SATURDAY, JAN. 27, 1883.

Manawatu Times, Volume VIII, Issue 171, 27 January 1883, Page 2

SATURDAY, JAN. 27, 1883.

At yesterday's meeting of the Borough Council a discovery was made wbich, we believe will have an embarrasing effect upon those local bodies which have appointed as returning officers for Licensing Committee elections others than their regular returning officers. Under the Licensing Act of 1881 it was quite m order to appoint other persons to act m this capacity, but the Amending Act of last session alters this course by referring directly to the Regulation of Local Elections Act. Subsection 1 of clause 5 of the I icensing Amendment Act runs as follows : — " The local body having jurisdiction throughout any licensing district shall appoint the returning officer for such district m manner provided by ' The Regulation of Local Elections Act, 1876,' and sections 6 to 9 of the Act last named shall apply m respect to every returning officer so appointed " Clause 6of the Act referred to read as follows : — " There shall be a returning officer for every district, who shall be appointed By the local body, and shall hold office until his removal by such local body, resignation, &c , m any of which events the local body shall appoint a returning offioer m his stead." Clause 7 goes on to say — *' Every election shall be held by the returning officer:" From these clauses it seems clear enough that the local body cannot have two returning officers, and that the Licensing Committee elections must be conducted by the returning officers of the various local bodies having jurisdiction m each licensing district. In this case the nominations of the Taonui committee received to-day will be informal^ as the election is being conducted by Mr Haultain, as returning officer for the licensing district, while Mr Mowlem was but recently appointed returning officer for the same district.

The valuation roll of the Borough of Pal m< rston North for 1883 shows thi-i-at-i able value of pro >erty to be £18,412, being an increase of £1862 since 1-ist y ar At n sbi'ling rate this will yield £920 as apaiust 1*827 las* year. Mr Hinmaii, Evangelist, held a second meeting at the Foresters' Hall last night but the attendance was not very numerus. He pr< a lies ag»in to«night and to-morrow evening. Tue Foxton Racing Club's settling up took plt;e kst nis[ht. We v iderstand the total rec lpts of the Club amount to about £270. 'i he Hon. J. Johnston has return' d to Wellington from Europe. r ''h limes says ha looks exceedingly well after his :ibsen "c. Th:ro is no clue as yet to the culprit wbo robbed the Piince of Wiles Hot.l Wtllinirton, on Monday night. The robbery was committed wiiilethe Druids' procession was going past. To get at the mo.ey the thi f had to open a chest of drawers and abstract the cash»box. The American papers report that a Mr Andrew Stewart, fanner, of Mirirhoush«ad, near Locke: bie, Dumfriesshire lia> fallen heir toy»artff the £17,000,000 left by Mr A.T. Stewart, the celebrated iVcw York draper. Mr Thomas Edward s,of Stoney Creek, inserts a notice re'eninn to cattle now running upon his .-roperty. The *• mark of the beaet " was set up n the totalisa'or at the Foxton meeting, the amount passed through reaching the numher of 666 pounds sterling. Modified pi; ns tor the Juhnsonville Church have been prepared by Mr F De J. Here, A.R.1.8.A., and accepted fiy the Trustees. The wo^k will be commencd forhwtth. The church is to seat 125 persons. A Mrs Stow, of San Francisco, has advertiKed her intention of wearing ( trousers m public, and has requested the protection of the police m case she is m I suited m the street. It is stated that the Canterbury "oiamonds" have, on analysis, been found to be merely quartz crystals. A man named John Bell, a loafer on the Maoris, was on Thursday brought before Mr Waldegrave, J.P., charged wi'h using threat ning language to John Lane, and was fi'.ed£l or 14 day's imprisonment. He was also bound over to keep the peace for three months, but bein/i unable to find sureties was sent to Wsnganui Gaol for that term. Constable Gillespie took him through lust evming. The Anniversary sermons of the Wesleyan Sunday School are to be pri ached by the Rev. Mr Williams early m March. The school children are already practising hymns for the occa - sion. • The trains to and from Awapuni have bt* n crowded dnri'ig yesterday and today. The Railway Department will make up many times over the value of tJie free pass Mr Bryce gave to Tawiiao. Bush fires are doing considerable damage m the Cart"rton distiict. Yesterday Mr Gr. W. Shailer, our local photographer, went to Awapuni for the purpose of taking a photograph of the sctne, but was ordered away. He subsequently went down m a cart, and was about to take a photograph from the plntforra when be was ru-hed by a numbii of Maoris, prominent amongst wbom were two named Kia and Wiirena, and bidly bei.ten and knocked about He whs very stiff and much hrui ; ed last evening owing to the mauling he got. '1 here is likely to be a police case or two over it. Yesterday evening a man who was engaged deepening Mr Graff's well, said he felt ill, and asked that a drop of brandy might be given him. A flask was lowered, and he -ook a long "pull " at it, with tte result that he got excited, refused to come out of the well, or st nd tbe tools up, and m fact became generally obstrepe/ous. ■At length he was got out, when he threw himself on the ground and uttered a series of .most unear'hly yells, arousing the wh le neighborhood. He was at last taken home m a cart. A bucket or two of water would soon bave stopped his howling. The Rev. Mr Griffith bas gone to Auckland to meet his parents, wbo are ex* pected to arrive there shortly from England. During his absence tbe services at tbe Wesleyan Church will be conducted by lay preachers. We understood the Palmerston Band were to perform- before the Maori King. Why did they not do so ? people are asking. Did the natives think LSO too much? The Rev. Mr Wright is to preach at Wanganui to«morrow, the Rev. Mr Treadwell being indisposed. The ser* vices at the local Presbyterian Church, will be conducted by Messrs Leary and Austin. Notice is given that on the 12th February a public meetiug of ratepayers will he held m the Palmerston Town Hall for the adoption af res ilotions m connection with the proposed separation from the County. The Chronicle reports that. the wi*e of j a farmer near Mosstown bas just saddled her spouse with ab-»ut £20 for damages caused by a fire, which she lighted out side the house for washing purposes, sp> eadiug to the grass and burning down some of the neighbour's fences. The said neighbours obtained damages to the above amount m the R,M. Court yes« terday. Tbe Chronicle expects that 50,000 sacks of wheat will be exported fn m Wanganui this seasoD, as against 16,000 last year. King Tawhiao, it appears, h desirous during his tour of replenishing his harem. He has al:ead> obtained one maiden belonging to R.djgifikti who will go back to Wa kato with him. He bas ulso be* n casting longing eyes on Agnes, an Awapnni girl, a neice of Peefci Te Aweawt's, but i'eert declines the honor of a narital counecwithi' 1 royalty. Peeti remarked the other <lay t» a well-known townsman, "I like the King, but I no see that ! " Palmerston is at present deserted by the clergy, there not bi iug one m tht place !s it a sign tbat we art- "not a verj bid lot after all," wbei. our spiritua klviserisihusltifiTeus to our own dovice. ?