COUNTRY NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9146, 13 March 1893, Page 6

COUNTRY NEWS.

[from our OWN CORRESPONDENTS.] Hamilton, Saturday. Another spell of wind and rain from the eastward, but accompanied with warmer weather, the glass standing at 60 degrees at daybreak. It commenced raining at daylight yesterday morning, and rained more or less all day, especially in the forenoon, setting in a steady rain throughout last night, and still continuing. A little girl, the daughter of Mr. F. A. Whitaker, stepped upon a broken bottle yesterday and inflicted a frightful gash on her foot, which bled profusely. Neither the services of Dr. Kerr nor Dr. Brewis were available, both gentlemen being engaged on a consultation. The services of Mr. R. F. Sandes were availed of, who bound up the wound and staunched the bleeding until later on Dr. Brewis arrived and dressed the foot. It is doubtful whether the Hamilton Light Infantry Corps will be able to send more than a very small contingent to the Easter encampment at Kohimarama. There are at the present time some twenty-four members of the corps absent on leave, working in various parts of the district. A parade, however, will be held on Thursday next, when an endeavour will be made to make arrangements for taking part in the Easter encampment. The rain yesterday pretty clearly showed the borough authorities the necessity of doing something to the footpath from the English Church along Victoria-street to fine railway station. It is at present in a disgraceful condition in many places along this side of the street, and from the parsonage to the Borough Council Chambers on the other. Although attention has been repeatedly drawn to this matter the borough workmen have been kept busily engaged in placing clay upon Victoria-street, which, in a wet summer like this, makes the roadway as bad as the footpaths, while the latter are left severely alone. Whatawhata, Saturday. Yesterday's rain has come most inopportunely for our school picnic, which, of course, had to be postponed, and it is hard to say when the weather will have sufficiently cleared up to hold it, as there is every appearance of a continuance of wet weather. The fund for a reward to be offered for the conviction of the gang of sheep-stealers who come up river and make raids periodically upon our sheep farms, has increased to nearly the £100 which it is intended to raise. Meanwhile the police have been busy in searching for a clue to work upon. A Mr. Moffat, from the South, has taken over the farm lately occupied by Mr. A. Calder, jun. Cambridge, Saturday. The Cambridge East school committee resolved at their late meeting to take proceeding against parents not complying with school attendance regulations, and i. list has been prepared to be summoned for next Court day, from which a few of the most flagrant cases will be proceeded with. The next meeting of the Pukekura Mutual Improvement Society will be held on Tuesday evening next, at the Pukerimu school house. Te AWAMUTO", Saturday, The railway authorities have laid on a special train for Friday next, so as to give the people of Lower Waikato an opportunity of attending the horticultural show. It will leave Frankton for Te Awamutu at 9.40 a.m., connecting with the ordinary trains from Te Aroha and Cambridge, and leave Te Awamutu on its return at 6 p.m., arriving at Cambridge at 7.30 p.m. Ordinary fare 3 will be charged. i-r i,i »

Kihikihi, Staurday. An inquest was held at five p.m. on Saturday evening, in the Star Hotel, before Mr. Thomas Gresham, district coroner, and a jury of six, of whom Mr. J. Farrell was foreman, on the body of John Rochfort, who died suddenly the previous evening. The evidence of Mrs. A. P. Maunder, wife of the hotelkeeper, who was the first to discover the deceased sitting seemingly unconscious in the parlour, went to show that she, assisted by her husband and neighbours, did all that was in her power to restore vitality, but unfortunately without effect. Dr. Brewis, from Hamilton, was, at the instance of the coroner, present at the inquiry, and acting under his instructions macfe a post mortem examination, which disclosed that deceased had recently developed exteusive fatty degeneration of the heart and valves, which, in his opinion, was the cause of death. The jury, without retiring, returned a verdict in accordance with the evidence. The deceased gentleman was interred on Friday in the Kihikihi cemetery, and notwithstanding the constant downpour of rain which lasted nearly all day, the funeral was well attended. Mr. John Hutchinson, in the absence of a resident Anglican clergyman, read the burial service.