COUNTRY NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9078, 12 June 1888, Page 6

COUNTRY NEWS.

[FROM our own correspondents.]

Hamilton, Monday. The chairman of the Waikato County Council, on behalf of that body, has petitioned the Government to abolish the totalisator at race meetings. The gambling which has been encouraged by this abomination is demoralising the youth of both sexes, even in country districts.

One of the matters to be considered at Tuesday evening's meeting of the Borough Council will be the confirmation of regulations for the management of the public saloyards recently erected out of the borough rates. The committee appointed to go into the matter have recommended amongst other regulations that sales, except for some special occasion, shall be held only on one day in the month, all auctioneers, as in the Canterbury district, holding their sales on the same day, each one selling for one hour or two hours, as per arrangement, and retiring to give the next auctioneer his turn, and so on turn and turn about till the cattle are gone through. This arrangement ensures a big sale instead of several small ones, and saves the time of the farmers, who now run about from sale to sale. The plan has been suggested by several Canterbury settlers, now residents of Waikato, who speak highly of the advantage of the system to sellers, buyers, and auctioneers. The house of Mrs. O'Neill, in Gallowaystreet, was burned to the ground on Saturday night, about half-past eight o'clock. The occupants were at the Public Hall, West Hamilton, at the Salvation Army meeting, and had left the house apparently secure from fire. Nothing was saved. The accident was nearly the cause of a more serious one. The cry of fire created a panic in the Public Hall, and about half of the people in it rushed madly, struggling for the doors. Fortunately they were opened at once and kept so, or the result might have been serious. It is time that the Borough Council passed a by-law, enforcing the opening outwards of the doors of the four Hamilton halls, for should they get shut in such a rush as ' occurred on Saturday night, the result would indeed be serious. At a meeting of the Hamilton West School Committee it was resolved to bring the compulsory clauses of the Act into force. This provision is still more needed in the case of the East Hamilton School. A meeting of the ratepayers of the Hamilton Highway District lias been asked for to consider the proposal of striking a rate of 5-Bths of a penny. Rates and taxes are crushing the farmer, and the opinion of a large section of the ratepayers is that a much lower rate would suffice. The Waikato Council is taking the necessary steps to bring in a Bill during the present session of Parliament whereby section No. 223 a,"some 130 acres, known as the Peach Grove Reserve, and adjoining the Hamilton borough boundary, may be vested in the Waikato County Council as an endowment for that county,for the purpose of an agricultural college and model farm. A copy of the Bill will be for inspection at the Courthouse, Hamilton, for the next three weeks, as by law required. T am ah ere, Monday. At the meeting of the Tamahere Highway Board, on,—present: Messrs. Runciman, Barugh, Furze, and Wheeler —it was resolved to gravel the road from Tinne's gate to the railway station. A curious vagary of the railway freight arrangements was brought before the Board. Two tons of pipes had been got up from Carder Brothers, Auckland, and the railway freight charged was 255. This was considered excessive, and, on a remonstrance with the railway officials, the Board was informed that the higher charge was on account of the small quantity. Had four tons been sent instead of two the freight would have been 12s 9d instead af 255. Kirikiriroa, Monday. The following tenders for works on Coate's Road were dealt with by the Kirikiriroa Road Board on Saturday : —W. Chitty, forming 2s lid per chain, gravelling lis per chain, earthworks lOd per yard, pipes 2s 3d each ; Coombes, 4a, 8s 6d, 4sd, and 8d ; Wayte, 4s 6d, 9s, sd, and 2s 6d; and Dixon (accepted), forming 3s per chain, gravelling 8d |)er yard, earthworks 5d per yard, and pipes Te Awamutu, Monday. A man named James Bloomfleld, wanted by the Auckland police for house-breaking, was arrested by Constable Jones here, ana remanded by the local. Bench to Auckland, for which place.he leaves by train to-day. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENTS. J Hamilton, Monday. Mrs. O'Neill's house, which was burned on Saturday night, was insured in the London find Lancashire Office for £200 on the house and furniture. No clue to the fire is known except that on leaving the house to attend the Salvation Army meeting some clothes were left airing on a horse before the kitchen fire. A young man named Odium, the eldest son of Mr. ' Odium, of West Hamilton, had his collar-bone broken on Saturday while playing at football on Sydney Square. He is favourably progressing under the care of Dr. Carey. Mr. John Knox applied for and obtained a New Zealand, wine license, but, fearing that it would interfere with his commission as a Justice of the Peace he declined to take it out. and on Saturday wired to Major Jackson, Wellington, asking him to ascertain if this would Be so. To-day he received a telegram stating that Ministers had decided that the holding of a New Zealand wine license does not disqualify a man from holding the position of a Justice of the Peace. / ; ,

• . Cambridge, Monday. Major Walmsley arrived here to-day on a visit to the Waifcato, with a view of purchasing horses for the Indian market. • ... • Te Aroha, Monday. An individual named George Kenny was brought up in the Police Court, to-day, charged with three offences. For being drunk and disorderly, he was sentenced to pay a fine of 20s or seven days' imprisonment; for using obscene language, to two months ; and for resisting the police, to one month in Mount Eden Gaol with hard labour. The ast two sentences to run concurrently.

