COUNTRY NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8555, 1 May 1891, Page 6

COUNTRY NEWS.

[from our own CORRESPONDENTS. J Hamilton, Thursday. Mr. Bibby, who accidentally fell from his horse on Monday at Huntly, was brought up to the Hospital yesterday for Dr. Kenny's treatment. The broken thigh had been set by Dr. Broom. It is felt that the idea of retrenchment has gone too far in leaving Hamilton to the charge of only one constable. There is a troublesome band of larrikins and petty thieves on both sides of the river, whose propensities have been kept back by the presence of an active constable on each side, and now when the services of even that one Hamilton constable are required elsewhere, it is feared they will have a high old time of it. Inspector Emerson's clerk, who' will occupy Constable Murray's house on the east, side of the river, may, however, assist in keeping order in that quarter of the town. At the meeting of the Kirikiriroa school district Messrs. Willis, Owen, Churches, Kenny, Thomas, Wishart, and Swarbrick were elected. Mr. Swarbrick was subsequently appointed chairman. Mr. G. Aliright presided on Monday at the election of a school committee at Tawhare. Messrs. Diprose, Ingham, Richardson, A. B. Sutton, Scott, Sparke, and Shaw were elected. At the first meeting Mr. Sparke was elected chairman. A s single vote was recorded at the local option polling for the Newcastle district, and that was against the increase of all four kinds of licenses. The cattle sales held to-day by Mr. McNicol and by Mr. Hunter were well attended, and the cattle sold at an advance. Fat beef realised extra prices, and more cattle were yarded than there were pens for. Catherine Griffin was brought down here from Okoroire, and, on the evidence of Drs. Kenny and Murch, was committed to the Wliaii Asylum as suffering from dementia. She had b«en living as a cook at Rotorua. A red radish, grown by Mr. Moble, of the Waipa, is on show at Parr's store. It weighs s£lba, is 21 inches long, and 15 inches in circumference. Lime is the secret of the growth.

Whatawhata, Thursday. Our school committee has not been appointed without some excitement, and the manner of election has been referred to the Board for a decision as to its legality. At the meeting of some five and twenty householders in the school house on Monday evening, Mr. E. C. Shepherd was appointed chairman. After reading the list of nominations, the chairman proceeded to the matter of voting, and produced five ballot papers which he had received before four p.m. that day, and on the result of these ballot papers, out of eight candidates—namely. Messrs. Shepherd, Bruce, Hicrginson, Fergusson, Iwerson, Calder, Kempthorne, and Crawford, all were elected except the lastnamed. Those present claimed to vote, but were not allowed to do so, the chairman having ruled that only those who had sent in ballot papers had a right to do so. It was pointed out that the reception of votes by ballot papers was only intended for the convenience of householders who could not attend; but the chairman stuck to his ruling, against which Messrs. Bruce and Higginson entered a protest. A number of those present then formally applied to vote, and were refused. The newly-elected committee met, but on the motion of Mr. Bruce, seconded by Mr. Calder, declined to elect a chairman till after the validity of the election had been decided.

Kihikihi, Thursday. It is with regret I have to report a very severe accident which occurred to our worthy fellow townsman, Mr. James Farrell, sen. While dressing a sheep the knife slipped, inflicting a deep gash on the thigh. Luckily the blade missed the main artery, and though Mr. Farrell lost a considerable quantity of blood, and lias been confined to his bed, he is progressing favourably under the skillful treatment of Dr. Rowley, of Te Awamutu, who was at once fetched in. Only four candidates were nominated for the school committee, but three other householders attending the meeting inj;he evening were run in as candidates, and persuaded to stand. The seven returned are Messrs. Buckworth, Dinneen, Kennedy, Maunder, P. McDonnell, McCormick, and Thompson. Alexandra, Thursday. The attention of the county engineer is earnestly requested to the state of the old bridge over the Waipa, which a comparatively small sum, expended now, would place in good repair, but which, if left unattended to, will soon go to pieces, and we shall never raise another. The people of Alexandra depend upon getting their stock of firewood from the other side the river. The County Council must still have funds to the credit of Alexandra in hand.

Of the thirteen candidates for the school committee, Messrs. D. Coe, G.' Harper, P. Lcmpriere, R. McGruther, W. J. Smith, G. Smith, and J. Sage were elected. Te Awamutp, Thursday. At the election for three members of the Rangiaohia Road Board, on Monday, the only three candidates — R. Burke, H. Deaville, and J. Hutchinson —were declared elected.

[by telegraph.—own correspondents]. _ Rotomja, Thursday" The postal authorities have notified Mr. Robertson, mail contractor, that the subsidy paid during the summer months for the conveyance of mail matter by buggy between Lichfield and Taupo is to be discontinued from to-day. The opening of the shooting season tomorrow is engaging the attention of local sportsmen. Mr. J. Mcßae, who" is a lfeen sportsman, proceeds en route to Taupo and Takaono. A few tourists who intended having a day's sport complain of the fee of £1 as being excessive, and only permits one to shoot in the Tauranga district. Eight tourists arrived from Taupo to-day, and six from Oxford and Okoroire.

