had a somewhat chequered career, and his journalistic experiences have not been of the most pleasing nature. He has had his nose twealtei and his hide tanned without taking wisdom from the lesson-* ; but a* corporal punishment' has hitherto been' found totally inadequate to stay his slanderous pen, the machinery of the law has been put m motion, and he has been fully committed for trial upon one charge at the instance of Mr Rees, while Mr Hunt only awaits for the holidays to pass over to follow suit upon another. Such papers are a curse to a community, a blast upon the colony, a disgrace to journalism, and their conductors should be ostracised as so many moral lepers, whose aims' are — not to further the progress of the district m which their vicious seed is sown — but to pander to low sensuality, foment ill-will and dissension, attack the weak and unprotected, and debauch the minds of the innocent by their indecent inuendoes.