WADE. . The severe winter we are experiencing has caused our district to assume its muddy appearance earlier than usual. Our roads are so bad that it is difficult to reach either churches or places of entertainment, consequently the long winter nights are getting dreary. Our Blue Ribbon society made two attempts to hold its monthly meeting, but the heavy rain caused failure on both occasions. People could not attend on account of the rain and mud. The Queen's birthday was celebrated here by most people going on with their usual work. People here take very little interest in the celebration of the Queen's birthday; in fact, very few of them celebrate their own birthdays. Times are bad, and to keep the pot boiling is sometimes difficult, consequently the fewer birthdays in a family the better. — [Own Correspondent, June 4.] DAIRY FLAT. At the monthly meeting of the Pukeatua Road Board, which was held at the office of the Board, the Dairy Flat Schoolhouse, on Saturday, June 2 (Mr. James Inglis, chairman, in the chair), the following tenders were received : —For contract No. 1 (clearing slips from the . cutting leading down to Mr. Bond's farm): Green and Son, £4 4s; E. Blucher, £3; W. Griffiths, £3; R. Brunton (accepted), £1 10s. For contract No. 2 (clearing about thirty chains of tea-tree near Mr. Clinton's residence): Green and Son, 6s per chain; W. Griffiths, 5s fid; E. Blucher. 4s 9d; R. Brunton, 3s; J. Foley (accented), 2s 9d. Contraot No. 3 (for dog tax collector): W. Griffiths, Is per collar. This was the only tender received, and was accepted conditionally. A petition was received from fourteen residents and ratepayers, praying that the bridge known as Moyles' Bridge be raised. The Board decided to take no action in the matter at present. Mr. James Goodfellow waited upon the Board, to request that the Postman's Bridge, which has been shifted by a recent fresh, be made passable for traffic. The chairman promised that the matter should receive immediate attention.

I hear on good authority that the Dairy Flat Gold Mining Company have made arrangements with Mr. Cribbin, of the Globe Mill Company, Bradford, England, to send home a trial shipment of fifty tons of stone, to be tested at their mills. The stone will be sent to Auckland for transhipment to London as soon as the spring opens. The shipment would have been sent this autumn, but for a little misunderstanding between Mr. Cribbin and the heads of the firm in England, but all is now settled to the satisfaction of all parties, and with the advent of spring, operations will be at once commenced. The local company intend running a tramway from the mine down to the road. The water-wheel in connection with the battery will be used to supply motive power for winding up the trucks. The Road Board are at present improving the road leading past the gold mine to the main road. When the work is completed, it will be of great advantage to numerous settlers, to whom this road is an outlet, as well as to the mine property. A petition is being circulated and largely signed here, praying the County Council that the Volkner Deviation Road be made passable for at least foot and horse traffic.

I observe that Messrs. Jeffs, Brunton, and Moffat write confirming Mr. Jeffs'contradiction of my statements re Dairy Bridge approaches. 1. They state that they (the three) are engaged repairing the road. Now Sir, this statement is not correct. Mr. Jeffs s not, and has not been working on the road. He is incapable of performing such work, being nearly eighty years of age. 2. They say that they can" truly state that Mr. Jeffs' measurement is correct, viz., "that the road is three inches at one end and six inches at the other below th« floor of the bridge." True, the approaches were " three" and "six" below the flooring of the bridge, but your correspondents fail to state how much more the fall was. I still abide by my former statements, knowing them to be correct. With all the repairs that have been effected, part of the approach still remains as it was before, although the worst has been filled up. The pubic who use the bridge are the best judges as to which statement is nearest the truth. It is a matter of surprise to me that Mr. Jeffs, who is a settler and ratepayer, and lives within a quarter of a mile of the bridge in question, should ever have contradicted my statement, seeing that it was only made in the interest of the main road and the public travelling thereon. The only apparent reason for his action appears to be that Mr. Jeffs rarely uses the Dairy Bridge, except for horse and foot traffic, conveying all his goods via the Wade, while his neighbour, who, by the way, is a rival storekeeper, conveys all his goods over the said bridge to Lucas' Creek. I hope al parties will now be satisfied, as the object for which I wrote has been accomplished—the approaches to the bridge have been made passable, and the other trifling repairs" are being attended to. A magic lantern exhibition was given in the schoolhouse on Tuesday evening last. The attendance was only moderate. The Salvation Army services continue to be held regularly.- The attendance and interest are well sustained. — [Lucas' Creek Correspondent.]