CLLVEDON (WAIKOA SOUTH). The weather has been quite cold, wet, and wintry here for the last few days, but the district is looking well. Feed is plentiful, and 'stock of all descriptions is in good condition. Messrs. Houston Bros., of Papakjura Valley, -brought their steam threshing machine into the district on the 7th of February last, and. since that date have threshed and bagged 4000 sacks of oats and wheat, besides cutting other 4000 sacks of chaff. Only for the. destruction done to the grain crops by caterpillars there would have been over '2000 sacks more saved of oats. Messrs. Houston Bros, left the district on Saturday, the 25th April, well pleased with the district and the people in it. The s.s. Waitoa is kept very busy, twice regularly to this place every week, but 1 hear a great many complaints, and unless a change for the better take place the boat will run itself off the trade and another take its place. The cutter Matakaua makes regular trips from this place to the Thames with chad and oats, etc.

On the 11th April Mr. H. Walsh of this place sent a raft of kauri logs, 75,000 feet, consigned to the Auckland Kauri Syndicate. The annual meeting of the vVairoa Ranges Football Club was held on the 15th April in Mr. A. Noble's barn. The annual report and balance-sheet were satisfactory. The new committee was elected as follows, viz., Messrs. J. Luke (captain), H. Munro (vicecaptain), T. P. Fraser (secretary), G. Noble (treasurer), and Messrs. W. Hyde, W. Hoye, and Jos. Gallaugher, members of committee. , A Mutual Improvement Association was formed here on the, 18th April, at which Messrs. A. Noble was elected president and T. L. Stevens vice-president; committee, Messrs. A. and J. T. Lang and S. A. Browne. The first meeting will be held on Saturday, May 2, in the Wairoa Public Hall, when Mr. S. A. Browne will deliver an essay on "Our Volunteers."— Correspondent.]

PUKEATUA (DAIRY FLAT). The nomination to fill three ordinary vacancies in the Pukeatua Road Board was held on Monday, the 27th April, at the district school, when only two nominations were received, vis;., Messrs. Charles Jeffs, sen., and Thomas J. Bovvden, who were declared duly elected, and as three members were required there is now an extraordinary vacancy in the Board, which will require another nomination to be held.— [Own Correspondent.]

PUKEKOHE EAST. The monthly meeting of the Band of Hope was held in the church on Friday, 24th April. The place was full, Mr. Morgan presiding. The following hymns (Hoyle s book) were sung during the evening : 1, 11, 72, 168, 177, 81. Mr. W. Jones, from Tuakau, was present by invitation,, and gave a practical address, the subject " Reasons Why He Was an Abstainer." He took occasion to speak about the hotel in Tuakau, and alluded to the wretched sights he had there witnessed, and hoped the Pukekohe East people-would help the temperance people in Tuakau to shut up a house which was a curse to the place. A dialogue was given by Misses McClunc, who also sang a duet. Mary Sharpe, Lizzie Cornthwaite, Lucy Hamilton, and Adeline Walker gave. interesting recitations, while the following gave appropriate read-

ings: Messrs. Macky, T. Hamilton,, Wl Sharp, and the chairman: The meeting-i an enjoyable one-closed about nine o clock.\ The returning officer for the Pukekohe! East Highway District, which has the jurisdiction of the Maungatawhiri Licensing District, advertises in the Weekly /News that an election for a licensing committee is to take place on the 16th May. Ihe Maungatawhiri district includes Pukekohe East and Tuakau. There is only one licensed house in the district, the Tuakau Hotel, which is run by a son of the, local J.P., Mr. A. Brown. By reports in circulation, this hotel does not appear to be an unmixed blessing; and, as the owners have had a pretty good innings," the Temperance people seem to think prohibition should have a turn for the next three years. . I believe it has been decided to bring out candidates who will pledge themselves, if elected, to close this house. If this is done, and such candidates are nominated, the strength of the Temperance sentiment in the district will be tested, as well as the moral stamina of the three ministers of religion who sustain the services in the localities around. One at least has stated that he will " fight with all his powers to shut up every wretched hotel in his circuit."—[Own Correspondent.]

TE KOPURU. The Knights of Labour gave a social in the Te Kopuru Hall on Friday, the 24th April. The affair was a great success. We have been favoured with beautiful weather lately, notwithstanding the threatening of Captain Edwin. On Sunday and Monday evenings the sunsets were grand to behold, the sky being aflame with purple 3,nd yellow. [Own Correspondent.]

PAPAROA j A concert held in Mr. Cliff's ballon the 23rd J April, in aid of the Paparoa Brass Band, ; proved very successful financially. Mr. E. Coates, J.P., presided, and briefly stated that the object of the concert was to raise funds to assist the band to pay their tutor, and also to purchase drums and bass 'instruments, which on account of their cost and comparative uselessuess apart from the others', muse necessarily be the property of the band. All the other instruments are the property of the individual members of the band. There .are now five cornets, two tenor horns, two baritones, one euphonium, one sub-bass, and' one big drum. The band played three selections during the evening, which, including a variety of music, showed wonderful progress for the six months of its existence ; and also reflecting great credit on the bandmaster, Mr. H. Nutsford. The programme was as follows : —Slow march, by band, " Elephant;" song, i by the chairman, "' Rock Me to Sleep ;" song, Miss Nuteford, " Sweet Home;" song, Mr. J. Wright, " Spooning On the Sands ;" song, Mr. D. McLeod, " The Powder Monkey;" encore song, "Nil Desperandum;" cornet solo, Mr. H. Nutsford; sour, Mr. Rigby, " Beautiful Isle of the Sea ;" comic song, Mr. G. Ford ; song, Mrs. Paige, "It Was a Dream." The string band, three violins, Messrs. H. and V. Nutsford and E. Flower, cornet, W. Nutsford, and piano, Miss Nutsford, played the " Mikado Polka." After an interval the baud played a fantasia entitled, "Columbia;" quartette, Messrs. Ford,. " Brunnigan's Band piano duet, Miss Tibuits and Miss Ada Cliff—very creditable ; sour, Mr. T. Skelton, " The Broken-hearted Bachelor;" song. Miss C. McLean, "Love's Golden Dream ; ' which -was encored enthusiastically, it being decidedly the gem of the evening; song, the chairman, ''Happy Be Thy Dreams ;" duet, Miss McLean and Mr. McLeod, " Gathering Flowers ;" violin duet, Messrs. W. Hook and H. Nutsford ; _ band, the set of waltzes, "Excelsior." This concluded the programme. The thanks of the audience were called for for the ladies and gentlemen who had kindly given their services in song, for the band, and the chairman, and were accorded by acclamation. After singing " God Save the Queen " the meeting dispersed. A concert was held at the Wesleyan Chapel at the Paparoa homestead on Friday last, for the purpose of raising funds towards lining the building, so as to make it more comfortable for the day school held in it. The entertainment was as successful as was expected. The proceeds were handed over to the treasurer, Mr. J. Hames. Application has been made to the Board of Education for some acknowledgment in the form of rent. This ought to be made, as this building, with others in similar circumstances, has to be kept insured and in repair. The Rev. J. J. Mather, whom the Wesleyan Conference has sent to succeed the Rev. G. L. Marshall, has arrived, and preached his first sermon last Sunday. The nominations for the licensing committee for this district took place on April 20, when Messrs. A. Colbeck, W. Chad wick, G. Cliff, \V. W. Ariel!, and G. Skelton were elected unopposed. —[Own Correspondent.]

RAGLAN. Great dissatisfaction exists here, caused by the action of the Northern Steamship Company in leaving this port for seven weeks without communication with Auckland. The wharf store is full of flax for export, and our local storekeepers are running short of the necessaries of life, as their goods have been lying at Onehunga for the last month waiting shipment. It is very hard upon all concerned, more especially the flaxmillers, there being so little profit on flax that it does not pay to have to store it in Raglan. However, Messrs. Langley Bros, and others are canvassing to obtain the names of those in this district who will join in the purchase of a schooner or steamer upon the co-operative plan, and shortly we hope to be relieved from the monopoly of the Northern Company. If a vessel can be obtained for' this port a great impetus will be given to the lime-burning, as large orders are on band here, but the present high freights debar the merchants from proceeding with them. Flaxiuilling is in full swing. All the mills seem to be working full time, and there is scarcely an idle man to be found in the place. Grass seed sowing is almost finished at the Te Akau station, and, upon completion of survey,, some 3000 acres of bush are to be cleared by contract, ready for sowing next season.

There is great excitement among the natives here. They expect the Land Court to open here in a few drys, when large blocks of land will be put through the court, greatly to the benefit, 1 hope, of the district. A sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court was held here last week, when several natives were heavily fined for. being drunk, and the local publican was also fined 10s and costs for supplying tham. Another addition has been made to our town buildings. Messrs. Langley Brothers have erected a billiard-room, and it seems to be kept in full swing night and day. The game is a great favourite with the Maoris. Mr. Sutton has sold his accommodation house and business in Raglan to Mr. W. Barlow, who intends applying for a license at the next quarterly meeting. Services were held on Sunday morning at Ruapuke, afternoon at Te Mata, and in the evening at Raglan, by the Rev. Mr. Thomas, Auckland, assisted by the Rev. J. Williams, of Raglan.— Correspondent]